Artwork
Kaiser Ferdinand II (1578-1637) at the age of 14
Kaiser Ferdinand II (1578-1637) at the age of 14 is an unspecified painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Jakob de Monte. It is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is a formal portrait depicting Ferdinand II, who would later become Holy Roman Emperor, at the specific age of fourteen.
The work is a formal portrait depicting Ferdinand II, who would later become Holy Roman Emperor, at the specific age of fourteen. Created in 1592 by Jakob de Monte, the painting serves as a dynastic record of the Habsburg heir during his adolescence. As a genre portrait executed on canvas, its primary function is the visual documentation of the ruler's likeness at a formative stage of life, prior to his accession to imperial power. The image stands as a historical representation of Ferdinand II within the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1592 by Jakob de Monte, this portrait of the future Emperor Ferdinand II is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 160 cm in height and 103 cm in width. As a formal portrait, the composition focuses on the fourteen-year-old subject, adhering to the conventions of late sixteenth-century courtly representation.
The piece is currently held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, having originated from Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck.
History & Provenance
Jakob de Monte executed this portrait of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1592, depicting the future ruler at the age of fourteen. The work was created on canvas and measures 160 cm in height by 103 cm in width. Historically associated with Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck, the painting currently resides in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The painting is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. According to the Wikidata record, the work is associated with Schloss Ambras Innsbruck and is part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum's holdings.
No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.
Context
Critical reception of Jakob de Monte's 1592 portrait of Ferdinand II has been overshadowed by the work's significance within the imperial court's visual propaganda. Scholarship emphasizes its role in documenting Habsburg self-representation during the early Baroque period, situating it within de Monte's broader practice of courtly portraiture. The painting's placement at Kunsthistorisches Museum reflects its enduring status as a canonical example of Habsburg dynastic imagery, directly tied to its original function as a visual assertion of imperial authority.
Overview
Jakob de Monte painted this 1596 portrait of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, when the future ruler was fourteen years old. Executed in oil on canvas, the work now belongs to the collection of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Artist & collection
Artist
Austrian portrait painter active in the late 1500s, Jakob de Monte specialized in formal court likenesses.
Philip of Asturias, later Philip III of Spain
El archiduque Leopoldo cuñado de Felipe III
Philip III
Kaiser Ferdinand III. (1608-1657)
Felipe III rey de España sedente
Herzog Wilhelm V. (1548-1626) von Bayern im Alter von 16 Jahren
Erik I, 1470-1549, hertig av Braunscweig-Calenberg
Infante Don Carlos (1545-1568)
Erzherzog Karl II. (1540-1590) mit dem Blick auf Graz, Kniestück