Maria Theresia vraagt de Waarheid om raad [Maria Theresa Asks Truth for Counsel]

This Dutch engraving depicts Maria Theresa of Austria in allegorical consultation with Truth during the War of Austrian Succession. The composition combines political commentary with baroque iconography: the empress sits in formal assembly while Truth and other classical figures advise her. The print exemplifies the Northern European tradition of political engraving—visual satire through dense allegorical scenes rather than grotesque caricature. Such prints circulated as single sheets among educated readers, offering coded political argument through mythology and symbol. The engraving's detailed hatching and architectural framing recall both religious prints and the satirical broadsheets that would influence later European comic traditions, from Gillray to Daumier.