THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS painters decorating .83 Alessandra Baroni has in fact hypothesized a visit made to Rome at this time to explain the evolution of the painter’s style after 1560.84 After weaving the Stories of Jason in 1554, the only documented works produced by Rost’s tapestry works at San Marco were a ‘portiera’ with the coat of arms of a Medici cardinal, probably Giovanni di Cosimo, and four ‘spalliere’ with the arms of the Duke woven by a tapestry master from Bruges, Pieter de Witte, known in as Pietro d’Elia Candido. This master is described in Medici court rolls as an “araziere minuto”, specialized in a particularly refined type of tapestry work. Candido’s name appears along with those of Rost and his son on the lists of the Medici’s salaried staff from 1559 to 1564. His son, also named Pieter, called Pietro di Pietro Candido in Italian documents, would later become the main cartoonist at the court tapestry works in Munich.85 supplied cartoons at a slow pace: his workshop only produced twenty of them over a period of nine years, causing Rost to make justifiable complaints to the Duke. This slow rate of production may explain the employment given to Stradanus, who probably was already familiar with the Flemish cartoon techniques that would speed the tapestry masters’ work. In fact, unless his skills were already well tested, it would be hard to explain how Stradanus gained in such a short period of time, albeit under Vasari’s direction, his position as the principal cartoonist for the important series of tapestries woven for Palazzo Vecchio.

“Maestro Giovanni Strada Fiammingo, huomo di grande eccellenza & prestezza”: tapestries for Palazzo Vecchio and .

The work and cartoons attributed to Stradanus cited above suggest that the painter probably collaborated with Jan Rost and Francesco Salviati starting around 1548 or 1549, even if his presence in the city is documented only from 1554.86 1554 was also the year in which Cosimo I’s new tapestry enterprise entered the second phase of development. Nicolas Karcher returned to Mantua at a date after 6 February 1554, while Jan Rost continued production at the San Marco workshop until 1560, devoting his time exclusively to soliciting and carrying out the orders of private clients. returned to Florence in the summer of the same year. At the same time the tapestries commissioned by the court were ordered for the first time from the so-called “creati fiorentini”, the new Florentine tapestry masters who had been trained by Rost and Karcher. In 1556 two new workshops were opened for the “creati”, one in Via del Cocomero (today’s Via Ricasoli) and the other in Via de’ Servi. These workshops were managed respectively by Giovanni Sconditi and Benedetto Squilli, the latter from 1559 onwards. The inauguration of these workshops can in essence be considered the founding act of the ducal tapestry works, now administrated as a detached department of the Medici ‘Guardaroba’. The enterprise, completely under Cosimo’s control, gave a new impetus to the restoration and decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio. 87 The decoration of Palazzo Vecchio was entrusted to Vasari, who coordinated the work of all the artisans and artists, including the tapestry weavers. Florentine erudites including Cosimo Bartoli and Vincenzo Borghini helped him with the iconographical programme that was aimed at glorifying their sovereign Cosimo.88 The accounting both for the construction work and for the tapestries woven was handled by Tanai de’ Medici, who was thus able to reduce the total cost of the undertaking. The workshops produced

: : 42 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist tapestries for the new private apartments using simplified techniques and less precious materials, made of wool and a limited quantity of silk, a choice that made them more able to stand up to prolonged use.89 The decisive factor for Cosimo’s choice to entrust Vasari with responsibility for Palazzo Vecchio was probably the reputation that the painter earned during his stay in Rome. The rapid conclusion of Vasari’s decoration in the Farnese family’s Palazzo della Cancelleria, which was nicknamed the palace of ‘Cento Giorni’, precisely because it only took one hundred days for Vasari to complete the commission, by 1546 had already won him admiration in Florence.90 Johannes Stradanus was also praised by his contemporaries for the skill and speed of his work. For example, in the description of the decorations painted for the ceremonial entrance of Cosimo’s daughter-in-law Joanna of Austria, which was published in 1566, Domenico Mellini described “Maestro Giovanni Strada Fiammingo” as a “huomo di grande eccellenza & prestezza nel fare”, literally as a man of excellence and rapidity.91 Since Stradanus and Vasari were both skilled in creating, organizing and carrying out high quality work, new impetus for the decoration of the Medici residences grew from their well-synchronized collaboration on the building site at Palazzo Vecchio. The decoration of the palace under Vasari’s artistic direction began at the beginning of 1555, in the apartment dedicated to the Elements. While the artists painted frescoes in the rooms of the apartment they also made the cartoons for the tapestries which would hang there.92 The humanist Cosimo Bartoli supplied the iconographic programme for the decoration of this apartment and for the one dedicated to Pope Leo X, begun at the same time.93 In the meantime the workshop in Via del Cocomero, re-organized to house the new looms, opened on 19 March 1556, joined in November of the same year by the twin workshop in Via de’ Servi.94 The decoration of the room dedicated to Ceres in Palazzo Vecchio took place between early 1555 and the Spring of 1556. Vasari mentions eight cartoons made for the tapestries with Stories of Ceres, including one for above the window and one for above the door with the Duke’s coat of arms on them. The tapestries were woven between 6 May 1557 and 22 January 1558. Three drawings for this series have been identified, two at Christ Church in Oxford and one in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, all attributed to Vasari.95 Five other tapestries with Stories of Cybele were woven from 30 October 1557 to 15 January 1558 for the room in Palazzo Vecchio dedicated to Hopi and Cybele, which was painted during the first months of 1557.96 Neither the present whereabouts of these two series, nor the names of the cartoonists are known. Since in other rooms Vasari specifies that the tapestries were designed by the artists, himself included, who painted the frescoes, we can make the same assumption for this case as well.97 The same can be said for the rooms dedicated to Cosimo il Vecchio and Lorenzo de’ Medici: from 26 April 1557 on documents mention Johannes Stradanus98 as the figure painter responsible for the frescoes and on 31 July 1557 he received payment for the cartoons for the tapestries in these rooms.99 Thus, since his presence in Florence is documented from 1554 onwards, he could easily have been responsible for the Ceres and Cybele series as well.100 The Flemish artist was paid on 19 November and 2 December 1558 for cartoons that can be identified with theStories of Saturn, woven by Squilli by 13 July 1559 as decorations for two of the walls of the terrace dedicated to Saturn in the Elements Apartment, where Stradanus painted the ceiling frescoes using drawings by Vasari.101 A tapestry with Jupiter’s Birth (fig. 11) presented for sale at an auction in 1999, has been linked to this series, but might actually be a replica of the lost original.102 There are two surviving drawings related to Jupiter’s Birth, both attributed to the circle of Vasari, one in the Albertina in Vienna and the other in the Art Institute of Chicago. Since both drawings show the composition reversed, we

