'Dar a Su Magestad algo bueno': Four Letters from Velázquez to Virgilio Malvezzi

Author(s): José Luis Colomer

Source: The Burlington Magazine , Feb., 1993, Vol. 135, No. 1079 (Feb., 1993), pp. 67-72
Published by: (PUB) Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/885448

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

(PUB) Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve
and extend access to The Burlington Magazine

This content downloaded from

37.183.2.83 on Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:16 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 JOSE LUIS COLOMER

'Dar a Su Magestad algo bueno':

Four letters from Velazquez to Virgilio Malvezzi
THERE are still many gaps in our knowledge of Spain's
most famous painter.* Although several important docu-
ments have been brought to light over the past thirty
years relating to Velizquez's activities as painter and
courtier and to his Italian mission on behalf of Philip IV
in 1649-51, only two of his letters have hitherto been
published, and several key moments in his artistic career as
well as many aspects of his life remain obscure.' The dis-
covery of four autograph letters written between November
1649 and October 1650 (see the Appendix below and
Figs.3 and 5) is therefore an event of some importance,
especially as they shed fresh light on his second Italian
sojourn, as well as providing fascinating evidence of his
taste and judgment as connoisseur.
The letters emerged not at Rome or in Spain as might be
expected, but in the Bolognese archives,2 among the corres-
pondence of Marchese Virgilio Malvezzi, the Bolognese
historian, diplomat and patron of Guido Reni whose
declared sympathies for Spanish politics assured him an
international career as counsellor to Philip IV. Although
Malvezzi's name is not mentioned by Palomino in his
detailed account of Velazquez's Italian trip3 - nor indeed
by any other of Velazquez's biographers - it is clear from
the correspondence that the two men must have been
more than merely casually acquainted. Velazquez would
almost certainly have come into contact with Malvezzi at
the Spanish court, where the latter was resident between
1636 and 1639, the first period of his service to the Spanish
crown, and where he is recorded as having helped fix the
price of the portrait VelAzquez painted of the Duke of
Modena in 1639.4
1. Portrait of Virgilio Malvezzi, engraving from Valerio Zani's Memorie, imprese e
Born to a noble Bolognese family in 1595, Malvezzi
ritratti de' Signori accademici Gelati di Bologna raccolte nelprincipato del Signor Conte
(Fig.1) held office as a senator of Bologna and was a Valerio Zani il Ritardato, Bologna, 1672.
member of the Accademia dei Gelati there, as well as
being a connoisseur and dilettante painter and a friend of
several of the town's leading artists. It was as a writer, in the land of Seneca and Martial at a time when brevity
however, that he made his greatest mark: having dedicated was almost a hallmark of Spanishness. He also served as
his Davide Perseguitato to Philip IV in 1634, he went on to Philip's Embajador extraordinario in London in 1640
praise the Conde-Duque de Olivares in his Ritratto del and as counsellor to the Cardinal Infante Ferdinand in
Privato Politico Christiano of 1635. This led to an invitation
Brussels in 1641/42 before being permitted to retire in
to Madrid, where he was appointed Historiador Oficial to1646 to Bologna, where he drew a substantial pension
the king (see Fig.2) as well as a Consejero de Estado y de
from the king of three thousand ducats a year until his
Guerra, and was much admired for his laconic prose style
death in 1654.5 It was during this last phase of his life that
*lhe (existence of Virgilio Mhalvezzi's correspondcnce in the 'Fondo Malvezzi-2Bologna, Archivio di Stato, Fondo Malvezzi-Lupari, Lettere a Virgilio Malvezzi.
3A. PALOMINO: Vidas, ed. N. AYALA MALLORY, Madrid [1986], pp. 172-80 (English
Lupari' of the Archivio di Stato di Bologna was brought to my notice by Olivier
Bonfait, to whom I am greatly indebted for the discovery of two of the lettersed. Cambridge [1987], pp.156-63).
here presented. Giorgio Marcon kindly gave me access to this hitherto unknown 4As reported in a letter from Fulvio Testi: see Varia Velazqueiia, II, p.246, no.74.
collection of letters, the inventory of which I am drawing up at present underThis, the only previously recorded mention of Malvezzi in connexion with
Velazquez, is also cited in J. BROWN: Veldzquez, Painter and Courtier, New Haven
his supervision. I am particularly grateful to Enriqueta Harris for her generosity
and London [1986], p.134.
and encouragement which has benefited this article at every point. This article
is a result of a Frances Yates Fellowship at the Warburg Institute, London. 5See R. BRAENDLI: Virgilio Malvezzi, politico e moralista, Basle [1964]. For his
'The major anthology of documents relating to Velazquez is Varia velazquena. literary significance, see E. RAIMONDI: 'Polemica sulla prosa barocca', in Letteratura
barocca, Florence, 2nd ed. [ 1980], pp. 175-248, and M. FUMAROLI: L'age de l'loquence,
Homenaje a Veldzquez en el III centenario de su muerte (1660-1960), Vol.II, Madrid
Geneva [1980], pp.217-19; for the embassy in London, see J.H. ELLIOTT: 'The
[1960], citing previous literature; subsequent to which see: E. HARRIS: 'A Letter
from Velfazquez to Camillo Massimi', THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE, CII [1960], year of three ambassadors', in History and Imagination. Essays in Honour of H.R.
Trevor-Roper,
pp.162-66; eadem: 'La misi6n de Velazquez en Italia', Archivo Espanfol de Arte, 33 London [1981], pp.165-81; and for his r6le in Bolognese literary
and artistic life, J.L. COLOMER: 'Un tableau "litt'raire" et acad'mique au XVIIe
[1960], pp. 109-36; eadem: Veldzquez, London [1982]; andj. MONTAGU: 'Velakzquez
Marginalia: his slave Juan de Pareja and his illegitimate son Antonio', siecle:THE l'Enlivement d'H'lene de Guido Reni', Revue de l'Art, XC [1990], pp.74-
BURLINGTON MAGAZINE, CXXV [1983]), pp.683-85. See also Veldzquezy el arte 87.deI intend to publish a book on the literary reception of Virgilio Malvezzi in
Europe.
su tiempo (V Jornadas de Arte del Departemento de Historia del Arte 'Diego
Velazquez'), Madrid [19911.

