Augustus III of Saxony

Portrait of Augustus III Saxon. Painting from the collection of the Potocki family, former owners of the Łańcut Castle; it shows a portrait of Augustus III Saxon, King of Poland from 1733. The painting comes from 1715 and is attributed to the French painter Hyacinthe Rigaud (born in 1659, died in December 1763). He was the author of numerous portraits of kings, especially Louis XIV. He also portrayed Augustus III, King of Poland. In his portraits, he showed the dignity and splendour of such important people. Our painting is similarly majestic, showing the king in armour of the Western European type, with a purple cloak lined with ermine (purple and fur from ermine was the privilege of the crowned heads) with a great ribbon and the great cross of the Order of the White Eagle and the Order of the Golden Fleece. On his head we can see a powdered wig in the French fashion. Augustus III Saxon (born in 1696 in Dresden, died in 1763 in Dresden), was crowned king of Poland on 17 January 1734 in the Wawel Cathedral. In his policy he relied on Russia, and his chief assistant was the prime minister Henryk Bruhl, who used to be remembered as a negative person, same as the Saxon times used to be remembered as a period unfavourable to Poland. Nowadays this negative attitude is changing, as the king turned out to be a great connoisseur and patron of art, especially paintings, enriching his Dresden collections. He was rarely in Poland, only attending Senate sessions and signing documents in Wschowa (close to the border).