Portret van Maria Carolina van Bourbon-Sicilië, hertogin van Berry 1820 - 1852

This portrait of Maria Carolina, Duchess of Berry, was made by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse, and is currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The lithograph aestheticizes its subject through soft focus and delicate shading, placing her in a long tradition of royal portraiture. Consider the politics of imagery and the social conditions that shape artistic production. Born in 1798, Maria Carolina, niece of Marie Antoinette, found herself at the center of French royalist hopes after the Bourbon Restoration. As the mother of the would-be Henri V, her image was strategically deployed to bolster the legitimacy of the monarchy. The lithograph, a relatively new and accessible medium at the time, allowed for wider distribution of her likeness, thus reinforcing her symbolic role. The institutional history of the Rijksmuseum itself also plays a role here. Originally established to showcase Dutch art and history, its acquisition of this portrait speaks to the interconnectedness of European royal houses and the museum's evolving role in shaping national identity through its collection. To fully understand this artwork, further research into the political climate of post-Napoleonic France, the Bourbon Restoration, and the Duchess of Berry's role within it would be essential.