| The Music Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Philippe Mercier |
| Year | 1733 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, Conversation piece |
| Dimensions | 45.1 cm × 57.8 cm (17.8 in × 22.8 in) |
| Location | |
The Music Party is a 1733 oil painting by the French artist Philippe Mercier.[1] It depicts four members of the British Royal Family, the heir to the throne Frederick, Prince of Wales and his sisters Anne, Caroline and Amelia. A conversation piece, they are shown playing musical instruments while the redbrick Dutch House of Kew Palace can be seen in the background.[2] Mercier was a Berlin-born Huguenot who settled in Britain in 1716 and enjoyed great patronage from Frederick. Today the painting is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.[3]
A separate version depicting the same group of figures, but shown inside Kew Palace, is in the Royal Collection[4]
References
Bibliography
- Cumming, Valerie. Royal Dress: The Image and the Reality, 1580 to the Present Day. B.T. Batsford, 1989.
- Millar, Oliver. Frederick, Prince of Wales and His Circle. Gainsborough's House, 1981.
- Rorschach, Kimerly. Frederick, Prince Of Wales as a Patron of the Visual Arts: Princely Patriotism and Political Propaganda. Yale University, 1985.