1746–1749
A second stay in Rome: conversion and marriage
Arriving in Rome for the second time, Mengs converted to Catholicism and married the Roman Margarita Guazzi, who had sat for him as a model in 1748.
1749–1751
First painter to the Elector of Saxony
Mengs became chief court painter to the Elector Frederick Augustus II on an annual salary of 1,000 thalers, which did not prevent him from spending much of his time in Rome.
1751–1754
Back in Italy: the road to directing the academy
In 1751 Mengs returned to Italy; after a brief stay in Venice and Florence he became a member in 1752 and in 1754 director of the Roman academy of painting.
late 1755
Meeting Johann Joachim Winckelmann
At the end of 1755 Mengs met the archaeologist and art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann, who soon became one of his closest friends and opened his eyes to a new understanding of ancient art. Winckelmann strongly shaped Mengs's views on painting: in his work Mengs turned from the fashionable Rococo to early Neoclassicism.
late 1759
Naples: an altarpiece for Caserta and royal portraits
At the end of 1759 Mengs came to Naples to paint the altarpiece “The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple” for the Royal Chapel at Caserta and portraits of the royal family, among them a portrait of Ferdinand I (1759). When the King of Naples left the city to take the Spanish throne in Madrid, Mengs returned to Rome.
1761
To Madrid at Charles III's invitation: working with Tiepolo
In 1761 Mengs went to Madrid at the invitation of Charles III, where together with Giovanni Battista Tiepolo he decorated the New Royal Palace and also worked at Aranjuez and La Granja; the fees of both masters at the Spanish court were unusually high. He was supported in Madrid and Rome by his friend, the Spanish diplomat and patron José Nicolás de Azara.