Vienna is well-known for its museums, the legacy of the Habsburgs, some of the most breath-taking art collections of all times. Among them is the Kunsthistorisches, the outcome of a century-long search for masterpieces and artifacts from all over Europe and the world.
The collections of the Kunsthistorisches are enormous and its Picture Gallery is a labyrinth of rooms and halls where it's easy to get lost and perhaps lose sight of the very must-see pieces: here is a guide to help you pinpoint and admire the best or simply the most significant portraits in the collection, with details of where to find them in the Museum.
In this article:
Masterpieces of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Portraits: Overview
Masterpieces of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Portraits: Level 0.5
Masterpieces of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Portraits: Level 1
Masterpieces of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Portraits: Overview
OVERVIEW AND MUSEUM PLAN
As soon as you step into the Kunsthistorisches Museum, you realize what you are visiting is one of Europe's largest and most important art collections!
A grandiose location and a complex plan that includes several floors, superb halls, cafés and more. Finding your way may not be easy, so here in this guide I added a few references to help you navigate the floor plan and find the highlights.
➊ For every artwork in this list - a selection of the best portraits based on the subject, the artist's skills or a peculiarity in style - you will find information about the floor (level) and the room where you can locate each piece.
➊ Also, the portraits are listed here following the increasing rooms' numbers.
➊ To follow the floor plan and check where you are or where the next portrait is located, you can:
ABOUT THE KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM
The history of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) is a very long one and explains why the collections are so vast and international, and include so many royal portraits and depictions of monarchs or relevant figures of the last centuries.
The Marie-Theresien-Platz imponent and royal-styled building we visit today was erected in the years 1871-1891 and to this time corresponds the official opening of the Museum as we know it today. However, this was but the last step of a long process that began far back in the 16th century, and that involved several members of the Habsburg family, the House that reigned in Austria (and on the Empire the country was part of) for centuries.
In the 1500s, the Habsburgs began collecting artworks and masterpieces all around Europe, thanks to the fact that their several branches reigned on territories and populations all over the continent and thus they could access uncountable pieces from private mansions, noble houses, or other royal families who wished to please them.
By the 18th century, the Habsburgs' possessions were enormous and counted works of renowned artists from Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and artifacts from remote times. Of course, such a treasure needed special attention and, according to the tastes of the time, was used either to show off the wealth of the Habsburgs or as a base for research and public education. Proceeding towards our times, the latter prevailed and in the 19th century a new elegant premise was built to host the collections and open them to the general public.
Today, the Kunsthistorisches Museum counts almost 2 million visitors per year and a catalogue of hundreds of thousands pieces that includes a great-masters-filled Picture Gallery, an Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection as well as a Greek and Roman one, a selection of fine sculptures, coins, arms and armors, and a Treasury.
➊ On the blog you will find more content about the Kunsthistorisches, click here to check out more and read about some of the Museum's masterpieces!
HOW TO VISIT AND TICKETS
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is located at the very heart of the historic center of Vienna, in Maria-Theresien-Platz. The neighborhood is known as the Museumsquartier (museums' neighborhood) because it hosts some of the most notable cultural hubs of the capital.
To visit the Museum you will need a ticket:
Full price: 21€
Reduced: 18€ (valid for students)
Free entry for kids under 19
+ There are some other options in case you have specific cards or opt for a combined ticket.
● The Museum is normally closed on Mondays, open Tue-Sun from 10AM to 6PM, and on Thursdays from 10AM to 9PM.
Masterpieces of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Portraits: Level 0.5
1. PISANELLO (attr.), EMPEROR SIGISMUND (ROOM XXXVI)
● Title: Portrait of Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg
● Author: attributed to Antonio Puccio Pisano, known as Pisanello (before 1395 - 1455) or to an unidentified artist from Bohemia
● Date: 1432-33
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: Late-Gothic
● Measures 58,2 x 42 cm / 22,90 x 16,50 in
● Where to find it: Room XXXVI, Level 0.5
Let's start with one of the most ancient and probably the most old-fashioned among the portraits in this list. You are looking at Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, whose depiction had been long attributed to Italian artist Pisanello but whose paternity is still much disputed.
