en editor introdu ction many people love to collect ......abundantia pier jacopo alari de bonacolsi,...

Dr. Sabine Haag

Director-General

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Burgring 5, 1010 Vienna

© 2014 KHM

Authors:

Gerlinde Gruber (Baroque Installation, 25, 28, 31)

Barbara Herbst (10, 21, 19, 34)

Rotraut Krall (4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 21, 38, 39)

Manuela Laubenberger (13)

Konrad Schlegel (7, 8, 9, 35, 36, 37)

Renate Schreiber (Introduction, 1)

Agnes Stillfried (2, 3, 18, 22, 24)

Francesca del Torre Scheuch (16)

Daniel Uchtmann (20, 26, 29, 33)

Karoline Zhuber-Okrog (12)

Andreas Zimmermann (23, 27, 30, 32)

English translations: Agnes Stillfried

EDITOR

PARTNERS

David Teniers the younger,Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels, c. 1650, canvas

OPENING HOURS June 17 – September 28, 2014

Tue – Sun, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.;

Thurs 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

June – August open daily!

Many people love to collect things, but only a

select few of these collections remain intact

over decades or over the centuries. We are ex-

tremely fortunate that one of them was the

high-quality collection assembled by Archduke

Leopold Wilhelm (1614–1662). To celebrate the

4ooth anniversary of his birth the Kunsthisto-

risches Museum Vienna is presenting a selection

of works from his collections, which comprise

a seminal part of the museum’s holdings.

The artefacts assembled in our Special Exhibi-

tion Gallery document the depth and breadth

of the Archduke’s collection. In addition, other

works from his collection now displayed in the

Kunstkammer and the Picture Gallery are iden-

tified by a special label; the Coin Collection has

installed a special vitrine.

Look out for objects collected by the Archduke

in the different collections – it’s worth it!

INTRODUcTION

LE

OPO

LD WILHE

LM

SA

MM E L L U

STA Passion for Art

EN

17. june 2014 to 28. september 2014

A Passion for Art

po

stag

e

to a

n E

U a

dd

ress

p

aid

by

KH

M

2425

27

26 1

21

18

20 22

23

17

19

29

28

3130

32

TO

37

3938

33

36

34

35

1

■ Picture Gallery ■ Picture Gallery

0.5

■ Kunstkammer Vienna

David Teniers jun., Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels, c. 1650, © KHM

ww

w.k

hm

.at

Dr. Irene Schaudies, Archduke Leopold

Wilhelm and Jacob Jordaens

Irene Schaudies wrote her PhD on Jacob Jor-

daens and helped curate the exhibition Jor-

daens und die Antike in Brussels/Kassel with

Joost Vander Auwera and Justus Lange. A free-

lance art historian, her research focus is on

Flemish baroque art. She has published on

Jordaens, Rubens and the reception of

Caravaggio in the southern Netherlands.

LEcTURES

Fri sept. 12, 4 p.m. lecture room

■ Special exhibition: »A Passion for Art«

We will post this postcard for you to an EU

address. Just drop it into the post box in the

Museum Shop.

GREETINGS FROM THE KUNSTHISTORIScHES MUSEUM

Short Lunchtime Lectures in German on dif-

ferent works in the exhibition every Tues at

12.30 p.m. July – August.

For details go to www.khm.at

LUNcHTIME LEcTURES

Sabine Haag (ed.)

brochure, 112 pages, German

ISBN 978-3-99020-071-1

€ 14,95

EXHIBITION cATALOGUE

Frans Luycx

ErzhErzog LEopoLd WiLhELm

Attributed to Alessandro Abondio

portrait mEdaL

Jan Davidsz de Heem

thE Eucharist With Fruit garLands

Augsburg tWo matchLock pistoLs

David Teniers the younger

thE BrussELs popinjay

Leonhard Kern

scEnE From thE thirty yEars’ War

Leonhard Kern

aBundantia

Pier Jacopo Alari de Bonacolsi, called Antico

atropos

Dionysio Miseroni

shELL-shapEd BoWL

Florence

L’arrotino (thE grindEr)

Italian

ushaBti

Roman

magicaL camEo

Roman

EmpEror Lucius VErus

Balthasar Herold, Johann Philipp Barth archdukE LEopoLd WiLhELm

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

in the Special exhibition Gallery

14


thEatrum pictorium

thE »BaroquE« instaLLation


archdukE LEopoLd WiLhELm in his gaLLEry in BrussELs

Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian

jacopo strada

Antonello da Messina

thE Virgin and chiLd With saints

Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto

portrait oF a BEardEd man

Raffaello Santi, called Raphael

st. margarEt

Giorgio da Castelfranco called Giorgione

thE thrEE phiLosophErs

Annibale Carracci

piEtà

Jan van Eyck

cardinaL niccoLò aLBErgati

Pieter Bruegel the elder

huntErs in thE snoW (WintEr)

Anthony van Dyck

samson and dELiLah

Frans van Mieris the elder

gEntLEman in a shop

Jacob Jordaens

thE BEan king

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Joachim von Sandrart

minErVa and saturn protEcting sciEncE and thE arts From EnVy and FaLsEhood

Christopher Paudiß

st. jEromE

Peter Paul Rubens

stormy LandscapE With jupitEr, mErcury, phiLEmon and Baucis

Peter Paul Rubens

hEad oF mEdusa

Anonymous artist

grEgory thE grEat With scriBEs

Pier Maria della Pescia Serbaldi, called

Tagliacarne

poLyhymnia

Master of the Decorated Box tops

tWo circuLar Box tops

Pier Jacopo Alari de Bonacolsi, called Antico

hErcuLEs and antaEus

Leonhard Kern

pEnsiVE christ

Gottfried Libalt

stiLL LiFE With a Bust oF archdukE LEopoLd WiLhELm

Attributed to Jan van den Hoecke

aLLEgory cELEBrating archdukE LEopoLd WiLhELm (1614 —1662)

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

in the picture Gallery

in the KunStKammer

In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia concluded

the Thirty Years’ War, but Spain and France

remained at war. This meant the Archduke

continued under military orders.

For many years the Netherlands had served

as Europe’s centre for the art trade. As a re-

sult of the English Civil War, a number of out-

standing collections came onto the market.

