Elector Clemens Augustus of Cologne (1700-1761)

Clemens Augustus of Cologne was one of the most powerful ecclesiastical princes in the Holy Roman Empire — Archbishop-Elector of Cologne and simultaneously Bishop of several other sees, he combined church authority with considerable temporal power in the Rhineland. Rosalba Carriera's 1727 portrait of him in the Dresden collections places this powerful figure within her gallery of European grandees. Clemens Augustus was a patron of the arts in his own right, responsible for the Baroque palace of Augustusburg and Falkenlust, and his image by Carriera reflects the European-wide appetite for her intimate pastel style even among figures more accustomed to formal oil portraits. The Dresden connection likely came through his relationship with the Saxon electoral house, whose close ties to the Catholic establishment of the Empire brought many leading figures within Augustus the Strong's cultural orbit. The portrait balances ecclesiastical dignity with the Rococo taste for personal charm and immediacy.

Rendering an ecclesiastical prince required Carriera to combine the formal indicators of high church rank — purple robes, cross, and chain — with the intimate quality of pastel portraiture. She manages this by treating the formal elements with sufficient precision to be legible while keeping the face's characterisation lively and personal.