The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 20, 2023

Portrait of Philippe de Croy, Duke of Aerschot

1800s

Belgium, Flemish School, 19th century

Watercolor on vellum in a later gilt-wood frame

Framed: 24.5 x 20.9 cm (9 5/8 x 8 1/4 in.); Unframed: 16 x 12.1 cm (6 5/16 x 4 3/4 in.)

The Edward B. Greene Collection 1940.1222

Location

not on view

Description

Heir of an illustrious Flemish family and a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Philippe de Croy held the position of governor of Antwerp and governor-general of Flanders. As such, he repeatedly served the interests of the Habsburg emperor Charles V and King Philip II in the Spanish imperial armor. He is represented in this vellum miniature wearing the ceremonial parade armor befitting a great general. His blued, etched, and gilded armor is probably of Augsburg make, a center many of the Habsburgs favored for its production of deluxe armor.

Inscriptions

Inscription

inscribed: LE DUC / DARSECOT [annotated on reverse: LE DUC DARSCHOT]

Provenance
1940-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Edward Belden Greene. Portrait Miniatures ; The Edward B. Greene Collection. 1951. Mentioned and reproduced; no. 52, p. 33, repr. pl. XXV archive.org
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. p. 95
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 113
Exhibition history

Master Goldsmiths of the Renaissance: Their Models and Designs. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 1982-March 20, 1983).

Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 10, 2013-February 16, 2014).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1940.1222