67

This content downloaded from

37.183.2.83 on Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:16 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 LETTERS FROM VELAZQUEZ TO VIRGILIO MALVEZZI

VelAzquez addressed to him the letters published here.

As is well known, the main ostensible concern of Velaz- ...........

quez's second Italian journey was with the decoration and MNBS 5
furnishing of Philip IV's palace in Madrid, the Alcazar, ,,tv.:
Ap : -:

which the king had been re-ordering and embellishing to

display his collection of works of art.6 Velazquez played a
considerable r6le in the Alcaizar project, and it was to seek
appropriate paintings and sculptures for the palace that
Philip gave him leave to travel, rather than for purposes
CEO RICPL
of study as had been the case on his first trip of thirty years
earlier. As we shall see, one of his main tasks on this MONROVI DE S P
EN L-?OEMLI EICINT
artistic mission was to engage an Italian artist capable of
TR, EIN Tl I, ?V
decorating the ceilings of the palace. Philip had already E SCRITOSi
enriched the collections he had inherited with many ORLE-1,1A Rf -SVIRGILIMALV 21
paintings, sculptures and tapestries, but when it came to D EL C ON SEI 0'i :D'EGV R R
decorative painting in fresco the lack of Spanish expertise (Diiii?
s v TA :-i.i'iii-i -: ii
in the field made it necessary to seek the appropriate IV A s D l:- -: 'iiiii_,j?iii i, -i ::-:ii_;-

experience and skills in Italy, just as it had been earlier for

the decoration of the Escorial.7
After arriving at Genoa on 21 stJanuary 1649, Velazquez
travelled through north Italy, and on 22nd April reached
his main destination, Rome, where he set about purchasing
antique busts, commissioning casts of classical statues and
acquiring original bronzes.8 He had therefore been in
Rome for over six months by 22nd November, the date of
his first letter to Malvezzi (Appendix, A) in which he
reports 'Las cosas de mi comision ban caminando', undoubtedly
referring to such purchases. Unfortunately, Malvezzi's
side of the correspondence does not appear to have survived,
so we do not know the contents of his letter to Velizquez
of 22nd October, for which the painter thanks him. It is
clear, however, that he must have mentioned Pietro da
Cortona's suitability for the Alcazar project, and it is also 2. Engraved title-page ofVirgilio Malvezzi's Sucesos principales de la Monarquia de
probable that Malvezzi, as a former ambassador still re-Espafa - el afo de 1639, Plantin, Brussels, 1641.
ceiving his Spanish pension, would have regarded it as a
duty to assist in the search for a decorative painter.
In fact, Cortona appears to have been invited to go to
Spain as much as a decade earlier, during the Marquies de sojourn in Rome thirty years earlier, but had not thought
Castel Rodrigo's embassy to Rome between 1631 and highly of him then ('no le hacia mucho caso'). Now, after see-
1640: Luca Berrettini, the artist's nephew, cites an awkward ing the Palazzo Barberini frescoes (Fig.4), executed be-
diplomatic incident caused by Castel Rodrigo's bad Italian, tween 1633 and 1639, he has changed his mind, and agrees
in which Cortona's declared willingness to work for the with Malvezzi that Cortona is superior to the other artists.
Spanish king in Rome was misinterpreted as an offer to go The reasons for this change of opinion hinge on the quality
to Spain.9 of invencidn. This was evidently a crucial criterion for
Nevertheless the Spanish authorities appear to have Velazquez, who says that he had not been particularly
remained keen to lure Cortona to Madrid, as is evinced impressed by Cortona's easel pictures (pinturas sueltas), in
by a document recording a letter from Philip IV to the which this quality is not much needed, but that in large-
Duque del Infantado, Spanish Ambassador to Rome during scale compositions Cortona shows himself well able to make
Velizquez's trip, which implies that the king had given use of it. Despite his enthusiasm, however, Velaizquez was
VelAzquez specific instructions to bring Cortona back to unable to persuade Cortona to leave Rome, for he reports
in his third letter to Malvezzi that Cortona did not wish
Spain. lo Velhizquez's letters to Malvezzi now afford proof
of his intervention with Cortona. In the first letter he tells to go to Spain, even though the Duque del Infantado had
Malvezzi that he had known Cortona during his first also spoken to him about it (Appendix, C). Although the

