Portrait of Joseph II (1741-1790), Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, standing half length, wearing a blue and red uniform and the Grand Sash of the Order of Maria Theresa and the jewel of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Joseph II succeeded his mother the Empress Maria Theresa in 1765 as ruler of the Habsburg Empire. A prominent exponent of 'Enlightened despotism', he is to be credited with his many reforms, such as, most controversially, the suppression of religious orders and the confiscation of ecclesiastical properties. The Emperor was portrayed several times by the Bohemian born painter Hickel who was nominated Kammermaler in 1771.