Mary, Queen of Scots

Art Historical Context

This 1833 lithograph portrays Mary, Queen of Scots, the 16th-century monarch whose dramatic life and tragic execution have long captured the public imagination. Created by Charles Achile d’Hardivillier, the print reflects the Romantic era’s fascination with historical heroines, presenting Mary not merely as a political figure but as a symbol of resilience and femininity. The work’s focus on her regal presence aligns with 19th-century tastes for emotionally charged depictions of royal women. As a lithograph in its first state of four, the piece showcases an innovative printmaking technique that allowed artists to achieve soft tonal effects and fine detail through drawing directly on stone. This medium made such portraits widely accessible beyond elite collectors, helping to shape popular views of history. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this impression was gifted by Susan Dwight Bliss in 1958, preserving a vivid example of how 19th-century artists reimagined the past for new audiences.