Jahel Sanzsalazar I Am Cleopatra: The Seduction and Stoicism of a Newly Identi- fied Painting by Matthäus Merian the Younger (1621 – 1687)

The fame of Matthäus Merian the Younger has mended by Michel Le Blond, a cousin of San- dwindled over the centuries even though he was drart and agent to the Queen of Sweden at the once considered “the finest German portrait- British court. Merian’s time in London with Van ist” of his time.1 While there is a very extensive Dyck would have facilitated a technique and ap- body of literature on his father, Matthäus Merian proach that he rapidly put into practice. Follow- the Elder (Basel, 1593 – Bad Schwalbach, 1650), ing Van Dyck’s death in 1641, Merian went on to an engraver and publisher known to the wider Paris where he assimilated the classicising trend public for his contribution to topography,2 and of Philippe de Champaigne, , and while studies on his sister Maria Sibylla (Frank- . Upon returning to Frankfurt, furt on the Main, 1647 – Amsterdam, 1717) have he soon after left for Italy, a key destination for increased as a consequence of growing interest painters, where he remained from 1643 to 1647; in women artists,3 the number of publications on and whilst there, Merian was in Venice, Rome, Matthäus Merian the Younger remains relatively and Naples, paying particular attention to the limited. Although he was the subject of a mono- work of Guido Reni and José de Ribera. On his graph by Daniela Nieden in 2002 (which remains return to the courts of Frankfurt, Nuremberg, the most extensive text on his work to date), as and Bamberg he took over his father’s publishing well as various articles,4 Matthäus Merian the house while also executing numerous commis- Younger is primarily remembered as a portrait- sions of official portraits based on an acquired ist and a pupil of (Frank- formula that brought him great renown. furt on the Main, 1606 – Nuremberg, 1688), The discovery of an accomplished Self-por- with whom he worked on various altarpieces for trait, and its subsequent acquisition by the His- German churches, while also being active as an torisches Museum in Frankfurt in 2008 (fig. 9),6 engraver. affirms a new awareness and appreciation of the My interest in the artist’s work developed artist, and a desire to focus on an area of his- some years ago when researching Van Dyck in toric patrimony. This is also taking shape in an Spain, with the discovery of a painting of Ver- ambitious research project that the RKD at The tumnus and Pomona signed “MMerian pinxit” Hague has been developing since 2016 in order to (fig. 2).5 This particular work has proved essential analyse artistic relations between Germany and for determining the artist’s style in relation to the Low Countries, continuing the work of Horst a little-known aspect of his oeuvre, running in Gerson.7 Matthäus Merian the Younger can be parallel to his production of portraits and devo- located at this cultural juncture and hopefully tional scenes. The accomplished quality of this this research will further enhance our vision of painting encouraged a new focus on the artist his work. whilst also emphasising the unconsidered sig- Whilst a considerable number of the art- nificance of his relationship with Anthony Van ist’s portraits have survived to the present day, Dyck, whose London studio he entered at the unfortunately the same cannot be said of his age of eighteen. The young Merian had received history paintings and mythological works, a solid training and arrived in London recom- of which only three are currently known: the

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 71 1 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Cleopatra with the Asp, ca. 1656 –1657, oil on canvas, 90.2 × 69.3 cm. Paris, private collection

72 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 2 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Vertumnus and Pomona, oil on canvas, 186 × 130 cm, signed: “MMerian pinxit”. Barcelona, private collection

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 73 3 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Artemisia, 1647, oil on canvas, 4 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Artemisia, 1655, oil on canvas, 95.8 × 87.6 cm, signed and dated : “Math [sic] Merian Junior / fecit Aº 133.3 × 120.3 cm, signed and dated: “MATTHAEVS. MERIAN. PINXIT. 1647“. Columbia, Museum of Art & Archaeology, University of Missouri Aº 1655”. Dessau, Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie

above-mentioned Vertumnus and Pomona and next to a carpet covered table. Dressed in richly two versions of Artemisia, one at the Univer- coloured materials, her upper body half uncov- sity of Missouri (1647, fig. 3), the other at the ered, her arms forming a circle and her hands Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie in Dessau (1655, clasped, she impassively observes the small sliver fig. 4).8 These three works provide a valuable key of a serpent bite her breast, drawing death near. for future research of this lesser-known facet The presence of her crown and the pearls that of Merian’s activities. Free of the constraints of adorn her loosely arranged hair, ear and wrists portraiture, in these works he reveals himself to assert her regal stature. The curving lines of her be inventive in terms of composition, and faith- arms add dynamism to the pyramidal shape of ful to Van Dyck with regard to technique and a her figure and the parallel diagonals that struc- preference for languid elegance. ture the composition. Cleopatra’s right arm As a consequence of a number of formal anal- forms a perfect circle with the shadow line of ogies with the known works, we can identify Me- her blue mantle completed by her left shoulder. rian’s hand in a Death of Cleopatra (figs. 1 and Her left arm creates a subtle spiralling movement 18),9 a finely crafted and well executed painting, with the elbow depicted by skilful and complex which was considered anonymous and had pre- foreshortening. Particularly notable is the de- viously been attributed to the circle of Gerard de piction of the well-executed hands with their Lairesse, an artist with whom Merian shares a loosely intertwined fingers and backlit palms certain classicising tendency. (fig. 18). In three-quarter pose with her face in com- The figure certainly suggests something of the plete profile, Cleopatra is seated before a curtain Pomona discovered some years ago, sharing the

74 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 same sensitivities of female beauty and an equal approach to the nude. The depiction of Pomona and that of Cleopatra in the two paintings dem- onstrate similar features, comparable torsos, and the same pure flesh tones, all expressed with a shared sensuality. Crucially, a comparison al- lows for the recognition of the same type of modelling with equal variation of shades. More closely observed, both faces have a half-open mouth, a partially shut eyelid and downward gaze, a straight shaped Greek nose, and a sub- tly reddish cheek. A robust neck supports both heads; a similar golden tiara and pearls adorn the hair, which falls in considered curls over the shoulders. The draperies with their highlighted creases are closely comparable in both works. Also striking is their chromatic correspondence with the use of the same red-pinkish and blue for the mantles. Thus, I would assert that both paintings are resonant of the same artistic ap- 5 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Cleopatra with the Asp, after 1656 –1657, engraving, 23.7 × 17.8 cm. Stuttgart, proach and therefore by the hand of the same Staatsgalerie, Graphische Sammlung, inv. An 2205 artist. This is further demonstrated by the two ver- sions of Artemisia, half-length figures like portrait and in the celebrated Portrait of a Fam- Cleopatra, where the same stylistic constants ily in the Kunstmuseum Basel.10 In these works, appear. A subtle movement of torsion animates Merian introduced an oriental carpet with a very both female torsos. The attention is drawn to similar design of blue and yellow patterns on a their décolleté and the beauty of their flesh by red ground. Such details not only demonstrate an intensified use of light, contrasting with the Merian’s ability but also appear as a constant fea- shadow of the solid neck, which invades the ture in his work. clavicles and the shoulder on the three works. The coherent style of the above mentioned Importance is also given to the depiction of the works leads to the attribution of Cleopatra to the hands and to the effects of the draperies. With artist, which is further corroborated by an en- regard to that, Merian has a tendency to observe graving signed “M. Merian Junior” (fig. 5).11 This a concertinaed tension in the seam of the fabric work has always been considered one of the art- of the garments, as they appear to fold and fall ist’s finest prints but was never previously asso- from the bodies. In the case of Cleopatra this is ciated with any known painting. No other artist shown at the edge of her white nightdress par- is mentioned in the print, so therefore Merian tially covering her breast. In the depiction of Po- most probably was the author of the painting; an mona the same effect appears on both her man- argument, which is also backed up by the style. tles, over the arm falling close to her exposed Further support of this is given by the two im- breast, and on her lap. This is also evident in the ages appearing as reversals of one another, which attire of the two versions of Artemisia. The wider indicates that the print was conceived of after the folds of Cleopatra’s mantles are closer in the Self- painting.

