The search for the original portrait
Only one portrait of Jörg Jenatsch was painted during his lifetime. It had long been in private hands and for a while was displayed as a loan in the Raetian museum some one hundred years ago. During the general Jenatsch-mania triggered by Meyer’s novel it was copied several times. After the owners asked for their original back, one of the copies painted by Paul Martig remained in the museum.Photo: Raetian Museum
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For a long time nobody remembered where the original portrait was until Manuel Janosa of the Archaeological Office Graubünden began his search in 2012. He found a painting from a private collection which in the meantime had been out on loan to the Swiss embassy in Paris. By using a mobile x-ray machine Janosa managed to prove that it was indeed the original portrait.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden
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The oil painting from 1636 shows the 40 year-old Jenatsch at the height of his career. His uniform is that of an officer in the French armed services. His pose – fist on hips with his elbow projecting outwards – is that of a soldier. Here was a man who wished to be seen as a dashing warrior rather than a plain citizen. Portraits of this type were produced en masse. It is clearly visible that Jenatsch’s face was painted by a different, and better, artist than the rest of the picture.Photo: Raetian Museum
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After the positive identification of their painting as the original work the owners decided to hand it to the Raetian museum in exchange for a copy. The artist Patrick Devonas copied the portrait in the midst of our exhibition and in view of the public who watched him at his work. After this the original replaced the copy in the museum.Photo: Raetian Museum
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