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Miniature portrait of Karl X, King of Sweden

Alexander Cooperc. 1650

The Royal Armoury, Sweden

The Royal Armoury, Sweden
Stockholm, Sweden

The oval painting shows a half length portrait of King Karl X with long black hair and a thin moustache, dressed in a cuirass and a white collar around his neck. The background is painted in greyish blue. The portrait is contained under glass with a faceted edge, a plain frame of gold, on reverse side engraved with the monogram C G X. On top of frame a crown in gilt silver with empty settings for four bigger and thirteen lesser stones, in the bottom of these residues of black wax. It is not signed.

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  • Title: Miniature portrait of Karl X, King of Sweden
  • Creator: Alexander Cooper
  • Creator Lifespan: 1605 - 1660
  • Creator Nationality: English
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Stockholm
  • Creator Birth Place: London(?)
  • Date Created: c. 1650
  • Provenance: Donation from the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in 1932. From Drottningholm Palace in 1867. According to the inventory of the Treasury in 1822: "By the Carl XIII:s...men of estate inventory proceedings given in 1818", from the Royal Treasury in 1828.
  • Physical Dimensions: W 22 mm, H 25 mm
  • Painter: Alexander Cooper
  • Artist Info: Alexander Cooper studied miniature painting at the work shop of his uncle John Hoskins. An other uncle was Samuel Cooper – both ranking among the foremost miniaturists of England. These artists had well established connections with continental courts. In collaboration with goldsmiths they furnished their princely customers with miniature portraits surrounded by gold and precious stones that could be carried as jewellery or medallions.Cooper probably arrived to Sweden in 1646 where he stayed until his death. In 1647 Cooper was appointed court miniature painter by Queen Christina. He succeeded David Beck as official court painter when Beck returned to The Hague. Cooper continued to be Queen Kristina's miniature painter until 1654, when she resigned the crown. For a period he stayed in Denmark but returned to Sweden in 1656, where he died in 1660.
  • Subject Keywords: Miniature, Portrait, Baroque
  • Type: Gouache
  • External Link: Livrustkammaren
The Royal Armoury, Sweden

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