Portrait Of King Joseph Ii, Emperor Of Austria, Habsburg, Oil On Canvas, Marie Antoinette

Old oil on canvas dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
Portrait representing Joseph II Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Original canvas presented in a Louis XVI style frame; Wear to the frame.
The frame: 73.5cm x 59cm The canvas (without frame) measures 60.5cm x 46.5cm
The canvas is in very good condition


Joseph of Lorraine, Joseph II (Vienna, March 13, 1741 – Vienna, February 20, 1790), eldest son of Maria Theresa of Austria, he succeeded his father as Emperor of the Romans in 1765 and then became co-regent of the hereditary possessions of the Habsburgs; he inherited them in 1780 on the death of his mother, Empress Maria Theresa. 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 with Prussia and the Russian Empire to carve up Poland (1772) and nearly triggered a European war in 1778 by attempting to seize Bavaria. He attempted to influence the course of French foreign policy by using his influence over his sister Marie Antoinette of Austria. He also attempted to dismember the Ottoman Empire by allying himself with the Russian Empire.