Flemish School, circa 1610.

Coudenhove family, Flanders;
Thence by descent within the family to Jakob Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi, Vienna;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 4 December 1997, lot 150;
With Johnny van Haeften, London, 1998;
With Weiss Gallery, London;
From whom acquired by the present collectors.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This pair of paintings is well restored. They should be hung in their current state. The canvases have good glue linings. There is a good deal of texture and impasto to the paint layers, and both works are very fresh and well preserved in many areas. The faces and hands of both figures have attracted some restoration, probably because of abrasion. The greyhound next to the male figure shows losses in his shoulders and neck, and the smaller dog with the female figure has a small restoration in the face. There are some isolated dots in the darker colors of the clothing of the gentleman. Restorations are not clearly visible elsewhere under ultraviolet light in both pictures, and there may be a few other spots. Despite the restoration in the faces, the condition is very good.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The eminent sitters represented in this superb pair of full-length portraits have been identified since their sale in 1997 (see Provenance), as Charles-Alexandre de Croÿ, Marquis d'Havré, Duc de Croÿ, and his first wife, Yolande de Ligne.  While the identity of the artist remains unknown, the paintings bear a striking resemblance to the early works of Daniël Mijtens (Delft circa 1590 - circa 1647 The Hague) before his departure to England in 1616.  Charles-Alexandre, a key figure in the Franco-Flemish and Spanish political field, was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and inherited the French title of Duc de Croÿ from his cousin and brother-in-law, Charles II.  The golden key, seen here tucked into the gold waistband of his doublet, connotes his privileged position in the Habsburg court, either as Camarero Mayor (Great Chamberlain) or Sumiller de Corps (Groom of the Stool) to Archduke Albert VII of Austria, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands.  This was a role of the highest rank, comprising the supervision of the royal bedchamber, and awarded the title holder an exceptional position as intimate confidant to the monarch.  Below the key, on a long chain, is a large, golden portrait medallion, whose sitter, though indistinctly portrayed, would be instantly recognizable to the contemporary eye as Charles-Alexandre’s master, the Archduke.

Yolande de Ligne was heiress to the estate of Thy-le-Château, Namur and daughter of the Lamoral I de Ligne, Prince de Ligne and Comte de Fauquemberque.  She married Charles-Alexandre in 1599, and these marital portraits likely date to 1610, a year before her death at the age of 26.  The Duke later remarried, taking the renowned beauty Geneviève d’Urfe as his wife in 1617, the same year he became the a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.  Geneviève, however, was said to be repeatedly unfaithful, and when Charles-Alexandre was shot dead in his Brussels palace in 1624, it was reputed that the Duchess and her alleged lover, the Marquis of Spinola, were behind the murder.

A note on the costume:

The clothing worn here by the Duke and his wife would have been intended to convey a specific message to the contemporary viewer as to the couple’s elite social status and substantial wealth.  It was of particular importance that different textures, fabrics and surfaces be convincingly and adeptly portrayed by the artist in order to correctly signify their value.  These opulent garments were not worn simply as an exhibition of personal wealth.  Each item would require the skills of numerous dexterous artisans, from goldsmiths and lace makers, to tailors, weavers and embroiderers.  The wearer would also require a host of lady’s maids or grooms to stitch, pin, and lace their clothing into place, and the attire would therefore have been considered a testimony to the sitters’ benevolence, patronizing local craftsmen and providing employment. For courtiers, particularly those in as elevated a position as Charles-Alexandre, the lavishness of their dress reflected their veneration of the monarch, to whom they were privileged to attend.

Charles-Alexandre is dressed in a matching false-sleeved doublet and hose of patterned damask, a cloth so detailed that just one yard took an average of a day to produce.  The depth of the black, a color popularized in the Low Countries by the Spanish Habsburgs, suggests the luxurious fabric is almost certainly silk, which was more absorbent and better able to retain the dye.  The sitter leaves his left arm in the sleeve of the doublet but lets the false sleeve hang behind on the right side, displaying the elaborate gold thread embroidery of his stiff undergarment.  The garter ribbons are finished with large, gold, pointed aglets, whose practical purpose was to allow for easier threading through the buttonholes and prevent the ribbon from fraying, though here they are an ornately lavish and eye-catching detail.¹

Yolande’s gown is similarly extravagant.  She is depicted wearing a wheel farthingale which, in keeping with the latest style, is tilted downward at the front by an elongated busk, the long, narrow central panel of the bodice, usually stiffened with whale bone or wood.²  The over skirt is pinned in thick folds to the farthingale, requiring vast volumes of fabric, and she pulls aside the upper layer to display her partlet, the panel of precious and extremely valuable cloth, which was pinned beneath.³  Along the folds of both the upper and under layers of fabric, are areas of horizontal cross-hatched highlights, which the artist employs to represent the silver thread weft.  Cloth-of-silver, woven with real silver thread, was tremendously costly to produce and as ostentatious a display of wealth as the large jewels, the multiple strings of natural pearls and the intricate lace rebato standing ruff.  The stones set into the three beautiful pendants are most likely diamonds, which often appeared black in color due to the cutting methods used in the 16^th and early 17^th centuries; diamonds at that time were more prized for their sheen and hardness than for the sparkling properties associated with them today.⁴  The placement of one of the pendants over Yolande’s heart in this marriage portrait, suggests it was perhaps a gift from her husband.

 

1.  A. Reynolds, In Fine Style, the Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion, exhibition catalogue, London 2013, p. 96.
2.  Ibid., p.42.
3.  Ibid
4.  Ibid., p. 73.