Advised by his court painter Jan van den

Hoecke, Leopold Wilhelm gladly used this op-

portunity to acquire many important works.

When van den Hoecke’s died, he was succeed-

ed by David Teniers the younger, whose pic-

tures of the masterpieces assembled by the

Archduke helped to publicise the latter’s col-

lection.

At his own desire Leopold Wilhelm ended his

tenure in 1656 and returned to Vienna. Six

months later his brother Emperor Ferdinand

III was dead. Following a difficult election,

Ferdinand’s nineteen-year-old son, Leopold I,

was elected Emperor. Leopold Wilhelm and

his nephew were on excellent terms, and he

became Leopold’s trusted advisor.

In 1658 the top floor of Stallburg Palace was

adapted to house the Archduke’s extensive

collection. Anton van der Baren, the director

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm was born on Janu-

ary 5, 1614 at Wiener Neustadt as the young-

est son of Archduke, later Emperor Ferdinand

II and his wife Mary of Bavaria.

As a younger son he was destined for a career

in the Church. Here Franz Luycx portrays the

blond prince in ecclesiastical robes aged about

22. The Archduke appears sensitive and some-

what melancholic, and we know that he was

unhappy about being elected bishop (of,

among others, Passau and Strasbourg) and be-

coming Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.

Twice – in 1639 and in 1645 – his brother, Em-

peror Ferdinand III, appointed him command-

er of the Imperial army during the Thirty

Years’ War. Despite his lack of military train-

ing Leopold Wilhelm approached this assign-

ment with enthusiasm; sadly, his military car-

eer was not very successful.

In April 1647, Leopold Wilhelm travelled to

Brussels as Governor of the Spanish Nether-

lands (more or less modern-day Belgium and

Luxemburg) for his cousin, King Philip IV of

Spain, an assignment fraught with difficulties.

He was accompanied by his chamberlain and

confidant , Count Johann Adolph von

Schwarzenberg.

1

Frans Luycx (Antwerp 1604–1668 Vienna)

archdukE LEopoLd WiLhELm (1614–1662) in EccLEsiasticaL roBEs

c. 1638canvas, 85 x 56 cminv.no. GG 2754

2

Attributed to Alessandro Abondio (1570/80–1648)

portrait mEdaL (giFt mEdaL) oF LEopoLd WiLhELm

undated (after 1641)gold (minted), 42.5 mm, 35.14 g (equals 10 ducats), broken loopinv.no. MK 2545bβ

Through his travels and exalted rank Leopold

Wilhelm was familiar with medals and coins

as artistic media. It is remarkable, however,

that most of his medals were intended as gifts

or honours.

The obverse of this »gift medal« features the

Archduke’s bust-portrait in ecclesiastical

robes, its reverse a lion and a lamb beneath a

cross; the crossbar is decorated with a bride,

laurel branches and the Eye of Providence.

The image’s meaning is not easy to decipher.

The lamb may be identified as the agnus dei,

or it may represent justice; the lion stands for

bravery, and the bridle for moderation; the

laurels refer either to faith or to victory. We

may assume that this is an allegorical render-

ing of the Archduke’s virtues that culminates

in his personal device »TIMORE DOMINI« (in

fear of the Lord).

of his picture gallery, was in charge of the

building work, and in 1659 compiled an inven-

tory of all the artworks.

In 1661 the painter Frans Geffels wrote enthu-

siastically about his visit to Stallburg Palace:

»the Archduke took over four hours to show

me round the collection, explaining and lis-

tening as we walked […] I believe there is no

place in Italy with so many (paintings) this

beautiful.«

On November 20, 1662 Leopold Wilhelm died

in Vienna. He left some of his tapestries to

his friend Count Schwarzenberg, but his paint-

ings – »what I love most among my estate« –

expressly to his nephew, Emperor Leopold I.

A large share of his collection still forms a

seminal part of the celebrated collections of

the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna.

// in the Special Exhibition Gallery // in the Special Exhibition Gallery

3

Jan Davidsz de Heem (Utrecht 1606–1683/1684 Antwerp)

thE Eucharist With Fruit garLands

dated 1648 canvas, 138 cm x 125,5 cm x 2,5 cminv.no. GG 571

In 1648 De Heem painted this ecclesiastical

still-life for Leopold Wilhelm, whose person-

al device Timore Domini (in fear of the Lord)

reflected both his personal piety and his many

ecclesiastical offices. At the early age of eleven

he was elected Bishop of Passau, the first of

many bishoprics. A speciality of Flemish bar-

oque painters, ecclesiastical still-lifes were

promoted by the Jesuits as an effective Coun-

ter-Reformatory device. This glorification of

the Eucharist combines the sensual enjoyment

of verisimilitude with Christian symbolism:

chalice and host surrounded by an aureole

are framed by fruits and flowers symbolizing

death and resurrection: the poppies, for ex-

ample, represent the Passion, the cherries sin

and its conquest, the ears of corn and the

grapes the bread and wine of the Eucharist,

and the butterfly the resurrected soul.

Popinjays were among the traditional enter-

tainments organized by the St. George’s Har-

quebusiers Guild in Brussels. In 1651 Arch-

duke Leopold Wilhelm participated, follow-

ing in the footsteps of one of his predecessors,

Archduke Albrecht. Attended by all the Har-

quebusiers, numerous representatives of the

city and many onlookers, the Governor

knocked the artificial bird off its perch, which

reached up to the ridge turret of the church

of Our Lady. Standing on the estrade in the

centre of the composition, Leopold Wilhelm

– still clutching his crossbow and the only

gentle man wearing a hat – is being congratulat-

ed for his shot. Teniers brilliantly combines

different genres and aspects such as history

painting, portraiture, genre painting and es-

pecially the courtly display of authority.

