Circa 1600: Spanish values and Tuscan painting.

In the years 1599-1604, Grand Duke Ferdinando I de'Medici ordered state gifts of contemporary Florentine paintings for three influential Spanish noblewomen (Catalina de la Cerda, Marquesa de Denia; Magdalena de Guzman, Marquesa del Valle; and Maria de Toledo y Colonna, Duquesa de Alba). The problem of producing images suitable for Spanish usage is discussed in explicit detail in a series of documents recently discovered in the Archivio di Stato di Firenze.

On 28 November 1603, five years after the death of Philip II (1527-98), a Tuscan embassy secretary at the Spanish court noted a lingering criticism of the late king. "No sooner did he close his eyes, than those among his subjects ... sought to belittle his illustrious fame, calling him petty in spirit, a lover of pictures, of gardens and decorated rooms."(1)

However we judge the achievements of his reign, Philip II was unarguably a "lover of pictures," one of the greatest European patrons and collectors of his age, and without peer in regard to the sheer number of his acquisitions.(2) In Spain his appetite for art was as remarkable as it was unprecedented since the king and his emulators were new to this activity - or at least new to the self-awareness that could characterize artistic patronage in the more sophisticated centers of Italy, France, and the Netherlands.

In the arts the king's frame of reference was broadly internationalizing, as demonstrated by the rush of European artists and craftsmen to his newly centralized court at Madrid and the Escorial, and by his wholesale acquisition of Italian and Flemish paintings. This royal inclination did not find favor in all circles, as demonstrated by the apologia of the Tuscan secretary. And even in Philip II's own patronage, there were evident strains between Spanish and cosmopolitan values.

These strains emerged with almost diagrammatic clarity in 1585, when Federico Zuccaro was summoned to paint at the Escorial.(3) Zuccato was the most eloquent advocate in Italy for the prerogatives of painting as a liberal art and also the most celebrated artist to journey to Spain in the royal service.(4) The commissions that awaited him were the most prestigious that Philip II could bestow: the high altar and flanking reliquary altars in the Basilica as well as the frescoes in the Great Cloister of San Lorenzo el Real.(5)

Federico Zuccaro did his best to rise to the occasion as he perceived it, lavishing all of his artistic innovation on the commissions. In a personal letter to a friend back in Rome, the painter expressed pride in his powerful evocation of the Virgin Annunciate on one of the reliquary altars, "where we see Our Lady startled and dismayed by the sudden appearance of the Angel." For the other reliquary altar, he elaborated the Repentence of Saint Jerome into a complex allegory "quite different than the usual," adding among other elements three female figures representing Faith, Hope, and Charity.(6)

Unfortunately, this outpouring of Italian invenzione was not what Philip II had in mind for so solemn a dynastic setting, where iconographic correctness and exemplary devotion took precedence over more strictly artistic concerns. The less than mediocre Spanish painter Juan Gomez, "whose contribution to the Escorial consisted largely in 'correcting' paintings which displeased the king," was soon set to work in covering over Zuccaro's aestheticizing self-indulgences.(7) The Virgin Annunciate was given a more decorous new face expressing placid submission rather than surprise and dismay.(8) The king himself specifically ordered that "the Saint Jerome on the outside of the Reliquary be redone and those women removed and replaced by angels."(9)

Indeed, rather little of Zuccaro's highly accomplished work at the Escorial escaped correction. All but one of his frescoes and many of his altar pictures were eventually removed, and those that were allowed to remain were rendered nearly unrecognizable by hack repainting. Though Federico Zuccaro was well-paid and was shown every ostensible sign of royal favor, his Spanish career was a barely-concealed disaster. On his return to Italy in 1588 Philip II concluded: "He is not to blame, but those who sent him."(10)

The king's pronouncement seems a gracious expression of noblesse oblige, but it was also an astute assessment of the problem. The painter had never been made to understand what was expected of him at the Escorial, and as a result both he and his patron found themselves in false positions. The lesson of the Zuccaro debacle(11) was not lost on the staff of the Tuscan embassy in Madrid. Though Federico Zuccaro was not in fact Tuscan, he was a prime exponent of the artistic values currently admired in Florence, where he had lived from 1575 to 1579 while frescoing the dome of the Cathedral.(12) One of Zuccaro's chief assistants in Spain was the Florentine Bartolomeo Carducci, who made a brilliant career in that country after his master's departure and frequently advised the Tuscan Embassy there on artistic matters.(13)

Since Medici foreign policy was characterized by splendid gifts of works of art,(14) the embassy recognized the need to explain prevailing values to their artists back in Florence. Several such discussions are recorded in vivid detail, in a series of newly-discovered documents from the Medici diplomatic correspondence from the turn of the seventeenth century.

Philip II died in September of 1598, and by the opening days of 1599 the new regime of Philip III (1578-1621) was already taking shape, though the new king had yet to reveal a particular interest in the arts.(15) Francisco Gomez de Sandoval y Rojas, Marques de Denia and future Duque de Lerma, had already emerged as the new royal favorite. His wife, Catalina de la Cerda, assumed significant power as well, and her inseparable confidant was Magdalena de Guzman, Marquesa del Valle. The Genoese Ambrogio Spinola often acted for the Tuscans at the Spanish court, and he approached de Guzman with the offer of gifts from Grand Duke Ferdinando I. "The Marquesa del Valle," he wrote, "told me that the Marquesa de Denia would like a picture of the Three Kings; for herself, she wants a picture of Our Lord Praying in the Garden, both of large size."(16)

The Tuscan embassy directly confronted the issue of Spanish tastes and Spanish expectations, as they perceived them, in a memorandum defining the commission. Though Bartolomeo Carducci's name does not appear in the relevant correspondence, he often assisted the embassy with such matters. In Florence this memorandum was annotated by the Granducal Secretariat and authorized in the name of Ferdinando I on 24 February 1599(17) [Document One]:

MEMORANDUM REGARDING THE TWO PICTURES FOR SPAIN

One picture approximately five braccia high and seven long,(18) depicting the Adoration of the Magi, when they offer Our Lord incense and myrrh.

Another of the same dimensions, depicting Our Lord's Prayer in the Garden [of Gethsemene].

