3-097-966 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of Maria Theresa of Spain and her son in Polish costume, 1664. Alternative title: Queen Maria Theresa of Austria accompanied by the Grand Dauphin of France. Maria Theresa of Austria (1638-1683) became queen consort of France on her marriage to Louis XIV. While the terms of the marriage included the future queen's express renunciation of her dynastic rights over the territories of the Spanish monarchy in exchange for a significant dowry, the death of Charles II of Spain without heir meant that following the War of Spanish Succession, Maria Theresa's grandson assumed the Spanish throne. The queen consort walks along a gallery accompanied by her son, Louis the Grand Dauphin, who holds a small halberd as a symbol of his future role as ruler. This typology of double portrait was widely employed to depict the prince during his early childhood. In this case, the event would have been a masque, as the mask the queen holds in her right hand indicates. Aside from its function as documentation and transmitter of familial affection, this portrait had a markedly political character, demonstrating that Maria Theresa had given the French throne an heir who ensured the continuity of the Bourbon dynasty. However, the Grand Dauphin died before King Louis XIV and thus never became king.