1133 - Two ruler portraits, Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria on horseback, Emperor Maximilian I in oval

Two ruler portraits, Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria on horseback, Emperor Maximilian I in oval Two portraits of rulers, copper engraving/paper, 1) Adriaen Possemiers (active in Antwerp, 2nd half of the 17th century), inscribed in the plate lower right "A. possemiers", equestrian portrait of Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria, titled in the lettering field below "FERDINANDVS MARIA …" with Latin titles, 2nd half of the 17th century, the Elector in electoral robes with electoral hat, ermine shoulder cape and long mantle, the imperial orb in his right hand, on a rearing horse to the left before a cloudy sky, in the background a town silhouette with church towers, below an oval coat of arms with lozenges, lions and imperial orb in the inescutcheon in a strapwork cartouche, condition commensurate with age, browned, image 20.5x15 cm (HxW), passe-partout, glazed, framed, frame chipped, overall 32.5x27 cm (HxW). 2) Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I, without engraver's name, inscription in the oval "MAXIMILIANVS PRIMVS ROMANORVM IMPERATOR P.P.", below it a medallion with emblem and motto "PER TOT DISCRIMINA", at the bottom a four-line German verse beginning "Der Erst ÆMILLAN der Billich Groß zunennen", on the right sheet number "13", bust portrait in profile to the right with arched crown, shoulder-length hair, chain of an order and patterned mantle against a hatched ground, condition commensurate with age, browned, slightly stained, image 14.5x11 cm (HxW), passe-partout, glazed, framed, frame chipped, overall 32.5x27 cm (HxW). Ferdinand Maria (1636 Munich to 1679 Schleißheim) succeeded his father Maximilian I as Elector of Bavaria in 1651, initially ruled under the guardianship of his mother and, through a policy of neutrality between Habsburg and France, secured the country a thirty-year period of peace, which earned him the epithet "the Peace-loving"; the Theatine Church and Nymphenburg Palace were built under him. The Latin titles of the equestrian portrait name him Duke of Upper and Lower Bavaria and of the Upper Palatinate, Arch-Steward of the Holy Roman Empire and Elector. Adriaen Possemiers was an engraver and publisher in Antwerp, known for equestrian portraits of European princes such as William III of Orange and for a portrait series of popes, emperors, kings and princes. Emperor Maximilian I (1459 Wiener Neustadt to 1519 Wels), Roman-German King from 1486 and Emperor from 1508, laid the foundation for the rise of the Habsburgs to a European great power through his marriage to Mary of Burgundy and his marriage policy, and presented himself as the "last knight" in printed works such as Dürer's Triumphal Arch. His motto "PER TOT DISCRIMINA", through so many dangers, also accompanies other imperial portraits of the 17th century. Such portrait engravings appeared as single sheets or in portrait series and historical works such as the Theatrum Europaeum.