Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria 1745

Curator: This is Jean-Étienne Liotard's rendering of Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria, executed in oil on canvas around 1745. You can find it on display here at the Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp. Editor: My first impression is of remarkable stillness. It's a portrait exuding serenity, almost a quiet dignity. The pale colours reinforce this feeling. Curator: Yes, the formal structure contributes to that impression. Liotard has meticulously arranged the composition; notice the way the soft curve of her shoulders echoes the gentle arch of her eyebrows. Editor: The portrait is rife with symbolism. The fur lining speaks to her royal status, of course, and the careful gold embroidery can be read as signifiers of wealth and divine blessing. But there is also, I think, something more subtle here in her gaze. Curator: Indeed, and her gaze establishes a direct engagement, a compositional element used strategically to elicit psychological accessibility. Editor: Although one must be wary of generalizing, this is a face representing not just a ruler but a woman. She looks directly at us, meeting our gaze but withholding, I think, the secrets of her soul. In this painting she seems quite accessible. Considering the political turmoil surrounding Maria-Theresa in 1745, and what was expected of a female ruler at this time, that almost tranquil composure, might be symbolic in and of itself. Curator: It's precisely this control of representational tools that mark a truly excellent academic-art piece. Note Liotard’s control of his medium—the precise details within the lacework for example. He understood perfectly how color and light create meaning in a painting. Editor: Perhaps more personally than many other paintings. And maybe it's that sense of inner life rendered with such delicacy that stays with you. This empress exists outside of the politics for a moment. Curator: A fitting sentiment upon which to reflect, thank you. Editor: It was a pleasure. Thank you.