This painting is by Anton Raphael Mengs, a German painter who worked in the leading capitals of Europe and who is considered as one of the greatest exponents of neoclassicism. It portrays Peter Leopold, called “the wise”, the son of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and brother of Emperor Joseph II, when he was grand duke of Tuscany, before he himself became emperor as Leopold II. A leading sovereign of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, he is shown here in a dignified but not haughty pose. On his chest we see a sash of white and red, the heraldic colours of the Habsburgs.
From July 26 to August 31 the reading room is closed for the usual summer pause.
Every Sunday, from May 23, 2021
On the occasion of the celebrations for the seventh centenary of Dante Alighieri's death, the exhibition presents a precious selection of Divine Comedies from the Ambrosiana Library.
