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This is the first exhibition to investigate Maria Theresa’s relationship to the visual arts. Hence the show concentrates on those artistic genres that were of primary importance in her day. They include portraiture and portrait sculpture, which served the purpose of representing the imperial dynasty (with works by Martin van Meytens the Younger, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, and Jean-Etienne Liotard). Allegorical paintings and ceiling frescoes, impressive designs for which have survived (such as by Franz Anton Maulbertsch, Daniel Gran, and Gregorio Guglielmi), fulfilled a similar function. In …