Giacomo Ceruti (Milan 1698-1767)

Count Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (1661-1747) was appointed Field Marshal and Commander in Chief of the Forces of the Venetian Republic in 1715. Following his defence of Corfu against the Turks in 1715-1716, he became a Venetian hero, a statue erected a statue in his honour and was granted a life pension from the city. Established at the Palazzo Loredan, near San Trovaso, in 1724 he was given a collection of eight-eight paintings by the picture dealer Giovanni Battista Rota in default of a loan. This formed the core of the collection to which Schulenburg assiduously added for the rest of his life, eventually amassing over 950 paintings.
The present portrait formed part of the Marshal’s impressive collection and listed in his posthumous inventory. As with most portraits of Schulenburg, the sitter is shown as powerful military figure. Dressed in armour, which is dynamically juxtaposed by the swirling red of his drapery, the portrait creates an imposing image of a command and authority.