SEISENEGGER, Jacob

(b. ~1504 ?, d. 1567 Linz)

Austrian painter, chiefly a portraitist. In 1531 he became court painter to the emperor Ferdinand I at Augsburg and he worked much for the Habsburg family. He was a painter of modest talent, but has some importance in the development of the full-length portrait; his famous work is the full-length portrait of Charles V (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), which served as a model for the more famous one by Titian (Prado, Madrid). Seisenegger travelled widely, working in Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, as well as in various cities in Central Europe: Innsbruck, Prague, Vienna.

Archduchess Maria with Her Elder Daughter Maria Eleonore

As the court painter of Ferdinand I, Jacob Seisenegger dominated the evolution of the representative portrait in Austria over the course of many decades, from 1530 to 1560. The portraits of Ferdinand I and his numerous children either originated from Seisenegger himself or refer to the portrait types and formats that he coined. Seisenegger followed Italian, and above all Venetian, models.

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Portrait of Emperor Charles V

This is one of the several portaits of Charles V painted by Seisenegger, court painter of King Ferdinand V in Augsburg. The portrait served as a model for the more famous one by Titian.

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Portrait of Wilhelm Neythart

This lively portrait - combining the styles of the Florentine mannerists and Titian - is one of the best in the oeuvre of the artist. The goblet in the hand of the sitter is presumably a royal gift.

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