Anne of Austria, Consort of Emperor Mathias

Gaspar de Crayer (1584 - 1669), Attributed to

Artist/Maker

Artist: Gaspar de Crayer (1584 - 1669), Attributed to

Former attribution: Gaspar de Crayer (1584 - 1669)

Material / Technique

Oil on canvas

Dimensionsh x w: Mått 144 x 118 cm h x w x d: Ram 160 x 133 x 8 cm

Inventory numberNM 408

AcqusitionTransferred from the Royal Museum 1866 (Prague 1648)

Other titlesTitle (sv): Anna av Österrike (1585-1618), kejsar Mattias gemål Title (en): Anne of Austria, Consort of Emperor Mathias

DescriptionCatalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 59: Technical notes: The support consists of a single piece of plain-weave fabric of medium density. The painting has been lined. The top, right and lower tacking edges have been trimmed to the edges of the present nonoriginal stretcher. On the left side the canvas has been trimmed about 1.5 cm. from the edge of the stretcher and there are faintly visible stretcher marks, which suggests that this was probably one edge of the original format while the other edges have been trimmed more. The canvas has been prepared with a pale ground that completely covers the texture of the support. The ground is covered with a thin, semi-transparent, pale-brown imprimatura. The paint-layer is thin and applied opaquely. The subject is reserved against the background and the lace ruffles on the right have been painted over the sleeves of the gown. The hands, face, details of the gown and the background have been painted with delicate brushstrokes. The slightly pink flesh tones have slightly faded. The underpainting under the flesh tones is light grey. Some parts of the painting are executed in impasto. On the chair there are highlights in yellow (which may be lead-tin yellow). There are also impasto highlights on the lace collar, lace ruffles and the necklace of pearls. Small corrections have been made of the right arm and of the fan above the background. This painting is in poor condition: There is extensive earlier retouching all over the work. The entire paint-surface is heavily abraded. The painting underwent conservation and restoration treatment in 1868 by the French “rentoileur” Chapius and the “restaurateur” Briotet. Both of these conservators had been summoned to the Nationalmuseum from the Louvre in Paris. The painting has also been the subject of later conservation in 1913, 1928 and 2010. The more extensive injuries are probably the result of restoration and from when it was lined in 1868. Provenance: Probably the Imperial Kunstkammer in Prague; Königsmarck 1648, no. 762; Christina 1652, no. 561; KM 1816, no. 999 (as Anthony van Dyck); NM 1866, no. 408 (as representing the Archduchess of Cleveland, later Maria Anna of Spain, later Anna of Austria). Exhibited: Stockholm 1977, no. 72; Stockholm 2010, no. 56. Bibliography: Sander IV, p.100, no. 999 (as Anthony van Dyck); Göthe 1887, p. 248 (as Paul van Somer?); Göthe 1893, pp. 303–304 (as Paul van Somer?); Granberg 1911, p. 124, no. 533, fig. 73 (as François Pourbus II); Glück 1929, pp. 259–269; Glück 1933, pp. 320–336, 414; NM Cat. 1941, pp. 73–74; NM Cat. 1958, pp. 51–52; Padron 1965 (151), p. 232; Vlieghe 1967, p. 83, 86, 90 ; Vlieghe 1972, vol. I, pp. 247–248, no. A 239, vol. II, fig. 222; NM Cat. 1990, p. 99. This monumental portrait depicting Anna of Austria, the consort of Emperor Mathias, has been ascribed by earlier scholars to Frans Pourbus II, Paul van Somer and Anthony van Dyck. The first of these attributions, to Pourbus, which was rejected as erroneous by Glück as early as 1929, is nevertheless not without interest today. As in his early portraits De Crayer was heavily influenced by Pourbus. This is shown, for instance, by this work in which the depiction of the subject and also the decorative character of the scene testifies to this influence.1 Glück’s attribution to De Crayer, later supported by Hans Vlieghe, has been followed by a discussion about the identity of the subject. Glück’s proposal that it was the Infanta of Spain Maria-Anna, daughter of Philip III, was contested by Vlieghe who argued convincingly that the model was Anna of Austria, the wife of Emperor Mathias. The monogram of MA on the fan held by the subject in one hand was linked by Glück with Maria-Anna while Vlieghe connects it with Emperor Mathias and Anna of Austria. Identification of the subject with Anna of Austria is also corroborated by the engraving of the queen by Marcus Sadeler in which her portrayal in an allegorical scene resembles her appearance in the Nationalmuseum’s painting.2 De Crayer’s portrait was probably painted some time between 1611 and 1618, i.e. either in connection with the marriage of Anna to Emperor Mathias or with her death in 1618. The portrait depicts Anna of Austria standing next to an armchair on which one hand is resting. In the same hand she is holding a handkerchief decorated with lace while the other grasps an open fan bearing the monogram MA. The subject of this knee-length portrait is wearing a black, patterned gown with a large diadem at her décolletage. A necklace with several rows of pearls, a brooch with three pendant pearls, a white lace collar and white lace ruffles. Her head is adorned with a diadem and a plume. The subject is depicted against a background consisting of a tapestry decorated with flowers and pomegranates that resembles gilt leather. It is possible that this tapestry signifies not only eminence but also fertility and therefore the union of the subject and the Emperor Mathias, which would justify dating the portrait to around 1611 when the two were married. As in several other portraits by De Crayer, here the monumentality finds expression in subject’s pose and foregrounded position against a flat, decorative background.3 The aloof expression on her face also helps to distance the subject socially from the viewer. The painting has been lined, a measure undertaken when the Nationalmuseum summoned the conservator Chapuis from the Musée du Louvre in Paris in 1868. In this process the impasto areas have been squashed and flattened. A large number of retouches, most of them also from 1868, and the abraded paint surface, as well as the fact that a supplementary, non-original ground and colour surface was added along each edge of the painting also contribute to the impression that the technical condition of the work is generally poor. KS 1 See Pourbus’ portrait of a lady, Auktion Lemle 24 October 1946. Litt. Parke-Bernet, cat. no. 28. 2 See Vlieghe 1966, pp. 83–84. 3 See Vlieghe 1972, A 240 (Female portrait, anonymous collection), A 243 (portrait of Marguerite de Malengheer, wife of Nicolas Triest in an anonymous collection); A 264 (Portrait of the Infanta Isabella, Norfolk Virginia, Coll. W. Chrysler). [End]

Depicted Person

Anna av Österrike (1585 - 1618)

Motif categoryPortrait

Collection

Paintings (Paintings)

MaterialDuk, Oil paint

TechniquePainting

Object category

painting

Keyword

Porträtt

External links

Wikidata: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q18599965

Additional texteCatalogue text: Power elites down the ages have always marked their group identity using symbols and external attributes. From the Renaissance to the late 18th century, portraits were important in promoting an aristocratic ideal that is now perceived as androgynous and gender-transcending, but which has its roots in the court culture of Europe. The aristocratic role was a form of social choreography that sought to balance body, movement, expression and costume in a perfect picture of nobility. The extravagant luxury consumption of the time controlled the entire lifestyle of the individual, which had to be geared to his or her place in the social hierarchy. Not being able to live up to what was expected meant a loss of social standing.