Patron and Collector: Toledo, Valladolid and Madrid

Even more than his king, the Duke of Lerma was the greatest patron of artists and writers of his time, as well as the first of the great collectors of art. Lope de VegaFélix Lope de Vega y Carpio (1562-1635) was one of the most important playwrights and poets of the Spanish Siglo de Oro, a symbol of Spanish Baroque theater along with Tirso de Molina and Calderón de la Barca. He was one of the most prolific authors of world literature, with sonnets, short stories, poems and numerous plays attributed to him, including Fuente ovejuna, La niña boba, Santiago el verde, El caballero de Olmedo, El castigo sin venganza, El anzuelo de Fenisa, Las bizarrías de Belisa, La estrella de Sevilla  and many more., one of the principal authors of the Spanish Siglo de Oro, enjoyed the favour and protection of the powerful valido, as well as lesser known authors, such as Prudencio de SandovalPrudencio de Sandoval (1553-1620) was the official historian of the court of Philip III. A Benedictine monk who held a degree in theology, he was also bishop of Tuy and Pamplona. His most important work is the Historia de la vida y hechos del emperador Carlos V, (The Life and deeds of Emperor Charles V) (1604-1606). and Diego Matute de Peñafiel, who were commissioned to celebrate the deeds of the Sandoval clan and to demonstrate their supposed royal and even biblical origins. A tireless builder, the duke bought and remodeled buildings not only in Madrid and Valladolid, but also in his Duchy of Lerma. During the rebuilding of the church of San Pablo in Valladolid, he also had four alabaster funerary statues made representing himself, his wife the Duchess and the archbishops, which were his relatives, Cristóbal de RojasCristóbal de Rojas Sandoval (1502-1580) was an important religious figure with an important ecclesiastical career, which led him to be successively Bishop of Oviedo, Badajoz, Córdoba and Seville. and Bernardo de SandovalBernardo de Sandoval y Rojas (1546-1619) belonged to the family of the Marquis of Denia. A former bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo, Pamplona and Jaén, he became, thanks to the favour of his nephew, the Duke of Lerma, cardinal, archbishop of Toledo and primate of Spain in 1599. Later, he was a member of the Consejo de Estado (Council of State) and, starting from 1608, General Inquisitor. He was also a great patron and protector of writers, such as Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco de Quevedo and Luis de Góngora. He founded the Cistercian convent of Saint Bernard, in 1613, in Alcalá de Henares.. A great art lover, the Duke of Lerma put together a collection consisting of approximately 1,500 paintings between 1599 and 1611, in the wake of the great collections of Philip II at the Escorial and the Alcázar in Madrid. An admirer of the works of Titian and Bosch, also owned original pieces, among others, by Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Mantegna. He had fruitful personal relationships with two artists in particular, and from them his two most famous portraits have come down to us. Juan Pantoja de la CruzJuan Pantoja de la Cruz (1553-1608) was a painter who specialized in court portraits. A disciple of Alonso Sánchez Coello, he became official Court portrait painter at the beginning of the reign of Philip III (1598). He also devoted himself to some religious works, such as the Nacimiento de la Virgen (Birth of the Virgin), now preserved in the Museo del Prado. His most famous works are nonetheless portraits, including those of Philip II (now in the monastery of El Escorial), and of Margaret of Austria (now in the Museo del Prado)., of Valladolid and a contemporary of Lerma’s, depicted the favourite of Philip III in 1602, using as a model the portrait of Philip II by Titian. The same Pantoja de la Cruz depicted Philip III, in exactly the same position and with the same attributes of power, in 1606. Looking at the two portraits side by side which are now preserved in the Tavera museum of Toledo, the intent to portray Lerma as an authentic double, an alter ego of the sovereign is clear. The Flemish artist, Pieter Paul Rubens who came to Madrid in 1603 as Extraordinary Ambassador of the Duke of Mantua, on the other hand was responsible for the famous equestrian portrait  now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid (photo). Attributing him an honour hitherto reserved only for members of the royal family, Rubens painted Lerma riding his white horse, also celebrating, in this way, the recent appointment of the valido as capitán general de la caballería.

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