Self-Portrait
around 1580/85 | Bartholomäus Spranger
Spranger enjoyed an outstanding position at the court of Emperor Rudolph II. Although highly successful as an artist and raised to the nobility by the Emperor, his facial expression here, while doubtless self-confident, is highly morose. The hat that is pushed far back and the rather careless collar lend to the picture both the intimacy of real life as well as the attitude of a genius. The fact that so few portraits by Spranger are known makes this self-portrait all the more precious as evidence of his appearance.
Spranger enjoyed an outstanding position at the court of Emperor Rudolph II. Although highly successful as an artist and raised to the nobility by the Emperor, his facial expression here, while doubtless self-confident, is highly morose. The hat that is pushed far back and the rather careless collar lend to the picture both the intimacy of real life as well as the attitude of a genius. The fact that so few portraits by Spranger are known makes this self-portrait all the more precious as evidence of his appearance.
Artist:
Bartholomäus Spranger (1546 Antwerpen - 1611 Prag) DNB
Depiction/Person:
Bartholomäus Spranger (1546 Antwerpen - 1611 Prag) DNB
Time:
around 1580/85
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Netherlandish
Material/technology:
Canvas
Dimensions:
beschnitten: cut: 62,5 x 45 cm
Framed: 66,1 cm × 57,5 cm × 5,5 cm
Signed
Inscribed in the bottom left corner of the base: IPSE.F
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 1137
Provenance
Around 1603 Coll. Jakob König, No.12, after King's death Prague, Rudolf II - 1659 Coll. Leopold Wilhelm