-
1 of 253523 objects
Frederick V, King of Bohemia (1596-1632) c. 1632
Watercolour on vellum | 1.2 x 1 cm (sight) | RCIN 422346
-
This signed miniature by Alexander Cooper forms an important addition to the group of miniatures of the exiled King and Queen of Bohemia produced by the artist during the 1630s. Some of these are on the same diminutive scale (see for example the chain of portraits on a bracelet of members of the Bohemian family; formerly Bode Museum, Berlin repr. J. Murdoch, J. Murrell, P. Noon and R. Strong, The English Miniature, New Haven and London, 1981, p. 121). Many of these share certain features which were by then becoming archaic including the circular format of the present miniature, and the brilliant blue background, but which link Cooper very clearly with the tradition of Hilliard and Oliver. He was, according to two early sources, schooled in this tradition of miniature painting by Peter Oliver, rather than by his uncle, John Hoskins, in whose studio he was brought up with his brother, the better-known Samuel Cooper.
Alexander Cooper's role as a disseminator of what was seen as the typical art of the Protestant monarchy in England throughout the Northern Courts of Europe (for he worked not only in The Hague, but also in Sweden and Denmark) has been seen as crucial in understanding the cultural and political significance of this art form in the early-seventeenth century.Provenance
First recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Victoria
-
/* render($featured_in); */
Medium and techniques
Watercolour on vellum
Measurements
1.2 x 1 cm (sight)
3.1 x 3.1 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Reynolds 1999 : Reynolds, G., 1999. The Sixteenth & Seventeenth Century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London – Reynolds 1999 132Cust 1910 : Cust, L., 1910. Windsor Castle: Portrait Miniatures, London – Cust 1910 Supplement 37