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1 of 253523 objects
Princess Amelia (1783-1810) 1785
Oil on canvas | 91.4 x 71.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 401415
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Hoppner was the son of a German physician working at the court of George II; he was encouraged to become a painter by George III, studying drawings in the Royal Collection as well as attending the RA Schools. The portrait is one of three depicting the youngest Princesses (see also RCIN 400167 and 400168), commissioned by George III in what must have seemed a generous vote of confidence in the seventeen-year-old artist. All three were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1785. The infant Princess Amelia is seated on a step, wearing a white dress with a sash and a large lace cap, beating with her hands a drum held on her lap; a spaniel sits to the lower right. Hoppner seems openly to acknowledge his debt to the greatest painter of children at this time, Sir Joshua Reynolds, as is revealed by the comparison with his 1774 portrait of Princess Sophia Matilda (RCIN 400937).
Provenance
Painted for George III and Queen Charlotte; recorded in the King's Gallery at Kensington Palace in 1818 (no 334); in the Queen's Boudoir at St James's Palace in 1868
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
91.4 x 71.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
1076.0 x 85.6 x 5.9 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)