4

David Teniers the younger (Antwerp 1610–1690 Brussels)

thE BrussELs popinjay

inscribed on the left below the carriage horses: DAVID.TENIERS. FEC AV 1652;dated 1652

canvas, 172 x 247 cminv.no. 756


A confidently striding officer has stabbed a

naked young woman in the back and twisted

her arm onto her back while directing his

scornful and feisty gaze at the spectator. The

girl’s face shows no signs of pain. The three

roses on the officer’s baldric identify him as

Reinhold von Rosen, a Livorian aristocrat

who fought with the French in the Thirty

Years’ War and participated in the sack of

Schwäbisch Hall. The exceptional contempor-

ary scene depicted in this alabaster group is

probably an allegory on the danger faced by

Schwäbisch Hall. Then a burgher of this city,

Leonard Kern may have been commissioned

by the Archduke himself. As the imperial com-

mander he was the adversary of Reinhold von

Rosen and probably regarded himself as the

– figuratively speaking – protector of the im-

perial city.

6

Leonhard Kern (1588–1662)

scEnE From thE thirty yEars’ War

Schwäbisch Hall, before 1659alabaster, h. 34.3 cm inv.no. KK 4363

During the Thirty Years’ War pistols were part

of the basic equipment of the heavy cavalry.

In battle their concentrated attack aimed to

break enemy lines and put them to flight. This

pair of pistols belonged to Archduke Leopold

Wilhelm. It was first described in his 1660 in-

ventory: »a Netherlandish pair of matchlock

pistols, the handles with tortoises, which His

Imperial Highness was given by Count For-

gätsch at Bratislava«. Note the pistols’ elegant

simplicity and the precious materials used.

The barrels were made in Augsburg and are

decorated with red-and-black mother-of-pearl;

the matchlocks are engraved; the fittings are

made of gilt brass.

5

Augsburg

tWo matchLock pistoLs

middle of the 17th centuryengraved iron, engraved brass, mother of pearl, each l. 71,5 cm, H. 15 cm, T. 5 cminv.no. HJRK A 1470, A 1471


8

Pier Jacopo Alari de Bonacolsi, called Antico(Mantua, c. 1460–1528 Gazzuolo)

atropos

Mantua, c. 1519bronze, h. 32 cminv.no. KK 5545

Atropos, one of the Three Fates, is the one

who cuts each mortal’s thread with her scis-

sors. She once held the latter in her right, and

a distaff in her left hand. This high-quality

statue was one of several bronzes by the Man-

tuan Renaissance sculptor Antico (for more

works by him see Gallery 33 of the Kunstkam-

mer) installed in the so-called Kunstkammer

of Leopold Wilhelm at Vienna’s Stallburg Pal-

ace. After the Archduke’s return from Brus-

sels in 1656, his now enormously enlarged col-

lection was divided: the larger part was in-

stal led at Stal lburg Palace – the 1659

inventory lists 1397 paintings, 343 drawings

and 542 sculptures, small statues and other

Kunstkammer objets d’art. In addition, Leo-

pold Wilhelm installed his so-called Treasury

in the Amalienburg wing of Hofburg Palace,

which probably contained over 800 precious

artefacts (see next exhibit).

This classical goddess clutching a cornucopia

was carved from the tip of a walrus tusk, part

of which is still firmly embedded in the ani-

mal’s jawbone. The figure seems to grow out

of the brittle material, reflecting the juxta-

position of nature and art so beloved of Kunst-

kammer collectors in the 16th and 17th century.

This remarkable artefact was in the collec-

tion of Leopold Wilhelm even before he be-

came Governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

Before leaving Vienna for Brussels in 1647 the

Archduke commissioned an inventory of his

collection in which it is listed. The inventory

comprised around 470 objects: most of them

are reliquaries and other religious artefacts

but it also contained scientific instruments

and exotic objects. This shows us that his then

still quite small collection bore the rudiments

of an encyclopaedic Kunstkammer collection.

7

Leonhard Kern (Forchtenberg 1588–1662 Schwäbisch Hall)

aBundantia

Schwäbisch Hall, c. 1635/45Walrus tusk, h. 37.7 cminv.no. KK 4547


10

Florence

L’arrotino (thE grindEr) rEduction oF an anciEnt ori-ginaL

2nd half of the 16th century bronze, h. 25.8 cminv.no. KK 5760

9

Dionysio Miseroni (Prague c. 1607–1661 Prague)

shELL-shapEd BoWL

Prague, 1656/57rock crystal, h. 7.1 cm, l. 13.1 cm, w. 7.9 cminv.no. KK 1420

A man has knelt down to grind his knife on

a stone; but instead of focusing on his knife

he has raised his pained face to gaze at some-

one. This someone is Marsyas, whose flaying

Apollo has ordered. The latter is missing but

was originally part of the original Hellenistic

group. The Romans frequently copied some

of the figures of this impressive bronze group.

A number of life-size marble copies of Marsyas

have survived, but only a single copy of the

grinder – discovered in Rome in the early 16th

century and on show in the Uffizi Galleries

since 1680 – is known. Various 16th and 17th

century artists produced copies, versions and

sketches of it. It also served as the model for

this small sculpture; with it, Leopold Wilhelm

owned at least a reduced copy of a then

much-discussed work.

This and other vessels cut from rock crystal

by the imperial stone-cutter Dionysio Misero-

ni were housed in the so-called Treasury of

Leopold Wilhelm in the Amalienburg wing of

Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Inventoried in

1660, the collection comprised a total of 814

artefacts and included his precious reliquar-

ies, clocks and silver plates. The so-called Kun-

stkammer in Stallburg Palace housed all his

narrative, figurative artefacts, while the Treas-

ury in the Amalienburg wing contained

non-figurative artworks. This conceptual and

physical division of a princely collection into

»figurative art« and a »treasury« documents

the rejection of the traditional idea of an en-

cyclopaedic Kunstkammer, heralding the new

organization of the Habsburg holdings, which

were installed in smaller specialized collec-

tions with the onset of the Age of Enlighten-

ment in the 18th century.


12

Roman

magicaL camEo

Ouroboros and magical inscriptions2nd centurychalcedony, h. 2.2 cminv.no ANSA IXb 1230

Sadly, we have so far not been able to identi-

fy the small classical artefacts listed in Leop-

old Wilhelm’s inventory, which records them

in general rather than carefully-detailed terms.

However, one small sub-group can be identi-

fied: cameos from the 2nd and 3rd century AD

featuring magical-occult images. In classical

antiquity they served as amulets and talismans.

