Explore the Portraits of the Swedish royal family of this artwork, King Gustav III of Sweden and His Brothers.
In the same year that Roslin moved to Paris, he was elected to be a member of the French Académie, a great honour for an artist from outside France.Roslin was commissioned to paint the portraits of numerous European aristocrats, not only in Paris but also from St. Petersburg, Bayreuth and Stockholm. Carrying out these commissions meant that he travelled widely – for example, Roslin spent two years in the service of Catherine II in St Petersburg. Gustav III attracted artists to his court. Sweden's royal family were the patrons of Roslin and he maintained contacts with them throughout his career.  A number of different compositions both half-length portraits of Gustav III, and portraits in full-figure were painted of the royal family by Roslin. He also painted numerous portraits of Swedes who visited Paris.
Like a court painter, Roslin was able to vary the portraits of the same person giving them different attributes and accessories to give a varied air to the paintings. The 18th century was a period of regeneration and reconstruction in Sweden as the country had been devastated and weakened by the huge costs of King Charles XII's wars. Gustav III's role now was to consolidate the country. In another painting by Roslin he is depicted as an allegoric interpretation of his role as Sweden's "Hercules who will crush the Hydra of anarchy and discord." Therefore, Gustav III was painted dressed in armour, the crown and wearing the grand star of the Order of the Seraphim, a Swedish royal order initiated by King Frederick I in 1748, only awarded to members of the royal family and foreign heads of state as well.These new commissions were promoting Roslin's career in France, since the new king was pleased with his works and gave him several new commissions. To this was added a new group portrait commissioned by the king, depicting the three royal brothers.
Gustav Stockholm Hydra allegoric interpretation King Frederick I Hercules royal family Catherine II aristocrats Bayreuth Gustav III Order of the Seraphim armour St. Petersburg court painter