Workshop of Martin van Meytens the Younger

Sale Succession of Franz Ulrich Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1936–2009), Prince Kimsky, Dorotheum, Vienna, 28 February 2012, lot 34.

This portrait attributed to the workshop of Martin van Meytens the Younger seems to be a partial reproduction of the figure of Joseph in the portrait of the three eldest sons of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, displayed in the Royal Palace in Vienna, on the north wall of the Balcony Room. Elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire after the death of his father in 1765, Joseph II also became co-regent of the Habsburg estates with his mother, before inheriting them when she died in 1780. He introduced reforming policies, sometimes taken to extremes, in his efforts to transform the government from top to bottom. These brutal changes sparked the population’s discontent, even resulting in uprisings such as the Brabant Revolution in 1789.

The young prince is shown in the military uniform of an officer, with long gold aiguillettes falling from his right shoulder and a tricorn hat tucked under his left arm. His status is apparent in his red suit, richly embroidered with motifs in gold thread, and the fine lace cuffs emerging from his sleeves. The insignia of the Order of the Toison d’Or hangs from a red ribbon to rest on his breast. This same composition is revisited by Van Meytens in the family portrait of Francis I and Maria Theresa, painted in about 1755 and now in the Château de Versailles (inv. MV 3860).