Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1735-1806) Signed and dated 1761
Oil on canvas | 143.8 x 110.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404640
-
Nicknamed the "Kassler" Tischbein, Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder was the most successful member of the large Tischbein artistic dynasty. He first trained in Kassel under a wallpaper maker named Zimmerman. Then, in 1744, with the support of Graf Stadion, he became a pupil of Carl van Loo in Paris; and afterwards, in 1749, was apprenticed to Giovanni Battista Piazetta in Venice, where he spent time copying both Titian and Veronese. He returned to Germany in 1751 and became court painter in Kassel to Landgrave William VIII von Hesse; apart from a few short sojourns he remained in Kassel for the rest of his career.
At his best, Tischbein stands amongst the foremost portrait painters of the Eighteenth Century. Like Ziesenis, his style marks a transition between whimsical Rococo and the nascent Hellenic Classicism of theorists like Winckelmann. With the rise of Classicism towards the end of his career, his palette became darker and his mood increasingly more serious. As well as a substantial amount of portraits he also painted a number of mythological, religious and genre scenes. Notably, he provided paintings for Wilhelm VIII's so-called "Schönheitsgalerie" in Wilhelmsthal, his summer palace. He was particularly skilled in his portrayal of women.
Karl William Ferdinand was head of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a princely state of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1764 he married Princess Augusta, a sister of George III of Great Britain. He served in the Severn Years' War under his uncle, Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1721-92), and with the Duke of Cumberland, successfully defending Hanover from French invasion. This naturally earned the gratitude of the Hanoverian monarchs, with the result that the Royal Collection has three pairs of portraits depicting this heroic uncle and nephew team: this pair (RCIN 404638 and 404640), and two others by Ziesenis (RCIN 401370 & 401379 and RCIN 405906-7). Karl II fought subsequently in the War of Bavarian Succession and the Invasion of the Netherlands, becoming Generalfeldmarschall of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1787. In this portrait he wears a blue velvet frock coat with the star of the Garter. A number of copies and duplicates are spread throughout British private collections, one of which is attributed to Ziesenis.Provenance
Acquired by George IV; recorded in the Armory at Carlton House in 1816 (no 478) and in store in 1819 (no 285); at St James's Palace in 1862 (no 65)
-
Creator(s)
(nationality) -
Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
143.8 x 110.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
167.1 x 133.2 x 8.2 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Alternative title(s)
Charles II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1735-1806)