Family members and political allies: the portrait collection of Margaret of Austria

According to the writings of the Spanish humanist and educator Juan Louis Vives, a contemporary of Margaret of Austria who taught at the University of Louvain, it was the duty of every Christian woman to keep the memory of her dead husband alive. In Vives's De institutione feminae Christianae, which was first published in Antwerp in 1524, he advised women to devote themselves to the memory of their dead husbands rather than marry again.(120) This advice suited Margaret well, as at a very young age she had already been married, and widowed, twice. We know from her private correspondence that she vigorously resisted all further attempts by her father to marry her off once more. The seriousness of Margaret's intention to honor the memory of Philibert of Savoy is further demonstrated by the large number of portraits of him in the library and in other parts of the palace. In all there were three portraits of Philibert in the library, one portrait in the Premiere Chambre, one (a painting) in the Seconde Chambre,(121) and one ("carved in wood") in the Petit Cabinet.(122)

The marble bust of Duke Philibert is the first entry in the inventory after the section listing the books in the library and is immediately followed by a description of his complete armor.(123) Philibert's appearance in this space was therefore established not only by the three-dimensional bust, but also by his full body armor, making for an almost tangible presence. After the death of Philibert, Margaret was involved in an ongoing conflict with the Savoy family over her claims to the dowry and other territorial issues.(124) This dispute provided her with an additional reason for emphasizing her strong allegiance to her former spouse.

In the section of the inventory which details the contents of the library, the fireplace becomes an important point of reference. In the library twenty paintings are described as "hanging around the fireplace,"(125) including seventeen portraits, one battle scene, and two devotional images. They were arranged around wood carvings of a stag's head with antlers and a crucifix, which the regent had commissioned from Conrad Meit in 1518.(126) In addition to the panel paintings surrounding the fireplace, the inventory lists nine paintings on canvas - five portraits, two battle scenes, and two religious images.(127)

Family members who appeared here as well as in the Premiere Chambre included Maximilian, Ferdinand of Aragon, Philip the Handsome, and Christian II of Denmark. Joanna of Aragon-Castile and Henry VIII were both absent from the Premiere Chambre, but were included in the library. This display of likenesses was far less systematic and comprehensive than that of the Premiere Chambre. The inclusion of portraits of unidentified and unrelated sitters around the fireplace contributed to its fragmented nature. An examination of the inventory of 1516, however, suggests that this was not always the case.

The Library in 1516

In 1516, twenty-six paintings were listed under the heading "Les paintures estans dans la librairye de Madame" and were a significant feature of the library at that time.(128) Apart from Joos van Cleve's picture of the Infant Jesus and Saint John,(129) all these paintings seem to have been portraits. At that time, the main core of the display focused on members of the Burgundian-Hapsburg family. While a few of these portraits were of important ancestors, such as John the Fearless, Philip the Good, and the emperors Frederick and Charlemagne, the majority consisted of Margaret of Austria's immediate family: her father, Emperor Maximilian, her mother, Mary of Burgundy, Maximilian's second wife, Bianca Maria Sforza, as well as Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Aragon-Castile.