Tiziano (c.1488-1576)
Elettore Giovanni Federico di Sassonia (Elector John Frederick of Saxony)
c.1550–1551
Oil on canvas, 103.5 x 83 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
As one of the protagonists of the Schmalkaldic League, the Elector fought in the Battle of Mühlberg (1547) until his capture against Emperor Charles V. Titian, who painted numerous portraits of the victorious emperor and his entourage at the Reichstag in Augsburg, and also made two portraits of his famous adversary: including this one in a resigned attitude. It almost seems as if Titian wanted to allude to the painting style of the Saxon court painter Cranach with the drawing brushwork, which was untypical for him. (KHM)
See also:
• John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (1503-1554)