This genre was first published by the Arch-

duke’s private physician Johannes Chifletius

(1588–1660); he included origins, descriptions

and engravings of four stones in the arch -

ducal collection: three magical cameos and a

phalera, a Roman military decoration. Their

images – demonic composite creatures, assem-

blies of deities, a serpent eating its own tail

(ouroboros, a symbol of eternity), or magical

inscriptions – encouraged learned discourse.

It is at first surprising to find a figure like this

one in Leopold Wilhelm’s collection because

Europe’s love of all things Egyptian began

much later. However, small ancient Egyptian

artefacts already circulated in the 17th cen-

tury and were regarded as worthy of being in-

cluded in princely collections, although this

did not happen often. At first glance, this ush-

abti appears genuine. We can make out some

hieroglyphs even if not all of them are legible.

However, in Ancient Egypt ushabti were neve r

made of bronze. The figure – together with

the base on which the original was mounted

– was probably cast from a genuine ushabti.

Bronze casts were often used to copy

sought-after but rare ancient originals; these

life-size or reduced copies were welcome ad-

ditions to princely collections.

11

Italian

ushaBti

c. 1650?bronze, h. 13.1 cminv.no. KK 5858


14

Balthasar Herold (1625–1683), Johann Philipp Barth (1657–1657)

archdukE LEopoLd WiLhELm, Bust

Vienna, 1657 bronze, H. 69.5 cminv.no. KK 8930

This bronze bust depicts the Archduke in his

favourite pose as supreme commander and

Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. Emperor

Ferdinand III, Leopold Wilhelm’s elder brother,

commissioned bronze sculptures for his

Kunstkammer collection from Balthasar Her-

old, among them such a bust. The work is at-

tributed to Herold because he is named in a

then still unpaid receipt dated to the time of

the Emperor’s death (†1657). Herold based his

work on a signed and dated (1650) marble bust

by the Flemish sculptor Jérôme II Duquesnoy

(on show in the Kunstkammer, Gallery 23).

Duquesnoy employs a stately-aloof pose to

great effect to create a formal and aristocrat-

ic composition that almost rivals van Dyck’s

painted portraits. Herold brilliantly trans-

posed this baroque-classical inclination into

bronze.

This ancient Roman bust was first identified

in the inventory of the Collection of Greek

and Roman Antiquities and on Teniers’ paint-

ing of Leopold Wilhelm’s gallery in Brussels

(inv.no. GG 739, also on show in this exhibi-

tion) in 1875. But the reason for its prominent

position between Leopold Wilhelm and Te-

niers was discovered only recently: the bust

was believed to depict Marcus Aurelius, the

“philosopher king” much admired by Human-

ists. It is no accident that the bronze eques-

trian statue of Leopold Wilhelm (inv.no. KK

6002) modelled on Marcus Aurelius’ celebrat-

ed equestrian statue on the Capitol in Rome

is depicted on the table on the left.

In a print from 1660 (in the so-called Thea-

trum Pictorium) the bust is also displayed

prominently. For Leopold Wilhelm antiques

obviously functioned not only as precious art-

works, they also conveyed important aspects

of how he saw himself.

13

Roman

portrait Bust oF EmpEror Lucius VErus

middle of the 2nd century marble, h. 100 cminv.no. ANSA I 115


16


thEatrum pictorium

Brussels 1660inv.no. BIBL 14523

This book is regarded as the first printed and

illustrated catalogue of a collection of paint-

ings. Published in Brussels in 1660, the Thea-

trum Pictorium presents a selection of Italian

works from the collection of Archduke Leo-

pold Wilhelm. It comprises 243 etchings, com-

plete with measurements and the names of

the artists; each etching records a painting in

one of three standardized formats. In addi-

tion, the Theatrum includes a frontispiece with

a dedication to the Archduke, Teniers’ pro-

logue, and a description and two views of the

new installation in Vienna. The publication

comprising texts in Latin, French, Flemish

and Spanish was designed both for a wider

audience and as a study aid for artists and

connoisseurs. Teniers copied the paintings

onto small tablets (»pasticci«) that served as

templates for the etchers after the collection

was moved to Vienna.

Teniers assembled his master’s most impor-

tant Italian acquisitions in his depiction of

the Archduke’s collection now in Vienna. Most

of the artworks included here are still in the

holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum;

however, a comparison between the originals

and Teniers’ copies shows that he freely ad-

justed their formats. Eleven versions of this

composition with only minimal variations are

known. Teniers did not produce a historical-

ly correct encyclopaedic record of the collec-

tion but emphasizes the courtly-official role

of the Archduke’s enterprise. This aspect is

underlined by the two dogs fighting over a

stick in the foreground. The genre-like detail

illustrates a Netherlandish proverb that two

dogs fighting over a single bone will never

agree, but probably also alludes to the polit-

ical tensions between the Spanish crown and

the Governor.

15

David Teniers the younger (Antwerp 1610–1690 Brussels)

archdukE LEo- poLd WiLhELm in his gaLLEry in BrussELs

c. 1650canvas, 124 cm x 165 cminv.no. 739


This »baroque« installation is inspired by the

installation of Leopold Wilhelm’s collection

at Stallburg Palace. This compact presenta-

tion of Dutch and Flemish paintings reflects

what was then considered the ideal installa-

tion; it also creates unexpected visual experi-

ences: today, seminal works like Rubens’ Lam-

entation in the centre would be displayed in

splendid isolation.

The installation comprises only contemporary

paintings but includes all the popular genres:

history painting, genre scenes, portraits, still-

lifes. Two of the works are »biographic« and

depict Leopold Wilhelm: in Interior of Ant-

werp Cathedral he is on the right, bowing to

a clergyman, and in Ice-Skating on the Moat

at Brussels he is on the far right, gazing out

from his carriage. Leopold Wilhelm owned a

number of similar works – among them The

Brussels Popinjay; they functioned both as

homage to the ruler and documented his popu-

larity, and they were probably commissioned

by him. The surprisingly large number of flower

still-lifes represents a relatively new genre.

