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

The Burgundian Line

Most prominently and comprehensively portrayed on the walls of this room were the Burgundian dukes, who had ruled the Netherlands since the end of the fourteenth century (see genealogical table). As the daughter of Mary of Burgundy, Margaret of Austria herself was a direct descendant of this line. The portraits chosen for the Premiere Chambre document the succession of Burgundian rulers with only minor gaps. The earliest to be represented was John the Fearless, Margaret's great-great-grandfather, who was characterized by his emblem, the carpenter's plane.(43) Also present was Philip the Good, Margaret's great-grandfather, wearing the chain of the order of the Golden Fleece [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 4 OMITTED]. The description of the portrait in the inventory leaves no doubt that Margaret owned a copy of Philip's official court portrait,(44) corresponding closely with one of the likenesses by Rogier van der Weyden, of which there still exist fifteen primary copies.(45) This portrait clearly underlines Philip the Good's social rank as duke of Burgundy and sovereign of the order of the Golden Fleece, with his formal Burgundian attire and his other symbols of authority.(46) Of the three portraits of Philip the Good listed in the inventory of 1523-24, this was by far the largest and most formal.(47)

In the case of Margaret's grandfather Charles the Bold, it was again his official portrait that was chosen for the Premiere Chambre.(48) The description suggests that it was a copy of the prototype developed by Rogier van der Weyden [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 5 OMITTED].(49)

This systematic and comprehensive display of Burgundian rulers did not extend to the female members of the family. Isabella of Portugal, the third wife of Philip the Good,(50) and one of his illegitimate daughters, Mme de Charny, were represented, although Mary of Burgundy, Margaret of Austria's mother, was absent, as was the regent herself.(51)

The House of Hapsburg and Emperor Maximilian I

In contrast to the excellent coverage of the Burgundian lineage, the paternal Hapsburg line was less well represented in the Premiere Chambre. When Maximilian married the only daughter of Charles the Bold, Mary of Burgundy, in 1477, the Burgundian and Hapsburg lines merged. The marriage produced three children: Francois, who died at a young age,(52) Philip the Handsome, and Margaret of Austria. Emperor Frederick III and Emperor Maximilian I, both dead by 1523, were certainly the two most prominent Hapsburgs represented in the Premiere Chambre.(53)

Margaret owned three portraits of her father, which were carefully distributed throughout the palace. One was kept in the library. Its description is so general that an identification with an existing portrait has not been possible.(54) The two other paintings were both versions of the same prototype by the Netherlandish artist Joos van Cleve. The detailed descriptions in the inventory of 1523-24 make it possible to link them to paintings now in Vienna [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 6 OMITTED] and Brussels [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 7 OMITTED].(55) In 1523-24 one of the two portraits by van Cleve was kept in Margaret's study,(56) while the other was displayed in the Premiere Chambre. These two portraits deserve greater attention for the light that they shed on the program underlying the portrait display in the Premiere Chambre.