Peter Thys: Portrait of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1650-1656)

(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria)

A painting by the Flemish artist Peter Thys (1624-1677). Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1614 – 1662), was the sixth of seven children born to Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. His elder brother became Emperor Ferdinand III (1608–1657). Leopold Wilhelm held numerous military commands during the Thirty Years war (1618-1648) but with limited success. In 1647 he succeeded Manuel de Castel Rodrigo as governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (modern Belgium) as there were no princes of the Blood available in Spain. The Spanish Habsburgers didn't trust Leopold and in 1655 he was fired from his post by the Spanish king Philip IV. Leopold Wilhelm returned to Austria to take on the administration of several dioceses and the family affairs of the Habsburgers. Painting from 1650-1656.