"Concludo che non vidi mai la piu bella casa in Italia": the frescoed decorations in Francesco II Gonzaga's suburban villa in the Mantuan countryside at Gonzaga.

Brown, Clifford M.

"Universae Italiae Liberatori." On the 500th Anniversary of the Battle of Fornovo and the completion of the Madonna della Vittoria (1495/96 - 1995/96).

Scholarly discussion of late Quattrocento art patronage in Mantua has largely been confined to projects associated with Isabella d'Este (1474-1539, marchesa from 1490 and dowager marchesa from 1519). And yet in 1494 her husband wrote that "painting delights us not a little and by its pleasures we often relax and console our mind from the various occupations, anxieties, and cares in which it is involved."(1) Francesco II Gonzaga's effulgent praise of the visual arts suggests that he (1466-1519, marquis from 1484) was rather more consequential for the cultural life of the state than has usually been allowed.

The undervaluing of Francesco II as an art patron is a phenomenon that can be traced back to the approach taken in the nineteenth century by Alessandro Luzio. The "Luzio syndrome" has recently been challenged by Steven Kolsky who affirmed that "there needs to be a full-scale re-evaluation of Francesco [II] Gonzaga, particularly of his cultural patronage which many scholars . . . fail to recognize or refuse to believe that it could exist."(2)

The ground rules for the reexamination that Kolsky demanded had been established in 1986 when Ronald Lightbown wrote that

it would be unjust to conclude from such rough answers as this [Francesco II's rejection of Gerolamo Casio's offer of an incised gem in 1513 stating that he knew more about horses than about such things], or from any reluctance in Francesco to apply himself to his books as a boy, that he was hostile to art. . . . On the contrary in the family tradition he was a builder and a decorator of buildings. In an affectionate letter of 20 June 1491 to his sister Chiara in France he writes proudly of showing off to his father-in-law Ercole d'Este "a certain addition of building we have designed and almost finished at one end of the palazzetto at Gonzaga, which we are certain is in no way inferior in the quality of its rooms to those the happy memory of that late Illustrious Lord our grandfather had made. Then we came on the road to Marmirolo, where likewise we have made a palazetto of great convenience and ornament to that place." He also built a new palace in Mantua, that of San Sebastiano . . . and a new country palace at Poggio Reale. And in the honorific decree of 13 June 1494 by which he granted Francesco Bonsignori a goodly piece of land he declares "painting delights us not a little and by its pleasures we often relax and console our mind from the various occupations, anxieties and cares in which it is involved."(3)

The present article, limited as it is primarily to matters of art historical concern, does not provide the exhaustive reexamination called for by Kolsky. Furthermore it deals only with two of the four projects named by Lightbown. These are the ones that came into existence during the decade of the 1490s. It should be stressed, however, that the decorative schemes for the villa at Marmirolo are dealt with here only insofar as they form a parallel to work undertaken at the palace at Gonzaga, which is the principal subject of this article.

By 1497 work on the painted decorations for the residences at Marmirolo and Gonzaga had been largely completed. By this time Andrea Mantegna's altarpiece had been installed in the Church of the Madonna della Vittoria, which was built in fulfillment of a vow on the occasion of Francesco II's victory over the French at Fornovo.(4) A second commission, connected with the major military event in Francesco II's life, involved the creation of the marble revetment by Pietro Lombardo for the miracle-working image of the Madonna on the altar of the "capella di Nostra Donna di Voti in San Pedro."(5) Like the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria and Mantegna's altarpiece, the Lombardo commission dates to 1495-96.

Francesco II's role as "universae Italiae liberatori," his victory over the French at Fornovo, was responsible for several architectural commissions as well as for those portraits by which his features have been transmitted to posterity. Leaving aside his depiction at the feet of the Madonna in Mantegna's Madonna della Vittoria, there is the powerful terracotta bust by Gian Cristoforo Romano [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED], Bartolo Talpa's medal with the sacrifice of Marcus Curtius on the reverse and Sperandio's medal showing the marquis on horseback addressing the troops.(6)

At some distance in time from the Fornovo battle, and shortly after work had been completed on the decorations at Gonzaga and Marmirolo, Angelo Tovaglia provided Francesco II with a "drawing made by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci" for a suburban villa at Poggio Reale. For whatever reason work was not actually begun until 1508. Back in 1500 when the project was first conceived with the help of Leonardo da Vinci, Francesco II thought of basing the sala at Poggio Reale on the great all'antica vaulted room from the Tovaglia villa, which was itself based on Giuliano da Sangallo's plan for the Medici at Poggio a Caiano.(7)

