The painting here became part of the German Cumberland family via Princess Thyra's marriage to Ernst August in 1878. Princess Thyra's father-in-law was the King of Hanover and had the castle of Marienburg built. The National Gallery of Denmark owns a smaller version of this painting with the measurements of 135×109 cm (inv. no. KMS1616). From 1722 to 1749, Wahl was the Danish court's preferred painter of portraits. He came into contact with the court through the painter Hendrik Krock, whom he portrayed in Hamburg in 1721. Wahl was fortunate enough to come to Denmark at a time when the court was in need of a skilled portrait painter who could satisfy the needs of the absolute monarchy for great pompous portraits. One of his strengths was that he was highly versatile and could paint anything from miniature portraits to full-length portraits in 1:1 size or even larger. Furthermore, he was very productive. Characteristic traits of his portraits are that they are full of colours and contrasts with sharp highlights and dark shadows, which was entirely in the spirit of the Baroque style. He was very skilled at painting textiles and clothing, and his models always exude a special elegance and dignity.

Provenance: Schloss Marienburg, Hannover. Bruun Rasmussen auction 105, 2005 no. 293.