Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei (Budapest, 2008)
JÚLIA TÁTRAI AND LÁSZLO LENGYEL: Archduke Albert († 1621) on the Catafalque: A Picture of Old-New Acquisition
showing the public display of the mortal remains of the archduke is not a traditional catafalque picture. Archduke Albert's Madrid catafalque picture is closer to the generally recognised type of the genre. The European catafalque paintings are characterised by the depiction of the corpus in a narrow visual framing with some accessories, such as ornate attires, draperies, weapons, badges of rank and rulers' insignia. The Budapest picture, in which the catafalque and the people standing around are in the interior of the palace chapel in Brussels, leads on to the genre of historical painting. This picture is like an illustrated reportage faithfully portraying a real event, rather than a legend-like depiction of a literary or historical source. ABOUT THE FIGURES IN THE PAINTING In the Budapest picture apart from Archduke Albert, two full-length figures are shown with obvious historical authenticity. The middle-aged man standing opposite the catafalque is wearing long black attire with the archduke's coat-of-arms, a shirt adorned with the lions of Bohemia and a Spanish collar; the Árpád stripes on his shoulder allude to Hungary. 3 ' He can be seen on sheet 53 (fig. 7) in Francquart's series of engravings entitled Les Pages wearing the same clothes. He is the second figure from the right, his identity made unambiguous by the inscription above him: Adrien de Riebeke, Conseillier et premier Roij d'Armes (councillor; the commander of the heralds-of-arms). He is holding the same long staff with a small crown on its tip as in the Budapest picture. Riebeke is also present in the Brussels painting, standing detached from the other mourners with his back to the catafalque and supporting himself with a stick. The other figure yet to be identified in the foreground of the painting, is kneeling by the foot of the catafalque, occupying a place in the picture that is given almost greater prominence than that occupied by the deceased. This suggests that he was a person of some importance at the time. Furthermore, the man is not looking at the archduke but is instead turned towards the viewer in the position characteristic of a donátor. The figure of the commissioner can be clearly linked with the inscription on the picture which reads: "fundatoris nostri" i.e. "our founder". The text probably indicates that the commissioner represented some kind of institution (church, monastery, university, etc.), the foundation and operation of which would be closely connected to Mbert. Based on his attire it is highly likely that the donátor belonged to the Jesuit Order. The members of the order did not have their own habit but instead always wore the priestly garb of the period. The birretta in the man's hand is also a part of Jesuit apparel. Considering the typical physiognomy of the depicted person —deep-set eyes, a pointed and somewhat bent nose, a pointed chin, a close-cropped beard and the short, greyish hair stark-