6See v. GERARD: 'Les probleimes artistiques de l'Alcazar de Madrid (1537-1700)',
Milanges de la Casa de Veldzquez, XII [1976], pp.307-22; s. ORSO: Philip IV and the
Decoration of the Alcdzar, Princeton [1986]; and J. BARBEITO: El Alcdzar de Madrid,
forthcoming.
7 See most recently R. MULCAHY: La decoracidn de la Real Basilica del Monasterio de El
Escorial, Madrid [1992].
8According to PALOMINO, (ed.cit. at note 3 above) VelAzquez went from Venice
to Bologna, and stopped at Florence, Modena and Parma before arriving at his
principal destination, Rome, on 24th April 1649. J.M. PITA ANDRADE ('El itinerario
de VelAzquez en su segundo viaje a Italia', Goya, XXXVII-XXXVIII [1960],
pp.151-52) has suggested a more likely sequence of Modena, Bologna, Florence,
Rome, but the letters published here do not confirm this itinerary.
9For Castel Rodrigo's embassy and art patronage in Rome (1631-40), see
J. CONNORS: 'Borromini and the Marchese di Castel Rodrigo', THE BURLINGTON
MAGAZINE, CXXXIII [1991], pp.434-40 and G. CAMPORI: Lettere pittoriche,
Modena [1856], p.512 (cited in A.E. PEREZ SANCHEZ: Pintura italiana del siglo
XVII en Espafa, Madrid [1965], p.263).
'oVaria Velazquefa II, no.120, p.269, a minute, dated 17th February 1650, of a
letter from the king to Duque del Infantado evidently referring to earlier
instructions.

68

This content downloaded from

37.183.2.83 on Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:16 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 LETTERS FROM VELAZQUEZ TO VIRGILIO MALVEZZI

invitation to work for the Spanish King must have been a

flattering proposal, the Italian painter and architect was ~:

evidently reluctant to quit the city where he was most cel-

ebrated, especially as he was no longer young.11 But the
relationship between the two artists does not appear to
have suffered much because of his refusal: according to
Aii
Palomino, Cortona was one of the painters by whom
VelAzquez was much favoured during his Roman sojourn. 12
By June 1650, Philip IV was already aware that his
chosen artist was not available,13 and Velazquez appears
to have turned to the contingency plans hinted at in his '0'

first letter to Malvezzi, where he writes that if he is unable 4> 04 of

to persuade Cortona, he will take notice of what Malvezzi
-. I : ~C *i.
has suggested concerning a painter whose figure-painting
evidently pleased the latter ('me alegro sea de su satisfacion en
la parte de lasfiguras'). It is clear from the subsequent letters --vI:.y
a 44 q4?
that this refers to Angelo Michele Colonna, the Bolognese
artist who was later to decorate a ceiling in Malvezzi's
palazzo at Bologna and whom Malvezzi had already at-
tempted to entice to Spain on a previous occasion, as had
the Bolognese prelate Girolamo Boncompagni.'4 Months
later, VelAzquez informed the Duque del Infantado of this 7t;
suggestion, and, as the third letter makes clear, Infantado
seems already to have heard of the artist: 'io he informado a
su Exa de la persona que V.S.Illma. me a propuestoy me parece que
tiene noticia de ella'.15 It is not until the fourth letter, how-
ever, that Colonna is mentioned by name, when Velazquez
asks Malvezzi to tell the Bolognese artist that he wishes to
meet him and see his works (Appendix, D).
It would not be unreasonable to suppose that Velazquez
was unfamiliar with Colonna's fresco decorations before
that date. The letters make it clear that it was not on the
3. Letter from Velizquez to Virg
way to Rome - as Palomino suggests - that he visited the
(Archivio di Stato, Fondo Malve
villa of Sassuolo, which had recently been decorated by
Colonna and Mitelli for the Duke of Modena.16 Nor did
believe Palomino's accou
he meet the two artists in Bologna on that occasion. Indeed,
these letters confirm that Velazquez was still trying to that
get he was wrong about t
in touch with Colonna while planning his return to Spain was not, as might have
in September 1650. As for Mitelli, he is never mentioned but of a 'Conde de Sena'
in this correspondence, and it is likely that the two artists'
Bolognese family of Segni
future collaboration in Madrid was imposed by Colonna, was Maggiordomo to Po
who there once again acted as the head of the team Velazquez
in had met him
disbelieve Palomino whe
which they both had specialised r6les: he himself was good
at figures, as Malvezzi had indicated, while Mitelli was outside
re- the city by Segn
sponsible for the quadratura. have well included Malv
Unfortunately, few records of Velizquez's passageBologna.17
through Bologna have been traced to date. If we are toIf Velazquez made an

" Cortona did not accept Virgilio

invitations Malvezzi',
coming i.e. the
from France fifteen
either. See
Pietro da Cortona at the Pitti Malvezzi
Palace. in
A Study via Planetary
of the Belmeloro, later
Rooms an
Princeton [1977], pp.233-34. University's
For his early central building
career and of
leading
baroque painting, see J.M. Poggi
MERZ: in da
Pietro Restauro,
Cortona, Bologna
Tiibingen[198
[1
Barberini ceiling, J. BELDON K. EUBEL:
SCOTT: ImagesHierarchia Catholica,
of Nepotism: R
the painte
Palazzo Barberini, Princeton '5It is clear from the context that
[1991].
G6For these decorations, see MALV
12'. ..fue muyfavorecido . . . delos mds excelentes pintores, como el c
Hdbito de San Juan [Mattia "7PALOMINO,
Preti], ed.cit.
de Pedro de at note
Cortona, de 3 abov
Monse
caballero Alejandro Algardi Sena,
bolo"is,y del de quienfue
caballero muy
Juan bien agasajado
Lorenzo Bernini,
famosisimos' (Palomino, ed.cit. at ella,
notele 3
salid a recibir
above, con otros cab
p. 174).
"See his letter to Infantado of E. HARRIS:
22ndJune 'Velazquez
1650 en Roma',
in HARRIS, loc.ci
[1960], pp.131-32. was the first to suggest that Seg
14C. MALVASIA: Felsina Pittrice. which
Vite de'member of the family
Pittori Bolognesi, ed. G.P.h
Segni,
[1841], II, p.356: 'Cid dunque che non maggiordomo
potM to Innocen
sortire la prima volta al
Malvezzi, che teneva ordine di condurli
and a seco allora, che dichiarato
correspondent Istor
of Malvezzi's
Maggiore di Sua Maesta Cattolica, Maggiordomi pontifici, e
a quella Corte passavasene; Rome [1
cib che
Maggiordomo
seconda nel negoziato di Monsignore 'signed'
allora, oggi Cardinale by Vela
Arcivescovo
simile compimento 'Uber
avea,fufinalmente das Bildnis
stretto, des la
e terminato Maggiordom
terza, chef
Bologna dal Ministro gran Croce, cited at enote
Senatore, 1 above,
Marchese I, poi
Cospi, pp.335-38
in Firen
Cardinal Gio. Carlo . . .'. owndecorated
Colonna hand is now
'La rejected.
stanza nel palag

