Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester (1773-1884) c.1803-5
Oil on canvas | 143.0 x 114.4 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 406663
-
This portrait must date from c. 1800 when the sitter was 23. It is executed in a formula devised by Reynolds and Romney in the 1770s to express a young lady’s simplicity and sensibility. The white dress, veil and strings of pearls are simple and unaffected; the tender posture, dreamy smile, flushed cheeks and natural setting convey the sitter’s fine feelings. The sitter was George III’s niece, whose brother, William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester (1776-1834), married George III’s daughter, Mary, which may be the reason why this and other Gloucester portraits (see RCIN 400976 and 400205) came into the Royal Collection.
Provenance
Bequeathed to Queen Victoria by Mary, Duchess of Gloucester (the sitter's sister-in-law) in 1857; recorded in the Lower Dining Room Corridor (Room no 352) at Buckingham Palace in 1876
-
Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
143.0 x 114.4 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
157.2 x 129.2 x 6.0 cm (frame, external)