The Family of Emperor Maximilian I

In the summer of 1515 Emperor Maximilian I met the Jagiellon kings of Hungary and Bohemia in Vienna and sealed a double marriage in St Stephen's Cathedral. His granddaughter Mary was matched with the boy Louis, heir to both crowns, and Louis's sister Anne was promised to one of Maximilian's grandsons. This panel was painted soon afterwards to record the new family. Maximilian stands at the back with his first wife, Mary of Burgundy, and their son Philip the Fair. In front are three boys, the future emperors Charles V in the middle and Ferdinand I on the left, and on the right Louis, whom Maximilian had adopted as a son at the same meeting. Latin names above the heads cast the whole group as relatives of Christ. 11 years later Louis drowned while fleeing the battle of Mohács against the Ottomans, and his two crowns passed to Ferdinand.