Over ninety of them are listed in the invento-

ry of Leopold Wilhelm’s paintings compiled

in 1659, which lists a total of 1397 pictures. For

the first time it also records the name of all

the artists – in contemporary Antwerp, paint-

17

thE »BaroquE« instaLLation

ings on which several artists had collaborat-

ed were highly prized by collectors. For ex-

ample, we know that David Teniers painted

the figures in Barn with Maid Washing Crock-

ery and Goats, while Cornelis Saftleven was

responsible for the rest of the composition.

Leopold Wilhelm greatly enjoyed separating

– and comparing – the different hands. At the

time such connoisseurs were called »true

art-lovers«.

Leopold Wilhelm loved 16th century Italian –

especially Venetian – painting. Like many other

Habsburgs he particularly admired Titian. This

celebrated late work is listed in his 1659 inven-

tory. It had probably been in the Imperial col-

lection for some time before Leopold Wilhelm

acquired it. We know that he was able to in-

corporate a number of works from this source

into his collection.

Titian was celebrated for his portraits, and as

in most of them he tells us something about

the sitter: the statue of Venus in Strada’s hands

and the classical torso on the table refer to the

fact that he was an expert on ancient art and

»court antiquarian« to several princes and em-

perors. The coins on the table and the books

above his head are a reminder of his learned

books on classical numismatics. Gold chain,

fur and sabre document his elevated rank. As

in many of his later paintings, Titian dispens-

es with clear outlines and applies the paint in

thick brushstrokes.

18

Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian (Pieve di Cadore c. 1488–1576 Venice)

jacopo strada

1567/68canvas, 126 cm x 95.5 cm x 3 cminv.no. GG 81

In the 1470s Antonello da Messina spent some

time in Venice where Pietro Bono commis-

sioned him to paint an altarpiece for the

church of San Cassiano. The large panel de-

picting the Virgin and Child flanked by eight

life-size saints was later removed from the

church; in 1620 it was sawn into pieces, which

were then sold individually, a practice that

both increased the amount of money that

could be made from a multi-figure composi-

tion and satisfied the rising demand for

high-quality artworks. Leopold Wilhelm ac-

quired the central section of the panel depict-

ing the Virgin Mary flanked by four saints as

part of the Hamilton Collection. Then attrib-

uted to Giovanni Bellini, the panels were in-

ventoried individually, which suggests that

neither their connection nor the identity of

the artist was known.

19

Antonello da Messina (c. 1430–1479 Messina)

thE Virgin and chiLd With sts. nicoLaus oF Bari, anastasia (?), ur-suLa, dominic and (cut oFF By thE FramE) hELE-na

1475/1476poplar wood, central panel: 115 x 63 cm, left panel: 55.5 x 35 cm, right panel: 56.8 x 35.6 cminv.no. GG 257

// in the Picture Gallery // in the Picture Gallery

Once Raphael’s St. Margaret was known in

Venice it was widely admired. In 1528 its prais-

es were sung in a description of the collection

assembled by the lawyer Zuanantonio Veni-

er. Its last Venetian owner was the procura-

tor Michiel Priuli, who obviously loved it. Leg-

end has it that after he had sold it to the Duke

of Hamilton, the favourite of King Charles I,

he was so afflicted with sorrow that he fell

down a flight of stairs and died. As a result of

the English Civil War the Hamilton Collec-

tion was removed to Holland in 1649; only a

few weeks later it was in the hands of Leo-

pold Wilhelm. This acquisition formed the ba-

sis for his own collection of 16th century Ital-

ian paintings. The fact that the picture figures

prominently in a number of depictions of Leo-

pold Wilhelm’s collection documents how

much Raphael’s work meant to him.

21

Raffaello Santi, called Raphael (Urbino 1483–1520 Rome)

st. margarEt

c. 1518poplar wood, 191.3 cm x 123 cm x 3.5 cminv.no. 171

20

Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto (1519–1594 Venice)

portrait oF a BEardEd man

c. 1570canvas, 92,4 x 59,5 cminv.no. GG 25

This portrait of a Venetian dignitary is among

the most moving depictions of the human con-

dition by this celebrated artist. By the middle

of the 17th century Habsburg collectors had fo-

cused on Venetian paintings for over a cen-

tury, and Leopold Wilhelm happily continued

this family tradition begun by Emperor

Charles V and King Philip II of Spain. The

fact that this portrait is included among the

Italian masterpieces assembled in David Te-

niers’ painting of Leopold Wilhelm’s gallery

now in Vienna documents the high regard in

which it was held by the Archduke. Teniers’

connoisseurship helped Leopold Wilhelm to

assemble his impressive collection. Teniers’

illustrated catalogue Theatrum Pictorium is a

permanent monument to his master’s celebrat-

ed collection. This »paper museum« showcas-

es the Bearded Man on plate 97. The painting

may also be identical with an entry in the 1643

inventory of the Hamilton Collection: »A

blacke man in furred gowne of Tintoret«.

After Hamilton’s execution Leopold Wilhelm

acquired a number of paintings from the

duke’s collection.


23

Annibale Carracci (Bologna 1560–1609 Rome)

piEtà

c. 1603copper, 41 x 60 cminv.no. GG 230

In this small masterpiece Annibale Carracci

created a deeply moving image of sorrow, pain

and death using only a few figures placed in

a constricted space. Trained on Raphael’s and

Michelangelo’s modelling of the human figure

and classical sculpture, he builds up an in-

credible emotional intensity through his high-

ly individual use of colour: the Virgin seems

to follow her dead son in death – note how

her lips and her fingertips have turned blue,

the colour of the dead Christ. Her sole com-

fort are the two angels, but they are dramatical-

ly juxtaposed with the instruments of the Pas-

sion still bearing traces of blood.

In Teniers’ picture of the Archduke’s gallery

(see Special Exhibition Gallery) Carracci’s

Pietà is accorded a prominent position, prob-

ably an expression of the high esteem in which

it was held by the collector.

22

Giorgio da Castelfranco called Giorgione (Castelfranco c. 1477–1510 Venice)

thE thrEE phiLosophErs

1508/1509canvas, 125.5 cm x 146.2 cm x 3.5 cminv.no. GG 111

Giorgione’s masterpiece was in the collection

assembled by Bartolomeo della Nave, which

was acquired by the Duke of Hamilton with

the help of his brother-in-law, the English am-

bassador to Venice. Some time after Hamil-

ton’s execution, Leopold Wilhelm bought his

impressive collection in 1649. The Archduke

must have cherished this painting because it

appears in many of the pictures that record

his collection. A comparison between these

copies and the original shows that a large sec-

tion of the latter was cut off in the 18th centu-

ry.

This is one of the few paintings we can attrib-

ute to Giorgione. He depicts the founding fa-

thers of Occidental philosophy: Pythagoras

clutching a goniometer and dividers, his teach-

er, Pherekydes of Syros, and the aged Thales.

Giorgione was the leading painter in Venice

at the turn of the 16th century and his works

are characterized by a poetic mood and a

warm, unifying colour harmony that deeply

influenced Titian and other contemporaries.


25

Pieter Bruegel the elder (Breda ? c. 1525/30–1569 Brussels)

huntErs in thE snoW (WintEr)

dated 1565 oak panel, 117 x 162 cminv.no. GG 1838

Beginning with Emperor Ferdinand II the im-

perial art collection was also subject to the

laws of primogeniture. But because Leopold

Wilhelm planned to leave his collection to his

nephew, Emperor Leopold I, his collection

was probably also regarded as an imperial col-

lection and he was able to acquire in Vienna

a number of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the

elder that had entered the Habsburg collec-

tion through his ancestors Archduke Ernst and

Emperor Rudolf II. They included the cele-

brated series of the Seasons, the most famous

of which is Hunters in the Snow. In Stallburg

Palace, Bruegel’s Seasons were displayed below

a window so that the depicted landscape could

compete with the real landscape above it.

Leopold Wilhelm bought only one painting by

Pieter Bruegel that is still attributed to him:

The Nest Robber, also on show in this gallery.

At the time, however, it was believed to be a

work by Pieter Brueghel the younger.

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm also acquired in-

dividual paintings from other collectors and

art dealers in Antwerp. In 1648 he bought this

celebrated portrait by Jan van Eyck together

with a vanitas still-life by Pieter Aertsen

(Christ in the House of Mary and Magda,

Room 16) from the collection of the Antwerp

art dealer Peter Stevens. It probably depicts

Cardinal Albergati, whom the Pope had sent

north in 1431 to try and arrange peace talks

to end the Hundred Years’ War.

Jan van Eyck, court painter to the Duke of

Burgundy, was long regarded as the inventor

of oil painting. This new technique enabled

him to depict details like the Cardinal’s aged

skin, the reflexes in his eyes or the fur trim-

mings on his cloak. Jan van Eyck depicts all

details with great care without getting lost in

them. Despite its small format the portrait

exudes monumentality, which also seems to

reflect the sitter’s strong character.

24

Jan van Eyck (Maaseyck near Maastricht c. 1390–1441 Bruges)

cardinaL niccoLò aLBErgati (1375–1443)

c. 1435oak panel, 34 cm x 29.5 cminv.no. GG 975


27

Frans van Mieris the elder (1635–1681 Leiden)

gEntLEman in a shop

dated 1660 oak panel, 54.5 x 42.7 cminv.no. GG 586

In his Teutsche Academie (German Academy)

published in 1675, Sandrart reports that Leo-

pold Wilhelm paid the enormous sum of 2000

guilders for Gentleman in a Shop, adding that

this was »far too little / for such a handsome

work«. Leopold Wilhelm’s tenure as Gover-

nor of the Spanish Netherlands ended in 1656

and he returned to Vienna; but his acquisi-

tion of this work dated 1660 by the then twen-

ty-five-year-old Frans van Mieris documents

that he continued to keep up-to-date with de-

velopments in the art scene even of the Prot-

estant Dutch Republic. Together with Gerrit

Dou (Rembrandt’s first pupil!), Frans van

Mieris is regarded as the leading representa-

tive of the »Leiden Fijnschilders« (literally

»fine-painters«). Their work is marked by an

almost obsessive focus on the faithful render-

ing of the different materials and surfaces.

The Archduke was also interested in contem-

porary Flemish painting. Anthony van Dyck,

a native of Antwerp, had died in London in

1641, only a few years before Leopold Wilhelm

became Governor of the Spanish Netherlands

in 1647. The Archduke owned ten paintings

by him, among them Thetis Receiving Achil-

les’ Arms from Hephaistos and Study of the

Head of a Woman Looking Up (also in Gal-

lery XI).

Giovanni Bellori recounts that Samson and

Delilah was given to Leopold Wilhelm by »Si-

gnor Van Wonsel«. This probably refers to the

Antwerp cloth merchants Marc and Joos van

Woonsel, who had also procured commissions

for van Dyck. Bellori also recounts that the

Archduke surpassed all his contemporaries in

his knowledge of classical antiquity, medals

and paintings, as documented by his gallery

in the Theatrum Pictorium (see temporary ex-

hibition).

26

Anthony van Dyck (Antwerp 1599–1641 London)

samson and dELiLah

1628/1630canvas, 146 x 254 cminv.no. GG 512


29

Joachim von Sandrart (Frankfurt 1606–1688 Nuremberg)

minErVa and sat-urn protEcting sciEncE and thE arts From EnVy and FaLsEhood

dated 1644 canvas, 146 x 202 cminv.no. GG 1136

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm first met Joachim

Sandrart in 1646 when he visited the painter

in Stockau, his estate in Bavaria. According

to a biographer close to the artist, the Arch-

duke wanted to meet Sandrart after he had

seen some of his works in the Wittelsbach col-

lections. Together they visited the Count Pal-

atine at Neuburg to see his collection of paint-

ings by Rubens. Their acquaintance led to a

number of commissions, among them this al-

legory. The subject, a homage to his patron-

age, was probably selected by the Archduke

himself: the Roman goddess Minerva acts as

the protector of the arts, whose putto-like per-

sonifications flee from the allegories of envy

and falsehood. Clutching shield and scythe,

Saturn (or Chronos) is the god of time who

protects the arts from transience; the deity

may also stand for the hope that time will ex-

pose falsehood and envy.

