Portreti kraljice i carice Marije Terezije u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj

Abstract

The paper presents a chronological overview of portraits of Empress Maria Theresiain museum collections of north-western Croatia – Zagreb, Varaždin and Trakoscan.The early portraits of Maria Th eresia as the heiress to the throne are smaller in size,portraying her as the Austrian archduchess, while portraits after her ascension to thethrone are mostly large, stressing the offi cial use they were intended for. They range inquality from those painted by well-known Viennese court artists up to representationsby highly or less skilled anonymous artists. Martin van Meytens the Younger standsout as the most prominent portraitist of the Empress; together with his workshop heprovided the whole Austrian Empire with numerous portraits of Maria Theresia andher husband. Most of her portraits painted between 1741 and 1760, held in museumcollections in north-western Croatia, are attributed to Meytens and / or his workshop.Portraits of Empress Maria Theresia in museum collections of north-western Croatiapresent the monarch in different stages of her life – as a young archduchess and heiressto the throne, a mighty ruler and mother, and fi nally a grieving widow. They remain aconstant reminder of the greatness she had achieved as the only female monarch of thevast multinational Habsburg Empire.