: : 43 : : THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS

Fig. 11. Jupiter’s Birth (from a set of the Stories of Saturn ?), woven Fig. 12. Virility accompanied by Virtues (from a set of Life of Man), in the workshop of Benedetto Squilli (?), cartoon by Johannes woven in the workshop of Benedetto Squilli (?), design Giorgio Stradanus (?), 1559 (?), Private collection Vasari, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus, 1562-1563 (?), London, Victoria and Albert Museum can recognize them as preparatory studies for low warp tapestries.103 Recently another tapestry with Saturn and Philyra from the Stories of Saturn, based on cartoons by Stradanus, has been identified in the Acton collection at Villa La Pietra in Florence. Quite probably it is another replica of the lost original, linked to a second edition made shortly after the first for the Saturn terrace in Palazzo Vecchio.104 There can be no doubt about the cartoons for the major series of fourteen tapestries with Life of Man: according to documents, Stradanus delivered the cartoons for this series starting in November 1559 and Squilli and Sconditi finished the tapestries early in 1565. Only three of these tapestries from the series, split between Pisa, Paris and London (fig. 12), have been found. Sixteenth century sources indicated that they were made for the Duke’s winter dining room,105 which was situated between Eleonora de Toledo’s Apartment and the ‘Scala Piana’. The room, which had a ceiling painted by Salviati, was demolished in a later period.106 Stradanus’ collaboration became indispensable for the Medici tapestry works, given the rapid pace of the work and he soon became the most important cartoonist working for the ‘creati fiorentini’. Thanks to his familiarity with the cartoon techniques used in Flanders, he was able to transform Vasari’s drawings and quick sketches of the scenes into compositions peopled by imposing figures in movement, which he completed with exuberant decorated borders. His cartoons were easy to follow and thus considerably speeded up the work of the tapestry weavers. A smaller project involved Cosimo’s apartment, situated on the same floor as the Duecento hall, which

: : 44 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist

Fig. 13. Samuel anointing David as King (from a set of the Stories of David), woven in the workshop of Giovanni Sconditi, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus, 1561-1562, Florence, Depositi Arazzi Palazzo Pitti

was decorated between 1559 and 1562 by Vasari and Stradanus, and later remodeled for use by Cosimo’s son Francesco, who built his famous Studiolo there.107 We do not have a clear idea what the results of the project were, since this part of the building has undergone radical changes over the centuries. A series of six tapestries with Stories of David were made for the foyer preceding Cosimo’s bedchamber. The series was woven between 1561 and 1562 by Sconditi and Squilli using cartoons by Stradanus. The only pieces from the series known today are a tapestry with Samuel anointing David as a King (fig. 13) and a fragment representing a Warrior. There were also two lost tapestries that hung above the windows woven for the same room, which bear Cosimo’s ‘imprese’, or personal emblems, a falcon and an anchor. The documentation indicates that the two last tapestries were finished by 28 February 1562, but does not specify the cartoonist’s name.108 Two other series of tapestries representing Stories of David were woven in Squilli and Sconditi’s workshops between 1567 and 1568, and in both cases they were based on new cartoons by Stradanus. The first series included four tapestries showing the preparations for David’s fight with Goliath. One of these tapestries now belongs to the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo in Pisa: it represents David asking Permission to Fight Goliath. The second series included five lost tapestries, which represented the final phases of the saga, the slaying of Goliath and the victor’s triumph.109 On 18 January 1561, Cosimo I wrote to Vasari to ask him to interrupt the work on the terrace dedicated to Saturn, so that he could concentrate on the restoration of the Eleonora de Toledo’s apartment.110 This work, planned since 1559, was finally started in the first half of 1561, with ceilings and friezes painted jointly

: : 45 : : THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS

Fig. 14. Claudia as a Vestal Virgin, entering with her Father Rome in Triumph (from a set of the Stories of Roman Women), woven in the workshop of Giovanni Sconditi, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus, 1563, Florence, Depositi Arazzi Palazzo Pitti by Stradanus and Vasari.111 Three series of tapestries were woven by Sconditi and Squilli using cartoons by the Flemish painter between 1562 and 1564 for the rooms in Eleonora’s apartment dedicated to ancient heroines. The subject of each series of tapestries matched the one chosen for each room. These were the Stories of Roman Women -mentioned by Borghini and later Medici inventories as Stories of the Sabine Women-, the Stories of the Esther and Ahsuerus, and the Stories of Ulysses, probably for the room dedicated to Penelope, Ulysses’ wife.112 Though the six Ulysses’ tapestries are lost, a drawing in the Louvre and another one in the Albertina in Vienna give us an idea of what two of them looked like.113 Only one of the six tapestries with Stories of Roman Women has survived. It represents Claudia as a Vestal Virgin, entering with her Father Rome in Triumph (fig. 14). The series included representations of Clelia crossing the River Tiber and, possibly, Veturia, the Mother of Coriolanus, begging her Son not to go to War against the Romans. The main literary source for this series seems to be De mulieribus claris, the collection of biographies of famous women written by Giovanni Boccaccio from 1361 onwards. Three of the 106 biographies by Boccaccio, are in fact dedicated to Clelia, Veturia and Claudia. Boccaccio in turn based his stories on ancient sources such as the episode concerning Claudia in Valerio Massimo’s Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri and in Cicero’s famous speech Pro Celio.114 Three drawings for the series have been identified, one with Clelia crossing the Tiber that belongs to the Uffizi, a drawing of Veturia that was sold on the art market on 1997 and another one in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, with the She-Wolf nursing Romulus and Remus.115 Only two of the four tapestries for the Esther and Ahsuerus series are known today: the one representing Esther inviting King Ahsuerus and Haman to a Banquet hangs in the castle of Oiron in France. The tapestry

