SITTOW, Michel
(b. ca. 1468, Reval, d. 1525, Reval)

Portrait of the Danish King Christian II

1514-15
Oil on panel, 31 x 22 cm
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

Michel Sittow worked for the leading noble houses of Europe. His portrait of Christian II reflects a king whose close family ties to the imperial Habsburg court drew in into the centre of European art and culture. On his subsequent travels and exile the king came into direct contact with the cultural centres of Europe.