Portrait George II, King of Great Britain (1683-1760)

Portrait of George II, King of Great Britain. Here is a chest of the future king in the half profile to the left. His view is directed head-on towards the observer. He wears a long wig, as well as an armor that is almost hidden by a cloak of Hermelinfell. The effigy is oval, and an inscription is incorporated in a kind of base. There is also a second rectangular frame around the entire view. It is artfully equipped with cartridges and rocailles. From 1727 until his death, Georg August was King of Great Britain and Ireland, German Elector of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and nominally one of the dukes to Braunschweig and Lüneburg. On the occasion of his coronation Georg Friedrich Händel composed the four “Coronation Anthems” (HWV 258-261). The Paris copper engraver and publisher François Basan stabbed the present sheet after a template by court painter Georg Wilhelm Lafontaine, abbreviated here with “Fountin.” Another example of this is the State Graphic Collection in Munich, a engraving by Pieter Stevens van Gunst. Interestingly, the leaf was printed with two plates: on the first plate of Basan was the portrait with oval frame, and the large, ornate second frame all around on the second plate, which was probably formed as a line etching with needle. Unfortunately, it is not known by whom. The paper then became part of the publication of “L ‘Europe illustre: contenant l’ histoire abrégée des souverains ()” from 1777. Signature: Fountin. Pinx. Basan sculp. AParis chez Odieuvre, Md. d 'Estampes rüe des Matinurins chez Mr. Joubert. Caption: GEORGE II. Roy d 'Angleterre. Né le 30.8bre. 1683. Watermark: present, left leaf margin: ring with lilies and essay (fragment). Source: “L ‘Europe illustre: contenant l’ histoire abrégée des souverains (),” 1777 (: Händel-Haus Halle Foundation)