103 Thus, the Saxon-Polish court’s enthusiasm for pastel painting and the growing presence of Rosalba’s pastels in Dresden contributed to the spread of this practice among artists in Dresden, especially those belonging to the court. Indeed, some artists even became court painters based largely on their talent in the pastel medium, as was the case for the Mengs family. THERESA CONCORDIA MENGS : MINIATUR I ST AND PASTEL PAINTER AT THE DRESDEN COURT Although principally known as aminiature copyist, Theresa Concordia von Maron (née Mengs) began her career as a pastel painter. Born in 1725 and raised in Dresden, Theresa and her siblings Anton Raphael and Juliane Charlotte were trained by their father, the court painter Ismael Mengs (1688–1764). Being a professional enamel painter and miniaturist, Ismael taught his children these techniques with the intention of having them– or rather his daughters – develop a career inminiature painting. ForTheresa, his goal was indeed realised: she later became renowned for her miniature copies of works by Italian masters. However, her early career was characterised by her skilful and precise pastel paintings. Since her father was unfamiliar with the medium, Theresa and her siblings likely learned French pastel techniques fromMarie Catherine andMarieMaximilienne de Silvestre, the wife and daughter of Dresden court painter Louis de Silvestre, or from the Dresden court painter David Müller.8 Theresa was appointed, along with her brother and sister, as Kabinettmalerin to the Saxon-Polish court in October 1745, after her brother’s talent was “discovered” by Italian singer Domenico Annibali.9 After seeing the young boy’s pastel portrait of the singer (fig. 4) as well as a pastel of Augustus III himself, the elector-king appointed the Mengs children as Kabinettmaler. Anton Raphael received an annual pension of 600 thalers, whileTheresa and Juliane received 300 thalers each.10 It was thus her brother’s pastel portrait of Annibali that beganTheresa’s career, and the Mengs children’s acceptance into the court was largely possible thanks to Augustus III’s special love for pastel painting.11 Although Theresa Concordia Mengs was likely trained in the French style of pastel by court painters in Dresden, her Dresden portraits still reflect certain nuances that can also be found in Rosalba Carriera’s own works, as shown in the portrait of her sister in the Dresden Gemäldegalerie (cat. 8). When working with pastels, Mengs utilised a more subdued colour palette, similar to that of Carriera. The result for both artists are portraits that exude the lightness and beauty of Rococo elegance. However, like her brother, Mengs tended to blend her pastels and use more precise strokes, resulting in a portrait that resembles an oil painting, giving a touch more realism to her pastels than is seen in Carriera’s works.
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