Martin van Meytens
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 Emperor's family and members of the local aristocracy. His painting style inspired many other painters to paint in a similar format.
Also recorded as Martin, the younger Mytens · Martin, the younger Meitens · Martin van Mijtens II · Martin II Van Mytens
Martin van Meytens

Martin van Meytens · Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork wga QS:P11807,"m/meytens/1self_po" · Public domain
- Name
- Martin van Meytens
- Born
- 24 June 1695
- Birthplace
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Place of death
- Vienna, Austria
- Died
- 1770 · Vienna.
- Nationality
- Sweden
- Occupation
- painter · artist
- Fields
- portrait
- Known for
- Frederick I, King of Sweden · Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, Queen of Sweden · Carl Gustaf Tessin, 1695-1770, greve and riksråd · The Imperial Family of Austria (series after Martin van Meytens)
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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 Emperor's family and members of the local aristocracy. His painting style inspired many other painters to paint in a similar format.
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Authority files
gnd · 1064704239 · wikidata · Q1082324 · wikipedia · Martin van Meytens
In this article
Biography
Biography
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.

Ferdinand von Plettenberg, Porträt im Schloss Augustusburg in Brühl
Martin van Meytens · Gerd Dethlefs (Ed.), Schloss Nordkirchen, München/Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-02304-8, p. 220

Martin van Meytens - Self-portrait - S-2008-79 - Finnish National Gallery
Martin van Meytens · http: kokoelmat.fng.fi/app?si=S-2008-79
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Martin van Meytens • Born — 24 June 1695 • Birthplace — Stockholm, Sweden • Place of death — Vienna, Austria
Life and career
Life and career
• 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.
Aristocratic Baroque
Aristocratic Baroque
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.
Works
Works
• 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)
Selected works
Selected works
• 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)
Work and production
Work and production
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.
Identity
Identity
Ulrika Eleonora d.y. Formation and teaching. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1695
Martin van Meytens born at Stockholm.
1770
Martin van Meytens died at Vienna.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Stockholm.
Birth place
Vienna.
Death place
Other sources
Other sources
• Biography – Austria Forum • Biography – Web Gallery of Art • Biography and more paintings – ArtExperts.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1082324: Martin van MeytensWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
A further 2 witnesses are held back from this article because the person or object named in them is not yet resolved to this record. They are kept, not discarded, and return once the identity is established.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
18,717 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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