Österreichisch oder Französisch Miniature portrait... Lot 6467

Österreichisch oder Französisch Miniature portrait of Charles Alexander, Duke of Lorraine, with powdered wig, in armor with gold trim over a blue velvet jacket with white collar and jabot, around his neck a red ribbon with a jewel of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Watercolor and gum arabic on parchment. 3.7 x 2.9 cm (oval). In a gilt metal frame. Charles Alexander, Duke of Lorraine (1712 Lunéville - 1780 Tervueren), married Archduchess Maria Anna, sister of Empress Maria Theresa, in 1744. As the brother of Emperor Franz Stephan, he was therefore doubly related to the Empress by marriage. He was also the only uncle of Queen Marie-Antoinette of France and her numerous siblings. In 1758, he served as a field marshal in the Seven Years' War against King Frederick the Great, and worked on behalf of his sister-in-law as governor of the Austrian Netherlands in Brussels. A similar depiction of the duke is illustrated in Robert Keil: Die Porträtminiaturen des Hauses Habsburg, Vienna 1999, p. 56 cat. no. 69. Both that miniature and the present one are influenced by the large-format oil painting by Martin van Meytens the Younger from 1743 (at Hetzendorf Palace). However, this is not an exact copy.