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Marshal Johann Matthias Reichsgraf von der Schulenburg (8 August 1661 – 14 March 1747) was a German aristocrat and general of
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
-
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n background who served in the
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
and Venetian armies in the early 18th century and found a second career in retirement in Venice, as a grand collector and patron. His sister was
Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal, Duchess of Munster (25 December 166710 May 1743) was a longtime mistress to King George I of Great Britain. Early life She was born at Emden in the Duchy of Magdeburg. She was a daught ...
. His father was Gustavus Adolphus, Baron von der Schulenburg.


Schulenburg as mercenary

Schulenburg was born in
Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...
near
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
. Between 1687 and 1688 Schulenburg fought with the Imperial troops against the Turks in Hungary. On his return he rose in the ranks of the army of the
Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig und Lüneburg), or more properly the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was a historical duchy that existed from the late Middle Ages to the Late Modern era within the Holy Roman ...
. In 1699 he became a Colonel in the German regiment in the service of
Victor Amadeus II of Savoy Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of Prince of Piedmont, Duke of Montferrat, Marquis of Saluzzo and Count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice. Louis XIV ...
, and was severely wounded in 1701. In 1702 he joined the Saxon Army and fought in the
Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
against
Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...
and suffered defeats in the Battle of Klissow, Battle of Fraustadt and the resulting Swedish invasion of Saxony in 1706. He returned to Western Europe in 1707 and fought under
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
at the Battle of Oudenaarde and the
Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession and was fought between a French army commanded by the Duke of Villars and a Grand Alliance force under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the blo ...
in the wars of Spanish Succession. The latter service brought him to the attention of
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
. He was recruited by Venice into the successful defence of
Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coast ...
in 1711 and five years later
Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
during the 1716 siege against the same invading
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
; he was decorated by the ''
Serenissima aSerenissima ( heMost Serene) may refer to: Certain countries * , a name for the Republic of Venice * , the official Latin name of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Art, entertainment, and media * La Serenissima (musical ensemble), a Britis ...
'' for his outstanding success with a statue and a pension of 5000 ducats a year. A
Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...
opera, ''
Juditha triumphans ''Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie'' (Latin: 'Judith triumphant over the barbarians of Holofernes'), RV 644, is an oratorio by Antonio Vivaldi, the only survivor of the four that he is known to have composed. Although the rest of ...
'', was commissioned in celebration of the victory.


