Page - 650 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 2

Chapter 13650 the volume’s initial function must have been akin to those found in Rudolf’s Kunstkammer, as cited above: ‘ein gross Buch in pergamen von lautter Ledigen regalpapir darein man allerhand Disegni legen kan’. In this case, however, the ‘disegni’ were pasted onto the sheets of the album, and this content is speci- fied on the rather carelessly executed title-page as ‘Selectarum inventionum ex diversis auctoribus’. The album is filled with cut-out designs of which a considerable part can be attributed to Giulio himself, and a number of related designs are attributable to Giulio’s circle [Figs. 13.13–13.19]. These are complemented with pen-and-ink copies of Giulio’s designs—some of them actually copied from autographs contained in the volume itself—that were produced in Strada’s workshop, and with some miscellaneous material of various origins (including some archi- tectural drawings, none of which appear to be linked with Mantua). Many of the autograph drawings can moreover be linked to similar copies preserved in libri di disegni produced by the Stradas, while some of the copies in the Stra- hov codex appear reproduced from autograph designs by Giulio preserved elsewhere.41 From the copies of Giulio’s designs for goldsmith work included in the vol- ume and in several other libri di disegni produced in Strada’s workshop, it is evident that he possessed many more of Giulio’s designs besides those past- ed into the Strahov codex. This suggests that the Strahov volume represent a selection—or rather a de-selection—from the material he had available; its miscellaneous contents suggests that the album should be considered as part of the rebut, remnants that either were duplicates—of many of Giulio’s several 41 Valerie Taylor is at present undertaking a careful comparison of the several albums of such drawings, mostly executed by Ottavio Strada, and attempting an identification of the sources of the individual designs—besides Giulio these includes similar designs by Francesco Salviati. Figure 13.13 Strahov codex, fol. 28/36: Giulio Romano, autograph design for a ewer. Figure 13.14 Strahov codex, fol. 17/22: Giulio Romano or workshop, design for a salt cellar.