Page - 834 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 2

Chapter 16834 decorations for court festivals, when a huge number of disparate objects had to be produced in a quite brief time-span. Four things were indispensable to make this a success: – a perfect comprehension of the patron’s wishes and intentions – a close collaboration and mutual understanding between the courtiers, the literati—such as Giovanni Battista Fonteo—, the musicians—such as Philips de Monte—and the senior artists—such as Giuseppe Arcimbol- do, Francesco Terzio, Pietro Ferrabosco, Matthias Manmacher, and Strada himself—who had been commissioned to provide the concepts, the texts, the scores, and the designs – a careful and detailed planning – and finally a careful coordination and close supervision of the many artists and artisans who were to convert these ‘inventions’ into reality. It is probably no coincidence that just these aspects are stressed in Strada’s letter to Archduke Ferdinand ii of Tirol, in which he offered to undertake the coordination and supervision of the huge silver table fountain representing Adam and Eve in Paradise which the Archduke had commissioned from Stra- da’s friend and colleague Wenzel Jamnitzer: And even to make a design for such a work, one needs to know the mind of Your Excellency, and also the size [of the planned work], because it has to be arranged with judgement, and according to Scripture, and all parts [should be] made in due proportion. And even then it would be difficult to show in a drawing, because it will take up so much space. To understand it well, one should rather make a [three-dimensional] model or master plan [‘modello ovvero patrone’] as one does when one wants to build a palace, for the use of the masters to be employed in the project.<…> And it would also be necessary to have a superintendent [‘sopra capo’] who well understood the work, so that he could guide the masters [in their work], otherwise the expenses of the work would soar, and the chance would be that [the result] might not even please Your Excellency.2 Neither is it a coincidence that, as at the beginning of his career at the Impe- rial court, at its end he should imagine a quite similar role when he offered his service to Archduke Ernest: the relevant passage as quoted earlier continues: I can also serve in having made inventions for masques, tourneys and jousts and other beautiful things that may occur to your Highness.3 2 Doc. 1556-12-22. 3 Doc. 1579-05-00.