María Luisa de Parma (Portrait of a Princess)

María Luisa de Parma (Parma, 1751 – Rome, 1819) was the daughter of Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Parma, and Louise Élisabeth of France. The painting reproduces the head and shoulders of the almost lifelike portrait of María Luisa de Parma, princess of Asturias, produced by Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–79). It was painted around 1765, the year she married Charles IV of Spain. That portrait is kept in the Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado) with its companion piece, Charles, Prince of Asturias, also painted by Mengs. They are thought to be the official engagement portraits, which led to numerous copies and replicas being produced, like this painting from the Valentín Carderera bequest.