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Maria Theresia (1816-1867), daughter of Karl of Nassau-Weilburg
Thomas Lawrence·1818
Historical Context
Lawrence painted Maria Theresia of Nassau-Weilburg in 1818, depicting the young princess during his European tour for the Waterloo Chamber series. Maria Theresia would later marry Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. The portrait was painted in Vienna where Lawrence was creating his comprehensive gallery of Allied leaders. Now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the painting documents the Central European aristocratic world that Lawrence encountered during his diplomatic portrait campaign.
Technical Analysis
Lawrence brings his full powers of flattery and elegance to this portrait of a young princess, with the luminous treatment of skin and the graceful arrangement of costume that characterized his most admired female portraits. The Viennese setting may have encouraged a slightly more formal, Continental treatment than his English works.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the luminous skin and graceful costume arrangement: Lawrence's most admired female portrait technique applied to a Central European princess.
- ◆Look at the slightly more formal Continental treatment compared to Lawrence's English works.
- ◆Observe the Kunsthistorisches Museum location: the Austrian princess painted during Lawrence's Viennese diplomatic tour lives in Vienna's greatest museum.
- ◆Find the warm flattery Lawrence brings consistently to female commissions regardless of nationality.
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