Page - 264 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 1

Chapter 5264 21 Below, Ch. 5.4.2. 22 This source first identified by Bažant 2006, p. 47. 23 A good survey of the sources and literature on Maximilian ii in Paula Sutter Fichtner’s biography, Fichtner 2001, pp. 309–333. See also Edelmayer 1988, Edelmayer / Kohler 1992; Louthan 1997. 24 Dunning 1976; Pass 1980; Lindell 1985; Lindell 1999; Schindler 2004; K. Vocelka 1976; R. Vocelka 1976; Kaufmann 1978a; Kaufmann 2009; Lietzmann 1987. That Ferdinand’s interest was immediately taken up by his architects is evident from the exquisite door- and window frames and relief plaques used in the ground floor of the Prague Summer Palace, which date from the early 1540s [Figs. 5.19 and below, 5.79].21 In view of their high quality, these have been sometimes thought to have been imported from Italy. The door surround is particularly interesting, because it derives from a classical overdoor reput- edly found at the Forum of Spoleto, and illustrated in Serlio’s Quarto Libro, [Fig. 5.20].22 We will see this same awareness of the new, classical style and of develop- ments elsewhere in Europe with Ferdinand’s two eldest sons, the Archduke Maximilian, since 1548 titular King of Bohemia, who succeeded his father in 1564 as Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia; and Arch- duke Ferdinand ii of Tirol, who as Statthalter or viceroy actually governed Bo- hemia on behalf of his father and his brother until sometime after the latter’s accession. 5.2.2 Maximilian ii: General Interests On the whole, the cultural and intellectual patronage of Maximilian ii [Fig. 5.21] is a chapter in the history of the Renaissance that still remains to be writ- ten. But the relative neglect he suffered has been redressed in recent years by several detailed studies, uncovering and interpreting new source material. These include several studies of his often problematic politics and his equally problematic religious stance, a study of the interests and ethos of the circle of intellectuals he gathered at his court, a modest but rewarding political bi- ography and a volume of essays discussing many different aspects of his life, his reign and his court.23 Specifically dedicated to his cultural patronage were studies in the history of music and the theatre, on court festivals and on politi- cal propaganda in general, and monographs on Arcimboldo, the best known among the artists at his court, and on the Neugebäude, his principal architec- tural commission.24