A state portrait of Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, in ceremonial armour
inscribed “SIC”, oil on canvas, 110 x 115 cm, framed

Provenance:
Sale, Leo Spik, Berlin, 1962 (as Claudio Coello);
Private collection, Germany

We are grateful to Paolo Bertelli for suggesting the attribution to Jean Bahuet (Flanders 1552–Mantua 1597) after inspection of the painitng in the original and for compiling an extensive analysis of the painting, which accompanies the present lot. It will be included in Bertelli’s forthcoming series of publications on the Dukes of Mantua.

This recently rediscovered painting is an important addition to the portraiture of the ‘splendissimo duca’ Vincenzo I. Gonzaga. Vincenzo I was arguably the most important ruler of Mantua, patron of Monteverdi, Tasso and Rubens. The present portrait shows him as a Christian ruler, who in 1595, 1597 and 1601 lead his own troops on the battlefield against the Turks in Hungary. It belongs to a group of portraits which, with varying degrees of quality in the execution, predate the arrival of Frans Pourbus in Mantua in 1600, and is among the finest examples of this early type. The Duke is shown as a young man, wearing magnificently decorated armor, which in itself is a fascinating historical document. Vincenzo owned many impressive suits of armour. Unfortunately the ‘SIC-Suit’ depicted here remains untraced. It shows the device of Vincenzo Gonzaga, the Letters ‘SIC’, in a crescent moon, decorating the richly gilt-ornamented plates of the armor. Interpretations of these mysterious letters, which also appear on medals and even in frescoes in the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, are valuable indications in dating the portrait type (for example: Grassi I medaglioni reliquiario di Vincenzo I Gonzaga, in: Civiltà Mantovana, no. 21, 1988, note n. 20, pp. 18-21 and Signorini, Stemmi, imprese e motti gonzagheschi, in: Monete e Medaglie di Mantova e dei Gonzaga dal XII al XIX secolo. La collezione della Banca Agricola Mantovana, Milan 1996, pp. 128-129).

In 1595 Vincenzo I Gonzaga was requested by the emperor Rudolph II to assist in a military campaign against the Turks in Hungary. The Armour and the device appear to commemorate this military adventure. The interpretation that the device ‘SIC’ is an Abbreviation of ‘Sanguis Iesu Christi’ appears the most plausible. Vincenzo I was an admirer of the Gonzagas principal relic, the ampule of the holy blood, and a strong believer in its spiritual powers – he even carried a small reliquary of the holy blood on the battlefields in Hungary. Later he founded the chivalric order of the ‘Preziosissimo Lateral Sangue di Cristo’ (for an overview see P. Bertelli, I Gonzaga e l’impero, storia di nobiltà e di dipinti, in: Atti della Accademia roveretana degli Agiati, Classe di scienze umane, lettere ed arti, 8. Ser. 6, 256.2006, Rovereto 2006, p. 93-149, p. 102).

If Vincenzo I Gonzaga chose the device upon the occasion of the Hungarian campaign, and the magnificent armour was commissioned with a similar motivation, it appears plausible to date the portrait type developed, and subsequently the present painting, to circa 1595/ 96. The Mantuan coin, a Quattrino, issued in 1595 by Vinzenzo I, also showing the SIC device (see fig. 1) underlines this date as Terminus post quem (see P. Bertelli 2006, p.109, fig. 3). Also very impressive are the richly decorated trousers of Vincenzo, undoubtedly the work of one of the ducal embroiders, possibly Cesare Pasetti, an artist kept on the ducal payroll with a monthly salary of 14 Lira (see R. Piccinelli, The Position of Artists at the Gonzaga Court 1587-1707, in: The Court Artists in Seventeenth-Century Italy, ed. by. E. Fumagalli/R. Morselli, Rome-Viella 2014, pp. 167-198, p. 175, note 33). Other versions of this type are a pair of portraits of Vincenzo I. and his wife Eleonora de Medici that appear to have been cut from former full to bust lengths (as could have also been the case with the present painting), therefore appearing to have been used as overdoors (oil on canvas, 70 x 120 cm, formerly collection Levi, Ravenna, see P. Bertelli, Appunti sulla ritrattistica di Vincenzo I Gonzaga, in: Scritti per Chiara Tellini Perina, ed. by D. Ferrari/S. Marinelli, Mantua 2011, pp. 229–249, p. 235 note 36); and a portrait today at Schloss Ambras (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Inv. Nr. GG 3314, oil on canvas, 101 x 81 cm), in identical pose, but holding a commander’s baton (see fig. 2). The only full length variant is in Venice, Casinò, the former Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, the Venetian Residence of the Gonzaga family (see fig. 3).

