The Tansey Miniatures Foundation

The Miniature About the Artist

The Tansey Miniatures Foundation

DE
The Miniature About the Artist

Maria Clementina Stuart, née Sobieska

Antonio David

This miniature in oils features Maria Clementina Stuart, née Sobieska (1702-1735) in a splendid dress, rich pearl and gem ornaments and a blue, ermine lined cloak. In the background a crown with crosses is depicted, to which she would have been entitled as a Catholic queen of Great Britain.1
When James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766), the “Old Pretender”, was looking for a wife to ensure descendants to his royal line, his confidant found her among the daughters of the Polish Prince Jakob Sobieski. The English king, however, tried to prevent this marriage and ordered the arrest of the chosen lady. Yet by an adventurous escape the couple were able to marry in Rome in 1719. One year later their first son, Charles Edward, was born, followed by Henry Benedict in 1725.2
However the marriage was an unhappy one, and Maria Clementina’s mental and physical state deteriorated rapidly. She entered the convent of Santa Cecilia in Rome in 1725 and from then on saw her children, of whom she was very fond, only rarely. Her hysterical fits left her increasingly lonely, and the very meagre nourishment she chose for herself, accompanied by the dampness of the convent, led to a lung disease of which she died in 1735.
Several miniatures of the lady and her husband are known. They were probably given as presents to relatives, but were surely also distributed with the intention of political propaganda. The portrait in the Tansey Collection doubtlessly is one of the most attractive and is of excellent quality. It shows Maria Clementina in her prime, presumably shortly before her marriage.
B. P.

1 The identification is inferred from the many verified, in some cases identical pictures of the sitter. In a stylistically very similar miniature ascribed to Antonio David, Maria Clementina is represented in a similar pose and with an identical crown. (Christie’s London, 6 December 2005, no. 64, together with the pendant miniature of her husband). Moreover, miniatures of this type are found in the State Museum of Stuttgart and in a Scottish private collection (Lloyd 2006, p. 83, no. 45E), whereas others have been offered within the art trade (A.-M. Wager, Munich, Bonhams, London, 25 November 1992, no. 18; Phillips London, 12 July 1999, no. 188). The painting by Francesco Trevisani (Prado, Madrid) also depicts the lady with this crown. We are sincerely grateful to Karl and Esther Trefzer-Itin for their help in regarding to this miniature.
2 A group of miniatures in oils from around 1730 shows all four family members (Christie’s London, 6 December 2005, no. 62). Signs of Maria Clementina’s ailing health are distinctly noticeable in her narrower, more angular face.