Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Chantrey Bequest
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-william-rothenstein-1874" aria-label="More by Sir William Rothenstein" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Sir William Rothenstein</a>
Princess Badroulbadour
Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1924
Arabian Nights
boy
children
clothing and personal items
dress: fantasy/fancy
exotic
fancy dress / role play
fine arts and music
girl
groups
literature and fiction
named families
named individuals
objects
painting
people
portraits
Rothenstein children
Rothenstein, Betty
Rothenstein, John
Rothenstein, Rachel
society
tales, legends and traditional
turban
<p>This portrait shows Rothenstein’s three children, John, Betty and Rachel, posed in fancy dress as characters from the Aladdin story in The Arabian Nights. They are enacting the scene where Aladdin, disguised as a wealthy man, marries the princess Badroulbadour. Badr, meaning ‘full moon’, was the standard image for a beautiful girl in Arabic literature. Interestingly, Rothenstein adapted a drawing of his son for the pose of the princess on the left.</p><p>On the wall is a Renaissance painting of the birth of the Virgin, belonging to the artist. He may have introduced it to suggest an earlier stage of child development.</p><p><em>Gallery label, September 2004</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
19 April 2004 – 11 June 2006
2006-06-11
19 April 2004 – 11 June 2006
2006-06-11
2004-04-19
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2004-04-19
Cult of Youth
Collection based display
16 November 2011 – 13 May 2012
2012-05-13
16 November 2011 – 13 May 2012
2012-05-13
2011-11-16
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2011-11-16
GBAD Family Matters
Collection based display
The Princess Badroulbadour
support: 1410 × 1194 mm
frame: 1640 × 1430 × 120 mm
Presented by the Trustees of the <a href="/search?gid=999999977" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Chantrey Bequest</a> 1924
<p>This is a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/portrait" title="Glossary definition for 'Portrait'"><span>portrait</span></a> of the artist's three children in fancy dress. The subject is taken
from the story 'The History of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp' in <em>The Arabian Nights</em>. Aladdin, entranced by the beauty of the Princess Badroulbadour, wishes to ask the Sultan for his daughter's hand in marriage. Using magic provided by the
genie in his magic lamp, Aladdin passes himself off as a wealthy man, and marries the princess. The Arabic phrase <em>Badr al-budur</em> means 'Moon of moons'. Precisely, the word <em>badr</em> means 'the full moon'. In Arabic literature 'the full
moon' is the conventional image for the face of a beautiful girl. Princess Badroulbadour is described in the popular Dalziel edition as 'the most beautiful brunette ever seen. Her eyes were large, well shaped, and full of fire; yet the expression of
her countenance was sweet and modest ... every feature of her face was perfectly lovely and regular' (H.W. Dulcken, ed., <em>Dalziels' Illustrated Arabian Nights' Entertainments</em>, London 1863-5, p.594).</p><p>The eldest of the children, John, later
Sir John, was Director of the Tate Gallery 1938-64. The artist's daughters were Betty (later Mrs E.R. Holliday) and Rachel (later Mrs Alan Ward). The artist's family was a frequent subject since the birth of Rothenstein's first child in 1901; the
children playing dressing-up seems to have been a favourite theme. Similar pictures include <em>Rachel Queen</em> and <em>Princess Betty</em>, both exhibited in 1911 (Rutherston Collection, Manchester City Art Gallery). <em>In the Morning Room</em>
(exhibited 1909, Rutherston Collection, Manchester City Art Gallery) shows John in fancy dress as an American Indian chief, with his mother and sister Rachel. Although <em>The Princess Badroulbadour</em> was painted for sale (it was included in the 1910
Bradford exhibition and subsequent shows) the artist obviously valued it highly, as it was consistently and by a large margin the highest priced item in every exhibition (matched only by <em>Carrying the Law</em>, at 650 guineas, in Bradford). At the
exhibition held in Rothenstein's Hampstead home in 1914, it was priced at 63500. </p><p><em>The Princess Badroulbadour</em> was bought for the Tate Gallery as a Chantrey Bequest picture in 1924, for 63500. The artist's biographer, Robert Speaight, wrote:
'The Chantrey committee had visited William's studio in his absence and been bowled over by the picture's merits. The depth of personal feeling inspiring it had stood up to its richly decorative <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a>.' (Speaight, p.325.) It was painted at the