By 1508 Andrea Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar had been installed in the Palazzo di San Sebastiano townhouse and Lorenzo Costa was at work on the decoration of the other rooms, which were completed, however, only during the campaign of 1512.(8) The documentation is unclear at certain points, but the payment to Matteo di Bologna for "uno quadro . . . come nove muse che chantano, Apollo che sona, come lo Illustrissimo Signor nostro chi ascholta" seems to suggest a fascinating rehashing of Andrea Mantegna's Parnassus for Isabella d'Este's studiolo. Another painting, one known to Vasari and showing Isabella d'Este entertained by musicians, recalls Lorenzo Costa's Coronation of a Poet, which was also created for the studiolo.(9)

The construction and decoration of four major palaces, in addition to a church with an altarpiece by Andrea Mantegna and a project for a monumental altar by one of the leading stonemasons of North Italy, seems rather a lot for an individual whom art history has generally not recognized as a patron of consequence. Of the four palaces, only the San Sebastiano palace survives, although it has been greatly altered. Nonetheless Francesco II's projects are well documented through the surviving records of the chancery office. The key documents for the structures at Gonzaga and the Marmirolo were in fact published by Gaye, D'Arco, and Kristeller. They have thus far been used, however, primarily to document the activities of Andrea Mantegna. On the rare occasion when these texts have been considered in and of themselves, curious misinterpretations have crept in. The "vittoria del Bolognese" was misidentified as representing the Battle of Fornovo of 1495 when in point of fact it was actually part of the program of glorification of Francesco II's grandfather for the main sala within the palazzina at Gonzaga.(10)

Not only has the import of the texts known since the nineteenth century never been fully appreciated but little attempt has been made to go beyond what Gaye, D'Arco, and Kristeller published from the rich offerings of the Gonzaga chancery records.(11) Recent advances in our knowledge regarding the iconography of fifteenth-century north Italian palace decorations can be measurably increased by adding to the catalogue what can be learned about Francesco II's palazzina at Gonzaga.(12)

Francesco II's residence at Gonzaga boasted a veritable catalogue of subjects regarding both the celestial and the terrestrial universe including frescoed cycles devoted to the elements, the planets, the ages of man, and famous cities. The arts were celebrated in the room of the muses. The fame of the Gonzaga family as breeders of horses was celebrated in the Camera dei Cavalli, while their military accomplishments were commemorated in the room of the fasti gonzagheschi and perhaps also in the camerino de li Triomphi. Thus a visitor walking though the sequences of spaces would have had at his disposal in visual form a sizable portion of the sum total of human knowledge - food for the mind as well as a delight to the eyes.

With the notable exception of Francesco and Bernardino Bonsignori, the pictorial cycles at Gonzaga and Marmirolo were the work of a group of artists with few if any surviving works. These included Gerolamo Corradi, Petro Antonio Guerzo de Crema, Tondo di Tondi,(13) Polidoro, Benedetto Ferrari, and Bartolino Topina "dicto el Filosofo."

Corradi is arguably the best documented of the group, especially for his work on topographical designs. He is first documented at work for the court, together with his elder (?) brother Francesco, in 1481. His professional activities continued until 1507 after which he seems primarily to have been involved in real estate transactions.(14) As for Topina, he is probably to be identified with the medalist Bartolo Talpa who signed a medal in honor of Francesco II Gonzaga's victory over the French at Fornovo.

Even without being able to comment on the aesthetic qualities of the decorations (and it is after all far from certain to what extent Andrea Mantegna might have been at least indirectly involved), it is nonetheless clear that the marquis of Mantua could have hosted at his palazzina at Gonzaga any of the members of the ruling families of Italy without feeling that his residence was in any way significantly inferior to theirs in the opulence or the all-inclusiveness of its visual imagery.(15)

THE COMPLEX AT GONZAGA UNDER LUDOVICO II (d. 1478) AND FEDERICO I (d. 1484)

"Per commodita de quello loco et per recreatione et piacere nostro" (appendix, item 6)

