| Princess Marie of Orléans | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duchess Alexander of Württemberg | |||||
 Portrait byAry Scheffer,Musée Condé. | |||||
| Born | (1813-04-12)12 April 1813 Palermo,Sicily | ||||
| Died | 6 January 1839(1839-01-06) (aged 25) Pisa,Tuscany | ||||
| Burial | 27 January 1839 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | Duke Philipp | ||||
| |||||
| House | Orléans | ||||
| Father | Louis Philippe I | ||||
| Mother | Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies | ||||
Princess Marie of Orléans (12 April 1813 – 6 January 1839) was a French princess, artist, and, by her marriage, duchess of Württemberg (1837). Before her marriage, she was styledMademoiselle de Valois.
She was the third child (and second daughter) ofLouis-Philippe,King of the French (Duke of Orléansuntil 1830), and his wifeMaria Amalia, daughter of KingFerdinand IVof Naples and Sicily. She was solidly educated on her father's insistence, and took up sculpture and drawing. She had her own studio installed in theTuileries Palace in which she would work. She was described as a lively character with great energy, interested in both parties and politics.[1]
At the beginning of 1834, due to the consolidation of theJuly Monarchy and a better acceptance of Louis-Philippe by the monarchs of Europe, theKing of the Two Sicilies,Ferdinand II, gave his consent to the marriage of princess Marie of Orléans with one of his younger brothers.Leopold of the Two Sicilies,count of Syracuse, was (like Ferdinand) born of kingFrancis I's second marriage toMaria Isabella of Spain. Nephew of Maria's mother (queenMaria Amalia), he was thus also half-brother to theduchesse de Berry, born by Francis I's first marriage to archduchessMaria Clementina of Austria, and mother of theLegitimist pretender to the throne of France, theduc de Bordeaux.
However, following the uprisings which afflicted France in April 1834, the court of Naples demanded that Marie immediately receive the part of theOrléans family fortune which was due to her by the"donation-partage" Louis-Philippe had made among his children on 7 August 1830 on the eve on his accession to the throne. Louis-Philippe judged this demand unreasonable, and the marriage proceedings came to an end.
On 17 October 1837, Marie d'Orléans marriedPrince Alexander of Württemberg (1804–1881), son ofDuke Alexander of Württemberg and his wifeAntoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. A member of thecadet branch of a not very prestigious German princely family, Alexander was nevertheless the nephew both ofKing Frederick I of Württemberg (via his father) and ofKing Leopold I of Belgium (via his mother). He was also a first cousin of both BritishQueen Victoria and her husband,Prince Albert as well as PortugueseKing Ferdinand II and Russian EmperorsAlexander I andNicholas I. The ceremony took place on 18 October 1837 at theGrand Trianon inVersailles,[2] restored by Louis-Philippe for his personal use. The civil ceremony was taken bychancelier Pasquier, the Catholic ceremony byLouis-Marie-Edmond Blanquart de Bailleul,bishop of Versailles, and theLutheran ceremony by pastor Cuvier. The following reception took days and was hosted by the king and queen.
They had one child,Duke Philipp of Württemberg, who inherited his father's dukedom and in 1865 married Archduchess Marie-Therese of Austria (1845–1927), daughter ofArchduke Albert, Duke of Teschen. They are the ancestors of the present claimants to thethrone of Württemberg.[citation needed]
In 1838, weakened bypulmonary tuberculosis, Marie left forPisa with the hope that the more favourable climate would help her to a cure. Her brotherLouis, Duke of Nemours, was later sent to escort her on their parents' instructions and arrived just before her death on 6 January 1839. She was buried on 27 January at theroyal chapel atDreux.
A student ofAry Scheffer, she was a talented artist, practicing sculpture and drawing. Toward the end of her short career, d'Orléans focused herself on sculpting images ofJoan of Arc, completing many works depicting this patriotic subject including a large sculpture forVersailles, commissioned byKing Louis-Philipe.[3]
According to her teacher, Ary Scheffer, she "dreamed of an elevated life as an artist, and of exercising a profound influence over the art in France."[4] Many of her works survive, in collections at theClark Art Institute,[5]Snite Museum of Art,[6] and the Museum ofDordrecht.[7]
In particular, she designed the windows in St. Saturnin's Chapel of thePalace of Fontainebleau, which were made byÉmile Wattier.[8]
