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Éva Thököly, wife of Prince Pál Esterházy Painter of Hungary, Late 17th Century

Artist

Painter of Hungary, Late 17th Century active in the late 17th century

Date 1690
Object type painting
Medium, technique canvas, oil
Dimensions

image: 191.5 × 120.6 cm
image (with frame): 204 × 133.5 × 6 cm, 12 kg

Signature

Inscription on upper right: CELMA PRINCIPISSA EVA TÖKÖLI | NATA COMITISSA DE KESMARK CEL | S:R:I: PRINCIPIS PAULI ESTERASI de GA| ANTHA (sic!) REG: HVNG PALAT: INI (sic!) | CHARMA CONIVNX Aö Dni 1690

Inventory number 97.2M
Collection Old Hungarian Collection
On view Museum of Fine Arts, Second Floor, Variations on the Baroque  – Art in Hungary 1600-1800

This impressive portrait shows Éva Thököly, the second wife of the prince palatine, Pál Esterházy. The painting once belonged to the ancestors’ gallery, or “Ancestors’ Hall” of the Esterházy family’s branch of counts at the mansion of Pápa. In the early 20th century, it still hung in this same gallery, which also displayed portraits of the 17–18th century ancestors from the princes’ and counts’ lines of the Esterházy family in a striking unit. The gallery attested to the distinguished past and the social importance of the family. The majestic mode in which Éva Thököly is depicted, her highly decorated clothing, extraordinary jewellery, the family coat of arms and the furnishing and objects in her surroundings all denote her social position and thus fulfil this aim of expressing the family’s rank and status.

This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.

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