Page 48 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

fig. 7. Salon de Linajes. Palacio de Infantado, Guadalajara fig. 8. Domenico Fancelli, Tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella. Capilla Real, Granada

36
Italy. As far as is known the tomb sculptor par successor, Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros (c. dral. In 1498 a design competition was won by
34
excellence was buried in an unmarked grave. 1436-1517), Cisneros' ascent to power in the an otherwise unknown French master called
The arrival —or outbreak as it has sugges- religious and political life of Castile was secured Peti Juan, who produced a standard if elaborate
tively been called — of the Renaissance in Spain in 1492, when he became the queen's confessor. late-Gothic plan. Most of the carving was done
is an extraordinary phenomenon. In central By then Cisneros, who had entered the Francis- by established local masters of northern origin.
Italy the Renaissance evolved over time from a can order in 1464, had acquired a considerable Yet even as this Gothic extravaganza was taking
body of theoretical concepts; in Spain the Re- reputation for austerity and devotion and shape, Cardinal Mendoza's Renaissance tomb
naissance arrived in wooden crates. And not become a leading advocate for the reform of was being erected right in front of it, much to
only tombs but entire architectural ensembles Spanish monasticism. However, following Cisneros' displeasure. As one of Mendoza's
were sent, the most notable of which is the his elevation to the see of Toledo in 1495, he executors he proposed substituting a tomb of
magnificent courtyard of the Castle of la Cala- became increasingly enmeshed in the affairs of Gothic design for the Renaissance creation, but
horra, ordered by Cardinal Mendoza's son state. He twice served as regent of Castile (Fer- was overruled by the queen. Thus to this day
Rodrigo and largely executed by the Genoese dinand could not inherit the crown of Castile) Mendoza's Italianate effigy gazes on the lacy
workshop of Michele Carlone between 1509 and and personally led a military campaign against pinnacles and spiky gables of Peti Juan's
31
1512. Such works must have seemed like the Muslims in Oran, Morocco, in 1509. altarpiece.
extraterrestrial beings to the artists and patrons Historians are currently debating the legiti- Fortunately Cisneros' taste was not immuta-
of Spain, who slowly and only with difficulty macy of a special term — estilo Cisneros — that ble, and little by little he integrated the Italian
began to assimilate their novelty. was coined to describe the cardinal's artistic Renaissance style into his choices, although not
35
Yet these new arrivals from Renaissance Italy patronage (see cat. 35). He sponsored several always abandoning his earlier preferences. From
had to be given a home, and home was a Gothic important buildings in Alcala de Henares, 1508 to 1511 he undertook the renovation of the
structure with Gothic furnishings. This phe- including its famous university as well as the chapter room of the cathedral, where Italianate
nomenon is by no means unique to Spain. The Franciscan convent and church of San Juan de la and Islamic features are improbably but unself-
Genoese workshop of Pace Gagini, which also Penitencia in Toledo. Most of these works com- consciously mixed. The chapter room is a rec-
fabricated Renaissance tombs for Spanish cli- bine Hispano-Flemish Gothic with Islamic ele- tangular space with an impressive fresco cycle
ents, produced, for instance, the double sepul- ments, and this has been taken to be the by Juan de Borgona, a northern painter who is
cher of Raoul de Lannoy and Jeanne de Poix hallmark of the style Cisneros preferred. Yet first recorded in Toledo as an assistant of Pedro
37
(1508-1509), which was installed in a Gothic there is nothing distinctive about this aspect of Berruguete. He continued to be employed at
niche in the parish church of Folleville in Picar- his patronage; he simply appropriated the pre- the cathedral until 1504, when in all probability
32
dy. A more renowned example is Pietro Torri- vailing aristocratic fashion (as in the Infantado he traveled to central Italy for a stay of some
giano's tomb of Henry vn and Elizabeth of York palace) and adapted it to ecclesiastical founda- three years. Upon his return his style had been
33
(i5i2-i5i9), which is set in the Lady Chapel of tions. This said, it would be a mistake to dismiss transformed from that of a Burgundian to that
Westminster Abbey, famous for its extravagant Cisneros as a mere imitator of the secular elite. of an Italianate painter, fully in tune with an
fan vaults. As his taste and his career developed he came to artist like Pinturicchio (1454-1513), who worked
In Spain, however, a third ingredient was feel increasingly comfortable with the exercise in Rome at the time of Borgona's supposed visit.
added to the brew, the Islamic style, resulting in of power and with the employment of the Ital- Borgona's frescoes, with their elaborate, sophis-
creations of awe-inspiring heterogeneity. The ian Renaissance style as the appropriate way of ticated perspectives, sculpturesque figures, and
best-known examples of these hybrid combina- emphasizing his position. measured compositions, represent a drastic
tions are found in the Toledo cathedral and are Cisneros' first significant project was the break with the prevailing Hispano-Flemish
associated with the name of Cardinal Mendoza's monumental high altar of the Toledo cathe- style. Yet the ceiling above them is a typical

EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD 47