Archduke Ernest of Austria

Austrian prince, the second son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria of Spain. His brother was Emperor Rudolf II. He was governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1594-1595. Rudolf died in Brussels.

He was possibly the first owner of the set of twelve paintings_ Les douze mois de l’année _by Abel Grimmer (Schloss German no. 66-77/ French no. 90/1-12). A set of twelve paintings by Grimmer are mentioned in his inventory (17 July 1595, no. 18-29).

Literature: Rabrand, Ivo. “Collecting the Painted Netherlands: The Art Collection of the Archduke Ernest of Austria in Brussels”. in: Gáldy, Andrea and Sylvia Heudecker. Collecting Nature. Cambridge University Press, 2015.