Kauffmann, Angelika (after): Portrait miniature Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxony-Weimar, born Duchess of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel

The duchess Anna Amalia von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1739-1807), who is sitting in a semicircle to the right, looks at the viewer, was married since 1856 to Duke Ernst August II Constantin von Sachsen-Weimar and Eisenach, who died in 1758. She then courageously took over the government business of the little duchy until 1775 as well as the guardianship for her sons and was able to bind Goethe in Weimar. But she left tense financial conditions in the duchy. The miniature is a small copy of an unknown hand after Angelika Kauffmann’s portrait, which she had created during her stay in Italy in March 1789. The Duchess is then dressed with a garment “à la grècque,” decorated with an oval brooch with blue stone. The delicate, here blue head veil is reminiscent of representations of Muses. Unlike A. Kauffmann, the background is not formed by the ruins of the ancient Colosseum, it is laid in a shallow, dark brown color. From the Löweschen Foundation to the Märkische Museum. Unnamed.