María Luisa of Parma, Princess of Asturias

María Luisa of Parma became Princess of Asturias through her 1765 marriage to the future Charles IV of Spain, and her portrait by Mengs in that year inaugurates a long tradition of Spanish royal portraiture of this controversial queen. She would later be the dominant personality of the court of Charles IV, her relationship with Manuel Godoy becoming one of the most discussed scandals of the era. In 1765, however, she was a newly arrived Italian princess aged fourteen, and Mengs's portrait presents her at the threshold of a life of extraordinary political significance. The Museo del Prado holds this canvas, where it sits among the broader series of Mengs's Spanish royal works. The portrait's interest lies partly in its documentation of a figure who would later be memorialized—and lampooned—in Goya's devastating family portraits of the same royal household.

Oil on canvas with Mengs's careful rendering of court dress and the formal presentation appropriate to a new royal consort. The young princess is presented with the dignified composure expected of her new position rather than the informality of an Italian girl recently arrived at a foreign court. The smooth, idealising treatment softens individual features within the formal portrait conventions.