69

This content downloaded from

37.183.2.83 on Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:16 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 LETTERS FROM VELAZQUEZ TO VIRGILIO MALVEZZI

to have been followed by hard times, as an increasing

number of Bolognese frescoists worked for lower prices. As
their biographer suggests, it was mainly because of the
lack of commissions caused by these guastamestieri that,
despite their advanced ages, Colonna and Mitelli accepted
this last invitation to Spain originated by Velazquez and
Malvezzi.21
For Velizquez, Malvezzi was not only the proper contact
to arrange meetings at Bologna, but a useful mediator
with the Duke of Modena as well. As we have seen, he
had already played a similar r6le in Madrid when he
helped fix the price of Velizquez's portrait of the Duke,
and he had also acted as a go-between, reporting Olivares's
decisions to the Duke's secretary, Count Fulvio Testi,
4. Detail of the Barberini ceiling, by Pietro da Cortona. 1633-39. Fresco.
during the Duke's Spanish visit of 1639.22 Two of the
(Palazzo Barberini, Rome). letters from Velaiquez to Malvezzi are concerned with the
Duke. The first records how the painter appreciated the
Colonna, it appears not to have been respected. For it visitwas to the future Galleria Estense on his way to Rome,
not until the summer of 1658 that 'los dos Colonas' 18 arrived
saying how he had seen the Duke, who had shown him his
collection, which contained many fine pictures (Appendix,
in Madrid, that is to say, some eight years after Velizquez's
negotiations with them in Italy. Strangely, Malvasia does A).23 Knowing that VelAzquez was in search of a painting
not mention Velazquez in his references to the Bolognese for Philip IV's gallery, the Duke had asked for the exact
painters' voyage to Spain: according to the Felsina Pittrice,
size ('me pidio la medida'), intimating that he would be
it was only owing to the intervention of Marchese Cospi willing to present one of his own paintings to the Spanish
in Bologna and Cardinal Giovanni Carlo de' Medici King.
in Velazquez then appeals to Malvezzi to encourage
Florence that the fresco painters finally agreed to go the
to Duke to choose 'algo bueno', returning' to the matter in
Spain.19 But we know now from the letters to Malvezzi his second letter when he gives Malvezzi the latest news
that Velkazquez did intercede, and it seems to have been
about the Duke of Modena's acquisitions in Venice and
Verona.
Malvezzi who initially proposed Colonna (and by impli-
cation Mitelli) as an alternative 'no inferior a Pedro de
Francesco d'Este's gallery was by this time one of the
Cortona'. finest in Italy. Starting with a collection of mainly Bolognese
Velizquez's failure to secure the Bolognese painters paintings, the Duke had enlarged it constantly since his
immediately may be explained by the fact that at this visit to Spain, probably stimulated by the magnificent
time they were going through one of the busiest periods of example of the royal collection there.24 VelAzquez must
their joint careers: according to Malvasia, it was Cardinal indeed have looked forward to obtaining a work from the
Giovanni Carlo de' Medici himself who required their Modena collection: the King had been demanding his
presence in Florence in 1649 and 1650 for the decoration return insistently, so a last-minute gift of some importance
of the Palazzo Pitti, the Casino Mediceo and his villa at might perhaps appease the royal impatience.25 As he
Camugliano; other prestigious commissions were at the appears to have specified a size, Velazquez must have had
Palazzo Balbi in Genoa, and, of course, at Sassuolo for the a precise setting in mind for the promised painting. Never-
Duke of Modena.20 These years of frenetic activity seem theless, it is the connoisseur rather than the decorator who