The attribution seemed natural since we know that the painting was made during an imperial trip to Mantua, in Italy. We know for sure that Pisanello met Sigismund at this time, for he drew the Emperor in a sketch we still have. However, after further analysis of the painting, it seems more likely that a Bohemian artist, perhaps a member of the Emperor's court, painted it possibly after seeing Pisanello's drawing.
Nevertheless, the portrait is a perfect example of how sovereigns were represented at the dawn of the Middle Ages - as you will see by leafing through this list, standards and canons will change drastically in the coming centuries so this helps us follow the process!
Sigismund is portrayed in a hieratic, unnatural pose, his traits are not extremely detailed or meant to represent reality, and the focus is really on his rich garments and official clothing - the main purpose of such portraits was to give a distanced but authoritative image of princes.
▶ EMPEROR SIGISMUND (1368-1437): Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (that founded by Charlemagne), the last from Luxembourg, he reigned from 1433 until his death in 1437. Remembered as a wise monarch, he spent much of his reigning years struggling to reform the imperial system and put it in harmony with the Church, with which the Empire was deeply bound. Indeed, he sponsored the Council of Constance, a mainstay of late medieval diplomacy, during which order within a divided Church was restored not without difficulty. He can be considered a medieval ruler at heart, although he lived almost in between epochs.
Masterpieces of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Portraits: Level 1
1. TITIAN, JACOPO STRADA (ROOM IV)
● Title: Portrait of Jacopo Strada
● Author: Tiziano Vecellio (ca. 1488 - 1576), known in English as Titian
● Date: 1567-68
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Mannerism
● Measures 125 x 95 cm / 49,21 x 37,40 in
● Where to find it: Room IV, Level 1
And here we are in front of one of Mannerism's masters and most famous painters from Venice, Titian.
This portrait belongs to a late phase of Titian's career as he was living the last decade of his life. However, age seems to have only done good to him, for this is one of his best-executed portraits. The details, the peculiarities of Strada's character that we can grasp from his expression, and the rendering of the man's pose are all signs of experience and great talent.
The portrait is filled with objects related to Strada's profession of antiquarian and art dealer, among others. He is seen with artefacts he probably dealt with every day, and with the fruits of his hard work: lavish clothes, accessories, and money. His attitude also betrays a certain degree of arrogance, which his successful career must have inspired.
▶ JACOPO STRADA (1515-1588): A polymath, art dealer, antiquarian and diplomat, he was a powerful man who put himself at the service of the highest levels of society and was a long-time member of the Hasburgian court. He was portrayed by Titian during a trip to Venice in 1567-68 when he had the task of taking care of the latest additions to the imperial art collection and guaranteeing they could reach the capital safe and sound. With his multiple talents and interests, he can be considered a perfect representation of his epoch and the 16th century in Europe.
2. TINTORETTO, MAN IN ARMOUR (ROOM V)
● Title: Portrait of a Man in Armour
● Author: Jacopo Robusti, known as Tintoretto (1518-1594)
● Date: 1555-60
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Mannerism
● Measures 115 x 99 cm / 45,27 x 38,97 in
● Where to find it: Room V, Level 1
Another great Venetian master was undoubtedly Tintoretto, and here we see his art in the form of a not-precisely-dated portrait of an unidentified man in armour. It seems like we don't know much of it, and indeed we don't, but just enough to understand the context and its importance.
This man, although unnamed, must have been an admiral or a similarly high-status holder within the marine. We know this for the type of armour he is wearing but especially because of the huge ship depicted in the window behind him. His proud pose and his showing off his coverings present another face of the 16th century, which is controversially known for the art of sailing, the great battles in the sea and the journeys to the Americas.
