Charlotte, Queen of Great Britain: P.15068-R

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Charlotte, Queen of Great Britain
Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Maker(s)

Printmaker: McArdell, James
Publisher: McArdell, James
Publisher: Bowles, John
Publisher: Sayer, Robert
Draughtsman: McArdell, James (After)

Entities

Description

A head and shoulders portrait of Queen Charlotte (1744 - 1818), wife of George III of Britain. The youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Elizabeth Albertina of Saxe-Hildburghausen married George III in 1761. Seen in three-quarter profile to the right, head viewed in profile. Wearing an ermine cloak around her shoulders, a jewel-encrusted gown, a tiara, a jewelled, three-strand choker tied with a bow at the nape of the neck and a large, three-lobed, cut-diamond dropper earring in her right ear.

Acquisition and important dates

by Unknown

Dating

18th Century#
Production date: 1762-02-10 AD 1762

Note

Mezzotint. Trimmed to within the platemark. The second published state (the first was published November 25th, 1761) after the plate was reworked and much altered and with the additional addresses of J. Bowles and Robert Sayer. Lettered in engraved italics in the inscription space at lower right: 'J. McArdell del:t & fec:t' and with title below: 'Charlotte Queen of Great Britain.' Publication details engraved below: 'Publish'd as the Act directs, & Sold by J.Mc.Ardell in Covent Garden / J. Bowles & Son, at the Black Horse in Cornhill, & R. Sayer in Fleet Street, Feb 10th. 1762.'. Chaloner Smith comments that the third state 'might be taken for another plate except for some scratches and ground which appear in all the states on inscription space to left'. A companion to the plate of George III engraved by McArdell after the enamel miniature portrait of the King, head and shoulders in profile to the left, by Jeremiah Meyer (Jeremias Majer, 1735-1789), published in 1761 (Chaloner Smith, 85; Goodwin (McArdell), 87). See FM P.11390-R. Meyer's enamel miniature portrait of King George III was set in an oval of diamonds into a pearl bracelet given by the King to Princess Charlotte as an engagement present, just prior to their marriage in 1761 (See Royal Collection, RCIN 422280). See also the enamel miniature portrait of Queen Charlotte in the Royal Collection, RCIN 421437, attributed to British School, 18thC, ?1761 which corresponds with the second published state of the plate following reworking which was published by McArdell on Feburary 10th, 1762 and may well be the source of the image. Goodwin notes that McArdell's source had previously been attributed to Meyer by Dodd: 'Dodd says that the portrait was painted by J. Meyer, who did the companion picture of George III', although this attribution is not widely acknowledged. O'Donoghue attributes the draughtsmanship to McArdell himself. McArdell's plate was additionally the source for a number of others: one engraved by Charles Spooner after McArdell, published by Carington Bowles (Chaloner Smith, 6), see FM P.11072-R. There are also two anonymous plates after McArdell and a number of reduced versions of the McArdell type. See FM P.11389-R for an impression of the first published state of the plate before reworking.