(Haina 1722–1789 Kassel)
Official Portrait of Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel (1720–1785), with the Hessian Order Pour la Vertu Militaire (founded in 1769) and the English Order of the Garter,
oil on canvas, 146 x 110 cm, original carved and gilded frame once crested by a ducal hat

Provenance:
formerly Collection of the Barons Treusch von Buttlar-Brandenfels, Schloss Zwesten, Hesse.

In 1740, Landgrave Frederick, the son of Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Dorothea Wilhelmina of Saxony-Zeitz, married Princess Mary of England. In 1749, he secretly converted to the Roman Catholicism, whereupon his wife left him, taking with her their three sons. In 1773, after his first wife’s death, Frederick married Margravine Philippina of Brandenburg-Schwedt. He had succeeded his father as ruling landgrave of Hesse-Kassel as early as 1760 and, as an active soldier in Prussian service, had been appointed general field marshal that same year. Under his reign, numerous important buildings were realized in Kassel, including the Fridericianum and the Academy of Fine Arts. These projects were funded from the landgrave’s substantial revenues. Pertinent treaties with England, which required additional troops against the revolting Americans, made Frederick one of the wealthiest rulers in Europe.

We are grateful to Dr. Marianne Heinz, former director of the Neue Galerie, Kassel, for confirming the authenticity of the present painting on the basis of the original. She dates the work to 1770–75.