Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, 1688-1741, Queen of Sweden
1702
David von Krafft captured the future Queen of Sweden in this striking 1702 portrait, draping her in heavy red velvet and white ermine fur to signal her royal status. Ulrika Eleonora the Younger gazes out with a calm, almost modern directness, her high forehead and dark curls framed against a moody, dark background. Though she looks serene here, she would later become one of the few women to rule Sweden in her own right, eventually abdicating in favor of her husband. It’s a classic Baroque flex: soft features wrapped in the heavy, expensive fabric of absolute power.
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