Portrait of Mary of Burgundy

Bernhard Strigel's Portrait of Mary of Burgundy, if correctly identified, would represent a retrospective royal portrait by the court painter depicting the Habsburg duchess who died in 1482 long before Strigel's mature career. Such retrospective portraits of important dynastic figures were commissioned to populate visual genealogies of royal families, creating portrait series that asserted dynastic legitimacy through visual continuity. Mary of Burgundy, who married Maximilian I and brought the Burgundian inheritance to the Habsburgs, was a foundational figure in Habsburg mythology, making her portrait an important statement of dynastic identity.

The portrait follows established conventions of the period, with attention to physiognomic features and costume details that convey social identity and status.