Queen Louise, wife of King Frederick William III, was an enormously popular figure in Prussia. She was renowned for her patriotism, which she displayed, for example, by accompanying her husband to war in full military uniform. Napoleon himself nicknamed her “my beautiful enemy” for her resistance to French encroachment on Prussian territories. Here, Louise wears a classically inspired headdress. The coin around her neck commemorates her father, Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Johann Gottfried Schadow was one of the first German sculptors to adopt the Neoclassical style. He was close friends with celebrated Italian sculptor Antonio Canova, whose works are also in the collection of the Art Institute.