3. POMPEO BATONI, EMPEROR JOSEPH II WITH GRAND DUKE PIETRO LEOPOLDO (ROOM VII)
● Title: Portrait of Emperor Joseph II with Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Tuscany
● Author: Pompeo Batoni (1708-1797)
● Date: 1769
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Classicism
● Measures 173 x 122,5 cm / 68,11 x 48,22 in
● Where to find it: Room VII, Level 1
This double portrait was made in 1769 when Emperor Joseph II (right) was traveling through Italy with his brother Pietro Leopoldo (left), six years his junior. Together they were on the Grand Tour, the quintessential experience of journeying through the classic and modern marvels of the Italian Peninsula in search of inspiration from a glorious past. It was something virtually every aristocrat or high-born literate did at least once in their lifetime.
During this delightful stay, when in Rome the two brothers were introduced to the most acclaimed portraitist of the time in the capital, Pompeo Batoni, who produced the work you can now admire at the Viennese museum. Here, the brothers are depicted in a classical, unfrivolous way with Roman landmarks behind their backs, holding their hands to signal a good relationship.
A crucial detail was added to the composition: on the right, on a small table beside the Emperor is a map and a book. The book is a copy of De L'Esprit des Loix, the masterpiece of French philosopher Montesquieu. In Joseph and Pietro Leopoldo's days, it was considered the mainstay of any enlightened sovereign. Indeed, both men would be known to have Enlightenment as their guiding star in politics.
▶ EMPEROR JOSEPH II (1741-1790) AND GRAND DUKE PIETRO LEOPOLDO OF TUSCANY (1747-1792): Joseph II, son of Maria Theresa of Austria and brother of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, ruled over the Holy Roman Empire from 1765 to 1790. He first had his mother as co-regent then, since her death in 1780, he ruled alone. He was known for his enlightened ideas and for his tireless efforts to renovate and reform the Empire from within. Like many other enlightened sovereigns before and after him, he was not entirely successful in his quest. When he died in 1790, he was briefly succeded as Emperor by his younger brother, Pietro Leopoldo, now known as Leopold II. He had since then been Grand Duke of Tuscany and had always ruled under Enlightenment preachings as well.
4. ALBRECHT DÜRER, VENETIAN LADY (ROOM XI)
● Title: Portrait of a Venetian Lady
● Author: Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
● Date: 1505
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: German Renaissance
● Measures 32,5 x 24,2 cm / 12,79 x 9,5 in
● Where to find it: Room XI, Level 1
Look at everything black in this small portrait and you will see what puzzled scholars over the centuries: is this a finished work? Indeed, the background with its monochromatism strikes as quite plain, as if meant to be temporary and then never replaced. Samely, the ribbon ornating the woman's dress near her left shoulder seems somehow incomplete, lacking in decoration and details.
However, it may well have been Dürer's own device, a way to highlight the gentle features of a beautiful yet unknown Venetian lady who might have been his lover. We don't know much about her, except for her provenance: her dressing fashion is clearly Venetian. Everything else is lost in time, as it has been for the portrait itself until recent years: it was discovered in 1923 and identified because signed. And since it is signed we can also be sure the artist painted it while in Venice.
What really interests us here is the peculiar phase of Dürer's career this portrait belongs to: painted when the artist was not yet famous and traveling through Italy for inspiration, he met several fellow painters, including Giovanni Bellini, who had a huge impact on his later style. Here, we can see their influence.
5. ALBRECHT DÜRER, EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN I (ROOM XI)
● Title: Portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
● Author: Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
● Date: 1519
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: German Renaissance
● Measures 74 x 62 cm / 29,13 x 24,4 in
● Where to find it: Room XI, Level 1
When this portrait was made, less than a century had passed from the first artwork on this list, the portrait of Emperor Sigismund I, and yet the difference in the way sovereigns were being depicted is striking. It had also been barely a decade from Dürer's Venetian Lady, and yet his style had already moved from the initial Italian influences to a more mature and rather Flemish-influenced one.