Schulenburg as art collector

In his retirement in Venice from 1718, the ''
Reichsgraf Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...
'' von der Schulenburg proved a remarkable collector of art while residing in the Palazzo Loredan on the
Grand Canal of Venice The Grand Canal ( it, Canal Grande ; vec, Canal Grando, anciently ''Canałasso'' ) is a channel in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. One end of the canal leads into the lagoon near the Santa Lucia ...
. The ''
Reichsgraf Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...
'' began as a serious collector in 1724, at the age of sixty-three, with a purchase of eighty-eight paintings and a bas-relief by
Pierre Puget Pierre Paul Puget (16 October 1620 – 2 December 1694) was a French Baroque painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His sculpture expressed emotion, pathos and drama, setting it apart from the more classical and academic sculpture of the ...
from a Venetian picture-dealer, Santi Rota, who had obtained them from the collection of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, the last ruler of the
Duchy of Mantua The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to ...
, deposed by
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
Austrian empire; Gonzaga's works of art included works by
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
,
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
,
Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
,
Giulio Romano Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-centu ...
, and Castiglione. In addition, Schulenburg had access to many royal families, including the Hanoverians, Bourbons, and Habsburgs; and served them as an intermediary and '' bon-vivant'' host in the Venetian republic. His portrait was painted by
Bartolomeo Nazari Bartolomeo Nazari (May 31, 1693 – August 24, 1758) was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque, mainly active in Venice as a portraitist. Biography Born in Clusone, near Bergamo. By 1716, he had become an apprentice under Angelo Trevisani, bu ...
, Giuseppe Nogari, Giacomo Ceruti, Gian Antonio Guardi (in
Ca' Rezzonico Ca' Rezzonico () is a palazzo and art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is a particularly notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture and interior decoration, and displa ...
), Francesco Simonini, and
Piazzetta Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (February 13, 1682 or 1683 – April 28, 1754) was an Italian Rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes. Biography Piazzetta was ...
, and he was sculpted by
Antonio Corradini Antonio Corradini (19 October 1688 – 12 August 1752) was an Italian Rococo sculptor from Venice. He is best known for his illusory veiled depictions of human body, where the contours of the face and bodies beneath the veil are discernible. Bo ...
and Gian Maria Morlaiter. He also had a relationship with famous Greek painter
Panagiotis Doxaras Panagiotis Doxaras ( el, Παναγιώτης Δοξαράς) (1662–1729) also known as Panayiotis Doxaras, was an author and painter. He was a prolific member of the Heptanese School. He was influenced by early members of the movement name ...
and his son
Nikolaos Doxaras Nikolaos Doxaras ( el, Νικόλαος Δοξαράς; 1706/10 – 2 March 1775). He was a Greek painter and teacher. His father was famous painter Panagiotis Doxaras. Panagiotis Doxaras was the father of the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek ...
.
Nikolaos Doxaras Nikolaos Doxaras ( el, Νικόλαος Δοξαράς; 1706/10 – 2 March 1775). He was a Greek painter and teacher. His father was famous painter Panagiotis Doxaras. Panagiotis Doxaras was the father of the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek ...
lived with Schulenburg in Venice from 1730-1738 at the Palazzo Loredan. He was his confidant at the Schulenburg Art Gallery. He also painted for Schulenburg. Schulenburg supported Gian Antonio Guardi with a monthly salary, 1730–36, and on a commission basis thereafter. In general, Guardi worked at making portraits of foreign aristocracy and royalty to impressively adorn the walls at Ca' Loredan, and at copying masterpieces of the Venetian past including works of
Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...
and
Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed with ...
. Francesco Simonini was commissioned to produce a series of paintings commemorating Schulenburg's battles.
Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...
painted a view of Corfu, the site of his victories. He also employed Giambattista Pittoni, 1733–38, for history paintings, and as advisor and restorer. Finally,
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (February 13, 1682 or 1683 – April 28, 1754) was an Italian Rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes. Biography Piazzetta was ...
had a close relationship with the Marshal, both as painter as an agent for buying both Flemish and
genre paintings Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...
, two types of works popular with Schulenburg; Piazzetta made an inventory of the collection in 1739. Schulenburg's paintings were mainly Italian works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with some Flemish and Dutch paintings. He owned six paintings by Giacomo Ceruti. He owned ''
vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre ...
'' by
Michele Marieschi Michele Marieschi or Michele Giovanni Marieschi, also Michiel (1696 - – 18 January 1744), also known as ''Michiel'', was an Italian painter and engraver. He is mainly known for his landscapes and cityscapes (''vedute''), or views, mostly ...
,
Luca Carlevaris Luca Carlevarijs or Carlevaris (20 January 1663 – 12 February 1730) was an Italian painter and engraver working mainly in Venice. He pioneered the genre of the cityscapes (''vedute'') of Venice, a genre that was later widely followed by artis ...
,
Giovanni Battista Cimaroli Giovanni Battista Cimaroli (1687–1771) was an Italian painter of rustic landscapes with farms, villas and graceful figures and capricci of ruins and views of towns in the Veneto. Biography He was born in Salò on Lake Garda, not far from ...
,
Antonio Joli Antonio Francesco Lodovico Joli (13 March 1700 – 29 April 1777) was an Italian painter of ''vedute'' and ''capricci''. Biography Born in Modena, he first was apprenticed to Rafaello Rinaldi. He then studied in Rome under Giovanni Paolo Pa ...
,
Marco Ricci Marco Ricci (6 June 1676 – 21 January 1730) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Early years He was born at Belluno and received his first instruction in art from his uncle, Sebastiano Ricci, likely in Milan in 1694–6.Giacometti, Mar ...
, and
Francesco Zuccarelli Giacomo Francesco Zuccarelli (commonly known as Francesco Zuccarelli, ; 15 August 1702 – 30 December 1788) RA, was an Italian artist of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He is considered to be the most important landscape painter to hav ...
; thus he overlapped to some degree with the collecting of the contemporary British ambassador,
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
. Many of his works were transferred to his estates in Germany, like Emden, Hehlen and
Beetzendorf Beetzendorf is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It consists of the following ''Ortsteile'' or municipal divisions:Palais Schulenburg'' in Berlin, his will was not honoured, and after his death his collection was dispersed. A distinguished customer was
Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
. A group of 150 pieces were sold at auction in London in April 1775.Binion 1970:298.


Notes


Sources

* Fr. Albr. v. d. Schulenburg: Leben und Denkwürdigkeiten des Johann Matthias v. d. Schulenburg (Leipzig 1834, 2 vols.). (Life and facts about Johann Matthias Schulenburg (Leipzig 1834, 2 Vol.)) * Werner v. d. ''Schulenburg: Der König von Korfu'' 1950. A novelistic account of the siege of Corfu.Roman über die Verteidigung Korfus gegen die Türken); 1950. (''The King of Corfu. An account of the defense of Corfu against the Turks.'' (1950)). *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulenburg, Johann Matthias Graf von 1661 births 1747 deaths People from Börde (district) Counts of Austria Italian art collectors Saxon generals Republic of Venice generals Austrian army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession People of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars History of Corfu Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire People of the Great Turkish War Schulenburg family