Countess Széchenyi
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
unframed: 97.8 × 78.5 cm · framed: 121.5 × 102 × 10.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1988.57
Tags
male
About this artwork
This portrait typifies painting in Vienna between 1815 and 1865, an era known as the Biedermeier period, during which the Habsburg government promoted positive artistic depictions of Viennese life and culture. The mountains in the background express both the artist's romantic fascination with nature and patriotic devotion to his Austrian homeland. The sitter, Crescentia Seilern, was a prestigious member of the aristocracy who married Hungarian reformist patriot István Széchenyi.