A groundbreaking discovery by an Oxford University professor has revealed that one of the most widely recognized childhood portraits of Marie Antoinette actually shows her older sister, Maria Carolina of Austria, who later became Queen of Naples. This revelation promises to fundamentally reshape how historians and the public understand the visual legacy of France's most notorious queen.

Professor Catriona Seth, a distinguished scholar of French literature at Oxford University, made this remarkable discovery while conducting research for an upcoming book at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (MAH) in Geneva. The acclaimed watercolor painting, created in 1762 by Genevan artist Jean-Étienne Liotard, has appeared in Marie Antoinette biographies worldwide for decades, making this misidentification particularly significant for historical scholarship.

The most compelling evidence for this identification lies in a small but crucial detail that art historians had previously overlooked for centuries. The young girl depicted in the portrait wears an ornament pinned to her chest featuring a medal with a red cross positioned beneath a large black ribbon. Professor Seth identified this distinctive decoration as the Order of the Starry Cross, an exclusive imperial Austrian dynastic order reserved specifically for Catholic noble ladies.

This identification proved pivotal to solving the centuries-old mystery surrounding the portrait's true subject. Historical records clearly show that Marie Antoinette would not receive this prestigious honor until 1766, a full four years after Liotard painted the portrait in 1762. The timing of Marie Antoinette's award was widely reported in European press at the time, as it was considered an extremely prestigious recognition. In stark contrast, Maria Carolina received her Order of the Starry Cross in 1762, precisely when Liotard was in Vienna painting members of the imperial family.

The portrait depicts a determined child with a steely, almost regal gaze, holding a weaving shuttle in one hand and red thread in the other. This stern expression has long been interpreted by historians and biographers as evidence of Marie Antoinette's destined "life of significance" and her natural royal bearing from childhood. However, the portrait actually captures her older sister's character and demeanor rather than the future French queen's personality.

Professor Seth's investigation led to another equally surprising revelation about a second Liotard portrait. A less famous painting by the same artist, previously thought to depict Maria Carolina, actually shows the young Marie Antoinette. In this corrected identification, a more petite girl smiles demurely while holding a rose to her chest—a recurring motif that would appear in Marie Antoinette portraits throughout her entire life.

Additional evidence supporting this new identification includes distinctive earrings worn by the girl in the second portrait, which match jewelry that Marie Antoinette wore in a later portrait created when she officially became queen of France. Perhaps most tellingly, the subject in this second painting appears noticeably younger than the girl in the first painting, which aligns with historical facts since Marie Antoinette had no younger sisters among the Habsburg children.

The age difference between the sisters is clearly visible when comparing the two works side by side. Maria Carolina, born in 1752, would have been approximately 10 years old when the portraits were completed, while Marie Antoinette, born in 1755, would have been about seven years old. This three-year gap is distinctly apparent in the facial features and physical development shown in both paintings.

The portrait misidentification occurred sometime during the past 250 years, though the exact moment when the mix-up happened remains unclear to researchers. According to staff members at the Geneva museum, the sisters' identities were already confused when these important artworks entered the museum's collection in 1947. This timeline suggests that the error occurred much earlier in history, possibly during the chaotic and tumultuous years following the French Revolution when numerous royal artifacts were scattered, lost, or redistributed across Europe.

This misattribution has had a lasting and significant cultural impact on how Marie Antoinette is perceived in popular culture and academic circles. The determined, stern expression of the girl in the famous portrait has long been cited by historians and biographers as compelling evidence of Marie Antoinette's destined significance and inherent royal bearing from early childhood. Professor Seth notes that this steely, almost regal gaze helped fundamentally shape popular perception of the future queen's early character development and royal ambitions.

The discovery means that websites, galleries, libraries, museums, and academic publications worldwide will need to systematically correct their captions, attributions, and historical records. Professor Seth's meticulous research demonstrates how ongoing art historical scholarship continues to uncover new truths about even the most extensively documented and studied figures in European history.

Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna to Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I as their 15th and youngest child. She married the future King Louis XVI of France at the remarkably young age of 14, but the royal couple's reign ended tragically during the violent upheaval of the French Revolution when both were executed by guillotine in the 1790s. This correction of her childhood portrait adds another layer to understanding the complex historical narrative surrounding one of history's most controversial royal figures.