The figures in these pictures are to be life-sized or slightly less, and these pictures are not intended for church use but rather for a suitably large room.

The discerning painter [discreto Pittore] is advised that in Spain devotional paintings are well-received when the figures show a tranquil bearing and do not twist and turn [con attitudini quiete e senza svolgimenti]. Therefore, in the Adoration of the Magi, see that the Madonna is decent in visage [con viso honesto] and is presented as nearly in full-face as possible, with the blue mantle over her head, or at least covering both shoulders, very well composed, and above all revealing no bare feet. It is left to the painter's good judgement, should he wish to display his greater mastery in dressing the Magi richly.

In the other picture of Our Lord's Prayer in the Garden, see that the Apostles sleep in easy and decent poses [con attitudini commode et honeste], leaning against each other suitably [con convenienza], or else stretched out or in the most decent posture [piu honesta positura] that occurs to the Inventor of the composition [Inventore]. The Master [Maestro] will win greater praise, rendering the work more satisfying and pleasing, if he can show the faces of the latter figures and Christ as well, keeping in mind however those considerations appropriate to his art [osservando pero il decoro dell'arte].

The above-mentioned pictures can be a bit smaller than the stated measurements but not larger.

[Annotation to the above memorandum: Ligozzi will do the picture of the Magi, and Passignano that of Our Lord in the Garden, according to the stated measurements and instructions, using in both cases the best available ultramarine blue.

The Grand Duke of Tuscany; 24 February 98 (i.e., 1599)]

At least in general terms, these are all suggestions that might well have occurred to Federico Zuccaro ten years earlier on his return journey to Italy. On the one hand, there is the reiterated insistence on decency, decorum, and composure. On the other, there is the demand for clarity and legibility, and the avoidance of distracting artistry, particularly in the form of exaggerated figure compositions. Even the request for ultramarine blue would have been familiar to Zuccaro. This was a precious pigment seldom used in Spain, but ordered specially from Venice for his work in the Escorial.(19)

Few of these strictures are new or surprising when read as Counter-Reformation formulas for religious images. The crucial point, however, is that "these pictures are not intended for church use but rather for a suitably large room," presumably in an aristocratic palace. In undertaking these commissions, Ligozzi and Passignano were confronting issues of local taste at least as much as ecclesiastical dicta.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the memorandum is its hesitant and even apologetic tone, notwithstanding the fact that it was promulgated in the Grand Duke's name. Ligozzi and Passignano were both distinguished artists who were being asked to stifle the very powers of invention on which reputations were based in sophisticated Italian circles. The final reminder to "osservare pero il decoro dell'arte" can be read on two levels, as a conciliatory acknowledgement of the privileged status of the painter and his profession, and as a plea that he not let these inartistic demands ruin the picture.

Both paintings were completed promptly and delivered to the Marquesa del Valle by 11 July 1600. Because they are still untraced, we cannot determine how Ligozzi and Passignano coped with the special terms of the assignment. There is some indication, however, that the two Florentine paintings, and particularly Ligozzi's Adoration, made conspicuous successes in Madrid.(20)

However unaccustomed Ligozzi and Passignano might have found certain Spanish demands, the strictures they encountered were less troublesome than those imposed on another contemporary Florentine commission, for Dona Maria de Toledo y Colonna, Dowager Duchess of Alba (1554-1612).(21) In 1585, after the death of her husband the Fourth Duke, Dona Maria elected for a religious life and set out to found a new and decisively aristocratic convent called Nuestra Senora de la Laura.(22) Failing to obtain permission to locate her establishment in Alba or Piedrahita, she eventually settled in the town of Villafranca and began to realize her long-delayed plans.(23) On 23 June 1598 the Dowager Duchess turned to her first cousin Ferdinando I for help in obtaining the body of a virgin martyr from Rome, and on 7 November 1599 she wrote him again for an altarpiece from Florence.(24) For the High Altar of her convent church, the Duchess requested an improbable "Assumption of the Virgin on her bed surrounded by the Apostles" (presumably to be construed as the death or transito of the Virgin), a second Assumption of the Virgin accompanied by angels with laurel garlands and two choirs of nuns dressed in the habits of her convent. Then, in a postscript, she added praying figures of Saints Dominic and Francis - all of this to be included on a single panel or canvas of unspecified size [Document Two].

On 12 December 1599, Ferdinando I invited the Duchess to clarify her requirements [Document Three], which she attempted on 2 May 1600, in a letter that is awkward in expression yet authoritative in tone [Document Four]:

All of our nuns feel a deep obligation to Your Highness for undertaking to place the picture here in this church. I hope that this will be made in Florence, where it will be made well, with the concern you express in your letter. I have no doubt that it will turn out better than the altarpiece [retablo] in the Escorial; even though the images [imagenes] for that work were painted in Castile, and even though the painters were foreigners, it is well-known in Spain that the best painters in Italy are in your service.

Your Highness asks me the size of the altar for the chapel. The altar is four varas(25) wide and the chapel is very big and and it thus seems to me that you should have it made on canvas, not panel, and that the cloths should be very wide so that there will be no seams. Since the painting is to have many figures and these are to be life-sized, it will take up the full width of the altar which is four Spanish varas in width and as high as you think best. Since you are doing me the favor of sending the paintings I will seek out the best sculptor here in this Kingdom so that he can carve the saints and the figures for the picture surround [redonda]. For my altarpiece, I will have only the picture and these sculpted figures, since nothing done with the brush here in Spain would turn out right [vendria conforme]. Please see that the painter is told to pay more attention to the beauty of the faces than to his art [mas cuidado de la hermosura de los rostros que del arte], since I am pleased when they are very beautiful, and pictures seem good to me in so far as they are beautiful and they show much relief [hermosos y con mucho relieve].

My Lord, I see that this canvas cannot fail to have seams, and if Your Highness thinks that it should be wider than the altar, it is well that it should be so. Finally, My Lord, the altar is four varas and the wall of the chapel is as big as a wall can be. I think the canvas will turn out well, and it seems best to me that Your Highness specify what it should contain, and you should see that the painter does not paint too quickly.