Francesco II ordered restoration work undertaken on the complex that had been built within the fortified walls of the castle by Ludovico II Gonzaga. The territory in the Mantuan countryside known as Gonzaga (located along one of the tributaries of the Po between Luzzara and the monastic complex at San Benedetto Po) had special meaning for the rulers of Mantua. It was after all their native city. Indeed they were originally known as the "Corradi di Gonzaga," taking a new surname in 1328 when Luigi became captain general of Mantua.(16)

In the summer of 1458, and as part of a larger series of major initiatives involving various territories in the Mantuan countryside, Ludovico II directed Luca Fancelli's attention to the family's ancestral home. Within the walls of the castle Fancelli constructed a palace whose design was enhanced by the extension constructed in 1467.(17) Such maps as survive are too generalized to allow for one to individualize either of the two structures created for Ludovico II or the addition commissioned by Francesco II. Sadly the entire complex was razed to the ground in the eighteenth century. Accordingly, it is virtually impossible to provide even the most rudimentary reconstruction of the various buildings in the complex. Such territorial maps [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2-3 OMITTED] as survive provide only the most sketchy indication of the Gonzaga complex.(18)

Unfortunately the buildings and the decorations envisioned by Ludovico II for the "state apartments" in the palazzo at Gonzaga are ill-documented. A letter from Fancelli of 17 June 1471 concerns the "azzuro" ordered for Andrea Mantegna in Venice for painting the "sedece asicole, over fregi intagliati."(19) The following month the duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, made the second of two visits to Gonzaga. Apparently he was so enamored by what he saw that Galeazzo Maria attempted to acquire the rights to the complex.(20) Immediately after the death of Ludovico II his son and heir, Federico I, ordered Andrea Mantegna to prepare "alcuni designi" for the residence at Gonzaga.(21) New structural work undertaken by Francesco II within the fortress walls was nearing completion in 1490: "La fabricha da Gonzaga se po mettere come fornita" (appendix, item 1). Apparently this involved the addition of a smaller structure, a palazzina, which was completed by the end of 1491. The marquis then turned his attention to the decorations of the principal rooms. Even before this had happened, the palace (either the structures built by Ludovico II or the new one added by Francesco II) was the setting for a lavish staging of Angelo Poliziano's "representatione de Orpheo et Euridice."(22)

On 17 October 1540 the Mantuan notary, Odoardo Stivini, executed a detailed inventory of the contents of the complex at Gonzaga.(23) It dealt with two structures, the palazzo (of Ludovico II) and the palazzina (of Francesco II).

Palazo de Gonzaga: (a) Camera del Torion, (b) guardacamera, (c) camerin[o] dreto la scala a lumaga, (d) camara de sopra al torion, (e) guardacamera, (f) camara sopra la suprascripta camara, (g) le camare sopra la sala de sopra di falchoneri, n. 5, (h) guardarobba, (i) camera de la rosa, (j) el torion della guarda.

Palacina da Gonzaga: (a) Camera della Illustrissima Madama nostra, (b) Camara de la Ettade, (c) camera de li Pianetti, (d) Camara sopra la Camera de la Etade, (e) Camara sopra la Cocina, (f) Camera sopra il pozzo, (g) la Cocina, (h) Camerino dale Muse, (i) Camera del Mirto, (j) Camera de li Elementi, (k) Camera de la Stuva, (1) Camara sopra la Camara del Mirto, (m) Camera sopra la Stuva, (n) l'altra camera sopra la stuva, (o) Sala depinta, (p) Camara da li Cavalli, (q) Camara da la Citta, (r) Camerino dorato da le Mani, (s) Camera de li regazii, (t) Camera de li Medici, (u) Camera da le arme apresso alia porta, (v) Guardacamera, (w) Camera depinta a man dritta apresso alla porta, (x) Guardacamera, (y) Camera sopra la suprascripta camera, (z) Camerino sopra il tinello apresso a Francisco Canossa soprastante.

Stivini's task was limited to cataloguing the furnishings, the lettere, piumazi, matterazi, coltri, coperti, lenzoli, banzole, tavole, and tavolette. He did so by referring to the pictorial motif of the room in which the furnishings were located. If a room did not possess such objects (and it should be recalled that the court had less interest in Gonzaga after Francesco II's death in 1519 and may have transferred some of its furnishing to other complexes), then its existence was not taken into account.(24) This explains why some of the rooms mentioned in correspondence files are not recorded by Stivini, whose listing therefore cannot be used to determine the exact sequence of spaces.

