Frederick, Prince of Wales,
and his sisters
Philip Mercier (overleden 1760)
In this portrait the 26-year-old Prince is shown playing the bass-viol with three of his younger sisters; from left to right, Anne, Princess Royal (age 24) at the harpsicord, Princess Caroline (age 20) plucking a mandora (a form of lute) and Princess Amelia (age 22) reading from Milton. In the background is the Dutch House or Kew Palace at Kew where Anne lived before her marriage in 1734 to Prince William of Orange. The suggestion of harmony between the siblings belies the antipathy felt by his family for Frederick; it is said that he was hardly on speaking terms with Anne in the year that this portrait was painted. Source National Portrait Gallery, London: NPG 1556
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The Sense of Hearing (ca. 1744-47)
Mercier, a French artist who worked in England for much of his career, is credited with introducing the French rococo style to English painting. This painting is one of a series of five representing the senses. The two scores on the harpsichord are identified as "Hendel Operas" and "Geminiani Sonates." Both George Frideric Handel and Francesco Geminiani were living in London at this time, and it is possible that the group are performing one of the Italian composer's trio sonatas, with the flute and violin taking the two upper parts. The cello and harpsichord, forming the "continuo," would share the bass line, while the harpsichord player created, or "realized," an accompaniment by improvising harmonies above it.
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