Portrait of Maria Luisa d'Orleans (1662-1689), wife of Charles II of Spain 1684 - 1694

This etching, "Portrait of Maria Luisa d'Orleans (1662-1689), wife of Charles II of Spain," by Giovanni Battista Bonacina, is a powerful depiction of the fleeting nature of life. Maria Luisa, the Queen of Spain, is situated at the center, surrounded by allegorical figures representing Heaven and Earth. An angel plays a trumpet above her while another angel points upwards towards the celestial sphere above. Below, Death, represented by a skeletal figure, embraces the Earth, a symbol of the inevitable end of life. The composition is dynamic and full of symbolic details that invite contemplation of the themes of mortality and divinity.