Éva Thököly, wife of Prince Pál Esterházy Painter of Hungary, Late 17th Century

This impressive portrait shows Éva Thököly, the second wife of the prince palatine, Pál Esterházy. The painting once belonged to the ancestors’ gallery, or “Ancestors’ Hall” of the Esterházy family’s branch of counts at the mansion of Pápa. In the early 20th century, it still hung in this same gallery, which also displayed portraits of the 17–18th century ancestors from the princes’ and counts’ lines of the Esterházy family in a striking unit. The gallery attested to the distinguished past and the social importance of the family. The majestic mode in which Éva Thököly is depicted, her highly decorated clothing, extraordinary jewellery, the family coat of arms and the furnishing and objects in her surroundings all denote her social position and thus fulfil this aim of expressing the family’s rank and status.