Heinrich Justus Schneider (1811-84) studied under Julius Schnorr at the Academy in Munich. He then spent some time in Belgium, went to Rome in 1843, and settled in Gotha in 1849. His many watercolours in the Royal Collection record landscape views of Gotha and the ducal residences, as well as special occasions involivng Prince Albert's relatives (see RCIN 920684).

Duke Ernest I of Saxe-Gotha (1601-1675) was the founder of the line of the dukes of Gotha. He came into possession of the town of Gotha after the death of the sons of Duke John Frederick. In the late seventeenth-century his sons founded the Duchies of Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Hildburghausen, and Saxe-Saalfeld. In 1643 he instigated the construction of the ducal residence, Castle Friedenstein, completed in 1654.

He is the subject of many engraved portraits in the Royal Collection (RCIN 609708-609722). In this painted oval the sitter appears with long grey hair, a moustache and thin beard. He wears a blue jacket with a wide square-cut lace collar.