to the payments, they started in June 1654 and finished in January 1655. See
'8As they are called in J. MARTiNEZ: Discursos practicables del arte de la pintura,
Madrid, [n.d., ?1675] (Madrid [1866], p.120). also eadem: Lo spazio dipinto. Il grande affresco genovese nel 600, Genoa [1989], ch. 1,
pp.9-43.
'gSee note 14 above. Ferdinando Cospi (1606-86) was the representative of the
Grand Duke of Tuscany in Bologna and artistic agent to the Medici in that City2'MALVASIA, ed.cit. at note 14 above, p.356. It was however in these difficult
(see F. PETRUCCI in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol.30, Rome [1984], years between 1655 and 1657, that they produced one of their major works in
pp.81-82). Giovanni Carlo (1611-63), son of Cosimo II de'Medici and uncle Bologna, of the frescoes for the Cappella del Rosario in S. Domenico (for which,
Grand Duke Ferdinand was appointed Generalissimo del Mare to the Spanish see R. ROLI: 'La pittura del secondo Seicento in Emilia', in La Pittura in Italia. II
King in 1638 and became Cardinal in 1644. A protector of Spain at the Seicento, I, Milan [1989], p.248).
Vatican, he made extensive restorations to the Villa Medici and its gardens in 22Malvezzi is often mentioned as Olivares's closest Italian Counsellor and a
1648-49 (see G.M. ANDRES: The Villa Medici in Rome, New York and London friend of Testi's - both being men of letters as well as diplomats - during his
[1976], I, pp.467ff.). One of the grottoes restored at this time has been identified mission at the Spanish court. See M.L. DOGLIO, ed.: Lettere di Fulvio Testi, Bari
with the view painted by Velhzquez in 1650 (see E. HARRIS: 'Velazquez and the [1967], nos.1274, 1306, 1309, 1310, 1312, 1317, 1357 and 1366 (concerning
Villa Medici', THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE, CXXII [1980], p.157). In a manu- Velizquez's portrait of the Duke of Modena) and 1373, from 13th March 1638
script life of his father, Giovanni Mitelli refers to the Cardinal's mediation to as 7th April 1639.
crucial: 'Andorno in Spagna per opera del Serenissimo Cardinale Gio. Carlo' (Biblioteca23According to PALOMINO (ed.cit. at note 3 above) Velizquez was much favoured
dell'Archiginnasio di Bologna, MSS. B.3375, c.99v., cited in A. ARFELLI: 'Per by la the Duke, who showed him the palace and his collection. Among the things
bibliografia di Agostino e Giuseppe Maria Mitelli', Arte antica e moderna [1958], he saw there was the portrait of Francesco which he had himself painted in
pp.295-301). MALVASIA (loc.cit. at note 14 above) gives 1659 instead of 1658 Madrid as in 1639.
the date of the artists' departure, and asserts that Malvezzi made his attempt 24L. VENTURI: La Reale Galleria Estense in Modena, Modena [1882], esp. pp.200-09
before going to Spain, i.e. before 1636. CRESPI repeats this statement (Felsina and, most recently j. SOUTHORN: Power and Display in the Seventeenth Century - The
Pittrice. Vite de' pittori bolognesi. Tomo III. Che serve di supplemento all'opera delArts and their Patrons in Modena and Ferrara, Cambridge [ 1989]. See also L. VENTURI:
Malvasia, Rome [1769], p.42), saying that it was not Velazquez but Cardinal 'Velazquez e Francesco I d'Este', Nuova antologia di scienze, lettere e arti, XXIX
de' Medici who concluded 'il trattato di Spagna' and correcting Malvasia in
[1881], pp.44-52.
giving 1658 as date for the final agreement. 25Between February 1650 and 1651 the King wrote several letters to the Duque
200n Colonna and Mitelli's previous frescoes for the lower ground floor ofdel Infantado, urging him to hasten Velizquez's departure. See HARRIS, 1oc.Cit.
Palazzo Pitti (1638-39), see M. CAMPBELL: 'Medici Patronage and the Baroque.at note 1 above [1960], pp.130ff. When Velazquez asked to return to Italy a
A Reappraisal', Art Bulletin, XLVIII [1966], pp.133-41. For Palazzo Balbi, see
third time in 1657, the King did not allow him because of his earlier procrasti-
E. GAVAZZA: La grande decorazione a Genova, Genoa [1974], p.356, note 44: accordingnation. See PALOMINO, ed.cit. at note 3 above, p. 183.

70

This content downloaded from

37.183.2.83 on Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:16 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 LETTERS FROM VELAZQUEZ TO VIRGILIO MALVEZZI

addresses Malvezzi in these letters, for it is clear that

?:-
he ~~:~~li I i
was not over concerned with obtaining a painting of the iiii-::: -- -:I

:
::
1 ;-

-;--
-:-::: :
:::::::::::::: :: ::::: :-"::--''i:-:::i---:ii:li:-:,i::-tli:ii -_:;:---iiiii:?i:-i~iiii--::::-:--. i:::: i_?::- . -:- -:::--::-i-:-: :-:i::-l:':-:_i::l-li:~-:li--~(''':- :-il:::::;-::::-::~i
.-:
-::::-::i:::::::1:?:
?i

correct dimensions to fit in with an established decorative

-:i-::::: :i-i:ii:-:_:_::-:i ::-_:_:i-i :ii-'; _-i-:-:::-:--:-::: :::-::::-::-: -: ::-:- .:

:: :-:::::: : :::--
::: -:
:_ ::: ::: i
programme (Appendix, A). He gives priority to the quality :i::::-_:::i:!-i-i-::-i:--i_::-.i-- ::::-:.:l;:-:i;: ::;-i:-;:-:--';:-l !-i'--':r---'-: -i-:i-:ii--:-----ll::--:::i:_~ji:i~-~l: '~i-::-'i-':-:- .-.:'.' ''.il:il :;i--li:i_::,~i;:
:-:-_-::::::_:::::: :::::i::i:]-: i:i:lill~:l~~ iil:i _illi;i-_11~-:~,:~:iir-ii-_ -;:--'::~''1:::-1--:-':'''~i-il:-: ::- :::::::;l--ii7ii:: -:i:jiij:::ij:_i::_
: . _:
of the gift, saying that even if it was the wrong size, room i: -i
i :: _ _: :j :
would be made for something good ('algo bueno aun que no i : :-ii:-:::::
---:-;:--::::::-i:-l: :
_ - . I: :?_?
sea de la medida que siendo bueno se aze lugar').26 : : :::::::::: ~i-li:ll:l:--:: ::::
: : -:::: -: :::::_::::-:-:-:-: i ..:.:.-., ~-:l~i:i~
We know the exact date of Velhzquez's return to Modena : : : :: :::-::: :-: ::-:::: _: :::-::: ::-, -:::":--~-'_i::: .::-..- :ii~iii_- i~ i-n:i

thanks to a letter of 12th December 1650 from the Duke's i:_i-?

