Page - 334 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 1

Chapter 5334 146 Cf. below, Ch.13.8. 147 The designs included in the printed version published by Ottavio ii Strada in 1617–1618 (Strada, Jacopo 1617–1618) largely derive from inventions by Francesco di Giorgio Martini; cf. reti 1963; Marchis / Dolza 2002; Dolza 2003. Apart from Serlio’s material, Strada acquired large quantities of drawings from the estates of Perino del Vaga and Giulio Romano, which included many architectural designs both by Giulio himself and by other artists, among whom Raphael—the master in whose studio Giulio and Perino had received their training—had pride of place. These acquisitions were complemented by spe- cially commissioned measured drawings of both antique relics and contem- porary architectural and decorative projects, such as Raphael’s Loggia in the Vatican.146 Given his training in Giulio Romano’s milieu, it is not surprising Strada was particularly interested in the decorative aspects of architecture: for Raphael and Giulio at least, these seem to have been inseparable. It is significant that Strada was partly trained as a goldsmith, that is as a decorative artist. The craft of the goldsmith could be exercised in conjunction with the design or mod- elling of architectural decoration: Niccolò da Milano, one of the stuccoists working in the Palazzo del Te, was also a well-known goldsmith. Strada’s asso- ciation with Wenzel Jamnitzer, and his own designs, particularly those for the frontispieces of his manuscripts, show that he certainly was capable to design ornament, including ornament of an architectural nature. 5.6.3 ‘Commisarius Bellicus’: Was Strada Employed as a Military Architect? Besides civic architecture and decoration, Strada would have had at least some interest in the art of warfare and in fortification and military engineering, an essential component of architecture and in the sixteenth century a particular specialty of Italian architects and mathematicians. He must have found mate- rial relating to this among Serlio’s manuscripts, who also owned drawings he had been left by Peruzzi, which in its turn may have included material deriv- ing from Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Strada’s knowledge of technical inven- tions, which dated back at least to his contacts with the Marquis of Marignano, largely depended on such sources, which he and his son and grandson exploit- ed in manuscripts and publications prepared in their studio.147 His collection also included some documentation relating to (near) contemporary warfare. Among this were a detailed depiction of the camp inhabited by Suleiman the Magnificent during his siege of Vienna in 1529, and several other materials re- lating to the encampment and the battle order of the Turkish foe, which Strada