Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels

This canvas by David Teniers the Younger shows Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery in Brussels, surrounded by friends and works of art. The painter stands to one side, hat in hand, listening to his patron, who gestures with his cane toward some recent acquisitions. The paintings hang in rows on the back wall, on the side of the vestibule, and, in the foreground, lean against chairs for closer inspection. Among the recognisable works are religious subjects, portraits and genre scenes, many of which still remain in the Viennese collection.

The picture is a copy that Teniers made to record the archduke's collection, one of the first steps toward the Theatrum Pictorium, an engraved catalogue often regarded as the first illustrated art catalogue. An earlier version, with the figures arranged differently, is at Petworth House, south of London, and probably served as the model. That version includes a portrait of Bishop Anthonius Triest, a collector and patron of artists in Antwerp, who introduced Teniers to the archduke.

The painting's interest lies largely in its value as a document. It shows how collections were displayed in the period and reveals how collecting served as a public display of prestige and learning.

Painter

David Teniers the Younger

Date

1650

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

123 × 163 cm

Museum

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Genre

art gallery painting

Depicts

Pietà, Jan Anton van der Baren, Raising the Young Man of Nain, Portrait of Fabrizio Salvaresio, Portrait of a man with a book, Cain kills Abel, Adoration of the Kings, Holy Family with St Catharine and Young John the Baptist

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