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The painting offered here is one of the latest works of its author - Dutch artist Nikolaas Pieneman. It is a superior quality pastel portrait of Sophie Queen of Netherlands, nee Princess of Wuerttemberg (see our comparison image nr.12). Sophie (Sophia Frederika Mathilde) was born on June 17, 1818 in Stuttgart as daughter of King Wilhelm of Wuerttemberg and his wife, Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (i.e. Sophie was a niece of two consecutive Russian Tsars - Alexander I and Nikolai I. In 1839, she married in Stuttgart her first cousin, Prince Willem of Orange (he was a son of Anna Pavlovna, Queen of Netherlands, sister of Sophia's mother). In 1849, Willem succeeded his father William II of Netherlands as King Willem III, Sophia thus becoming his Queen Consort. Although they had three children, their marriage was not successful: when Sophia sought separation from her husband, she was refused for the interests of the state had to prevail. From 1855 (sic!, in our portrait, Sophia is dressed and hair-styled according to fashion of the late 1850s) the couple led separate lives during summer seasons. She also used to spend time in Stuttgart with her own family. She died on June 3, 1877, in the Hague and was buried in her wedding dress because, in her own view, her life had ended on the day she married. For additional biographical information about her, see Wikipedia.
Nicolaas Pieneman (1809 Amersfoort - 1860 Amsterdam) was a painter, lithographer, sculptor and art collector. He was the son of painter Jan Willem Pieneman. Nicolaas Pieneman first studied under his father, then continued at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. He was also a pupil of Jean Baptiste Madou. He specialized in paintings of (then) recent history and portraiture. Pieneman was a friend of Willem II of the Netherlands. For instance, he painted the latter's 1840 inauguration, as well as portrayed multiple members of the Royal Family. His pupils counted among them Jan Daniël Beijnon, Johannes Arnoldus Boland, Conradijn Cunaeus, Bernard te Gempt, Hendrik Hollander, Willem Johann Martens, Johann Heinrich Neuman, Jan Frederik Tack, and Antoine Frederik Zürchner. He was a member fourth class of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and by virtue of this, from 1852 of Natura Artis Magistra. He was a member of the Society Arti et Amicitiae. He was a knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, a Commander of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau and appointed to the Order of the Polar Star.
Provenance: private collection, Basel, Switzerland
Condition: good
Creation Year: late 1850s
Measurements: UNFRAMED:47,2x39,2cm/18,6x15,4in FRAMED: 76,0x64,0cm/29,9x25,2in
Object Type: Framed pastel
Style: 19th century paintings
Technique: gouache and pastel on paper (image's corners are rounded)
Inscription: verso is inscribed
Creator: Nicolaas Pieneman
Creator Dates: 1809 Amersfoort-1860 Amsterdam
Nationality: Dutch
Themes: DUTCH FEMALE PORTRAIT ARISTOCRAT ROYALTY ROYAL PORTRAIT BIEDERMEIER NOBLEWOMAN
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