Georg David Matthieu (1737 Berlin - 1778 Ludwigslust) Unfinished oval portrait of Duchess Luise Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, née Princess of Württemberg (1722 - 1791) This extraordinary "Non finito" portrait of the Duchess was created in close connection with one of the illusionistic so-called "dummy boards" (also known as "mute companions"), which were very fashionable both in Great Britain and on the continent in the 17th/18th century. These realistically painted wooden "trompe l'oeil" boards, cut out in the shape of figures, served various purposes, including as props for elaborate pranks at social gatherings. One of these dummy boards from 1776, created by the portrait and court painter Georg David Matthieu, is still kept at Ludwigslust Palace. It shows the Mecklenburg court dwarf Hartwig Kremer presenting what appears to be a portrait of the duchess on an armchair with his hat reverently pulled down. It can be assumed that this dummy board was about the moment of surprise when recognising her face, just as she looks at us wide awake in the unfinished portrait. The similarity between the two portraits is striking, showing Luise Friederike with exactly the same piled-up hairstyle and lace bonnet. The duchess often had to wait a very long time for a portrait by the painter she valued, as she also reported for 1776/1777. The present portrait, painted shortly before his death, is therefore likely to have remained in Matthieu's workshop as an unfinished study, or rather was simply "left lying around" before it later entered the collection of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Oil on canvas, double; 48 cm x 36 cm. Frame. Enclosed: Expertise by Prof. Dr Helmut Börsch-Supan, Berlin, 2.2.2012. References/Exhibitions: "Malerei des XVIII. Jahrhunderts", Staatl. Museum Schwerin, July-September 1954, no. 235; "Georg David Matthieu (1737-1778). Painting, Pastels, Graphics", Staatl. Museum Schwerin, 28 April-16 July 1978, no. 42. Provenance: Collection of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Ludwigslust and Schwerin; 1952-1999 Staatl. Museum Schwerin; 1999 restitution to Donata Duchess of Mecklenburg, Hemmelmark; auction "Art and Antiques from German Noble Houses", Christie's, Amsterdam, 24.3.1999, lot 17; private collection Switzerland; Christie's Amsterdam, 14.11.2011, lot 828/A; North German private collection. Oil on canvas, relined. Accompanied by an expertise from Professor Dr Helmut Börsch-Supan, 02.02.2012.