: : 46 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist

Fig. 15. The Cyrus’ Banquet (from a set of the Stories of Cyrus as a youth), woven in the workshop of Giovanni Sconditi, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus, 1565-1567, Florence, Depositi Arazzi Palazzo Pitti with the Triumph of Mordecai is still in Florence, like one of it’s preparatory drawings (in the Uffizi), while a second drawing belongs to the National Museum of Warsaw.116 In Eleonora de Toledo’s apartment and in the one dedicated to the Elements, Vasari coordinated the tapestries with the paintings, frescoes, glass, plaster, marble and wood decorations, to create a harmonious iconographic and stylistic unit, from the floor to the ceiling and the frieze. We must presume that the effect of the lost decoration on the ceilings and of the freizes in Cosimo and Francesco’s apartment was much the same.117 Four other tapestries were woven between 1564 and 1565 for the “prima camera di sul piano della sala de’ 200”, or first room on the same floor as the Duecento hall, where Cosimo’s apartment was situated. These tapestries representing Stories of Solomon, once again based on cartoons by Stradanus, have been lost. Fortunately, two drawings have been linked to this series, one in the Uffizi withSolomon building a Temple for Jehovah and another one in the Louvre representing King Solomon’s Wealth.118 The room referred to may well be the one with a depiction of Solomon asleep on the ceiling.119 It may well be that Cosimo’s son Francesco identified himself with the figure of Solomon, much the same way his father identified himself with the figure of King David. Since Francesco lived in these rooms from 1 May 1564, when he took over the Grand Dukedom of , he may have commissioned the entire series of tapestries dedicated to Solomon.120 Other tapestries were woven for the same apartment in Sconditi and Squilli’s workshops between 1565

: : 47 : : THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS

Fig. 16. Boar-Hunt with Harquebuses (from a set of the Hunts), woven in the workshop of Giovanni Sconditi, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus, 1566, Florence, Depositi Arazzi Palazzo Pitti and 1567. Though the series included thirteen Stories of Cyrus as a Youth and of Cyrus in old Age, only one tapestry representing Cyrus’ Banquet (fig. 15) is known today. Proof of Stradanus’ authorship is provided by a drawing and an extremely rare monochrome sketch painted in oil on canvas both in the Uffizi.121 Prince Francesco may have commissioned these tapestries dedicated to the great Persian King for his private chambers, inspired by the series representing Stories of King Cyrus in the Spanish royal collection, which he had a chance to see during his visit to Spain between 1562 and 1563. The Spanish series was exhibited for the first time in Toledo in 1560 at the memorial service organized after the death of King François II of France.122 Another series of tapestries with Hunting Scenes was created for the walls in the twenty rooms at the Medici Villa in Poggio a Caiano. According to Vasari, the series was conceived “con l’invenzione del duca”, using the ideas of Cosimo I.123 The hunt theme had already been the subject of several, famous series woven during the previous century, including the Burgundian tapestries known as the Devonshire Hunt Scenes, which probably were woven in Arras around 1430. The popularity of the subject continued throughout the sixteenth century: a good example is the well-known tapestry that represents Hunts of Maximilian, woven in Brussels between 1531 and 1533 for Emperor Charles V using cartoons by Barend van Orley.124 Documents prove that work by Vasari on the large-scale project for Poggio a Caiano began in 1561. Thanks to a letter the painter sent to the Duke on 28 September, we know that he had already had measured of the rooms and decided where the tapestries should be placed (“Io [Vasari] presi tutte

: : 48 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist le misure delle stanze del Poggio et sconparti i panni”). He also made a drawing on which Cosimo was requested to indicate the type of hunt to be woven for each room, chosing from an illustrated book, where the hunts were drawn and described (“libro dove elle [cacce] sono disegniate o descritte”). The book referred to is probably Piero di Cosimo’s Libro di animali, which the humanist Cosimo Bartoli first lent and then later gave to the Duke. It has not yet been possible to verify whether the drawings for the tapestries, that Vasari was working on when he wrote a second letter on 15 November 1561, were studies for the cartoons by Stradanus.125 The only tapestries with a hunting subject expressly mentioned by Vasari were the “uccellagioni”, or bird hunting scenes, which were planned for Cosimo’s study in Poggio a Caiano, but never woven. This subject may have been chosen as an allusion to Lorenzo de’ Medici who practised this kind of hunting at Poggio, reviving the ancient art of falconry, which he refers to in a well- known sonnet.126 The bird hunt theme was abandoned after only one, lost tapestry with Hunting for Ostriches was made and was only taken up again after became the chief cartoonist for the weavers.127 This change of plans probably was responsible for the delay which seems to have occurred with regard to the production of the tapestries dedicated to the hunting of other animals. The first delivery made to the Medici Guardaroba, Giovanni Sconditi’s tapestry with Boar Hunt with Harquebuses (fig. 16), was not made until 6 October 1566, five years after Vasari’s first letter to Duke Cosimo.128 The weaving did however proceed at a brisker pace over the following two years and by the time of Sconditi’s death in 1568 a total of thirteen tapestries had been finished: six by Sconditi himself, with boar, deer, ibex and chamois hunts, and seven by Benedetto Squilli, with for boar, lion, bear and deer hunt scenes.129 Between 1569 and 1577 Squilli wove fourteen more tapestries, with wolf, bear, hare, rabbit, fox, porcupine, badger, beaver and wild cat hunt scenes (cat. 13). A total of twenty-eight hunting tapestries were woven using Stradanus’ cartoons, a number far short of total of forty previously calculated.130 To date, fifteen of the twenty-eight tapestries have been found. Nine of these belong to museums in Florence, three more are in Pisa and three other fragments of tapestries hang at the Prefettura in Siena. A tapestry with Hunting for Otters appeared on the art market in 1960 and in 1965. Some of the missing tapestries may have been cut up in pieces and sold, like the ones now in Siena and the five fragments of the border of a lost hunt tapestry which I discovered in a private collection in Florence.131 Vasari, guided by the humanist Vincenzo Borghini, and Stradanus has a variety of iconograhical sources available when planning the hunt series, since the theme had already inspired many famous tapestry and print series. Along with Piero di Cosimo’s Libro d’animali, their sources included Gaston Phébus’s Livre de Chasse, a manuscript, which was made in 1387 for Philip the Hardy, Duke of Burgundy, gained fame throughout Europe in the fifteenth century, and was printed in Paris around 1507. Another source was Domenico Boccamazza’s sixteenth century treatise on the art of hunting with canvas and nets.132 Stradanus gave a lively, attractive interpretation to the hunt scenes by setting them in the Tuscan countryside, thus creating an intensely serene, luminous environment. The weavers managed to capture the effect perfectly, using the wide variety of hues available in wool, a simple, but versatile material, and, highlighted the colours with a few touches of silk. As Mercedes Viale Ferrero pointed out, starting from the tapestries with Hunts made for Poggio a Caiano the tapestry assumed a new role as the creative stimulus for a great number of series of prints that were engraved and published in Flanders.133 These prints helped spread the fame of these tapestries throughout Europe, only shortly after they were woven.134

