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Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1746-1804) was the wife of Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma (1751-1802). She was the daughter of the Habsburg Empress, Maria Theresa (1717-1780), and the elder sister of Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI of France. Maria Amalia and Ferdinand married in 1769. However the union was not a success, and due to adulterous affairs, they were effectively separated by 1775. Maria Amalia remained in Parma with Ferdinand, and despite largely living apart, they managed to produce seven children together.
Zoffany’s portrait makes the separation clear. Maria Amalia emphatically turns away from her husband, who is represented only in the form of a portrait placed above a conspicuously empty chair.
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