Joseph Hartmann (1812-85) was born at Ried, Austria. The city of Vienna played host to his early career but the artist later moved to Darmstadt where he received several commissions from the Grand Duke and Duchess of Hesse along with several eminent members of the ducal court. It is likely to have been through the recommendation of the Grand Duchess Alice, Queen Victoria’s second eldest daughter, that Hartmann found patronage at the Court of St James’s.

Emich, fifth Prince of Leiningen (1866-1939), the second child and only son of Ernst Leopold, fourth Prince of Leiningen, was born at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Through his mother, Princess Marie Amelie of Baden, he was a descendant of the Swedish monarchy. His paternal grandfather, Carl, third Prince of Leiningen, was the half-brother of Queen Victoria.

In this portrait the Prince appears as a two-year-old infant, turned three quarters to the left, his head turned slightly left. He is dressed in white with lace trim, and his arms are folded.