Elector Palatine from 1690 to 1716
Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine
(
Jan Wellem
in
Low German
, English:
John William
; 19 April 1658 – 8 June 1716) of the
Wittelsbach
dynasty was
Elector Palatine
(1690?1716), Duke of
Neuburg
(1690?1716),
Duke of Julich
and
Berg
(1679?1716), and Duke of
Upper Palatinate
and Cham (1707?1714). From 1697 onwards Johann Wilhelm was also Count of
Megen
.
Early life and background
[
edit
]
He was the son of
Count Palatine Philip William of Neuburg
and
Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
and was born in
Dusseldorf
, where he resided, rather than in
Heidelberg
, which had been largely destroyed by French troops during the
Nine Years' War
. He was educated by the
Jesuits
and in 1674 he made a
grand tour
to Italy.
His brother was
Franz Ludwig, Count Palatine of Neuburg
, his sisters were married to
Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
,
Peter II of Portugal
, and
Charles II of Spain
.
Succession
[
edit
]
As a gift to Johann Wilhelm and his new bride,
Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria
, Johann Wilhelm's father ceded to them the Duchies of Julich and Berg in 1679.
[1]
Johann Wilhelm later also succeeded his father as
Elector Palatine
in 1690. In the
Peace of Rijswijk
(1697), he was restored to many of the possessions which had been taken by the French, with the provision that the
Electoral Palatinate
not revert to Protestantism. This provision made him unpopular in the Palatinate and with Protestants.
During the
War of the Spanish Succession
Johann Wilhelm received also the
Bavarian
Upper Palatinate
, which was returned to Bavaria in 1714. He died in Dusseldorf and was buried in the
St. Andreas Church
. Having no son, Johann Wilhelm was succeeded by his brother
Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine
.
Marriages
[
edit
]
On 25 October 1678, in
Wiener Neustadt
, Johann Wilhelm married
Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria
. She was a daughter of
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
, and his third wife,
Eleanor of Mantua
. The wedding ceremony was performed by Archbishop
Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch
.
The couple settled in
Dusseldorf
, where they led an elaborate royal household.
[2]
During their marriage, Maria Anna Josepha gave birth to two children, but neither survived infancy:
[3]
[4]
- A son (b. and d. Dusseldorf, 6 February 1683)
- A son (b. and d. Vienna, 5 February 1686)
Maria Anna Josepha died in 1689 of
tuberculosis
. A couple of years later, on 29 April 1691, Johann Wilhelm
married by proxy
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
, daughter of
Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
. She departed for Dusseldorf on 6 May 1691, accompanied by her younger brother,
Gian Gastone
. Johann Wilhelm surprised her at
Innsbruck
, where they officially married.
Anna Maria Luisa became pregnant in 1692; however, she miscarried.
[5]
Historians believed incorrectly that shortly after her arrival, she contracted
syphilis
from her adulterous husband, which might have explained why Anna Maria Luisa and Johann Wilhelm failed to produce any children.
[6]
[7]
[8]
In 2012, after concern caused by the
1966 Flood of the Arno River
, the bones of Anna Maria Luisa were exhumed. A scientific examination found no traces of syphilis.
[9]
Art collections
[
edit
]
He was more popular in
Julich
-
Berg
, where he erected impressive buildings such as the
Bensberg Castle
and led a lavish court which gave work to many artists and artisans, including the court painters
Johannes Spilberg
, his daughter
Adriana
, her later husband
Eglon van der Neer
,
Adriaen van der Werff
,
Jan Frans van Douven
,
Herman van der Mijn
,
Jan van Nickelen
, his daughter
Jacoba Maria van Nickelen
, her husband
Willem Troost
,
Anthoni Schoonjans
,
Rachel Ruysch
,
Godfried Schalcken
, and
Jan Weenix
with his daughter
Maria Weenix
.
[10]
[11]
His enormous collection of paintings by
Rubens
can still be seen in the
Alte Pinakothek
in
Munich
.
His widow Anna Maria Luisa was the last
scion
of the
House of Medici
. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medicis’ large art collection, including the contents of the
Uffizi
,
Palazzo Pitti
, and the Medicean villas, which she inherited upon the death of her brother
Gian Gastone
in 1737, and her Palatine treasures to the
Tuscan state
, on the condition that no part of it could be removed from the capital
Florence
. Therefore, these treasures are still to be visited in Florence today.
In Dusseldorf, the Jan-Wellem Square is named after Johann Wilhelm.
Ancestry
[
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]
Ancestors of Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine
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Bibliography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Kurfurst Jan Wellem"
.
www.geschichtswerkstatt-duesseldorf.de
. Retrieved
6 June
2014
.
- ^
K. Strauven:
About Artistic life and work in Dusseldorf to
Dusseldorf school of painting
under Director
Schadow
, H. Voss, 1862, p. 12.
- ^
Gustav Prumm:
A win for life
, Books on Demand, 2009, p. 54.
- ^
"Complete Genealogy of the House of Wittelsbach"
.
genealogy.euweb.cz
. Retrieved
6 June
2014
.
- ^
Galleria Palatina (2006).
"Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici ? Biografia"
(in Italian). www.polomuseale.firenze.it. Archived from
the original
on 17 July 2011
. Retrieved
16 November
2009
.
- ^
Hale, J.R. (John Rigby), 1923-1999 (2001).
Florence and the Medici
(Pbk. ed.). London: Phoenix. p. 189.
ISBN
1-84212-456-0
.
OCLC
47036968
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Hale, p. 188?189
- ^
Hibbert, Christopher
(1979).
The rise and fall of the House of Medici
. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 304.
ISBN
0-14-005090-6
.
OCLC
6389386
.
- ^
Abbott, Alison (2013).
"The last Medici may not have died of syphilis after all"
.
Nature
.
doi
:
10.1038/nature.2013.12435
.
S2CID
74812676
.
- ^
(German)
court painters
Archived
2014-01-07 at the
Wayback Machine
who worked for Johan Wilhelm, according to the Dusseldorf museum website
- ^
Anthon Schoonjans
at the
Netherlands Institute for Art History
(in Dutch)
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
John William, Elector Palatine
at Wikimedia Commons
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