It would be well if some of the angels, who are to emerge up high with joyful faces, throw flowers to the two choirs of nuns on both sides. Your Highness should also see that the painter is informed regarding the habit of these nuns, which is of coarse white woolen stuff with a black scapular and belt two fingers wide, with a black woolen mantle made without folds like that of the Capuchin monks, fastened over the breast with a wooden button. The coif is of white linen down to the eyebrows, and then right above that there is a dyed black linen veil. This is the habit. The sandals are of hemp, and closed so as to cover the entire foot. Attached to the belt is a heavy rosary like those worn by hermits.

I have said this much to Your Highness, since I believe I already requested that there be, in the lower part of the picture, Our Lady in her bed dying, with all the Apostles who were there at her death surrounding the bed. In the middle of the canvas is Our Lady ascending, surrounded by angels. Saints Francis and Dominic are elevated up there on the sides, as if in prayer. And several angels with crowns of laurel in their hands descend to the choirs of nuns, indicating the effects of this prayer, and others higher up throw the flowers that I mentioned.(26)

The challenge of turning this description into a plausible composition was compounded by the Duchess's erratic handwriting and spelling, which the secretaries of the Tuscan Embassy in Madrid found nearly illegible. Discussion continued over the following months, and a summary (untraced) of her evident requirements was prepared in Italian.(27) Ambassador Francesco Guicciardini observed on 23 September 1600: "We had to rely on guesswork as much as on the text itself, and I imagine that the discerning painter [discreto pittore] will sometimes have to depend on his own judgement rather than obeying literally"(28) [Document Five].

In her letter of 2 May 1600, the Duchess of Alba called for two principal scenes, the Death of the Virgin and the Assumption of the Virgin, as well as three sets of supporting figures (Saints Francis and Dominic, the nuns of La Laura, and numerous angels). The width of the altar (but not necessarily the altarpiece) was four varas (about 3.3 meters), though the height of the projected work remained to be determined. The painting was to appear in a sculptural setting, including saints and other figures, of unspecified subject, material, design, and dimensions. In regard to her own critical perspective, the duchess expressed a clear preference for beautiful faces,(29) strong relief,(30) and not too much "art" - probably to be construed in this context as elaborate figure composition. Her concern that "the painter does not paint too quickly" might indicate a preference for high finish rather than painterly looseness, unless she was making only a general plea for diligent workmanship.(31) She demonstrated more esteem for Spanish sculptors than Spanish painters, though her one concrete reference was to Federico Zuccaro's problematic high altarpiece in the Escorial.

However dear an image the duchess may have had in her own mind, her letter was unlikely to suggest a viable painting to a Florentine artist in the year 1600. She issued strong demands but left many key issues vague. Also, she seemed unable to decide whether she wanted a modern Italian altarpiece with a single main pictorial composition, or a more traditional Spanish model with a multiplicity of painted and sculpted elements within a defining architectural framework.(32)

The project languished for several years, with no apparent action on the Florentine side, and in early 1604 it was necessary to restart the commission.(33) This time around, the Tuscan embassy took the sensible precaution of translating the patroness's diffuse intentions into a visual formula, as Secretary Orazio della Rena explained on 12 August 1604. "In regard to that picture for the Duchess of Alba, for which she has been asking Your Highness for so long," he wrote, "this present letter is accompanied by a sketch of the subject matter [uno schizzo della historia] that she desires. I had this done by Bartolomeo Carducci, Painter to the King, and on the back(34) of this he noted a few comments and suggestions, so that the painter can do his best to serve this lady"(35) [Document Six].

Though Carducci's compositional drawing is untraced, a copy of his "comments and suggestions" survives [Document Seven]. This is an eloquent document in its own right, demonstrating a Tuscan painter's frame of reference after twenty years at the Spanish court. At this stage in its evolution, the commission for the Duchess of Alba's altarpiece could have progressed in either of two directions: toward Florentine unity of pictorial conception, or toward Spanish multiplicity and iconographic precision. Carducci and the Duchess opted for the latter.

MEMORANDUM REGARDING THE DUCHESS OF ALBA'S PICTURE

This picture for the Duchess of Alba is to be, if possible, all on one piece of canvas measuring five Spanish vare in width (equalling a scant seven Florentine braccia) and seven vare high (equalling ten scant braccia.)(36)

In this picture, the principal figures are to be Christ on a cloud, holding His Mother the Virgin by the hand, representing the passage in Can fides where it says, "Enixa super dilectum."(37) Both of these figures are to be beautiful in visage. Christ is to have the red garment arranged under his arm but to be otherwise bare, as he is depicted in the resurrected state. Also, he will have a crown of laurel, not too big, on his head, and a palm in the other hand, all of this signifying triumph. Our Lady the Virgin is to be dressed in white, her garment worked with pearls and other precious stones, and a crown of gold and jewels on her head.

In the scene of her passing, the Virgin is to be shown still alive, with a lit candle in her hand and a beautiful, joyful face. The Apostles are to be in good and easy poses [in buone attitudini, et facili], and if the faces likewise could be portraits from the life [i medesimi ritratti al naturale], this would be well-received.

The two choirs of nuns that appear on the right and left sides are to be painted in the habit described below. Some are to be represented as young and others as old. The young ones are to be beautiful of face, though generally speaking, all are to show great seriousness and devotion.

Saints Dominic and Francis are to be shown kneeling, each with one hand raised, interceding with the Holy Trinity for these nuns. Due to the prayer and intercession of these Saints, many angels are to be seen scattering various flowers and fronds on the nuns. And all of the faces of the angels are to be smiling and as beautiful as possible.

In the highest part of this picture, three chairs are to be painted, with God the Father in the middle one. In another chair, there is to be the Holy Spirit in corporeal form, depicted as a beautiful youth dressed in white, his garment adorned with rubies and sown with tongues of flame. In his right hand, he holds a fiery globe and in the other a palm. Christ's chair on the right will be empty, as is shown in the present sketch.

