Circle of JEAN-ETIENNE LIOTARD (1702-1789)
Portrait miniature, probably portraying a young Frederick the Great, wearing the sash of the Order of the Schwarzen Adler, over an armour breastplate and blue velvet jacket, black solitaire ribbon in his powdered hair;
Circle of JEAN-ETIENNE LIOTARD (1702-1789)
Portrait miniature, probably portraying a young Frederick the Great, wearing the sash of the Order of the Schwarzen Adler, over an armour breastplate and blue velvet jacket, black solitaire ribbon in his powdered hair;
The Limner Company : Portrait Miniature
Date circa 1745
Period Georgian, Rococo
Origin Austria
Medium Watercolour on vellum / parchment / paper
The Order of the Schwarzen Adler (or Black Eagle), was founded in January, 1701, by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg, who became King Friedrich I in Prussia the next day. The silk moiré sash was a bright orange colour, worn from the left shoulder to the right hip, which in this miniature has faded to a pale pink. It was the highest order of chivalry in Prussia and was limited to nobility. The sitter in this portrait is youthful, suggesting that, if not of Frederick himself, was a member of a princely family.[3]
Although it would be sensible to suggest that this image, possibly of the future king, might have been painted by one of Pesne’s most talented pupils, Anton Friedrich König (1722-1787), the technique shows a much closer relationship with the work of Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702-1789). By 1740, Liotard was living in Constantinople but Upon leaving the Levant in 1742, the artist travelled through Moldavia before establishing himself at the Habsburg Imperial Court in Vienna under Empress Maria Theresa.
A miniaturist working in Austria may have been aware of Liotard’s growing reputation and fame during the 1740s. Liotard was a tireless self-promoter. He combined his highly eclectic and eccentric personal style – the self-fashioned ‘Turkish Painter’ – with a genius eye for detail. His personal and professional fame made him one of the most sought-after and highest-paid portraitists of the Enlightenment. An intriguing possibility is that this portrait was copied from a now lost portrait by Liotard from his time in Austria.
[2] We would like to thank Neil Jeffares for his suggestion of the sitter as Frederick the Great (email communication, January 2026).
[3] There were 64 promotions awarded by Friedrich II from 1740 to 1749, the period in which this portrait was likely commissioned.
Date: circa 1745
Period: Georgian, Rococo
Origin: Austria
Medium: Watercolour on vellum / parchment / paper
Provenance: Private Collection, Ireland.[1]
[1] Previously part of a family group of noble and military figures, including Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly (1559-1632), a renowned Flemish field marshal and the primary commander for the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War.
The Limner Company : Portrait Miniature
Potrait miniatures from the 16/17th century, the 18th century and 19th century
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