portrait of Princess Pauline Metternich-Sandor, oil on canvas, 67 x 53 cm, oval, framed, (Rei)

Provenance:
Private Collection, Vienna;
Sale Dorotheum, Vienna, 8 September 2014, lot 5;
Private Collection, Tyrol.

Princess Pauline Clementine Marie Walburga Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein, née Countess Sandor von Szlavnicza (1836-1921) was the granddaughter and daughter-in-law of State Chancellor Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich (1773-1859). She married Prince Richard Klemens Metternich in 1856. He was Austrian ambassador in Paris from 1859 to 1871, where she already played a leading role in social life as a young woman. She became particularly well-known and influential during her time in Paris, which was to produce a whole generation of salonieres. In 1871, the couple returned to Vienna. From then on, she devoted herself entirely to cultural and social activities, ranging from the promotion of Richard Wagner in Paris to the organisation of the Spring Festival in the Prater, the Flower Parade, the promotion of the Vienna Rescue Association, and numerous events in concert halls and theatres. As result, her commitment appealed to the most diverse social strata of Vienna during the reign of Emperor Francis-Joseph. Her rivalry with Empress Elisabeth was legendary: “'s gibt nur a Kaiserstadt, 's gibt nur a Wien! 's gibt nur a Fürstin, d'Metternich Paulin!” [There is only one imperial city / There is only one Vienna / There is only one princess, Pauline Metternich!]

Literature:
Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (ÖBL), volume 6, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1975, p. 248.