Looking out from the portrait is a young woman with dark eyes, soft features and a gentle smile. Her slim face is surrounded by locks of brown hair adorned with pearls. Pearls also encircle her slender neck and adorn the lace-trimmed neckline of her dress, made of red fabric with gold ornaments. The portrait of the sitter is shown up to her waist, and the dark background contrasts with the light complexion of her face and shoulders. Attached to the sides of the bodice of the dress is a purple cloak lined with ermine fur and fastened with two large clasps of roundels among pearls.

The portrait described above is the only likeness of Queen Maria Kazimiera (1641-1716) to be found in the collection of the Church and Hospice of St Stanislaus in Rome. The collection of 'Sobiescians' preserved in the Polish church also includes two portraits of her spouse, King John III ( https://baza.polonika.pl/pl/obiekty/portret-jana-iii-sobieskiego-w-kosciele-sw-stanislawa-w-rzymie , https://baza.polonika.pl/pl/obiekty/portret-jana-iii-sobieskiego-w-kosciele-sw-stanislawa-w-rzymie-1 ).

Looking at the features of Maria Kazimiera in this portrait, we may conclude that the work originates from, or repeats, the iconography of the original painted shortly after the election of Jan Sobieski in 1674. The lower limit of the painting's creation is determined by the presence of an ermine coat, a symbol of royal dignity. The portrait's face is clearly younger than most likenesses of John III's wife dating to the 1680s or 1690s. Several similar images of the young queen have survived, but the closest in terms of facial features seems to be the portrait of the queen from the collection of the National Museum in Minsk ( https://baza.polonika.pl/pl/obiekty/portret-marii-kazimiery-sobieskiej-w-kosciele-sw-stanislawa-w-rzymie#photo=81956 ). This portrait comes from the Radziwill collection in Nesvizh, where numerous mementos of the Sobieski family from Zhovkva ended up. Although the two works differ in their painting manner and finish, and in the details of their attire, they undoubtedly show the same figure of a similar age, with clear analogies in facial characteristics. This is all the more interesting as later depictions of the Queen, following the same iconographic pattern, were, in the words of Przemysław Mrozowski, 'updated' and depict a clearly more mature woman. These include a series of portraits of the queen, examples of which have been preserved in Polish collections (Wawel Royal Castle, the National Museum in Warsaw, the King John III Palace Museum in Wilanów), but also in foreign collections. A good example of the latter is the portrait of the Queen from the Poggio Imperiale in Florence ( https://baza.polonika.pl/pl/obiekty/portret-marii-kazimiery-sobieskiej-w-kosciele-sw-stanislawa-w-rzymie#photo=81958 ).

Two features of the painting in question can be considered particularly interesting. The first is the oval frame surrounding the portrait sitter. It was painted in an illusionistic manner, referring to the so-called 'trompe l-oeil', deceptions to the eye, eagerly introduced in Baroque painting. The frame, with its parts of light and shadow, creates a three-dimensional impression and introduces an additional plane into the composition. As a result, the portrait subject is perceived as a figure in a window. The second feature that draws attention when observing the painting closely is its sketchy character, painting with broad, free brushstrokes. This is particularly evident in the parts of the Queen's attire - the bodice of her dress and her ermine coat, but a certain impression of "non finito" can also be seen on the face of the portrayed, at the string of pearls or in her hair.

In a study dedicated to the history of the St Stanislaus church and hospice, Józef Skrabski mentions that in 1687 the Bishop of Przemyśl, Jan Stanisław Zbąski, funded royal portraits for the Polish temple. The author explains that it is not clear whether these are two images of unknown provenance - the work in question and the portrait of John III in spiked armour (the second of the king's portraits, in karacena, is a gift of Leon Czosnowski from 1976).

The different compositions of the two works, the portrait of Maria Kazimiera and the portrait of John III, the different proportions of the figures and the clear divergences in the artist's craftsmanship support the view that the works were created independently and could hardly have formed a pair.

The portrait was restored in 2024, thanks to the funding of the National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad POLONICA.

Technical data: canvas, oil
Size: 96.5 x 70 cm (in frame 115 x 90 cm)