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 75 The engraving includes two inscriptions in nerva with the motto “Pietas tuttissima virtus”.17 Latin: a poem and a dedication at the bottom in Jörger’s Album amicorum included landscapes, capital letters: “PERILLUSTRI, ET GENER- mythological subjects, and allegories.18 Recorded OSSISSIMO, D. D. IHOANNI SEPTIMIO in the collection of Count Sternberg in the 19th IÖRGER, DOMINO IN TOLLET, LIB. BAR- century is an album with landscapes and a por- ONI IN KREUSPACH, ARCHITRICLINO trait of Jörger on the front cover, full-length, AUSTRIAE SUPERIORIS HEREDITARIO, richly dressed, and accompanied by a page with ETC. PICTURAE ET ARTIS COELATO- the inscription “In quarto giorno a Leopoldo RIAE FAUTORI, PATRONO SUO AETER- divo. etc. G. Sept. Jörger Comes 1662”.19 His Self- NUM OBSERVANDO, HUMIL. DEVOTIO- portrait, known from the print by Andreas Kohl NIS ERGO, D. D. M. Merian junior” (To the (fig. 6),20 would appear to date from 1645 judging very illustrious and very generous Johann Septi- by the inscription on the sheet of paper the fig- mius Jörger, Lord of Tollet, free Baron of Kreus- ure holds, which reads “Johan Septimius Jorger pach, hereditary chamberlain of Upper Austria, L. Baro. Fecit 1645”. It seems clear that Matthäus etc, benefactor of painting and engraving, his Merian the Younger and the Baron shared in- eternally respected patron, induced by his hum- terests and must have had friends in common. ble devotion, M. Merian the Younger dedicated Among them was Jacob von Sandrart (Nurem- and gave [tanslation by Guillermo Fatás]). berg, 1630 – 1708), who portrayed Jörger on vari- The baron in question is Johann Septimius ous occasions as several prints would show, in- Jörger von Tollet (Styria, 1596 – Nuremberg, cluding the one based on a drawing by Georg 1662),12 a member of the highest rank of the Aus- Strauch (fig. 7),21 the first state of which bears the trian nobility, whose dual activities as a soldier date 1662, the year of the sitter’s death. and patron of the arts earned him the descrip- As a young man, Jörger had been ruined by tion of “Martis et Artis amans” in the words of his involvement in the Prague uprising of 1618. the German poet George Philipp Harsdörffer;13 In 1621, after a brief period in Venice, he married and indeed, Jörger regularly had himself de- Anna Potentiana Hofmann de Grünbichl und picted with symbols of both war and the arts. He Strechau (1607– 1656), member of a noble Protes- was a lover of art, a devoted collector, and gener- tant family and heiress to the castle of Strechau in ous benefactor as Merian notes in his dedication, Styria,22 where they lived until 1629, when – due describing him as a “promoter of painting and to their Protestant beliefs23 – they were obliged engraving” and his “patron”. The relationship to go into exile and sell their possessions.24 They between the two men must have been a close one, subsequently spent time in various German cit- possibly dating back to Merian the Elder, who – ies (Regensburg, Würzburg, and Frankfurt) be- in the 1620’s – executed a print of the castle of fore resettling in Nuremberg in 1631, living first Hernals near Vienna, which belonged to the in a house on the Schildgasse known as “Zum Tollet-family.14 Gulden Schild”, then acquiring a home with Johann Septimius Jörger was an exceptional a garden in 1638. They lived there with their individual; beyond collecting he practiced art as six children, one of whom would subsequently a dilettante. His few known works suggest that convert to Catholicism with the name of Father he principally focused on drawing and print- Joseph. In 1650 the couple attended the festivi- making,15 executing portraits (Lady with a pearl ties organised by the Emperor Ferdinand III in Necklace and Christina of Sweden), landscapes, honour of Carl Gustav of Sweden to celebrate the and flower paintings.16 In 1639, he designed his signing of the final clauses of the Peace of West- own coat of arms, set between Mars and Mi- phalia (1648), which brought the Thirty Years

76 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 6 Andreas Kohl after Johann Septimus Jörger von Tollet, Portrait 7 Jacob von Sandrart after Georg Strauch, Portrait of Johann of Johann Septimus von Tollet, after 1645, engraving, 22.6 × 16.7 cm. Septimus Jörger von Tollet, after 1662, engraving, 22.6 × 16.9 cm. Braunschweig, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

War to an end. This celebration has become leg- A watercolour by the Nuremberg artist Michael endary because of the spectacular fireworks and Herr (fig. 8)27 provides the only record of this col- sumptuous banquets. The Tollets were among lection, of which there is no known inventory. the diners, as recorded in a volume of the The- Dating from the 1630s, among the sculptures in atri Europaei published by Merian himself. 25 In the watercolour a copy of the Medici Venus and the year after his first wife’s death in 1656, Jörger a Hercules can be recognised, while married a widow, Regina von Praunfalk, Baron- the paintings include an by Hans ess of Radmannsdorf (1603– 1667). They lived von Kulmbach (ca. 1485– 1522) and a Venus and on the estate of Wolfsfelden in Kalchreuth near Adonis in the style of .28 The Nuremberg; a building of which the foundations absence from the watercolour of the Cleopatra still survive. could well be explained by the fact that it was Merian’s painting of Cleopatra could well have painted later. Daniela Nieden dated the print belonged to Jörger, whose collection included to 1651 – 1653; and indeed stylistic connections paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, jewels, with the Martyrdom of Sainte Catherine from as well as other objects typical of the most ex- the Diözesanmuseum Bamberg (signed and quisite collectors’ cabinets, and merited a visit dated 1653) and the two versions of Artemisia from the Archduke Leopold William in 1645.26 mentioned above (dated 1647 and 1655) show that

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 77 8 Michael Herr, View of the Cabinet collection of Graf Johann Septimus Jörger von Tollet, ca. 1630 –1633, watercolour, black ink, black border, 22.3 × 17.1 cm. Nuremberg, Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg the painting of Cleopatra could well be located violent death, but an asp killed her [tanslation by to the 1650s. Hence Michael Herr could not have Guillermo Fatás]). included the Cleopatra in his watercolour. It is By his poem Merian displays his knowledge not clear when Jörger’s collection and library and dexterity for Latin, employing lesser-known were dispersed, but it would seem that the family words. He uses couplets, adhering to the inflex- were troubled by debts in 1667 and the collection ible metre of a hexameter followed by a pen- may have been sold by one of his sons.29 tameter, not starting with a monosyllable, with To return to the remainder of the inscription a pause in the middle and respecting the num- on the print, the verses engraved in fine Italic ber of vowels.30 This reflects the education of the script below the image read: “Nosse CLEOPA- painter, who attended the Latin school, as he TRAM cupis? Haec est illa. Supino / Quae luxu underlined in his autobiography published by Reges perdidit, atq Duces. / Rarus amor petu- Rudolf Wackernagel in 1895. Whilst presenting lans, felix idemq Periret / En! nece quo subita, Cleopatra to Tollet, the verses emphasise a moral causa vel aspis erat” (Do you wish to know warning against the dangers of love. Singled Cleopatra? This is she. Her brazen wantonness out for the sensuality of her body, Cleopatra is led to the downfall of kings and warlords. Un- considered dangerous: her power of seduction is usual love, impudent and happy at the same disturbing the mightiest rulers. Her love is both time. She should have died, alas, by a sudden, deleterious and exultant. The last sentence refers

