Permanent Collection

1600–1700

Joannes Almenak, attributed

(Antwerpen ?, ca 1640/45 – after 1684)

Portrait of a Noblewoman
2nd half of 17th Century, oil, canvas, 88,8 x 68,5 cm

NG S 646, National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana

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This portrait shows an unknown noble lady (perhaps a member of the Auersperg family?), a woman of rank, as we see from her jewels and lace. Typologically it is in the category of the international portrait art of the second half of the 17th century, as represented by the works of the Flemish painter Jacob Ferdinand Voet, who was active in Paris, Rome and elsewhere. The costume would date the painting to the time between 1670 and 1680. What makes it different from other similar examples is the extraordinary interpretation of the sitter, who is portrayed as nervous, frail and probably ailing. The emotional power of the portrait is concentrated in the eyes with an effectiveness which is quite rare in court portraits of this kind. Both the interpretation and the treatment are strongly reminiscent of the face of Saint Colomanus in the painting in the parish church in Mekinje near Kamnik, which is attributed to Almanach. In his portraits and religious paintings the artist probably departed from the decisive, brutal realism which is characteristic of his genre work. This painting is conditionally attributed to Almanach.

Restored: 1965, ZSV, Ljubljana.
Provenance: Narodni muzej, Ljubljana (NM - NG 67), 1934 (?).
Exhibitions: 1965, Maribor, and 1966, Ljubljana, No. 32; 1983, Ljubljana, No. 93.
Lit.: Vrišer 1965, p. 29, Cat. No. 32 (Portrait of an Auersperg Lady, third quarter 17C); Zeri [& Rozman] 1983, pp. 163, Cat. No. 93, Fig. 92.

ABOUT THE PERIOD

From Mannerism to Baroque

Although imported early-Baroque works prevailed in this period and those by itinerant artists, the 17th century paved the way for the future. The political circumstances in the region were relatively stabilized in spite of the Thirty Year War and the patronage gradually grew stronger. The arrival of the Jesuits in Ljubljana, the activity of the polymath Johann Weichard Valvasor, particularly his graphic workshop at Bogenšperk/Wagensperg Castle, and the foundation of the Academia operosorum at the end of the century were the key events of the time.

Characteristic of sculptural production on the Slovenian territory in the 17th century were the so-called “golden altars”. As a rule, these were gilded and polychrome carved wooden retables with rich ornamentation, first with crustaceous patterns which turned into vine and grapes that covered architectural framework until the achantus foliage took over and obliterated architectural structure completely. The making of golden altars included several branches of fine arts: prints, carving, gilding, painting. Religious painting of the first half of the century still contains Mannerist elements; in the second half also secular motifs became more numerous, particularly genre scenes and aristocratic portraits. The artworks mainly echo northern early-Baroque influences.

Noteworthy among the newcomers who settled in Carniola with their workshops were the painter and gilder Hans Georg Geiger von Geigerfeld in the mid-century, who had moved to Carniola from the region of the Central Alps, and the Fleming Almanach in the third quarter of the 17th century, known only by his nickname, who worked here only for a few years. The extraordinary productivity and skills of the latter are evidenced by his rare surviving works, mentions in Valvasor’s books, and aristocratic probate inventories.

ARTISTS

Owner	Birth - death
Francesco Pittoni	(Venice, ca 1654 − after 1724)
Joannes Almenak	(Antwerpen ?, ca 1640/45 – after 1684)
Anonymous	-
Alvise (Luigi) Benfatto	(Verona, 1554 – Venice, 1609)
Bartolomeo Bettera	(Bergamo, 1639 – ?, after 1688)
Antonio Calza	(Verona, 1653–1725)
Giovanni Andrea Carlone	(Genoa, 1639−1697)
Giacomo Francesco Cipper	(Feldkirchen, 1664 – Milan, 1736)
Giovanni Stefano Danedi	(Treviglio, 1618? − Milan?, 1690)
Giuseppe Diamantini	(Fossombrone, 1621–1705)
Felice Ficherelli	(San Gimignano, 1603 – Florence, 1660)
Frans Francken II	(Antwerp, 1581–1642)
Hans Georg Geiger von Geigerfeld	(?, c. 1610 – Zagreb, 1681)
Luca Giordano	(Naples, 1634–1705)
Janez Frančišek Gladič	(Rijeka, 1635 – Ljubljana?, 1663)
Eberhart Keilhau	(Helsingør, 1624 − Rome, 1687)
Gregorio Lazzarini	(Venice, 1655 – Villabona Veronese, 1730)
Pietro Liberi	(Padua, 1605 – Venice, 1687)
Maestro Jacopo	-
Pieter Mulier	(Haarlem, 1637 – Milan, 1701)
Jacob Pynas	(Haarlem, c. 1585 − after 1650)
Carl Ruthart	(Danzig, c. 1630 – L'Aquila, c. 1703)
Jacob van Kerckhoven	(Antwerp, c. 1637 – Venice, after 1712)
Peter van Kessel	(Antwerp, ? – Ratzeburg, 1668)
Otto van Veen	(Leiden, 1556 – Brussels, 1629)
Herman Verelst	The Hague, 1641/1642 − London, 1702)
Giuseppe Vicenzino	(active 2nd half 17th cent.)