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拍品專文
Maximilian O'Donell was the eldest son of Field Marshal Count Maurice O'Donell (1780-1843) of Tyrconnell and his wife, Princess Christine de Ligne (1788-1867). He spent his youth in Dresden and entered the army as a cadet in the Royal Imperial Hussar Frimont Regiment in 1830. After the campaigns in Italy in 1848 and in Hungary in 1849, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and selected as aide-de-camp to Emperor Francis Joseph (see lot 158). On 18 February 1853, O'Donell saved the Emperor's life when a Hungarian tailor, János Lebényi, opposed to Austria's domination of his homeland, attempted to murder the Emperor during a stroll in the streets of Vienna, near the Schottentor. O'Donell tackled Lebényi to the ground and fought with him until help arrived. The Emperor survived and was so grateful that he ordered a church to be built close to the fateful spot and Heinrich Ferstel (1828-1883) came to design the Votivkirche which combined all the elements of Gothic architecture. O'Donell himself was promoted to Major-General and awarded the Order of St. Leopold and a special Patent of Nobility allowing him and his heirs the privilege of incorporating the Imperial Arms of Austria into their own. On retiring in 1859, he lived in the castle of Goldegg, near Gastein and later built a mansion at Mirabellplatz, Salzburg. He married Franziska Wagner (1828-1904) in 1869 and died without issue on 14 July 1895.
The O'Donells sailed for Europe with the 'Wild Geese' who had fled religious persecution in Ireland and went to work for Europe's Catholic monarchs. The Austrian branch of the O'Donell family was founded by Major General Henry Count O'Donell (b. c. 1729) from Co. Mayo, Ireland. He was invited to Austria with the uncle of his cousins, General Count Hamilton and placed in military service there and who was the great-grandfather of the present sitter.
Daffinger's earliest miniature is considered to be the portrait of the O'Donell children illustrated, E. Leisching, Die Bildnis Miniatur in Oesterreich von 1750 bis 1850, Vienna, 1907, p. 165, cat. no. 84. Leo Schidlof makes reference to this portrait in The Miniature in Europe, Graz, 1964, II, p. 179 and states 'The min. of the three O'Donell children, [...] was painted about 1810 and already shows that he knew the craft of the miniaturist perfectly at this time. This piece is moreover extremely typical of the early style of Daffinger [...]'.
The O'Donells sailed for Europe with the 'Wild Geese' who had fled religious persecution in Ireland and went to work for Europe's Catholic monarchs. The Austrian branch of the O'Donell family was founded by Major General Henry Count O'Donell (b. c. 1729) from Co. Mayo, Ireland. He was invited to Austria with the uncle of his cousins, General Count Hamilton and placed in military service there and who was the great-grandfather of the present sitter.
Daffinger's earliest miniature is considered to be the portrait of the O'Donell children illustrated, E. Leisching, Die Bildnis Miniatur in Oesterreich von 1750 bis 1850, Vienna, 1907, p. 165, cat. no. 84. Leo Schidlof makes reference to this portrait in The Miniature in Europe, Graz, 1964, II, p. 179 and states 'The min. of the three O'Donell children, [...] was painted about 1810 and already shows that he knew the craft of the miniaturist perfectly at this time. This piece is moreover extremely typical of the early style of Daffinger [...]'.