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Medal "Etienne Cornelis called Queen"

Hendrick van Balen the Elder

Basic information

ID: С-II-684
Author: Hendrick van Balen the Elder
Name: Medal "Etienne Cornelis called Queen"
Culture: Modern times
Technique: moulding
Material: bronze
Dimensions (diameter, cm): 7.8

Additionally

Type: sculpture (relief)
Genre: history painting
Plot: Portrait
Provenance: the Dzieduszycki collection

Information about author

Author: Hendrick van Balen the Elder
Artist's lifetime: 1575–1632
Biography: Hendrick van Balen the Elder (1575 – July 17, 1632) was a Flemish painter and stained glass designer. He was born in Antwerp. His parents were Willem van Balen and Machteld van Alten. Willem van Balen was a merchant, and thus, the future artist came from a merchant family. The exact date of the artist's birth has not been preserved. It is usually placed at the turn of 1574–1575. Since he was born into a wealthy family of a merchant-grocer, he received a good initial education, including knowledge of foreign languages. He studied painting under Adam van Noort (1562–1641) and, possibly, Maerten de Vos (1532–1603). At the age of seventeen, in 1592, he was accepted as a master into the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp. In 1608 and 1609, he was the second dean of this guild, and in 1609 1610, he was the first dean. In 1592, he travelled to Italy and lived and worked in Rome and Venice until 1605. It is likely that he met the German Romanist painter Hans Rothenhammer (1564–1625) in Italy. Art historians find many similarities in their works. After returning to Antwerp, he joined the Dutch artists' “Guild of Romanists”. (Broederschap van Romanisten). In 1613, van Balen became dean of the guild. In 1605, Hendrick van Balen married Margriet Briers. The couple had eleven children, among whom the artists Jan van Balen (1611–1654), Caspar van Balen (1615–1641), and Hendrick van Balen the Younger (1623–1661) went down in history. Van Balen's daughter eventually married the artist Theodoor van Thulden (1606–1669). In 1613, the artist went on a diplomatic mission to the northern Netherlands, which included Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625) and Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). There, they met Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) and other artists from the Haarlem Academy of Art. Hendrick van Balen painted many pictures in collaboration with other artists, including Joos de Momper (1564–1635), Jan Brueghel the Elder, and Peter Paul Rubens. Anthony van Dyck painted a portrait of his teacher between 1627 and 1630, which is now kept at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Van Baelen ran a large workshop for over thirty years and had many students, including his son Jan van Baelen. The register of the Guild of Saint Luke lists 26 pupils of van Balen, including Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) and Frans Snyders (1579–1657). Hendrick van Balen the Elder died at the age of fifty-five on July 17, 1632, in Antwerp. He was buried in St. James' Church (Jakobskirche) in Antwerp.

Object description

Bona Sforza (February 2, 1494–November 19, 1557) was the wife of Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Samogitia. She was born into the family of Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan (1469–1494), and Isabella of Aragon (1470–1524). In April 1502, her mother, Isabella, together with her only surviving daughter, settled in the Norman-Swabian castle in Bari, where Bona began her education. Her tutors included Italian humanists Crisostomo Colonna and Antonio de Ferraris, who taught Latin, classical literature, mathematics, history, law, natural sciences, theology, and geography. She mastered several musical instruments. After the death of the first wife of Polish King Sigismund I, Barbara Zápolya, Charles V betrothed Bona to Sigismund. On December 6, 1517, the engagement took place in Naples, and on April 18, 1518, the wedding and coronation took place with King Sigismund I. The marriage produced two sons and four daughters: Isabella (1519–1559), wife of John Zápolya (János Zápolya) (1487–1540), King of Hungary (1527–1540) and Prince of Transylvania; Sigismund Augustus (1520–1572), Grand Duke of Lithuania, King of Poland, head of the federal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; Sophia (1522–1575), wife of Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1489–1568); Anna (1523–1596), Queen of Poland, wife of Stephen Báthory, Prince of Transylvania and King of Poland (1576–1586); Catherine (1526–1583), from 1562 the first wife of John III Vasa (1537–1592), King of Sweden (1568–1592), Duke of Finland (from 1556); Wojciech-Albrecht (1527), stillborn. From the very beginning of her stay in Poland, Queen Bona sought to establish a strong political position, created her own party, and at the same time strengthened her influence on the king. During the lifetime of Sigismund I, she secured the election and coronation of 10-year-old Sigismund II Augustus as king. After the death of Sigismund I (1548), Sigismund II Augustus fought against his ambitious mother. Bona Sforza had plans to unite almost all of Europe under her rule through the dynastic marriages of her children. Due to her poor relationship with her son, she intended to leave the country. After renouncing her numerous possessions, the king agreed to her departure. In 1556, she left the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. On November 17, 1557, a will was drawn up. She died in her principality in Bari, Italy, according to one version, from poisoning by her own doctor on the orders of the Habsburgs. She was buried in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, and in 1593, her daughter Anna had a marble tomb erected at her expense.

Inscriptions

"Bona Sforcia D Regina Polonia".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Medal "Etienne Cornelis called Queen"

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