Princess Mary

One of a series of royal profiles painted by Charles Rosenberg, this one of Princess Mary (1776-1857), the fourth daughter and eleventh child of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Painted around 1786 when the princess was just twelve years old.

This is one of Rosenberg’s larger-sized head and shoulders profiles reverse painted on flat glass and housed in the original hammered brass-fronted frame backed with the artist’s trade label no. 1 that was in use during the late 1780s.

Austrian-born, Charles Rosenberg probably came to England as part of Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s entourage when she arrived in 1761 to marry King George III. This connection may explain why Rosenberg enjoyed royal and aristocratic patronage throughout his career. He settled in Bath and was one of the most successful silhouettists of the period.