Attributed to FRANZ ANTON ZAUNER (Falpetan im Oberinntal, Tyrol, 1746 -Vienna, 1822)Equestrian portrait of Joseph II in Vienna.Carved, polychromed and gilded wood.Measurements: 72 x 49.5 x 49.5 cm.The piece is attributed to Fanz Anton Zauner, according to a study by Álvaro Pascual Chenel.The present work is a small-scale model of the bronze equestrian monument to Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790) which stands on the Josefplatz in Vienna, in a setting that forms part of the Imperial Palace.The Emperor is depicted dressed as an ancient Roman general, crowned with laurel and leading his horse at a walk. On the rectangular pedestal that serves as a base there are two historiated reliefs: the emperor, dressed as in the sculpture, is surrounded by classical allegories, extolling his figure and alluding directly to some of his government's initiatives in economic policy (trade and agriculture). He thus appears as an example of a ruler of Enlightenment despotism. One of the reliefs shows him exhorting Mercury to untie his hands to Commerce (a young lady, seated on merchandise); a ship is shown waiting, with a lighthouse (alluding to the opening of the port of Trieste), and a consul and Fame are shown blowing the trumpet. In the other, the Emperor is led by a winged genie who points to the allegory of Europe, seated behind a classical architecture, holding a book and a horse; the monarch is accompanied by Prudence, and a child is also seen being helped by his father. The work is completed by an inscription: IOSEPHO II AVG. QVI SALVTI PVBLICAE VIXIT NON DIV SED TOTVS.This sculpture would be the first model for the work in the square (there is another bronze model from 1795, placed in 1808 in the gardens of Schoenbrunn Palace), although the possibility that it is a later reduction or reproduction of the monument made by the sculptor himself cannot be completely ruled out. It is made of polychrome wood imitating the bronze of the sculpture and the lateral reliefs, and the greyish-black marble of the pedestal. In the scenes there are some differences with respect to the final work and an important difference with respect to the inscription (which in the sculpture would be two).Despite his two marriages, Joseph II had no children, so his nephew was sent to the Viennese court to provide for a possible succession. When Joseph II died in 1790, he was succeeded by his brother Lepoldo II (the father of his nephew Franz), and when he died, it was his nephew who became emperor. The monument in the square, of which this work is a model, was commissioned by Franz II from Franz Anton Zauner to honour Emperor Joseph II. It was installed and inaugurated in 1806-1807.Zauner studied at the Vienna Academy and completed his training in Rome on a scholarship from that institution, returning to Austria in 1781. It is this knowledge of certain Italian models that stands out when comparing his work with the present work: the study specifically points out the similarity with the sculpture of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome (a frequent model at the time).