~ :: -::-:

::r
.I.~i?--~-~
suspicious secretary, Gennaro Poggi, who reported Velaz- I ;1
quez's intention of seeing the collection to his master,
S.?;i--: :.. ..?
::::
_:::::_-_:::: I- i
-: .--'-- ~-,-__
whom he also tried to prevent from giving away one of the
best pieces.27 Not being allowed by the zealous Poggi to : .._...- : . -: -I-I:, .-: ::I:: ::i:-:

see the paintings before the Duke's return,28 Velazquez :: :-:::i. ::.r : :::::--:i: -,_::i
=
''

was invited to visit the villa of Sassuolo, where he saw the

:- . . - -:;: :.:.: .: i: :it:
recently completed decorations by Colonna and Mitelli. :.. :
:.. ::! i
It was then that VelAzquez - to Poggi's alarm - affirmed iij -_
-:: ... .-. ---- : ::: ::::
:::::-~ ;li~-ii;
Bi?5;
il- : : i
that they were planning to join him a few days later at ::i:~~-i~ ~~--.::-;~.:.--i:-:-:::::-:-;:::--:: :~~ ~-:"l:.l.l:i:.-::i i --j~ I -.'.
: : : : : :i\ri r~::nn:-SEi~i :-~_:-i:-:i-/:-iii-jr.i.:.l. ii?T '-::iiiii:::lii-,, ii:::i'-:':':i'
I"
Genoa for embarkation to Spain. But, as we have seen,
:: "i-:.-_::: ::_::_~

-.--- : :::: : :: :: : : :::::::: : ::I-

this did not in fact happen. ::

The friendly tone of Velaizquez's letters to Virgilio

i; . : : : .- : :
ii: :?.
:::_ :: ::::::;:
j

Malvezzi suggests a personal relationship strong enough ii

:~ : : :....
ii: : . : : :,:::-_::_::1:::_:: -...:..
to outweigh the formalities of an official correspondence. - --_ : ::: : : - - _ : _
In spite of the customary courtesies to a person of a higher :riii : I :::-::: : : I-1 I .... i::: i-!;_.l! :::: :_-::?!-:::I _
ii :I :: : -:::::: i
status ('V.S.Illma.', 'Servidor de V.S.Illma'), Velazquez writes ?i

as to a colleague, a fellow member of the royal household. :: :: -: :::_:;-~i :::: : :

:I;

His comments on Cortona's artistic skill suggest that :-b

Malvezzi shared his interest in aesthetic matters and that

:-., ~i~~ -:r. ---.. .-. ::: ::::-
i-:-- - - : :
they were able to appreciate one another's own judgements:
('he me holgado infinito con eljuizio que V.S.Illma. hace de Po de : .
-
::::: : .:-. .:._. -~:::-LI-_:;r:--?.-- i-: ? j:
::: ..
..:
.:-. : .:
::
_. : :
. ::-: I:

Cortona'; 'me alegro sea de su satisfacion en la parte de las

: :: :::::?-- ':-::i? ..:: I :.-. ~:-:iil~~?i?!::? i-: --:-l:l-i:aili:i:_I;i-::::::~::

figuras'; 'le jusgo como V.S.Ill.ma abentajado a los demas'). 5. Letter from VelAzquez to Virgilio Malvezzi, see Appendix, C below.
(Archivio di Stato, Fondo Malvezzi-Lupari, Bologna).
Velazquez also provides Malvezzi with gossip from the
court in Madrid - the good health of their Majesties, the
news of Don Antonio de Arag6n's cardinalate (capelo, see
Appendix, D) and the imminent arrival in Italy of Don
Juan de Austria's servant,29 as part of an exchange of
information about their common Spanish background.in Rome, worrying about his departure during the drought.
Moreover, Velazquez shows sincere interest, rather than According to the third letter, he was intending to leave
just courtesy, when asking after Malvezzi's state of health. Rome by the end of April 1650. Then, when the money
The Marquis had not been well in Madrid; and it was he was expecting from Count Ofiate finally arrived,32 he
mainly because of his illness that he had asked Philip IV said he was ready to start out not later than 15th October.
leave to retire in 1646.30 The letters of the last years of hisBut we know that on 23rd November he was still in Rome,
life include many remarks about his physical decay, againstby virtue of an act he signed on that day granting freedom
which he fought with the severe stoicism of which his writ- to his slave Juan de Pareja.33 He must have left Rome
ings had always been a model.31 shortly afterwards, since on 2nd December Count Ofiate
For his own part VelAzquez complains about the heatrefers to his departure as having taken place.34