Dürer first met Maximilian I when this latter had ascended to the throne, and continued working for him over the years. However, this portrait dates back to 1519, when the Emperor had just died and was therefore made posthumously. It was anyway based on a drawing Dürer made the year before, with only some slight changes.
Maximilian is shown in a Flemish-styled pose with marked aristocratic features and manners. On the top are his coat of arms (House of Habsburg) and an inscription with his deeds. In his hands he holds a pomegranate, which meaning has been discussed at length over the centuries: it could symbolize death (Maximilian was dead already), cohesion in diversity (a concept dear to Holy Roman Emperors, who ruled over a kingdom that included several peoples and traditions), or could refer to the recent conquest of the Spanish city of Granada from the hands of the Muslims.
▶ EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN I (1459-1519): Maximilian I of the House of Habsburg was elected head of the Holy Roman Empire in 1508 and remained such until 1519. Surprisingly, he was never crowned by the Pope in Rome, a first for emperors who had that as a mandatory custom. This can be considered a sign of changing times when the Church was losing its grip on earthly matters. And yet, Maximilian was hardly a modern man: known for his vast knowledge and interest in the arts, he is sometimes considered the last knight monarch, one who embodied the old traditions of warfare, honour and courteous manners.
6. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER, JANE SEYMOUR (ROOM XI)
● Title: Portrait of Jane Seymour, Queen of England
● Author: Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1542)
● Date: 1536-37
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: German Renaissance
● Measures 65,5 x 47 cm / 25,78 x 18,50 in
● Where to find it: Room XI, Level 1
During her very brief time as Queen of England Hans Holbein painted Jane Seymour more than once, and this is but one of the many works he made. The young woman was here portrayed just after her marriage with King Henry VIII, who reached the altar for the third time with her.
Here, Holbein had multiple tasks: he had to give subjects a dignified, potent image of their new queen, as well as show off the increasing and expanding wealth of the English court. Indeed, Jane Seymour is dressed lavishly, with accessories and garments only a queen of a well-off kingdom could afford.
▶ QUEEN JANE SEYMOUR (1509-1537): Before becoming Queen of England Jane Seymour had been a lady-in-waiting for Henry VIII's previous two wives, among them the well-known Anne Boleyn. Around the time his marriage with Boleyn was reaching its (tragic) end, Jane caught the attention of the King, who is said to have fallen for her genuinely. Just days after Boleyn's death, they were married. Unfortunately, despite being gentle, smart and well-behaved, Jane Seymour would not live long. She would die shortly after giving birth to the only male heir of Henry VIII who ever survived infancy. She is buried with her husband at Windsor.
7. REMBRANDT, SELF-PORTRAIT (ROOM XII)
● Title: Large Self-Portrait
● Author: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669)
● Date: 1652
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Dutch Baroque
● Measures 112 x 81,5 cm / 44,09 x 32 in
● Where to find it: Room XII, Level 1
This self-portrait, sometimes called Large to distinguish it from the Small, a very similar work (but differently cut and smaller) at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, is one of the over forty self-portraits Rembrandt made throughout his life. He liked to depict himself in different poses, fashions and ages - he did so both as an exercise of style and as a way to keep pace with the passing of time.
This self-portrait differs from the others in the pose and format - larger than usual, including most of his figure. His expression and portamento also show a rare degree of self-confidence and emotional disclosure he rarely gifted his viewers with. All the attention seems indeed captured by his face - upon which the light falls - everything else falls behind, including his clothing, likely a work attire. Here, the artist was 46.
8. LORENZO LOTTO, YOUNG MAN WITH A LAMP (ROOM 3)
● Title: Portrait of a Young Man with a Lamp on a White Background
● Author: Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556)
● Date: around 1508
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Renaissance
● Measures 42,8 x 35,2 cm / 16,85 x 13,85 in
● Where to find it: Room 3, Level 1
This fascinating portrait looks like a veritable photograph, and if you observe it closely, you will notice all details and imperfections caught on the young man's face.