The discerning painter [discreto pittore] can elaborate and enrich this sketch according to his skill. If he wishes to give satisfaction, however, he is advised to do as suggested, with easy poses [attitudini facili], pleasing color [vago colorito] and beautiful, devout faces [volti belli et devoti]. The arms of Our Lord His Highness [the Grand Duke] and the Duke of Alba are to be placed in the lower corners.(38)

Included with this memorandum was a second drawing (untraced) and a detailed description of the habit of the sisters of Nuestra Senora de la Laura, down to their elongated wooden buttons and the leather reinforcements of their buttonholes. The painter was specifically advised how he might show the habit to best effect: "In some cases, the mantle should billow, so that the wooden rosary with large beads is revealed, in the form seen in the enclosed drawing" [Document Eight].

Bartolomeo Carducci and the Duchess of Alba added many new pieces to the already complex pictorial scheme. The Assumption of the Virgin was replaced by a fully-orchestrated Coronation of the Virgin, surmounted by an archaicizing representation of the Holy Trinity.(39) And little was left to chance in the elaboration of costumes and symbolic attributes.

Even without Carducci's drawing, we can deduce approximately what the patroness and her artistic adviser had in mind. The altarpiece would have required a three-tiered composition. The lowest register was to be relatively naturalistic, featuring the terrestrial scene of the Death of the Virgin with the participation of the Apostles "portrayed from the life" and the sisters of the convent in their meticulously described habits. The second register, showing the heavenly Coronation, was conceived as triumphant in tone and splendid in visual effect. The two interceding saints evidently participate on this second level, one on each side, perhaps slightly lower than the central figures of Christ and the Virgin. The enthroned Holy Trinity appears on the third and highest register, from whence the figure of Christ descended to crown his Mother. The angels, with their flowers and (presumably) laurel branches, mediate between the two lower levels.

This concept has an unmistakable grandeur and authority, expressing with absolute clarity the place of each nun in the divine scheme of things. Such diagrammatic elaboration, however, would have constituted a pictorial nightmare for a sophisticated Romano-Florentine painter if he persisted in his regard for the principles of disegno as he had learned them. There is no indication, however, that the commission progressed further, and, by 1606 Dona Maria de Toledo y Colonna had decided to move her convent from Villafranca to Valladolid, where she began constructing even more grandiose premises.(40) If Carducci's schizzo della historia survives in Italy, it might well have been mistaken for a study for a didactic engraving.

The documents presented here discuss only a few Tuscan commissions for Spain at the turn of the seventeenth century. For scholars today they probably beg more questions than they answer, regarding the habits and assumptions of female patrons, the role of the Spanish court in an emerging national culture, and the recurring strictures of Counter-Reformation devotion in the broader European context. The fact remains, however, that the Tuscans and Spaniards involved in these commissions were keenly aware of prevailing differences in national taste, and even of differences in artistic, social, and spiritual values. In all of these areas, the Spaniards and the Tuscans had more in common than not, though their cultural similarities were sometimes more apparent than real.

These two nations shared a Mediterranean heritage, an adherence to the Catholic faith, a belief in centralized, autocratic rule, and a Latin literature that was over one thousand years old. In regard to the visual arts, however, an ambiguous eclecticism had developed at the Spanish court, where foreign styles, foreign motifs, and foreign modes of expression were quickly absorbed, though their original meanings might be transformed beyond recognition.(41)

The challenge of working in Spain or working for Spanish patrons was particularly intense for celebrated Italian artists like Federico Zuccato, who was convinced of his own genius and assumed wrongly that his art would be admired on its own terms. Biddable second-raters like Romolo Cincinnati, Luca Cambiaso, Patrizio Cajesi, and even Bartolomeo Carducci had less difficulty painting to order and thus made stable careers. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that so much mediocre painting was produced at the Spanish court, before the advent of Diego Velazquez and his synthesis of a coherent native style.

THE MEDICI ARCHIVE PROJECT, FLORENCE

These documents were discovered in the course of work on: Documentary Sources for the Arts and Humanities in the Medici Granducal Archive (1537-1743), an initiative of The Medici Archive Project. Special thanks are due to the scholars of Spanish and Tuscan art and history who read and commented on this article in various stages of its preparation; these include Jonathan Brown, Marcus Burke, Malcolm Campbell, Robert Carlucci, Marco Chiarini, Jose Luis Colomer, Elizabeth Cropper, Charles Dempsey, John Elliott, Margarita M. Estella, Enriqueta Harris, Mary Jane Harris, Willian Jordan, Rosemarie Mulcahy, Alfonso E. Perez Sanchez, and Sarah Schroth, as well as two anonymous readers who offered timely reminders of the historical complexity of the questions raised by these documents.

1 In 1600 Orazio della Rena, a secretary at the Tuscan Embassy in Spain, wrote "la Vita del re defunto in otto libri" (della Rena to Ferdinando I; 1 November 1603; Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4934, ff.27-74). On 28 November 1603 he sent Florence a copy of the proposed dedication to Ferdinando I: "Due gran cagioni m'han spinto, Serenissimo Signore, a descriver la vita et fatti del Cattolico Re di Spagna; l'una prodotta da affettuosa devozione, et zelo d'appalesar al mondo il chiaro nome d'un virtuoso Monarca lacerato a torto...appena chiusi gli occhi, hebbe ardire alcun suo vassallo d'intorbidiar quella chiara memoria et provar con pubblica scrittura, esser egli stato Ignorante, Cieco, et privo di consiglio...cerco di denigrar la fama illustre del Re, chiamandolo minuto di poco animo, amico di pitture, di giardini, et di stanze adornate." (ff.330-31). This unpublished biography of Philip II, with its evident apology for the king's artistic interests, is not included among Orazio della Rena's literary manuscripts in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centtale Fiorentina (Magl. cl. XXIV, cod. 222 and 223; Magl. cl. XXV, cod. 796).

2 Checa, 1992. Charles V acquired works of art, as did most rulers of the period. Unlike Philip II, however, art patronage and art collecting were not major activities for the emperor, nor do they figure as defining characteristics of his reign.

3 Mulcahy vividly reconstructs Zuccaro's experience at the Escorial in 1992; and 1994, particularly 100-15 and 143-62. The following discussion is largely based on her analysis of this intriguing cultural situation.

4 Titian executed important commissions for the king but showed no desire to leave Venice. For a full-length study of this relationship, see Checa, 1994. Romolo Cincinnati arrived at the Spanish court in 1567-68, Luca Cambiaso in 1583, and Pellegrino Tibaldi in 1586.

