How does Empress Eugénie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting elucidate its History?
The painting was commissioned by Empress Eugénie de Montijo to be exhibited at the painting salon of the Exposition Universelle, which opened in May. The painting was supposed to represent the sovereign in the midst of her ladies-in-waiting, who took turns around her throughout the week. They are in the number of ten when the first sketch was made by the painter. However, the seventh lady, Léonie Bugeaud de la Piconnerie d'Isly, Comtesse de Feray, resigned in January 1855, which forced the painter to completely rethink the composition of the painting in few weeks. He managed to complete it in four months with the help of his studio to be ready for the opening of the exhibition.The reception of the painting was mixed. The Parisian critics did not fail to underline the sloppy aspect of the painting and reproached him for having been apparently more interested in the details of the dresses than in the personality of her characters. On the other hand, it was met with great success by the general public as well as by the circles of the imperial court, with the painting seen as symbolizing the splendor of the new regime. It was then exhibited at the Kunstverein in Vienna in 1856. Widely distributed in the form of prints, it became the symbol of the imperial regimen.
Exposition Universelle Vienna Eugénie de Montijo