Despite the difficulty in defining the precise sequence of public and private suites within the complex, certain hints are nonetheless provided in the correspondence files. The ceremonial focal point of the palazzina was the Hall of the Victories, the "sala dalle Victorie," which was dedicated to the military triumphs of Ludovico II Gonzaga. The private apartment of Francesco II culminated in the bed chamber, the "camerino della Excellentia Vostra," where the marquis's bed was enframed by two all'antica Trionfi and was further ennobled by a devotional image by Andrea Mantegna.

Teofilo Collenuccio discussed the decoration of the bedroom (appendix, item 16) together with work in the Camera dalla Citta and the Camera dalli Cavalli. Accordingly it may be correct to assume that these formed a single unit with the sala (appendix, items 1, 32) serving as the grand reception hall in an arrangement vaguely similar to the spacial sequences subsequently encountered in the Appartamento di Troia in the Palazzo Ducale.

It is known that the rooms containing heraldic friezes, such as the Camera de li Mirti and the Camera del Feleso, each had their own "guardacamera" (appendix, item 32). Certain of the rooms although not on the piano nobile were evidently of some importance since (appendix, item 28) the "camerino supra quello dal Felexe" had gilded friezes as well as canvases painted by Bartolino Topina and Polidoro.

To judge from the opinions of those who supervised the decorations (Teofilo Collenuccio and Bernardino Ghisolfo) what mattered most to the marquis was that the decorations were beautiful and meaningful and they created an environment without parallel elsewhere in Lombardy. Thus in commenting on the frescoes in the Camera de li Elementi, Ghisolfo wrote (appendix, item 26) that "I believe that they are among the most beautiful creations in Lombardy both as regards their visual beauty and the meaning of the images." For his part Collenuccio (appendix, item 20) concluded that "I have not seen a more beautiful residence in all of Italy."

THE DECORATIVE CAMPAIGN OF 1490-1494

The Sala (1490): Tondo di Tondi and Francesco Bonsignori were already at work at Gonzaga in November of 1490 (appendix, item 1) when it was reported to the marquis that "dopo che gl'io fato fare danari hanno lavorato, e lavorano di e notte ne la sala." Whatever was accomplished in the sala at this time, was replaced (see below) by the decoration commissioned in 1495-96 when the room was transformed into a celebration of Ludovico II's military triumphs. It may be that the first phase of the decoration consisted of decorative motifs in the coffers of the ceiling, and perhaps also an elaborate frieze. According to a letter of 1494 (appendix, item 16) the walls were covered with "tapezzarie."(25)

The due camere of Francesco Bonsignori (1492): In 1492 (appendix, items 5, 7-9) Bonsignori returned to Gonzaga because "nui havimo deliberato ad ogni modo fare dipinzere queste due camare che te facessemo mostrare a li di passati." To facilitate access and to minimize the time lost in traveling, arrangements were made to house the painter during the period he would be in residence in the palace (appendix, item 9). Unfortunately, while Bonsignori was apprised of what was in the marquis's mind, the surviving documentation does not provide any of the particulars.

Camera da le Citta (1493-94): Gerolamo Corradi and Polidoro are documented by November 1493 (appendix, item 13) at work in the Camera da le Citta, a room named after the eight city views that included architectural and landscape details as well as portrayals of the inhabitants. Corradi was responsible for the topological views with Polidoro's contribution limited to the "figure, gli animali e i legni che andaranno n'i mari." Covered by a gilded coffered wood ceiling, it was heated by a fireplace with a large chimney, one that had to be reshaped so as not to interrupt the pictorial field assigned to the frescoes. The reference to the "marmi sculpti" on the fireplace is not entirely clear and conceivably the gilded columns and the "colomne antiche" served as architectonic dividers that offset the frescoes.