Pourbus arrived in Mantua in 1600, and his portrait of Vincenzo (today National Trust, Tatton Park, Cheshire, oil on canvas, 201 x 111 cm, inv. NT 1298170) depicts an older Vincenzo I. He appears to have stuck relatively close to the earlier type, though reversed. The Venice Portrait and the overdoor formerly in Ravenna are the only examples that, like the present version, feature the drawn back red curtains. The portrait type predating Pourbus´ arrival can therefore be dated to 1595–1600 whereas, as Vincenzo I is young in the present painting, a dating close to the terminus post quem appears plausible. The only painter active at the court and mentioned in the pension’s lists that was apparently capable of such a work and also of producing a series is the Flemish artist Jean Bahuet (see V. Pagani, Notes on a Flemish Portraitist at the Court of Vincenzo Gonzaga, in: The Burlington Magazine, 129, no. 1007, 1987, p. 110-115). Of Flemish origin, he is documented in Florence and Parma and was connected with Jacopino de Conte until he settled in Mantua in 1579. Bahuet was kept on the ducal payroll after the accession of Vincenzo I to the throne and had already been active at the Mantuan court under Vincenzo’s father. He received a monthly salary of 30 Lire and a reimbursement for his materials, canvasses and pigments (see Piccinelli 2014, p. 175, note 31, 32; for example in 1589 Bahuet received 144 Lire and 3,5 Ducatoni for having painted five portraits). An attribution of the series to him would be entirely convincing. The existence of several variants appears very plausible too, as Bahuet had to produce a large number of replicas after a successful composition for the intended use as a tool of dynastic propaganda. In 1596 a ‘sick painter’ – possibly Bahuet, who died in 1597 – had to be replaced by an artist of inferior quality, ‘che non ha cosi buona mano’ (Pagani 1987, p. 113, note 29). It is true that other artists occasionally worked for Vincenzo I prior to Pourbus’ arrival, but none of them had the permanent role of court painter.

The closest other portrait of Vincenzo I, both in style and age is the painting today at the Ca Vendramin Callerghi in Venice (see P. Bertelli, I ritratti ducali, in: Vincenzo I Gonzaga 1562–1612, exhib. cat., Mantua 2012, ed. by P. Venturelli, in collaboration with the Museo di Palazzo Ducale, p. 41-46. p. 42, note 12). Bertelli noted the closeness of the execution in details of the present painting with the Version in Venice. They appear to be works by the same hand, either Bahuet’s prime versions or, together with two other variants, autograph replicas after a now lost model.

Additional image
Fig. 1: Quattrino coin, 1595, with the device used in the present painting
Fig. 2: A later version: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, in Schloss Ambrass, Inv. no. GG 3314
Fig. 3: The closest other version (Detail), Venice, Ca’ Vendramin Calergi

Provenance:
Sale, Leo Spik, Berlin, 1962 (as Claudio Coello);
Private collection, Germany

We are grateful to Paolo Bertelli for suggesting the attribution to Jean Bahuet (Flanders 1552–Mantua 1597) after inspection of the painitng in the original and for compiling an extensive analysis of the painting, which accompanies the present lot. It will be included in Bertelli’s forthcoming series of publications on the Dukes of Mantua.

This recently rediscovered painting is an important addition to the portraiture of the ‘splendissimo duca’ Vincenzo I. Gonzaga. Vincenzo I was arguably the most important ruler of Mantua, patron of Monteverdi, Tasso and Rubens. The present portrait shows him as a Christian ruler, who in 1595, 1597 and 1601 lead his own troops on the battlefield against the Turks in Hungary. It belongs to a group of portraits which, with varying degrees of quality in the execution, predate the arrival of Frans Pourbus in Mantua in 1600, and is among the finest examples of this early type. The Duke is shown as a young man, wearing magnificently decorated armor, which in itself is a fascinating historical document. Vincenzo owned many impressive suits of armour. Unfortunately the ‘SIC-Suit’ depicted here remains untraced. It shows the device of Vincenzo Gonzaga, the Letters ‘SIC’, in a crescent moon, decorating the richly gilt-ornamented plates of the armor. Interpretations of these mysterious letters, which also appear on medals and even in frescoes in the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, are valuable indications in dating the portrait type (for example: Grassi I medaglioni reliquiario di Vincenzo I Gonzaga, in: Civiltà Mantovana, no. 21, 1988, note n. 20, pp. 18-21 and Signorini, Stemmi, imprese e motti gonzagheschi, in: Monete e Medaglie di Mantova e dei Gonzaga dal XII al XIX secolo. La collezione della Banca Agricola Mantovana, Milan 1996, pp. 128-129).

In 1595 Vincenzo I Gonzaga was requested by the emperor Rudolph II to assist in a military campaign against the Turks in Hungary. The Armour and the device appear to commemorate this military adventure. The interpretation that the device ‘SIC’ is an Abbreviation of ‘Sanguis Iesu Christi’ appears the most plausible. Vincenzo I was an admirer of the Gonzagas principal relic, the ampule of the holy blood, and a strong believer in its spiritual powers – he even carried a small reliquary of the holy blood on the battlefields in Hungary. Later he founded the chivalric order of the ‘Preziosissimo Lateral Sangue di Cristo’ (for an overview see P. Bertelli, I Gonzaga e l’impero, storia di nobiltà e di dipinti, in: Atti della Accademia roveretana degli Agiati, Classe di scienze umane, lettere ed arti, 8. Ser. 6, 256.2006, Rovereto 2006, p. 93-149, p. 102).

