Allegory celebrating Emperor Rudolf II
1592 | Bartholomäus Spranger
Crowned by the airborne goddess of fame, Fama, this assembly of deities and allegories celebrates the royal virtues of Rudolf II, and the blessings of his reign. Despite its small size, the crowded composition perfectly reflects the Emperor’s taste: he presumably appreciated both the virtuoso handling, and the refined elegance and complex subject matter. Trained in Italy, Spranger is today regarded as the leading and most influential of Rudolf’s court painters, for whom the Flemish artist began working in the late 1570s in Vienna..
Crowned by the airborne goddess of fame, Fama, this assembly of deities and allegories celebrates the royal virtues of Rudolf II, and the blessings of his reign. Despite its small size, the crowded composition perfectly reflects the Emperor’s taste: he presumably appreciated both the virtuoso handling, and the refined elegance and complex subject matter. Trained in Italy, Spranger is today regarded as the leading and most influential of Rudolf’s court painters, for whom the Flemish artist began working in the late 1570s in Vienna..
Artist:
Bartholomäus Spranger (1546 Antwerpen - 1611 Prag) DNB
Depiction/Person:
Rudolf II. (1576-1612), Kaiser, römischer König seit 1575, König von Ungarn seit 1572, von Böhmen se (1552 - 1612) DNB
Time:
1592
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Netherlandish
Material/technology:
copper
Dimensions:
Overall: 24,5 cm × 18,7 cm
Framed: 32 cm × 26 cm × 3 cm
Signed
Inscribed on the lower left of the stone: B.S.1592
Inscribed
Auf einer Inschrift: RVDOLPHO.II.CAES.AVG. / DIVA.POTENS CHARITESQVE/TVVM DIADEMATE CINCTVM/IAM CAPVT ESSE VELINT
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 1125
Provenance
Treasury of Rudolf II.