A hand-painted portrait of Napoleon II (posthumously referred to as L’Aiglon), featuring a young, slender, porcelain skinned man with brown hair standing, arms crossed in a white uniform with two breast stars evident on his chest, against a light blue background with red curtain off to the right side. Signed [Dullow] along the bottom right edge. A slightly convex glass cover is held in place by a gilt ring depicting a floral pattern, in turn surrounded by seventeen ivory panels creating an ovular frame. The interior portrait measures 72.8mm (w) x 90.8mm (h), while the frame measures 113.7mm (w) x 136.7mm (h – inclusive of integral ring). The reverse has been covered with two pages of Latin text a subtle indentation of the portrait’s shape is pressed into the paper. Light wear, one panel of the frame is cracked, remains in very fine condition.
Footnote: Napoleon II, known in the Austrian courts as Franz, Duke of Reichstadt, was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Marie Louise of Austria. Since birth, he held the titles of Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome. Following the fall of his father, he remained in Vienna, briefly holding the position of titular Emperor. He died of Tuberculosis at the age of 21. Following his death, he was given the nickname “L’Aiglon” (the Eaglet) after the popular Edmond Rostand play. His cousin, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, founded the Second French Empire in 1852, and ruled as Emperor Napoleon III.