ANTON RAPHAEL MENGS (Bohemia 1728-1779 Rome) Maria Antonia Walpurgis Symphorosa of Bavaria, Electress Princess of Saxony (1724-1780). Oil on canvas. 54.2 × 42.7 cm. Expertise: Prof. Dr Steffi Roettgen, 20.1.2024. Provenance: Swiss private property. This portrait shows Princess and Electress Maria Antonia Walpurgis Symphorosa at the age of 27. She wears the Austrian Order of the Star Cross on a black ribbon (1737) and the breast star of the Russian Order of St Catherine (1748). Maria Antonia was Princess of Bavaria and became Elector Princess of Saxony through her marriage to the Saxon Elector Friedrich Christian (1722-1763) in 1747. After the early death of her husband, she took over the regency of Saxony for her son between 1763 and 1768. In addition to her political activities, Maria Antonia was very talented artistically and devoted herself to music and painting. The painting dates from 1751 and is based on a pastel portrait of the electoral princess by Raphael Mengs, which is in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden (inv. no. P 175) and probably served as a preparatory work for the large state portrait, which is also in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden (inv. no. 2163; Roettgen, pp. 235-237, figs. 163 and 164). Our version exhibits the high painterly quality typical of Mengs, particularly in the modelling of the eyes, the depiction of the lace and the elaborate decorative garniture, and thus clearly stands out from the replicas and copies known to date. The possibility that Mengs' workshop may have been involved in this portrait cannot be ruled out due to the proximity in time to the state portrait and the pastel, especially as his workshop was often involved in official portraits. At this time, Mengs' workshop included his sisters Therese and Julia, as well as the Italian painter Sante Leoncini (1723-1753), who is said to have been appointed court painter in Dresden in 1750. At this time, portraits reduced to bust format were usually suitable for a semi-official or private context, which is why this portrait was probably intended for a member of the electoral family or the immediate court circle. Just like the state portrait and the pastel, this painting was probably also supplemented by a counterpart of the electoral prince. This could be a bust portrait of Friedrich Christian known since 1990 (Fig. 1, taken from: Expertise Prof. Dr. Steffi Roettgen, 20.1.2024).