Collection of the Rochechouart de Mortemart Family
French School, 18th Century
Portraits of François-Etienne, Duke of Lorraine, Holy Roman Emperor (1708-1745) and of Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780)
No reserve
Lot Closed
June 10, 01:35 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 EUR
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Description
Collection of the Rochechouart de Mortemart Family
French School, 18th Century
Portraits of François-Etienne, Duke of Lorraine, Holy Roman Emperor (1708-1745) and of Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780)
A pair, both oil on canvas
(I) 87,5 x 68 cm ; 34½ by 26¾ in. ; (II) 89 x 68 cm ; 35 by 26¾ in.
(2)
Collection of the Rochechouart de Mortemart Family since the 18th Century;
Thence by descent.
These pendants portraying the Imperial couple seem to reference the codes in various ceremonial portraits of Francis I and Maria-Theresa of Austria painted by Martin van Meytens the Younger during their reign. The status of the figures is signalled by the rich fabrics, the shimmering jewellery and feathers and especially the presence of the crowns of the German Holy Roman Empire. Eldest daughter of Charles VI and the last representative of the House of Habsburg, Maria-Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the founder, through her marriage to the Duc de Lorraine in 1736, of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. She was the only woman in the history of her family to succeed her father as ruler of the Habsburg family’s hereditary possessions. It was only in 1745 that François-Étienne was named Emperor, succeeding Charles VII, Elector of Bavaria. Maria-Theresa gave birth to sixteen children, including the future queen of France, Marie-Antoinette.