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Primary sourcePainting1756

The Imperial Family in 1756

Martin van Meytens · 1756

A group portrait of Empress Maria Theresa's family, including the infant Marie Antoinette, celebrating her birth that year.

This 1756 family portrait includes the infant Marie Antoinette shortly after her birth.

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Oil painting of a large royal family in an ornate palace setting. A man in gold embroidered coat sits at left in a gilded chair; a woman in blue stands beside him. A woman in pale blue gown sits at right beside a young boy in gold tunic and a standing boy in red coat. Several children and an infant appear in the background, and two small dogs play on the checkered floor. Sky and a garden with obelisks show through an archway.
Martin van Meytens, The Imperial Family in 1756, 1756. Musée de l'Histoire de France.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting by Martin van Meytens, dated 1756, shows the imperial family of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I shortly after the birth of their daughter Maria Antonia, later Marie Antoinette. It is held at the Musée de l'Histoire de France.

Why it matters

The painting situates the infant Marie Antoinette within the large Habsburg dynasty whose marriage alliances, including her own future marriage to the French dauphin, shaped European politics. It reflects how royal children were seen first as pieces in dynastic strategy.

Look closer

  • Can you find the infant among the figures, and where is she placed in the scene?
  • What does the grandeur of the setting suggest about the family's status?
  • What might this formal group portrait leave out about family life?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Marie Antoinette on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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