Countess Széchenyi

This portrait typifies painting in Vienna between 1815 and 1865, an era known as the Biedermeier period, during which the Habsburg government promoted positive artistic depictions of Viennese life and culture. The mountains in the background express both the artist's romantic fascination with nature and patriotic devotion to his Austrian homeland. The sitter, Crescentia Seilern, was a prestigious member of the aristocracy who married Hungarian reformist patriot István Széchenyi.