Heinrich Bollandt (also Polland), German painter. He was one of the most important artists of the Brandenburg-Bayreuther Renaissance, active mainly in Bayreuth, but also in Lübeck and Berlin. He painted portraits and altarpieces and worked in a style that seems almost archaic and evidently depended on the art of Lucas Cranach the Elder.
The Jagdschloss Grunewald is a relatively modest hunting lodge in Berlin begun by the Kurfurst Joachim II of Brandenburg in the early sixteenth century. It is located in the woods, close to the city’s suburbs. Many Dutch, Flemish, and German painting - mostly dating between the sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries - decorates the building. One of these paintings is the eccentric portrait of the little Erdmann August, Crown Prince of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, holding a tender spray of rosebuds.
Heinrich Bollandt was a portrait and altar painter in Bayreuth, L�beck, and Berlin.
Albert Frederick (1553-1618) was the 2nd Duke of Prussia. In 1571, following the death of his father, the 1st Duke of Prussia, he succeeded his father in his government offices. Later his depression developed into a mental disorder and was put under the guardianship of his son-in-law.
The present painting is the only known picture showing the 2nd Duke of Prussia at a relatively young age.
This painting was formerly attributed to Lucas Cranach the Younger.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 4 minutes):
Francesco Gasparini: The Meddlesome Cupid, aria
