Princes and Artists: Patronage and Ideology at Four Habsburg Courts 1517-1633

by Hugh Trevor-Roper, Profusely illustrated (Illustrator)

The relationship between artists and their patrons has always been a complex and fascinating one. This is especially true of the Habsburg rulers of the 16th and 17th centuries, not only because they are themselves of intrinsic interest, but because the artists whom they encouraged or employed – Dürer, Titian, El Greco, Rubens – were among the greatest of all times.

In Princes and Artists Professor Trevor-Roper analyses the Habsburg patronage of art through the careers of the Emperor Charles V (1500-58), his son Philip II of Spain (1527-98), the Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612) and ‘The Archdukes’ – Albert and Isabella – who ruled the southern Netherlands from 1598 to 1633.

In the context of their lives, their courts and their political activities, art played an immensely important role – partly propaganda, partly sheer aesthetic pleasure. The author argues that the distinctive characteristics of patronage in this period are to be explained by the ‘world picture’ of the age: ‘Art symbolised a whole view of life, of which politics were a part, and which the court had a duty to advertise and sustain.’

Genres: Art, History

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford.
Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of historical topics, but particularly England in the 16th and 17th centuries and Nazi Germany. In the view of John Philipps Kenyon, "some of [Trevor-Roper's] short essays have affected the way we think about the past more than other men's books". This is echoed by Richard Davenport-Hines and Adam Sisman in the introduction to One Hundred Letters from Hugh Trevor-Roper (2014): "The bulk of his publications is formidable ... Some of his essays are of Victorian length. All of them reduce large subjects to their essence. Many of them ... have lastingly transformed their fields." On the other hand, his biographer Adam Sisman also writes that "the mark of a great historian is that he writes great books, on the subject which he has made his own. By this exacting standard Hugh failed."
Trevor-Roper's most commercially successful book was titled The Last Days of Hitler (1947). It emerged from his assignment as a British intelligence officer in 1945 to discover what happened in the last days of Hitler's bunker. From interviews with a range of witnesses and study of surviving documents, he demonstrated that Hitler was dead and had not escaped from Berlin. He also showed that Hitler's dictatorship was not an efficient unified machine but a hodge-podge of overlapping rivalries.
Trevor-Roper's reputation was "severely damaged" in 1983 when he authenticated the Hitler Diaries shortly before they were shown to be forgeries.

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well done look at the role of patronage at four Habsburg courts and how the relationships between artists and rulers connected to the politics and religion of the times.

[Jonfaith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trevor-Roper explores the curious relationship between Hapsburg sovereigns and artists. Alongside such, a more general historic trend is revealed. Charles V courts various artists cultivating a renaissance humanism, then suddenly abdicates and takes it all home, just as the climate is changing, the Counter-Reformation soon staunching such exuberance. The section on Philip II and Titian was interesting, especially given my recent time with Parker's lengthy treatment of the "cold bigot."

The lesson of El Greco and others was to ignore Philip's requests and stay away from the long reach of the Inquisition whenever possible. The antipode of such severe austerity was Rudolf II and Prague, the monarch moving the capital from Vienna to Bohemia, Rudolf appeared driven by human inquiry.

The exercise concludes in Antwerp, the 30 Year War underway and the seismic fissures in the Hapsburg house beyond repair.

This is a well written affair, though a thin one. The plates proved effective, especially Durer's engraving of Erasmus, which I admit to being unfamiliar.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very specialized book about some princes and the painter's they patronized. They are Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), Philip II of Spain (1527-1598), Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612), Archduke Albert and Infanta Isabella.

Trevor-Roper rushes through the names and art such that it feels like a first draft for what could be a book 3 times its size.

There must be over 50 works of art mentioned and one should spend time looking at each one on the internet to fully envision the tastes of the princes mentioned. To do this right the publisher would have to include all of the paintings in color (they are black and white) that are listed in the book.

Despite this I think this an admirable attempt of a very interesting subject.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars.