Artwork
Portrait of Maria Karolina Gräfin Fuchs (1681-1754)
Portrait of Maria Karolina Gräfin Fuchs (1681-1754) is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Martin van Meytens. It dates from 1740 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting is a portrait whose main subject is Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard, also identified as Maria Karolina Gräfin Fuchs. Created in 1740 by Martin van Meytens, the work falls within the portrait genre. As an aristocratic representation, it serves to depict and commemorate the sitter, reflecting her social standing and identity.
Technique & Style
The painting measures 115 cm in height by 99 cm in width, a substantial format suited to formal aristocratic portraiture of the period.
The portrait is executed in oil paint on canvas. The painting measures 115 cm in height by 99 cm in width, a substantial format suited to formal aristocratic portraiture of the period. Martin van Meytens's technique reflects the refined courtly portrait style he developed while working in Vienna, employing oil paint to render the sitter with polished surface finish and careful attention to costume and bearing typical of mid-eighteenth-century Habsburg portrait conventions.
The canvas support and oil medium are consistent with standard practice for full-scale formal portraits of this date and milieu.
No source documents the specific handling, brushwork, or current condition of the work, so these aspects are not described here.
History & Provenance
Martin van Meytens painted the Portrait of Maria Karolina Gräfin Fuchs in 1740. The artwork, executed in oil on canvas, depicts Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard and measures 115 by 99 cm. The painting is currently held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, located at Schloss Ambras Innsbruck.
The portrait is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which is also listed as its collection on the Wikidata record. No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available sources.
No exhibition history is documented in the sources supplied.
Overview
In 1740, Martin van Meytens painted an oil portrait of Maria Karolina Gräfin Fuchs, a member of the Austrian aristocracy. The work exemplifies the Rococo style favored by the Viennese court and is now part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s collection.
Context
The painting aligns with the broader Rococo trend of intimate, domestic portraiture that emphasized grace and refinement. Van Meytens, known for his depictions of Maria Theresa and other imperial figures, applied similar compositional conventions to this portrait of a lesser‑known aristocrat.
Artist & collection
Artist
Martin van Meytens (24 June 1695 – 23 March 1770) was a Swedish-Austrian painter who painted members of the Royal Court of Austria such as Marie Antoinette, Maria Theresa of Austria, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, the…
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