Family portraits, historical and modern, convey messages about the power, wealth, and status of the family. Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, her husband, Francis I, and their children are depicted in this eighteenth century painting by Martin van Meytens. Maria Theresa ruled the Hapsburg Empire for forty years. She and her husband had eleven daughters and five sons; five of her children became heads of state in Europe.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Image featured in Investigating Family, Food, and Housing Themes in Social Studies by Cynthia Resor
I like this one to use in the classroom for an older elementary school class talking about 18th century. I like this because it shows how the social norms have changed. Today we have small families unlike back at this time where they had very large families and high death rates.
As a teacher, I would use this picture in my elementary classroom while teaching about world history. We could talk about the differences in a family portrait today compared to the time of this image. Also we could discuss the important people in the picture.