Paul Emil Jacobs (1802-1866) is largely known as a painter of historical subjects. In 1818 he 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.

Emil Leopold August, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1772–1822), was the second son of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen. He was a liberal patron of the fine arts and built a collection of fans, which until recently was kept at Schloss Friedenstein. In 1805 he wrote a poetic novel, Cyllenion: A year in Arcadia. He was the maternal grandfather of Prince Albert.

After a portrait by Joseph Grassi, this is a companion painting to the portrait of the Duke's second wife, Caroline Amelia; RCIN 407167. It is connected with the portrait of the Duke by Ludwig Döll, in the museum at Schloss Friedenstein. The Royal Collection has another portrait, after Joseph Grassi, in which the head is very similarly posed and depicted, but the shoulders are turned to the left (RCIN 406411).

The sitter is wearing a red military coat with black facings and collar, and a blue riband over his shoulder; his decorations include the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle.