Portrait of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, Sovereign of the Southern Netherlands

Jan Muller was one of the most sought-after Mannerist printmakers at the end of the sixteenth century. The son of an Amsterdam printer, printmaker, and publisher, he developed a style modeled on that of Hendrick Goltzius, the premier draftsman and printmaker in the northern Netherlands. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, he began to engrave portraits. A few were of artists and musicians, but most were of important political figures, reproducing painted portraits by various artists. Among the largest and most complex are the portraits of Joannes Neyen (1980.1077.3 & 1991.1339), Prince Maurits (63.624.3), and the present works, Albert, Archduke of Austria (22.42.1) and its pendant, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia (51.501.7561), both after Rubens. In these impressive prints, Muller captured the majesty and strength of the sitters while at the same time lavishing extraordinary attention on the luxurious fabrics and details of their clothing. The resulting prints won him great respect and a substantial income.


Albert (1559-1621) the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian II, and the Infanta Isabella Clara (1566-1633), daughter of King Philip II of Spain, and ruled the Southern Netherlands together from 1598 to 1621. Rubens was their court painter, and especially devoted to Isabella. During much of their reign, they were involved in a war with the Dutch Republic, which had thrown off Spanish rule, but in 1609 signed the 12 Years Truce bringing the fighting to an end. Following Albert’s death, Isabella Clara served as Regent of the same provinces for her nephew Philip IV, King of Spain.