Lot Essay
The backing paper of the miniature is inscribed, possibly by the hand of the artist: "Catharina II peint par le Professeur A. de Rockstuhl 1874 d'après Levitzkÿ."
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY FROM A EUROPEAN PRINCELY FAMILY
ALOIS-GUSTAV ROCKSTUHL, signed in Cyrillic and dated 1874
Details
ALOIS-GUSTAV ROCKSTUHL, signed in Cyrillic and dated 1874
Tsarina Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1796) bust-length in profile to dexter, her wavy hair adorned with a laurel wreath, wearing pearl drop earrings and a brown fur-bordered orange dress, decorated with the breast-star of the Imperial Russian Order of Saint-Andrew; on vellum, oval -- 115 mm high, damaged, plain gilt-metal frame surmounted by the Imperial Russian crown.
Tsarina Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1796) bust-length in profile to dexter, her wavy hair adorned with a laurel wreath, wearing pearl drop earrings and a brown fur-bordered orange dress, decorated with the breast-star of the Imperial Russian Order of Saint-Andrew; on vellum, oval -- 115 mm high, damaged, plain gilt-metal frame surmounted by the Imperial Russian crown.
Provenance
Grand Duchess Olga Nicholaievna of Russia (1822-1892), later Queen of Württemberg, great-granddaughter of the sitter; Grand Duchess Vera Constantinovna of Russia (1854-1912), later Duchess of Württemberg, niece of the latter (her inv. nr 760); thence by family descent to the present owner.