Francis II (12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the lastHoly Roman Emperor from 1792 to 1806, and the firstEmperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was alsoKing of Hungary,Croatia, andBohemia, and served as the first president of theGerman Confederation following its establishment in 1815. Francis was born inFlorence as the eldest son of futureEmperor Leopold II andMaria Luisa of Spain. Leopold became Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 but died two years later, and Francis succeeded him. TheHoly Roman Empire immediately became embroiled in theFrench Revolutionary Wars, the first of which ended in Austrian defeat and the loss of the left bank of theRhine to France. In 1806, afterNapoleon created theConfederation of the Rhine, Francis abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor, which in effect marked the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1813, Francis turned against Napoleon and finally defeated him in theWar of the Sixth Coalition, forcing him to abdicate. Francis died in 1835 at the age of 67 and was succeeded by his son,Ferdinand I. This oil portrait on canvas, painted in 1815 byJoseph Kreutzinger, depicts Francis wearing Austrian military uniform with the insignia of various orders. The painting hangs in the Neue Galerie of theUniversalmuseum Joanneum inGraz, Austria.Painting credit:Joseph Kreutzinger