If Vincenzo I Gonzaga chose the device upon the occasion of the Hungarian campaign, and the magnificent armour was commissioned with a similar motivation, it appears plausible to date the portrait type developed, and subsequently the present painting, to circa 1595/ 96. The Mantuan coin, a Quattrino, issued in 1595 by Vinzenzo I, also showing the SIC device (see fig. 1) underlines this date as Terminus post quem (see P. Bertelli 2006, p.109, fig. 3). Also very impressive are the richly decorated trousers of Vincenzo, undoubtedly the work of one of the ducal embroiders, possibly Cesare Pasetti, an artist kept on the ducal payroll with a monthly salary of 14 Lira (see R. Piccinelli, The Position of Artists at the Gonzaga Court 1587-1707, in: The Court Artists in Seventeenth-Century Italy, ed. by. E. Fumagalli/R. Morselli, Rome-Viella 2014, pp. 167-198, p. 175, note 33). Other versions of this type are a pair of portraits of Vincenzo I. and his wife Eleonora de Medici that appear to have been cut from former full to bust lengths (as could have also been the case with the present painting), therefore appearing to have been used as overdoors (oil on canvas, 70 x 120 cm, formerly collection Levi, Ravenna, see P. Bertelli, Appunti sulla ritrattistica di Vincenzo I Gonzaga, in: Scritti per Chiara Tellini Perina, ed. by D. Ferrari/S. Marinelli, Mantua 2011, pp. 229–249, p. 235 note 36); and a portrait today at Schloss Ambras (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Inv. Nr. GG 3314, oil on canvas, 101 x 81 cm), in identical pose, but holding a commander’s baton (see fig. 2). The only full length variant is in Venice, Casinò, the former Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, the Venetian Residence of the Gonzaga family (see fig. 3).

Pourbus arrived in Mantua in 1600, and his portrait of Vincenzo (today National Trust, Tatton Park, Cheshire, oil on canvas, 201 x 111 cm, inv. NT 1298170) depicts an older Vincenzo I. He appears to have stuck relatively close to the earlier type, though reversed. The Venice Portrait and the overdoor formerly in Ravenna are the only examples that, like the present version, feature the drawn back red curtains. The portrait type predating Pourbus´ arrival can therefore be dated to 1595–1600 whereas, as Vincenzo I is young in the present painting, a dating close to the terminus post quem appears plausible. The only painter active at the court and mentioned in the pension’s lists that was apparently capable of such a work and also of producing a series is the Flemish artist Jean Bahuet (see V. Pagani, Notes on a Flemish Portraitist at the Court of Vincenzo Gonzaga, in: The Burlington Magazine, 129, no. 1007, 1987, p. 110-115). Of Flemish origin, he is documented in Florence and Parma and was connected with Jacopino de Conte until he settled in Mantua in 1579. Bahuet was kept on the ducal payroll after the accession of Vincenzo I to the throne and had already been active at the Mantuan court under Vincenz’s father. He received a monthly salary of 30 Lire and a reimbursement for his materials, canvasses and pigments (see Piccinelli 2014, p. 175, note 31, 32; for example in 1589 Bahuet received 144 Lire and 3,5 Ducatoni for having painted five portraits). An attribution of the series to him would be entirely convincing. The existence of several variants appears very plausible too, as Bahuet had to produce a large number of replicas after a successful composition for the intended use as a tool of dynastic propaganda. In 1596 a ‘sick painter’ – possibly Bahuet, who died in 1597 – had to be replaced by an artist of inferior quality, ‘che non ha cosi buona mano’ (Pagani 1987, p. 113, note 29). It is true that other artists occasionally worked for Vincenzo I prior to Pourbus’ arrival, but none of them had the permanent role of court painter.

The closest other portrait of Vincenzo I, both in style and age is the painting today at the Ca Vendramin Callerghi in Venice (see P. Bertelli, I ritratti ducali, in: Vincenzo I Gonzaga 1562–1612, exhib. cat., Mantua 2012, ed. by P. Venturelli, in collaboration with the Museo di Palazzo Ducale, p. 41-46. p. 42, note 12). Bertelli noted the closeness of the execution in details of the present painting with the Version in Venice. They appear to be works by the same hand, either Bahuet’s prime versions or, together with two other variants, autograph replicas after a now lost model.

Additional image
Fig. 1: Quattrino coin, 1595, with the device used in the present painting
Fig. 2: A later version: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, in Schloss Ambrass, Inv. no. GG 3314
Fig. 3: The closest other version (Detail), Venice, Ca’ Vendramin Calergi