The imperial palace of Schönbrunn on the outskirts of Vienna was used by the Emperor as a summer residence. The present palace, replacing a hunting lodge named 'beautiful fountain' that was destroyed in the Turkish siege of 1683, was begun in 1693 by J.B. Fischer von Erlach and completed during the time of the Empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II. Although described as a 'hunting lodge' the palace finally consisted of 1441 rooms with 139 kitchens; it was certainly conceived as an Imperial residence and had a large number of staterooms. The Emperor's suite is on one side and his consort's is on the other. Among the interiors are exquisite masterpieces of rococco white and gold decoration. A number of the rooms were painted, for example, the 'Hamilton-Saal' with decorations by the Scottish artists P.and J. de Hamilton, Court painters to Maria Theresa. The room in this drawing has a landscape with a white palace on a lake framed by exotic palms and other vegetation. A bird on the ceiling appears to hold the chandelier suspended from its claws, while an animal runs up the cord to steal the trailing fruit. The intricately patterned parquet floor is without rugs or any coverings and there are no curtains, a manner of decorating only possible in a summer residence. The suite of furniture in the manner of the Viennese designer Josef Dannhauser is contemporary with the drawing, i.e. about 1820-30, and the full-size grand piano would have been suitable for recitals.
Franz Xaver Nachtmann, who was trained as a still-life painter at the Nymphenburg porcelain factory, was involved from about 1820 in making interior views for Queen Caroline of Bavaria's Wittlesbach Album, recording the royal palace in Munich and the summer residence at Nymphenburg. Queen Caroline's stepdaughter Charlotte married in 1816 Francis I, Emperor of Austria. Her own daughter Sophia married in 1828 Archduke Francis Charles of Austria