Alexander Cooper

Alexander Cooper (1609 - 1660) was an English Baroque miniature painter

Cooper was born in London, the elder brother of the painter Samuel Cooper He learned painting from Peter Oliver (painter) and was active in London from 1633–1642, whereupon he traveled to The Hague He is registered there as a member of The Hague Guild of Saint Luke from 1644 – 1646 After a short stay in Amsterdam, he travelled to Sweden in 1646 to work as court painter for Queen regnant Christina of Sweden According to Houbraken he was considered the best portrait miniaturist in watercolors of his time He succeeded David Beck as official court painter when Beck returned to The Hague

Alexander Cooper studied miniature painting at the work shop of his uncle John Hoskins. An other uncle was Samuel Cooper – both ranking among the foremost miniaturists of England. These artists had well established connections with continental courts. In collaboration with goldsmiths they furnished their princely customers with miniature portraits surrounded by gold and precious stones that could be carried as jewellery or medallions. Cooper probably arrived to Sweden in 1646 where he stayed until his death. In 1647 Cooper was appointed court miniature painter by Queen Christina. He succeeded David Beck as official court painter when Beck returned to The Hague. Cooper continued to be Queen Christina's miniature painter until 1654, when she resigned the crown.

His Swedish documents declare that he was Jewish, and that his full name was Abraham Alexander Cooper He had previously been residing in the United Provinces, but on reaching Sweden entered the service of Christina, and continued to be her miniature painter until 1654, when she resigned the crown Two years later, Cooper was in Denmark, carrying out some commissions for Christian IV of Denmark but in 1657 was back again in Stockholm, where he died in the early part of 1660, aged fifty

His works are of great rarity, and the chief are a series representing Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth of Bohemia as well as their children Including Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine, Elisabeth of Bohemia, Princess Palatine, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern and Sophia of the Palatinate By the late nineteenth century these portraits were in the possession of Wilhelm II of Germany At the same time some very remarkable portraits were owned by Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and others were in the possession of Gustav V of Sweden and various Swedish galleries

Alexander became less famous than his brother Samuel He worked a number of periods abroad, including the Netherlands and Sweden From 1631 to 1633 he was active in the Netherlands, where he worked for the House of Orange and the Winter King, Frederik V of the Palatinate of the Kingdom of Bohemia After a period in England, he once again worked in The Hague for some time Then he moved to Sweden, where he was painted by Christina I of Sweden and later from Karel X Gustaaf of Sweden He also worked for some time in Denmark, where he performed assignments for Christiaan IV from Denmark

He is probably the same painter as Ioannes Coepers of England well-known at the English court in Cornelis de Bie's book of painters called Het Gulden Cabinet

He returned to Sweden in 1657, where he died in 1660
https://hisour.com/artist/alexander-cooper/