Princess Charlotte of Prussia (1716-1801), later Duchess of Brunswick c.1730-50
Oil on canvas | 212.1 x 138.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 403013
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Princess Philippine was the daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophie Dorothea of Hanover, George II’s sister. In 1733 she married Charles, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1713-80) and the couple had many children. The Duchess was also a writer, intellectual hostess and significant figure in the German Enlightenment.
This is a version of a composition attributed to Antoine Pesne (another version is in the Ringling Museum, Sarasota), dated to the early 1740s. The sitter appears full-length, wearing a pink dress with floral motifs and holding to her breast a posy of flowers with her left hand; fur-lined cloak and crown, formal gardens out of window.
Provenance
First recorded in the Queen's Gallery at Kensington Palace by 1818 (no 263), where it can just be made out in Pyne's illustrated Royal Residences of 1819 (RCIN 922155)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
212.1 x 138.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
236.1 x 163.0 x 8.0 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Alternative title(s)
Princess (Philippine) Charlotte of Prussia (1716-1801), later Duchess of Brunswick (?)
Louisa, Queen of Denmark, previously identified as