Noble Apostles
Who the painter of these four Apostle portraits is has yet to be established, although he was certainly a follower of the Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The canvases were probably painted in the first quarter of the seventeenth century in Rome or Naples. But why do these four works interest us so much?
Certainly they have a powerful presence and with their finely balanced colours they make a handsome ensemble which would add lustre to any library or study. Yet in itself this would not be reason enough to include these paintings in our present
selection. In this case it is the royal provenance that makes the world of difference. The Four Apostles once formed part of the extensive art collection of Princess Marianne of the Netherlands (1810-1883). This member of the House of Orange,
daughter of King William I and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia, was one of the Dutch royal family’s leading collectors. However, she is mainly known for the rather unconventional life she led, which still appeals to the imagination today.
Romantic princess
As their youngest child, and only girl, Princess Marianne was the favourite of her parents. She grew up to become an attractive young woman for whom a suitable bridegroom was soon sought. It was thought that one had been found in her first cousin, Prince
Albrecht of Prussia. After the wedding at The Hague the couple settled in Berlin in 1830, where the celebrated architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel built a neoclassical palace for them in the city. But life in the militaristic atmosphere of the Berlin court
did not appeal to the artistic temperament of the princess. And the relationship with her husband, a soldier through and through, began to deteriorate. When, in 1845, following countless escapades, he took an official mistress, Princess Marianne decided
to take a remarkably radical step for her time: she left her husband and children and filed for divorce.
Soon after, she moved into Rusthof country estate on the River Vliet at Voorburg, where she lived in comparative seclusion, although near to her royal relatives in The Hague. But she was too active a person to remain in one place for long. Frequent
visits were therefore arranged to her estates in Silesia (modern Poland), which she had inherited through her mother. She also undertook long and adventurous journeys. In 1849 she took a large entourage on a visit to Egypt and the Holy Land. While at
Sicily she gave birth to an illegitimate son, Johannes Willem, who would later bear the surname Von Reinartshausen. The child’s father was Johannes van Rossem of The Hague, who had served the princess first as a footman and later as a secretary. Their
relationship was to last the rest of their lives.
Contrary to the conventions of her age and milieu the independent princess resolved to keep her child and raise him herself. Upon returning from Palestine she set up home with Van Rossem and their son at Villa Celimontana in Rome. This house became a
cultural centre where artists gathered and works of art were displayed. In 1857 the princess and her entourage left the Eternal City and moved into Castle Reinartshausen near Erbach on the Rhine. The castle was extended by Marianne to incorporate a
specially designed museum wing in which to exhibit her extensive art collection. Princess Marianne died at Reinartshausen on 29 May 1883, preceded by both her partner and her son.
Under the hammer
Over the years, Princess Marianne’s huge art collection has spread far and wide. In 1932, 171 paintings, Egyptian and Roman bronzes, Attic vases, antique gems and cameos, gilt silver and a collection of snuff boxes were put up for auction at her Berlin
palace by her heirs. A second selection from her collection was later to come under the hammer in 1970. But part of the collection still remains at Reinartshausen. Although the museum wing has long since disappeared, countless paintings and other
objets d’art keep the memory of the castle’s royal past alive.
Catalogue
Princess Marianne probably acquired the canvases of the four Apostles during her stay in Rome. An old, handwritten catalogue of the princess’s painting collection which we found at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD) in The Hague, sheds some
light on the authorship of the works. Our Apostles are listed here as part of a series of twelve. Two different artists are mentioned: Lodovico Cardi da Cigoli (1559-1613) for the St Matthew and the famous Caravaggio himself for the others.
Although this attribution is certainly incorrect, it indicates the direction in which the otherwise well-informed compiler of the catalogue was thinking. When exactly the catalogue was written is not known, but it was clearly before the first sale of
1932. In fact it is not unthinkable that our paintings are the work of two separate artists. St Matthew in particular seems to have been painted by a different hand than the other three. But the identity of the artists will have to wait until
more research can be undertaken. Nevertheless, the fact that these works once formed part of the extensive collection of Princess Marianne places them in significant historical context.
Art-historical perspective
Let us examine how the Apostles fit in the iconographical tradition of art history. Apostles have been portrayed in art since early Christian times. They appear as the disciples in historical depictions of biblical stories, as well as in individual
portraits. These series, in which Christ was often shown as the thirteenth figure, appeared in manuscripts and on sarcophagi, in murals, stained-glass windows and mosaics. Our four portraits were once part of a similar series of twelve paintings.
Portraits of saints
The paintings are meant as portraits of saints. Naturally they cannot provide a realistic image of what these men looked like, since no record of their appearance survives. But portraits of saints always conform to particular types. In some cases these
are based on descriptions of the person in the Bible, but often also on the Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend) written by Jacopo de Voragine in around 1270. With the spread of printing in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries no less than
twelve editions of this manuscript were published.
Over the years an iconographic tradition emerged around the portrayal of each saint connected to the relevant literary sources. In fact the standardisation of hagiographic types is understandable, since in an age in which most people were illiterate the
depiction of biblical stories was one of the main ways in which the Christian message was spread. Apart from their appearance, biblical characters could also be recognised by their attributes. These were often associated with the manner of the martyrdom
in which they demonstrated their resolute faith to the bitter end.
Goose quill and pilgrim’s staff
Attributes can also refer to stories about the life as well as to the death of the saint in the picture. In this portrait of St Matthew, for example, he has a book and a goose quill. These refer to his authorship of one of the four Gospels. Here he is not
portrayed as an apostle, therefore, but as an evangelist. James the Great is the patron saint of pilgrims. His tomb at Santiago de Compostela in Spain is still a popular place of pilgrimage today. In this portrait he is recognisable by his pilgrim’s
staff. In series of Apostle portraits James the Great is generally shown with this attribute rather than with the sword with which he was executed at Jerusalem in AD 44. Since he was not the only Apostle to die by the sword, this attribute was hardly
conducive to the correct identification of the saint by the unlettered viewer.
Club and serrated saw
Most of the Apostles met with gruesome ends. So too the brothers St Simon the Zealot and St Jude. After the crucifixion of Christ they went out to distant countries to spread the Gospel. St Simon travelled south, to bring the Christian message to Egypt,
while St Jude journeyed to Mesopotamia. According to legend, the two Apostles later met in Persia. There they were martyred when they refused to take part in the local pagan sacrifices. St Jude is recorded as being beaten to death with a club; St Simon
met more cruel end by means of a serrated saw. Here, the instruments of their martyrdom are depicted in the portraits.
Royal Apostles
For Princess Marianne life must occasionally have seemed like a tortuous martyrdom. Was that perhaps the reason why she acquired these Apostles? It seems improbable. Our knowledge of the contents of her collection is still far from complete. Perhaps the
romantic story of her life, represented her by four of her paintings, may encourage a researcher to investigate the Princess’s entire art collection in greater detail.