: : 49 : : THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS

Fig. 17. Lorenzo de’ Medici building the Villa in Poggio a Caiano (from a set of the Stories of Lorenzo de’ Medici), woven in the workshop of Benedetto Squilli, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus, 1570-1571, Florence, Depositi Arazzi Palazzo Pitti

: : 50 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist

Fig. 18. Cosimo il Vecchio building the Badia Fiesolana (from a set of the Stories of Cosimo il Vecchio), woven in the workshop of Benedetto Squilli, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus, 1570-1571, Siena, Provincia.

Following Sconditi’s death in 1568, the two workshops in Via de’ Servi and Via del Cocomero merged. Managed by Benedetto Squilli, the united workshop moved back, perhaps as early as 1571, to the site of Rost’s tapestry works at San Marco.135 The first phase of the work of Palazzo Vecchio ended with the decoration of the apartment dedicated to the Elements and the rooms inhabited by Eleonora de Toledo, Cosimo I and Francesco. The walls of the rooms in Leo X’s apartment, where the restoration started in 1555, while work was being done in the Elements apartment, were decorated with frescoes rather than tapestries.136 Neither Vasari’s Ragionamenti nor his biography of Stradanus in Le Vite mention a plan for tapestries for this apartment, and the same can be said of Borghini’s Riposo. This decision was probably made in the early 1570s when the apartment was reserved for the use by Cardinal Ferdinand de’ Medici, who later became Grand Duke with the title Ferdinand I. After taking part in the early phase of decoration of Leo X’s apartment, Stradanus also painted the cartoons for the tapestries woven for this apartment by Squilli’s workshop between 1569 and 1574, with stories of the Medici family. He made the cartoons for the stories of Cosimo il Vecchio, of Lorenzo de’ Medici and Clement VII, which were woven as decorations for the rooms dedicated to these members

: : 51 : : THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS

Fig. 19. Grotesque with Bacchus (from a set of Grotesques), woven in the workshop of Benedetto Squilli, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus and Domenico Buti, 1572 or 1578, Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs. of the family. While a few tapestries from each of these series have survived, two other whole series are now missing, five tapestries withStories of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and six with Stories of the War against Siena, both planned for the rooms dedicated to Cosimo I.137 Two drawings in the Szepmuvészeti Museum in Budapest have been linked to the last series.138 Six of the seven tapestries with Stories of Lorenzo de’ Medici (fig. 17), woven by 14 May 1571, still exist. Five can be seen in Florence and one in Pisa , which represents Lorenzo de’ Medici and his Artists in the Loggia of the Statue Garden (fig.2). Thanks to a second series of six-pieces, woven between 1655 and 1657 by Giovanni Pollastri in the workshop of Pierre Févère, we know that the missing tapestry represented Prudence crowning Lorenzo with a Laurel Wreath. A series of five of tapestries dedicated toCosimo il Vecchio was woven by Squilli before 14 May 1571. Four of them have been identified, three still in Florence and one representing Cosimo il Vecchio building the Badia Fiesolana (fig. 18) in the palace of the Province of Siena. In this series Cosimo, in his role as ‘Pater Patriae’, is honoured for his shrewd policies, for his loyal assistance to Francesco Sforza and refusal of an alliance with and Naples, in an episode illustrated by the only lost tapestry. He is also portrayed as a benefactor and patron of the arts, by virtue of his construction of the San Giorgio Maggiore Library in Venice, the monastery in Fiesole and a hospital for pilgrims in Jerusalem (cat. 12). In March 1572 Giorgio Vasari wrote to Vincenzo Borghini about problems concerning the iconographical programme for the Stories of Clement VII. They seem to have been quickly resolved by Stradanus: barely

: : 52 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist

Fig. 20. Samuel anointing David as King (from a set of the Stories of David), woven in the workshop of Benedetto Squilli, cartoon by Johannes Stradanus (1561-1562), 1580, Florence, Private collection

: : 53 : : THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS a month later Borghini informed Vasari that the Flemish artist was already at work on the cartoons.139 Between 1573 and 1574 Benedetto Squilli wove six tapestries, three with Stories of Pope Clement VII and three allegories with Virtues. Four of these tapestries have been found, two in Pisa and two in Florence.140 The obligations created by the celebrative subject have left a pedantic mark on the compositions: the creative vein has exhausted itself, substituted by courtly adulation. After the Ferrara tapestry works closed towards the end of 1569 or at the beginning of 1570, the only workshop active on the Italian peninsula was the one located in Florence. From 1566 onwards Sconditi and Squilli had in fact already had to handle many commissions for private clients. Most of the works done for these clients, now lost, are only known from information provided by the documents of the times. Stradanus provided the cartoons for the majority of these works.141 A group of three tapestries with Grotesques with Bacchus (fig. 19), and yellow backgrounds, now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, was first published by Heikamp. For the date on one of them, the tapestries were identifed by Adelson with a series woven in 1572 for Fabio Arazzola Aragona, Marquis of Mondragone and Chamberlain to Francesco I. However, it is now known that this series was commissioned by Francesco’s lover Bianca Cappello, who became his second wife on 10 May 1578. The four tapestries were woven by Benedetto Squilli using a single cartoon started by Domenico Buti and finished by Stradanus (as noted on 26 November 1572) and delivered to the Marquis’ house by 14 February 1573.142 This is the only known tapestry cartoon by Domenico Buti, a little known painter who in 1570 signed the Distillery painted for Francesco I’s Studiolo, a subject similar to that of the panel painted by Stradanus for the same room, the Alchemy Laboratory (cat. 24). The composition uses grotesque motifs divided into vertical modules, so that a single cartoon, progressively cut down for the narrower pieces, could be used. A fifth tapestry with the same yellow background was added to this series at a later date: it was delivered to Bianca Cappello by Squilli on 1 February 1578.143 There is also a copy of the tapestry with Samuel anointing David as a King (fig. 20) in a private collection in Florence, that was woven using the cartoon that Stradanus made between 1561 and 1562 for the David series, after reducing it’s format. The borders are completely different from those in the original, and some of the additional elements, like the sphinxes at the top and bottom of the side borders, derive from the friezes for the Stories of Cosimo il Vecchio, which were also made for the Palazzo Vecchio. This tapestry was probably one of a series with Stories of David, which Bianca Cappello commissioned for the Tiepoli family in Venice in 1580, when she was already Grand Duchess.144 Stradanus’ close collaboration with the Medici tapestry works came to a conclusion after the deaths of Cosimo I and Vasari in 1574. The Flemish painter left Florence two years later for Naples, summoned according to Borghini by the Viceroy Don Juan of Austria,145 at a date after 25 February 1576, and certainly before 22 September of that year.146 Stradanus would later return to Florence, where he died in 1605, but would never worked for the Medici tapestry works again.

