Der Maler Hans Rottenhammer (1564–1625) und seine umstrittenen Werke in der Brukenthal-Pinakothek
The German Painter Hans Rottenhammer (1564–1625) and His Controversial Paintings in the Brukenthal Art Gallery

Summary/Abstract: After a brief presentation of the European artistic environment at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, stressing especially on the Mannerism at the court of Rudolf II in Prague, the author reminds that among the painters that worked for the emperor was also Hans Rottenhammer. There were presented some biographic data about the painter born in München, then these are followed by considerations about his style – a mannerist in an Italian style. The author discusses then the paintings assigned to Hans Rottenhammer that are to be found in the Brukenthal Art Gallery, namely: Dianne and Callisto (oil on copper plate, 31 x 38 cm, inventory number 976) that was bought by Brukenthal as a piece of Italian art. Th. Frimmel (1894) considered it to be in Rottenhammer’s style, but Ludwig Baldass (1924) considered it to be a genuine work by this painter. Through the means of the correspondence and by comparison with other works belonging to this painter the author concluded that it is a genuine work by Rottenhammer. The Doomsday (oil on copper plate, 52 x 40,5 cm, inventory number 975) even if it wasn’t acquired by Brukenthal we can find it in the Catalogue in 1844, named as a painting in the style of Rottenhammer, it is still considered nowadays in this term, in spite of some resemblances with the painting having the same title in The National Gallery in London (image 1). Starting from the painting Jesus Scourge in The Städel Museum in Frankfurt (image 2), which is quite identical with the painting in The Brukenthal Art Gallery in Sibiu named Savior’s Scourge (oil on cooper plate, 29 x 23 cm, inventory number 391), the author considered, having little doubts, that the painting belonging to The Brukenthal Art Gallery is actually a replica of the one in Frankfurt, even if it was successively assigned to: Dürer’s School, the genre of Frans Francken the Old and probably Johann König

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