18th century blog

Wow, what wonderful pictures - I love the way the silk skirt is painted on the picture of Freifrau von Keyserlinck, in particular.

Oh I love the last one!

Very lovely !

Just to let you know, I’ve nominated your lovely blog for The Excessively Diverting Blog Award.

See:
http://mrswoffington.blogspot.com/2009/02/excessi…

Best wishes,
The Wof

Hey you! Just wanted to tell you I too have nominated you for the Excessively Diverting Blog Award! Go check my blog out for more information! ;D

Another nomination? Why yes! Details in my blog of course. Thank you and cheers for all your great work!

I randomly happened on this blog today and I was wondering if, Johanna you are the same Johanna on Miss Vintage? I am Bergman’sGirl there.

Thank you for putting up these very beautiful paintings… the unknown lady holding the mask is really adorable. Anna Elisabeth Countess von der Schulenburg-Beetzendorf was born in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, on 16 XII 1720, married Abraham Wilhelm von Arnim in 1738 and died of smallpox 12 XII 1741, a little more than half a year after her father, a Prussian General, had been killed at the battle of Mollwitz; only a week ago I read a letter he wrote expressing his reservations about Frederick the Great, in whose service he died ten years afterwards, so it was touching to come across his daughter here; her grandmother was also born a Schulenburg and the sister of Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal and mistress of George I of Great Britain. Sophie von Voß (née von Pannwitz), on the other hand, never quite made it to Duchess, but towards the end of her life was created Countess (Gräfin) von Voß in her own right… but that’s another story. Greetings anyway from a Prussian pedant whose day you made with these portraits!

None of the ladies above are Swedish or Scandinavian - they all belonged to the Prussian court of Frederik II and Elisabeth Christine.

True, Luise Ulrike (Lovisa Ulrika) was queen of Sweden but she was a Prussian princess by birth and shown as such in the portrait above. There is no influence of Swedish art/portraiture in it. Thus, it is not quite correct to say she is displayed as Swedish/Scandinavian. However, in later portraits her appearance (clothing, hairdo, attributes etc.) changes and Lovisa Ulrika truly is shown as Queen of Sweden. This image, though, displays her as member of the Hohenzollern dynasty - it is sort of a memorial portrait as she was just about to marry Adolf Friedrich.
Plus, you correctly state that Pesne was Prussian court painter hence it is rather unlikely that he painted Scandinavian Ladies-in-Waiting unless they traveled with their husband or respective court to Berlin.
As to the other ladies (who were neither actresses nor princesses): The were all Ladies-in-Waiting to Elisabeth Christine and part of a so called Beauty Gallery of which seven portraits are displayed at Schönhausen Castle, Berlin.
Image 7 shows a still unidentified young woman and was painted approximately in 1745; image 8 shows Eleonore of Schlieben-Sanditen (later Freifrau of Keyerlingk) painted between 1740 and 1742 - before her marriage; image 9 shows Anna Elisabeth of Schuldendorf-Beetzendorf and was painted before 1738; image 10 displays Sophie Marie of Pannewitz, later Countess Voss, as Huntress painted about 1745. Pannewitz later became Oberhofmeisterin (highest ranking steward) of Elisabeth Christine’s court.
Sorry, I could not help you identifying your “favorite lady.”
Your images truly are of good quality. Where did you find them?

By the way, there exist at least two versions of the portrait of Anna Elisabeth of Schulendorf-Beetzendorf. In case you are interested.