: : 54 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist

Notes

1. Borghini 1584, p. 579. Filippo Baldinucci (1681-1728, II, p. 391) 13. Adelson 1985 b, pp. 4, 7-8, 13-14 doc. 1, 17 doc. 5; Eadem 1990, indicates that Borghini wrote accurately about events described by pp. 512-513, doc. 32; Meoni 1998, pp. 39, 41, 42, 471, 472. Stradanus himself. 14. Ibidem, pp. 36, 473. 2. Viale Ferrero (1963, p. 35) hypothesized that Stradanus arrived 15. Ibidem, pp. 36, 59, note 18, 471. in Venice in 1545 and moved a little later to Florence along with a tapestry weaver, who was identified as Jan Rost by Baroni. She dates 16. Vasari 1568, V, p. 525; Idem 1588, pp. 51-52; Adelson 1990, pp. Stradanus’ arrival in Florence around 1550, noting that the painter 56-59. enrolled in the Antwerp Guild in 1545 and that Rost’s presence in 17. For the two contracts of 1546 see Conti 1875, pp. 97-101; Venice is documented in 1550 (Baroni 1991, pp. 5-6; Baroni Vannucci Battistini 1931, pp. 181-190, docs. 15-16. 1997, p. 16). 18. Frezza 1983, pp. 231-233. 3. Urbani de Gheltof 1878, pp. 67-68, doc. 1; Adelson 1990, pp. 598- 599, doc. 176; Innocenti 1997, pp. 324-332; Davanzo Poli 1999 a, pp. 19. For the decree of 16 May 1528 see Wauters 1878, pp. 144-149; for 144-145. the order of 1544, see Frezza 1983, p. 244, note 21. 4. “Non potendo detto Nicolas secondo la chiesta del sopradetto 20. The Flemish ‘alla’ corresponds to 0,695 metres and the Maestro Janni Rost lavorar’ alcuna sorte di tappezzerie per di Florentine ‘braccio’ to 0,58 metres. fuora… L’Eccellenza Vostra ne segua secondo sua prudentia… 21. Meoni 1998, pp. 37-39. secondo il mio proprio iuditio et per quella experientia che io ho possuto acquistar in questo tempo [Pier Francesco Riccio], che la 22. Adelson 1990, pp. 542-543, doc. 77, pp. 568-570, doc. 126, p. 623, faccia principalmente che l’un et l’altro maestro tappezier sia libero doc. 200. di poter pigliar lavori di drento et di fuora concedendo all’uno et 23. Elam 1992, pp. 159-164, 166; for the date and attribution of l’altro pari privilegi” [“The mentioned Nicolas not being permitted the tapestry see Gaeta Bertelà in Florence 1980 a, p. 81; Stefanini according to the request of the above-named Master Janni Rost Sorrentino 1993, pp. 60-63; Meoni 1998, p. 39 and fig. 232, 496. to do any kind of tapestry work for outside… Your Excellency as your prudence dictates… according to my own judgement and 24. Ibidem, pp. 35, 471. experience which I have acquired over time [Pier Francesco Riccio], 25. Conti 1875, p. 16; Müntz 1878-1884, p. 64; Adelson 1990, p. 562, should mainly allow that either of the master weavers is free to doc. 120, 566 doc. 123, pp. 568-570, doc. 126, p. 590, doc. 154, p. 594, take work from inside and outside the dukedom, giving them each doc. 168, p. 622, doc. 198. equal privileges”]; see Archivio di Stato di Firenze (hereafter as Asf), Miscellanea Medicea 513 (hereafter as MM), fols. 239r-240r; Meoni 26. Asf, MM 513, ins. 36, fols. 239r-240r (a question posed to Cosimo I, 2008, p. 22. probably by his secretary Pier Francesco Riccio, fol.239r): “Vorrebbe M.ro Janni Rost non esser’ oblighato a tener’ delli continuo per dieci 5. Borghini 1584, pp. 579-580. anni 300 lavoranti fiaminghi, si come di già haveva chiesto, et veniva 6. Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 24, 446; Meoni 1998, pp. 68, 485. obligato nella nuova conventione, ma tenerne quel più numero gli 7. I thank Alessandro Cecchi for this information. As well as sarà possibile senza diterminatione, per non caschar’ impie iuditio discovering the painting in storage at Palazzo Pitti (it is now in suo quando non potessi mantenere detti 300 lavoranti, ma in storage at the Uffizi), he also managed to find the payment for it quel cambio, dice terrebbe 50 putti del suo stato o della città, et made to Stradanus. di poi ogn’anno 25. L’Eccellenza vostra vedrà se questa alteratione dalla prima chiesta, et conventione gli satisfa” [“Master Janni Rost 8. Meoni 2004, pp. 13-19. See also, more recently, Meoni in Mantua would prefer not to be obliged to employ 300 Flemish workers 2010, pp. 162-169 n. 13. continuously for ten years, although he had previously asked for this 9. On 22 January 1564 Rost was buried in church of San Lorenzo and is required to do it under the new agreement, but to keep the see Milanesi 1878-1885, VI, p. 283, note 2. largest possible number, so that he is not judged badly by you when he cannot maintain 300 workers. In exchange, he says he will keep 10. ASF, Notarile Moderno, n. 6479, fols. 69v.-72v; Goldenberg on 50 young apprentices from your state or from the city, and 25 Stoppato 2005, pp. 230-231, 237 nota 4. The will specifies: “(fol.71r) in every subsequent year. Your Excellency will decide if this change …li prefati signori exequtori scrivino subito in Fiandra nella città di from the original request and agreement is acceptable.”] Brugia patria del prefato testatore et con ogni diligentia sia cercato per detta città di dua sorelle del prefato testatore una chiamata per 27. Adelson 1990, pp. 80-82. nome Chiara et l’altra Martina ambidue di casa Strada, la quale 28. Meoni 1998, pp. 124-141, 172-185. Martina fu maritata a Giovanni Merla maestro di panni d’arazzo habitante in detta città di Brugia appresso alla chiesa di S. Gilio 29. Battistini 1931, p. 189; Adelson 1990, p. 535-536. et non sendo vive dette sue sorelle cerchino delli loro figliuoli o 30. Meoni 1998, pp. 476-477, 482-483. eredi…”. 31. See note 4. 11. Meoni 1998, pp. 35-36, 58, notes 10-12; Campbell 2007, p. 17. 32. Meoni 2008, pp. 58-61. 12. Forti Grazzini 1982, pp. 61, 63; Brown, Delmarcel, Lorenzoni 1996, pp. 13, 86-87, 206.

