Citrine intaglio pendant by Luigi Pichler, depicting Marie Louise, second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte

Epoque: 19th century

Medium: Citrine

Signature:  Engraved "MARIA LUISA" and signed 'PIKLER F'.

Literature: FOOTNOTES

Literature

H. Rollett, "Die Drei Meister der Gemmoglyptc, Antonio, Giovanni und Luigi Pichler", Vienna, 1874, page 65, No 133.

Luigi Pichler [Pikler] (1773-1854), scion of the celebrated family of German-Italian gem engravers, studied under his elder half-brother Giovanni. Towards the end of the 18th century he visited Austria where he attracted wide foreign patronage and in 1808 was presented to Emperor Francis I in Vienna. In 1818 he was appointed Professor of Gem Engraving at Akademie der Bildenden KUnste in Vienna, a post he held until 1850 before retiring to Rome. He was known for his contemporary portraits and "his preferred medium was intaglio distinguished by exquisite polish and often executed in gemstones rather than the more usual hardstones" (Grove Dictionary of Art). Like all members of his family and according to common practice of the day, he signed his work in various ways, including his name and initials in Greek and Roman letters.



This intaglio depicts Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, a member of the house of Habsburg, the eldest daughter of the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (later Emperor Francis I of Austria) and Maria Theresa of Naples-Sicily and niece of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France. She became Empress of the French, as the second wife of the Emperor Napoleon I, whom she married in 1810 and bore him his long-desired heir, known as the King of Rome, in 1811 and was later Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla.