Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (5 January 1614 – 20 November 1662), younger brother of
Emperor Ferdinand III, was an Austrian soldier, administrator and patron of the arts.
He held a number of military commands, with limited success, and served as Governor of the
Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...
, before returning to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in 1656. Despite being nominated as
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
after Ferdinand's death in 1657, he stood aside in favour of his nephew
Leopold I.
His main interest was in art, and he patronised artists including
David Teniers the Younger
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile ar ...
,
Frans Snyders,
Peter Snayers,
Daniel Seghers
Daniël Seghers or Daniel Seghers (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter, painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of ...
,
Peter Franchoys,
Frans Wouters,
Jan van den Hoecke
Jan van den Hoecke ( – 1651) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of wall tapestries. He was one of the principal assistants in Rubens' studio in the 1630s. He later traveled to Italy where he resided for a decade in Rome. He subseq ...
and
Pieter Thijs. His collection of 17th century
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
and
Dutch paintings are now held by the
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal d ...
in Vienna.
Life
Born at
Wiener Neustadt on 5 January, 1614, he was the sixth of seven children born to
Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were ...
(1578-1637) and his first wife,
Maria Anna of Bavaria (1574–1616). His elder brother became Emperor
Ferdinand III (1608–1657).
Career
As a younger son, Leopold was educated for the church but was never ordained. Despite not being a member of the
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, he held various
Prince-Bishoprics within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
to provide him an income:
Halberstadt
Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bomb ...
(1628–1648),
Passau
Passau (; bar, label= Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.
Passau's po ...
(1625–1662),
Breslau (1656–1662),
Olmütz (1637–1662) and
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
(1626–1662).
He was also appointed to the
Bishopric of Halberstadt in 1627,
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
in 1629 and
Bremen
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...
in 1635. All three were in the Protestant north, where the infrastructure of the Catholic church had long since disappeared; he never exercised power and all three were secularised in 1648. He became the
Grand Master of the
Teutonic Order
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
in 1641.
During his lifetime, the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
rulers of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
faced the 1568 to 1648
Dutch Revolt
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
, the 1618 to 1648
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...
and other conflicts, including the
Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
The Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) was fought between France and Spain, with the participation of a changing list of allies through the war. The first phase, beginning in May 1635 and ending with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, is considered ...
. Despite his reluctance, Ferdinand made him Imperial commander in 1639, largely due to lack of reliable subordinates; he resigned following a disastrous defeat at
Second Breitenfeld in 1642, a battle fought against the advice of his generals.
He was re-appointed after another Imperial defeat at the 1645
Battle of Jankau, then
Governor of the Spanish Netherlands in 1647. In that role, he helped negotiate an end to the war in the 1648
Treaty of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought ...
; the Franco-Spanish war continued, obliging him to remain in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
until 1656.
Art collection
While in Brussels, he employed
David Teniers the Younger
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile ar ...
as keeper of his collection, spending immense sums on works by
Frans Snyders,
Peter Snayers,
Daniel Seghers
Daniël Seghers or Daniel Seghers (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter, painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of ...
,
Peter Franchoys,
Frans Wouters,
Jan van den Hoecke
Jan van den Hoecke ( – 1651) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of wall tapestries. He was one of the principal assistants in Rubens' studio in the 1630s. He later traveled to Italy where he resided for a decade in Rome. He subseq ...
,
Pieter Thijs,
Jan van de Venne
Jan van de Venne or Jan van der Venne, also known as Pseudo van de Venne (active by 1616 – died before 1651), was a Flemish painter of genre, religious scenes, and cabinets who was court painter to the governors of the Southern Netherlands. and others. He also acquired a number of Italian masters, purchased from the sale of collections owned by
Bartolomeo della Nave and
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
. His most prized pieces engraved in the book ''
Theatrum Pictorium
''Theatrum Pictorium'', or ''Theatre of Painting'', is a short-hand name of a book published in the 1660s by David Teniers the Younger for his employer, the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. It was a catalog of 243 Italian paintings in the Arc ...
'', which is often called the first "art catalogue".
When the tomb of
Childeric I
Childeric I (; french: Childéric; la, Childericus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hildirīk''; – 481 AD) was a Frankish leader in the northern part of imperial Roman Gaul and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, described as a king (Latin ''r ...
, an early
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gaul ...
king, was discovered in 1653 by a mason doing repairs in the church of Saint-Brice in
Tournai
Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Eurome ...
, it was Leopold Wilhelm who had the find published in Latin. On his return to Vienna in 1656, his collection relocated to the
Hofburg Palace, where
Jan Anton van der Baren
Jan Anton van der Baren (1615 – 30 or 31 December 1686) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter, draughtsman, priest and museum curator active in Brussels and Vienna. He specialised in still lifes of flowers and vegetables, some of which in ...
, a Flemish priest and artist, served as director. The collection was bequeathed to his nephew
Leopold I, and is now part of the collections of the ''
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal d ...
'' in Vienna.
He played an active role in court politics and was close to his stepmother,
Eleonora of Mantua (1598-1655), who shared his interest in Italian art and was a prominent supporter of the
Catholic Counter-Reformation. Although suggested as a candidate to replace Ferdinand as Holy Roman Emperor in 1657, he ensured his nephew
Leopold I was elected when he reached 18 in July 1658.
File:Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria.jpg, Bust of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, by Francois Dieussart (1656). Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal d ...
File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels'', by David Teniers the Younger
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile ar ...
, c. 1650
File:David Teniers - Gallery of the Archduke Leopold Willem in Brussels KMSKB.jpg, Gallery of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels; by David Teniers the Younger, 1651
Ancestors
References
Sources
*
*
* (See index, v. 1, for more information on Leopold Wilhelm's patronage)
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, Archduke
1614 births
1662 deaths
17th-century House of Habsburg
17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire
Austrian princes
Bishops of Strasbourg
Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire
Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands
Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order
People from Wiener Neustadt
Prince-Bishops of Breslau
Roman Catholic Prince-Archbishops of Bremen
Roman Catholic Prince-Bishops of Halberstadt
Military personnel of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
Burials at the Imperial Crypt
Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
Sons of emperors
Sons of kings