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"Kaiserlicher Waldspaziergang vor dem Schloß Neugebäude in Wien" Emperor taking a walk in the woods outside Chateau Neugebäude Vienna, oil on canvas,63,5 x 101,5 cm, w/ frame, (Wo) Valuation available upon inquiry The present painting represents a new discovery and one of Lucas van Valckenborch's best compositions, illustrating his close relationship with the Hapsburg family. The painting shows Emperor Rudolf II., House Hapsburg's foremost collector, dressed in red leggings and wearing the order of the Golden Fleece, flanked by his brothers, the Archduke Ernst (on the left) and the future emperor Mathias, and surrounded by their entourage while walking the gardens at Chateau Neugebäude. This group is derived from Lucas van Valckenborch's painting "Kaiser Rudolf bei einer Trinkkur" today at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (Inv. No.5655)."(Wied). Chateau Neugebäude east of Vienna, (X. district) in its heyday was considered the "most extensive and magnificent garden chateau north of the Alps". The subject of the emperor's 'stroll' exists in two versions: a small miniature painting on copper, only recently acquired by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the above canvas recently discovered in Germany. Both works are by the artist's own hand. It is our considered opinion that the present painting predates the other smaller version, and appears to be the original composition. Dr. Wied also points out that Lucas van Valckenborch's self-portrait in the canvas shows the artist at a younger age than is the case in the small version and he dates both works to the 1590s. He goes on to say that "a comparison of the two paintings also shows a slight difference in the architectural detail of the colonnades". Obviously the larger format requires "a different, more summary brush stroke", Wied writes but "individual faces have retained the wealth of detail found in miniature portraits (Emperor Rudolf II., Archdukes Mathias and Ernst, on the left the self-portrait of the artist). This provides the strongest evidence of the authenticity of the painting. "In addition, Lucas van Valckenborch's oeuvre is documented to include the depiction of a walk in a garden; the relevant entry in the inventory of the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm (which went on to form the basis of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna) lists "Zwey Landschäffte, worin die Kayserliche und erzherzogliche Herrschaft in Lußt uvnndt Baumgartten spazieren" (two landscapes showing the royal personages strolling through the garden, Wied and Ursula Härting). The painter, Lucas van Valckenborch himself, is shown sitting on a rock in the picture's left foreground. He is looking at the viewer who in is invited to watch him document the walk in the woods in his painting, in the process also painting his own figure. Ursula Härting: "this strange form of self-portrayal as a secondary figure is documented elsewhere in the oeuvre of Valckenborch". In 1566, the Protestant Lucas van Valckenborch fled from Antwerp to Aachen in the company of his brother Martin and H. Vredeman de Vries. From ca. 1577/78, he is in the service of the archduke and future emperor Mathias, then the governor of the Netherlands, and follows him to Linz an der Donau. Dr. Wied is convinced that the first version of this painting, including the topographical detail, was painted in situ, while the colours were applied in the studio, as was common during the period; "Hence, the painting has a particular significance as the oldest authentic view of the Neugebäude" (Wied). Schloß Neugebäude was commissioned by Emperor Maximilians II.(1564-1576), built 1559 - 1567 by the renowned architect Jacopo da Strada, and decorated by the court artists Alexander Colin, Bartolomäus Spranger, and Wenzel Jamnitzer, among others. The background of the picture shows the old Simmering parish church St. Laurentius, on the left there is a view of the flower garden and a tree-lined road leading towards Schloß Ebersdorf (Kaiser Ebersdorf), which was intended to serve as the emperor's residence, and on towards the Marchfeld. The chateau itself was meant to house the imperial collections and serve the purpose of dynastic representation. It was also shaped by the emperor's passion for gardens following his three years in Spain and his encounter with the Moorish gardens of Granada and Seville. The grounds of the Neugebäude furthermore contained a watertower, arcades, a roof walkway, gardens with 1569 fruit trees, vineyards, fig- and bitter orange trees, as well as a menagerie. A third component, finally, was provided by the tent-like architecture of the main building, surrounded by a perimeter wall with ten towers the remnants of which can still be seen today. Maximilian II. deliberately chose the site for its historic and political connotations, it was here that the tent of the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent stood during the siege of Vienna in 1529, so that Schloß Neugebäude also served as a form of monumental political propaganda. Soon after 1600, the chateau entered a period of slow decline. In 1704 the rebellious Hungarians under Rakoczy slaughtered the animals of the menagerie and wore the still bloody hides across their shoulders, creating the prototype of old-style Hungarian uniforms. Maria Theresia continued the destruction by having Wenzel Jamnitzer's monumental silver fountain molten down, and the columns of the central portico removed to be used in the construction of the Gloriette folly and Roman ruin at Schönbrunn Palace. Today Schloß Neugebäude is little more than a "mysterious torso, exerting a numinous charm" (Wied). However, following decades of discussions on the subject, the old ruin has gained a new topicality in 2002 after the Vienna city council decided to embark on a partial restoration of the complex. It is likely that this fact also helped to sway the present owner, after years of concerted efforts on my part, to charge the Vienna Dorotheum with the auction of this work. Provenance: private collection, Germany Expert's Report: Alexander Wied, author of the cat. of works by Lucas van Valckenborch, 20. March 1997, as autograph work of Lucas van Valckenborch; Ursula Härting,15. July 2002, as autograph work of Lucas van Valckenborch; Exhibited: Gustav Lübcke Museum, Hamm, Westfalen, "Gärten der Rubenszeit",15. October 2000 - 14. January 2001, cat.80, No.1, as autograph work of Lukas van Valckenborch; Landesmuseum Mainz, "Gärten und Höfe der Barockzeit im Spiegel der Malerfamilien Brueghel und der Künstler um Rubens", 4. March.-24 June 2001, cat., ed. Ursula Härting, pp.115,116,117,201, colour ill. No.16, as autograph work of Lucas van Valckenborch; Vienna, Hermesvilla, Lustschloß der Kaiserin Elisabeth(Sisi), "Gartenkunst -Bilder und Texte von Gärten und Parks", exhibition of the Historical Museum Vienna ,21. March - 22.Sept. 2002, cat. p.8, colour ill. No.2.1, as autograph work of Lucas van Valckenborch. Literature: Cf. Alexander Wied,"Lucas und Marten van Valckenborch - das Gesamtwerk mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog", Luca Verlag,1990 pp.169, No.68, ill.68; Alexander Wied,"Lucas van Valckenborchs 'Kaiserlicher Waldspaziergang mit dem Neugebäude'" cf periodical "Neues Museum"1993, No.2, pp.17-21. ; Hilda Lietzmann,"Das Neugebäude-Sultan Süleymans Zelt - Kaiser Maximilians II. Lustschloß", Munich, Berlin 1987; Nina Nemetschke and Georg J. Kugler, Lexikon der Wiener Kunst und Kultur", Ueberreuter, Vienna 1990,"Neugebäude" pp.264/ 265. For additional information please refer to this catalogue's preface!
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