École autrichienne vers 1760. Lot n° 8

Portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria Portrait of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1717-1780). Oil on canvas. Monogrammed lower right "F.I.TS". On the back an old sales label, attributing the portrait to "J. F. Tischbein". In a rectangular giltwood frame. H. 59.5 x W. 45 cm. History This portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria, painted in 1769, is a partial reworking of the full-length portrait painted in 1773 by the Austrian painter Anton von Maron, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Maron studied painting at the Academy of Vienna for a few years and then became a student of Raphael Mengs in Rome in 1755. He is mainly known for his talents as a portraitist, which allowed him to make a name for himself in influential aristocratic circles in Vienna and Rome. In 1770, he became the official portraitist of the Imperial Household and painted the portrait of the Empress in mourning for her husband, Emperor Francis I (1708-1765), wearing a widow's headdress and habit adorned with diamonds, and carrying the cross of the Military Orders of Maria Theresa instituted in 1757. Related work The Palace of Versailles holds a similar portrait (MV3857) by Joseph Ducreux (1735-1802), a copy of a pastel kept in Vienna. Lot presented by René Millet, expert (+33 6 24 27 07 48).