Carl August, the future Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, is around twelve years old in this portrait. His features are still childlike, but his pose and attire already allude to the hereditary prince’s future as ruler. With a sceptre and order, wig, sash, and hand braced against his side, the boy appears energetic and commanding. The painting is a copy of an original by Johann Georg Ziesenis, made by Johann Ernst Heinsius, the court painter and prince’s art teacher.