Alexander Roslin (1718 Malmö - 1793 Paris) Workshop or circle Portrait of Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt as Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeyevna and heir to the Russian throne Representative portrait of the wife of the later Tsar Paul I in a calm, seated pose on a blue upholstered chair, the head in half profile. Natalia Alexeyevna (1755 - 1776) is dressed in a white and pink silk dress, with the diamond-decorated breast star of the Grand Cross of the Russian Order of St Catherine on her chest and the Grand Cross worn with a red sash (awarded to her in 1773) on her left hip. The present painting is based on the well-known portrait by Alexander Roslin from 1776, which is now in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg; a comparable replica is also in the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm. Roslin is considered one of the most important portrait painters of the 18th century; in 1775 he followed a call from Catherine II to St. Petersburg, where he worked until 1777, painting the Tsarina, Grand Duke Paul, his wife Natalia Alexeyevna and many other members of the high nobility. Oil on canvas, double; 58.5 cm x 42 cm. Frame. Studio or circle or Alexander Roslin (1718 Malmö - 1793 Paris). Portrait of Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (Wilhelmina of Hessen-Darmstadt). Oil on canvas, relined.