The Duchess Of Berry – Duddingston Castle – Watercolor Circa 1830

Dimensions: Watercolor 16.5 × 13 cm; Framed 32 × 34.5 cm. Marie-Caroline Ferdinande Louise de Bourbon, Princess of the Two Sicilies (Caserta, 5 November 1798 – Brno, 16 April 1870), better known as the Duchess of Berry, was the wife of Charles-Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry, second son of King Charles X, assassinated in 1820, and the mother of the Count of Chambord, Henri d'Artois, the Legitimist pretender to the throne of France under the name "Henri V". Following the July Revolution of 1830, she left France for exile in England, where she stayed first in Bath and then at Holyrood Palace in Scotland. At the bottom of this very beautiful watercolor, the Duchess of Berry herself annotated: "Duddingston Castle where we lived during the winter of 1830 to 1831, near Edinburgh. Duddingston Castle no longer exists. This handwritten note provides unique historical evidence of its precise location during her exile and of a vanished building. A passionate art lover and admirer of Paul Huet, the Duchess of Berry herself practiced drawing and painting, as was customary for a woman of her rank. This watercolor is a rare and prestigious piece, created by the hand of a princess of royal blood. Later, in 1832, she unsuccessfully attempted to regain power in France as regent, initiating the final Vendée and Chouan uprisings in the west of the country.