Discover monarch, art collector, painting collector Rudolf II of Habsburg

4 images

Rudolf II of Habsburg - Holy Roman Emperor

male / Austrian, Czech

monarch, art collector, painting collector, patron, collector, collector of botanica

Name variations

This field records and makes accessible name variations, as found in sources. Alternate spellings, nicknames, maiden names - with or without the married name - are included in this category.

: Rudolf II (keizer)

Qualifications: monarch, art collector, painting collector, patron, collector, collector of botanica
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the House of Habsburg. Rudolf loved collecting paintings. He was patron to some of the best contemporary artists, who mainly produced new works in the Northern Mannerist style, such as Bartholomeus Spranger, Hans von Aachen, Giambologna, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Aegidius Sadeler, Roelant Savery, and Adrian de Vries, as well as commissioning works from Italians like Veronese. Rudolf kept a menagerie of exotic animals, botanical gardens, and Europe's most extensive cabinet of curiosities.

Nationality/school: Austrian, Czech

Born: Vienna (city) 1552-07-18

Deceased: Prague 1612-01-20

Family relationships this field records any family relationship to one or more other artist(s).: Rudolf was the eldest son and successor of Maximilian II of Habsburg.

See also In this field, you will find references to names of groups or to the artists that made/make up groups. You may also come across references to other artists if there was/is question of collaboration without a joint name. This is the case, for instance, with artists who rendered parts of works by other artists (such as with P.P Rubens and J. Brueghel I).

This person/entity in other databases

510 hits in RKDimages as provenance
44 hits in RKDlibrary as subject
1 hit in RKDexcerpts as artist

Suggested searches in RKDartists&

Biographical information

Active in

Wenen (stad)
Valladolid (stad, Spanje) 1563 - 1571
Rudolf spent eight formative years, from age 11 to 19 in Valladolid, at the court of his maternal uncle King Phillip II of Spain.
Wenen (stad) 1571 - 1583
Praag 1583 - 1612
Rudolf II transferred the imperial court from Vienna to Prague. From c. 1583, his residence was firmly established in Prague.

born in

active in

died in

Literature

Literature in RKDLibrary: 44 hits in RKDlibrary as subject

Van Mander 1604 , fol. iiii
Houbraken 1718-1721 , vol. 1 (1718), p. 34, 57 (as: Rudolf)
Gerson 1942/1983 , p. 258, 280-282, 482
DaCosta Kaufmann 1995 , p. 184-203 and passim
Hess/Hirschfelder 2010 , p. 271-283 and passim
Horn/Van Leeuwen 2021 [Houbraken Translated]

L. Urlichs, 'Beiträge zur Geschichte der kunstbestrebungen und Sammlungen Kaiser Rudolf's II., Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, 5 (1870), p. 47-53; 81-85; 135-142
E. Neumann, 'Das Inventar der rudolfinischen Kunstkammer von 1607/1611', in: Queen Christina of Sweden: Documents and Studies, Stockholm 1966, p. 262-265
R. Bauer, H. Haupt (eds), 'Das Kunstkammerinventar Rudolfs II. 1607–1611', Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien 72 (1976)
F. Hopper, 'Jacques de Gheyn II and Rudolf II's collection of Nature Drawings', in: Prag um 1600 : Beiträge zur Kunst und Kultur am Hofe Rudolfs II, Freren 1988, p. 124-131
S. Vécha, ‘The School of Praque or Old Masters: Rudofine Painting in the Literary and Visual Discourse of the 17th and 18th Centuries’, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 3 (2014), p. 361-384
I.M. Veldman, 'The history of Queen Christina's album of Goltzius drawings and the myth of Rudolf II as their first owner', Simiolus 37 (2014), p. 100-117
M. Eichberg, 'Zu den Antiken in der Prager Kunstkammer Kaiser Rudolfs II.', Studia Rudolphina 14 (2014), p. 7-14

Documentation RKD

This field specifies the location of the various RKD documentation materials. Most of the locations refer to our art-historical image documentation. In addition, you will find references to press documentation (clippings and short articles) here.

PDO/Collectors and art professionals

Project: Gerson Digital : Germany, Austria and Central Europe

Permalink: https://rkd.nl/explore/artists/466467

Creation date: 2014-05-01; Last modified date: 2023-05-16

Explore

Rudolf II of Habsburg - Holy Roman Emperor

Comments

My selections