Portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm II.King of Prussia

Portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm II.King of Prussia. The Prussian monarch is shown here as a chest pattern to the right. He looks past the viewer on the left. His clothes are made of a cloak and a thicker coat and armor underneath. In addition, the depicted wears no wig, but short, white hair. The image is rectangular. Below it appears a crowned coat of arms on a shield and an inscription with its name and stand on the left and right. Friedrich Wilhelm II was king of Prussia from 1786 until his death. Friedrich II (BS-III) was his uncle, who also used him as his heir to the throne. Friedrich Wilhelm II was considered a cultural lover and patron. One of his closest advisers for domestic politics was Johann Christoph Woellner (BS-III), who had studied in Halle. The leaf was executed as a copper engraving by the Swiss copper engraver Johann Jakob von Mechel (1764-1816). Two signatures are recorded on the template. The artist F. Doopler is said to have painted the portrait. The second signature could refer to the miniaturist and draftsman Johann Friedrich Beer (1741-1804) or his son, Johann Peter Beer (1782-1851). The LWL Museum of Art and Culture in Münster even attributes the design to the Berlin copper and miniature painter Antoinette Tassaert (1768-1822), since she was married to the royal Prussian chamber musician Joseph Beer (1744-1812) and the signature could also refer to her. In any case, one of these people is said to have drawn the draft for copper engraving, perhaps with reference to the aforementioned template of Doopler. The LWL Museum also assumes that the leaf is part of the coronation, a protocol of a coronation ceremony, Leopold II or Franz I. Signature: F. Doopler Pinx | Beer del | I. I. v. Mechel sc: Label: FRIEDRICH | WILHELM DER II | Koenig von Preus- | sen and Churfürst | von Bran | denburg (riHändel-Haus Halle Foundation)