26Was it Correggio's La Notte that Velazquez had in mind? The painting,
originally in the Pratonero chapel of S. Prospero, Reggio Emilia, had already
been suggested by Fulvio Testi as a suitable present for the King, when he
arranged the Duke's visit to Madrid in 1638 (see the letter of 5th February
1638, in DOGLIO, ed.cit. at note 22 above, ad diem). In 1640 Francesco had
removed it from the Church to Modena, so by the time of Velizquez's second
trip to Italy it had been in the Ducal collection for ten years. It never went to
Spain; Velazquez tried to obtain it when he was back in Madrid, but Francesco
Ottonelli, the Duke's ambassador in Spain, dissuaded him, arguing that it was
only on deposit in the Ducal collection, and that it could not be given to anyone
else (see VENTURI, loC.cit. at note 24 above [1881], p.46). Sold in 1745 to
Augustus III of Saxony, La Notte has been in Dresden ever since (see C. GOULD:
The Paintings of Correggio, London [ 1976], pp.204-06).
27 Varia Velazquefia, cited at note 1 above, II, p.273, doc. 130.
28There is no record of Velazquez's second encounter with the Duke of Modena,
so we are unaware of the instructions that the painter was expecting from him.
29For Don Antonio de Arag6n's promotion, see also the letter from the King's
secretary to Infantado in HARRIs, loc.cit. at note 1 above [1960], p.130. Juan
Sancho, the servant in question, had been Malvezzi's own criado in Spain and
took charge of his private affairs during the Marchese's diplomatic missions
abroad. Letters from the court, May 1647 (Archivio di Stato di Bologna, Fondo
Malvezzi-Lupari, Lettere a Virgilio Malvezzi) suggest that he was still looking
after Malvezzi's interests after the latter had retired to Bologna.
30Francisco de Quevedo, a friend of Malvezzi's during his stay in Madrid and
the translator of his Romulo in 1631, gives us an amusing portrait of the Marchese,
feeling very much under the Spanish weather: 'El marquis Virgilio Malvezzi estid
encargado de escribir la historia de Su Majestad, Dios le guarde, y otra vez la de Su
Excelencia, por ahora. Su ocupacidn es pedir de comery curarse, queyo rio con il mucho,
porque no bebe agua, que dice que le mata; ni vino porque le destruye; ni came, porque no la
puede digerir; ni pan porque no lo puede morder, y estd tan flaco que parece esqueleto de
cohetey admirdndose de queyo comoy tomo tabacoy chocolate' (see L. ASTRANA MARIN:
La vida turbulenta de Quevedo, Madrid [1945], p.423, quoted by BRAENDLI, Op.cit.
at note 5 above, p.27).
"' See BRAENDLI, ibid., and M.c. CRISAFULLI: Virgilio Malvezzi: Lettere a Fabio Chigi,
Fasano [1990].
32See HARRIS, loc.cit. at note 1 above [1960], p.127, note 56.
33MONTAGU, loc.cit. at note 1 above.
34 Varia Velazquefia, cited at note 1 above, II, p.275, doc. no.133.

71

This content downloaded from

37.183.2.83 on Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:16 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 LETTERS FROM VELAZQUEZ TO VIRGILIO MALVEZZI

Perhaps neither the money, nor the weather,una norpara la Galeria de Su Mag.d me pidio la medida para buscarla y enbiarsela
his
a su Mag.d. Quedo con ella y me encargo que a la buelta le bolviese a veer como
artistic affairs in Rome, nor his notorious flema were the
lo hare si Dios es servido. Si V.S.Ill1.,ma tiene comunicasion podra darse por
only reasons for the various delays: as we nowsabidor
know,y alentarle a dar a Su Mag.d algo bueno aun que no sea de la medida
que siendo
Velazquez had personal interests which might well bueno se aze lugar.
have
Las cosas de mi comision ban caminando y procurare cuanto antes veer
made him postpone his departure again and again. aBut inque lo desseo sumamente. Dios me g.d a V.S.Ill.ma muchissimos
V.S.Ill.ma
the end reasons of state prevailed, and the orders
afios yfrom
me le deje ver. Roma y Nobiembre 22 de 1649.
Spain forced him to leave after a seventeen-monthsDiego de Silva Velasquez
resi-
dence in the Eternal City, before the birth of his illegitimate
Italian-born son, Antonio.35 He had won the support of
the Papal Secretary for his admission to a Spanish military
B. 26th March 1650.

order. His artistic mission was largely accomplished, though

S.r Ill.mo
he had to return without the company of Cortona, and cuidado me tiene no veer carta de V.S.Ill.ma ni tener nuevas
Con mucho de
with what must have appeared only a tenuous promise
su salud que las desseo porque en la hultima de 8 de Nobiembre me abiz6 de la
from Colonna and Mitelli. flaqueza de las manos. Por aca no se ofrece que abizar a V.S.Ill.ma mas de que el

Despite the wealth of information that can be gleanedcapelo del S.r D. Ant.' de Aragon se a publicado y qtue en las cartas que ay de
Spafia bienen buenas nuevas de la salud de sus Mag.Cs.
from these four letters, we are left in ignorance of Velaz-
Del S.r Marques de Lafuente e tenido carta este ordinario y me dize an tenido
en Venecia
quez's real opinion of Colonna and Mitelli. We do not al S.r Duque de Modena y que a comprado pinturas en aquella
ciudad y tambien en Verona. V.S.Ill.ma no holbide de hazer lo que le tengo
know whether he regarded them as mere decorators, or sup.dif que espero buen suzeso y que me embie muy buenas nuevas de su salud
he considered their trompe-l'reil frescoes (he might haveque espero veer le presto. Dios lo haga y me g.d a V.S.Ill.ma muchos afios como
called them trampantojos) to belong to an artistic genre desseo. Roma y Marzo 26 de 1650.
Diego de Silva Velasquez
which combines both the skill of a painter and that of an
architect. What is of great interest, however, is Velizquez's
insistence on the quality of invencid'n as the criterion for
choosing a painter for the Alcaizar ceilings. It providesC.a30th April 1650 (Fig.5).
glimpse into the critical vocabulary he used, and suggests
Ill.mo Sefior
that he subscribed to the intellectual concept of painting Tres escribo con esta a V.S.Ill.ma despues que remiti a Spafia su pliego. Desseo
that reaches back to Alberti. But his awareness of the que V.S.Ill.ma tenga muy cumplida salud y que me lo haga saber faboreciendome
con sus cartas aunque espero brebemente partir de aqui de que abizare a
nobility of his art did not necessarily assure him the social
V.S.Ill.ma con puntualidad que aora no lo puedo hazer hasta tener carta del S.r
promotion that he always aspired to. Like Titian, whom
Conde de Ofiate que aguardo.
he admired, Velazquez well knew the advantages forPedro
an de Cortona no a querido hir a Spafia aunque el Sefior Duque del
artist's status of keeping company with the grandees of Infantado
his le a hablado io he informado a Su Ex.a de la persona que V.S.Ill.ma
me a propuesto y me parece que tiene noticia de ella. Quando nos veamos,
age. It was, in fact, largely because of his career as courtier
siendo Dios servido, hablaremos en la conformidad que pareciere a V.S.Ill.ma a
that he became at last a 'noble' painter. quien g.de N. Sefior muchos afios como puede i io desseo. Roma y Abril 30 de
1650.
Diego de Silva Velasquez
S.r Marquez Virgilio Malvezi
35MONTAGU, loc.cit. at note 1 above.

