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Portrait of Maria Kitscher, Frau von Freyberg
by Hans Mielich
Also known as: Maria Kitscher, Frau von Freyberg; Portrait of Maria Kitscher von Oelkofen, Frau Pancraz von Freyberg zu Aschau; Portrait of Maria von Kitscher, Frau Pancraz von Freyberg zu Aschau
About the Artwork
Maria von Freyberg was in the court of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. However, as Lutherans, the family eventually fell from favor as Catholic political interests consolidated power in Bavaria. Mielich’s work for the Munich court included illustrating an inventory of the duchess’s jewelry, seen in the meticulous attention here to the sitter’s brooches, necklaces, and rings. The diamond and ruby ring on her left index finger would have slid apart to reveal a private message or image underneath the gems.
Inscriptions
Signed upper left: "M.D. XXXXV. / AETATIS SUAE XXVII. / .H.M."
Provenance
Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss, Cleveland, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944.
Exhibition history
Master Goldsmiths of the Renaissance: Their Models and Designs. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 1982-March 20, 1983).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Hans Mielich (German, 1516–1573)
- Date
- 1545
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- Framed: 81 x 62.5 x 8.5 cm (31 7/8 x 24 5/8 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 61.4 x 46 cm (24 3/16 x 18 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection
- Accession no.
- 1944.88
More by Hans Mielich in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009601
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