Maria Clementina: An Intimate Portrait of a Forgotten Princesss

I. Humble Beginnings

I. Humble Beginnings
On 1 March 1798, the Hofburg Palace was in a hustle; the granddaughter of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa had given birth to her sixth child—a girl, named Maria Clementina Franziska Josepha. A boy would have been received with greater affection from the Imperial court and public, but this child was nonetheless cared for greatly by its parents. Maria Teresa Carolina Giuseppina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the mother of the certain Maria Clementina, was a daughter, amongst eighteen children, of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his consort, Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. Maria Carolina came from a grand lineage: her mother, Maria Theresa, was a Queen-Empress and a daughter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, while her father, Francis Stephen, was himself an Emperor and Grand Duke, born a son of Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans and Leopold, Duke of Lorraine. King Ferdinand was the son of Charles III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was practically born a king, as his reign as King of Naples begin in 1759, at the age of eight.
            At the time of Clementina's birth, her father, Francis, was the then Holy Roman Emperor. His reign began in 1792, after the death of his father Leopold. Francis ascended to the throne much earlier than expected, at the age of twenty-four, and the only surviving child he had was a girl, Maria Ludovica. Before his marriage to Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, he had married the Duchess of Württemberg, Elisabeth. Elisabeth bore him a daughter, the Archduchess Ludovika Elisabeth in 1790, but the archduchess tragically died in 1791. Elisabeth never survived to 1791, and instead died in childbirth in 1790. In September 1790, only a few months after the death of Elisabeth, Francis married Maria Teresa of Bourbon. Their marriage, despite personality differences—Francis was shy and had reserve, while Maria Teresa was vivacious and outgoing—was rather happy. It was also true that Maria Teresa was more cold and stern to their children than Francis. In 1806, Maria Teresa and Francis had nine children together, and in August or September 1806, Maria Teresa was found pregnant with another child.
            The siblings of Clementina in 1800, when Clementina herself was barely two years old, included Maria Ludovica, who was born in 1791 and was the eldest of the surviving children of the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand, who was born in 1793, Leopoldina, who was born in 1797, and Joseph Franz, who was born in 1799, only a year after Clementina. Two children, born in 1794 and 1795, respectively, both died young. The first child, the Archduchess Maria Caroline, died in 1795, aged only a few months. The second child, the Archduchess Caroline Ludovika, died in 1797, aged only a year.
            Clementina seemed to be closer to her elder surviving sister Leopoldina. The two were similar in personalities, both thriving in educational studies and enjoying learning, and both had artistic talents. Bernhard von Guérard painted a portrait of Clementina and her sister Leopoldina in 1810. The two sisters were clad in beautiful white dresses, possibly symbolic of their innocence, with embroidered sleeves and ribbons around their waists. Their hair was high and curled in ringlets, with their arms wrapped around each other's waists. Clementina seems to have been painted on the right, with blonde hair and blue eyes—an appearance which has been repeated in the following portraits of her.