3-084-971 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of Ruprecht Thenn (1512-1545), 1516. Additional Info: In 1516 the Salzburg mint master Johann Thenn had portraits painted of three of his children. This picture shows his son Ruprecht, who was about four at the time, in three-quarter profile and posing as a falconer. His left hand is raised and holds a small white fabric bag, the falconer's lure. Perched on his gloved right hand, though, is not a bird of prey, but a harmless sparrow. Around his neck, the child is wearing a coral chain with a golden medallion showing the figure of a saint, probably a pilgrim's badge. In the background can be seen an Alpine landscape with snow-capped mountains beneath an almost cloudless sky.