Die Gräfin Anna Katharina Orzelska (1707-1769)

Anna Katharina Orzelska was the natural daughter of Augustus the Strong of Saxony and a Polish noblewoman — the same unconventional royal parentage as Ursula Katharina Lubomirska, another of Carriera's Dresden subjects. Orzelska was known for her exceptional beauty and her prominent position at the Dresden court, and she was portrayed by several leading artists. Carriera's 1739 Dresden pastel captures her at around thirty-two, still celebrated for her looks but by this point a figure of the past at a court that had moved on since her father's death. The Dresden collections' accumulation of portraits connected to the Saxon royal family and its irregular progeny reflects the breadth of Augustus the Strong's personal relationships and the court culture he created. By 1739 Carriera herself was approaching the end of her working life, and this portrait combines mature confidence with a slight wistfulness in its characterisation.

Carriera's characterisation of Orzelska in 1739 draws on her mature portrait experience — a composed, slightly detached expression that communicates status and personal history without telling a specific story. The pastel handling is assured, with the face's delicate tonal gradations contrasting with the more freely handled drapery.