Mantua, acquired for the Ducal Palace the portrait of Vincenzo I Gonzaga on the day of his coronation

A new masterpiece enters Mantua’s Ducal Palace and will be welcomed starting next week in the Sala degli Arcieri, the heart of the remounting project with which the museum is participating in the Fall 2023 initiatives dedicated to Rubens. In fact, the Italian state recently acquired for the Mantua museum venue a portrait created by court portraitist and Flemish painter Jean Bahuet of Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Rubens’ protector and patron, depicted on the day of his coronation as duke of Mantua.

The work comes from the Maraini Guerrieri collection of Palidano di Gonzaga (Mantua) and was presented in 2002 on the occasion of the exhibition L’eredità di Isabella; it was then studied and explored in depth by Chiara Pisani, who recognized the significance and symbolic importance of the portrait, which presents, full-length, Vincenzo I Gonzaga in a sumptuous robe, worn on the day of his coronation as duke of Mantua. The portrait was later exhibited at the exhibition at the Diocesan Museum Vincenzo I Gonzaga. The pomp of power (February-June 2012) curated by Paola Venturelli and last year at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa at the exhibition dedicated to Rubens.

Born in 1562, Vincenzo became duke when he turned 25: it was September 22, 1587. The coronation event is recounted in various sources, and the court chaplain, Federico Follino, wrote a detailed description of the ceremony, which was published in the same 1587. On a large stage appeared the new duke, “dressed as in such a ceremony is customary, in a white habito, of very great price for the many embroideries gems & gold, which were worked in that; he then put on his head the Ducal beretta of white satin, lined in the ’wing of most precious skins of armellini, with a Royal Crown over it; in the middle of which, at the point in front, was a carbuncle worth ten-eight thousand scuti; there were then many other great pieces of Diamonds, Rubies, & Pearls of such making, that it was estimated to reach far over a hundred thousand scuti. He also dressed himself in the Ducal mantle, which was also of white printed satin, with a frieze a palm wide around, all embroidered with pearls, silver & pulled gold, with such skill, that at stitch they seemed all gems, & pearls. But in the part that covered the shoulders, turning all the way around inanti’l petto, were accommodated some skins of various whites like Armellini, with its little black tails scattered on the inside, which made a beautiful sight.”

It was with Vincenzo I Gonzaga and his sister Margherita Gonzaga d’Este that the production of representative portraiture was born in Mantua, characterized by numerous works, of different hands, formats and functions. The Portrait of Vincenzo I in Coronation Gown is perhaps one of the earliest evidences of this change of pace, with full-length images; the undoubted importance of the work led the Ducal Palace to attempt its acquisition.

“If the painting comes to enrich the permanent collections of the Ducal Palace Museum,” said the director of the Ducal Palace of Mantua Stefano L’Occaso, “it is thanks to the ownership, the Mossini Gallery and the General Directorate of Museums. First of all, I want to thank the Mossini Gallery of Mantua - Massimo and Marcello Mossini - because they conducted the negotiations not only in a very professional manner, but also or above all from the heart: I know that for them, too, it is a great satisfaction to know the work within the walls of the Ducal Palace, and I know that they have contributed generously to the operation, which sees them almost in the role of sponsor. The other sincere thanks go to Prof. Massimo Osanna, director general of the Ministry, all his staff and the Technical Scientific Committee, which accepted the proposal of the Ducal Palace and made it a reality.”

“The Ducal Palace Museum is carrying out a series of artistic heritage recoveries, including with its own funds, to which the Directorate General is pleased to contribute; I recall that the beginning of L’Occaso’s tenure coincided with the purchase of theGiulio Romano tapestry with Philostratus’ Heroes and that last year we enabled the Museum to bring ’home’ the precious Allegory of the Gonzaga Nevers Household by Grechetto of Genoa,” said Massimo Osanna, Director General of Museums for the Ministry of Culture. “This year’s Christmas gift is a unique image of Duke Vincenzo, patron of Claudio Monteverdi, Pietro Paolo Rubens, Antonio Maria Viani and countless other artists. The museum recovers another valuable piece of Mantua’s history.”

Mantua, acquired for the Ducal Palace the portrait of Vincenzo I Gonzaga on the day of his coronation

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