78 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 to the matter of her suicide, which has remained For the philosopher and zoologist Aelianus, the enigmatic for a long time. queen’s suicide was an enigma that could only The powerful Queen of Egypt decided her be resolved by first-hand observation of the bite fate after the defeat and loss of her lover Mark on her breast and the marks left by the snake on Antony in the year 31 BC, when she was about the sand.36 thirty-nine years of age. Her choices were sub- Merian’s painting and the poem on the print mission or death. The most widely used source reflect well the ambiguity surrounding the tradi- for this episode is Plutarch, who includes it in tional understanding of Cleopatra, a figure who the chapter on Mark Antony in his Parallel has aroused both fascination and criticism, giv- Lives. In Plutarch’s words: “For her beauty, as we ing rise to two conflicting visions, one positive are told, was in itself not altogether incompa- and the other condemnatory, both of which have rable, nor such as to strike those who saw her; inspired literature and the arts. With regard to but converse with her had an irresistible charm, her suicide, her courage and her cowardice have and her presence, combined with the persuasi- been equally singled out. veness of her discourse and the character which Cleopatra was vilified in antiquity. Only the was somehow diffused about her behaviour to- poet Horace, who wrote an Ode to the Death of wards others, had something stimulating about Cleopatra, conceded her a degree of fortitude in it. There was sweetness also in the tones of her her arrogance at killing herself rather than fall- voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of ing prisoner to Caesar.37 Most authors, however, many strings, she could readily turn to whate- despised her, including Cicero, who met her in ver language she pleased […]”.31 Wherever her Rome and expressed his aversion to her.38 Dio powers of attraction lay, Cleopatra embodied Cassius saw her as a low, cruel, and cowardly the image of the femme fatale, to whose charms woman, who manipulated Mark Antony by the all men succumbed. This is what Merian empha- irrational love he professed for her.39 For Pliny sised in the inscription on the engraving and in she was a royal whore, full of pride and shame- the painting itself, both of which highlight the less hauteur.40 Among the authors who most at- queen’s seduction. We can speculate as to whet- tacked her was Propertius, who demonised her, her the artist was familiar with the Letters on the describing as ‘obscene’ her marriage to Mark Infamous Libido of Cleopatra the Queen by the Antony, whose principal defect was that of lov- Swiss writer Melchior Goldast, first published in ing her. He describes her at the moment of her Frankfurt in 1606, that provided a great talking suicide as overcome and stammering due to point in Germany.32 wine, stating that she was bitten by the sacred In the last line of his verse Merian refers to asps and that she fell into a stupor.41 Flavius Jo- the different theories that arose since antiquity sephus also saw her as an ambitious and despi- on the circumstances of Cleopatra’s death, as cable individual engaged in a perverted quest for Plutarch summed up when emphasising that power. He calls her treacherous, aphrodisiacal, “the truth of the matter no one knows”.33 While and lascivious.42 All the authors who discuss the theory of the serpent is the most widely ac- her, including Plutarch and Seneca, accuse her cepted, classical authors continued to express of bringing about the fall of Mark Antony.43 The doubts regarding the various hypotheses.34 Pliny first to see an element of stoicism in her death speculated on what type of snake might have was Tertullian when he describes her as a coura- killed Cleopatra and suggested that it was the geous woman, who gave herself up to the beasts, Chelidonias, which – being smaller than the asps, and snakes rather than to surrender to the Hipnal or Ptiade – causes a more rapid death.35 enemy.44

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 79 9 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Self-portrait with Seneca bust, 10 Peter Paul Rubens, The Four Philosophers, ca. 1611/1612, ca. 1650/60, oil on canvas, 111 × 94.7 cm. Frankfurt on the Main, oil on panel, 167 × 143 cm. Florence, Palazzo Pitti Historisches Museum

All of these classical authors refer to Cleopa- sari di Cesarea (1552) in Italy; Cleopatre captive by tra in a historical-political context, and it was not Etienne Jodelle (1653), the tragedies by Benserade until the 16th century that a real interest in her as (1636) and Jean de Mairet (1637) in France; and an individual arose. At this point, we witness a the one written in Spain by Francisco de Rojas type of rehabilitation of her image due to her sui- Zorrilla (1640).47 Famous in England were those cide, probably under the influence of Dante (who written by Samuel Daniel (1596) and, of course, mentioned her twice in the Divine Comedy, plac- William Shakespeare (Antony and Cleopatra, ing her in Hell for her lust, and alluding to her 1606), while notable examples in Germany were suicide in Paradise) and Boccaccio (who devoted the works by Hans Sachs (Die Königin Cleopatra an entire chapter to her in De Mulieribus Claris).45 mit Antonio dem Römer, 1560) and Daniel Caspar Thus, a figure who was denigrated in antiquity in von Lohenstein (Cleopatra, 1661). Matthäus Me- the Renaissance period became a tragic heroine rian would undoubtedly have known more than who fought for her freedom, choosing dignity one of these works. and pride in suicide. The idealisation of Cleopa- In the 17th century authors started to offer a tra’s virtue reached such a point that she was in- more human vision of Cleopatra, seeing her in cluded in a treatise on holy women and martyrs46 all her different aspects, capable of possessing and also became the principal character in the the most monstrous vices and elevated virtue. great tragedies that appeared throughout Europe Her suicide was interpreted as an act of freedom at this period: the Vita di Cleopatra by Giulio and a sign of the persistence of her love. Thus she Landi (1551) and the Tragedia di Cleopatra by Ce- became a moral model of constancy, and this

80 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 was in turn idealised as a higher virtue by the Neo-Stoicism of ,48 who debated the legitimacy of suicide and its affiliation with or opposition to Christian values, seeing the vir- tue of constancy as an alternative to despair and suicide. For Lipsius, Cleopatra exemplified bad female government,49 whereas his idea of con- stancy and individual freedom was embodied by Seneca, Socrates, Helvidius, and other wise indi- viduals who had decided to end their own lives in order to reject tyranny: “Who is a slave when he does not fear death?”50 In Manuductio (1604) Lipsius sets out his arguments for and against suicide and concludes that it represents an act of expressing freedom against the tyranny of op- pression, and is justifiable for the wise man who wishes to escape servitude. Matthäus Merian the Younger’s was a deeply convicted Neo-Stoicist. This is clearly evident in the Self-portrait in the Historisches Museum in Frankfurt (fig. 9), in which the artist depicts 11 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Portrait of Zacharias Stenglin, himself alongside a bust of Seneca, following 1652, oil on canvas, 114 × 123 cm. Frankfurt on the Main, the example of Rubens in his Four Philosophers Historisches Museum in the Galleria Pitti (fig. 10).51 Rubens painted himself in the company of his brother Philip, Jo- fraught with difficulties following his choice of hannes Woverius, and Justus Lipsius who taught exile and ruin, rather than the renunciation of his Neo-Stoic doctrine at the universities of Jena, his religious beliefs. Leyden, and Leuven. Merian undoubtedly knew What is quite clear is that Merian presents a this work by Rubens, painted around 1611/1612 in Stoic death in his image of Cleopatra, omitting memory of his recently deceased brother and as any expression of pathos or suffering, instead proof of the devotion of Lipsius’ followers to the portraying a woman almost at ease with her teachings of their master, who was responsible plight. Her eyes lowered and expressionless, she for reviving Seneca’s Stoic principles. The bust looks at the serpent as she waits, serene and ma- of that philosopher is, once again, present in the jestic with her hands clasped, for the poison to Portrait of Zacharias Stenglin in the Frankfurt take its deadly effect. She shares with Seneca the Historisches Museum (fig. 11),52 painted by Me- choice of suicide, but her stoicism is different in rian in 1652 and engraved by him in bust-length nature: the philosopher’s lay in faithfulness to format for the sixth volume of his Theatrum Eu- his principles, while hers reflects the constancy ropaeum published in the same year.53 The emi- of her love for Mark Antony. She dies in order nent jurist was one of the signatories to the final to magnify her love, expiating her faults through clauses of the Peace of Westphalia in Nuremberg her brave, redemptive act. Cleopatra’s majesty in 1650.54 Johann Septimus must have affiliated lies in avoiding dishonour. Hers is the stoicism of himself with the same principles, or at least we a woman, not of a queen. By his painting Merian can assume so from the facts known about a life invites us to witness her gentle poisoning.