Collenuccio's letters (appendix, items 13-14, 16) document the progress made on the painting of the city views. The principle that guided the positioning of the scenes was fairly straightforward: a maritime city alternating with a Mediterranean city.(26) It was not, however, until April 1494 (appendix, item 18) that Turotti was able to report that "el Cayero e fornito, et e una beletissima cosa da vedere." A remarkable body of correspondence survives regarding Francesco II's attempts to obtain the best possible models for his artists. The length to which he went to insure fidelity is in itself an indication of the seriousness with which he viewed the project. To achieve his ends not only did he involve Gentile Bellini but he also sent Corradi to Venice to copy a view of Cairo owned by one Francesco Telda. Help was also sought from Lorenzo di PierFrancesco de'Medici and Angelo Tovaglia.(27)

Camera dai Cavalli (1494-95): Although mentioned in Collenuccio's letter of 7 April 1494 (appendix, item 16), work on the decorations continued into 1495. In the letter to his sister Chiara of 20 June 1491, Francesco II spoke of Duke Ercole d'Este's pleasure at viewing the horses kept at Gonzaga "quali e da centovinticinque et fra questi li sonno da settantacinque cavalli grossi et belli. El resto sonno cavalli de Sardigna, turchi, zanetti et barbari cavati de la raza nostra quale multiplica assai bene et ne reusiscano boni."(28) Presumably this room, with its portraits of prized horses, is the forerunner of the Sala dei Cavalli in the Palazzo del Te.(29) Given Francesco II's interest in his stud farms, it is not surprising that he would have devoted a room to them. On 10 September 1512 Silvestro da Luca wrote to the Marchese regarding the "libro di carta di capretto" in which he would arrange for a miniaturist to paint the Gonzaga horses "de naturale."(30)

The Marquis's Bedchamber (1494): On 7 April 1494 (appendix, item 16) Collenuccio provided a summary of the work accomplished at Gonzaga.

* Sala (equipped with "le sue tapezzarie").

* Camera dalli Cavalli with its bed "con un paramento de broccato d'oro."

* Camera dalle Citta with its bed "parato de damascho biancho." The sala and the two camere have already been discussed. Accordingly all that remains to be dealt with is the marquis's private bedroom, the "camerino della Excellentia Vostra," which was equipped with a "candeliero lavorato alla spagnola," and contained a "richissima e bellisima" lettiera, one that was even superior to its counterpart at Marmirolo (appendix, items 16-17). The lettiera was decorated in pearls with the "impresa" of the "cani alani."(31) On 23 August 1492 Bernardino Ghisolfo was asked to provide "uno descho de noce da tenere ne la camera nostra qui [a Gonzaga]."(32) The pavement, covered with a carpet, was apparently a far less elaborate affair that the comparable one in the bed chamber at Marmirolo which is presumably the "camerino de la maiolicha" recorded in the Stivini inventory.(33)

From its position in the paragraph it would appear that "el quadro di messer Andrea Mantegna" was intended to be hung from the frame of the bed. The area intended for the missing "doi trionphi," presumably located to the left and right of the lettiera was temporarily covered with "raso cremesino."

Understandably art historical attention has focused on the reference to the "quadro" of Mantegna and the "trionfi." If inset in the headboard, then presumably Mantegna's "quadro" was of a religious subject - perhaps a half-length Madonna and Child, a subject the artist treated frequently. Despite arguments to the contrary, and with his accustomed astuteness, Andrew Martindale rejected the idea that the "doi trionphi" were two of the canvases of the Hampton Court Triumph of Caesar.(34) Common sense due to size alone militates against placing two nine-foot-square canvases in a room the size of a camerino.

The repertory of subjects created by Mantuan artists offered other subjects that could have been identified as "trionfi," including those of Alexander(35) and of Petrarch,(36) both of which were created for the palace at Marmirolo. While the subject matter of the Triumphs at Marmirolo is known, an air of mystery still surrounds the subject matter of those in Francesco II's bedroom at Gonzaga.

The Marmirolo Triumph of Alexander the Great was the joint creation of Francesco Bonsignori and Tondi who painted them "suso le tele secondo a facto messer Andrea Mantegna, et dicono che cosi facendo farano piu presto e seranno piu belle e piu durabile et anchora questo dice ognuno experto in tal exercizio." Depictions of Triumphs were clearly in Francesco II's blood, making all the more curious the reluctance to credit him with the commission for Mantegna's Hampton Court canvases.(37)

Suggestions from Collenuccio for additional subjects (1494): In his letter of 16 December 1494 (appendix, item 20) Collenuccio confessed that he had not "vidi mai la piu bella casa in Italia," and this opinion was based not only on the "belli solari" but also anticipates the opulence of projected decoration in the Sala delle Victorie as well as the "due camerette che son sopra le guardacamera." There were, in addition, two other rooms known by the subject matter of their decoration, one of which was referred to as "La Geneologia di Gonzagheschi" and the other as the "camera dalle Muse." In his final word on work at Gonzaga (appendix, item 23) Collenuccio praised the "bel frigio anticho intorno alla Camera della Musarola" that had been created by Tondi. The room with the all'antica frieze was devoted to one of the standard Gonzaga imprese - the trap or muzzle.(38)

