German artist: Prince Elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, King of Poland, with Maria Josepha, c. 1750, miniature, watercolour on ivory

Maria Josepha

Archduchess of Austria

* 1699, † 1757

Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria was the daughter of Emperor Joseph I. In 1719 she married the son of Augustus the Strong, who hoped to bolster his chances of acquiring the imperial crown through this alliance. The wedding was held in the ‘Turkish’ style that was fashionable at the time. Frederick August II of Saxony converted to Catholicism for his wife, who was a convinced Catholic. He devoted himself to the cultivation of music and painting, and transformed Dresden into a Baroque city.

German artist: Prince Elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, King of Poland, with Maria Josepha, c. 1750, miniature, watercolour on ivory