(Geneva 1712–1762 Paris)
Portrait of Augusta, Princess of Wales, wearing pearls and an ermine lined blue cloak,
oil on canvas, 60 x 48 cm, framed

We are grateful to Brian Allen for confirming the attribution.

Du Pan was born into a patrician family in Geneva and was to become involved in the administration of his native city. However, he chose a different path and went to Rome and Paris to study portraiture under Nicolas de Largilliere and Charles Joseph Natoire. He travelled to different European courts and arrived in England in 1743, possibly to replace Jean-Baptiste Vanloo (1684-1745), an artist of similar elegantly French style who had left England in 1742.

There are few works by this accomplished artist as he abandoned painting as early as 1751, when he returned to Geneva to become a Magistrate. However, the few paintings, including the present work, show a highly accomplished portraitist. He became the favourite painter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, at Kew Palace. His most celebrated work is the monumental, The Children of Frederick, Prince of Wales, 1746 (oil on canvas, 245 x 368.8 cm) in the Royal Collection.

Augusta was the thirteenth child of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, a German state. When she was sixteen, she married Frederick, Prince of Wales, the son of George II. Well-liked by everyone in England, she was skilled in politics and she made particular use of her position as wife of the heir to the throne. Together they set up an influential court at Kew Palace. Even after the premature death of her husband, Augusta continued to influence British politics as the mother of George III. She took responsibility for the education of her eldest, engaging the services of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, as his governor. Bute’s tuition and guidance were instrumental in educating George III in the arts. Augusta also fostered her eldest son´s interest in architecture with tuition by William Chambers.