拍品專文
Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817), only daughter of King George IV married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, afterwards Leopold I of Belguim, 2 May 1816 and died in childbirth the following year.
As Richard Walker notes in "Miniatures in the Royal Collection, Cambridge, 1993", Cosway "delighted in drawing and painting the portrait of Proncess Charlotte of Wales". She was afterall the only daughter of his patron, King George IV.
Cosway's first portrait of the Princess was as an infant in the cradle A Collection of Miniature Painters of the XVIII Century by Richard Cosway, R.A., London, no. 4" and the symbols incorporated into his subsequent portraits were to appear time and time again. The later portrait of the Princess asleep in her bed shows a lion on guard by her side while two doves nestle in the bed's canopy and although the original is lost, it was engraved by G. Bartolozzi in 1797 (Walker, op. cit. fig. 18). The parallels can be seen with this drawing executed ten years later. The British strength of the lion contrasts with the innocence and peace of the doves. Again the Princess is seen cradling a dove in Cosway's work (Walker, op. cit.no. 189) and as an angel holding a scroll inscribed "God Save the Prince" (Walker, op. cit. no. 190).
Miss Charlotte Jones (1768-1847), a pupil of Cosway's and miniature painter to Princess Charlotte continued this theme (Walker,op. cit. nos. 838 and 841).
There is no record of this drawing in Cosway's accounts although there are entries for works already discussed. It is possible that it started as a drawing and was late cut down to the more traditional oval format of the portrait miniature. This theory is strengthened by the appearence of the cursive letter A. and the date '07 on the front of the work. Cosway rarely signed his miniatures on the front. The gold mount may hide his mongram and missing initial R. The ink signature on the reverse is shaky in appearence and may have been added when the miniature was cut down to the oval. Williamson (op. cit) notes it is in a plain gold frame. A year later the engraving was commissioned by "La Belle Assemblée" and published by J.A. Bell. There are few differences but the scale of the work varies - the composition is shortened and the height increased.
We are grateful to Stephen Lloyd for his help in preparing this catalogue entry
As Richard Walker notes in "Miniatures in the Royal Collection, Cambridge, 1993", Cosway "delighted in drawing and painting the portrait of Proncess Charlotte of Wales". She was afterall the only daughter of his patron, King George IV.
Cosway's first portrait of the Princess was as an infant in the cradle A Collection of Miniature Painters of the XVIII Century by Richard Cosway, R.A., London, no. 4" and the symbols incorporated into his subsequent portraits were to appear time and time again. The later portrait of the Princess asleep in her bed shows a lion on guard by her side while two doves nestle in the bed's canopy and although the original is lost, it was engraved by G. Bartolozzi in 1797 (Walker, op. cit. fig. 18). The parallels can be seen with this drawing executed ten years later. The British strength of the lion contrasts with the innocence and peace of the doves. Again the Princess is seen cradling a dove in Cosway's work (Walker, op. cit.no. 189) and as an angel holding a scroll inscribed "God Save the Prince" (Walker, op. cit. no. 190).
Miss Charlotte Jones (1768-1847), a pupil of Cosway's and miniature painter to Princess Charlotte continued this theme (Walker,op. cit. nos. 838 and 841).
There is no record of this drawing in Cosway's accounts although there are entries for works already discussed. It is possible that it started as a drawing and was late cut down to the more traditional oval format of the portrait miniature. This theory is strengthened by the appearence of the cursive letter A. and the date '07 on the front of the work. Cosway rarely signed his miniatures on the front. The gold mount may hide his mongram and missing initial R. The ink signature on the reverse is shaky in appearence and may have been added when the miniature was cut down to the oval. Williamson (op. cit) notes it is in a plain gold frame. A year later the engraving was commissioned by "La Belle Assemblée" and published by J.A. Bell. There are few differences but the scale of the work varies - the composition is shortened and the height increased.
We are grateful to Stephen Lloyd for his help in preparing this catalogue entry