Isabey: portrait of a Princess of Hesse

Jean-Baptiste Isabey (Nancy 1767-1855 Paris): Portrait of a Princess of Hesse, signed and dated 'Isabey 1808' (faded, lower right). Pencil and watercolour on paper. Our elegant watercolour has been called a Princess of Hesse ever since its exhibition in the Rijksmuseum in 1929 (or even before that). We do not know where this attribution comes from or which princess this might be as the noble family of Hesse had many branches and family members. However, we noticed that the sitter has very great resemblance to Louise von Baden, who herself was not a princess of Hesse but whose mother was. The form of her face, the mouth, eyes and hair are all very similar to Louise who is better known as Empress Elizaveta Alexeevna of Russia, wife of Tsar Alexander I.