art treasures - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1971 - 1.50 Shilling

The Gemäldegalerie in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the oldest galleries in the world, is above all a reflection of the personal taste and understanding of the art of the Habsburg family. Thus, some of the most important works of the German painter Albrecht Dürer come from the collection of Emperor Rudolf II. Archduke Ernst, in turn, dealt with the works of the Dutch painter Pieter Breughels, and his brother, Albrecht VII, felt a connection to the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens. However, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm is regarded as the actual creator of the Viennese gallery, from whose collection both large parts of the Venetian paintings of the 16th century and the almost complete series of Flemish painters originate. The stamp shows a part of the portrait "The Portrait of Jacopo de Strada" by the great Venetian painter Titian (born 1476/77 or 1490, died 1576). Strada, an educated and wealthy man from Mantua, had promised Tizian through his relations with the German court, the mediation of commissioned paintings. In return, the artist should paint a portrait of him. However, the assignments came only sparsely, and so Tizian let a few sharply grasped features, which were to reveal the true character of Strada, flow into the portrait.