Joseph Hickel

Josef Hickel (Bohmisch-Leipa/Bohemia 1736–1807Vienna) Portrait of Emperor Joseph II in a Chevaux Legersuniform, with the Order of the Golden Fleece set withbrilliants, the Order of Maria Theresa, and theOrder of St Stephen, oil on copper, oval, 32 x 26 cm, framed, Provenance: Austrian private collection Josef Hickel was courtpainter to Empress Maria Theresa, for whom he portrayednumerous high-ranking personalities. In 1769 he was appointedmember of the Florentine Academy. In Vienna, where he waslikewise affiliated with the Academy, he was repeatedlycommissioned to paint Emperor Joseph II and portrayed him at leastfive times. He left altogether more than 3,000 portraits. Thepresent painting depends on contemporary English portraiture, a typical feature of which is the hint of a clouded sky in thebackground, so that the sovereign, in contrast tothe meticulous rendering of his appearance, is placedagainst the limitless expanse of space in order to augment hissignificance. Specialist: Prof. Dr. Peter Wolf

Joseph Hickel (Böhmisch-Leipa 1736-1807 Vienna) Portrait of Antonia, countess of Lamberg, three-quarter-length, ina black and white dress with lace cuffs, holding a bird by astring inscribed and dated 'Joseph Hickels pinxit Ao. 1765. Fecit.' (onthe reverse) and with inscription 'Antonia freülle Gräffin v.Lamberg geb 25 Jul 1757/in die Raij Amalie Stüatung bedene(?)Lessia nerinen eingettreffen den 30 Aug 1763.' (on thereverse) oil on canvas, unlined 84.1 x 70 cm. Collection of the Princely family zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfuerst;Christie's, Amsterdam, 25 September 2001, lot 108 (EUR23.500). Joseph Hickel was accepted as a student at the Akademie derBildenden Kunste, Vienna, in 1756, where he studied for about tenyears. In 1768 he was commissioned by Empress Maria Theresa totravel to Italy to paint portraits of the nobility of Milan, Parmaand Florence; Hickel became a member of the Accademia di Belle Artiin Florence in 1769. In 1772 he was appointed deputy head of theVienna Gemldegalerie and he became painter to the Imperial court in1776. In the 1780s Hickel was one of the most sought-after portraitpainters in Vienna. He is believed to have painted more than 3,000portraits, including those of the Austrian Imperial family (forexample the Portrait of the Emperor Joseph II sold, Christie's,London, 8 July 1999, lot 213 [25,000]), Pope Pius VI, KingFerdinand IV and Queen Maria Carolina of Naples, as well as membersof the nobility, middle classes and actors at the Hofburgtheatre.

Oil on canvas Provenance The duc de Berri (according to the 1903 personal inventory ofBaron Nathaniel von Rothschild, loc. cit.). Rothschild inv. no. AR297. Literature 1903 Theresianumgasse Inventory, p. 11, no. 8. 1905 Theresianumgasse Inventory, p. 401, no. 165. Exhibited Vienna, Osterreichisches Barockmuseum im Unteren Belvedere, inv.no. 4258, since 1948. Lot Notes The composition of the present picture is very close to that ofthe portrait of Josef II by Hickel in the Suenska statensPortrttsamling, Gripsholm (no. 641), signed and dated 1773. The second son of the Empress Maria-Theresa, Joseph II did notaccede to power, despite having been co-regent with his mother,until her death in 1780. Strongly influenced by the ideals of histimes, and in particular by the views of the French philosophes, hedetermined to be a monarch governed by the principles of Rousseau,rather than the more traditional Machiavelli. He refused to becrowned, or to take the oath to the loyal constitutions, andintroducing sweeping social reforms throughout his reactionaryEmpire. This he extended to matters ecclesiastical, pushing for thecomplete subordination of the clergy to the State and the severanceof all effective ties with Rome. Opposition to what he understoodto be enlightened policies was regarded as obscurantist, to becorrected with force if necessary. Unfortunately for the Emperor, the vested interests in the oldsystem were powerful enough to resist effectively, but the failureof his ambitions was guaranteed by his introduction ofconscription, which turned even the peasants, whom he had done somuch to emancipate, against him. Threatened revolt in Hungary, andthe actual revolt of Tirol and the Netherlands, together with thedisastrous war with Turkey from 1788-90, forced Joseph to formallyreverse his whole policy of reform. He died broken hearted on 20February 1790.