Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels

In this scene by David Teniers the Younger, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm appears as a collector, surrounded by companions who study a selection of Italian paintings. The artist himself is shown presenting a Pietà, attributed to Annibale Carracci, to the Archduke and to Antonius Triest, Bishop of Ghent. The notable detail is that the bishop does not look at the picture but at his protector, a gesture that hints at the dependence between the two men. In 1651 Triest had fallen out of favour in Rome over suspicions of Jansenism, and his position was tied to the support of the Archduke. The canvas is among the first works Teniers made to record the collection, which later became the engraved Theatrum Pictorium, often regarded as an early illustrated art catalogue. The paintings hang in rows on the back wall and along the side of the vestibule, while some lean against chairs in the foreground. Another version, with the figures arranged differently, is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Painter

David Teniers the Younger

Date

1651

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

127 × 164 cm

Museum

Petworth House, Petworth

Genre

interior view

Depicts

Pietà, Raising the Young Man of Nain, Antonius Triest, 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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