Lotto wanted his viewers to focus on the young man, whose bright face and red hair stand out. Who is he? Again, we cannot say with full certainty, but the name of Broccardo Malchiostro has been proposed several times. He was chancellor of Treviso's bishop Bernardo de' Rossi, who Lotto also portrayed during his stay in the city.
However, Lorenzo Lotto played with his art and gave us both a portrait and a riddle: enigmatic aspects have been hidden in it. We can see a silken white curtain, acting as a veil that conceals the background, and a lamp in the top right corner. What is the curtain concealing? And what does the lamp represent? We may never know for sure, and we would first need to clearly identify the subject to understand if these symbols may be somehow connected to him or to his personality.
9. PARMIGIANINO, SELF-PORTRAIT IN A CONVEX MIRROR (ROOM 3)
● Title: Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror
● Author: Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino (1503-1540)
● Date: around 1523
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: Renaissance
● Measures 24,4 cm / 9,6 in (diameter)
● Where to find it: Room 3, Level 1
This funny-shaped painting was not made to amuse its audience in any way, but to amaze it.
Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino from Parma, his hometown, was only 19 (or perhaps 21, depending on when the portrait was made, which we don't know with absolute certainty) when he ventured to Rome in search of a job and the Pope's benevolence. The Pope, indeed, was the main art commissioner in the capital at the time.
Parmigianino opted for a weird convex piece of wood for his self-portrait (where he looks indeed a youth) and for a reason: he wished to reproduce a mirror, and thus embark on a very difficult task for a painter, that of depicting a reverse and distorted reality. He certainly managed to, but it seems like this was not enough to impress the Pope and his court. For sure, while today we may look at this self-portrait as something extraordinary, many were the painters who tried their fortune with extravagancies and brought their art to the limit. This spirit and hope in human skills and imagination was typical of the century. Anyway, the self-portrait must surely have struck a chord, even if not the one Parmigianino hoped for, as it was mentioned by Giorgio Vasari (Renaissance's main art historian) in his Vitae.
10. GIORGIONE, LAURA (ROOM 4)
● Title: Laura
● Author: Giorgio da Castelfranco, known as Giorgione (1477-1510)
● Date: 1506
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Renaissance
● Measures 41 x 33,6 cm / 16,14 x 13,22 in
● Where to find it: Room 4, Level 1
If you are acquainted with literature, you may know already that Laura is a name that had inspired many, among them first and foremost Petrarch, a great medieval master.
Laura also recalls the laurel (laurus in Latin), which is forever associated with glory and triumph, as well as with excellence and primacy in the arts, first of all poetry. Laurel branches are reproduced in great numbers here.
So here we have the only piece effectively dated and signed among Giorgione's entire work, and we have a name. Also, the way the woman was depicted and the details of her face tell us this is a portrait, but unfortunately we don't know of who. She may have been a courtesan, a poet (and this would explain the laurel) or a Venetian noble lady, and this could have been a way to glorify her art. Laura could well be an invented name to symbolize her talents, and so her clothing, which was likely not her usual attire. It seems like we will never know for sure, although another hint remains: the commissioner's name, Giacomo, written on the canvas.
A marvellous piece of art, this portrait was severely mistreated over time: repeatedly cut, transferred to different wood bases and altered, today we see it in a smaller format than the original one.
11. ALONSO SANCHEZ COELLO, ELIZABETH OF VALOIS (ROOM 9)
● Title: Portrait of Elizabeth of Valois, Queen of Spain
● Author: Alonso Sánchez Coello (1531-1588)
● Date: about 1560
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Spanish Renaissance
● Measures 163 x 91,5 cm / 64,17 x 36 in
● Where to find it: Room 9, Level 1
Magnificent clothing, highly detailed, evidence of wealth and privilege. An enigmatic and dignified pose, to underline the distance required to courtesan and royals from the outside world. Rarely to be seen, never to be reached.
