ðə ɹˈaɪxsɡɹæf bɪɡˈæn æz ɐ sˈɪɹiəs kəlˈɛktɚɹ ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd sˈɛvənhˈʌndɹɪd twˈɛnti fˈoːɹ, æt ðɪ ˈeɪdʒ ʌv sˈɪkstiθɹˈiː, wɪð ɐ pˈɜːtʃɪs ʌv ˈeɪɾiˈeɪt pˈeɪntɪŋz ænd ɐ bˈæsɹᵻlˈiːf baɪ pɪˈɛɹ pjˈuːɡɪt fɹʌm ɐ vᵻnˈiːʃən pˈɪktʃɚdˈiːlɚ, sˈænti ɹˈoʊɾə, hˌuː hæd əbtˈeɪnd ðˌɛm fɹʌmðə kəlˈɛkʃən ʌv fˌɜːdɪnˈændoʊ kˈɑːɹloʊ ɡənzˈɑːɡə, ðə lˈæst ɹˈuːlɚɹ ʌvðə dˈʌtʃi ʌv mˈæntuːə, dᵻpˈoʊzd baɪ hˈæbsbɜːɡ ˈɔːstɹiən ˈɛmpaɪɚ; ɡənzˈɑːɡəz wˈɜːks ʌv ˈɑːɹt ɪŋklˈuːdᵻd wˈɜːks baɪ ɹˌɑːfaɪˈɛl, kɔɹˈɛɡɪˌoʊ, dʒɪoːɹdʒˈaɪəni, dʒɪjˈuːlɪˌoʊ ɹoʊmˈɑːnoʊ, ænd kˌæstɪɡlˈaɪəni.
The Reichsgraf began as a serious collector in 1724, at the age of sixty-three, with a purchase of eighty-eight paintings and a bas-relief by Pierre Puget from a Venetian picture-dealer, Santi Rota, who had obtained them from the collection of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua, deposed by Habsburg Austrian empire; Gonzaga's works of art included works by Raphael, Correggio, Giorgione, Giulio Romano, and Castiglione.