George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Kalenberg (1582-1641) c.1595
Watercolour on vellum | 7.0 x 5.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 420445
-
This is one of the series of forty-nine portrait miniatures (RCIN 420431-420679) of German and other forebears of the Hanoverian dynasty which were first recorded hanging in Queen Caroline's Closet at Kensington Palace by George Vertue in 1743.
The series can be dated fairly narrowly by internal evidence to the years between 1593-7 and appears to be the work of a single as yet unidentified miniature painter who worked mainly at the Brunswick-Lüneburg court but also visited Brandenburg and other centres. The artist was a naïve successor to the tradition of German court portraiture established by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) at the court of the Elector of Saxony at Wittenberg.
George, sixth son of William the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (see 420439), drew the winning lot in the competition between himself and his six brothers to determine who should have the privilege of marrying. In 1617 he married Anna Eleonora, daughter of Ludwig V, Landgraf of Hesse-Darmstadt and became the grandfather of George I of England. George became Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Kalenberg in 1636.
Inscribed at the top in white: GEORGE HERZOG ZU BRAUNSCHWIG: UND LUNEBERG.Provenance
Acquired by George I or George II; first recorded in Queen Caroline's Closet at Kensington Palace in 1743
-
Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
-
Medium and techniques
Watercolour on vellum
Measurements
7.0 x 5.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
8.1 x 6.7 cm (frame, external)
6.7 x 5.2 cm (sight)
Other number(s)