For a historian, the image of the person one researches is as vital as having relevant written sources. Much like any human encounter, seeing the face of one’s subject greatly deepens one’s understanding of them and creates a certain personal bond.
I am, therefore, truly saddened that despite my steady and repeated efforts, I have found no visual representation of Karolina, Countess Althann. Trying to make the best of this unsatisfying situation, I turned to her female blood relatives — mother, sisters, aunts — in the hope of detecting at least some family resemblance. All in vain. Lowering the search criteria even further, I examined the small Holstein estates where she spent most of her married life. But alas, the manors that once belonged to her husband — as well as the churches she likely attended — were later completely renovated and bear no resemblance to the places she once knew.
With great regret, one must accept that Karolina, Countess Althann, later Madame Reventlow, remains a mere silhouette. If a portrait of her does exist, then probably only as that of an ‘unknown noblewoman.’
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