This portrait of the young Elizabeth of Valois incarnates all the values and traits typical of Ancien Régime and of the 16th century. And so is the single glove the young queen wears: a signal of gentleness and aristocratic provenance.
▶ QUEEN ELIZABETH OF VALOIS (1545-1568): Daughter of Henri II, King of France, and of Caterina de' Medici, at a young age she became the wife of Philip II, King of Spain and thus Queen of Spain herself. The marriage was part of a complex plan to bring peace between France and Spain and was decided on the occasion of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559.
12. VELÁZQUEZ, INFANTA MARGARITA (ROOM 10)
● Title: Portrait of Infanta Margarita of Spain in a Blue Dress
● Author: Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660)
● Date: 1659
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Spanish Baroque
● Measures 125,5 x 106 cm / 49,4 x 41,7 in
● Where to find it: Room 10, Level 1
As a courtly painter, Velázquez painted the Infanta several times throughout her childhood. This was one of his very last portraits, he would die within a year.
This piece became one of the best-known of the artist, and was sent to Vienna soon after its completion to keep the Infanta's future husband, Emperor Leopold I, posted on his betrothed's beauty and appearance. The young girl is here wearing a dress in the typical fashion of then-Spain, thought to highlight the court's wealth and to make her seem as beautiful as possible.
Here, Velázquez showed off his peculiar style: to appreciate this portrait at its fullest, one needs to look at it from a distance, so that it may appear coherent and complete. Otherwise, the loose brushstrokes used by the artist would make the image blurry.
▶ INFANTA MARGARITA THERESA OF SPAIN (1651-1673): Here portrayed at the age of 8, Margarita Theresa was soon caught off in the marriage dynamics of the European Ancien Régime and thus betrothed to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor when still a child. She would live only to see her early 20s but her role was strategically and diplomatically crucial for her family. Emperor Leopold belonged to another branch of the same House, and their union unified their House as well. By 1666 she was married, at 15. The marriage was reportedly happy but brief, as her body could not endure seven repetitive pregnancies in a few years. She died in 1673.
13. JOSEPH-SIFRÈDE DUPLESSIS, CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD VON GLUCK (ROOM 13)
● Title: Portrait of Christoph Willibald von Gluck
● Author: Joseph-Sifrède Duplessis (1725-1802)
● Date: 1775
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: French classicism
● Measures 99,5 x 80,5 cm / 39,17 x 31,69 in
● Where to find it: Room 13, Level 1
During Louis XVI of France's reign (1774-1792), Duplessis worked as a portraitist in Paris. This is the best-known among his works, painted during one of the German composer's stays in Paris to attend to one of his operas' plays.
The man is here captured in a moment of rather divine inspiration, and his pose recalls that of many Catholic saints (especially the Apostles and Fathers of the Church) in medieval, Renaissance and Mannerist art. This choice was thought to render the idea that a composer was inspired by divine creativity when writing down what would become the angelic music of an opera.
▶ CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD VON GLUCK (1724-1787): A master of Classicism and Opera Seria late to success, Christoph Willibald von Gluck rose to fame around the same time this portrait was made. He composed, in a style of his own that would be his fortune, operas such as "Iphigénie en Aulide" (1774) and "Orphée et Eurydice" (1762). Despite being German and raised in Austria, he preferred French and Italian for his works as was trending and customary of his time.
14. JAN VAN EYCK, CARDINAL NICCOLO' ALBERGATI (ROOM 16)
● Title: Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati
● Author: Jan van Eyck (about 1390-1441)
● Date: about 1435
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: early Flemish Renaissance
● Measures 34 x 29,5 cm / 13,38 x 11,61 in
● Where to find it: Room 16, Level 1
With a pose typical of early Flemish art, the Italian cardinal is here portrayed in old age and with all the signs of time visible on his face and masterfully rendered. He looks calm and experienced: the goal of van Eyck was likely to present the man at the top of his diplomatic career, making it clear that while the many challenges he encountered over the years had surely left a mark, the cardinal was proud of them for they symbolized a life well spent. Indeed, the cardinal was sketched in this pose (and painted later) by van Eyck while in Arras (Burgundy) to act as a papal envoy and mediator between then-at-war England and France.
