Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (1685-1740), when Archduke Charles

Godfrey Kneller's portrait of the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI when still Archduke Charles, painted in 1704, captures him during the War of the Spanish Succession, when he was pressing his claim as the Habsburg candidate for the Spanish throne against the Bourbon Philip V. Kneller was at this time the dominant portrait painter in England, and Charles's presence in England seeking British support for his Spanish claims provided the occasion for the sitting. The portrait has significant diplomatic and dynastic importance as a record of the Habsburg claimant in his English context.

Kneller employs the grand manner format appropriate to royal portraiture — armor or court dress, confident bearing, and an imposing scale. His characteristic combination of smooth, broad handling and authoritative characterization is fully deployed in this royal subject.