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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2018>Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe

# Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe

January 28 – May 13, 2018West Building, Main Floor, Northeast Galleries

Michel Sittow, *Mary Rose Tudor (1496-1533), Sister of Henry VIII of England*, c. 1514, oil on panel, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna

**This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.**

 Considered Estonia's greatest Renaissance artist, Michel Sittow (c. 1469–1525) was sought after by the renowned European courts of his day, including those of King Ferdinand of Aragón and Queen Isabella of Castile, Margaret of Austria, and Christian II of Denmark. Celebrating the centennial of the establishment of the Republic of Estonia, *Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe* provides an exceptional opportunity to examine the rare and masterful works attributed to Sittow. The exhibition explores the artist's possible collaboration with Juan de Flandes (1460–1519), his relationship with his Netherlandish contemporaries, and the influence of his likely teacher, Hans Memling (active c. 1465–1494).

*Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe* is the first monographic exhibition devoted to the artist. The exhibition includes some 20 paintings from American and European collections, including 13 paintings by Sittow, as well as works by Juan de Flandes, Hans Memling, and Jan Gossaert that provide a context for understanding Sittow's achievement.

Among the highlights are *The Assumption of the Virgin* (c. 1500/1504, National Gallery of Art, Washington) and *The Ascension of Christ* (c. 1500/1504, private collection), the only two securely documented works by Sittow. Commissioned by Queen Isabella of Castile, they were among 47 panels of an altarpiece dedicated to the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. After Isabella's death in 1504, 32 of these panels, including these two and *The Temptation of Christ* (c. 1500/1504, National Gallery of Art, Washington) by Juan de Flandes, entered the collection of Archduchess Margaret of Austria.

Also included is the *Portrait of the Danish King Christian II* (1514/1515, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen), one of the few works by Sittow that is both firmly dated and in which the sitter’s identity is confirmed; x-rays reveal another portrait, possibly of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, underneath the painting, demonstrating Sittow’s reuse of panels. The exhibition also reunites two panels originally hinged together to form the devotional diptych—*Madonna and Child* (c. 1515/1518, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) and *Portrait of Diego de Guevara (?)*(c. 1515/1518, National Gallery of Art, Washington). Other highlights include *Portrait of a Man* (c. 1510, Mauritshuis, The Hague), as well as a portrait linked to the Tudor court in England: *Mary Rose Tudor (1496–1533), Sister of Henry VIII of England* (c. 1514, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), previously known as a portrait of Catherine of Aragón, and recently re-identified as the youngest sister of Henry VIII.

The exhibition is curated by John Oliver Hand, curator of Northern Renaissance paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Greta Koppel, curator of Dutch and Flemish art, Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn.

#MichelSittow

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Hans Memling, *Portrait of a Man with an Arrow,* c. 1470/1475, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Attributed to Michel Sittow, *The Virgin with Child and Apple*, 1480s (?), oil on panel, Szépmüvészetí Múzeum / Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *A Young Man in a Red Cap*, 1490s, oil on panel, Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Anne and Henry Ford II

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Netherlandish Artist (formerly attributed to Michel Sittow), *The Coronation of the Virgin,* c. 1500, oil on panel, Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures, Paris

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *The Assumption of the Virgin*, c. 1500/1504, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *The Ascension of Christ*, c. 1500/1504, oil on panel, Private collection

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Juan de Flandes, *The Temptation of Christ,* c. 1500/1504, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Portrait of a Man*, c. 1510, oil on panel, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Purchase made possible by the testamentary disposition of Mr. Volz and with the support of the Rembrandt Association, 1946

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Mary Rose Tudor (1496-1533), Sister of Henry VIII of England*, c. 1514, oil on panel, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Portrait of the Danish King Christian II*, 1514/1515, oil on panel, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Catherine of Aragón as the Magdalene*, c. 1515, oil on panel (oak), Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Portrait of a Man with a Book*, c. 1515, oil on panel, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA)

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Portrait of a Man with the Pearl*, 1515–1517, oil on panel, Royal Collection, Patrimonio Nacional, Palacio Real de Madrid

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Portrait of Diego de Guevara**(?)*, c. 1515/1518, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Madonna and Child*, c. 1515/1518, oil on panel, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
[Left] Michel Sittow and Workshop?, *Saint James the Great and the Virgin and Child*, c. 1520, oil on panel, Art Museum of Estonia - Niguliste Museum; [Right] Michel Sittow and Workshop?, *Saint Adrian and Saint Anthony*, c. 1520, oil on panel, Art Museum of Estonia - Niguliste Museum

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Portrait of a Man with a Rosary*, c. 1520, oil on panel, Private collection, Courtesy of Het Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Jan Gossaert, *Portrait of a Man,*c. 1520/1525, oil on panel, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Michel Sittow, *Portrait of a Woman,* early 16th century, oil on panel, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna

Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
Attributed to Michel Sittow, *The Nativity at Night*, early 16th century, oil on panel (oak), Upton House, The Bearsted Collection (National Trust), United Kingdom

**Organization:** Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn

**Sponsors:** The exhibition in Washington is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities

**Passes:** Admission is always free and passes are not required

**Attendance:** 62,815

**Catalog:**Michel Sittow Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe. By John Oliver Hand and Greta Koppel. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2017.

**Other venues:** Art Museum of Estonia - Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, June 8–September 16, 2018

                    - Sittow, Michel
                    - Netherlandish , 1469 - 1525

                    - Michel Sittow
                    - Portrait of Diego de Guevara (?)
                    - c. 1515/1518
                    - Michel Sittow
                    - The Assumption of the Virgin
                    - c. 1500
                    - Juan de Flandes
                    - The Temptation of Christ
                    - c. 1500/1504
                    - Hans Memling
                    - Portrait of a Man with an Arrow
                    - c. 1470/1475

Lecture: Introduction to the Exhibition—Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe

March 11 at 2:00, East Building Auditorium

 

Film Program: King Lear

March 11 at 4:00, East Building Auditorium

 

Concert: Heinavanker Ensemble

April 8 at 3:30, West Building, West Garden Court

                  - Introduction to the Exhibition-Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe 
                  -                                     Video, Released:                                    April 17, 2018, (39:51 minutes)                                
                  - Introduction to the Exhibition-Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe 
                  -                                     Audio, Released:                                    March 13, 2018, (39:51 minutes)                                
                  - Press Event: Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe and Outliers and American Vanguard Art
                  -                                     Audio, Released:                                    January 23, 2018, (37:12 minutes)                                

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