Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, later Queen of Prussia and Empress of Germany (1811-1890) Signed & dated 1861
Watercolour on ivory laid on card | 11.5 x 9.3 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 420534
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Hähnisch’s miniature is based on a full-length oil portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73) showing the Queen of Prussia wearing an ermine-trimmed red robe with the star of the Order of St Catherine of Russia and the badge of the Order of Louise, with a diamond necklace, stomacher, and a tiara supporting her lace veil. The original was in Berlin until the Second World War; a copy by C. Arnold is in the Royal Collection (403987; Royal Collection). Queen Victoria first met Princess Augusta in 1845 in Germany and recorded in her memoir of the visit: ‘The Pcess of Prussia (who is 10 years younger than the Queen & is only 34) is a Pcess of Weimar, second daughter of the Gd. Duke of Weimar & a Gd. Duchess of Prussia; she is very pleasing, has a very fine figure, with a Beautiful complexion & fine hair, with a likeness to the Weimar family – she is excessively kind’ (RA VIC/Z 279/10). Augusta, younger daughter of Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, married, in 1829, Prince William of Prussia, later William I, King of Prussia (1861) and German Emperor (1871). A friend of Goethe, she had intellectual, liberal and pro-Catholic leanings which irritated her staunchly conservative husband and antagonised Bismarck. Her philanthropic concerns were demonstrated by her regular visits to see Florence Nightingale when in England. Under her influence, her son, Prince Frederick William, adopted a more liberal outlook which ultimately set him at odds with the absolutist traditions of his family.
Provenance
Given to Queen Victoria by the sitter
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour on ivory laid on card
Measurements
11.5 x 9.3 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
12.5 x 10.9 cm (frame, external)
11.0 x 9.1 cm (sight)
Category
Object type(s)
Subject(s)
Other number(s)
Vic Min : Remington, V., 2010. Victorian Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen – Vic Min 504Cust 1910 : Cust, L., 1910. Windsor Castle: Portrait Miniatures, London – Cust 1910 42/10