Gustav III, 1746-1792, King of Sweden
1777
Alexander Roslin really knew how to make a monarch look fabulous in this 1777 portrait of Sweden's King Gustav III. Dressed in a dazzling silver-embroidered suit and draped in a massive ermine-lined cloak that probably weighs a ton, the king strikes a pose that says, 'I'm the boss, but I'm also approachable.' Gustav was known as the 'Theatre King' because he loved the arts so much, but his life had a dramatic finale—he was assassinated at a masquerade ball, a plot twist so good it inspired Verdi's opera Un ballo in maschera.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
Location: Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
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