Dedication of the Basilica to St. Teresa by D. Maria I

Dedication of the Basilica to St. Teresa by D. Maria I, painted in 1784 for the Estrela Basilica in Lisbon, commemorates the royal act that initiated the building's construction — Queen Maria I's vow to build a basilica if she bore a son. The son was born, the vow was honored, and the Estrela Basilica was the result. Batoni's commemorative painting of this dedication ceremony connects the completed building to its royal origins, serving both devotional and dynastic purposes within the basilica's decorative program. Depicting a living queen in a sacred narrative setting required considerable diplomatic and iconographic skill. Maria I's intense Catholic piety — she suffered a profound mental breakdown in later life partly attributed to religious mania — is the devotional context for this entire commission.

Oil on canvas combining portraiture and sacred history painting in a large-format commemorative work. The queen would be identifiable as an individual while being elevated into a ceremonial-sacred scene. Batoni's composition likely follows the tradition of donor portraits in altarpieces, with Maria I kneeling before St. Teresa or an altar while angels or divine light confirm the act's sacred nature.