: : 55 : : THE MEDICI TAPESTRY WORKS

33. Adelson 1990, pp. 45-47, 49, 52-55, 69-79, 149-204, 320-321, 341- 56. Meoni 1998, pp. 66-68, 326; Forti Grazzini 1998, pp. 183-184. 342, 363-390; Forti Grazzini 1994, pp. 16-48; Meoni 1998, pp. 124- 57. London 1979, pp. 248-249 nos. 492-493; Göbel 1923-1934, II.1, 141; Eadem in Campbell 2002, pp. 521-525. p. 389, II.2 fig. 403; Schmitz 1921, p. 157; Heikamp 1969 a, pp. 39- 34. Lecchini Giovannoni 1991, pp. 34, 45. 40; Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 28, 342. 35. Borghini 1584, p. 580. 58. Meoni 1998, pp. 63-65, 196-203, 210-223. 36. Baroni 2001, p. 480. 59. Forti Grazzini 1984, pp. 65-67; Adelson 1990, pp. 359-361; 37. Vasari 1568, V, pp. 524-525. On the relationship between Rost Eadem 1994, p. 391. and Rinieri, see Asf, MM 513, ins. 16, n. 35; Adelson 1990, pp. 81, p. 60. Cecchi 1989, pp. 40-41, fig. 7; Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 27, 571-572, doc. 128, p. 619 doc. 192, p. 621, doc. 194, p. 626, doc. 204, 184-185, note 74. pp. 642-643, doc. 239, pp. 653-654, doc. 248. 61. Borghini 1584, p. 580. 38. Meoni 1998, pp. 132-133. 62. Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 27, 185, note 75. 39. Ibidem, pp. 158-161. 63. Lomazzo 1590, p. 371. 40. “l’Ex[cellen]tia V[ost]ra facessi mettere altro che uno pictore a 64. See note 3. lavorare li cartoni de panni che habbiamo a fare, perché el Bronzino solo non potrà resistere a darci quelli disegni habbiamo bisogno et 65. See note 1. noi ci troviamo adosso circa 15 lavoranti et del continuo ne viene” 66. Davanzo Poli 1999 b, pp. 153-154 with previous bibliography. [“Could Your Excellency put at our disposal another painter to 67. Adelson 1990, p. 641, doc. 237. work on the cartoons for the tapestries we have to make, because Bronzino alone cannot manage to supply the drawings we need. We 68. Ibidem, pp. 81, 625-626, doc. 203, pp. 654-656, docs. 249-252 (23 have about 15 workers here and they continue to arrive.”]; Meoni in January 1552-8 July 1553). Rome 2010, pp. 199-200. 69. Forti Grazzini 1982, pp. 80, 81, 93. 41. Meoni 1998, pp. 148-151; Eadem in Campbell 2002, pp. 525-529. 70. Davolio 1833, pp. 34-36, 40; Barilli 1992, pp. 2-5. 42. Vasari 1568, V, p. 520. 71. Adelson 1990, p. 639, doc. 232. 43. Heikamp 1969 a, p. 70 note 8; Adelson 1994, pp. 384-394; 72. Meoni 2004, pp. 13-19. Baroni Vannucci 1997, p. 342; Baroni 2001, pp. 482-485. 73. Eadem 1998, pp. 124-141. 44. Cecchi 1998, p. 64. 74. “Paramenti due d’arazi alti, pezzi n°14, con arma Gonzaga, uno 45. For information relating to the Salviati inventory, the Uffizi con l’Arca del Testamento, l’altro con la favola di Giasone” [“Two drawings and the seventeenth century Flemish tapestries, see series of tapestry, 14 pieces with the Gonzaga coat of arms, one Heikamp 1969 a, pp. 43-45, 70, doc. 8; Gaeta Bertelà in Florence with the Ark of the Covenant, the other with the story of Jason”], 1980 a, pp. 67-68; Adelson 1994, pp. 386, 391, 393, note 8; Eadem Archivio di Stato di Modena, Cybo Gonzaga 34, Novellara register in Rome-Paris 1998, pp. 300-303; Forti Grazzini 1998, pp. 183-184; no. 12, fol. 68r; Bodo, Tonini 1997, p. 138. Meoni 1998, pp. 48-54, 326, 502; Eadem 2007 a, pp. 267, 274, note 47; Eadem 2007 b, pp. 31-32, 67-70. 75. Meoni 2004, p. 13. 46. Eadem in Florence 2006 b, pp. 16-17; for Salviati works before 76. The letter and the receipt made on 17 and 18 August 1554 the departure for Rome see Cecchi 1998, pp. 61-65. (Archivio Storico di Novellara, Fondo Gonzaga, Corrispondenza, envelope no. 42; hereafter ASN) were found by chance by Maria 47. Heikamp 1969 a, p. 70, doc. 8; Adelson 1990, pp. 11, 139-140, Gabriella Barilli and were misinterpreted when they were published 146, 361-362. by Ciroldi (2005, pp. 47-48), who mistakenly attributed the tapestry 48. Inv. St.E. nos. 11405-6; for cartoons attributed to Bronzino, see to the Ferrara workshop, when in truth Rost signing the receipt Heikamp 1969 a, p.35; Piendl 1978, pp. 102-105. clearly wrote: “questo dì sopradetto in Firenze” [“the above- mentioned day in Florence”]. For Rost’s arrival in Florence see note 49. Adelson 1990, pp. 420-422, 428-429, 437-444, 456-459, 460- 13. 463, docs. a-g. 77. “…come n’à ordinato V[ostra] S[ignoria] a Roma alli nostri 50. “i miei protettori sono Monsignor Jovio, messer Claudio Cavalcanti e Giraldi […] Messer Giovanni [Rost] ci à detto avere Tolomei et il Cesano” [“My mentors are Monsignor Paolo Giovio, messo in opera circha alla metà de’ lavoro che à da fare a V[ostra] Mr. Claudio Tolomei and Bartolomeo Cesano”], Frey 1923-1940, I, S[ignoria] e fra un mese ne doverrà avere finito parte” [“As Your p. 6. Lordship ordered our agents Cavalcanti and Giraldi in Rome […] 51. Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 28-29; Meoni 1998, pp. 67-73, 490, Mr. Jan Rost has told us that he has started about half of the work 491, 492. for Your Lordship and should have finished part of it within a 52. Cecchi in Arezzo 1981, p. 25, tables 14-15. month”], ASN, ibidem. 53. Meoni 2004, pp. 13-19. 78. Correggio, Biblioteca Comunale, Archivio Memorie Patrie, envelope no. 51, fasc. 21. I thank you for this information Marzia 54. Borghini 1584, p. 580. Moreni, director of the Archivio Storico di Novellara. 55. Ibidem.

