Mary of Austria (1505–1558) (also known as Mary of Hungary)

Hans Maler zu Schwaz's Portrait of Mary of Austria, later Queen of Hungary and regent of the Netherlands, documents this pivotal Habsburg figure at the beginning of her remarkable career. Mary was the granddaughter of Emperor Maximilian I and sister of Emperor Charles V; her later regency of the Netherlands for over two decades made her one of the most important political figures in sixteenth-century Europe. Maler's early portrait of the young Habsburg princess demonstrates his access to imperial circles through his Tyrolean court connections, preserving her appearance before the responsibilities of European politics fully shaped her public identity.

The painting demonstrates the technical conventions and artistic vocabulary of the period, with attention to composition, color, and the rendering of form appropriate to the subject.