Image:Maximilian II Family2.jpg

English: Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. of Austria and his wife Infanta Maria of Spain with their children, 1553, Canvas; H 240 cm, W. 188 cm, GG Inv. No. 3448, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien

This group portrait is attributed to the painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who was active in Prague as a court portraitist for Ferdinand I, Maximilian II and Rudolf II. He is known primarily for his human portraits composed of flowers, fruit or animals. Depicted alongside Emperor Maximilian II are his consort, Maria of Spain, and their eldest daughter, Anna (born 1549); behind them is Rudolf (born 1552) and, in the cradle, Ernst (born 1553). Their clothing is in keeping with Spanish fashions at mid-century. The kings doublet and shoes have long vents, while the short trousers illustrate the characteristic combination of a smooth base fabric to which strips made of the same material as the doublet have been attached. The clothing of the queen and of Archduchess Anna features a form of skirt that is already stiff but not yet very wide.

The eldest son of Ferdinand I and Anne of Hungary, Maximilian II was born in 1527. In 1548 he married his cousin Maria, a daughter of Charles V. When the heritage of Maximilians father, Ferdinand I, was divided, Maximilian received the Danube lands as well as Bohemia and Hungary. In 1562 he become Roman king, and two years later, after the death of his father, he was elected emperor.