August III is depicted as crown prince and future elector during his visit to Paris in 1715. Standing under a tree against the sky in the background, he is shown in an a la lion wig, armour, an ermine-lined coat and wears the cross and star of the Order of the White Eagle. He is resting his outstretched right hand on a Hetman’s mace, which is resting against a rock, while his left hand rests on the hilt of an épée. On the right, behind the King, is a black man in a turban, holding Friedrich August’s zigshagge (helmet). The engraving was included in the two-volume album published by Carl Heinrich Heineken (1706–91) titled “Recueil d’estampes d’apres les plus célebres tableau de la Galerie Royale de Dresde" (vol.1, Dresden 1753 and vol. 2 Dresden 1757) dedicated to the Royal Gallery in Dresden. In the first volume it appears before the title page.
The engraving was made after a painting by Hiacynthe Rigaud now in Dresden, painted in 1714 or 1715, depicting the then teenage prince. In the print August is seen wearing the Order of the Elephant which he was awarded in 1709 and not the Order of the White Eagle as on the engraving.
Signed:
On left under composition: Peint par Hiacinthe Rigaud de l’Ord. de S. Michel.
On right under composition gravé par J.J. Balechou natif d’Arles et présenté a l’Academie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture pour son agrement a Paris 1750.
Inscribed:
Under the composition: Auguste III. Roi de Pologne/ Electeur de Saxe/ Point comme Prince Royal et Electoral pendent son sejour a Paris en 1715 par le Chevalier Hiacinthe Rigaud.