GERMAN SCHOOL of 1770 - Lot 11

GERMAN SCHOOL of 1770 Portrait of the Emperor of the Romans Joseph II (1741 - 1790) Oval miniature, in a gilded copper lathe, itself mounted in a rectangular wooden frame. Gouache on ivory, mounted on cardboard. Unsigned. 51 x 44 mm (48 x 39 mm when viewed); frame: 106 x 96 mm First son of Maria Theresa and eldest brother of Marie-Antoinette, Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine is shown in officer's uniform of the Regiment des Chevaux-Légers (of which he has been owner and colonel since 1748) with the sash and plaque of the Austrian Order of Maria Theresa (created in 1757) and the sash and plaque of Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of St. Stephen (created in 1764) and with the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece. This portrait model of Joseph II turned three-quarter left, with a very young face, does not appear in Angelika Schmitt-Vorster's 2005 Munich thesis on portraits of this sovereign: Pro Deo et Populo: Die Porträts Josephs II. (1765 - 1790). Untersuchungen zu Bestand, Iko ographie und Verbreitung des Kaiserbildnisses im Zeitalter der Aufklärung.