(Meßkirch 1774–1814 Stuttgart)
Portrait of Karoline Kaulla, oil on canvas, 72 x 61 cm, framed, (Rei)

Provenance:
Collection of Guido von Kaulla (1909-1991), Constance;
His heirs.

Karoline Kaulla, who was best known as Madame Kaulla, was a famous court factor, who is considered to have been Germany’s richest woman of her time. Kaulla, who was the eldest child of her family, took over her father’s horse business after he passed away in 1760 when she was only 22. Next to this lucrative activity she also worked as a court factor for the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, who, thanks to his extravagant expenses, seemed to always be in her debt.
As time passed she was able to build a strong business, which allowed her and her family to lead a comfortable life, but also to be an active benefactor to her Jewish community in Hechingen. In 1770 she was named court factor of the Duchy of Württemberg, and in 1790, with her brother and associate Jacob, she became the official weapon and horse purveyor of the Imperial Army. For this special service, Emperor Francis II awarded her the Civil-Verdienst-Medaille and golden chain, which is depicted here.
Kaulla was very close to the Dukes of Württemberg, with whom she founded the Royal Bank of Wurttemberg, now part of Deutsche Bank. This explains why she commissioned her portrait to Johann Baptist Seele, who had been named official court painter the year this work was executed. A copy of the present work, signed C. Berger, is exhibited in the Landesmuseum of Württemberg.