The Family of Count Nikolaus Pálffy of Erdöd

In 1758 Maria Theresa made Count Nikolaus Pálffy her Hungarian court chancellor, head of the office in Vienna that handled the Kingdom of Hungary's business with the crown. He held the post until 1762, and this family portrait, more than three metres tall, dates from around 1760. The count sits at the centre in gold-embroidered brocade, and beside him a woman in blue silk holds a baby on her lap. Above them a great length of red cloth is slung through the branches of a tree, which the Belvedere reads as a sign of the family's rank. The children are given their parts. A young son stands in hunting dress with a gun, and at the right a small daughter feeds a lamb. Following French court portraiture, Meytens painted the lace, silk and gold embroidery of every costume with minute care.