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DOI Artikel:Ström, Emilia: Pierścień i nić. Próba atrybucji portretu z Gripsholmu
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.34475#0047
PIERŚCIEŃ I NIĆ. PRÓBA ATRYBUCJI PORTRETU Z GRIPSHOLMU
41
77?^ C/oas*
Grfg^Ao/?n
One of Sweden's finest renaissance portraits has
belonged since 1820 to the collection housed in
Gripsholm Castle. The oil painting, executed on oak
panel and measuring 79x58 cm, depicts a young
female beauty. She is portrayed against a neutral
black-green background that highlights her light-
coloured carnation and greyish blue eyes. The light-
red, tightly combed-back hair is hidden under a
snood. The woman's body, placed almost frontally
and close to the picture frame, in combination with
her straight posture, creates a superior perspective to
the viewer.
The model's exquisitely reproduced and
expensive clothing bares traces of the court fashion
of the 1560s. The date '1563' is written on the right
of her left arm. She is wearing a cap and red velvet
outer clothing with enamelled gold adornments. The
woman's pearl snood matches the golden cloth of the
lower sleeves' which is closely covered with pearls.
She is wearing a silk-damask patterned dress. A
large gold cross hanging in a solid gold chain round
her neck was, for its time, worth an enormous
fortune. All the elements and details of her costume
interact to form a sophisticated entirety.
AH this splendour communicates wealth,
magnificence and power at the highest level.
Simultaneously, an individual appears behind the
idealised and austere mask of 16th-century <7ecoru/7?.
It is this balance between the idealisation and the
individualisation that makes this portrait so
fascinating; the balance between the particular
features of the international court style and the
individual expression and language of the artist.
^7/77// Tm/wg 77777/ Gu<?<?/? ZV/'zrzAzYA 7
The portrait was donated to Gripsholm's portrait
collection by Baron Adolf Ludvig Stjemeld (1755-
1835). He became governor of Gripsholm in 1822, a
court role that he retained until his death. Stjemeld
was a passionate collector of documents and
historical manuscripts relating to Gustav Vasa. He
was convinced that the Stjemeld family was in direct
lineal descent from Erik XlV's son, Prince Gustaf.
His interest, becoming in time a mania, played a
decisive role when he forged documents. In 1817, he
founded the Aoya/ Society ybr /Ae Awouce qf
777<27?M3C7i/g3 in which he published imaginative and
skilfully forged manuscripts. Stjemeld's relationship
to history was thus very problematic and has had far-
reaching consequences, right down to the present
day. The many portraits that came to Gripsholm
during his time as governor often feature his own
signed inscriptions on the back.
Since the English Queen Elizabeth I was an
extremely important person in Erik XIV's marriage
negotiations, it may be presumed that Stjemeld
wanted to have her represented in the Gripsholm
gallery. The inscription on a sheet of paper that
Stjemeld had probably personally attached to the
back of this actual panel, tells a totally fabricated
story about the queen's gift to Erik XIV: TAA,
QMee?7 3 wzYA <2 Az'zzg A<27zgz'7zg
yAw a A<272<Y 7"OM77<Y Aer zzecA, A /?re3Z777ze<Y to Ae wAat
^Ac JC7V to Aer q/terz cozz/Ayer/ 3zrzYo7* Xz'zzg ETzc A7L
to gz've A7777 A0/70 of <277 0/7gOg07?70/7t...' .
The portrayed woman was long assumed to be
Queen Elizabeth, in great part due to this story. The
woman's regal finery once made this apparent both
to Stjemeld no less than to the modem viewer. It
was, however, established almost 20 years ago that
the depicted woman does not portray Elizabeth
Tudor. The picture shares nothing in common with
the English queen's iconography. Nor does the chain
hanging round the model's neck have an English
provenance. We can also consider the writing in the
top left comer: At A TH. 36. as being of secondary
importance. In fact, it relates to Elizabeth I's age in
the year 1563. The confusion relating to the model's
identity could even have arisen in the 16th century,
to be adopted subsequently by Stjemeld.
77?^ Z77/ur/7 7777777777/ 777777"/ 3Zj'/u 77777/ /A 7* Hz377
/?^77 7773377777?^
Comparative studies with 16th-century portrait
painting reveal that the Gripsholm painting has
several formal points in common with portraiture of
the Vasa renaissance. The body's erect posture and
slight turn in relationship to the picture frame
accords with the international court style's
composition in general, and in particular to works of
the artists active in Sweden at the time: Dominicus
Verwilt and Steven van der Meulen.
