Stanislaus-Augustus Poniatowski was proclaimed King of Poland on the 7th of September, 1764, having owed his election to his lover the Empress Catherine. It was during his reign that the infamous partition of Poland was perpetrated, to which he lent a passive assistance. He died in 1798.
68 Queen of Prussia (907). . . . . Anton Graff?
Seated in a high-backed armchair covered with blue velvet; she is turned to the left, but faces in front. Her right hand rests on a table beside her, and points to a book; her left hangs by her side. She is dressed in black trimmed with ermine, and her head is covered with a black lace veil. Her hair is white. On canvas, 4 ft. 7 in. high, by 3 ft. 3 in. wide.
This is attributed in the Royal Inventory to Graff, a German painter who flourished at the end of the last century.
Is she Sophia Dorothea, sister of George II., who married, in 1706, William I., King of Prussia, and who died in 1757?
69 Frederick, Prince of Wales (789). . . . . Zeeman?
Small full-length; turned to the right. His right hand pointing in front of him, his left on his breast. He wears a red coat, leather boots to the knees, and a long wig.
Though this has long been known as Frederick, Prince of Wales, there are reasons to suspect that it is really his Brother William, Duke of Cumberland.
70 Louis XIV. on Horseback (853). . . . . Charles le Brun?
He is shown the size of life, on a cream-coloured charger, rising on its hind legs, and turned to the left. His dress is an embroidered coat, with jack boots and scarlet breeches. In his right hand he holds a bâton. On his head is a black laced hat; he has long flowing hair and curls. In the distance under the horse’s forelegs an attack of cavalry is seen. On canvas, 8 ft. 3 in. high, by 6 ft. 2 in. wide.