Portrait of Prince August Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen: a representative palace portrait

(1709 Berlin – 1782 same place), artist; Portrait of Prince August Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen. The representative palace portrait shows the prince in a kneeling pose; originally, it may have been integrated into the wall panels of a castle or palace. August Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen (1697 – 1755) became the ruling prince in 1728 after the death of his elder brother Leopold. Such an advancement required appropriate portraits, including the one presented here. Joachim Martin Falbe was likely commissioned to fulfill this task. He completed his thorough artistic training in 1733 under Antoine Pesne in Berlin, where he stayed for 15 years. Pesne and Falbe, who became an honorary member of the Berlin Royal Prussian Academy of Arts in 1756, held each other in high esteem. When the prince was seeking a skilled portraitist, Pesne recommended the talented Falbe, appointing him as the prince’s court painter in 1739 before his return to Berlin. This portrait, presumably created in the same year, depicts the prince standing in a majestically refined pose before a balustrade, with a massive column to his left. To the right, there is a view of a mountainous landscape. The prince has draped his red ermine cloak over his right shoulder, and on his back proudly displays the star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle, while on his shoulder he wears the blue sash of the Danish Order of the Elephant. Around his neck, he also wears the Russian Order of Alexander Nevsky. The extended right forearm, with a pointing hand and blue sash, forms the defining compositional diagonal, while the left hand rests on a helmet. A number of similar portraits of the prince, long attributed to Pesne (Berkkenhausen Wvz – No. 16 a-e), are probably works by Falbe and also date to 1739. A variant of a slightly different portrait appeared in the official portrait on a copper engraving by Johann Christoph Sysang (1703 – 1757) in Samuel Lenz’s work "Historisch-Genealogische Fürstellung des Hochfürstlichen Hauses Anhalt (...)", Köthen and Dessau, 1757. Similar images also include a bust portrait in Köthen Castle (Red Room), as well as another copper engraving by Sysang. Oil on canvas, relined; with a semicircular arched top, now 163 cm x 104 cm; originally 148 cm x 104 cm. In need of restoration. Accompanied by an expert opinion from Professor Dr. Helmut Börsch-Supan, Berlin, August 2, 2015. Attribution to Johann Martin Falbe (1709 – 1782).