/internal/media/dispatcher/7372/fullEmpress Elisabeth with Saint Bernard Dog1883[Anton Romako, Elisabeth von Österreich]Anton RomakoOil on wood Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837–1898) - better known as Sisi - exudes an almost feral quality in this painting. She seems motionless. Her skin is pallid. Her lengthy hair tied back with a diadem cascades down her body and upper arms. A pearl necklace wound repeatedly around her neck covers her décolletage. Her upper body is laced into a tight bodice. A shawl whose pattern is reminiscent of big cats’ fur conceals her lower arms. Her hands appear devoid of bones. In front of Elisabeth there is a Saint Bernard dog that had become her constant companion in the later years of her life. With his portrait of Empress Elisabeth, Romako once again broke with all pictorial conventions. It has nothing in common with traditional portraits of monarchs, which were always painted according to the same model. The picture was produced in Geneva, where Elisabeth liked to stay and was ultimately murdered in 1898. If at all, Romako had only seen her from a distance. Like most artists, he had to make do with photographs. We can be certain that Elisabeth never set eyes on Romako’s portrait.Paintinghttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/3213/rdf