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 81 13 After Joachim von Sandrart, Cleopatra with the Asp, ca. 1640, engraving, 124 × 107 mm. London, British Museum

ther. Plate III includes a depiction of the Vipera aspis (fig. 12) and would seem to be the model used here by the artist. In fact, Jonston refers to Cleopatra in the accompanying text. Undoubt- edly inspired by Ulisse Aldovrandi’s Serpentum et Draconum historiae (1640), he notes that due to the subtle effect of this snake’s bite it was hard to tell that Cleopatra was dead: the bite does not produce swelling around the wound but just an 12 Matthäus Merian the Elder and the Younger, Tabula III from Historia increase in somnolence, with the eyes glazing Naturalis De serpentibus, Libri Duo, Joannes Jonstonvs Medicix ae doctor over, the face becoming pale and the forehead concinnavit (as note 55), in folio, 378 × 230 mm cold before death takes hold.56 Merian was aware of this and made it visible in his depiction of the dying queen. Known since antiquity for its pow- Merian certainly found numerous models erful poison (Ammodyte) and for bringing about for the snake among his father’s engravings a sure and painless death, the Vipera aspis was for the Historia Naturalis by the Polish doctor forever associated with the Queen of Egypt to and botanist Jan Jonston (1603– 1675). Book II the point that it was renamed Aspid Cleopatra by of this zoological encyclopaedia is devoted to the Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Lau- snakes and was published by Merian’s printing renti in 1768. house in Frankfurt in 1653 and 1657.55 Merian the The originality of Merian’s composition is no- Younger must have actively collaborated on this table in formal terms. The artist seems to have project, which appeared after the death of his fa- moved away from other depictions of the queen

82 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 14 Guido Reni, Cleopatra with the Asp, ca. 1628, oil on 15 Prince Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine after canvas, 114.2 × 95.0 cm. London, Buckingham Palace Matthäus Merian the Younger, The penitent Mary Magdalen, Picture Library 1657, mezzotint, 220 × 165 mm. London, British Museum

that he would undoubtedly have known. His recounted by Carlo Cesare Malvasia: Malvasia image has little to do with Sandrart’s Sleeping states that Reni had conceived his Cleopatra on Ariadne,57 a widely known image of the classical the request of Palma il Giovane and in competi- sculpture that was excavated in Rome in 1512 and tion with three other half-length depictions, one acquired by Julius II and which until 1776 was by Palma himself, another by Guercino, and a thought to depict Cleopatra. Nor can Merian’s third by Nicolas Régnier for a certain art dealer depiction be compared to the Cleopatra drawn in called Boselli. Palma won the competition but red chalk by Sandrart and reproduced in an en- his painting, which was exhibited at the top of graving (fig. 13), an exemplar of which was dedi- the bell tower of San Marco, was lost. Boselli kept cated to Merian.58 This proves that the subject of Reni’s version and after his death it was bought Cleopatra was significant between them. In con- by Régnier, who “had it in his museum, like a di- trast to Merian, Sandrart emphasised the pathos amond among gems.”61 Merian adopts a similar of his subject although the inscription (“Cosi si half-length format to Reni as well as a compa- conobbe l’amor constante de Cleopatra”) refers rable treatment of the draperies, but Reni places to the concept of constancy so praised by Lipsius his emphasis on the beauty of the suffering, mak- in his writings. ing Cleopatra turn her head to look upwards as It is likely that Merian also knew a version if pleading with the heavens. By contrast, Merian of Cleopatra by Guido Reni, one of the artists paints his figure looking down, her eyes lowered who most interested him in Italy as he him- and her regal nose a striking feature of her pro- self noted in his autobiography.59 He may have file with its half-open mouth. Reni’s influence is, known the version by Reni now in the Royal however, evident in Artemisia and Pomona, and Collection (fig. 14),60 which in Merian’s time was in the Mary Magdalene known from a print by in Venice and was made famous by an episode Prince Rupert of 1657 (fig. 15)62 in which he re-

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 83 16 Cornelis Bos after Michelangelo, Leda and the swan, 1630 –1656, engraving, 271 × 398 mm. London, British Museum

peats the supplicating face. We can also suspect of the tension emphasised by Rubens in his im- that Merian made use of a Penitent Magdalene by age and thus transformed his source of inspi- Gaspar de Crayer, which is recorded in Merian’s ration with notable success. The painting is an collection.63 example of his remarkable talents and of the un- Cleopatra’s face echoes Michelangelo’s Leda, doubted impact that Rubens had on him in his with a similar head covering, shape of the neck, early years. and musculature. That figure was widely known Despite such isolated influences, Merian from the print by Cornelis Bos (fig. 16)64 and Me- seems to have devised a remarkably original rian could also have known it via Rubens’ copy.65 Cleopatra with no known precedents. However, The arrangement of the arms and hands brings the circumstances that would have led to his gift Cleopatra close to Rubens’ Penitent Magdalene of such a subject to his patron remain unknown. (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), a paint- Besides a token of appreciation it could well have ing engraved by Lucas Vorsterman (fig. 17),66 been a sign of gratitude for a past commission or that he could have seen in Rubens’ house around a gift in exchange for a future one. We can fur- 1626.67 Even though it is likely that Merian was ther speculate whether the choice of Cleopatra aware of the composition, he did not make use could have been somehow related to Tollet. Con-

84 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 17 Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens, The penitent Mary 18 Matthäus Merian the Younger, Cleopatra with the Asp Magdalene, 1610 –1622, engraving, 296 × 221 mm. London, British (detail of fig. 1) Museum

sidering the painting’s chronology to the 1650’s verses by the poet Sigmund von Birken (1626 – and its subject matter, it could well be associated 1681) who dedicated a beautiful poem to her upon with the death of Johann Septimus’ first wife in her death in 1667, which echoes Merian’s compo- 1656 and with his second marriage in 1657. The sition: on reconciling herself with God, the “es- short period between the two events could lie be- teemed Jörgerinn”, whose love was taken away by hind the subtle allusion to both. Merian depicts death (“Der Tod / nahm Ihr den Lieben”), lives in a beautiful and peaceful death in which suffer- a chaste and pious cave (“Die in der zarten Höle / ing plays no part in the scene, and the inscrip- gewohnet fromm und keusch”) and although she tion on the print warns the viewer of the dan- lost a baron, she gained a king (“Ein Graf Sie hier gers of amorous passion. If we combine this with verlohr: / Ein König Sie erkohr”), finding conso- the fact that Johann Septimus’s second wife was lation in the healing light of heaven and finally called Regina (Latin for “queen”), we may be able becoming a crowned queen, who shines with to see a metaphor in his depiction of the seduc- the beauty of the stars (“Diß Theil Sie jetz und tive Queen of Egypt. In fact, the comparison of krönet: / Nun ist Sie Königinn. / Mit Sternen Sie Regina Jörger von Tollet with a queen appears in wett-schönet/ die theure Jörgerinn”).68

