Oh, Krillgar, you are my Sweet Krustacean of Love! Damn you feelers. Now I won't get any work done.

Might that not be the effect of long hair becoming lighter (due to exposure to the sun) at the ends? Just a thought....These images are amazing, Krilla. Thank you.

Another example of false hair (little more obvious this time): www.flickr.com/photos/rac...3342215251/

Don't thank me, log on with a Flickr account and thank racaire!

Maybe the photo is reversed?

That is Charles V’s battle against Barbarosa: The images are reversed because these are the ‘cartoon sketches’ for the final tapestries. As these were created ‘in mirror’ to be put on the back of the eventual tapestry backing as a guide, everyone ends up left handed.

www.flickr.com/photos/rac...3342215251/
www.flickr.com/photos/rac...3342215251/

Use the “All Sizes” buttons over the main images to zoom in for readable text!

I don't read enough German to translate, but I think this is the gist of it. It's the precis for a 2004 lecture on the collection given by Karl Schutz, Director of the Art Gallery and Deputy Director General of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Translation courtesy of Google.

"The Portrait Collection of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol

Archduke Ferdinand II (1529 - 1595), who resided since 1567, Innsbruck, Ambras Castle was build for his art collection, presented in the last twenty years of his life, a collection of approximately 1000 portraits of celebrities of the past and his own time. To a series of portraits from a later period increased, the collection is now exhibited in the coin gallery of the KHM in Vienna. It is the largest of all surviving collections of portrait of this period. All the portraits are of the same size and have about postcard size, as Ferdinand II placed great emphasis on the greatest possible uniformity in the collection. Characteristic of the collection is the combination of portraits of "uomini illustri" going back essentially to the portrait photographs of Paolo Giovio with traditional dynastic series, which were originally handed down mostly in the form of family trees. So goes the largest single group, the portraits of the Habsburg Rudolf I declined since, to a large, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I prepared pedigree. For more extensive series are the portraits of the Gonzaga - Archduke Ferdinand II was married in a second marriage with a princess of the house Gonzaga - or the portraits of the dukes of Saxony, which originate from Lucas Cranach the Younger. "

My translation, if that helps:

Archduke Ferdinand II’s Portrait Collection from Tirol

Archduke Ferdinand II (1529-1595) resided in Innsbruck from 1567 on and had Ambras Castle expanded for his art collection. In the last 20 years of his life, he amassed a collection of approximately 1,000 portraits of celebrities of the past .
This is the most complete collection of portraits done at that time. All the portraits are the same size, about the size of a postcard. It was important to Ferdinand II the collection be as uniform as possible, so he provided nearby palaces examples of the dimensions to be used for the pictures. Also, the portraits were to be painted in oil on paper for ease of transport and the name of the subject was to be painted on the front.

It was also very important to Ferdinand II that the likeness be as exact as possible. Thus, the appearance of these contemporary celebrities are generally portrayed reliably. Archduke Ferdinand II was in his second marriage to a princess from the house of Gonzaga. We can, therefore, count on not only authentic rendering but perhaps even lifelike rendering of his contemporary Habsburg kinsmen as well as close relatives like the Gonzagas. It can be expected that the further back the lives of those portraited, the less accurate the likeness.

Collecting portraits of famous people was an invention of the Renaissance. The Italian humanist Paolo Giovio started the most famous such collections and named it “Musaeum.” Copies of those portraits in his collection can be found in Ferdinand II’s collection. The second source was portraits of the dominant families, for the most part originally handed down in the form of family trees. Thus, the largest unified group, the Habsburger portraits since Rudolf I, can be traced back to one huge family tree commission by Kaiser Maximilian I. Further extensive rows consist of the Gonzaga portraits and the portraits of the Duke of Saxony by Lucas Cranach the younger.

Incomplete at Ferdinand II’s death, this collection has only been moderately expanded by later portraits, mostly recognizable by their smaller format. The portraits were kept in storage and never exhibited at Ambras Castle. Only with the transfer to Vienna did the Ambras collection get unified (framed?) during Napoleon’s reign. The old collection has been retained in the Muenzkabinett since the construction of the Art History Museum. The portrait groups are arranged by country. Following members of the noble families are the socalled “celebrities,” such as military leaders, artists, poets, law scholars, and philosophers.

This is wonderful! Many thanks for the lady who took and then downloaded all of them, and to hsifeng, who posted the link.

The tapestry cartoon is especially interesting. A welcome image from the time without the heavy coats common to portraits that obscure most details of what's worn beneath.

Since the image was drawn in the 1540s of an event the artist witnessed a decade earlier, it probably shows elements of what was worn at that battle combined with current style a decade following. You can see the transition from long hose to breeches, and the jerkins are very similar to examples found in the 1545 wreck of Mary Rose, including the side openings on a few. Its neat that some of them have longer fronts than backs, serving a function similar to an apron in protecting the wearer during battle. Some of the Mary Rose jerkins have the same detail.

Someone here had a question about the openings on the brocade jerkin worn by the Earl of Surrey in a painting from the same period - it would likely have been cut much like the side opening examples shown in the tapestry cartoon.

The small portraits are fascinating. The image of Drake is clearly taken from an popular engraving made late in his life, when he was getting a little round. Its fascinating how the court artist interpreted the black and white engraving into color - another white slashed silk doublet.

In fact the majority of colors for the portraits of contemporary people show black, white and cream. Its a refined, good looking style. The jerkins are excellent, too, some look to be cream leather, others silk, one in buff leather, and all of them very well fitted and fastened at the neck. Note the doublet and jerkin shoulder wings are very small.

Its interesting that red and green is shown mostly on children or younger men. One of the red ones (No. 125) is a brocade cassock.

The Valckenborch is interesting, neat to see such a good clear image finally. Sporting and outdoor clothes in contrast to the portraits - a lot of black and white, with a mix of buff and tawny now. Since the painting represents the month of May, we have a few people deliberately dressed by the artist in spring green. The allegory is very effective.

The green man in the foreground has an extreme suit, yet done remarkably well. He has a green velvet jerkin with hanging sleeves and matching breeches, worn with a green silk doublet, green cloth or silk cloak and hat. White shoes of course, but a black leather belt, as a white belt would be too strong and ruin the balance.

The silk satin doublet would likely have gold thread buttons similar to the gold lace used to trim the doublet seams, but otherwise very plain, to fit underneath the jerkin. The velvet jerkin and breeches are obviously made up as a set (in fact the entire suit - if it existed at all, and the man does appear to be a portrait of someone the artist was careful to include - was made up this way) and have perhaps gold metal buttons with lace.

Jerkins with hanging sleeves were fashionable in late 16th c Northern Europe, but seem to be a hallmark of the freer spirits rather than conservatives.

The thing that gets me is that this outrageous green man suit is actually very nicely and tastefully done. The tailors knew where to trim and where not to, and where to leave the material blank. They knew that the color and material was more than enough to work and this is what always impresses me about their eye and sense of the world.

H