English: "portrait of Empress Queen Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780) [...] This large scale half length portrait depicts the Queen in a blue dress with gold bodice, an ermine trimmed gold mantle tied at the front with a clasp of precious gems. A crown rests on a draped table to the side. The skill of the artist is evident, the drapery has been depicted with remarkable finesse. This is the work of Martin van Meytens’ (1695-1770) circle. Van Meytens was court painter to the royal court of Austria and painted this sitter many times. Housed in a large and heavy antique frame. This work presents in very good relined condition with stable craquelure, and can be hung immediately [...] Martin van Meytens (The Younger) was a portrait painter at the court of Vienna. He was born in Sweden and received a careful education at the art school of his father in Stockholm. In 1714 he went to England and studied portraiture. In 1717 he was in Paris and soon established himself as a highly valued miniaturist and obtained commissions from the Duke of Orléans, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, and Augustus II of Poland and by the Emperor Charles Vi in 1721. He was officially welcomed into the Viennese court in 1731 and became court painter of the royal family in 1740 with the accession to the throne of Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Theresa commissioned him with eight official portraits. In 1759 he was appointed Director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. His style influenced many artists across the entire empire at the time."