Exquisite portraits of the Baltic artist who was painting at the time Columbus discovered America: Michel Sittow

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The spring self-isolation showed an interesting pattern: in search of inspiration to create their own masterpieces, the owners of the most modern cameras still turn to painting of past centuries. It is impossible to surpass those long-gone masters, no matter how fast technical progress moves forward. Looking at those works, it is hard to believe that they were created at a time when Columbus was just discovering America, and England was still Catholic.

Artist from Reval

There are still quite a few white spots in the history of portraiture; not all the artists who developed this genre have been well studied. Perhaps even a new name is to be discovered - or rather, to revive the forgotten - as happened with the name of one of the artists of the Northern Renaissance. There was a time when Michel Sittow did not need an introduction, just as now Dürer or van Eyck, who, by the way, were not so long ago considered the authors of Zittow's paintings, do not need it.

At the time when Zittow had a chance to create, this artist was appreciated extremely highly - and not by ordinary contemporaries, but by the crowned persons of Europe - those who were known not only as politicians, but also as fine art connoisseurs. The biography of Michel Zittov is perhaps not as interesting as the history of his creative collaboration with the ruling European dynasties of Europe. He was born in Reval, now it is Estonian Tallinn, around 1469. The family was wealthy, the father, Claves van der Sittow, kept a workshop, painted pictures and was a woodcarver. The mother was from the family of a Swedish merchant. In addition to Michel, the family had two younger sons.

Michel received his first lessons in his father's workshop. As he grew older, he went to Bruges, probably studying there in the workshop of Hans Memling, at that time one of the largest portrait painters of the Northern Renaissance. By the way, it is Memling who owns one of the first still lifes, as well as innovation in the depiction of a landscape as a background to a portrait. The influence of this master on the work of Sittov will be very great. In Bruges, the young artist studied for about four years, then he went to the south of Europe, getting acquainted with the art of the Italian Renaissance. From about the age of twenty, Michel was already an independent portrait painter and quickly gained popularity, since the next stage of his biography already refers to the service at the court of the Spanish queen Isabella of Castile.

Court painter

She valued the artist very highly, appointed him a huge salary. We know of several of the paintings she ordered from Zittow on biblical subjects. Sitt arrived at the court of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1492. Together with Philip the Fair, the Queen's son-in-law, Sitt went from Spain to Flanders, probably visiting the English capital. For some time it was believed that it was he who painted the portrait of Henry VII, but then this was refuted; perhaps another master copied the now-lost portrait of the king by Sittow. And the canvas, which supposedly depicts Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England, is most likely a portrait of Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII.

While Zittow was traveling and gaining popularity in other countries, his main employer, Queen Isabella, died, and a couple of years later - and Philip the Handsome, whose retinue the artist was. Then Sittow returned to his native Revel - while his deceased employer, paradoxically, continued to travel. His wife, Juana Mad, took the news of her widowhood so hard that she drove her husband's body around the country for a long time, thus justifying her nickname.

An unpleasant trial awaited Zittov in Revel. The artist's father had already died by that time; the mother entered into a new marriage and after a while also died. Zittow faced a legal battle for the family property with his glassblowing stepfather. Despite the fact that the law was on the side of the artist, everything lasted until the death of his stepfather in 1518. In his homeland, Sittov joined the guild of artists, and despite the fact that he was well known to European aristocrats, according to the then rules, he started anyway with the status of an apprentice, only after creating an indispensable "masterpiece" having risen to the level of a master. The artist continued to carry out orders for portraits, painted pictures for the interior decoration of northern churches. In 1514, at the invitation of the Danish king Christian II, Sitt set off again. He painted a portrait of the monarch, which has not survived to our time, only a copy remains (or a second copy of the artist's brush).

In 1515, he found himself in Spain again, apparently settling financial affairs since his time working for Queen Isabella. Sittow stayed on the journey, carrying out several more orders from various monarchs, including Emperor Charles V of Habsburg. It is known that the latter, after renouncing power, went to the monastery of Juste, taking with him a wooden sculpture of the Virgin by Zittow and three of his paintings.

In 1518 or a little earlier, the artist returned to Revel and never left it until his death, which came seven years later. Zittow died of the plague.

His works speak for the artist

Now the master's paintings are rightfully considered masterpieces of the Northern Renaissance. But for quite a long time - several centuries - Zittow was not remembered. It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that a theory arose about the identity of this artist and “Master Michel”, who was known as the court painter of Queen Isabella.

The attribution of Zittow's paintings had its own difficulties. Once he and his works did not need "promotion", and the artist did not sign his creations. This practice - not to put your signature on the canvas - was common in those days. For the same reason, it is difficult to establish the dating of the works - the only exception is the already mentioned portrait of Christian II; By the way, an X-ray study of the painting revealed another portrait under the top layer of paint, which has yet to be studied.

The paintings of the Revel artist took a place in the largest museums in the world. There is his work in Russia, it is in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. This is "Carrying the Cross." In general, only two of Zittow's paintings are reliably attributed - these are "The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos" and "The Ascension of Christ" - those that were written for the Spanish queen. In total, about thirty works are attributed to Sittov.

Michel Zittow's portraits were once attributed to other major masters, including the artist's teacher Hans Memling. Of course, the work of these artists influenced Sittow's work, but his legacy became unique. He was considered the best portrait painter of his time. He was responsible for the discoveries in terms of painting technique, applying translucent tones, which helped to achieve the effect of an exquisite muted light.

Zittow lived in an era when Europe was shaken by various dramatic changes, he knew many of the fateful monarchs personally, for example, Henry VIII, whose daughter would become after his death the most unloved English queen, Mary the Bloody.