Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, ca. 1715. Nicolas de Largillière. Oil on wood panel. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust.
Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland (1670-1733) was known for his physical strength and procreative abilities-he was rumored to have fathered 365 illegitimate children. He was also a man of extravagant and luxurious tastes who founded the celebrated Zwinger Museum in Dresden and the Meissen porcelain manufactory. Here, Largillière successfully integrates an acknowledgment of Augustus' sensuality-through color and enlivened, nimble brushwork-with his reputed strength, conveyed by a confident, military bearing.
