Pompeo Batoni: Portrait of emperor Joseph II with Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Tuscany (1769)

(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria)

A painting by the Italian artist Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (1708 – 1787). Holy roman emperor Joseph II (1741 – 1790) was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette. After the death of his father in 1765, Joseph became emperor and was made co-regent by his mother in the Austrian dominions. After the death of his mother in 1780 he was the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Joseph II's rule was characterized as enlightened absolutism but his commitment to modernizing reforms subsequently engendered significant opposition, which resulted in failure to fully implement his programs. Meanwhile, despite making some territorial gains, his reckless foreign policy badly isolated Austria. Joseph traveled in 1769 to Italy and visited with his brother younger brother Peter Leopold (1747-1792) Rome. In Italy the brothers were portrayed by Pompeo Batoni to corresponded to the progressive ideal of the two enlightened princes. On this painting Joseph is standing on the right, his brother Peter Leopold (after 1790 Emperor Leopold II) stands on the left. Painting from 1769.