Johann Matthias Von Der Schulenburg
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Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
Johann Matthias Reichsgraf von der Schulenburg (8 August 1661 – 14 March 1747) was a German aristocrat and general of
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
-
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n background who served in the
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
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. His father was Gustavus Adolphus, Baron von der Schulenburg.


Schulenburg as mercenary

Schulenburg was born in
Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...
near
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
. 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 and Lüneburg (), commonly known as the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg or Brunswick-Lüneburg, was an imperial principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the territory of present day Lower Saxony. In 1235, Otto I, Duke of ...
. In 1699 he became a Colonel in the German regiment in the service of
Victor Amadeus II of Savoy Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King of ...
, and was severely wounded in 1701. In 1702 he joined the Saxon Army and fought in the
Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
against
Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...
and suffered defeats in the Battle of Klissow,
Battle of Fraustadt The Battle of Fraustadt was fought on 2 February 1706 ( O.S.) / 3 February 1706 (Swedish calendar) / 13 February 1706 ( N.S.) between Sweden and Saxony-Poland and their Russian allies near Fraustadt (now Wschowa) in Poland. During the Battle of ...
and the resulting
Swedish invasion of Saxony The Swedish invasion of Saxony took place in 1706 during the Great Northern War, which began in 1700 when Russia, Denmark–Norway, and Saxony attacked Sweden or its ally, Holstein-Gottorp. To force Augustus II the Strong out of the war, who was ...
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 distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...
at the
Battle of Oudenaarde The Battle of Oudenarde, also known as the Battle of Oudenaarde, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession, pitting an Anglo-Dutch force consisting of eighty thousand men under the command of the Duke of Marlborough, Lord Ove ...
, the Siege of Tournai and the
Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Taisnières-sur-Hon in modern France, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. A French army of around 75,000 men, commanded by the Duke of V ...
in the wars of Spanish Succession. The latter service brought him to the attention of
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. He was recruited by Venice into the successful defence of
Ulcinj Ulcinj () is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 11,488. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, it was founded in 5th ...
in 1711 and five years later
Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
during the 1716 siege against the same invading
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
; he was decorated by the '' Serenissima'' 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, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
, '' Juditha triumphans'', was commissioned in celebration of the victory.


Art collector

In his retirement in Venice from 1718, the ''
Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...
'' von der Schulenburg proved a remarkable collector of art while residing in the Palazzo Loredan on the
Grand Canal of Venice The Grand Canal ( , locally and informally ; , locally usually ) is the largest Channel (geography), channel in Venice, Italy, forming one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. One end of the canal leads into the Venetian Lagoon, ...
. The ''
Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...
'' 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 from a Venetian picture-dealer, Santi Rota, who had obtained them from the collection of
Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga (31 August 1652 – 5 July 1708) was the only child of Duke Charles II of Mantua and Montferrat, and the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga. Biography Born in Revere, In 1665 Ferdinand Charles rec ...
, 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. In 1531, the duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marr ...
, deposed by
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
Austrian empire; Gonzaga's works of art included works by
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
,
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...
,
Giorgione Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco (; 1470s – 17 September 1510), known as Giorgione, was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, ...
,
Giulio Romano Giulio Pippi ( – 1 November 1546), known as Giulio Romano and Jules Romain ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the ...
, 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 Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...
'' host in the Venetian republic. His portrait was painted by
Bartolomeo Nazari Bartolomeo Nazari (31 May 1693 – 24 August 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, but vi ...
, Giuseppe Nogari,
Giacomo Ceruti Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti (13 October 1698 – 28 August 1767) was an Italian late Baroque painter, active in Northern Italy in Milan, Brescia, and Venice. He acquired the nickname Pitocchetto (the little beggar) for his many paintin ...
, Gian Antonio Guardi (in
Ca' Rezzonico Ca' Rezzonico () is a palazzo and art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro of Venice, Italy. It is a particularly notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture and interior decoration, and displays painting ...
),
Francesco Simonini Francesco Simonini (Parma, June 16, 1686 – Venice or Florence, after 1753) was an Italian painter. Biography Born in Parma, Simonini was trained at the school of Francesco Monti (known as Brescianino delle Battaglie for his battle scenes) u ...
, 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 art, Italian Rococo painter of religious subjects and Genre works, genre s ...
, and he was sculpted by
Antonio Corradini Antonio Corradini (19 October 1688 – 12 August 1752) was an Italians, Italian Rococo sculptor from Venice. He is best known for his illusory veiled depictions of the human body, where the contours of the face and body beneath the veil are disc ...
and Gian Maria Morlaiter. He also had a relationship with famous Greek painter
Panagiotis Doxaras Panagiotis Doxaras (; 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 namely: Elias Moskos, Theodoros Poulakis, ...
and his son Nikolaos Doxaras. Nikolaos Doxaras 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 ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...
and
Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...
.
Francesco Simonini Francesco Simonini (Parma, June 16, 1686 – Venice or Florence, after 1753) was an Italian painter. Biography Born in Parma, Simonini was trained at the school of Francesco Monti (known as Brescianino delle Battaglie for his battle scenes) u ...
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 cityscapes 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) is the painting of genre art, which 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 c ...
, 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 Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti (13 October 1698 – 28 August 1767) was an Italian late Baroque painter, active in Northern Italy in Milan, Brescia, and Venice. He acquired the nickname Pitocchetto (the little beggar) for his many paintin ...
. He owned ''
vedute A ''veduta'' (; : ''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 of landscape originated ...
'' by Michele Marieschi,
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 arti ...
,
Giovanni Battista Cimaroli Giovanni Battista Cimaroli (1687–1771) was an Italian painter of rustic landscapes with farms, villas and graceful figures and capriccio (painting), capricci of ruins and views of towns in the Veneto. Biography He was born in Salò on Lake ...
,
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 P ...
,
Marco Ricci Marco Ricci (6 June 1676 – 21 January 1730) was an Italian Baroque painter. 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, Margherita. In: ' ...
, and
Francesco Zuccarelli Giacomo Francesco Zuccarelli (commonly known as Francesco Zuccarelli, ; 15 August 1702 – 30 December 1788) was an Italian artist of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He is considered to be the most important landscape painter to have emer ...
; 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 and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
. 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 (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...
. 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 Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire) personnel People of the Great Turkish War Johann Matthias Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–1718)