The focus is completely on the man's face, so much so that his cloak and robe appear blurry and undetailed as if put there only to clarify the man's profession and status within the Church.
▶ CARDINAL NICCOLO' ALBERGATI (1375-1443): Niccolò Albergati was an Italian Carthusian monk who became bishop of Bologna in 1417 and later made cardinal in 1426. He served for several years as a papal envoy and diplomat on behalf of the Papal Court, mediating and discussing political matters for and with all the major allies of the Catholic Church.
15. JEAN FOUQUET (attr.), THE COURT JESTER GONELLA (ROOM 16)
● Title: Portrait of Court Jester Gonella
● Author: attributed to Jean Fouquet (about 1429-1480)
● Date: 1440-45
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: early French Renaissance
● Measures 36,1 x 23,8 cm / 14,21 x 9,37 in
● Where to find it: Room 16, Level 1
This small portrait is now commonly accepted as that of Italian court jester Pietro Gonella (or Gonnella), employed at the Este's court in Ferrara. However, there is no clear proof of his identity, we know about his profession from his clothes and pose (not to be used for courtiers or monarchs but destined to lowborns).
Actually, we are not even sure about the identity of the painter who preserved the man's face for eternity: the portrait is now attributed to French artist Jean Fouquet but no documents or signs on the work remain. The attribution is mainly based on the portrait's style (which is not Italian in style), on Fouquet's own movements (he was in Ferrara at the time, waiting to proceed towards Rome), and the material used (a kind of wood rarely used by Italian artists because not found in Italy).
▶ PIETRO GONELLA (1390-1441): As common for the low classes, there is not much we know about Pietro Gonella. He is often cited as a courtly jester in Ferrara and said to have served the Este lords in the early decades of the 1400s, but information about his life is confused and rarely consistent across reporters. Exactly for this latter reason, his vicissitudes were turned into legend: he was said to have died of a tragic death, probably the consequence of a staged joke by his lords, the Este, which went south.
16. BERNHARD STRIGEL, EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN I AND HIS FAMILY (ROOM 16)
● Title: Group Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I and his Family
● Author: Bernhard Strigel (1460-1528)
● Date: after 1515
● Material: Oil on wood
● Style: early German Renaissance
● Measures 72,8 x 60,4 cm / 28,66 x 23,77 in
● Where to find it: Room 16, Level 1
We have mentioned Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I before in this list, his portrait a fine example of German Renaissance art and an exquisite work by Dürer you can admire at the Kunstihistorisches Museum. Here we see him portrayed along with his family (he looks different, doesn't he?). What a nice familial picture you'd say. Yes, except that when this was made two of the figures depicted had been dead for years.
Why on earth depict the dead among the living? Actually, this expedient was not uncommon in the past and could be used for different reasons. In this case, the group portrait (originally part of a diptych or a larger religious composition, today the only survivor) was commissioned to commemorate a double marriage celebrated in 1515 that guaranteed the House of Habsburg a safe succession.
On this occasion, Emperor Maximilian married the sister of his newly-adopted-son Louis of Hungary (bottom right), while Louis himself married Archduchess Mary, sister of Ferdinand and the future Charles V (bottom left and middle respectively), sons of Philip the Fair (in the back, between Maximilian on the left and his former wife Mary on the right). Philip the Fair had been the son of Maximilian himself and his wife Mary of Burgundy.
Both Philip and Mary had been dead for many years when this portrait was made, but they were needed here because without their aid the double marriage would have not been possible. This portrait was meant to symbolize a virtually uninterrupted succession and was accompanied by religious scenes and a religious text to give it a sense of sacred approbation.
