Martin van Meytens

Johann Gottfried Roth Von Rothenfels and Joseph Hickel are recorded as having studied under Martin van Meytens. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Positions recorded include court painter. Works named in the authority record are Frederick I, King of Sweden, Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, Queen of Sweden, Carl Gustaf Tessin, 1695-1770, greve, riksråd and The Imperial Family of Austria (series after Martin van Meytens). Work by Martin van Meytens is recorded in the collections of Belvedere, Finnish National Gallery, Nationalmuseum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Hofburg Palace.

• Name — Martin van Meytens • Born — 24 June 1695 • Birthplace — Stockholm, Sweden • Place of death — Vienna, Austria

• Illustration — Wedding Supper by Martin van Meytens Martin van Meytens was born and baptised in Stockholm, Sweden, son of the painter Martin Meytens the Elder, who had moved around 1677 from The Hague to Sweden. He went early in his career on an extended study trip. He visited London, Paris and Vienna, then he lived and worked for a long time in Italy (Rome, Turin). At the beginning he painted little enamel miniature portraits, and he changed to oil painting only around 1730, having settled in Vienna. Here he became very popular as a portrait painter in the circles of the court and the aristocracy. In 1732 he became a court painter, and in 1759 the director of the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts. Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was his protégé.

Meytens was paid by Maria Theresa of Austria for opulent commissions. For example in 1943, depicting Maria Theresa as warrior. This was only one instance of Meytens painting aristocratic Baroque culture in expensive splendidness. The Wedding Supper depicts the wedding of Princess Isabella of Parma and Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, 5 October 1760, at Hofburg Palace's Redoutensaele (Redoute Hall). The moment depicted is when the dessert is served, in the middle of the table is a garden made by sugar crust. Meytens has been credited with painting the European elite true to life. His most noticeable pupil was Joseph Hickel.

• ca. 1731; Kneeling Nun, Recto, (Nationalmuseum – Stockholm) • 1741; Kaiser Franz I • 1744; Maria Theresia, (Ghent Town Hall) • 1745–1750; Familie der Grafen Pálffy • 1750; Archduke Maximilian, (The Winnipeg Art Gallery) • 1752–1753; Fam. Grill, (Museum Gothenburg) • 1750–1755; Maria Theresia als Herrscherin, (Schönbrunn Palace) • 1754; Ksl. Familie, (Schönbrunn Palace); • 1759; Maria Theresia, (Academy of Fine Arts)

• Illustration — Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (later Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma) • Illustration — Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, 1767 (later Marie Antoinette, Queen of France) • Illustration — Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela of Austria • Illustration — Maria Josepha of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress • Illustration — Portrait of Emperor Francis I (workshop) • Illustration — Joseph de France and his Family • Illustration — Sackska family painting • Illustration — Kneeling Nun, 1731 (front) • Illustration — Kneeling Nun, 1731 (rear)

Works recorded as notable number 4: Frederick I, King of Sweden, Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, Queen of Sweden, Carl Gustaf Tessin, 1695-1770, greve, riksråd and The Imperial Family of Austria (series after Martin van Meytens). His recorded genre is portrait.

Ulrika Eleonora d.y. Formation and teaching. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.

• Biography – Austria Forum • Biography – Web Gallery of Art • Biography and more paintings – ArtExperts.