print
- Museum number
- 1868,0808.2193
- Title
- Object: Ferdinando IV e Maria Carolina d'Austria
- Description
-
Portraits of Ferdinand IV, King of Naples (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies) and his wife Maria Carolina of Austria, full-length in a grand room with drapery beyond; he standing, wearing military uniform and holding an unsheathed sword in his right hand, the point downward, a fasces beneath his foot, gesturing with his left hand towards a model of the Vatican and St Peter's; she seated, wearing an Empire-line gown and shawl, gesturing towards her husband with her right hand
Engraving and etching
- Production date
- 1799-1800
- Dimensions
-
Height: 376 millimetres
-
Width: 231 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- This print celebrates the 'liberation' of Rome under the auspices of Ferdinand IV and his wife. The city had been seized by French troops in February 1798, who had declared a new Roman republic and had exiled the Pope to France. Ferdinand IV sent an army to recover the city, which was successfully invaded in September 1799. The royal couple's protective gestures over a model of the Vatican testify to their popular portrayal as saviours of the Catholic faith. The dedicatee of the print, Diego Naselli, was one of the commanders of the Neapolitan army.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1868
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1868,0808.2193