Lampi painted a portrait when the young Swedish king Gustav IV Adolf traveled to St. Petersburg in August 1796 to court Grand Duchess Alexandra, the granddaughter of Empress Catherine. Accompanying the journey were the crown prince's guardian Duke Karl and Carl Gustaf Reuterholm, who was effectively ruling Sweden in practice.
The crown prince proposed to Alexandra, but Catherine did not want Alexandra to convert to Protestantism, which Swedish law required. The engagement never took place, and the party returned to Sweden.
The portrait in the auction is, regarding the face, nearly identical to the portrait by Giovanni Battista Lampi that belongs to the Moravian Gallery in Brno, Czech Republic, and one that is part of the portrait collection at Gripsholm.
The Gripsholm portrait depicts the young king with an elegant coat and the Seraphim Order.
(NMGrh 3334)