Lot 190 Dα

A handwritten label to the reverse of this drawing reveals the identity of the lady in an unusual hat and lace stole. According to this, the sitter is Louise Castellane Norante (1793-1881), who married Duke Ludwig Friedrich of Pourtalés in Malmaison in 1811. The protestant aristocratic family of Pourtalès originated from the South of France but had resided in Switzerland since the edict of Nantes. They were ennobled in 1750 by Frederick the Great. Following this, several members of the family took up various positions in the services of the Prussian state. The husband of this portrait's sitter, Duke Jacob Ludwig Friedrich of Pourtalès (1779-1861), was “Wirklicher Geheimer Rat“ and “Oberzeremonienmeister“. In 1859 his eldest son, Duke Albert of Pourtalés, became Prussian envoy to Paris, where his father died in 1861.