Carl Ferdinand Sohn (1806-67) was the father of the painter Carl Rudolph. He studied at the Academy in Berlin under Wilhelm Schadow, and in 1826, followed his master to Düsseldorf where he settled. After visiting Holland, he travelled to Italy in 1830. In 1832, he was appointed a teacher at the academy in Düsseldorf, and then a professor, in 1838. Although he mainly produced historical pictures, he was also highly regarded as a portrait painter, for reasons amply displayed by this example of his mature style.

Princess Maria of Saxe-Altenburg (1818-1907) was the eldest daughter of Joseph, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and Duchess Amelia of Württemberg. In 1843 she married George, Crown Prince of Hanover, with whom she had three children; Prince Ernest Augustus, Princess Frederica, and Princess Marie. The couple became King and Queen of Hanover upon the death of George's father, Ernest Augustus I, on 18 November 1851. In September 1872, Queen Marie was made godmother to Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of the latter's third daughter, Princess Helena.

In this formal, full-length portrait, the sitter is wearing a low-cut white dress, a tiara, a pearl necklace, and the red ribbon and star of an order. She holds a fan in her left hand; behind her are two pillars on massive pedestals, and a red curtain.