5 Cloulas, 184-96. For the cloister frescoes, see Checa, 1992, 325.

6 Zuccaro described his plans for these works in a long letter to an unidentified recipient in Rome, dated 29 May 1586 (Biblioteca Vaticana, Urb. Lat. 816), published by Dominguez Bordona, 77-89, especially 82-83.

7 Mulcahy, 1987, 502-03. For the limitations placed on "invenzione" in Spain, see Brown, 5.

8 Mulcahy, 1987, 504.

9 Mulcahy, 1987, 508. In 1607, in regard to a commission in Florence for eight "quadretti" for the oratory of the Queen of Spain, the painters were instructed "di non faccere le figure ignude se non angiolini." (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Guardaroba Medicea 254, f.104 recto; 6 August 1607). I am grateful to Jennifer Bauman for bringing this document to my attention.

10 Mulcahy, 1987, 509.

11 The incident was noted in print in 1605, smugly retold by Jose de Siguenza, who advised Juan Gomez on his "corrections." Siguenza, 318.

12 Heikamp, 44-68 and 3-34. Zuccaro acquired Andrea del Sarto's former house and studio, which he turned into a lavish showplace, demonstrating both his own ascendent career and the dignity of the art of design.

13 For Bartolomeo Carducci's role, see Goldberg.

14 See n. 13 above.

15 On 23 August 1596, Tuscan Ambassador Francesco Guicciardini addressed the difficulty of selecting gifts for Crown Prince Philip, "Concludo che non si scoprendo hoggi in Sua Altezza non dico maggiore ma assolutamente nessun altra inclinazione, che alla caccia, non si possa inviarle cosa, che le sia piu cara ...che animali et instrumenti per questo esercizio." (Archirio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4924, ff. 279-81).

16 Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5033, f. 23; 5 February 1599.

17 There are two surviving copies of the memorandum: Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5080, f. 564; undated, and a somewhat fuller variant with the Grand Duke's authorization, ASF/MP 5080, f. 305; 24 February 1599. Neither of these are in Carducci's hand. (Compare ASF/MP 5080, f. 357; 3 April 1604). It is difficult to ascertain the precise relationship between them, since there are likely to have been various copies in circulation.

18 Approximately 3 x 4.2 meters.

19 Mulcahy, 1987, 505. For the implications of colors and pigments, particularly ultramarine, in seventeenth-century Spanish painting, see McKim-Smith, 63-64.

20 On 11 July 1600, Ambassador Francesco Guicciardini wrote Ferdinando I: "Le due pitture richieste dalla Marchesa del Vaglie arrivorno in poter mio benissimo condizionate et subito detti conto alla Marchesa dello arrivo delle pitture la quale mi scrisse che io le consegnassi qua al suo maiordomo per che lui gliele mandasse come e seguito et spero che daranno intera sodisfazione perche da qualche persona intelligente che le ha viste sono state giudicate straordinarissime et massime la Adorazione de Magi." (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4927, f. 746).

21 Dona Maria was the daughter of Garcia de Toledo, Marques de Villafranca (1514-78) and Victoria Colonna, and thus the niece of Grand Duchess Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de'Medici (Bleiberg, 3:999). Don Garcia participated in Cosimo's capture of Siena in 1554, and enjoyed a long and close relationship with the Duke. In 1578, Dona Maria eloped with Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo, son and heir to Don Fernando (third Duke of Alba, 1507-82), thereby incurring the extreme displeasure of King Philip II. Don Fadrique died without male heir in 1585. (Bleiberg, 1:89-90).

22 Her evolving plans for the Dominican house of Nuestra Senora de la Laura are described in Martin Gonzalez (XIV; part 2), 154-166. Proofs of "limpieza de sangre" and "hidalguia" were requisites for admission. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5080, f. 555 (undated; circa 1604).

23 This was by permission of her brother, Don Fernando, Marques de Villafranca. In Villafranca del Bierzo (Leon), the connection between the de Toledo and Medici families is particularly evident in the Tuscan decoration of the Convento de la Annunciada, founded by Dona Maria's grandfather Pedro de Toledo y Osorio (1484-1553). Gomez Moreno, 385-86.

24 Regarding the relics, Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5036; 23 September 1598. Regarding the altarpiece, Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5036; 7 November 1599.

25 Approximately 3.3 meters.

26 Document Four.

27 This discussion probably involved the Duquesa's letter to Ferdinando I of 2 May 1600 (Archirio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5049, f. 35.) The summary in Italian, prepared by Secretary Orazio della Rena, is yet to be identified.

28 Amb. F. Guicciardini to Sec. B. Vinta (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4927, f. 815; 23 September 1600 (Document Five). See also ASF/MP 4927, f. 505 (Guicciardini to Ferdinando I; 4 December 1599) and f. 578 (Guicciardini to Vinta; 4 March 1600).

29 In regard to the contemporary Spanish taste for suave prettiness, Jose de Siguenza noted: "ha sido comun vicio de los pintores de Espana afectar mucha dulzura en sus obras y abellarlas, como ellos dicen, y ponerlas como debajo de una niebla o de velo, cobardia, sin duda, en el arte, no siendolo en la nacion." (Siguenza, 239). I am grateful to Rosemarie Mulcahy for calling this relevant passage to my attention.

30 In regard to two Tuscan pictures for the Conde de Chinchon, for his Capilla de los Condes in Chinchon, Pompeo Leoni specified: "Le figure vogliono esser ben cavate et larghe accioche rilievano havendo ad esser guardate di lontano." (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4920, f. 543; circa 6 May 1590).

31 The relative virtues of painterliness and high finish were hotly debated in seventeenth-century Spain (McKim-Smith, 15-33).

32 For the evolution of the Spanish retablo in the sixteenth century, see Mulcahy, 1994, 140-41.

33 Dowager Duchess of Alba to Ferdinando I, 15 July 1603 (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5049, f. 663); Sec. Domizio Peroni (Valladolid) to Sec. Belisario Vinta (Tuscan Court), 24 February 1604 (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4940, f. 68); Sec. Orazio della Rena (Madrid) to Sec. Vinta, 26 February 1604 (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4934; f. 398 and following); Ferdinando I to Duchess of Alba, 15 July 1604 (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4936; f. 269).

