The Imperial Count von Stadion, diplomat, humanist, and patron, appears in this portrait as the ideal image of a cultured, cosmopolitan, enlightened nobleman. The count was a patron of Tischbein. In the portrait the artist has succeeded in focusing attention on the count’s mind and individuality but without entirely dispensing with the late baroque formulae of courtly portraits in the process. A drapery hangs behind the richly clad count, who is even more strongly characterized by his elegant, casual pose, the books, and his lively features.