KRAUSZ Wilhelm Viktor (1878-1959)

Portrait of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (1861-1948). Oil on mahogany panel, unsigned, preserved under glass in an antique carved and gilded wood frame. Age wear to the frame, but overall good condition. Sight: H.: 37.5 cm - W.: 30 cm. Frame: H.: 50 cm - W.: 42.5 cm. Provenance: this portrait of Tsar Ferdinand dressed as an officer in the Hungarian army's hussar regiment, bearing numerous decorations, was probably painted after the death of his second wife, Queen Eleanor. A slightly different version of this work exists in Kohary Castle in Saint-Anthal, Slovakia, painted by Wilhem Viktor Krausz and dated 1917, where the king lived after his abdication. This copy was a gift from the king to his chamberlain Edmund Weich, who died in 1932, and was kept by his widow until 1992, when it was passed down through the generations. It was used as the cover illustration for Roman Holec's book about the Cobourgs in Slovakia.