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 85 Acknowledgements: Elke Allgaier, Christine Bern- der, Nieuw licht op de publicaties van Maria Sibylla heiden, Wolfgang Cilleßen, Beate Dannhorn, Guillermo Merian, in: De Boekenwereld 2, 2015, 70 –75. Fatás, Jenny Graser, Margitta Heinlein, José Javier Iso 4 Daniela Nieden, Matthaüs Merian der Jüngere (1621– Echegoyen, Hans-Martin Kaulbach, Maria Mangliers, 1687), Ph.D. diss. Freiburg University 2000; eadem, Regina Moreira, Alfonso Palata Urzaiz, Mary L. Pixley, Matthäus Merian der Jüngere (1621–1687), Göttingen Rajesh Punj, Martin Sonnabend, Laura Suffield, Matth- 2002. Previously on the painter: Héctor Oesterheld, ias Weniger, Jeffrey B. Wilcox, Antonia Putzger, and the Das Tagebuch Merian des Jüngeren, in: Der Sammler: anonymous readers who reviewed this contribution. Illustrierte Fachzeitschrift für Sammlerwesen und An- tiquitätenkunde 9, 1892, 99 – 105; Rudolf Wackernagel, 1 In the words of the French ambassador in 1663, cited Selbstbiographie des jüngeren Matthäus Merian, in: from Lucas Heinrich Wüthrich, Matthäus Merian (ii), Basler Jahrbuch 1895, 227–244; Daniel Burckhardt in: Jane Turner (ed.), The dictionary of art, vol. 21, Lon- Werthemann, Des alten Merian Kinder und Enkel, don/New York 1996, 152; Sandrart confirms Merian’s in: Basler Kunstverein: Jahresbericht 1908, 153–224; reputation: see Artur Rudolf Peltzer, Joachim von San- Helma Konow, Eine Zeichnungssammlung aus dem drarts Academie der Bau, Bild und Mahlerey Künste Besitz Matthäus Merians des Jüngeren: Ein Beitrag von 1675, Munich 1925, 200. zur Geschichte des Berliner Kupferstichkabinetts, 2 See Hermann Bingel, Das Theatrum Europaeum: Ein in: Berliner Museen 4, 1940, 58 – 63; Frantisek Makes, Beitrag zur Publizistik des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, Investigation, restoration and conservation of Mat- Lübeck 1969; and in particular the works by Lucas thaeus Merian portraits (Göteborg Studies in Conser- Heinrich Wüthrich (Die Handzeichnungen von Mat- vation, vol. 3), Göteborg 1996. See also more recently, thaüs Merian d. Ae.: Unter Berücksichtigung der fragli- Andreas Tacke, Italiensucht und Akademiegedanke: chen Zuschreibungen sowie der Gemälde, nebst einem Das Baseler Familienporträt Matthäus Merians des Exkurs über die Werke der Monogrammisten MM um Jüngeren, in: Martin Gaier (ed.), Der unbestechliche 1610, Basel 1963; Das druckgraphische Werk von Mat- Blick / Lo sguadro incorruttibile, Festschrift zu Ehren thäus Merian d. Ä., 4 vols., Basel 1966 – 1995; Mat- von Wolfgang Wolters zu seinem siebzigsten Geburt- thaeus Merian d. Ä.: Eine Biographie, Hamburg 2007; stag, Trier 2005, 73– 83; Jahel Sanzsalazar, Matthäus Register zu Merians ‘Topographia Germaniae’, Kassel/ Merian el Joven, pintor en el taller de Van Dyck: A Basel 1967; Briefe und Widmungen / Matthaeus Merian propósito de un lienzo con ‘Vertumno y Pomona’ d. Ä., Hamburg 2009). See also Matthaeus Merian der identificado, in: Archivo Español de Arte 82, 2009, Ältere: Zeichner, Stecher und Verleger (exh. cat. Frank- 259 –272; Susanne Meurer, Prince Rupert and Mat- furt a. M., Museum für Kunsthandwerk; Basel, Kunst- thäus Merian the Younger: On the early history of museum), ed. by Wilhelm Bingsohn, Ulrike Fuss, Rosa mezzotint printmaking, in: Print Quarterly 29, 2012, Neugebauer et. al., Basel/Frankfurt a. M. 1993; Maria, 173–77. On the controversy created by his Resurrection Iaccarino, L’immagine della città europea nell’opera di of Christ for the Lutheran Church in Frankfurt, see Matthäus Merian (1593– 1650), Napels 2009; Johann Andreas Priever, Die ‘causa’ Merian: Streit im Chor Heinrich Eckardt, Matthaeus Merian. 1593–1650: Eine der Frankfurter Barfüßerkirche, in: Andrea Bendlage, kulturhistorische Studie, Bad Langensalza 2015. Andreas Priever and Peter Schuster (ed.), Recht und 3 Elisabeth Rücker, Maria Sibylla Merian, 1647–1717: Verhalten in vormodernen Gesellschaften, Festschrift Ihr Wirken in Deutschland und Holland, Bonn 1980; für Neithard Bulst, Bielefeld 2008, 233–253. Margarete Pfister-Burkhalter, Maria Sibylla Merian: 5 Sanzsalazar 2009 (as note 4), 73. Since then, I have Leben und Werk, 1647–1717, Basel 1980; Charlotte been able to locate the provenance of Vertumnus and Kerner, Seidenraupe, Dschungelblüte: Die Lebensge- Pomona in the painter’s own collection, as described schichte der Maria Sibylla Merian, Weinheim 1989; in the sale catalogue after the death of his son Johann Natalie Zemon Davis, Women on the margins: Three Matthäus (1659 – 1716): “Von Matt. Merian eine Bo- seventeenth century lives, Cambridge 1995; Helmut mone” (Catalogus derjenigen Mahlereyen / so in Hern Kaiser, Maria Sibylla Merian: Eine Biographie, Zurich van Merian seel. Cabinet gefunden worden / nunmehro 1997; Utta Keppler, Die Falterfrau: Maria Sibylla Me- bey Herrn Jacob Heldewir in Franckfurt im Verkauff zu rian, Munich 1999; Dieter Kühn, Frau Merian! Eine haben sind, Frankfurt [Jacob Heldewir] 1716, lot 217); Lebensgeschichte, Frankfurt a. M. 2002; Florence F. J. see also, Gerard Hoet and Pieter Terwesten, Catalogus M. Pieters and Diny Winthagen, Maria Sibylla Merian, of naamlyst van schilderyen met derzelver pryzen, Zed- naturalist and artist (1647– 1717): A commemoration ert een lange reeks van Jaaren zoo in Holland als op on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of her birth, andere Plaatzen in het openbaar verkogt; Benevens een in: Archives of Natural History 26, 1999, 1 – 18; Donna Verzameling van Lysten van Verscheyden nog in wezen Spalding Andreolle and Véronique Molinari, Women zynde Cabinetten, 2 vols., s’ Gravenhage 1752/1772, and science: 17th century to present. Pioneers, activists vol. 2, 344–357; Thomas Ketelsen and Tilman von and protagonists, Cambridge 2011, 35–54; Hans Mul- Stockhausen, Verzeichnis der verkauften Gemälde im

