Antonio Perrenot, cardenal de Granvela (1517-1586)un asesor artístico y cultural de la Casa de Austria

Abstract

Granvelle was one of the key figures in the development of art collecting and artistic patronage among leading members of the House of Austria during the sixteenth century. Working initially under the shadow of his father, he gradually obtained the trust of the emperor Charles V, who entrusted him with ever more political and cultural affairs. From a point of view of artistic interests and patronage, however, he was closest to Mary of Hungary, the emperor’s regent in the Low Countries since 1531. He established contact with the future Philip II in the course of the prince’s Felicísimo Viaje in 1549-1551 which was decisive in shaping Philip II’s artistic tastes. Their relationship was strengthened when Charles V abdicated and left the Low Countries for Spain accompanied by his sisters. Granvelle had won the trust of the new monarch largely due to his extensive political and diplomatic experience, but they were also drawn together as a result of their common interests in art and culture in the widest sense. During these years Granvelle was a key figure at court for established artists at the service of the imperial family such as the painters Titian or Coxcie. However, his greatest contribution was discovering and supporting new artists, such as the portrait painter Antonis Mor, or the sculptors and medal-makers in the Leoni family, whose work for the House of Austria he supervised closely for many years despite the distance between Brussels and Milan...