Lot 261 Dα

This work shows Prince August of Prussia (1779 - 1843) in a general's uniform, in front of Francois Gérard's portrait of Madame Recamier which used to hang in the "gelbes Kabinett" (yellow parlour) of his palace on Wilhelmstrasse. The work is a copy of a portrait of the Prince which was painted by Franz Krüger in 1835. The Krüger painting was auctioned at the request of one of the sitter's daughters, Mathilde von Waldenburg, and is today kept in the National Gallery in Berlin. The present work may have been made in connection with the sale as a replacement for the original, as according to tradition it too originates from the estate of Mathilde von Waldenburg. The Dresden painter Walter Witting has chosen a smaller view for his version, but has depicted the charming background detail of Madame Récamier's portrait (today kept in the Musée Carnavalet) in the original size and in fine detail.