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Queen Charlotte,
by J H Hurter

Queen Charlotte (1774-1818)

Queen Charlotte was the youngest daughter of Prince Charles, and niece of the reigning Duke Adolphus Frederick III of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Consort of George III, whom she married two weeks before their coronation in 1761, Charlotte produced fifteen children, all but two of whom survived infancy.

In this enamel portrait Queen Charlotte is shown bust-length, with high-piled white wig and a white dress and hat. Other versions of this miniature also exist, all probably by Hurter, including several in the Royal Collection

This enamel miniature by Johann Heinrich Hurter is styled after the portrait of Queen Charlotte by Thomas Gainsborough which is now in the Royal Collection. The enamel was painted in 1781 and is mounted in a gold rim frame with foil-backed rubies and pearls lead-soldered on to frame. It is signed and inscribed on the counter enamel,

Charlotte Queen
of Great Britain
from the original picture
by Gainsborough
J.H. Hurter pinxit 1781

Johann Heinrich Hurter (1734-99)

Johann Heinrich Hurter was born in Schaffhausen. He started his career in Geneva and Berne as an enamel painter, miniaturist and pastellist, later working in Versailles and the Hague, before settling in London around 1777. Lord Dartrey (Thomas Dawson, 1725-1803) was Hurter's major patron and the family, to this day, own the largest number of Hurter miniatures.

Hurter exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1779-81 and was reputedly appointed a court painter, although no documents confirm this. He did however do a number of enamel portraits of George IV, Queen Charlotte and some of their children. In 1785 he was back in Schaffhausen and travelled to London and the Continent frequently until his death in 1789.

In about 1780, he founded a mathematical and scientific instrument factory in London. He then divided his time between England and the Continent, although in 1787 he received a large commission from Catherine the Great for fifteen enamels with ormolu frames. He was enobled in 1789 in Dusseldorf by the Elector Charles Theodore, becoming Reichsfreiherr.

Hurter executed both original enamels and copies of existing portraits. His works are represented in major museums, including the Metropolitan and the Royal Collection.

Glossaries

foil-backed - placing metal foil behind gemstones to reflect the light
counter enamel - the reverse side of the enamel base, usually covered with a thin layer of plain enamel to help to prevent the base from distorting

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