Leopold Wilhelm owned only one painting by

Jacob Jordaens, the most important Flemish

baroque painter after Rubens and van Dyck

– despite the fact that Jordaens was still alive

during the Archduke’s tenure as Governor of

the Spanish Netherlands. However, this sin-

gle painting, The Bean King, may be regard-

ed as the quintessence of Jordaens’ innova-

tions. Now celebrated as an icon of baroque

joie de vivre, the composition may also con-

tain a direct reference to the Archduke, who

liked to celebrate his birthday (he was born

on January 5, 1614) on Epiphany (January 6);

on that day it was customary in the Nether-

lands to pick the Bean King from among the

guests at a banquet (by drawing lots, or a bean

baked in a cake). Jordaens executed several

versions of this subject, but the painting in Vi-

enna is particularly successful at recounting

an ancient custom in rich and opulent detail,

and in a large format.

28

Jacob Jordaens (Antwerp 1593–1678 Antwerp)

thE BEan king

c. 1640/1645canvas, 242 x 300 cminv.no. GG 786


31

Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp)

stormy Land-scapE With jupi-tEr, mErcury, phi-LEmon and Baucis

c. 1620/1625oak panel, 146 x 208,5 cminv.no. GG 690

In the 1620s Rubens painted this impressive

stormy landscape embellished with mytho-

logical figures purely for his own enjoyment:

it was never sold and was listed in the artist’s

estate after his death in 1640. King Charles I

tried to buy it, but was prevented by the im-

minent outbreak of the English Civil War. But

as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands

Leopold Wilhelm was able to acquire this and

three other paintings from Rubens’ estate (e.g.

Girl with Fan and Isabella d’Este in this gal-

lery); he owned a total of eleven works by

Rubens. Before the artist’s estate was put up

for auction a private sale was arranged for

the King of Spain, which the Austrian

Habsburgs did not attend.

When Leopold Wilhelm bought this St. Je-

rome he acquired – possibly even from the

artist himself – a contemporary work by a

Protestant painter. Born in Lower Saxony or

Hamburg, Christopher Paudiß moved from

Dresden to Vienna in 1660, carrying a recom-

mendation letter from Duke Johann Georg II,

the Elector of Saxony, addressed to the Arch-

duke.

Rembrandt, in whose workshop Paudiß was

active in the 1640s, executed a total of seven

etchings of St. Jerome: one of the Doctors of

the Church, St. Jerome is responsible for the

canonical order of the Hebrew and Greek

Gospels and translating them into Latin; this

made him equally important for Protestant

artists and patrons and the Catholic Arch-

duke. The painting focuses both on medita-

tion and penitence and the Bible itself; at some

later date a large section was cut off along the

bottom edge.

30

Christopher Paudiß (Lower Saxony c. 1625–1666 Freising)

st. jEromE

1656/1658canvas, 136 x 124 cminv.no. GG 395


33

Anonymous artist

grEgory thE grEat With scriBEs

Lorraine (?), late 10th centuryivory, h. 20.5 cm, w. 12.5 cminv.no. KK 8399

Even before he became Governor of the Span-

ish Netherlands Leopold Wilhelm had ac-

quired a number of artworks in Vienna, among

them this ivory panel. As the son, brother and

uncle of emperors, Leopold Wilhelm felt a

deep veneration for artefacts from the reign

of Charlemagne. This small ivory panel fea-

turing a depiction of Pope Gregory the Great

– originally the cover of a sacramentary – was

such a relict.

For the Habsburgs owning such an artefact

buttressed their claim to rule as the rightful

heirs to the first post-classical emperor of the

Occident. For Leopold Wilhelm the work’s re-

ligious content probably reflected his numer-

ous bishoprics and appealed to him as a sem-

inal document of the time before the Refor-

mation. Inspired by the dove of the Holy

Spirit, the Pope composes the text that but-

tresses the divine validity of the Catholic lit-

urgy in the age of the Counter-Reformation.

Leopold Wilhelm acquired The Head of Me-

dusa not for his own collection but for that

of his brother, Emperor Ferdinand III. It was

among the paintings sent to Prague to decorate

the denuded imperial palace, which had been

ransacked by the Swedes; in 1880 it was re-

moved to Vienna. Originally the painting had

been in the collection of George Villiers, Duke

of Buckingham, who had known Rubens and

had owned a total of thirty paintings by him.

In 1628 this influential courtier was assassin-

ated but during the English Civil War his son

was able to bring much of his father’s superb

collection to Antwerp, where Leopold Wil-

helm’s agent, Jan van den Hoecke, acquired

the most important works from the Bucking-

ham Collection – among them Head of Me-

dusa – for the Habsburgs.

32

Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp)

hEad oF mEdusa

1617/1618canvas, 68.5 x 118 cminv.no. GG 3834

// in the Picture Gallery // in the Kunstkammer

35

Master of the Decorated Box tops

tWo circuLar BoxEs dEcoratEd With portraits, and thEir tops FEaturing mytho-LogicaL scEnEs

Nuremberg (?), 1525walnut, pear wood, 22 cm in diam.inv.nos. KK 3878, KK 3879, KK3893, KK3894

These two flat circular wooden boxes are decor-

ated with the portraits of Frederick the Wise,

Elector of Saxony (1463–1525), and his concu-

bine, Anna; in the 1659 inventory of Leopold

Wilhelm’s Kunstkammer they are listed as

works by Albrecht Durer. Note Durer’s celeb-

rated monogramme next to Anna’s portrait.

We can certainly assume some connection

with Albrecht Durer as the portrait of the Elec-

tor is based on Durer’s well-known engraving

depicting him. Today, art historians no longer

believe that Durer worked as a sculptor but

the 17th century was convinced that he had.

Admiration for Durer’s work led to copies in

a number of different media. Every princely

collection had to include works by the celebrat-

ed Renaissance artist, which helped people to

believe in their authenticity.

