Page - 830 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 2

©  Dirk Jacob Jansen, 2019  |  doi:10.1163/9789004359499_018 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the prevailing cc-by-nc-nd License. Chapter 16 Strada & Co.: By Appointment to His Majesty the Emperor 16.1 Strada as an Imperial Antiquary and Architect Strada’s formal appointment at the court of the Emperors Ferdinand i and Maximilian ii and the use made of his antiquarian competences by Hans Ja- kob Fugger and Duke Albrecht v of Bavaria show that these satisfied a need felt by his principal patrons. Strada satisfied this need in the first place by present- ing the fruits of his researches, in the form of the libri di disegni document- ing numismatic and other topics, many of which have been preserved, and the acquisition of which by his patrons is documented in several cases. All the same it is not likely that these volumes—always paid for separately—were the only or even the most important reason for his employment: note that the two earliest volumes still preserved in Vienna were not commissioned by, but were presented at Strada’s own initiative to Ferdinand i and Maximilian ii respec- tively. Strada’s initial appointment in Vienna as an architect indicates that his patrons intended to make use of his expertise also in other ways, which are summarized in the next paragraphs. 16.1.1 Architecture In the foregoing chapters, I have presented and commented the sparse occa- sions in which Strada’s activities on behalf of his patrons are documented. These all show that he was employed in the architectural projects of his pa- trons in an advisory role. The available documents show that in two instances he also provided designs, for the Munich Antiquarium and for some undefined aspect of the Vienna Neugebäude. However, the available documentation does not allow definitive conclusions about Strada’s personal participation in the execution of such projects. It seems very unlikely that he had any direct and concrete responsibilities in the actual construction of the architectural com- missions at court and in Munich. It is true that Strada appears to claim that role when he wrote to Archduke Ernest in 1579: So I beseech your Most Serene Highness that, should he wish to employ me in whatever project which involves the arts of design, I can serve hem very well. If Your Highness would choose to have built a beautiful palace