A few days ago, I visited the "Schloss Ambras" – the castle of Archduke Ferdinand II – in Innsbruck, Austria. Archduke Ferdinand II became the provincial prince of Tyrol and the Austrian foreland in 1564, and in 1567 he had this castle build as his residence and main court. Throughout his lifetime, Ferdinand collected artworks, weapons, armor, natural items, curiosities, rarities, musical instruments, etc.
Among the many amazing artworks in his museum, the following six paintings by a man named Hans von Aachen impressed me:
Hans von Aachen painted these six paintings on alabaster and marble and incorporated the tones, blemishes, and cracks in the marble and alabaster into his paintings as actual elements of the scenes! In "The Triumphal Procession of Bacchus," and "The Triumph of Cupid and Bacchus," they form the clouds; in "Perseus Frees Andromeda," and "Release of the Winds by Aeolus," they form both the sky and the water; and in "The Baptism of Christ," they form the waters of the Jordon River and the sands alongside it. One considers marble and alabaster to be the materials of statues and other three-dimensional items; but Hans von Aachen, in these paintings, shows that they can be used for so much more.
