John Simpson (1811-71)
Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817) Signed and dated 1846
Enamel on copper | 5.8 x 4.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 421984
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A copy after the half-length oil portrait of Princess Charlotte of Wales painted by George Sanders (1774 – 1846) showing Princess Charlotte wearing a green velvet dress trimmed with gold, a ruby belt-clasp, double strand of pearls and a coronet. The original was in the possession of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, and is still in the Belgian Royal Collection, but Simpson's enamel is likely to have been taken from the oil copy presented to Queen Victoria by the King of the Belgians on her birthday, 24 May 1845 (407117).
John Simpson (1811-after 1871) was trained as a porcelain painter at the Derby porcelain factory before moving to London in 1845. He soon established a practice as a miniature painter specialising in works on enamel, and fulfilled the first of many commissions for Queen Victoria in that year. He is last recorded describing himself at the end of his career as a 'photographic artist' (1871 census return); the date of his death is not known.
Signed, dated and inscribed on the counter-enamel in red paint: Her late Royal Highness / the Princess Charlotte / B: 1796 / D: 1817 / Simpson 1846. / after SaundersProvenance
Commissioned by Prince Albert in 1846
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Enamel on copper
Measurements
5.8 x 4.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
16.5 x 15.2 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)