Artwork
Portrait of Charles XII, King of Sweden
Portrait of Charles XII, King of Sweden is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist David von Krafft. It is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The work is an oil painting portraying a male figure in a formal military uniform, rendered with a sober expression and a composed stance.
About this work
Technique & Style
David von Krafft executed this portrait of Charles XII in 1750 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 89 cm in height and 71 cm in width. As a formal portrait, the painting depicts the Swedish monarch in the style characteristic of the artist's court portraiture from that period.
History & Provenance
The painting measures 89 cm in height and 71 cm in width, and it is classified as a portrait genre work depicting Carl XII of Sweden.
The portrait of Charles XII, King of Sweden, was created by the artist David von Krafft. The work dates to 1750 and is executed in oil paint on canvas. It depicts the Swedish monarch Carl XII as its primary subject. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains located.
Portrait of Charles XII, King of Sweden, painted by David von Krafft in 1750, is part of the Rijksmuseum collection and is accessioned under the Rijksmuseum inventory system. The work has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum as part of its permanent display of Dutch and Flemish masters, and it was featured in the exhibition "Dutch and Flemish Masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum" held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1999.
The painting measures 89 cm in height and 71 cm in width, and it is classified as a portrait genre work depicting Carl XII of Sweden.
Overview
The work is an oil painting portraying a male figure in a formal military uniform, rendered with a sober expression and a composed stance. The composition centers the sitter, whose right hand rests on his hip, while the left side is omitted from view. The portrait conveys a sense of authority and gravitas appropriate to a royal subject.
Subject & Meaning
The figure is Charles XII, king of Sweden, depicted in his characteristic blue coat trimmed with gold buttons and a matching belt. The austere facial expression and restrained pose emphasize the monarch’s martial role and the seriousness of his reign, reflecting the expectations of royal representation in the early eighteenth century.
Context
The portrait belongs to a broader tradition of European royal portraiture that sought to legitimize sovereign authority through controlled, dignified imagery. In Sweden, the early eighteenth century was marked by military conflict, and the depiction of Charles XII in martial attire aligns with contemporary visual strategies that linked the monarch’s personal identity to the nation’s armed power.
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Artist & collection
Artist
David Krafft, from 1719 David von Krafft (1655 – 20 September 1724), was a German-Swedish painter, the nephew and student of David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl and his successor (in 1698) as painter to the Swedish Royal Court.
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