DOI Artikel:
Kazubowska, Joanna: Dwaj książęta i moda: studium wartości poznawczej strojów i tkanin w malarstwie na przykładzie portretów autorstwa Bartłomieja Strobla (1591-ok. 1647)
Zitierlink:https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/modus2020/0095
studio, in 1632, the aforementioned portrait of the young Radziwiłł was cre-
ated, presenting him in a French-Dutch outfit that was fashionable in the early
1630S.
After his return to Lithuania at the end of October 1633, Radziwiłł did
not break with his preferences for Western European dress for some time.
This is evidenced by his image as the Lithuanian Chamberlain (this dignity
was awarded to him by King Władysław iv Waza in February 1633, during
Radziwiłłs stay in London), attributed to Bartłomiej Strobel, and dated -
partly on the basis of the costume he is wearing - to the years 1636-1638.
Commissioning the portrait was undoubtedly related to the newly received
dignity, the symbol of which - in the form of a large key - rests on the table
next to the person portrayed (see: Fig. 21).119 The Lithuanian chamberlain-
ship was the first dignity in the princes public career; therefore, his taking up
the position was an important event, emphasized by an appropriate, extremely
opulent dress.
One can assume a cautious hypothesis that the outfit visible in the Nesvizh
portrait of the newly nominated Lithuanian Chamberlain could have been
ordered in London (which, we should emphasize, remained under the influ-
ence of French fashion) approximately two or three years after the magnates
return to Poland, perhaps just before his betrothal to Katarzyna Potocka. The
several-year distance between the painting of Radziwiłłs portraits by Bailly
and by Strobel explains the differences in the shape of the models clothes,
which reflected the development of the fashion created at the time in England.
Radziwiłł must have been up-to-the-minute in these matters, and probably
he also had an appropriate Staff to assist him: advisors and sales representa-
tives. Expensive and sophisticated outfit, according to the latest fashion, per-
fectly emphasized the social standing of its owner. The choice of the author
of the portrait would not have been coincidental either. Employing Strobel
could have been informed by the desire to relate to the portrait of Prince Wła-
dysław Dominik Zasławski-Ostrogski, painted just a little earlier (1635), which
was probably known and widely commented on in court circles in the Crown
of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At that time
in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Bartłomiej Strobel was essentially
the only - or one of the few painters who were able to cope with the ambi-
tious task of portraying the Lithuanian magnate. The Silesian master, who
undoubtedly had spent time in Prague, and probably also in the Netherlands,
was perfectly familiar with the novelties of fashion, understood its importance
for the prestige, and was able to convey its characteristic features on canvas
with formidable precision. By portraying Radziwiłł in avant-garde attire, he
not only realized the ambitious plans of his client, but also showed extraor-
dinary mastery, consolidating his famę as the best portraitist in the Polish
Commonwealth during the era of Władysław iv Waza.
The two portrayed aristocrats, both Zasławski-Ostrogski and Radziwiłł, treat-
ed opulent foreign attire as a distinguishing mark of their social standing and,
at the same time, of their privacy, standing in stark opposition to the traditional
Polish model of the magnate portrait, depicting a hieratic figurę of a politician,
119 J.K. Ostrowski, Portret, pp. 246, 402.
21. Bartłomiej Strobel,
Portrait of Prince Janusz Ra-
dziwiłł (detail), ca. 1636(7),
The National Art Museum
of the Republic of Belarus
in Mińsk, inventory no.
3W-109. Photo by Joanna
Kazubowska
->see p. 70
Two princes and the fashion...
95
ated, presenting him in a French-Dutch outfit that was fashionable in the early
1630S.
After his return to Lithuania at the end of October 1633, Radziwiłł did
not break with his preferences for Western European dress for some time.
This is evidenced by his image as the Lithuanian Chamberlain (this dignity
was awarded to him by King Władysław iv Waza in February 1633, during
Radziwiłłs stay in London), attributed to Bartłomiej Strobel, and dated -
partly on the basis of the costume he is wearing - to the years 1636-1638.
Commissioning the portrait was undoubtedly related to the newly received
dignity, the symbol of which - in the form of a large key - rests on the table
next to the person portrayed (see: Fig. 21).119 The Lithuanian chamberlain-
ship was the first dignity in the princes public career; therefore, his taking up
the position was an important event, emphasized by an appropriate, extremely
opulent dress.
One can assume a cautious hypothesis that the outfit visible in the Nesvizh
portrait of the newly nominated Lithuanian Chamberlain could have been
ordered in London (which, we should emphasize, remained under the influ-
ence of French fashion) approximately two or three years after the magnates
return to Poland, perhaps just before his betrothal to Katarzyna Potocka. The
several-year distance between the painting of Radziwiłłs portraits by Bailly
and by Strobel explains the differences in the shape of the models clothes,
which reflected the development of the fashion created at the time in England.
Radziwiłł must have been up-to-the-minute in these matters, and probably
he also had an appropriate Staff to assist him: advisors and sales representa-
tives. Expensive and sophisticated outfit, according to the latest fashion, per-
fectly emphasized the social standing of its owner. The choice of the author
of the portrait would not have been coincidental either. Employing Strobel
could have been informed by the desire to relate to the portrait of Prince Wła-
dysław Dominik Zasławski-Ostrogski, painted just a little earlier (1635), which
was probably known and widely commented on in court circles in the Crown
of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At that time
in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Bartłomiej Strobel was essentially
the only - or one of the few painters who were able to cope with the ambi-
tious task of portraying the Lithuanian magnate. The Silesian master, who
undoubtedly had spent time in Prague, and probably also in the Netherlands,
was perfectly familiar with the novelties of fashion, understood its importance
for the prestige, and was able to convey its characteristic features on canvas
with formidable precision. By portraying Radziwiłł in avant-garde attire, he
not only realized the ambitious plans of his client, but also showed extraor-
dinary mastery, consolidating his famę as the best portraitist in the Polish
Commonwealth during the era of Władysław iv Waza.
The two portrayed aristocrats, both Zasławski-Ostrogski and Radziwiłł, treat-
ed opulent foreign attire as a distinguishing mark of their social standing and,
at the same time, of their privacy, standing in stark opposition to the traditional
Polish model of the magnate portrait, depicting a hieratic figurę of a politician,
119 J.K. Ostrowski, Portret, pp. 246, 402.
21. Bartłomiej Strobel,
Portrait of Prince Janusz Ra-
dziwiłł (detail), ca. 1636(7),
The National Art Museum
of the Republic of Belarus
in Mińsk, inventory no.
3W-109. Photo by Joanna
Kazubowska
->see p. 70
Two princes and the fashion...
95