34 The expression, "alle spalle di esso schizzo," could also refer to comments written on the second page of a bifolio, with the drawing on the first.

35 Sec. O. della Rena to Sec. B. Vinta (12 August 1604) Archirio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4934, f. 563 (Document Six). See also Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4934, f. 516 (12 June 1604) and f. 576 (13 September 1604).

36 Approximately 4.2 x 5.85 meters.

37 Canticles 8-5: "innixa super dilectum suum?"

38 Document Seven.

39 This conception of the Trinity might derive from an older Netherlandish source.

40 See n. 22 above.

41 For a thoughtful analysis of the problem of "cultural diffusion" in Spain and the role of foreign art and foreign artists in the Spanish scheme of patronage, see Brown, 1-8.

Appendix

DOCUMENT ONE

Archirio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5080, f. 305 [24 February 1598 ab inc; ie. 1599]

[Inscription on outer sheet: "Memoria delle due Pitture per Spagna"]

Un quadro di cinque braccia d'altezza, et di sette di larghezza nel circa, dipintovi l'Adorazione de Magi, quando offeriscono a Nostro Signore incenso et mirra.

Un'altro quadro delle sudette misure dei di sopra, dipintovi l'Orazione di Nostro Signore nell'Orto.

Le figure di questi quadri harebbono a esser grandi quanto il vivo, o poco meno, et non han da servir per chiesa, ma per tener in una sala convenientemente grande.

Avvertesi il discreto Pittore, che in Spagna piacciono le Pitture di devozione con attitudini quiete, e senza svolgimenti, et pero nell'Adorazione de Magi procurera che la Madonna sia con viso honesto*, et in faccia piu che sia possibile, col manto azzurro in capo, o almeno in su tutte due le spalle molto ben composto, et sopra tutto non se le vegga piede nessuno ignudo. Et se ne Magi si vorra scoprir piu maestria, come sian riccamente vestiti, si rimette al buon giudizio del Pittore.

Nell'altro quadro dell'Orazione di Nostro Signore nell'Orto, s'ha da procurar che gli Apostoli dormino con attitudini commode et honeste, stando con convenienza appoggiati l'uno all'altro, o distesi, o in quella piu honesta positura che parra al medesimo Inventore. Et se in questi, etnel Christo** si potra veder la faccia, osservando pero il decoro dell'arte, dara l'opera piu sodisfazione et contento, et il Maestro*** ne riportera maggior lode.****

Li sopradetti quadri sian piu tosto qualcosa meno delle misure sopradette, che niente piu.

Il Ligozzi faccia il quadro de Magi, et il Passignano quello di Nostro Signore nell'Orto, di misura et osservazioni suddette, et su ambidue si metta il piu fine azzurro oltramarino che si trovera.

il Gran Duca di Toscana 24 Febbraio 98

[In Mediceo del Principato 5080, f. 564 (undated) there is a near variant of the present document, without the Grand Duke's authorization. The textual variations are not substantial, though a few are worth noting: * "viso honesto, delicato e in faccia"; ** "nel Christo particolarmente; *** "artefice" instead of "Maestro"; **** Text ends here.]

DOCUMENT TWO

Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5036 [7 December 1599] Dona Maria de Toledo y Colonna, Dowager Duchess of Alba [Villafranca] to Ferdinando I de'Medici [Tuscan Court]

Serenisimo Senor/Mucho deseo saber con que salud se halla Vuestra Alteza y mi senora la duquesa cuias manos beso mil veces; yo escribi otra carta a Vuestra Alteza dandole cuenta de la resolucion que he tomado en las obras pias y entierro de su primo y servidor que hago de mi hacienda y es masque ella el animo con que he emprendido tan grandes fundaziones con que dejo [?aun iniciado el estado que fue de su aquel] de Vuestra Alteza y mio de manera que si su grandeza no le obligara a tantos gastos yo le pidiera ayuda mas ahora solamente suplico a Vuestra Alteza me haga merced de mandar hacer a sus pintores y enviarme una imagen tan grande que pueda servir de retablo en la nueva iglesia. Ha de ser de la asuncion de Nuestra Senora puesta en el lecho y cercado de los apostoles y por lejos en el medio del lienzo el asuncion muy hermosa cercada de angeles y otros por el aire bajando a poner girnaldas de lauro a dos coros de monjas que han de estar a los lados y yncadas de rodillas y suspensas en el aire; estas han de tener habitos de sayal blanco y mantos de sayal negro porque este es el que han de traer mis monjas y la casa se llama nuestra senora de la laura. Tambien suplico a Vuestra Alteza mande que sean muy hermosos todos los angeles y que con esta pintura me trajan media dozena de ninos Jesuses de los que hacen en Luca muy hermosos, y de diferentes tamanos chicos y grandes y mi Senora la Duquesa suplico mande a la camarera vista el uno de los por que aca se vistan asi los de mas y habra perpetua memoria de encomendar a dyos a Vuestra Alteza y a su casa, mandandolo yo como lo hare y despertandoles la memoria y devocion este presente que Vuestra Alteza me hara merced de mandar enviarme trayendose al embajador de la corte de espana pasa que el lo entrege en madrid al agente que alli tengo. Guarde nuestro Senor a Vuestra Alteza como yo deseo y con la salud de su Serenisima persona que es menester. de Villafranca. 7 de 9bre 1599. [Postscript: Pido perdon de poner aqui el atraso de la pintura. Suplico a Vuestra Alteza que delante de los dos coros de monjas esten San Francisco y Santo Domingo pidiendo a Nuestra Senora que las mande coronas senalando a las monjas con una mano cada santo al uno de los coros.] Serenisimo Senor/Beso las manos a Vuestra Alteza/Dona Maria.

DOCUMENT THREE

Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 294; ff. 142-43 [12 January 1599 ab.inc./1600]. Ferdinando I [Cerreto Guidi] to Dowager Duchess of Alba [Villafranca?]

