Girl with Goat

This painting bears the seal from the House of Habsburg on its reverse. Also known as the House of Austria, it was among the most influential and powerful royal houses of Europe, from which Kaiser Franz Josef reigned.

The inscription reads "Habsburg cameral seal, Emperor Franz Josef, to Court actress Schratt, Vienna." Katherina Schratt was the leading actress of the Viennese City Theatre in the 1870s and was widely known as a friend, confidant, and mistress of Kaiser Franz Josef. The painting was presumably a gift to Schratt from the Emperor.

Also displayed in this gallery is another painting with connections to the Austrian Empire. Spitzweg created Arrival of the Stagecoach for Kaiser Ferdinand, Franz Josef's predecessor.