Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Empress

Liotard made this enamel during a visit to Lyon, basing it on one of several portraits of the sovereign he had earlier done in Vienna. He was particularly proud of the ‘brilliance’ of the hard gem-like surface and colouring. It is one of the largest enamel paintings ever made, and the technique gave Liotard some difficulty: an inscription on the back records that this was the ‘second attempt.’