Hendrick Goltzius: somlyói Báthory Boldizsár képmása, 1583

Abstract This standing, full length portrait of Balthasar Bathory was produced in 1583 in Haarlem by Hendrik Goltzius, who was at the beginning of his career at the time. On the engraving Bathory is depicted in a French dress, with his initials and age above his head, his coat of arms in the top right corner lettered around with his motto and an inscription in the lower left corner, identifying the author of the engraving with the text “H. Goltzius fecit”. In the background we can see a scene that relates to hunting and war at the same time — referring to the well known passion Bathorys had for hunting, as well as Balthasar's successes in the Livonian war over the Russians. We can reconstruct the story of the creation of the engraving from the work of Goltzius' friend and colleague, Karel van Mander. During the creation of this engraving another one was also produced, showing Balthasar's companion and fellow officer, the polish noble Stanisŀaw Sobocki. We also know that between 1582 and 1583, Goltzius produced a series of full length engravings featuring officers of the Army of the Lower Countries. The significance of this picture transcends the fact that it is the only known portrait of Balthasar Bathory and that it is most likely an authentic likeness of his. The history of its creation sheds light on several unknown details of his career, opening new doors for historical research. As such, it allows us to determine his date of birth (1561), previously unknown, and also to fill his life between 1582 and 1586 with details, of which next to nothing was known until now. The most important new information is that during this period he led several embassies with the above mentioned Sobocki to Spain, France and the Lower Countries, in the service of Stefan Bathory, his uncle and the king of Poland.