Unknown painter, Portrait of General Mihael Pregl, 1623

o.pl., 200 x 123 cm, painter of the first half of the 17th century / painted by A. Koželj.

The portrait of “General Wachtmeister” Mihael Pregl is painted completely frontally, in a standing position. He holds a rifle in his right hand, he has a helmet on his right leg, and a dog on his left leg, which bears the inscription MPR M (ichael) P (regl) R (ittmeister) around its neck. He is dressed in a cinnabar red skirt, painted perfectly flat, and iron, gold-ornamented armour. Next to the bearded head on the right is his coat of arms. The shield in the middle of the coat of arms depicts the sun, below is a lamb with a gold ring, and at the top is a horse with the same ring and two feathers. The inscription above it has been restored.

The portrait came to the museum from Sadnikar’s collection in Kamnik. According to the testimony of the collector J. N. Sadnikar, it originates from the Zalog castle near Moravče. We do not know whether the collector acquired it on the open market or from the last bourgeois-peasant owners of Zalog Castle (Zalog Castle was bought from Franc Povše in 1909 by Anton Pirnat and sold to Pavel Bregar in 1914). We know, however, that it was thoroughly copied. It was thoroughly restored and repaired by the Kamnik painter Anton Koželj, as it was probably in a rather poor condition at the time.

More in the catalogue Marko Lesar, Older Painting Collection. From the depots of the Intermunicipal Museum Kamnik. MMK, Kamnik 2015