A Case Study of Merchant Patronage in Early Sixteenth-Century Burgos

PIETY AND THE MERCHANT PATRON: A CASE STUDY OF MERCHANT PATRONAGE IN EARLY SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BURGOS A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Emily Diana Reineck Kelley May 2010 © 2010 Emily Diana Reineck Kelley PIETY AND THE MERCHANT PATRON: A CASE STUDY OF MERCHANT PATRONAGE IN EARLY SIXTEENTH-CENTURY BURGOS Emily Diana Reineck Kelley, Ph. D. Cornell University 2010 Beginning in the late Middle Ages and continuing into the early modern period, merchants throughout western Europe became influential members of the growing middle class, and with this growing wealth and influence also came artistic patronage. Although the patronage of merchants from other areas of the western world, specifically Italy and Northern Europe, has been studied in some detail, the examination of merchant patrons from Iberia, and specifically Castile, has been largely neglected. Accordingly, this study offers unprecedented analysis of the funerary altarpiece commissioned at the turn of the sixteenth century by the Castilian merchant Gonzalo López de Polanco for the high altar of the parish church of San Nicolás de Bari in Burgos, Spain. Through the analysis of this altarpiece, this project examines the devotional life and social aspirations of the merchant patron as well as the function of the altarpiece in its original location, doing so through the consideration of contemporary liturgical and devotional texts as well as the patron’s testament. Moreover, this study addresses how this altarpiece compares to others commissioned by merchant, noble, ecclesiastical and royal patrons in Burgos around the turn of the sixteenth century, a time when Castilian attitudes toward religious devotion were changing due to increased contact with the rest of Europe and the importation of various religious texts under Ferdinand and Isabel. By centering this project on an object commissioned by a member of the merchant class, analysis of this altarpiece offers an initial study of the religious life and artistic patronage of early sixteenth- century Castilian merchants. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Emily Kelley was born in Flint, Michigan. In 2002, she obtained a B.A. with honors from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and received her M.A. from Cornell University in 2007. She has presented papers at the College Art Association Annual Conference; International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and the Medieval Studies Graduate Student Colloquium at Cornell University. In the fall of 2010, she will begin a position as an assistant professor of Art History in the Art Department at Saginaw Valley State University in University Center, Michigan. iii To Mom and Aaron for their steadfast support of this project and to Catalina for her companionship throughout the writing process. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project certainly would not have been possible without the support of a variety of people and organizations. First, my advisor, Cynthia Robinson, provided immeasurable support throughout the dissertation process, helping me to conceive of this topic originally, guiding me as I undertook the arduous process of grant writing and field work abroad, and suggesting modifications to the manuscript that made me both a better scholar and a better writer. In addition, her mentorship was important to me throughout my graduate training at Cornell. Likewise, my other two committee members also provided crucial guidance as I wrote this dissertation and completed my coursework at Cornell. Claudia Lazzaro assisted me greatly both in improving my style of writing and in situating my knowledge of fifteenth-century Spain within a wider European context. Ross Brann helped me to clarify some of the broader aims of my work by providing a fresh, non- art historical perspective, and through his guidance I gained a better understanding of the culture of both Muslims and Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula from the eighth to fifteenth centuries. Beyond the support of these individuals, my research abroad was funded by a number of different grants and fellowships. From outside of Cornell, I received financing through the Medieval Academy of America Dissertation Grant Program and through the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain’s Ministry of Culture and Unites States Universities. From within Cornell, I received support from the Department of History of Art through the Baskerville Fellowship and the Franklin and Gretel Goldring Fellowship, from the Einaudi Center through their International Research Travel Grant, from the Graduate School through their research travel grant, and from the Institute for European Studies through the Michele Sicca Graduate v Fellowship for Research in Europe. In addition, a number of people and organizations in Spain helped me as I undertook my research abroad. Felipe Pereda of the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid assisted me both through informal conversations about my thesis and by helping me to arrange my visit to the Church of San Nicolás in Burgos. