Frans van Mieris d. Ä., lady with harpsichord

• 1658, oil on wood, height: 31.6 cm

It was only from 1732 onwards that Christian Ludwig, as imperial administrator of the duchy, began to build up his art collections – clear evidence that it was not just a passion but rather that, as the younger brother of the ruling (but disempowered) Duke Carl Leopold, he was striving to strengthen his authority through representation as was befitting for a ruler. He made a spectacular start – by acquiring a work from the celebrated Frans van Mieris d. Ä. The meticulously planned purchase was the most expensive of his life as a collector.

He paid 3,000 guilders, approximately 1,500 imperial thalers, for “the crown” that he “abducted from Holland,” which aroused resentment and jealousy among the competing aficionados as the valet van Haften from The Hague reported.

The new acquisition arrived in Mecklenburg during a dramatic situation, as Carl Leopold orchestrated a peasants‘ revolt against his younger brother, so that it initially had to be delivered to Swedish-Pomeranian Barth. It was not until two years later that Christian Ludwig was able to move into his father’s palace in Schwerin.