Full-length, standing, turned to the left, but facing round to the
front. His left hand points to a battle in the distance; his right
holds a marshal's truncheon. He is in armour, over which is a
crimson ermine-lined mantle; he has a small close-curled wig; his
helmet is on the ground in front of him. On canvas, 8 ft. 7 in.
high, by 5 ft. 7 in. wide.
"To this admirable painter (_i.e._ Pesne) I am inclined to
attribute the portrait of Frederick the Great. The king, who is
still in youthful years, is pointing to a battlefield in the
background, probably in allusion to the Silesian war. A picture of
considerable merit."--_Waagen._ The painter is well remembered by
the following couplet by Frederick the Great:--
"Quel spectacle étonnant vient de frapper mes yeux,
Cher Pesne, ton pinceau t'égale au rang des Dieux,"
which Voltaire interpreted thus:--"Le roi ne regardant jamais le
peintre, ce dernier était pour lui invisible comme Dieu."
Pesne, who was a Frenchman and studied in Paris, was in England in
1724. He afterwards went to Berlin, where he became court painter
to Frederick the Great. He died in 1757, the year of the Battle of
Prague.
The frame is doubtless a presentation one.