CHRISTOPH JAMNITZER, attrib. to

ALLEGORY OF THE BIRTH OF INFANT (PHILIP IV ?) AS THE INFANT HERCULES SURROUNDED BY THE VIRTUES

CHRISTOPH JAMNITZER
Nürnberg 1563 – 1618 Nürnberg

Pen and ink on paper, mounted on paper
25.1 × 19 cm / 9.9 × 7.5 in, unframed
Slightly browned, with traces of glue and two small water stains in the lower left corner.
Old attribution to Johann Paul Schor (Innsbruck 1615 – 1674 Rome) is incorrect.

When I first encountered this drawing, what struck me immediately was the extraordinary rarity of its iconography. At the center, the infant strangling serpents is unmistakably an allusion to Hercules puer, the legendary child-hero whose first act was to destroy the forces of evil even in his cradle. Yet the detail that truly commands attention is the sheepskin covering the child — not a casual element, but a deliberate reference to the Order of the Golden Fleece, a privilege reserved for princes of the Habsburg line from birth. The composition thus celebrates the birth of a future ruler invested with both divine strength and dynastic legitimacy. Given the period style of the sheet — unmistakably late Mannerist, with its agitated contours, muscular putti and ornamental dynamism — the identification points convincingly to the year 1605, when only one Catholic prince of such rank was born: Philip IV of Spain.

The drawing itself, executed in pen and ink and carefully mounted on paper, appears to be a working design — perhaps a presentation sheet or a model for an applied work. The presence of a large scroll (banderole) in the center, an archaic feature for the late sixteenth century yet still fashionable north of the Alps, suggests that an inscription — a motto or dedication — was intended to commemorate the newborn heir. Such an allegorical invention could have served as the prototype for a silver book cover, a devotional casket, or an engraved plaque. Given the close dynastic ties between the Bavarian and Spanish courts, the drawing was likely conceived as a diplomatic gift. Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria, was the cousin of Queen Margaret of Austria (1584–1611), wife of King Philip III of Spain; her mother, Maria Anna of Bavaria, was the sister of Maximilian’s father, William V of Bavaria. The hypothesis that this design was made in Bavaria or Nuremberg for presentation to the Spanish royal family is therefore both plausible and historically grounded.

Surrounding the infant Hercules are seven winged putti, each bearing the attributes of a Virtue. Their meanings correspond closely to the descriptions in Cesare Ripa’s “Iconologia” (1603), the canonical source for such allegories. The putto with a harp personifies Musica, the harmony that governs both art and just rule. The one holding a cross and laurel wreath represents Fides, faith and triumph through belief. The globe signifies Imperium, sovereignty over the world; the scales, Iustitia, justice; the mirror, Prudentia, wisdom and self-knowledge; the column, Fortitudo, steadfast strength; and finally, the palm and laurel crown belong to Vittoria, victory. Together they define the ideal image of princely virtue, forming a celestial retinue around the divine child — a visual counterpart to the humanist topos of Hercules Gallicus and the Virtutes Principis.

Stylistically, the sheet bears every hallmark of Christoph Jamnitzer (1563–1618), the Nuremberg goldsmith, sculptor, and draughtsman, grandson of the celebrated Wenzel Jamnitzer. His pen technique — taut, ornamental, and charged with energy — is closely comparable to the drawings in his Das Neuw Grottesken Buch (1610) and to his design sketches preserved in the Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, where similar putti, grotesques, and dynamic scrollwork occur. Jamnitzer was active both for the imperial court of Rudolf II in Prague and for the Bavarian dukes, creating designs for metalwork, jewellery, and scientific instruments of extraordinary invention. The present drawing, with its combination of mythological allegory, moral program, and ornamental elegance, perfectly reflects the intellectual and aesthetic world of that circle.

In this context, the sheet stands as a rare survival of courtly allegory translated into design, where art, devotion, and dynastic propaganda merge seamlessly. It testifies to the extraordinary imagination of a Nuremberg master who transformed the language of Mannerism into an instrument of political and symbolic celebration — a birth allegory rendered with the same refinement that once adorned the precious silver covers, ritual vessels, and princely gifts exchanged among the Catholic courts of Europe.

PROVENANCE:
– Ketterer Kunst, Hamburg, 25 October 2008, lot 1341
– Ketterer Kunst, Munich, 28 April 2009, lot 61
– Galerie Meissner, Zurich
– By descent in a Swiss private collection