The Duchess of Berry arriving at Dieppe, Felice Marie Ferdinand Storelli, between 1824 and 1830

The duchess of berry arriving at dieppe félice marie ferdinand storelli was a nineteenth century italian painter. Well known in the royal courts of europe, he was the duchesse de berry’s drawing master, and she commissioned many of his works. The duc d’orléans and king charles-albert of sardinia also made several purchases of his works. He received a first class medal at the salon de paris in 1825. In 1824, the first ‘bathing establishment’ was opened in dieppe, with a therapeutic mission for which the duchesse de berry became an ambassador: it was called the bains caroline in her honour. She frequently left the capital to stay in dieppe during the restoration, and helped to popularize sea bathing, which was already fashionable in england. The journal des débats described the duchess’s sea bathing as follows: ‘the weather, which until this day had prevented mme la duchesse de berry from taking sea baths, the purpose of her journey to dieppe, became milder so her royal highness went to the beach and entered the sea for the first time. Monsieur mourguet, chief physician at the baths, would yield to no one the task of accompanying the princess, and after donning his swimming costume he had the honour of escorting her royal highness and exposing her to the waves for about eight minutes’. This painting is therefore a historical record of dieppe’s status as the first bathing resort in france. Felice marie ferdinand storelli depicts a peaceful landscape which evokes the restorative atmosphere that visitors sought in dieppe. Signed in the lower left, this canvas is one of the only surviving paintings that depicts the duchesse de berry’s visits and the official events held in her honour. Object Type: painting. Date: between 1824 and 1830. Dimensions: 52,5 x 72,7 cm ; 20⅝ by 28⅝ in.. Medium: oil on canvas.