D. 24th September 1650.

Ill.mo
Appendix. Four letters from Diego de Silva Velazquez in Rome to Sefior
Muchos dias me e detenido en responder a la de V.S.Ill.ma pues es de 13 de
Marchese Virgilio Malvezzi in Bologna (Bologna, Archivio di Stato, Fondo
Malvezzi-Lupari, Lettere a Virgilio Malvezzi) Mayo. La causa a sido que desde entonzes estado de partida y cada dia esperava
poderlo abizar a V.S.Ill.ma pero de un dia en otro se a detenido el poder ser.
Aora tengo adquirido lo mas que es el dinero y estoi con disposicion de salir de
These letters show some southern characteristics of the Spanish language which are consisent
aqui a los 15 de Otubre a lo mas largo porque aguardo el correo de Espaiia a
with Veldzquez's Sevillian origin. The most significant is the confusion of s and z, reflected
principios de aquel mes por si en el me biene ordenado algo segun las cartas de
in the anarchic distribution ofs, ss, z, andf. However this seventeenth-century andalucismo
que espero
is probably mitigated by more than twenty-five years of residence at the court in Madrid, so repuesta. Abisare a V.S.Ill.ma del dia fijo y entanto le suppco tenga
that some Castilian linguistic habits are also present, leismo, for example, as well prebenido
as a a el S.' Miguel Colona que deseo verle y sus obras y pues todo lo
certain irregularity in the distribution of the initial h. Lastly, what seem to be demas
signs ofes tan a proposito como V.S.Illma me dize y la pintura le parese tambien
Italian influence resulting from his long sojourn in Rome appear when Veldzquezlowrites
es lejusgo desde luego por combeniente.
'Spagna' (twice) instead of'Espafia' (once). El Criado de V.S.Ill.ma que lo es oy del S.' D.Ju de Aust.a me escriven de M.
biene
a Italia a servir a su amo y me abizan me trae cartas si antes pasare por
In transcribing the letters Ihave respected the original text, altering neither the orthography
nor the accents. I am indebted to Prof. Eugenio de Bustos Gisbert for his valuablealla
helpV.S.Ill.ma
in me las haga remitir.
dialectological matters. Los calores deste verano' an sido terribles en esta ciudad y mucho mas la
sequedad con que aun duran y las mutasiones2 se temen mas en estos meses que
en los de canigulares por la falta de agua. Desseo tener muy buenas nuevas de la
A. 22nd November 1649 (Fig.3). salud de V.S.Ill.ma pues para la podagra el mucho calor suele ser bueno.
Holgareme mucho aya servido a V.S.Ill.ma y que 10 haya pasado muy bien.
Ill.mo S.r Dios n.ro S.' me le g.d como desseo y me le deje veer presto. Roma y Set.e 24 de
Mucho fabor me t hecho V.S.Ill.ma con su carta de 22 del pasado y me deja 1650.

contentissimo entendiendo goza buena salud, que sea por muchos afios. Servidor de V.S.Ill.ma

He me holgado infinito con el juizio que V.S.Ill.ma hace de Po de Cortona por Diego de Silva Velasquez
que en las pinturas sueltas que 6 visto de su mano donde no ay necesidad de
mucha invencion no me an parecido gran cosa pero en las de composicion
grande se ayuda mucho con ella [invencion cancelled]. Yo le conosi la primera
vez que estube en Roma que aun no abia hecho la pieza de los Barbarinos i no
le hacia mucho caso mas oy con aquella obra lejusgo como V.S.Ill.ma abentajado 'In seventeenth-century Spain, where five seasons were distiguished, verano still
a los demas. Intentarase con todo esfuerzo el levarle i a no poder ser dare meant the end of the spring and beginning of the summer. See j. COROMINAs and
quenta del que V.S.Ill.ma propone que me alegro sea de su satisfacion en la J.A. PASCUAL: Diccionario critico etimoldgico de la lengua castellana, Berne [1954],
Vol.RI-X.
parte de las figuras, de lo que sucediese abizare a V.S.Ill.ma y masque le he
menester mucho con el Sr. Duque de Modena porque en mi benida le bi y me 2Mudar means to leave in seventeenth-century colloquial speech, as in Cer
mostro sus pinturas, que las tiene muy buenas, y tambien sabiendo que buscava Ilustre Fregona: 'adids, que me mudo'. See ibid.

72

This content downloaded from

37.183.2.83 on Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:16 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms