Page - 338 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 1

Chapter 5338 indication of the need felt for more up-to-date, more cosmopolitan design that would be better suited to serve the needs of Imperial Representatio. So Strada arrived at court at a time when up-to-date architectural know-how must have been particularly welcome, and would have been employed primarily in that field. Moreover, Strada’s own taste and style—a very reduced, simple and ra- tional type of classicist design directly derived from the more sober designs of the Roman High Renaissance, in particular form the works by Raphael and Strada’s own teacher, Giulio Romano—corresponded closely to Ferdinand’s preference for the ‘subtle, unassuming, noble elegance’, as described by Renate Holzschuh-Hofer. Figure 5.91 The inscription on Titian’s portrait of Jacopo Strada.