Portrait du prince Henri de Prusse (1781-1846)

Original portrait in pencil of Henry of Prussia (1781-1846), signed WW , 1824, Rome
Drawing by Wilhelm Hensel, Prussian portrait painter, during his trip to Rome between 1823 and 1828. Strongly influenced by Italian painting, Hensel copied Raphael's works extensively during his stay in Rome and also painted portraits of the European aristocracy residing in Rome.
Prince Henry of Prussia (Heinrich Friedrich Karl), son of King William II of Prussia, was born in December 1781 and died in November 1846. General of the army at the time of the Quadruple Alliance against Napoleon, he lives in Berlin after The peace of 1814. Fragile health, he obtains from his brother King Frederick William III to go to Italy to recover, and settles in Rome in 1819 before falling seriously ill. Henri de Prusse was nevertheless seen in society during the first years of his stay, where he supported Italian artists. He died some twenty years later in Rome after having lived Reclusive for many years on the first floor of a house in the Via del Corso.