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Description: | A native of Antwerp, Justus Sustermans (1597-1681) was a pupil there of Willem de Vos in 1609. In about 1616 he travelled to Paris where he entered the studio of Frans Probus the Younger remaining there until about 1619/20 when he moved to Florence, where in 1621 he was appointed Court Painter to the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Although he also worked in Vienna, Innsbruck and other Italian cities, Sustermans remained in the service of the Medici until his death in 1681. The sister of Emperor Ferdinand II at Vienna, Maria Maddalena married Cosimo II de'Medici in 1608; he became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1609 and ruled until his death in 1621. Maria Maddalena and her mother-in-law, Cristina di Lorena (1565-1635) acted as Regent until 1627 when Cosimo II and Maria Maddalena's son Ferdinando (1610-70) came of age to take power. In this portrait Maria Maddalena is shown in the black robes of a widow indicating the picture was made after her husband's death in 1621 while her overbearing pose, seated at a desk holding a letter, suggests this portrait was made during her reign as Regent (1621-27). Another, larger version of this portrait, which includes a clock on the table beside the sitter indicating her temporary hold of power, in in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence. | Subjects: | Grand Duchess of Tuscany) portrait (Maria Maddalena of Austria | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Suttermans, Justus (Flemish painter, 1597-1681, active in Italy) Æ Attributed to Previously attributed to Domenichino (Italian painter and draftsman, 1581-1641) | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8726... | Go to resource |
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