17. JAKOB SEISENEGGER, EMPEROR CHARLES V (ROOM 16)
● Title: Portrait of Emperor Charles V
● Author: Jakob Seisenegger (1505-1567)
● Date: 1532
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: German Renaissance
● Measures 203,5 x 123 cm / 80,5 x 48,42 in
● Where to find it: Room 16, Level 1
This may not be the best nor the most memorable portrait of Emperor Charles V, but it is still worth taking a look. In this same room, you can see Charles portrayed as a youth (with his grandfather Maximilian I and his family, as seen here above) and as a grown-up emperor, one of the most prominent figures of the 1500s.
This painting by Jakob Seisenegger, an imperial court painter, would serve as the model for a later portrait of Charles by Titian.
▶ EMPEROR CHARLES V (1500-1558): Easily the most crucial and iconic monarch of the 16th century, Charles V was Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 until 1556 and his empire was so vast as to be notably known as one on which the sun never set. As the main heir of the entire House of Habsburg (the major royal family of the time), he came to reign on an immense kingdom that included the lands of the New World: the Americas. A universal monarch, the last of his kind, it was during his reign that all major events of the 1500s unfolded, changing the world forever and setting the basis for modernity.
18. PETER PAUL RUBENS, SELF-PORTRAIT (ROOM 20)
● Title: Self-Portrait
● Author: Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
● Date: 1638-40
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Flemish Baroque
● Measures 110 x 85,5 cm / 43,3 x 33,66 in
● Where to find it: Room 20, Level 1
Looking at the pose and the attire, this can be considered a courtly painting, although the many details Rubens added to this self-portrait would normally not belong to a work of this type.
We are used to thinking of Rubens as a painter, and indeed he is today best known for his art. However, throughout his life he was much more than solely that and in his last years (this portrait was painted shortly before he died) he was esteemed as a musketeer and a successful court diplomat, despite not being a huge supporter of the courtly lifestyle.
In this self-portrait, the last he made before gout (a typical high-class disease) took him away, he indulged in highlighting his success and fame and portrayed himself as a self-aware and resolute man, with wit and confidence in his eyes, looking serene and calm. He even embraced the fashion of the court, eventually accepting his position as a courtier and acknowledging its meaning and importance. The glove he wears on his right hand is indeed the quintessential symbol of aristocracy (we have seen it in another portrait here).
19. ANTOON VAN DYCK, NICHOLAS LANIER (ROOM 23)
● Title: Portrait of Nicholas Lanier
● Author: Antoon van Dyck (1599-1641)
● Date: 1632
● Material: Oil on canvas
● Style: Flemish Baroque
● Measures 111 x 87,6 cm / 43,7 x 34,48 in
● Where to find it: Room 23, Level 1
What we see here was likely the key to a king's heart. The artist, Flemish of origin but best known for the portraits he made for and at the court of King Charles I of England (the one beheaded by Oliver Cromwell), probably painted this portrait in 1632 during a brief stay of the English composer Lanier in Antwerp, where van Dyck was living.
Being Lanier a courtier at Charles I's, van Dyck knew the king was going to see the painting and employed his every skill in the hope of meeting the expectations of the monarch, a fine connoisseur of art. He was evidently successful, as his mastery would be continuously appreciated by Charles I and his courtiers throughout the years.
To please the king, he included references and influences taken from Italian art and Italian-inspired background landscapes - details Charles I, a major fan of the Italian school, loved the most.
▶ NICHOLAS LANIER (1588-1666): Englishman Nicholas Lanier was a composer and a renowned figure at the court of Charles I and II. He was the first composer to obtain the prestigious title of Master of the King's Music and his knowledge of the arts was particularly appreciated by Charles I, an art-lover himself. For this latter reason, he was often sent abroad to take care of the king's latest acquisitions. When the portrait was made, he was on his way back from Mantua, where he had just collected a few artworks.
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