: : 56 : : Johannes Stradanus as Cartoonist

79. Borghini 1584, p. 580. Campori (1855, p. 450) noted that Borghini tapestry as belonging to the Medici Saturn series, which was accepted by mistake in claimed that Stradanus was summoned to Reggio to by Forti Grazzini (2002, pp. 155, 158, fig. 13). In my opinion it is not work for the “Commissario del Papa” [“Pope’s Commissioner”]: entirely clear whether the work in question is an original tapestry Papal dominion over the city had finished in 1523, about thirty or a later copy. The measurements of Jupiter’s Birth (447 x 394 cm) years before the period of the painter’s alleged stay. As suggested by do not match those mentioned in the documents which refer to a Massimo Pirondini, he probably referred to work done in Palazzo “storia di Saturno delle tre parche” [“a Story of Saturn of the three Donelli, which may well have belonged to the Papal Commission Fates”], which measured 417 x 278 cm: see Meoni 1998, pp. 68, 87, and thus was possibly referred to this way out of habit. Be that as it notes 46-47, 489-490. Moreover, the name “Nicolaus. Panbiancus may, according to Alessandra Baroni, the frescoes still found in this Fecit. Cithonio”, woven in the bottom left corner of the scene, does building are not convincing as works by Stradanus. Baroni suspects not appear in the workshop documents or in any other source. It is that the works to which Borghini refers to might be the detached placed in the position where the cartoonist’s name usually appears frescoes with Stories of Abraham preserved in the Museo Gonzaga in and there are no signs of restoration, leaving us in doubt whether it Novellara, which come from Palazzo Brami Gorini in Reggio (see refers to the tapestry master or to the cartoonist. The tapestry might her essay in this catalogue). be a replica, since there are similar cases of resized reproductions 80. Fabbrici 1977-1978, pp. 38-39. of originals made for Palazzo Vecchio. See for example the tapestry with Samuel anointing David as a King, from a set of Stories of David, 81. Delmarcel in Milan 2003, pp. 140-143, lot 368. first created for Cosimo I’s apartment and later copied for a private 82. Adelson 1990, pp. 700-712, docs. 294-310; Meoni 1998, pp. 54, client (see the end of this essay). 486. 103. Birke, Kertész 1994, n. 2018; McCullagh, Giles 1997, n. 684. 83. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, pp. 61, 105, 110, 114; Baroni Vannucci 1997, 104. Spande 2010, pp. 86-90; Meoni 2010, pp. 140-146 n. 12, 148- pp. 23-35; Meoni 1998, pp. 67-68. 150 n. 12. 84. Baroni 1991, pp. 7-8; Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 24-35; Baroni 105. “salotto dove magnia l’avernata S.[ua]E[ccellenza]. 2001, pp. 479-482. I[llustrissima].” [“... dining room where his Illustrious Excellency 85. Meoni 1998, pp. 71-72, 490-491. eats during the Winter.”], Meoni 1998, pp. 68, 490, 493-494 with previous bibliography. 86. See note 7, 43. 106. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, pp. 19, 48. 87. Meoni 1998, pp. 63-65, 483, 484, 485. The first of the workshop account books dedicated to the “Creati Fiorentini” [“Tapestry 107. Ibidem, pp. 184-194. weavers trained by the Flemish masters”] was opened on 6 August 108. Meoni 1998, pp. 69, 196-199, 491, 492 with previous 1554. (Eadem 1998, p. 63). bibliography. 88. Barocchi 1983, pp. 812-813. 109. Gaeta Bertelà in Florence 1980 a, p. 76, no. 124; Stefanini 89. Meoni 1998, pp. 65-67, 86 note 9. Sorrentino 1993, pp. 45-49; Baroni Vannucci 1997, p. 344, no. 673; Meoni 1998, pp. 196, 494, 495. 90. Vasari 1568, VI, pp. 387-388; Barocchi 1983, pp. 801-805. 110. Frey 1923-1940, I, pp. 597-598. 91. Mellini 1566, p. 128 k2. 111. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, pp. 183-185, 195-212. 92. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, pp. 59-60; Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 23- 35; Meoni 1998, pp. 67, 192-195. 112. Borghini 1584, p. 582; Baroni Vannucci 1997, p. 344-346, nos. 674-676, 446-447; Meoni 1998, pp. 68, 200-203, 492, 493. 93. Frey 1923-1940, I, pp. 409-414, 436-441, 446-450. 113. Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 186, no. 82, p. 194, no. 102, p. 346, 94. Meoni 1998, pp. 64, 484, 485. no. 676. 95. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, pp. 74-79; Davis 1980, pp. 153-156; Adelson 114. Boccaccio [1361-1362], LII, LX, LXII; Valerio Massimo,V 4.6; 1985 a, pp. 165-166 note 73; Frey 1923-1940, II, p. 872 note 226; Meoni Cicero, 34; kindly notified by Elena Crudo: see Meoni 2008, pp. 1998, pp. 67, 485, 486. 68-69. 96. Vasari 1568, VI, p. 243, Idem 1588, p. 52-53; Allegri, Cecchi 1980, 115. Gaeta Bertelà in Florence 1980 a, p. 73, no. 119; Baroni Vannucci pp. 83-90; Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 23-35; Meoni 1998, pp. 67, 485, 1997, pp. 185, nos. 76, 77, 345, no. 675; Meoni 1998, p. 200, no. 40. 486. 116. Heikamp 1968, p. 30; idem 1969 a, p. 66, note 44. 97. Vasari 1568, VI, p. 399; Idem 1588, p. 42. 117. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, pp. 184, 187. 98. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, p. 61; Baroni Vannucci 1997, p. 446. 118. Heikamp 1968, p. 30; Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 186, no. 81, 99. Eadem 1997, pp. 24, 446; Meoni 1998, pp. 68, 87, note 44, 485. p. 343, no. 671. 100. See note 7. 119. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, p. 187. 101. Adelson 1985 a, p. 166 and notes 75-76; Baroni Vannucci 1997, 120. Galluzzi 1781, II, pp. 53-54; Gaeta Bertelà 1980 a, pp. 70-71; p. 343, no. 670; Meoni 1998, pp. 68, 489, 490. Meoni 2008, pp. 66-67. 102. Campbell (2002, pp. 502-503) expresses doubts about Stefan 121. Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 194-195, 346, no. 677, 447-448; Kist’s (London 1999, p. 148 note 190, 149 fig.) identification of a Meoni 1998, pp. 208-209, 493, 494.

