Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig, Prince of Prussia, commonly known as Heinrich, Prince of Prussia, was the younger brother of Friedrich II, King of Prussia (1712-1786).
The present portrait relates to a similar version by Friedrich Reclam at the Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg, currently exhibited at Schloss Rheinsberg near Berlin. Rheinberg was one of Prince Heinrich's residences and housed two exhibitions of portraits of the sitter; in 1994 and again in 2002, the latter entitled "A European in Theinsberg".
The Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded in 1701 by Friedrich I, King of Prussia. We are grateful to Herr Gerd Bartoschek, Curator of Paintings at the Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg for his assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.