86 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 deutschsprachigen Raum vor 1800, Munich 2002, vol. Frankfurt, Frankfurt a. M. 1940, 9; Nieden 2002 (as 1, 1036, nr. 57. note 4), 125; Tacke 2005 (as note 4). 6 Oil on canvas, 111 × 94.7 cm, Frankfurt a. M., His- 11 Print, 23.7 × 17.8 cm, Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie, Gra- torisches Museum. The portrait was in the collection phische Sammlung, inv. An 2205; also Frankfurt, of the Prince de Ligne in Château de Beloeil until Städel Museum, Graphische Sammlung, inv. 52910 D. 1992, where it was attributed to Sébastien Bourdon See Michael Huber and Johann Gotlob Stimmel, Ver- (KIK-IRPA, cliché B123285). Presented at TEFAF, zeichniss einer ansehnlichen Kupferstich-Sammlung: Maastricht 2007, by Gallery Neuse, Bremen (adver- enthaltend eine Sammlung von Stichen alter und neuer tisement in Weltkunst 5, 2007, 38), the Self-portrait was berühmter Meister aus allen Schulen, vom Anfang der recognized as such by Stephan Kemperdick (Berlin, Kunst bis auf gegenwärtige Zeit, vol. 23: Catalogue Gemäldegalerie), an attribution confirmed by Andreas raisonné du cabinet d’estampes par feu M. Wincler: Tacke (Trier), Christian Klemm (Zürich), and Daniela l’école allemande…, Leipzig/Paris 1801, 575, no. 3355; Nieden (Zürich). My thanks to Wolfgang Cilleßen of Georg Kaspar Nagler, Neues Allgemeines Künstler- the Historisches Museum, Frankfurt for providing Lexikon, vol. 9, Munich 1840, 144, no. 2; Joseph Heller, me with this information (written communication, Praktisches Handbuch für Kupferstichsammler oder 10 August 2016) and to Christine Bernheiden (Gal- Lexicon der vorzüglichsten und beliebtesten kupfer- lery Neuse) for sending me a photograph of the work. stecher, formschneider, lithographen, etc. etc., Leipzig See Wolfgang P. Cilleßen, Merian-Portrait, in: Aura: 1850, 450; Charles Le Blanc, Manuel de l’amateurs Jahresgabe des Museums Frankfurt, 2008/2009, 37; d’estampes, 9ème livraison, Paris 1857, 14, no. 2; An- Anna Schreurs and Thorsten Wübbena, Das gnädige dreas Andressen and Joseph Heller, Handbuch für Schicksel erbarmete sich dieser Finsternis und ließe Kupferstichsammler, Leipzig 1870/1873, vol. 2, 160, der Teutschen Kunst-Welt eine neue Sonne aufgehen, no. 1; Carl Brun, Schweizerisches Künstlerlexicon…, in: Forschung aktuell 1, 2008, 60, fig. 6. Frauenfeld 1905– 1917, vol. 2, 370; Andor Pigler, 7 Rieke van Leeuwen (ed.), Project Gerson Digital: Barockthemen: Eine Auswahl von Verzeichnissen zur Germany (2016 – 2019), The Hague, Netherlands Insti­ Ikonographie des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, Budapest tute for Art History, URL: https://rkd.nl/nl/projecten- 1974, vol. 2, 402; Hollstein German Engravings, Etch- en-publicaties/projecten/136-gerson-digital-germany­ ings and Woodcuts 1400–1700, vol. 26 A, 1990, 213, no. (date of last access 11 October 2016). 11; Nieden 2002 (as note 4), 245, cat. 145. 8 Oil on canvas, 95.8 × 87.6 cm, Museum of Art & 12 Some authors affirm that Johann Septimus died in Archaeology, University of Missouri, Columbia, inv. 1672 (including Werner Wilhelm Schnabel, Öster- no. 66.348; see Nieden 2002 (as note 4), 177, cat. 42 reichische Exulanten in oberdeutschen Reichsstädten: (under Unsichere Zuschreibungen). The inscription Zur Migration von Führungsschichten im 17. Jahr- and the date were found after relining in 1966: “Math hundert [Schriftenreihe zur bayerischen Landesge- [sic] Merian Junior / fecit Aº 1647”. This proves that schichte, vol. 101], Munich 1992, 748). This assumption it predates the version in Dessau (oil on canvas, is based on a debt from 1667 that would have obliged 133.3 × 120.3 cm, signed and dated: “MATTHAEVS. Johann Septimus to leave Nuremberg and sell his col- MERIAN. PINXIT. Aº 1655”, Dessau, Anhaltische lection, on the basis of a passport requested in 1670 Gemäldegalerie. See Nieden 2002 [as note 4], 154, cat. and a Vase of Flowers signed and dated in 1673. Nev- 22). Two originals by Merian are documented: one ertheless, I believe this information must relate to a in his own collection (“Von Matt. Merian die Ar- relative of the Tollet-family. Johann Septimus is likely themisia. Original”, see Hoet and Terwesten 1752/1772 to have died before his second wife, as the “deceased [as note 5], 352, cat. 219); the other in the collection of husband” is alluded to in Birken’s funeral poem in J. Werner in Augsburg (Sandrart, in: Peltzer 1925 [as 1667 (see notes 16 and 68 below). note 1], 202); Nieden 2002 (as note 4), note 76; see also 13 George Philipp Harsdörffer composed the poems Sanzsalazar 2009 (as note 4), 264, note 18. inscribed on the engravings of his portraits by Se- 9 Oil on canvas, 90.2 × 69.3 cm, London (Christie’s), 9 bastian Furck, Paul Fürts and Joachim von Sandrart July 1993, lot 62 (“Follower of Gerard de Lairesse”); for Tollet: “JÖRGERS faciem Pallas depingitin era, / London (Bonhams), 29 September 2015, lot 176 Dum felix calamo consociat gladium. / Martis et Ar- (“Flemish School”), now in Paris, private collection. tis amans, Laudes superavit avorum. / Gloria rara viri 10 Oil on canvas, 118.5 × 140 cm, Basel, Kunstmuseum, nescia mortis erit. / G. P. Harsdörffer f.” (Nuremberg, inv. no. 2318 (Henrich Sebastian Hüsgen, Nachrichten Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Graphische Sam- von Franckfurter Künstlern, Frankfurt a. M. 1780, 57; mlung, inv. MP 12088, MP 12082, Kapsel 209). See Nieden 2002 [as note 4], 125– 127, cat. 1). The painting Hollstein (as note 11), vol. 38, 1994, 202, no. 193/II. dates from after Merian’s return to Frankfurt in 1642. 14 Matthäus Merian the Elder, in: Topographia provin- It remained in his father’s house as it is inventoried ciarium austriacarum, Austriæ Stÿriæ, Carinthiæ, post mortem in 1650. See Fred Lübbecke, Merians Carniolæ, Tyrolis, etc., Frankfurt a. M. 1659.

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 87 15 Ulrich Thieme and Joseph Becker, “Joerger, Johann lienkunde 32, 1904, 191 – 192; Karlheinz Goldmann, Septimius von, Graf”, in: Allgemeines Lexikon der Nürnberger und Altdorfer Stammbücher aus vier Jah- bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegen- rhunderten: Ein Katalog (Beiträge zur Geschichte und wart, Leipzig 1926, vol. 19, 39; Manfred H. Grieb Kultur der Stadt Nürnberg, Bd. 22), Nuremberg 1981, (ed.), Bildende Künstler, Kunsthandwerker, Gelehrte, no. 904; Marie Ryantová, Památníky aneb stambu- Sammler, Kulturschaffende und Mäzene vom 12. bis chy, to jest alba amicorum: Kulturne historický feno- zur Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts, Munich 2007, 735. mén raného novoveku, in: Monographia historica 8, 16 Portrait of a Lady with a pearl Necklace, red chalk, 2007, 429. 24.1 × 33.3 cm, signed “JO Septimus Jörger Comes 19 Johann Gottfried Abraham Frenzel, Sammlung der Fecit 1644”, Nuremberg, Universitätbibliothek Erlan- Kupferstiche und Handzeichnungen Sr. Excellenz des gen-Nürnberg, inv. H62/B945 (see Elfried Bock, Die Herrn Grafen Franz v. Sternberg-Manderscheid, vol. Zeichnungen in der Universitätbibliothek Erlangen, 2, Dresden 1838, 191, no. 1713. Frankfurt a. M. 1929, no. 945); Portrait of Christine 20 Inscribed “IOHANN SEPTIMIUS IÖRGER […] IN of Sweden, pastel, 38.5 × 26.5 cm, signed and dated AUSTRIA SUPERIOR; In tabula splendet […] Martis “Io:Septimius Iörger / L. Baro fecit 1657”, Stockholm, & Artis opus” / “AKhol”, Brunswick, Herzog Anton Bukowskis, 7 July 2011, lot 338, repr. (Neil Jeffares, Ulrich-Museum, inv. 9752. See Hollstein 1990 (as note Jörger von Tollet, Septimus Reichsgraf, in: Dictionary 11), 19, 32, 52. of Pastellists before 1800, URL: http://www.pastellists. 21 Hollstein 1990 (as note 11), 203, no. 194/III. See the com/Articles/Jorger.pdf [date of last access 11 Octo- early proof of the engraving in the British Museum, ber 2016]); Flowers in a Vase, signed and dated “Jo. no. 1876,0708.109, in: Hollstein 1990 (as note 11), 194/I. Sept. Jörger comes pinxit 1673”, present whereabouts 22 On Strechau Castle and Anna Potentiana’s family, see unknown (see Emil Franz Rößler, Geschichte der P. Jacob Wichner, Zwei Burgen und drei Edelsitze in [Graphischen] Sammlung, MS 2297, Universitäts- der oberen Steiermarkt, in: Mittheilungen des Histo- bibliothek Erlangen, 1861 – 1866, 256, Anm. 3, 1799b; rischen Vereines für Steiermark 42, 1894, 200 –203. Rainer Schoch, Zur Vorgeschichte der markgräfli- 23 Heinrich Wurm, Die Jörger von Tollet, Graz/Cologne chen Sammlung, in: 100 Meisterzeichnungen aus der 1955, 138 – 164, 178 – 190, and 198; Regina Pörtner, Graphischen Sammlung der Universität Erlangen- The Counter-Reformation in Central Europe: Styria Nürnberg [exh. cat. Nuremberg, Germanisches Na- 1580–1630, Oxford 2001, 22. tionalmuseum], ed. by Rainer Schoch and Yasmin 24 Wichner 1894 (as note 22), 200 –203. Doosry, Nuremberg 2008, 29, note 30). The date of 25 “Tafel in der Barraquen C: […] 18. Frau Anna Potenti- this painting is problematic, Johann Septimus being ana / Frenin von Jörger […] 30. Herr Johann Septimus dead by 1673 (see note 12). Unless this is a misspell- Freinherr von Tollet” (Johann Georg Schleder, Thea- ing it could be the work of his son, Julius, of whom tri Europaei Sechster und letzter Theil Das ist Außführ- we know at least one drawing: Mandolin player, quill liche Beschreibung der Denckwürdigsten Geschichten pen, 12 × 9.5 cm, signed and dated 1642, described as so sich hin und wieder durch Europam, als in Hoch “no. 270. Jörger, Julius Septimus. Mandolinenspieler, und NiederTeutschland Franckreich Hispanien Italien sitzend. Feder. Bez.: Julius Jörger Liber Baro fecit GroßBritannien Dennemärck Schweden Polen Mos- Anno 42.”, in Munich (Weinmüller), 9 March 1939, cau Schlesien Böhmen Ober und Nieder­Oesterreich lot 270. Hungarn Siebenbürgen Wallachey Moldau Türckey 17 Inscribed at the top “Io. Septimus Iörger L. Baro” und Barbarien so wohl im Weltlichen Regiment als and at the bottom “16 Ao 39 / Pietas tutissima virtus / KriegsWesen; Bevorab bey denen zwischen mehrent- Joannes Septimius Jörger L. Baro”, London, British heils kriegenden Partheyen nach Münster und Oß- Museum, inv. 1875,0710.1458. This motto coincides nabrück angesetzten … General Friedens Tractaten with Johann Major, Oratio de dicto Pietas tutissima vom Jahr Christi 1647. biß 1651. allerseits begeben und virtus, Jena 1602. zugetragen, Frankfurt a. M. 1663, 1080). 18 Stambuch des Baron Joh. Sept. Joerger, eines öster- 26 Schnabel 1992 (as note 12), 660; idem, in: Dictionary reichischen Staatsmanes: 1630–1671, 7.9 × 11 cm, Wei- of art, vol. 17, Oxford 1996, 656 – 657. mar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Sign. Stb 367. 27 Quill pen, ink and wash, 22.3 × 17.1 cm, signed at the See Adolf Schöll, Weimar’s Merkwürdigkeiten einst back: “Michael Herr Fecit”, Nuremberg, Universitäts- und jetzt – ein Führer für Fremde und Einheimische, bibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg, inv. H62/B610a. See Weimar 1847, 182, 185; Georg von Obernitz, Verzeich- Bock 1929 (as note 16), no. 610ª; Schoch 2008 (as note niß hervorragender Namen von Gelehrten, Schrifts- 16), 246, cat. 100. tellern, hohem und niederem Adel aus einem großen 28 Bock 1929 (as note 16), no. 240. Theil der Stammbücher, welche auf der Großherzo- 29 Schoch 2008 (as note 16), 25; Münzen, Bilder, Bib- glichen Bibliothek zu Weimar sich befinden, part 2, liotheken Sammlungen in der Universitätsbibliothek in: Vierteljahrsschrift für Wappen-, Siegel- und Fami- Erlangen-Nürnberg (exh. cat. Erlangen, Alte Univer-

