Thomas Kaufman on a possible reinterpretation of the collection of Rudolf II of Habsburg.

The art collection of Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg (reigned in the period 1576-1612) was for a long time regarded as a haphazard collection of objects, and that the collection lacked any notion of organizational aspects. Kaufmann disagrees. Kaufmann substantiates his story with arguments based on the concept of “magnificence”, contemporary inventory lists and other writings and writes that there was a well-thought-out structure. According to him, Rudolf II's collection was a kind of representation of his 'magnificence'. He also refers to the visit reports of ambassadors who have seen the Kunstkammer.

Rudolf II als Vertumnus (1591), Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Skokloster

Rudolf II seemed to speak in and through his Art Room. Kaufmann writes that a prince could demonstrate his greatness and virtues through his collection. A contemporary collector, Cardinal D'Este, wrote that Rudolf II's collection was 'tesoro degno di chi il possede'.

Kaufmann's other arguments are that a group of talented artists and craftsmen worked on behalf of Rudolf II to set up the art spaces and organize the display of objects. The court painter Bartolomäus Spranger was in charge of decorative projects. Rudolf used his most talented people to develop and furnish his display spaces. The inventory from the years 1607-11 shows that the rooms were furnished and organized according to programmatic and systematic planning. In this inventory, the important objects are cataloged according to material and dimensions. The entire collection was rationally cataloged and grouped into “artificialia” and “naturalia”. These facts show that the collection was not only classified by the standards of contemporary princely collections, but that it was also encyclopedic in nature. Rudolf II collection was a representation of the universe in microcosm. In 1565, Samuel Quiccheberg described Rudolf II's art collection as the theater of the world. Kaufmannn concludes that Rudolf II's Kunstkammer was a symbolic possession of the world in microcosm. And that this symbolism was composed and communicated very carefully.

In my opinion, Kauffmann is right because he uses contemporary sources such as the inventory list and the contemporary description of the magnificence in the princely collections. Rudolf II also recruited the most talented artists and craftsmen to organize and exhibit his collection.

Literature:

Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann. Remarks on the collection of Rudolf II; the Kunstkammer as a form of representation, 22.