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Leonhard van Eck (1480-1550) was the chancellor to Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, who was the patron of Barthel Beham. He opposed the Reformation and supported the Wittelsbach cause against the Habsburg monarchs.
The identification of the portrait is based on an engraving bearing the initials of Barthel Beham that also provides the name of the sitter, his age (47) and the date (1527). It is proposed that both the painting and the engraving are based on a now-lost drawing by the artist.
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