Maria Theresia, Holy Roman Empress (after Meytens)

Maria Theresa, born on 13 May 1717 in Vienna, was the eldest daughter of Emperor Charles VI and his wife Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 1736 Maria Theresa married Francis I Stephen of Lorraine by whom she had sixteen children in a harmonious marriage. These children were married off to various courts in Europe, a policy serving to stabilise Hapsburg rule. Under the “Pragmatic Sanction” Maria Theresa became Empress of Austria after the death of her father, yet she had to role determinedly, for instance against Prussia during the Silesian War and the War of Austrian Succession. She died in Vienna on 29 November 1780.
The Empress is represented in a half-length portrait in this miniature. She wears a blue dress embroidered with silver, the front of which is decorated with a brooch embellished with gem stones. Draped over her right shoulder is a red shawl richly adorned with gold work. Around her throat she has a neckband of white lace; a diamond tiara with a fixture of pearl ornaments graces her hair.
In this portrayal of the empress, Castriono followed a painting by Martin van Meytens from approximately 1754, which exists in several replicas. In van Meytens’ portrait the empress is sitting on a magnificent gilt armchair and is shown either by herself or surrounded by her large family.¹
Nothing is known about the artist Castriono. Another of his miniatures, a profile portrait of Montesquieu, is signed “P. Castriono pinxit” and allegedly dated 1717.²

B. P.