Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg
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Reichsgraf Marshal Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (born 8 August 1661 in Emden close to Magdeburg, Germany; died 14 March 1747 in Verona, Italy) was a distinguished aristocrat (imperial count) and general of Austrian descent who served in the Saxon and Venetian armies in the early 1700's.
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[edit] Schulenburg as mercenary
He fought for Hungarians; for the House of Savoy; with Saxons against Charles XII of Sweden with whom his most notable battles was the Battle of Fraustadt; and under Prince Eugene at Malplaquet in the wars of Spanish Succession.
The latter service brought him to the attention of Venice. He was recruited by Venice into the successful defence of Corfu during the 1716 Siege. He was decorated by the Venetians for his outstanding and successful defence of Corfu against the invading Ottoman Turks, with a statue and a pension of 5000 ducats a year. A Vivaldi opera, Juditha Triumphans, was commissioned in celebration of the victory.
[edit] Schulenburg as art collector
In retirement, starting around the mid 1720s, Schulenburg proved a remarkable collector of art while residing in the Palazzo Loredan on the Grand Canal of Venice. He was close to many royal families, including the Hanoverians, Bourbons, and Hapsburg; and served them as an intermediary and bon-vivant host in the republic. His portrait was painted by Bartolommeo Nazari, Giuseppe Nogari, Giacomo Ceruti, Gian Antonio Guardi (Ca' Rezzonico), Francesco Simonini, and Piazzetta, sculpted by Antonio Corradini and Moralaiter.
Many of his initial collection were obtained from the works of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua, deposed by Hapsburg Austrian empire, and included works by Raphael, Correggio, Giorgione, Giulio Romano, and Castiglione.
Gian Antonio Guardi was stipended by Schulenburg for many years, during 1730-45. In general, he worked at making portraits of the foreign aristocracy and royalty to impressively line his palace walls, and copying masterpieces of the Venetian past including Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto. Painter Simonini was commissioned a series paintings commemorating his battles. Canaletto painted a view of Corfu, the site of his victories. He also employed Giambattista Pittoni for history paintings. Finally, Piazzetta had a close relationship with the Marshal as an agent for buying both Flemish and genre paintings, two types of works popular with Schulenburg. He owned six paintings by Giacomo Ceruti.
He owned vedute by Michele Marieschi, Luca Carlevaris, Giovanni Battista Cimaroli, Antonio Joli, Marco Ricci, and Francesco Zuccarelli; thus he overlapped to some degree with the collecting of contemporary British ambassador, Joseph Smith. Many of his works were transferred to his estates in Germany. Schulenburg did not have children, and after his death his collection was dispersed.
[edit] Literature
- Fr. Albr. v. d. Schulenburg: Leben und Denkwürdigkeiten des Johann Matthias v. d. Schulenburg (Leipzig 1834, 2 Bde.). (Life and facts about Johann Matthias Schulenburg (Leipzig 1834, 2 Vol.))
- Werner v. d. Schulenburg: Der König von Korfu (Roman über die Verteidigung Korfus gegen die Türken); 1950. (The King of Corfu. An account of the defense of Corfu against the Turks. (1950)).
- Haskell, Francis (1993). "Chapter 11", Patrons and Painters: Art and Society in Baroque Italy, 1980, Yale University Press, p 311-13.
[edit] External link
Media on Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg in the Wikicommons.
