Prince Adalbert of Prussia 1912

3/4 Portrait standing en face, head slightly turned looking towards the viewer, but not looking directly at him. The sitter wears a blue navy uniform with gold lanterns and gold buttons, white vest and white shirt with stand-up collar, and a black mesh, as well as a blue overcoat with a wide fur collar. He holds a pair of white gloves in his right hand, the left hand is hooked with the thumb in the pocket of his pants, on the little finger a white gold ring with sapphires. Background represented by a pink brocade wall covering and a partially visible blue-green-gold Chinese cloisonné jar with lid and golden handles.

JQAW# P_1912_030
Oil on canvas, dimensions unknown.
Signed John Quincy Ɑdams 1912
Private collection Spain.
Illustration: Westermanns Monatshefte 9-11 1913 p. 94.

Prince Adalbert of Prussia, 7.14.1884 Potsdam to 9.22.1948 La Tour-de-Peilz CH.
Third son of German Emperor Willhelm II. and Empress Auguste Victoria. Joined the German Navy in 1894, serving there as an officer and ship commander. Numerous long-distance voyages (including Brazil and China). After the war private citizen, from 1928 resident in Switzerland and there also deceased. See his biography on Wikipedia. The portrait of the German Prince Adalbert that Adams made in Kiel, the Prince's residence, in 1912 marks another milestone in his social recognition: the appointment to portray members of the German Imperial House. The Austrian imperial house was soon to follow (1914 portrait of Emperor Franz Josef). This recognition was widely echoed both in the press and by Adam's family and Sobotka in-laws (see Literature and Cross References), who were appropriately proud. Prince Adalbert is portrayed very favorably, if distantly, with his youth and in his naval tuxedo; his art interests (he brought a valuable porcelain collection from China) are also documented in the picture with the Chinese cloisonné urn. In an interview, Adams reports on the person of the prince and the courteous hospitality he enjoyed in Germany (Neues Wiener Journal 12.1.1913, p.4; see literature). The picture was exhibited at the Vienna Künstlerhaus in 1912 and is documented by a color illustration in the Westermanns Monatshefte November 1913 (in Arthur Roeßler's article on Adams).

Cross-references

Prince Adalbert, undat. Portrait photo

Entry of the Sobotka children in the guest book of the Bürgelgut (summer residence of the Sobotka family in Strobl) probably around 1912 .

Exhibited

1912 Künstlerhaus Wien (EL 57 1912/13 #1389).

Literature

APH, Werksverzeichnis JQA 1995, S. 111, Kat.#79 Abb.#55.

Paul Wilhelm, Bei John Quincy Adams, Neues Wiener Journal 12. Januar 1913, S.4.

Provenance

Sitter.
His family descendants.
Private collection Spain.