Portrait of Duke Wilhelm of Brunswick as a Child Runge P. Umkreis

On the stretcher with an old collection label, inscribed by hand there. The portrait depicts Wilhelm of Brunswick (1806–1884) as a young boy, carefree and still a long way from his later role as a duke. As the younger son of Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick, the famous ‘Black Duke’ and celebrated war hero who fell in battle against Napoleon in 1815, he was not initially intended to rule the duchy. Together with his elder brother Karl II, he spent a turbulent childhood, marked by the political unrest of the time and the early loss of both parents. Whilst Charles II assumed the reins of government in 1824, William initially embarked on a military career in Prussian service. With his authoritarian style of government, Charles became increasingly unpopular with the population. In 1830, this discontent finally erupted into a popular uprising, during which the Brunswick Residential Palace was set alight and Charles was forced to flee to London. From 1831 onwards, Wilhelm permanently assumed the government of the duchy. With a new constitution that guaranteed important civil rights and numerous reforms, he shaped the country for over five decades. As Wilhelm left no heir, the older Brunswick line of the House of Welf became extinct upon his death in 1884. | 1777 Wolgast - Hamburg 1810 | 19. Jahrhundert | Gemälde | Nummer: 26x1709 | Provenance: Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1921. Fischer Kunstauktionen, 12.-15.4.2000, Los 2061; Privatsammlung, Baden-Württemberg.

Stima:€15,000

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