PHASE TWO, 1495-1496 (1497-1498)

Despite the role Collenuccio had earlier played as the marquis's man on the site, the project was actually always under the control of Bernardino Ghisolfo. With Collenuccio's departure from Gonzaga in 1495, it was Ghisolfo who was directly responsible for reporting on the progress made. His first letter from Gonzaga is dated 5 February 1495 (appendix, item 21). In it and in his communication of 10 February 1495 (appendix, item 22) reference is made to work on the "faciata chi e verso il zardino," as well as to work on the loggia. The "tavoloni da salegar" for the loggia arrived at Gonzaga on 25 September 1495 (appendix, items 25-26). To cover expenses Ghisolfo requested the promised 50 ducats, and he also advised that Petro Antonio de Crema was coming to Mantua to plead for the payment of 72 ducats he was owed for work undertaken in the twelve months beginning with 25 February 1494. In Collenuccio's letters, however, his name does not appear and the only artists whose work is documented by him are Gerolamo Corradi, Tondi, Polidoro, and the Bonsignori. In a letter of 17 June 1495 (appendix, item 24) Suardi indicated that a total of fourteen painters were at work at Gonzaga.

Ghisolfo's correspondence reports on everything at once. Accordingly it would simplify matters if each room was discussed separately in the comments that follow:

Rooms with heraldic friezes: Stivini records two such rooms, the Camera del Mirto and the Camerino dorato dale Mani, the former described as in progress in October 1495 (appendix, item 26). In the same letter reference was made to the Camerino del Felese. The following August work progressed on the Camera de li Ali. (appendix, item 32). In March 1495 (appendix, item 23) reference had been made to the "frigio anticho intorno alla Camera de li Ali."

On 21 October 1495 (appendix, item 26) it is learned that because of the humidity nothing had been done but that the "camarino sopra a quello del Felese" had been decorated with "li quadri tuti et se adora li festoni che liga dicti quadri." "Felese" or more properly "Felse" - i.e. the cabin of a gondola. Unlike the "Ali," the "felse" is an impresa not frequently encountered in Gonzaga iconography.(39)

Sala della Vittorie de l'Illustrissimo et Excellentissimo Signore quondam messer Ludovico: The original work in the sala (appendix, item 1) by Tondo and Francesco Bonsignori has already been discussed. A new decorative campaign was undertaken however in the major ceremonial room (the "Sala Depinta" as it was called by Stivini) in honor of Francesco II's grandfather, Ludovico II. Here were created (appendix, items 27, 30-31, 37-38, 40) the four large-scale frescoes that gave the room the name the "Sala de le Victorie del Illustrissimo et Excellentissimo Signore quondam messer Ludovico" (but called the Sala de Gonzaga in item 37). Two of the walls were assigned to Petro Antonio Guerzo da Crema, and on one of these he depicted the "facto d'arme che fu facto a Bologna" while on the other he represented the "facto d'arme fu facto al Castellaro." The "facto d'arme fu facto a Villa Francha" was the responsibility of Gerolamo Corradi (appendix, item 40). The subject assigned to Bernardino Bonsignori on the "faciata verso il ponte" is not identified. Accordingly it is difficult to determine the full scope of the iconographic program.

The battle in the Bolognese remains somewhat of a mystery although Castellaro was the location of the encounter on 25 December 1452 between Ludovico and his brother Carlo who led the Venetian troops in an attempt to occupy the rocca. Might the reference to a battle at Villa Franca actually be a slip of the pen for Villabona where Ludovico again met the troops headed by his brother on 14 June 1453?(40)

Camerino de li Trionfi: According to Ghisolfo, writing on 8 August 1496 (appendix, item 33) work was underway on the "bassamenti, tuta via, li trionphi se ge va dreto lavorando." Unfortunately the designation does not again occur in the correspondence files, and it is uncertain if the reference on 30 August 1496 (appendix, item 38) to the work "Bartolino [Topina] dipintore" and Polidoro were accomplishing for the "tellari" in the "camarino" should be related also to this room. The subject matter of the camerino Triumphs cannot be determined. It will be recalled (see above) that trionfi were portrayed in the Marquis's bedroom and that the Triumph of Alexander and later that of Petrarch figured in the decorations commissioned for the villa at Marmirolo. The former was the work of the same Tondo who contributed to the triumphs at Gonzaga.

