Antique Painting From The French School, 18th Century

Provenance: Private collection of a Belgian noble family. The painting is placed in the circle of Antoine Pesne and depicts Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia. Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia (German: August Wilhelm; 9 August 1722 – 12 June 1758) was the son of King Frederick William I of Prussia and the younger brother and general of Frederick the Great. August was the second surviving son of Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea. His older siblings included Wilhelmine (later Margravine of Bayreuth), Frederick II (later King of Prussia), Friedrike Louise (later Margravine of Ansbach), and Louisa Ulrika (later Queen Consort of Sweden). August was preferred to Frederick by his father and was popular at the Prussian court. When his brother Frederick became king in 1740, Augustus became heir presumptive and moved into Frederick's former residence, the Crown Prince's Palace in Berlin. When his elder sister, Louisa Ulrika, married the King of Sweden in 1744, she founded the Order of Harmony, of which Augustus was one of the first recipients. Augustus served his brother as a general in the War of the Austrian Succession and distinguished himself at the Battle of Hohenfriedberg. However, during the Seven Years' War, due to Zittau's disastrous retreat at the Battle of Kolin in 1757, he incurred the wrath of his brother the king and withdrew from the army. This conflict between the two brothers resulted in a correspondence, published in 1769.
Antoine Pesne (Paris, May 29, 1683 – Berlin, August 5, 1757) was a French painter active in Prussia. He was considered one of the leading exponents of the late Baroque and Rococo periods. Born in Paris, he studied art under his father, Thomas Pesne, and his maternal uncle, Charles de La Fosse. His works were influenced by other great French painters of his time, such as Hyacinthe Rigaud and Nicolas de Largillière. He also traveled to Italy, notably to Rome, Naples, and Venice, where he studied the works of Titian and Paolo Veronese with Andrea Celesti. In 1710, he was summoned to Berlin by King Frederick of Prussia, where, from 1722, he worked as director of the Academy of Fine Arts, primarily portraying members of the Prussian nobility and decorating buildings such as Rheinsberg, Charlottenburg, and Sanssouci Palaces. The artwork will be shipped in a wooden crate and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.