ID: 5447
Open
Listing ID: #5447 has been added to your wishlist.
Jean Baptiste de Saive(1540-1611), Attributed to - Alessandro Farnese, Governatore delle Fiandre
Check the price and view more images
CoinsTree participates in an affiliate program. When you click on links to different merchants on this site and take certain actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service, we may earn a commission.
Saved to Wishlist
Description
Antique oil on framed panel (cm 76x61) from the 16th century, from a noble collection.
In 1581 Alessandro Farnese stayed for a while in Namur and met Jean B. de Saive (1540-1611), who becomes the court portraitist until 1590. See why this work is attributed (in the photo the appraisal article in the Gazzetta di Parma by Prof. M. Dall'Acqua) to the Flemish artist.
The Duke wears armor decorated with a white ruff collar. The air of elegance and pride pervades the portrait, which differs from others by the lighter shoulder strap compared to the armor. A constant feature in Saive’s portraits from 1581 onward is the red sash with a bow, indicating the rank of commander-general of the troops. At the top the inscription “ALEXANDER FARNESIUS PARMAE ET PLACENTIAE PRINCEPS" indicates that he is not yet a duke. He becomes one upon the death of his father Ottavio (September 18, 1586). On the chest hangs the collar with the Tau cross (Toson d'oro), an honor bestowed by his uncle Philip II on August 11, 1585 for his uninterrupted triumphs in the Netherlands. The execution of the portrait is thus framed between these two very close dates. It is precisely the period when Jean B. de Saive was court painter.
From Alessandro it is easier to see adolescent images, even by very famous artists (Mor, Coello, Anguissola, etc.). To find him in adult appearance, years pass; now governor of the Netherlands, with Otto Van Veen who identifies the representation later adopted by all the others: the three-quarter turn of the face from left to right toward the viewer.
News about this portrait bring us back to the collection, well supplied with portraits of European aristocracy, the Marshals of Lothian in the former Cistercian abbey of Newbattle, outside Edinburgh, which from 1560 with Mark Kerr (heir of the abbot who begins the dynasty as count) takes control and builds the family residence there. Up to the 11th Marquis, Philip Kerr, who donates the house to the nation, now a Scottish national monument. Here on July 2, 1971 a sale of the paintings held there was organized, where, as in the catalog photo, in addition to this painting there are also portraits of Philip II and Margaret de Medici, “Magareta,” uncle and mother of Alessandro.
Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Duke of Castro, governor of the Netherlands (Rome, 1545 – Arras, 1592) was born to Ottavio, nephew of Pope Paul III, and Margaret of Austria, daughter of Charles V. He spent the first years in Parma, then moved to the court of Spain and later returned to Emilia after marriage in Belgium. He later distinguished himself in the Lepanto battle and was sent to the Netherlands to reorganize the Spanish army. The situation was not good, but Alessandro managed to string together a series of successes that exalt him as the greatest captain of the Cinquecento (16th century). The myth becomes reality with the funeral cortege from Brussels to Parma: embalmed, dressed in a Capuchin habit, but decorated with the collar of the Tau cross, placed in a crystal coffin, shown to all along the route at a walking pace from Brussels to Parma.
It also happened that many nobles disputed the honor of carrying the coffin on their shoulders for a short stretch as a final homage.
Due to the importance of the work, it will be sent with secure packaging and insured shipping for the estimated value.
In 1581 Alessandro Farnese stayed for a while in Namur and met Jean B. de Saive (1540-1611), who becomes the court portraitist until 1590. See why this work is attributed (in the photo the appraisal article in the Gazzetta di Parma by Prof. M. Dall'Acqua) to the Flemish artist.
The Duke wears armor decorated with a white ruff collar. The air of elegance and pride pervades the portrait, which differs from others by the lighter shoulder strap compared to the armor. A constant feature in Saive’s portraits from 1581 onward is the red sash with a bow, indicating the rank of commander-general of the troops. At the top the inscription “ALEXANDER FARNESIUS PARMAE ET PLACENTIAE PRINCEPS" indicates that he is not yet a duke. He becomes one upon the death of his father Ottavio (September 18, 1586). On the chest hangs the collar with the Tau cross (Toson d'oro), an honor bestowed by his uncle Philip II on August 11, 1585 for his uninterrupted triumphs in the Netherlands. The execution of the portrait is thus framed between these two very close dates. It is precisely the period when Jean B. de Saive was court painter.
From Alessandro it is easier to see adolescent images, even by very famous artists (Mor, Coello, Anguissola, etc.). To find him in adult appearance, years pass; now governor of the Netherlands, with Otto Van Veen who identifies the representation later adopted by all the others: the three-quarter turn of the face from left to right toward the viewer.
News about this portrait bring us back to the collection, well supplied with portraits of European aristocracy, the Marshals of Lothian in the former Cistercian abbey of Newbattle, outside Edinburgh, which from 1560 with Mark Kerr (heir of the abbot who begins the dynasty as count) takes control and builds the family residence there. Up to the 11th Marquis, Philip Kerr, who donates the house to the nation, now a Scottish national monument. Here on July 2, 1971 a sale of the paintings held there was organized, where, as in the catalog photo, in addition to this painting there are also portraits of Philip II and Margaret de Medici, “Magareta,” uncle and mother of Alessandro.
Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Duke of Castro, governor of the Netherlands (Rome, 1545 – Arras, 1592) was born to Ottavio, nephew of Pope Paul III, and Margaret of Austria, daughter of Charles V. He spent the first years in Parma, then moved to the court of Spain and later returned to Emilia after marriage in Belgium. He later distinguished himself in the Lepanto battle and was sent to the Netherlands to reorganize the Spanish army. The situation was not good, but Alessandro managed to string together a series of successes that exalt him as the greatest captain of the Cinquecento (16th century). The myth becomes reality with the funeral cortege from Brussels to Parma: embalmed, dressed in a Capuchin habit, but decorated with the collar of the Tau cross, placed in a crystal coffin, shown to all along the route at a walking pace from Brussels to Parma.
It also happened that many nobles disputed the honor of carrying the coffin on their shoulders for a short stretch as a final homage.
Due to the importance of the work, it will be sent with secure packaging and insured shipping for the estimated value.