The Tansey Miniatures Foundation

Die Miniatur Über den Künstler

The Tansey Miniatures Foundation

DE
The Miniature About the Artist

Terézia Cavriani, née Esterházy

Moritz Michael Daffinger

This particularly natural-looking miniature by Daffinger entered the Tansey collection as the portrait of an unknown woman; however, it has recently been possible to identify the sitter.1 She is a member of the very wealthy and influential noble Esterházy family, and her name is Terézia. She was born in 1815 as the daughter of the Hungarian diplomat Paul III Anton Esterházy de Galántha and Maria Theresia, née von Thurn und Taxis. In 1837, she married Karl Cavriani (1803–1870), whom she bore seven children. Her husband was a high-ranking officer in the Austrian army and owner of the territories of Seibersdorf and Reisenberg as well as Unter-Waltersdorf and Schöngrabern. Terézia died in 1894.

Without a doubt this miniature was painted in 1837 on the occasion of the marriage of the sitter. The sitter’s hair is adorned with orange blossoms and orange leaves, which were traditionally used for weddings. The artist also painted a bouquet of roses in a vase on a side table as another symbol of love.

In order to present different members of the family with a picture of the bride, several copies of the miniature were ordered. These were not painted by the busy miniaturist Daffinger himself but by artists from his immediate circle.2

B.P.

1 We would like to thank Wolfgang Feindt, Wurster Nordseeküste, for identifying the sitter.

2 One copy was painted by Alois von Anreiter (Collection Theodor Bergmann, Vienna, sold by Schidlof, Vienna, 28 and 29 March 1928, no. 185, sitter unknown). A further copy was painted by Emanuel Peter (reproduced in Leo Grünstein, Das Alt-Wiener Antlitz [Faces of Old Vienna], plate 41, sitter identified). Daffinger also painted a portrait of Guidobaldine Paar, née Cavriani (1783–1861), an aunt of Terézia’s husband.