: : 57 : : 122. Junquera De Vega, Herrero Carretero 1986, pp. 279-289; 135. Meoni 1998, pp. 72-73. Meoni 1989, p. 59. 136. Allegri, Cecchi 1980, pp. 60-61, 114-177. 123. Vasari 1568, VI, p. 243. 137. Baroni Vannucci 1997, p. 346-349, nos. 678-682, 448-449; 124. Delmarcel 1999, pp. 33, 96, 97, 101, 364, 369; Campbell in Meoni 1998, pp. 73, 232-247, 495, 496, 497. New York 2002, p. 32, 49, 88. 138. Kàrpàti in Budapest 2008, pp. 254-255. 125. Frey 1923-1940, I, pp. 632-633, 641; II, pp. 63, 110, 111-112; 139. See note 137 and Vasari [1532-1573], pp. 468-469; Frey Heikamp 1969 a, pp. 50, 66. 1923-1940, II, p. 667. See also Meoni in Cerreto Guioli 2010, pp.52- 126. Frey 1923-1940, I, pp. 633-634; Meoni 1994, p. 94. 53 n. 7. 127. Meoni 1998, pp. 224-229. 140. Gaeta Bertelà in Florence 1980 a, p. 84; Stefanini Sorrentino 128. Eadem 1994, pp. 95, 98 note 12. 1993, p. 64-70. 129. Ibidem, pp. 95, 99 note 13. 141. Forti Grazzini 1982, pp. 81-84; Meoni 1998, pp. 74-76. 130. Ibidem, pp. 95, 99 notes 17-19. 142. Heikamp 1969 a, pp. 61-62; Adelson 1984, pp. 54-60. 131. Eadem 2008, pp. 76-77. Meoni in Paggio a Caiano 2010, pp. 143. Meoni 1998, pp. 76, 497, 500, 501. 6-28. 144. Adelson 1984, pp. 56, 60, fig. 4; a tapestry recently restored 132. Bok-van Kammen 1977, pp. 21-31; for Baroni Vannucci’s most by Lucia Nucci see Guido Bartolozzi. Antiquari in Firenze, a cura di recent observations 1997, pp. 349-352 no. 683. E. Colle e M. Bartolozzi, Florence 2005, pp. 8-11, n. 2. 133. Viale Ferrero 1982, p. 143. 145. Borghini 1584, p. 582; Baroni Vannucci 1997, pp. 11, 52-53. 134. Montaigne 1580-1581, I, p. 156. 146. Meoni 1994, pp. 96, 99, note 18.

: : 58 : : A FLEMISH ARTIST AT THE MEDICI COURT IN FLORENCE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY LIFE, WORKS AND MODUS OPERANDI OF THE PAINTER-CARTOONIST JOHANNES STRADANUS.*

AlessAndrA BAroni

t’s an emotional experience for me to start writing about ‘Master Giovanni’ again. It has been more than ten years since the first complete monograph written about him and edited by me, was published in 1997.1 The occasion is this extraordinary exhibition, the first ever dedicated to him, that the city of Bruges has put on for its native son Johannes Stradanus, three years after the four hundredthI centenary of his death. This event marks the long awaited recognition not only of Stradanus’ fundamental role as an intermediary between northern and Italian cultures, in particular Florence in the second half of the sixteenth century, but also of the extraordinary quality of his work and of the numerous innovations he made during his long and full career. It has finally provided an opportunity to completely re-evaluate his oeuvre, after the harsh judgements on his excessive ‘Italian-ness’ made by Hoogewerff in 1935, a view that negatively influenced some later Dutch critics and tarnished the painter’s reputation in his own land.2 The many works in the exhibition are only a part of the corpus of paintings and drawings known for certain to have come from his hand, or “from his brush”.3 These, together with innovative works such as tapestries and prints, offer a wonderful representation of the variety of the artist’s styles and methods, though we have much still to learn about his activities. I will not discuss Stradanus’ biography in detail here as this is well covered in the monograph mentioned above. Rather I would like to concentrate on his technical qualities as a draughtsman and offer, in the light of the important discoveries of the last ten years, a new perspective on his drawing activity. My research on Johannes Stradanus has been ongoing. This is partly due to the frequency with which paintings and drawings attributable to the Flemish artist4 appear on the art market, at times, it must be said, with a gross lack of attention. There have also been a number of papers written on Stradanus since 1997.5 Dorine van Sasse van Ysselt’s two essays merit special mention for the accuracy of their scientific analysis of the cultural context and the iconography of his works. We also have to thank Lisa Goldenberg Stoppato’s masterly archival work for bringing to light the last draft of the artist’s will, drawn up in

: : 59 : :