Portrait Of Joseph II Emperor Of Austria Habsburg Empire Oil On Canvas Marie Antoinette

Old oil on canvas dating from the beginning of the 19th century. Portrait representing Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor. Original canvas presented in a Louis XVI style frame; Wear to the frame. The frame: 73.5cm x 59cm The canvas (excluding frame) measures 60.5cm x 46.5cm The canvas is in very good condition Joseph de Lorraine, Joseph II (Vienna, March 13, 1741 – Vienna, February 20, 1790), eldest son of Maria Theresa of Austria, he succeeded his father as Roman emperor in 1765 and then became co-regent of the hereditary Habsburg possessions; he inherited these in 1780 upon the death of his mother, Empress Marie-Thérèse. Joseph II showed himself to be a modern and reformist sovereign, although his reforms, too rapid, were neither understood nor accepted by his subjects. He allied himself with Prussia and the Russian Empire to carve up Poland (1772) and almost started a European war in 1778 by wanting to seize Bavaria. He attempted to influence the course of France's foreign policy by using his influence over his sister Marie Antoinette of Austria. He also tried to dismember the Ottoman Empire by allying with the Russian Empire.