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to the kind staffs of the many archives, libraries, and government buildings where I conducted my research: the Archivo y Biblioteca Castilla y Léon at the Real Monasterio de San Agustín, the Archivo Diocesano de Burgos, the Archivo Histórico Catedral de Burgos, the Archivo Municipal de Burgos, the Ayuntamiento de Burgos, the Biblioteca de Lazaro Galdiano in Madrid, the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid, Biblioteca de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, and the Junta of Casilla y León. Likewise, I am indebted to the parish priests at the churches of San Lesmes and San Gil who allowed me special access to the altarpieces in their churches. Finally, a special thanks to Don Rodrigo Aguilera Fuentespina and Félix Zatón Gómez who made me welcome at the Church of San Nicolás as I conducted my study of their wonderful altarpiece and who allowed me to reproduce my own photographs of it as part of this dissertation; I certainly could not have completed this work without their warmth and hospitality. Ultimately, this work certainly would not have been possible without the love and encouragement of my family. My mother, Stephany Diana, not only offered her support throughout the long process of graduate school but also ensured throughout my life that I had the best education possible. My father, Mark Diana, supported me throughout my time in graduate school with anecdotes from his own Ph.D. experience and his unique understanding of the whole process. My mother- and father-in-law, Matt and Cathy Kelley, offered encouragement every step of the way and never questioned the somewhat unusual career ambitions of their daughter-in-law. Most vi importantly, I am grateful for the support, patience and understanding of my husband, Aaron Kelley, whose steadfast belief in my abilities were crucial to my completion of the Ph.D. process. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH………………………………………………………….iii DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………...iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………v TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………viii LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………...ix CHAPTER 1: Introduction: A Case Study of Merchant Patronage in Late Medieval Castile……………………………………………………………………….1 CHAPTER 2: Tomb and Testament: Gonzalo López de Polanco’s “Good Death”….47 CHAPTER 3: Servant of God and Protector of the Faithful: St. Nicholas as Saint and Redeemer…………………………………………………………………..86 CHAPTER 4: Saintly Intercession and the Merchant Patron……………………….152 CHAPTER 5: Conclusion…………………………………………………………...203 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………...214 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1: High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás,………………………………….3 Figure 1-2: Narrative of St. Nicholas and Banco, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás…………………………………………….…………………………...….8 Figure 1-3: Coronation of the Virgin by the Holy Trinity, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás…………………………………………………...……………………......8 Figure 1-4: Rows 1-2 of Saints, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás………….....9 Figure 1-5: Rows 3-6 of Saints, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás………...…..9 Figure 1-6: Rows 1-2 of Saints, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás………...…10 Figure 1-7: Rows 3-6 of Saints, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás………...…10 Figure 1-8: Tomb of Gonzalo López de Polanco and Leonor de Miranda, Church of San Nicolás………………………………………………………………………...…11 Figure 1-9: Tomb of Alfonso de Polanco and Constanza de Maluenda, Church of San Nicolás……………………………………………………...…….…………...…11 Figure 1-10: Eighteenth-Century Addition Depicting God the Father, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás……………………………………………………………......14 Figure 1-11: Sixteenth-Century Addition Depicting Santiago Matamoros, High Altarpiece, Church of San Nicolás……………………………………………………14 Figure 1-12: South Portal, Church of San Nicolás,…………………………………...25 Figure 1-13: Maluenda Family Tombs, Church of San Nicolás……………………...27 ix Figure 2-1: Tomb of Knight Alonso de Cartagena, Chapel of the Visitation, Cathedral of Burgos……………………………………………………………………………...64 Figure 2-2: Tomb of Hernando de Castro and Juana García de Castro, Chapel of the Kings, Church of San Gil………..……………………………………………………64 Figure 2-3: Tomb of Bishop Alonso de Cartagena, Chapel of the Visitation, Cathedral of Burgos……………………………………………………………………………...69 Figure 2-4: Detail, Tomb of Martín Rodríguez de Maluenda, Church of San Nicolás…………………...………………………………………………………71 Figure 2-5: Detail, Tomb of Gonzalo López

Load more