This bust depicting the Greek muse of sacred

poetry and hymns reflects the period’s admir-

ation for classical antiquity in many ways: sub-

ject-matter, composition, handling and

material. The ancients regarded porphyry as

an exceptional stone that was reserved for the

emperor because of its purple colour; its hard-

ness required exceptional skill. Contemporar-

ies regarded Pietro Maria della Pescia Serbal-

di as a »brilliant imitator of antiquity«, and

legend has it that he once buried some of his

own works in Rome that were later sold as

genuine antiques. It was probably not only

the work’s antique character but also the de-

sire to own classical originals that led to its

description in the 1659 inventory of Leopold

Wilhelm’s collection as »a small bust made of

red, profile of a woman .. antique«

34

Pier Maria della Pescia Serbaldi, called Tagliacarne (Pescia c. 1445 – after 1525 Rom)

poLyhymnia

Rome, c. 1500porphyry, h. 41 cminv.no. KK 3529

// in the Kunstkammer // in the Kunstkammer

In his works Leonhard Kern reflects ideas and

impressions he had brought back from his so-

journ in Italy, but he was also influenced by

early 16th century German art. This figure was

clearly informed both by the Belvedere Torso

in the Vatican and works by Michelangelo,

and by Albrecht Durer’s woodcut Man of Sor-

rows, the title page of his Small Passion.

Leopold Wilhelm’s Kunstkammer also con-

tained a number of sculptures that represent

the 17th century »Durer Renaissance« – retro-

spective works that transpose Durer’s two-di-

mensional compositions (especially his prints)

into the three-dimensional medium sculpture,

i.e. a kind of mimetic re-creation. Deeply in-

terested in Renaissance art, the Archduke was

thus able to satisfy his strong desire to own

works by Durer, which were by then almost

unobtainable.

37

Leonhard Kern (Forchtenberg 1588–1662 Schwäbisch Hall)

pEnsiVE christ

Schwäbisch Hall, c. 1625/35alabaster, h. 25 cminv.no. KK 4429

Almost all the bronzes by Antico now in the

Kunstkammer Vienna are listed in Leopold

Wilhelm’s 1659 inventory.

A cast inscription on the bottom of the base

of Hercules and Antaeus (see image on the

Tablet in Gallery 33 of the Kunstkammer) tells

us that Antico made this statuette for Isabel-

la d’Este, the art-loving Marchioness of Man-

tua (1474–1539) and one of the most important

Renaissance collectors in Italy. As it was al-

most impossible to obtain genuine antique

works she collected Antico’s perfect replicas

of classical sculptures.

In 1627, Vincenzo II Gonzaga, the heavily in-

debted Duke of Mantua, sold parts of his col-

lection to King Charles I of England. Follow-

ing Charles’ execution at the end of the Eng-

lish Civil War, the Commonwealth auctioned

off the royal collection in 1650; this is prob-

ably when and how Leopold Wilhelm acquired

his Anticos.

36

Pier Jacopo Alari de Bonacolsi, called. Antico(Mantua, c. 1460–1528 Gazzuolo)

hErcuLEs and antaEus

Mantua, c 1519bronze, h. 43.2 cminv.no. KK 5767


Leopold Wilhelm’s court painter produced

this small but highly inventive allegory cele-

brating his master. The portrait medallion de-

picts him as a general and a clergyman. The

genius on the left presents a gold medallion

with the Archduke’s personal device »Timore

Domini« (»in fear of the Lord«) to which Fame

clutching her trombone is pointing. To express

her desire for peace, Minerva’s sword does

not have a tip. But the cornucopia in Apollo’s

hands denotes that even in times of war the

god of music and the arts can spread magnifi-

cence and splendour. Facing them, Hercules

with his lion and Prudentia, the goddess of

wisdom, illustrate some of the Archduke’s vir-

tues, which also include celibacy, symbolized

by the unicorn and blindfolded Cupid.

39

Attributed to Jan van den Hoecke (1611–1650 Antwerp)

aLLEgory cELE-Brating arch-dukE LEopoLd WiLhELm (1614–1662)

c. 1650canvas, 50.8 cm x 70.5 cm x 2.5 cminv.no. 9682

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm probably com-

missioned this large-scale still-life from the lit-

tle-known artist. The first thing the spectator

notices is the decorative pattern of the orien-

tal carpet spread over the table. Leopold Wil-

helm’s bust is given pride of place. Libalt was

inspired by a marble bust by the sculptor

Jérôme II Duquesnoy (KK 8932; the original

is displayed next to the painting in Gallery 23

of the Kunstkammer; the bronze copy is on

show in the special exhibition). In the bust,

the Archduke stares into the distance, empha-

sizing the portrait’s formal, timeless charac-

ter; Libalt, however, has brought it to life by

changing the Archduke’s focus, who is now

melancholically gazing at us. The composi-

tion’s focus on realistic, haptic impressions is

transformed into a sumptuous still-life imbued

with a political-allegorical meaning.

38

Gottfried Libalt (c. 1610–1673 Vienna)

stiLL LiFE With a Bust oF arch-dukE LEopoLd WiLhELm

dated 1660 canvas, 253 x 119 x 4 cminv.no. 7795


»ein galeria nach meinem humor«Gerlinde Gruber

Die Galerie Erzherzog Leopold Wilhelms

Rotraut Krall

Amator artis pictoriae – what else?

Konrad Schlegel

Erzherzog Leopold Wilhelm –

im Dialog zwischen der Kunsthistorikerin

Rotraut Krall und der

Historikerin Renate Schreiber

Das »Theatrum Pictorium« und die

Zelebrierung der Italienischen Kunst

Francesca del Torre Scheuch

»Inuito alla guerra« – Leopold Wilhelm

als Feldherr

Stefan Krause

Das Galeriebild: ein Gemälde zum

Ruhm des Sammlers

Gerlinde Gruber

Amator artis pictoriae – what else?

Konrad Schlegel

to book a private tour in the special exhibi-

tion or one of our collections call or write to

+ 43 1 525214-5202

[email protected]

priVate tourS

Gallery talKS in German

WEd junE 18, 4 p.m.

Fri junE 20, 10.15 a.m.

Fri junE 27, 10.15 a.m.

WEd sEpt 3, 4 p.m.

WEd sEpt 5, 10.15 a.m.

WEd sEpt 10, 4 p.m.

WEd sEpt 24, 4 p.m.

WEd sEpt 17, 4 p.m.

en editor introdu ction many people love to collect ......abundantia pier jacopo alari de bonacolsi,...

Documents