Josepha von Heydeck

Josepha von Heydeck (1748–1771), was the royal mistress of Charles Theodore, Elector Palatine, from 1765 until 1771.

In the portrait by the painter Johann Peter Hoffmeister (* 1740 in Heidelberg; † 1772 in Mannheim) from 1770, she can be seen as a 22-year-old woman in the role of the Roman goddess Flora.

A flower garland of roses, carnations and forget-me-nots hangs from the attached hair as a symbol of the deity.

In a painting by the painter Johann Wilhelm Hoffnas, Josepha von Heydeck sits at a harpsichord and holds sheet music in her hand.

On a history painting by the painter Heinrich Carl Brandt (1724–1787) from 1785, which is located in the Reiss Museum of the city of Mannheim, she is shown shortly before her death with her four children and two servants.

The Countess with her children. (The painting is historically inaccurate since the mother of the twins (born 1771) died shortly after their birth from puerperal fever.)