Fanny GEEFS (Brussels, 1807 - Schaerbeek, 1883) Portrait... Lot 43

Fanny GEEFS (Brussels, 1807 - Schaerbeek, 1883) Portrait of Leopold I, King of the Belgians Portrait of Louise-Marie, Queen of the Belgians Pair of original canvases. Old restorations and accidents. One of the two (the queen), signed and dated lower right: Fanny Geefs / 1851. Old restorations and accident. 251 x 160 cm 218 x 141 cm Provenance (according to the owner): Offered by S. M. King Leopold II to Lieutenant General Baron (Théophile Théodore) Wahis; His collection; By inheritance, 1921, collection of his son, Lieutenant General Baron Théo Wahis, Brussels; Acquired by his little nephew, Knight Philippe de Patoul, Château de Champallement, Nièvre. Note that Baron Théophile Théodore Wahis was governor general of the Independent State of Congo, then of the colony when the king decided to hand over sovereignty to Belgium. The portrait of the king is a revival of the portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter kept in the Belgian royal collection. We know a version by our artist, Fanny Geefs, kept in the House of Representatives in Brussels.