Anton Alexander von Werner (1843-1915) was a student at the Academy in Berlin in 1860, and in 1862 at the school of art in Karlsruhe. In 1875 he was appointed director of the Academy in Berlin. By 1893 he had been made a member of the Academies of Dresden, Munich and Antwerp. His work was often inspired by literature, and he illustrated several publications through the 1860s to the 1880s. He is mainly valued for his rperesentations of the events of the Franco-Prussian War; his many-figured compostion, The Proclamation of the German Empire (1885), is in the Bismarck Museum, Schleswig-Holstein.

The Emperor stands in the centre of a spacious elegant room, greeting Princess Irene who curtseys as she is presented by Prince Heinrich, on the occasion of their betrothal; they are watched by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, dressed in the uniform of the 2nd Prussian Cuirassier Regiment and the Crown Princess. Others attendant include the Empress Augusta, Princess Irene, and Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse.

The Royal Collection has a related watercolour study by Werner (RCIN 921523), and there is a study for the figure of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (standing on the left in this painting) in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. A photogravure after this painting was produced by Hänfstaengl, and published in London, 15th November 1889.