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Original filePortret van bisschop Carlo Gaudenzio Madruzzo
About This Work
The cardinal is shown wearing a biretta and ecclesiastical robes, gazing slightly to the side. The portrait is enclosed in a wide oval border containing his titles in Latin, with a decorative cartouche at the bottom featuring a four-line Latin poem. The work demonstrates the precise line work and soft tonal gradations characteristic of the Imperial court style in Prague.
Engraved by Aegidius Sadeler, the official court artist to Emperor Rudolf II, this work reflects the intersection of high ecclesiastical power and the artistic patronage of the Prague court. While the subject is a traditional Counter-Reformation figure, the artist's role in the Rudolfine circle links the print to an environment where religious diplomacy coexisted with the pursuit of alchemy and natural philosophy.
Inscriptions(Latin)
REVERENDISS. ET ILLVSTRISS. P. DN. CAROLVS MADRVCIVS S. R. E. CARDINALIS, EPISCOPVS ET PRINCEPS TRIDENTINVS. Relligione patrum longos servata per annos Quod prisca, ANTISTES, pietate fideq; tueris; Descendis magnorū et nunquam indignus avorum: Semper honos, nomenque tuum, laudesq: manebunt.
Translation
MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD FATHER, CARLO MADRUZZO, CARDINAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH, BISHOP AND PRINCE OF TRENT. Because you, O PRELATE, guard with ancient piety and faith The religion of the fathers, preserved through long years; You are a descendant of great men, and never unworthy of your ancestors: Your honor, your name, and your praises shall always remain.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 180 mm x width 115 mm
portrait
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.