The portraits ascribed to Jan Baptista van Uther,
moreover, show common stylistic features in the
execution of some details; e.g. the composition of
hand movements in Margareta Leijonhufvud's
portrait, although principally Princess Isabella
Vasa's portrait from the collection of the Wawel
Royal Castle in Cracow. There are also other details
that characterise the Vasa portrait and that recur in
41
77?^ C/oas*
Grfg^Ao/?n
One of Sweden's finest renaissance portraits has
belonged since 1820 to the collection housed in
Gripsholm Castle. The oil painting, executed on oak
panel and measuring 79x58 cm, depicts a young
female beauty. She is portrayed against a neutral
black-green background that highlights her light-
coloured carnation and greyish blue eyes. The light-
red, tightly combed-back hair is hidden under a
snood. The woman's body, placed almost frontally
and close to the picture frame, in combination with
her straight posture, creates a superior perspective to
the viewer.
The model's exquisitely reproduced and
expensive clothing bares traces of the court fashion
of the 1560s. The date '1563' is written on the right
of her left arm. She is wearing a cap and red velvet
outer clothing with enamelled gold adornments. The
woman's pearl snood matches the golden cloth of the
lower sleeves' which is closely covered with pearls.
She is wearing a silk-damask patterned dress. A
large gold cross hanging in a solid gold chain round
her neck was, for its time, worth an enormous
fortune. All the elements and details of her costume
interact to form a sophisticated entirety.
AH this splendour communicates wealth,
magnificence and power at the highest level.
Simultaneously, an individual appears behind the
idealised and austere mask of 16th-century <7ecoru/7?.
It is this balance between the idealisation and the
individualisation that makes this portrait so
fascinating; the balance between the particular
features of the international court style and the
individual expression and language of the artist.
^7/77// Tm/wg 77777/ Gu<?<?/? ZV/'zrzAzYA 7
The portrait was donated to Gripsholm's portrait
collection by Baron Adolf Ludvig Stjemeld (1755-
1835). He became governor of Gripsholm in 1822, a
court role that he retained until his death. Stjemeld
was a passionate collector of documents and
historical manuscripts relating to Gustav Vasa. He
was convinced that the Stjemeld family was in direct
lineal descent from Erik XlV's son, Prince Gustaf.
His interest, becoming in time a mania, played a
decisive role when he forged documents. In 1817, he
founded the Aoya/ Society ybr /Ae Awouce qf
777<27?M3C7i/g3 in which he published imaginative and
skilfully forged manuscripts. Stjemeld's relationship
to history was thus very problematic and has had far-
reaching consequences, right down to the present
day. The many portraits that came to Gripsholm
during his time as governor often feature his own
signed inscriptions on the back.
Since the English Queen Elizabeth I was an
extremely important person in Erik XIV's marriage
negotiations, it may be presumed that Stjemeld
wanted to have her represented in the Gripsholm
gallery. The inscription on a sheet of paper that
Stjemeld had probably personally attached to the
back of this actual panel, tells a totally fabricated
story about the queen's gift to Erik XIV: TAA,
QMee?7 3 wzYA <2 Az'zzg A<27zgz'7zg
yAw a A<272<Y 7"OM77<Y Aer zzecA, A /?re3Z777ze<Y to Ae wAat
^Ac JC7V to Aer q/terz cozz/Ayer/ 3zrzYo7* Xz'zzg ETzc A7L
to gz've A7777 A0/70 of <277 0/7gOg07?70/7t...' .
The portrayed woman was long assumed to be
Queen Elizabeth, in great part due to this story. The
woman's regal finery once made this apparent both
to Stjemeld no less than to the modem viewer. It
was, however, established almost 20 years ago that
the depicted woman does not portray Elizabeth
Tudor. The picture shares nothing in common with
the English queen's iconography. Nor does the chain
hanging round the model's neck have an English
provenance. We can also consider the writing in the
top left comer: At A TH. 36. as being of secondary
importance. In fact, it relates to Elizabeth I's age in
the year 1563. The confusion relating to the model's
identity could even have arisen in the 16th century,
to be adopted subsequently by Stjemeld.
77?^ Z77/ur/7 7777777777/ 777777"/ 3Zj'/u 77777/ /A 7* Hz377
/?^77 7773377777?^
Comparative studies with 16th-century portrait
painting reveal that the Gripsholm painting has
several formal points in common with portraiture of
the Vasa renaissance. The body's erect posture and
slight turn in relationship to the picture frame
accords with the international court style's
composition in general, and in particular to works of
the artists active in Sweden at the time: Dominicus
Verwilt and Steven van der Meulen.
The portraits ascribed to Jan Baptista van Uther,
moreover, show common stylistic features in the
execution of some details; e.g. the composition of
hand movements in Margareta Leijonhufvud's
portrait, although principally Princess Isabella
Vasa's portrait from the collection of the Wawel
Royal Castle in Cracow. There are also other details
that characterise the Vasa portrait and that recur in