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1 of 253523 objects
Caroline, Princess of Hesse-Cassel, Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Gotha (1771-1848) c.1822-41
Oil on millboard | 53.8 x 45.7 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404606
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Paul Emil Jacobs (1802-1866) is largely known as a painter of historical subjects. In 1818, Jacobs became a pupil at the Munich Academy and subsequently established himself in Frankfurt as a portraitist. After a visit to St. Petersburg in 1830, Jacobs became a member of the Academy there. However, Gotha became the artist’s chief place of residence from 1834 and it was there that he was appointed court painter and aulic counsellor to the Duke. In 2002 an exhibition at the castle in Gotha marked the bicentennial anniversary of Jacobs' birth.
Caroline Amelia, second daughter of William I, Elector of Hesse-Cassel, and Wilhelmine, daughter of Frederick V, King of Denmark, married in 1802, as his second wife, Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. She had no children of her own, but was stepmother to Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha, Prince Albert’s mother. Prince Albert was particularly fond of his ‘beloved Grandmama’ and on her death both he and the Queen inherited from her a number of family pictures, miniatures and other mementos.
The sitter appears here half-length, seated at a table, writing in a notebook; she is dressed in black with a white lace cap and collar; on the table beside her are a vase of flowers, a domed bust of a girl, and a framed miniature; a portrait of her late husband, Duke Augustus, hangs on the wall behind her (see RCIN 406366).
Two portrait miniatures after this painting were produced by John Simpson (RCIN 421536, 421649).Provenance
Given by the sitter to Prince Albert, February 1841 (Rough Catalogue no 28); recorded in the Prince Consort's Writing Room at Buckingham Palace in 1868
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Creator(s)
(nationality)(artists' materials maker)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on millboard
Measurements
53.8 x 45.7 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
77.4 x 68.6 x 8.7 cm (frame, external)
Alternative title(s)
Caroline, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg (1771-1848)
Caroline, second wife of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha