Portrait of Jobst von Hayn

The portrait shows the Electoral Saxon counsellor and later chancellor Jobst von Hayn from Weltwitz near Neustadt an der Orla (died in 1550). He belonged to the immediate circle around the Saxon Elector John Frederick the Magnanimous. Taken prisoner alongside the elector in the Battle of Mühlberg (1547), Hayn later continued to serve John Frederick's sons until 1549. The sitter is clearly identified by his signet ring, which is also worn by his wife (Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, inv. no. 633). The chain with a medallion of John Frederick the Magnanimous underscores the sitter's devotion to the Saxon ruling house.

The pair of companion portraits depict Jobst von Hayn and his wife turned toward one another in three-quarter profile against a monochrome blue background. Jobst von Hayn wears a pleated white shirt and a red bib beneath a black mantle on which a double gold chain with the aforementioned portrait medallion of the elector and a pomander have been appliquéd. On his head he wears an extravagant beret with a sable-tail trimming that makes his distinctive facial features appear all the more striking. His nose is especially conspicuous; its deformity is softened by the full, sensitively curved lips and the calm, wise expression of the wide-set eyes. The beard is almost completely grey, an indication of the portrait subject's advanced age.

[Elsbeth Wiemann, http://onlinekatalog.staatsgalerie.de/detail.jsp?id=29554FDD4D86CE021C92D8A297ED0D8F&img=1; 23-07-2015]