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 Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

. He held a number of military commands, with limited success, and served as Governor of the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

, before returning to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1656. Despite being nominated as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

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 artist ...

Frans Snyders Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11November 157919August 1657) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes. A versatile artist, his works depict all sorts of foods, utensils, and tableware and wide assortment ...

Peter Snayers Peter Snayers or Pieter Snayers (1592–1667) was a Flemish painter known for his panoramic battle scenes, depictions of cavalry skirmishes, attacks on villages, coaches and convoys and hunting scenes. (p. 241-243, v.1; plate 92, v.2)Hans V ...

Daniel Seghers Daniel Seghers (3December 15902November 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 flower garland painting.I ...

Peter Franchoys Peter, Peeter or Pieter Franchoys or Francois (1606 in Mechelen – 1654 in Mechelen) was a Flemish Baroque painter, who is mainly known for his portraits and religious paintings. Life He studied painting with his father, Lucas Franchoys the El ...

Frans Wouters Frans Wouters (1612–1659) was a Flemish Baroque painter who translated the monumental Baroque style of Peter Paul Rubens into the small context of cabinet paintings. He was a court painter to the Roman Emperor and the Prince of Wales and ...

Jan van den Hoecke Jan van den Hoecke (baptised on 4 August 1611 – 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 ...

and

Pieter Thijs Pieter Thijs, Peter Thijs or Pieter Thys (1624 in Antwerp – 1677 in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of portraits as well as religious and history paintings. He was a very successful artist who worked for the courts in Brussels and The Hague as ...

. His collection of 17th century Venetian and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

paintings are now held by the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

in Vienna.

Life

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria by David Teniers d

Born at

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

on 5 January, 1614, he was the sixth of seven children born to Emperor Ferdinand II (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 A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to ''Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the Bis ...

within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

to provide him an income:

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

(1628–1648),

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

(1625–1662), Breslau (1656–1662), Olmütz (1637–1662) and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

(1626–1662). He was also appointed to the Bishopric of Halberstadt in 1627,

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

in 1629 and

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

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 grand master of the Teutonic Order (; ) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the Grand master (order), grand master of other Military order (religious society), military orders and the superior general in non-milit ...

in 1641. During his lifetime, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

rulers of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and the

faced the 1568 to 1648

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 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 Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

, the 1618 to 1648

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

and other conflicts, including the

Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) The Franco-Spanish War , May 1635 to November 1659, was fought between Kingdom of France, France and Habsburg Spain, Spain, each supported by various allies at different points. The first phase, beginning in May 1635 and ending with the 1648 Peac ...

. 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 The Battle of Jankau, also known as Jankov, Jankow, or Jankowitz, took place in central Bohemia on 6 March 1645, near modern Czech town of Jankov (Benešov District), Jankov. One of the last major battles of the 1618 to 1648 Thirty Years' War, i ...

, then

Governor of the Spanish Netherlands The governor () or governor-general () of the Habsburg Netherlands was a representative appointed by the Holy Roman emperor (1504-1556), the king of Spain (1556-1598, 1621-1706), and the archduke of Austria (1716-1794), to administer the Burgundi ...

in 1647. In that role, he lost the

Battle of Lens The Battle of Lens (20 August 1648) was the last major battle of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). A French force commanded by Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé defeated a Spanish army under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm. The battle cemen ...

against Condé and then he helped negotiate an end to the war in the 1648

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...

; the Franco-Spanish War continued, obliging him to remain in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

until 1656.

Art collection

While in Brussels, he employed

as keeper of his collection, spending immense sums on works by

, Jan van de Venne and others. He also acquired a number of Italian masters, purchased from the sale of collections owned by

Bartolomeo della Nave Bartolomeo della Nave (? – 1636) was a Venetian merchant and art collector. Della Nave was born in Venice and acquired a large art collection, that later was spread to prominent collections. Many of the artworks in his collection are known fro ...

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'', which is often called the first "art catalogue". When the tomb of

Childeric I Childeric I (died 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 ''rex''), both on his Roman-style seal ring, which was buried with him, and in fragm ...

, an early

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

king, was discovered in 1653 by a mason doing repairs in the church of Saint-Brice in

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

, it was Leopold Wilhelm who had the find published in Latin. On his return to Vienna in 1656, his collection relocated to the

Hofburg The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt, center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also ser ...

Palace, where Jan Anton van der Baren, 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 ''

'' 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 The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. Although suggested as a candidate to replace Ferdinand as Holy Roman Emperor in 1657, he ensured his nephew Leopold I was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

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).

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

, 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

Male-line family tree

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 Sons of dukes Austrian patrons of the arts