This is a portrait of Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick, wife of the Prince of York, later to be George the IV. This is late 18th century. She took the fancy of the Prince and married her without really knowing anything about her. She was uneducated, crass, embarassingly emotional, and of loose morals, by the standards of the late 18th century court. He abandoned her after she gave birth to their daughter. She paid him back through a long series of public affairs, including the painter of this portrait. Look at her casual style, how she looks directly at the painter. She holds her stylus, used for sculpture, in a provocative way. Her left hand with her wedding ring is in shadow, de-emphasizing her marital status. Her posture is so direct and informal that the painter was forced to testify before Parliament that he did not have an affair with her.
The stuff of today's gossip but from 230 years ago. Just what is new? Nothing dry in the National Portrait Gallery.
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