88 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 sitätsbibliothek), ed. by Christina Hofmann-Randall, 48 Justus Lipsius, De constantia in publicis malis, Ant- Erlangen 2013, 15– 16. werp 1584, vol. 1, chapter 6. 30 With thanks to Guillermo Fatás and José Javier Iso 49 Justus Lipsius, Monita et Exempla politica Libri duo, Echegoyen for their knowledgeable contributions and qui virtutes et vitia principum spectant, Antwerp 1605, accurate translation of the Latin text into English. book 2, chapters II– III. 31 Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Antony, 28, 2–3. 50 “Quis servus est, perire modo qui non timet?” (Iusti 32 See Ingrid D. Rowland, The amazing afterlife of Lipsi Epistolae, Pars I, no. 75 08 01; Iusti Lipsi Epis- Cleopatra’s love potions, in: Margaret M. Miles (ed.), tolarum Selectarum Centuriae Miscellaneae, I, 4). Cleopatra: A sphinx revisited, Berkeley/Los Angeles/ See Jan Papy, Lipsius’s Neostoic reflections on the London 2011, 132– 149, here 132. pale face of death: From Stoic constancy and liberty 33 Plutarch (as note 31), 86, 1 –3. to suicide and Rubens’s Dying Seneca, in: Journal of 34 Ilse Becher, Das Bild der Kleopatra in der griechischen Early Modern Intellectual Culture 1, 2010, 45, note 47; und lateinischen Literatur, Leipzig 1966, 134– 151; Peter I. Osorio, A classicist under constraint. Justus Robert A. Gurval, Dying like a queen. The story of Lipsius and the revival of Stoic determinism in the De Cleopatra and the asp(s), in: Miles 2011 (as note 32), Constantia, Ph.D. diss. Dartmouth College, Hanover, 54 – 77. NH 2012. 35 Pliny the Elder, Natural History, IX, 23. 51 Oil on panel, 167 × 143 cm, Florence, Palazzo Pitti, inv. 36 Claudius Aelianus, De Natura Animalium, 9. 11. no. 85. See Hans Vlieghe, Portraits of identified sitters 37 Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Odes, 1 – 37. painted in Antwerp (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig 38 Cicero, Ad Atticum, XV, 2. Burchard, vol. 19.2), Antwerp 1987, 128, cat. 117. 39 Dio Cassius, Historia romana, LI, vol. VII. 52 Oil on canvas, 114 × 123 cm, formerly signed and dated 40 Pliny the Elder (as note 35), 35; Luis Sanchez Impres- (bottom left): “Mattaus Merian pinx. 1652”, formerly sor del Rey, Historia natural de Cayo Plinio Segundo, showing a later inscription: “Zacharias Stenglin traducida por el liecenciado Gerónimo de la Huerta…. I. E. D. geb. Z. Augsburg […] Marz […] Synd z. Frankf. Dedicada al rey Felipe III, nuestro Señor, Madrid 1603 +18 Je. 1674”, Frankfurt, Historisches Museum, inv. B and 1624, 621. 782. See Nieden 2002 (as note 4), 150, cat. 19. 41 “Coniugis obsceni”, “Brachia spectavi sacris admorsa 53 With the inscription: “ZACHARIAS STENGLINVS colubris / Et trahere occultum, membra, soporis iter”, AVGVSTA-VINDELIC[us] / I[uris]C[onsultus,] Rei­ Propertius, Elegies, III, 11, 31 –32 and 52. publ[licae] Francofurtensis ad Pacis tra= | catatus 42 Titus Flavius Josephus, in Against Apion and in Jew- Mo­na­s­terij[,] Osnabrugis et Norim= | bergae Le- ish wars. See Nuno Simóes Rodrigues, O judeu e a gatus”. (Matthäus Merian, Theatrum Europaeum, Egípcia: O retrato de Cleópatra em Flávio Josefo, in: Sechster Teil, Frankfurt a. M. 1652, 931). POLIS. Revista de ideas y formas políticas de la Anti- 54 See the engraving in Nuremberg, Germanisches Na- güedad Clásica 11, 1999, 217–260. tionalmuseum, Graphische Sammlung, inv. HB 198, 43 Seneca, Moral letters to Lucilius, 83. Kapsel 1220. 44 “Bestias foemina libens appetijt, & utique aspides 55 Historia Naturalis De serpentibus, Libri Duo, Joannes serpetes tauro vel urso horridiores, quas Cleopatra Jonstonvs Medicix ae doctor concinnavit, Ex Bibliopo- immisit sibi, ne in manus inimci perveniret” (To the lio Haerdum Merianaeorum, Francofvrt ad Maenum Martyrs 4.6; Opera Q. Septimii Florentis Tertulliani, Anno MDCLII; repr. Amsterdam 1657 and 1665. Basileae AN. M. D. XXVIII, 475). 56 “Ictus Aspidis tam subtilis est, ut visum effugiat: ideo 45 Dante Alighieri, La divina comedia, Inferno, canto V, mors Cleopatrae difficilis era cognitu. Tumor circa v. 63; Paradiso, canto VI, v. 76 –78. vulnus nullum; post ictum statim sopor insurgit, oculi 46 Sacrvm Gynecaevm seu martyroligium amplissi- caligine susfudutur, facies pallet, frons refrigeratur ; icti mum…., Paris 1656, 414. assiduò hiant, & tandem convelluntur”, in: Jonstonvs 47 Étienne Jodelle, Les Œuvres et Meslanges poetiques 1657 (as note 55), 19; Ulyssis Aldovrandi, Serpentum et d’Estienne Jodelle sieur du Lymodin: Premier volume, draconum historiae, Libro duo, Bologna 1640, 201. Paris 11574; La Cleopatre de Bensseradde Tragedie. 57 Three drawings on red chalk are known: (1) Dediée à Monseigneur l’Eminentisseime Cardinal 187 × 298 mm, on a neutral background, and (2) Duc de Richelieu, Paris 1636; Le Marc-Antoine, ou la 199 × 292 mm, on an architectural background, both Cleopatre de Mairet, Paris 1637; Philip Tomlinson, in Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kupfer- L’Art d’embellir les vices: The Antony and Cleopa- stichkabinett, inv. C7204, C7205; (3) 206 × 320 mm, tra plays of Mairet and Benserade in the light of inverted for the engraving, signed and dated 1669, Richelieu’s rehabilitation of the theatre, in: Austra- Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Kupferstichkabinett, inv. lian Journal of French Studies 3, 1996; Francisco de KdZ 8334. See Elfried Bock, Zeichnungen deutscher Rojas Zorrilla, Los Áspides de Cleopatra, Madrid Meister im Kupferstichkabinett zu Berlin, Berlin 1921, 1640. 319; Cecilia Mazzetti di Pietralata, Joachim von San-

