Anton Boys
He was court painter to Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria for whom he realised a series of contemporary and historical portraits of members of the imperial House of Habsburg.
[3][4] Boys was also an important witness and illustrator of key events in the life of the Habsburgs: he made the engravings for a book describing celebrations on the occasion of the grant of the Order of the Golden Fleece to leading Imperial court members and created an almost life-size depiction of a wedding banquet of a powerful aristocratic family in the service of the Imperial family.
[3] Anton Boys' role as a court painter appears to have been to paint portraits of historical and living members of branches of the imperial family and their consorts.
unser aller gnedigster Herr sampt etlich andlern Erzherzogen, Fürsten und Herrn, den Orden dess Guldin Flüss in disem 85.
Dabey dann auch ettliche zu diser Beschreibung dienstliche fine Figuren zu sehen ('Orderly description of the stately ceremonies and elegant events with which the Holy Roman Emperor, our most gracious Lord, together with several other Archdukes, Princes and Noblemen, received and accepted the Order of the Golden Fleece, in the course of this 85th year, at Prague and Landshut, (and) in addition to the foregoing explanation and remembrance, what should be mainly known about the origins and meaning of this Order.
It provides a detailed description of the ceremonies and festivities held in Prague and Landshut on the occasion of the grant of the Order of the Golden Fleece to Emperor Rudolph II, the Archdukes Karl and Ernst, and some other princes and noblemen.
The book does not only describe each stop on the trip, but also all the members of the great entourage, including the author Zehendter von Zehendtgrueb and the artist Anton Boys.
These folding plates show cavalry battles, ritual ceremonies, celebrations of mass, processions, banquets, table decorations, gun practice and fireworks.
The occasion of the banquet was the wedding of Duchess Margaretha von Hohenems with Fortunat Freiherr zu Madruz (Fortunato Madruzzo).
[7] Even though the painting purports to represent an historical dinner party, it includes members of several generations of the family some of whom had already passed away at the time of the wedding.
Rather, the arrangement of the figures around the table and the iconography of gestures reveal a political and dynastic message and showcase the success of the Hohenems family, which included many prominent personalities.
[12] Count Jakob Hannibal I was a scion of a very powerful family and his mother Clara (or Chiara) de' Medici was a sister of Pope Pius IV.
Another intimate scene is played out at the center of the table where the wedding couple is sitting: the bridegroom Fortunat Freiherr zu Madruz has pierced with his knife tip a pear that his bride Margaretha von Hohenems (the sister of the host) retains with her hand on her plate.
In addition to the guests the painting also depicts the servants, musicians and even the court jester who is shown at the right end of the table wearing a yellow cap and holding a goblet.
