Mengs painted these portraits of the heirs to the Spanish throne -the prince and princess of Asturias, Carlos de Borbón and Maria Luisa of Parma- on the occasion of their wedding. As the daughter of Philip I, Duke of Parma, and Louise Isabelle of France, and thus granddaughter of Kings Philip V and Louis XV, Maria Luisa was Queen Consort of Spain between 1788 and 1808.

She wears a light-colored dress with green and white flowers and an open neck. The insignia of the Order of the Starred Cross of the Holy Empire rests on her bosom, and small diamond brooches are visible under her chignon. Her long earrings and sumptuous necklace are also of diamonds. A pearl bracelet adorns her right hand, which holds two carnations, while the left, which holds a closed fan, has a pearl bracelet with a miniature portrait. Mengs places the princess alongside a wooden balustrade that opens onto a vast wooded park with a hill and a waterway. The large stone vase with flowers and various branches on the left strengthens the effect of perspective and depth. Maria Luisa was fifteen when this portrait was made. She was born in Parma in 1751 and died in Rome in 1819. Here, her facial features do not yet show the changes produced when she lost all her teeth. The resulting expression when her mouth was closed was later reflected perfectly in numerous portraits that Francisco de Goya painted when she was queen.

An absorbing wife with a strong character, she shaped the king’s behavior, paving the way for the rapid political ascent of his favorite, Manuel Godoy. This, in turn, affected many events during Charles IV’s reign, and in the long run, it contributed to his dethronement. This painting is a fine example of Mengs’s court portraits. It still bears traces of Rococo elegance, but its formal and conceptual rigor foreshadow the esthetic ideals of Neoclassicism. Various replicas and interpretations of this portrait of Maria Luisa of Parma are known, and one is in the Museo del Prado’s collection (P2206) (Text drawn from Luna, J. J.: El Prado en el Ermitage, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2011, pp. 174-177).