Vivit post funera virtus. Odzyskany portret Hansa von Aachena z kolekcji Jacoba Kabruna

In December 2018, “Art Sherlock” magazine reported that an engraving by Jan Saenredam (1565–1607) had been put up for auction at Galerie Bassenge in Berlin. It was marked with a stamp and a number that were characteristic of the collection of a Gdańsk merchant, Jacob Kabrun, a collection which, before the war, was the most valuable and the most substantial part of the collection of the Gdańsk City Museum. It emerged that the engraving was a war loss registered in the database of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (MKiDN) with the number of 55029. Thanks to the archival materials prepared by the employees of the National Museum in Gdańsk and the intervention of the MKiDN Department of Restitution of Cultural Property, the work of art was recovered. Currently, it is the only engraving of this Dutch artist among the 64 that were in Kabrun’s collection before the war. It shows the bust of the outstanding German artist, Hans von Aachen (1552–1615). The work was created on the basis of a drawing of his student, Pieter Isaacsz (1569–1625). The article is an attempt to supplement and expand the interpretation of the rich content accompanying the image of the artist, as well as to present the context in which the engraving was created. This portrait, enriched with additional spectacular elements, illustrates the success of Hans von Aachen, who served as the court painter of Rudolf II. In addition to advising the ruler on the creation of a collection of works of art, he carried out diplomatic missions and made contacts with the most influential and powerful people in Europe at that time. This multifaceted portrait is also a sign of the author’s erudition and a testimony to his skills and knowledge. This is not only a tribute of the younger artist to his teacher, but also a well thought out strategy that was supposed to strengthen the reputation of Pieter Isaacsz and contribute to his own fame.