Pair of portraits of nobility - Friedrich Franz I Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Luise Friederike Saal

Each oil/canvas. Each without signature, on the reverse of the female portrait a note that Friedrike Saal is the mother of Friederike Wenckstern, née von Kleinow. Early 19th century

Each approx. 63 x 49.5 cm. Framed : Each 74.5 x 61 cm (dark frame with gilt metal applications).

Portraits of the regent in a blue frock coat and probably with the breast star of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and his mistress Luise Friedrike Saal in gray and white clothing with a light blue ribbon in her curly hair. This Luise Friederike Saal was the mother of Friedrike Louise Charlotte von Kleinow, who married Friedrich Bernhard Hanasch von Wenckstern in Ludwigslust in 1816. The surname "von Kleinow" refers to the village of Klenow or Kleinow, from which Ludwigslust later emerged. Enclosed is the letter from the Staatliches Museum Schwerin, which clarifies the family relationships and identifies the painter and the sitter. Each with traces of age.

German painter and lithographer, pupil of his father Johann Heinrich, later studied at the academy in Dresden with a ducal scholarship, then later in Vienna. Then traveled to Rome. Established contacts there with Canova, Thorvaldsen, Schadow and Reinhart. Soon became known as a portraitist, honorary member of the Lukasakademie ibid. All lots with a limit (starting price) of at least €2,000 are checked against the Art Loss Register database.

Literature : Thieme/Becker.