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 89 drart (1606–1668): I disegni, Milan 2011, 102– 103, cat. and the description does not correspond to his known 16 and 17; 124, cat. 59. depictions of the subject, see Hans Vlieghe, Gaspar de 58 Frenzel 1838 (as note 19), 197, no. 1765a. Nagler records Crayer: Sa Vie et ses œuvres, Brussels 1972, cat. A236, the work as follows: “1) Cleopatra mit der Schlange A 237. and der Brust, halbe Figur, mit dem Monogramm J. 64 Inscribed “Michael Angelus Inventor. CB” and “For- S. und der Dedication an M. Merian. Schönes Blatt, mosa haec Leda est, cignus fit Juppiter illam/ Com- zu da Vinci’s Monstrosen. Im Rande steht: Cosi si primit, hoc geminum quis credat parturit ovum, / conobbe Amore etc. kl. Fol.” (Kaspar Nagler, Neues Ex illo gemini pollux, cum castore fratres, / Ex isto Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon, vol. 14, Munich 1845, erumpens Helene pulcherrima prodit”, London, 257). See also Andreas Andressen and Rudolf Wei- British Museum, inv. 1874,0808.332. See Sune Schéle, gel, Der deutche Peintre-Graveur oder die deutschen Cornelis Bos: A study of the origins of the Netherland Maler als Kupferstecher: Nach ihrem Leben und Ihren grotesque, Stockholm 1965, cat. 59a. Werken, von dem letzten Drittel des 16. Jahrhun- 65 On Ruben’s Leda and the Swan (1601, oil on panel, derts bis zum Schluss des 18. Jahrhunderts, Leipzig 64.5 × 80.5 cm, on loan to the Boston Museum of Fine 1864– 1878, 134; Pietralata 2011 (as note 57), 152, Arts), see Jeremy Wood, Rubens: Copies and adapta- cat. 125. tions from Renaissance and later artists: Italian artists 59 Malvasia reports on several versions of Reni’s Cleopa- (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, vol. 26.2.3), tra: (1) one for Leopold, cardinal of Tuscany, (2) “In London/Turnhout 2011, vol. 1, 229 –233, no. 200, and the Palazzo Barberini al Monte della Pietà […] Vna vol. 2, fig. 100. Cleopatra mezza figura”, (3) “A Firenze, presso le 66 Oil on canvas, 205 × 157 cm, Vienna, Kunsthisto- Serenissime Alcezze […] Vna Cleopatra mezza figura risches Museum, inv. no. 303, engraved by Lucas di prima maniera, e però tanto forte, e fiera”, (4) “In Vorsterman with an inscriptions in Latin: “Ite procul Genova, by Sig. Cesare Gentile […] Vna Cleopatra” Vestes, … corpore mida sequar” and “P. P. Rubens (Cesare Carlo Malvasia, Felsina pittrice: vite de pittori pinx.” and “L. Vorsterman exc. cu. priuileg.” A draw- bolognesi […],vol. 2, part 4, Bologna 1678, 70, 90 – 91). ing by Vorsterman is in the Hermitage, Saint Pe- 60 Oil on canvas, 114.2 × 95.0 cm, c 1628, London, Buck- tersburg, see Hans Vlieghe, Rubens: Saints (Corpus ingham Palace Picture Library, inv. RCIN 405338. Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, vol 8) Oxford 1984, 61 Malvasia 1678 (as note 59), 54 and 75. vol. 2, 117, cat. 129, fig. 86. 62 Engraved with the inscriptions “US D.G.C.P.D.B. 67 Jan Denucé, De Antwerpsche ‘Konstkamers’: Inventa- PRINCEPS IMPERIJ Animi gratia lusit” and “M. Me- rissen van kunstverzamelingen te Antwerpen in de 16e rian pinxit”, Hollstein 1990 (as note 11), 13. Reported in en 17e eeuwen, Antwerp 1932, 72. a letter from Merian as having been made in Frank- 68 My thanks to Maria Mangliers for kindly helping me furt on 16 December 1657, see Meurer 2012 (as note 4), with this poem, which runs at follows: “So sprach 173 – 175. die hohe Seele/der Engel in dem Fleisch:/ Die in der 63 “Magdelaine pénitente, fondant en larmes dans la zarten Höle / gewohnet fromm und keusch. / Zu Gott sainte Baume. Elle s’incline, à mains jointes, contre Sie Schene/und sprach: / Ob ich viel Ungemach / une croix de bois; ses longs cheveux couvrent ses im Jammerthal hier zehle: / Gott/ ist mein Wetter- épaules et sa gorge. Dans la tête qui n’est vue qu’en Dach. / Der Tod/nahm Ihr den Lieben: / Gott/Ihre profil, on est moins frappé de la beauté des traits, Zuversicht/ ist doch Ihr Theil geblieben/ Ihr Trost que de l’expression d’une ame tendre qui tourne vers und Freuden-Liecht. / Gott hat Ihr auch Ihr Theil/ ein les choses célestes, la vivacité des affections qu’elle Ewigs Glaubens-Heil/ im Himmel zugeschrieben / prodigua trop longtems aux objets terrestres. La fig- mit mancher güldnen Zeil. / Diß Theil Sie jetz und ure est drappée avec art, et les clair-obscurs, très bien krönet: / Nun ist Sie Königinn. / Mit Sternen Sie entendus. Sur toile, Haut de 2 pieds 9 pouces; large de wett-schönet/ die theure Jörgerinn. / Ein Graf Sie 3 pieds 8 pouces” (Catalogue d’une collection de tab- hier verlohr: / Ein König Sie erkohr/ der Sie mit Gott leaux de différentes écoles, appartenant à Mr. Merian versöhnet. / Gönnt Sie dem Engel Chor!” See Alexan- l’aîné à Basle: Cette Collection composée en grande der Bitzel (ed.), Sigmund von Birken, Werke und Kor- partie, de Tableaux du premier mérite, est à vendre respondenz: Psalterium Betulianum, Apparate und en bloc ou en détail, à des prix fixes, que les amateurs Kommentare, Berlin/Boston 2016, vol. 2, 883– 884; pourront apprendre du propriétaire, en s’adressant Hermann Stauffer, Sigmund von Birken (1626–1681): directement à lui, Basel 1796, lot 26). The format Morphologie seines Werkes, Tübingen 2007, 212, 358, (83.82 × 111.7 cm) is not usual in Crayer’s production and 737.

90 Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 82. Band / 2019 Photo credits: 1 Thomas Clot. — 2 Alonso. — 3 Museum of Art & Archaeology, University of Missouri. — 4 Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau. — 5 Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. — 6, 7 Public do- main. — 8 Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg. — 9 Galerie Neuse, Bremen. — 10 Palazzo Pitti. — 11 Historisches Museum Frankfurt / photo: Horst Ziegenfusz. — 13, 15– 17 British Museum. — 14 Royal Collection Trust/Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016.

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