German
ca. 1550/70
Portrait book of Hieronymous Beck von Leopoldsdorf, fol. 533
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Picture Gallery (Gemäldegalerie)
inv.no. 9691
This portrait of Anna of Hungary was once part of the larger portrait book owned by Hieronymus Beck. It copies a painting by Hans Maler, active around 1520 in Schwarz near Innsbruck. This likeness of Anna was created on the occasion of her wedding to Archduke Ferdinand at Linz in 1521. Several versions of this portrait were produced: one is now in Innsbruck, another one is in a private collection. This bust portrait corresponds to a larger half-length picture painted by Hans Maler in 1520 as a counterpart to the portrait of the Archduchess Maria, now also in a private collection. This painting probably functioned as a companion piece to Maler’s portrait of Archduke Ferdinand I. That several versions of each work survive suggests that all three paintings were intended as gifts for relatives. In the 1520s one of these paintings may have been in the possession of Archduchess Margaret, the aunt of Anna’s husband Ferdinand. SK