Laxenburg from the Schneiderau toward Guntramsdorf and Mödling

In 1758 Austria was in its third year of war with Prussia. That October its army beat Frederick the Great at Hochkirch in Saxony, a battle Brand would himself paint for Maria Theresa years later. Here, though, the court is at leisure. The view runs from the Schneiderau meadows across Laxenburg toward Guntramsdorf and Mödling, under the wooded hills. A coach with a long team of horses pulls up at the raised pavilion, which is already full, and courtiers stroll around it. Riders in red coats trot past a stand of tall, slender trees, and more carriages wait on the far side. On the track in front, a man kneels over a bird lying on the ground, next to a horseman. The Belvedere dates the canvas 1758, although the signature in the lower corner ends with 1759.