Leopold I by Benjamin Block
The undisputed glamour boy of the Holy Roman Empire, Leopold I spent half of his reign waging wars against the Ottomans and the French and the other half looking fabulous.
Not to be confused with Leopold I of Belgium (the monarch who fought side by side with his soldiers during the First World War), Leopold I was a member of the Habsburg Dynasty. Despite his imperial legacy—and the rather loud armour he’s donning in the portrait—he shied away from military life, dedicating his time to music, hunting, riding, and ruling as an absolute monarch.
The artist, Benjamin Block, came from a family of painters. Both his brothers were painters, as was his father Daniel. (Some might have described him as a chip off the old Blok).
Even his wife, Anna Katharina Block, was a painter, though she was more famous for painting flowers than monarchs. He was a remarkably talented one too, and we know the emperor Leopold was happy this seemingly unflattering portrait because he rewarded Benjamin with a knighthood in 1684. Benjamin lived six years a sir before dying aged 59 in the German city of Regensburg.
One distinctive family feature that stands out from the unflattering portrait is the Habsburg Jaw. Few displayed it quite as prominently as Leopold; a coin type minted in 1670 portrayed it as so large that the emperor gained the not particularly flattering nickname, “The Hogmouth” (about his face, but presumably not to it).
And what was the reason for the Habsburg’s protuberant jaws? What other than lots and lots of inbreeding.
At the beginning of reign of Leopold I (1658 – 1705), the Habsburgs ruled over a vast empire comprising what are now Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. A lot of this was because over the centuries they had managed to secure expedient marriage alliances with other powerful families. Like other royal families, however, they also had no issue breeding among themselves.
The Habsburgs were more hapless than other European dynasties when it came to inbreeding problematic traits. Epilepsy, gout, depression and dropsy were shared characteristics, making family Christmases fraught affairs. But the most conspicuous result of all this inbreeding was the Habsburg Jaw. Poor Charles V (1519 – 1556) had it so bad that he had problems eating, talking and presumably giving orders to the forces under his command against the pesky Ottomans. Life was hard for Charles; exhausted after 40 years on the throne he abdicated to a monastery where he died two years later.