Alia Signora Duchessa d'Alva de 12 di Gennaio

Le lettere di Vostra Eccellenza sogliono ordinariamente recarmi molto gusto et contento, massime quando con esse ella mi ricerca d'alcuna cosa per suo servizio, et havend'io risposto a tutte l'altre ch'ella m'ha scritto fin a hora, ho ultimamente ricevuto la sua de 7 di Novembre, et per essa veduto quanto Vostra Eccellenza desidera intorno alla tavola da farsi per la sua nuova chiesa. E si come queste azioni dell' Eccellenza Vostra fanno conoscere il pio et devoto animo suo verso la santa Religione, cosi debbo io sommamente desiderare l'occasione, che hora ella mi porge d'entrar a una piccola paste del gran merito che conseguira Vostra Eccellenza appresso il Signor Iddio per questa sua nobile impresa; et non stimero poco guiderdone che in quel monasterio habbino da esser fatte orazioni per me, et tutta questa casa, si che con tanta maggior diligenza io procurero che l'Eccellenza Vostra sia servita di questa tavola, ma per potere ben accertare a farla in maniera che le sodisfaccia interamente, sarebbe necessario sapere che grandezza debba essere la tavola accio che ella venga a essere proporzionata alla capacita della chiesa, et all'altare dove ha da essere situata, percio giudico che Vostra Altezza fara bene a ordinare che se ne mandi qua la misura per l'appunto, et intanto io faro comminciare da uno de miglior pittori di Fiorenza a fare il disegno di tutte le figure che ella ha descritte nella sua lettera accio che subito venga la misura si possa metter mano all'opera senza perdimento di tempo. Similmente se le manderanno di quelle imagini di Gesu che si fanno in Lucca, secondo il ricordo di Vostra Eccellenza et ne havra particular cura Madama la Granduchessa, la quale tiene desiderio eguale al mio di servirla, et ella et io baciamo all'Eccellenza Vostra la mano; da Cerreto.

DOCUMENT FOUR

Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5049, ff. 35-36 [2 May 1600]. Dowager Duchess of Alba [Villafranca] to Ferdinando I [Tuscan Court]

Serenisimo Senor\ Beso las manos a Vuestra Alteza por la mucha merced que me hizo con la carta de 10 de enero que su embajador de Vuestra Alteza me envio en repuesta de la que escribi yo dando cuenta como era razon al mayor pariente y mas grande y venerado que tengo y non tendria palabras pant decir como yo le siento el agradecimiento de la mucha merced y regalo que Vuestra Alteza me hace que en reconocimiento della poco sent que el mayor cuidado de estas senoras monjas de Nuestra Senora de la Laura sea encomendar a nuestro senor a Vuestra Alteza a mi senora la gran duquesa y a mis sobrinos y aunque haran este oracion algunas de su sangre de Vuestra Alteza que toman el habito en esta casa y de las es suya del Senor Don Pedro mi hijo, no creo haran ventaja alas de mas que todas se sienten muy obligadas de que Vuestra Alteza hiciera poner en su iglesia la pintura como espero yo que sera hecha en Florencia y con el cuidado que por la carta veo manda Vuestra Alteza poner en que sea muy buena que sin duda sera mejor que el retablo del Escurial pues se pintaron en Castilla sus imagenes y aunque los pintores fuesen extranjeros ya se sabe en Espana que los mejores que ay en Italia los tiene Vuestra Alteza en su servicio; pregunta me Vuestra Alteza de que tamano es el altar por la capilla; el altar es de quatro varas de largo y la capilla es muy grande y asi lo que me parece es si Vuestra Alteza es servido que sea lienzo y no tabla, unos manteles muy anchos por que no lleve costura y como las figuras son muchas y han de ser de tamano natural habra ese cuadro todo el ancho del altar que son quatro varas espanolas de ancho y de alto todo lomas que a Vuestra Alteza pareciera, yen haciendome merced de enviarmele, buscare yo aca el mejor escultor del Reino para que haga santos y figuras de bulto para la redonda de esa pintura y con sola ella y estas figuras de talla hare mi retablo pot que ninguna cosa de pincel que en Espana se haga vendria conforme y suplico a Vuestra Alteza me haga merced de mandar que diga al pintor que tenga mas cuidado de la hermosura de los rostros que del arte que yo huelgo de que sean muy hermosos y como los vea hermosos y con mucho relieve las pinturas me parecen muy buenas; ya veo Senor que no puede dejar de llevar costura el lienzo y asi si a Vuestra Alteza se pareciera que sea mas ancho que el altar sera bien que lo sea; al fin Senor el altar es de quatro varas la pared de la Capilla tan grande que cualquier grandeza en el lienzo vendra bien y a mi me parecera mejor que Vuestra Alteza senale lo que ha de tenet y que el pintor non pinte con mucha priesa y sera bueno que algunos angeles de los que ha de asomar por lo alto con los rostros muy alegres arrojen flores a los dos coros de monjas que ha de haber a los lados; y mandele Vuestra Alteza advertir que el habito de las es de sayal blanco y escapulario y cinta negra ancha como dos dedos y manto de saial negro sin pliegues como los de los capuchinos y trabado sobre el pecho con un boton de palo y tocas de lienzo blanco junto a las cejas y luego velo negro de lienzo tenido, este es el habito, y alpargatas de canamos ceradas que cubren todo el pie y trabado de la cinta un rosario grueso como de hermitano, eso dicho porque me parece que suplique a Vuestra Alteza que en lo bajo de la pintura estuviese nuestra senora en el lecho muriendose y todos los apostoles que se hallaron a su muerte cercados del lecho yen el medio del lienzo nuestra senora subiendo cercada de angeles y a los lados San Francisco y Santo Domingo elevados como en oracion y senalando a dos coros de monjas sobre los cuales como pot efecto de la oracion que por elias hacen estos santos, han de bajar algunas angeles con coronas de laurel en las manos y otros mas arriba arrojandoles las flores que dije. Vuestra Alteza me haga merced de decir un gran recado mio a mi senora la gran duquesa y de mandarme dar nuevas de su alteza y des mis sobrinos y de la salud de Vuestra Alteza muy en particular, plega a Nuestro Senor sea que yo deseo y asi acreciente la persona y lo estado de Vuestra Alteza; de Villafranca; mayo 2 de 600 anos/Serenisimo Senor/beso la mano a Vuestra Alteza su primo/Dona Maria