artist's house at 26 Church Row, Hampstead. The picture on the wall, representing the birth of the Virgin, is an unidentified <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/r/renaissance" title="Glossary definition for 'Renaissance'"><span>Renaissance</span></a> style <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a>, or a copy of one, which belonged to the artist. The Tate owns two studies for the painting (Tate
Gallery <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="/art/artworks/T01248" onclick="popTateObjects(event, -1, 'T01248');" title="View details of this artwork"><span>T01248</span></a>, <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="/art/artworks/T03682" onclick="popTateObjects(event, -1, 'T03682');" title="View details of this artwork"><span>T03682</span></a>), as well as a 1938 oil of John as an adult, <em>Portrait of Sir John Rothenstein C.B.E.</em> (Tate Gallery <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="/art/artworks/T01869" onclick="popTateObjects(event, -1, 'T01869');" title="View details of this artwork"><span>T01869</span></a>).</p><p><strong>Further reading:</strong><br/>Robert Speaight, <em>William Rothenstein: The Portrait of an Artist in his Time</em>, London 1962, pp.225, 325<br/></p><p>Terry Riggs<br/>January 1998<!-- end text --></p>
Summary
2005-09-15T00:00:00
summary
SHORT_TEXT
<div class="pbodytext">
<span class="text0">This <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/portrait" title="Glossary definition for 'Portrait'"><span>portrait</span></a> shows Rothenstein’s three children,      John, Betty and Rachel, posed in </span><span class="text15">fancy dress as      characters from the Aladdin</span><span class="text0"> story in </span><span class="text14">The Arabian Nights.</span><span class="text0"> They are </span><span class="text17">enacting the scene where Aladdin,</span><span class="text0">
    disguised as a wealthy man, marries the princess Badroulbadour. </span><span class="text14">Badr</span><span class="text0">, meaning ‘full      moon’, was the standard image for a </span><span class="text17">beautiful      girl in Arabic literature.</span><span class="text0"> Interestingly,      Rothenstein adapted a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/d/drawing" title="Glossary definition for 'Drawing'"><span>drawing</span></a> of his son for the pose of the princess on      the left.  </span>
</div>
<div class="para9">
<span class="text0">
<br/> </span>
</div>
<div class="pbodytext">
<span class="text0">On the wall is a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/r/renaissance" title="Glossary definition for 'Renaissance'"><span>Renaissance</span></a> <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a> of the birth of      the Virgin, belonging to the </span><span class="text16">artist. He may      have introduced it to suggest</span><span class="text0"> an earlier      stage of child development. </span>
</div>

Display caption
2004-09-10T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>N03953</b> THE PRINCESS BADROULBADOUR 1908</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not inscribed.
<br/>Canvas, 55×47 (140×119·5).
<br/>Chantrey Purchase from the artist 1924.
<br/><i>Exh:</i>	Bradford, June 1910 (7); Art Institute of Chicago, January 1912 (19); N.E.A.C., Summer 1912 (147); <i>Exposition Universelle et Internationale</i>, Ghent, 1913 (Beaux Arts, Grande Bretagne, 45); the artist's house, Hampstead, 19 March 1914 (6); <i>Spring Exhibition</i>, Oldham, February–April 1915 (144); R.A., 1924 (252).
<br/><i>Repr:</i> <i>Royal Academy Illustrated</i>, 1924, p.97; <i>Tate Gallery Illustrations</i>, 1928, pl.115; <i>Picture Post </i>11 March 1939 (in colour).</p>
<p>The children playing at dressing up are the artist's eldest son John (now Sir John, Director of the Tate Gallery 1938–64) and his daughters Betty (Mrs E. R. Holliday) and Rachel (Mrs Alan Ward). The picture on the wall, representing the birth of the Virgin, is an unidentified sixteenth-century <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a>, possibly North Italian, Swiss or Austrian, which belonged to the artist.</p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, <i>The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture</i>, London 1964, II
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-10-05T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
Arabian Nights boy children clothing and personal items dress: fantasy/fancy exotic fancy dress / role play fine arts and music girl groups literature and fiction named families named individuals objects painting people portraits Rothenstein, Betty Rothenstein children Rothenstein, John Rothenstein, Rachel society tales, legends and traditional turban