Rehlinger Diptych, Konrad Rehlinger,

1517

Material / Technology / Carrier

Fichtenholz (Picea sp.)

Dimensions of the object

209 x 101 cm

Displayed

AP OG Saal V

Department

Early German Painting

Genre

Painting

Inventory number

WAF 1064

Acquisition

1828 aus der Sammlung Oettingen-Wallerstein – seit 1923 Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds

Stock

Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München

Citation

Bernhard Strigel, Rehlinger-Diptychon: Bildnis Konrad Rehlingers, 1517, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/XR4M7NOLQ1 (Last updated on 23.07.2024)

As a merchant active across Europe, Konrad Rehlinger (1470–1553) was a member of one of the oldest patrician families of the Free Imperial City of Augsburg—and one of the city’s richest sons at that. Together with business partners, he ran a successful trading centre at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice. His house opposite the Augsburg town hall was admired for its almost Oriental splendour. The portraits (see inv. no. WAF 1065) were painted two years after the death of Konrad’s wife, Barbara (née Walther). The composition is defined in such a way that the backdrops of both panels merge into one large, coherent window view, just as the pictorial space in general is to be understood as one single room. Although essentially a votive picture, the painting is recognized in the history of portraiture as an early full-length portrait depicting members of the new class of prosperous burghers.