Monday, April 19, 2010

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Queen Sophie Magdalene 1773-75

9 comments:

  1. BIG yay for her! The painting is nice too!

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  2. I love this painting, and it's a good one when researching court gowns too.

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  3. You do probably already know that this gown still exists?

    I like the painting, even if it's not the prettiest portraying queen Sophia Magdalena of Sweden. There is also a version of dowager queen (her mother in law) Lovisa Ulrika of Sweden (born princess of Prussia) painted by the same artist (Lorens Pasch the younger), during the same time. She is also dressed in a big robe de cour and the two portraits resembels each other. Both painting were given to Russia, but the one of Lovisa Ulrika is back in Sweden again.

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  4. Thanks for the additional information, I had not seen Lovisa Ulrika's portrait. Why were they given to Russia? State gifts?

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  5. I guess they were state gifts...

    King Gustaf III of Sweden (husband and son to the two queens) and Katarina II of Russia were first cousins. His father (Adolf Fredrik of Holstein-Gottorp, later king of Sweden) and her mother (Johanna Elisabet of Holstein-Gottorp, later princess of Anhalt-Zerbst) were brother and sister.

    Gustaf III gave his cousin and neighbour - Katarina II - a portrait of himself in 1774. The painting (now back in Sweden and owned by Malmö museum) is showing the king in his coronation robe and it's painted by Lorens Pasch the younger. The same artist also got a commission - from the Russian envoy count Ivan Osterman - to paint the queen and the dowager queen for Katarina II.

    Gustaf III visited his cousin - in the summer of 1777 - and during that stay once ate dinner in the Cesme Palace. There was a room in that palace called the "Swedish room", just because all three Swedish portraits were placed there.

    Many of the names I've used are spelled as they are spelled in Swedish. Just because I'm too lazy to look up the English spelling... sorry...

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  6. It all makes sense now. I will have to look more deeply into the family ties, such fascinating stuff! Thanks for enlightening me, and don't worry about the spelling, they're very searchable as they are.

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  7. You are most welcome! I'm glad that I could enlighten you!

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  8. I think that dress is precisely what I need. This food blogging causes me to take in a few more carbs/calories than perhaps would be prudent. This style of dress could hide some pretty major hippage!

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