Princess Alexandra of Bavaria, after a painting of Stieler (1845) for the Galery of Beauties

Backside information: typewriter: Königl. Prinzessin
Alexandra von Bayern nach Jos. Stieler.
Rubber stamp: Auf echt Elfenbein...."

Princess Alexandra Amalie of Bavaria (26 August 1826 – 21 September 1875) was a member of the House of Wittelsbach and devoted her life to literature.
Alexandra never married, and instead was appointed abbess of the Royal Chapter for Ladies of Saint Anne in Munich and Würzburg; this was a religious community specifically for noble ladies. In the 1850s Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte asked King Ludwig for Alexandra's hand in marriage, but he was divorced from his wife, and Ludwig refused, using as an excuse Alexandra's delicate health.

In 1852 Alexandra began a literary career: Weihnachtsrosen (Christmas roses, 1852). 1853: Souvenirs, pensées et essais (Memories, thoughts and essays). In 1856: Feldblumen (Field flowers). In 1858 appeared Phantasie- und Lebensbilder (Daydreams and biographical sketches). In 1862 a loose translation into German of some of the romances of Eugenie Foa. 1863: Thautropfen (Dewdrops).
In 1870: Das Kindertheater (The children's theatre) and Der erste des Monats (The first of the month). In 1873: Maiglöckchen (Lilies of the valley).

Notwithstanding her literary accomplishments, Alexandra suffered from a number of psychological eccentricities,[2] including a fixation with cleanliness as well as wearing only white clothes. In her early twenties, she notably developed a delusion that as a child she had swallowed a grand piano made of glass, which remained inside her.

painting: waterbased on an ivory chip
signed
fine details
preservation portrait: excellent
frame: small chips of ivory, with rim of nacre
convex glass
internal dimension ring: vertical 46 mm.
thicknes frame: 10mm
vertical dimension frame: 90 mm




stock number 426