DOCUMENT FIVE

Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4927, f.815 [23 September 1600]. Ambassador Francesco Guicciardini [Madrid] to Secretary Belisario Vinta [Tuscan Court]

La Signora Duchessa d'Alva Vedova m'invio finalmente la risposta in proposito di quella pittura che l'ha chiesto a Sua Altezza Nostro Signore et perche io ne potessi cavare la memoria che io avvertii all'huomo suo che era necessaria mi mando la lettera aperta che pur al solito e scritta di sua mano in quel carattere che Vostra Signoria sa onde ho preso l'espediente di farla copiare al Segretario Rena per facilitare la lettura et s'e cavato anco un sunto al meglio che si e potuto di quello che a noi pare che questa Signora desideri, se bene referendosi ella in molte cose ad altra lettera scritta in questo proposito a S.A. e bisognato in qualche parte andarsene piu dreto alia conietura che al testo et in alcune credo anco che sara necessaria che il discreto pittore usi piuttosto dell'arbitrio che si sottometta a volere osservare ad'in quem il senso letterale. Sara dunque con la presente, la lettera originale della Duchessa che si e sigillata et fattole il soprascritta qui, la copia d'essa et la memoria cavatane.

DOCUMENT SIX

Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 4934, f.563 [12 August 1604]. Secretary Orazio della Rena [Valladolid] to Secretary Belisario Vinta [Tuscan Court]

L'altro negozio della Signora Duchessa d'Alva e per conto di quel quadro di pittura, ch'ella gia tanto tempo ha domandato a Sua Alteza. Viene con questa uno schizzo dell'Historia, che desidera in esso, il quale io ho fatto fare al Carducci pittor del Re, et alle spalie d'esso schizzo van notate alcune dichiarazioni, et avvertimenti al pittore, accio s'accerti meglio in servire a questa Signora.

DOCUMENT SEVEN

Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5080, f.559; undated [1604] Bartolomeo Carducci [Copy]: Memoria per il Quadro della Signora Duchessa d'Alva

Questo quadro della Signora Duchessa d'Alva ha da esser se e possibile tutto d'un pezzo dico la tela larga cinque vare di spagna, che vengono ad esser 7 braccia 0/2 florentine scarse et d'altezza sette vare di spagna che vengono ad esser 10 braccia 0/2 scarse florentine. Le principali figure di questo quadro han da esser un Cristo sopra una nugola, che tenga per mano la Vergine sua Madre, rappresentando quel luogo della Cantica, che dice Enixa super dilectum. Hanno ad esser queste due figure bellissime di volto; quella del Cristo ha da havere la veste rossa posta sotto il braccio, et tutto il restante ha da esser nudo, della maniera, che si dipinge resuscitato; ha da havere di piu una corona d'alloro in capo, ma non molto grande, et nell'altra mano una palma, et tutto in segnal di trionfo. La Vergine nostra signora ha da esser vestita di bianco, et la veste tempestata di perle, et d'altre pietre preziose, et ha da tener in capo una corona d'oro, et di gemme. Nel suo transito ha da apparir nostra signora ancor viva con una candela accesa in mano con la faccia bella, et allegra. Gli apostoli in buone attitudini, et facili, et se i volti potesser'essere i medesimi ritratti al naturale sarian gratissimi. I due cori di monache, che appariscono al lato destro, et sinistro han da essere dipinte con l'habito the apie si dichiara; alcune d'esse han da esser giovani, et altre vecchie, et le giovani di bella faccia pero tutte in generale han da stare con gran gravita, e devozione. La postura di San Domenico e di San Francesco ha da esser in ginocchione con una mano alzata intercedendo favore alla Santissima Trinita per le monache, et in consequenza dell'orazione, et intercessione di questi santi s'han da veder molt'angeli, che stan nella gloria spargere fiori diversi, et ramoscelli sopra queste monache. E tutti i volti di questi angeli han da essere ridenti, et belli al possibile. Nella parte piu alta di questo quadro s'han da dipinger tre seggiole, nell'una ha da stare Dio Padre e questa nel mezzo. Nell'altra lo spirito santo dipinto in forma corporea, et ha da rappresentar un giovane bellissimo vestito di veste bianca guarnita di rubini, seminata di lingue di fuoco, et nella man destra ha da tener un globo di fuoco, et nell'altra una palma. L'altra seggiola a man destra di Cristo ha da esser vota, come si mostra nello schizzo presente, il quale il discreto pittore potra rifiorire, et arrichire conforme alla sua molta habilita, avvertendo che se desidera di dare gusto a far come si e detto l'attitudini facili, et il colorito vago et i volti belli, et devoti, et nella parte piu bassa nei canti s'hanno a far una parte l'arme di Sua Altezza nostro Signore et all'altra quella del Signor Duca d'Alva.

DOCUMENT EIGHT

Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 5080, f.560 [Undated; 1604] Bartolomeo Carducci(?): Descrizione dell'Habito delle Monache de la Laura per la Signora Duchessa d'Alva

L'habito delle monache ha da essere con un mantello di panno negro grosso poco piu a basso del ginocchio. Ha da stare il detto mantello appuntato con un botton lungo di legno fatto al torno, l'occhiello per donde passa questo bottone, et la parte dove s'attacca ha da esser d'una fortezza di cuoio in forma triangolare. La tonaca s'ha da dipingersi di panno bianco pur grosso, et non ha da tener strascico, come usano l'altre monache di Spagna, et lo scapulario alquanto stretto del medesimo panno bianco. La cintura di cuoio ben larga con la fibbia di ferro, nella forma che la portano i frati di Sant'Agostino riformati. Le scarpe di corda di canapa, tessute in modo che non si vegga ne dita, ne carne del pie. I veli del capo han da esser di rensa. Il primo che cuopra una gran parte de la testa un poco crespo, il secondo due dita piu su, il terzo ha da esser negro et cader sotto il mantello, il quarto pur nero ha da cader sopra le spalle. Il soggolo ha da esser bianco de la medesima rensa, et ha da coprire una parte del mento, et sopra porsi a i veli del capo. II mantello in alcune ha da svolazzare di maniera, che apparisca una corona di legno con li pater nostro grossi nella forma che si vede nel seguente disegno.

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