Bernhard Strigel, German, 1460-1528
Title: Portrait of Count Johann II, Count of Montfort and Rothenfels
Date: 1523
Medium: Oil on limewood panel
Dimensions:
30 x 22.5 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1866
Object Number: NGI.6
DescriptionThe inscription on the wooden plaque at the base of this portrait identifies the sitter as Johann II, Count of Montfort and Rothenfels, advisor and ambassador to Emperor Maximilian I in 1523. The chain worn by the count and the two keys in his left hand probably allude to his noble status, while the towns and castles in the landscape almost certainly refer to the lands owned by his family located east of Lake Constance. The letters on the sitter’s hat are more enigmatic and as yet have not been decisively interpreted.
One of the leading painters in Swabia of the period between late Gothic and the Renaissance, Strigel was an obvious choice to paint the portrait of Johann II. The artist had been official portraitist to emperor Maximilian I until the latter’s death. Moreover, the Strigel family had a long history of producing works of art for the Montfort family. A portrait of Johann’s wife may originally have accompanied this portrait. Alternatively, the sitter’s glance to the left may have been intended to direct the viewer’s eye to the landscape.
ProvenancePurchased, Paris, Comte de Choiseul Sale, 1866
Exhibition HistoryExhibition of Early German Art, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1906

Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Label TextThe inscription on the wooden plaque at the base of this portrait identi?es the sitter as Johann II, advisor and ambassador to Emperor Maximilian I in 1523. The chain worn by the Count, and the two keys in his left hand, probably allude to his noble status.The towns and castles in the landscape almost certainly refer to the lands owned by his family located east of Lake Constance (where Germany, Switzerland and Austria meet). One of the leading painters in Swabia, Strigel was of?cial portraitist to Emperor Maximilian I until the latter’s death in 1519.

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