Portrait of Agnes von Hayn, née von Rabenstein

Like her husband Jobst von Hayn (Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, inv. no. 1521), Agnes von Hayn, née von Rabenstein, wears a necklace with a portrait medallion of John Frederick the Magnanimous and a ring displaying the Hayn family crest. Stylistically, the two companion pieces are indebted to the portrait art developed by Lucas Cranach the Elder for the Saxon court, even if they translate Cranach's soberly concise formal language into a two-dimensional ornamental structure. Realistic details and individual nuances of expression are subjected to a rigorous stylization that may reflect the urbanely sophisticated bearing of the patrons.

Agnes von Hayn was evidently much younger than her husband. Her red dress with its puffy sleeves - decoratively slit to reveal their white lining -, the banded, bead-embroidered collar and the yoke in the style of a 'Hobelspan' chain all corresponded to the latest courtly fashions of her day. The same is true of her tightly laced bodice beneath which the folds of her skirt billow out. Her hair is draped with a beaded calotte. Of the beret perched slantwise on her head, all that is visible is the velvet brocade underside of the rim. These elaborate trappings are further enhanced by gold chains and rings, bracelets and other jewellery set with precious stones. With her slightly lowered gaze and her hands nestled demurely one inside the other, the sitter nevertheless conveys an impression of solemn dignity to which the fine, composed facial features also contribute.

[Elsbeth Wiemann, http://onlinekatalog.staatsgalerie.de/detail.jsp?id=A5B3C2C74F5DB69FEB49A58D573FF3F3&img=1; 23-07-2015]