Franz Anton Hovora Count Berka of Dubá and Lipá and Aloisia Ludovica Anna de Montecuccoli as Paris and Helena

One of the most elegant portraits by Škréta represents a young aristocratic couple - Count Berka of Dubá, an important patron of the arts, and his wife, née de Montecuccoli, native of Italy, where the two met when Berka undertook his cavalier trip. In 1672 they were married and this was probably the occasion, on which Škréta’s painting was created, depicting them in the roles of Paris and the beautiful Helena, whose abduction was the impulse for the war of Troy. This type of portrait, called portrait historié (a narrative portrait) captures the persons in disguise as biblical, mythological, and other figures. Its popularity spread all over Europe from the French court of Louis XIV. This painting is also closely related to theatre – Berka’s military-like clothes evoke a costume used on stage, including the beaten metal of the helmet and its plume, whereas his wife’s dress corresponds to the period fashions. In its composition Škréta found inspiration in the famous painting of the same subject by Guido Reni (Musée du Louvre, Paris), which was known in a number of copies.