78 Anton Friedrich König: Portrait miniature of Frederick the Great, 2nd half of the 18th century.

Watercolour. Signed at the lower right margin: "König P" (pictor regius).

Half-length portrait of King Frederick II in old age with his right arm stretched out over the walking stick pointing to an object outside the picture. Under the left arm the tricorn.

In the beautiful original case of black leather with gold embossed royal crown. Lining of white silk with gold-embroidered border and inlaid glass plate to protect the miniature.

Anton Friedrich König, 1722 Berlin - 1787. First mathematician, then engraver and finally miniature painter. Pupil of Antoine Pesne and Constantin Friedrich Blesendorf. From 1767 royal court portrait painter, at last in Potsdam, where he mainly painted portraits of the king in large quantities for gift purposes.

Some miniatures very similar to our portrait are illustrated and described in Johann Georg Prinz von Hohenzollern (ed.): Friedrich der Große als Sammler und Mäzen, München 1992, pp. 128 f.

56 x 79 mm.

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