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German School, 18th century

Augusta, Princess of Saxe-Gotha, later Princess of Wales (1719-72) c.1730-49

Oil on canvas | 45.2 x 35.6 x 1.7 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404497

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  • Augusta was the youngest daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. She was brought up in Gotha, Germany. In 1735 she was summoned to Hannover meet George II, who was seeking a bride for his son, Frederick, Prince of Wales.  

    It was recorded that after interviewing Augusta the King was ‘so impressed by her deference to him, her affability, her apparent good sense and innocence that he quickly decided she was the perfect match for his contentious son’ (ODNB). The couple married on 8 May 1736 at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. Depicted in her late teens, around the time of her marriage, she is wearing a light blue dress trimmed with lace with a pink rose in the corsage, a mantle tied around her neck, her hair plaited and tied around her head.

    Part of set of 5 paintings of similar dimensions, possibly by two hands, recorded in Store at Carlton House in 1816 (nos 351-5). This included portraits of her sister, Fredericka, and two of her brothers, Christian Wilhelm and Johann August (RCINs 404499, 404500, 406407, 404497, 406408).
    Provenance

    Probably acquired by George IV, recorded without attribution or identification in the Store at Carlton House in 1816 (no 354) and 1819 (no 454)

  • Medium and techniques

    Oil on canvas

    Measurements

    45.2 x 35.6 x 1.7 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)

    55.7 x 46.2 x 4.3 cm (frame, external)

  • Category
    Object type(s)

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