Double Portrait of Iacob Seiida and His Wife Katharina

The painting from the collection of Franz Ferdinand d’Este represents a double portrait of a married couple in half figures. The man is holding a folded document in his hand and his wife is clasping a handkerchief. The inscription at the upper edge of the painting reveals that they are Iacob Seiida, an administrator at Ambras Castle, and his wife Katharina Seiida, who were both 49 years old in 1602, when it was painted. Katharina Seiida was „of the same age as the deceased husband“, says the text introducing the painting. The portrait was probably created in memory of the deceased. Iacob Seiida was called Holzmeister - he was thus responsible for the selection of wood designed for renovation and repairs in the Castle. The first mention is dated 1592. In 1593 Seiida was awarded a sum of 150 guilders as Gnadengeld. The last mention is dated 1600 and it refers to repairs of wooden structures in the Castle. Both husband and wife are portrayed in one plate, but they are composed as two separate portraits, without being linked in the painting. The painting thus follows the portraits of praying couples, set in the so-called diptychs, which in the second half of the 15th century provided the basis for pendant portraits.