Perhaps when Ghisolfo wrote on 21 October 1495 (appendix, item 26) that together with Francesco Bonsignori he had been to Geroli (i.e. Taro or Fornovo) to see the site of the battle of Taro, he was referring to a painting for Gonzaga glorifying the trionfi of Francesco II Gonzaga. Alternatively, given the reference to Francesco's inability to work in the winter on the loggia, the Battle of Taro may have been intended for this location.

A decree dated 22 March 1501 includes reference to a petition from Lorenzo Leombruno for payment for work undertaken before July 1499 on the "telari da Gonzaga."(41) This proves that the decorative campaign in the residence at Gonzaga continued beyond 1496 (appendix, items 41-42). Unfortunately nothing more is known at present regarding these canvases and whether or not they were part of a cycle of scenes intended for a specific room. As for the Domenico Morone Fall of the Bonacolsi of 1494, it cannot have been commissioned for the Palazzo di San Sebastiano where it was subsequently moved, since work on this palace could not have been initiated until 1505. Was Morone's picture originally intended for the residence at Gonzaga or at Marmirolo? Was it part of a celebratory cycle of the fasti gonzagheschi?(42)

Loggia: In October 1495 (appendix, item 26) Ghisolfo referred to Francesco Bonsignori's intention to wait for better weather before beginning to "depingere in la logia." Further along in the same letter he stated that "la logia e facta bianca, el solaro faro dipingere, secondo disse a la Excellentia Vostra cum li cartoni." On 28 July 1496 (appendix, item 31) Ghisolfo advised that "la logia e fornita e dipincta secondo per una altra mia li scrisse, et e bella da vedere." Unfortunately nothing is known of the iconography of the subject(s) selected by Francesco Bonsignori unless, as noted above, it relates to Francesco II's military victories. From a chance reference (appendix, item 32) it is known that the impresa of the gloved hand was painted on the ceiling.(43) Distressed at the lack of progress, Francesco II wrote on 13 August 1496 (appendix, item 34) to suggest that Ghisolfo arrange to "far dipenger ad quadroni ad qualche bella fogia" the area "tra la stuva et il bagno" (for which see also appendix, item 33: "Le caldere che vano al bagno del Palazzo novo sonno qui a Mantova").

Camerino del Mirto and the Camera de li Ali (with representations of the planets): On 21 October 1495 (appendix, item 26) it is learned that the "camerino" had not been gilded ("dorati") although the myrtle leaves had been painted. The gilding was completed the following August (appendix, item 32) By that date the Room of the Wings had been "fornita." According to a later reference (appendix, item 44), one made at the time when repairs had been undertaken to various portions of the decorations, the "camera de le ale" was the room in which the planets were represented. Thanks to this chance reference the much richer visual imagery of the camera can be documented. The device of the Myrtle occurs elsewhere in Gonzaga iconography, as for example on one of the metopes of the north facade of the Te Palace.(44)

Camera de l'Aiere: According to Ghisolfo, writing on 21 October 1495 (appendix, item 26) work had not progressed (the "quattro targhe" were still blank) since the program had not yet been communicated by the marquis. Less than a year later, on 28 August 1496 (appendix, item 36), the decorations had been completed.

Camera de li Elementi: This room is first mentioned on 21 October 1495 (appendix, item 26), when it is learned that Bartolino Topina had completed the depictions of earth and fire and was at work on air, which was represented by a figure seated on a triumphal chariot and surrounded by birds. As for water, its creation was the responsibility of Polidoro.

Camerino dale Muse: Noted by Stivini in his 1540 catalogue, it is referred to only in passing by Vicino on 28 August 1496 (appendix, item 36) in dealing with the staircase that went "suso el Camerino da le Muse." The subject matter of the decoration of this room was, however, anticipated by Collenuccio in his letter of 16 December 1494 (appendix, item 20). Presumably sometime between December 1494 and August 1496 frescoed or panel depictions of the Muses were created. In the absence of any further information it impossible to determine if they bore any resemblance to the cycle created by Giovanni Santi for the Tempietto delle Muse in the ducal palace at Urbino or to the older representations commissioned by Leonello and Borso d'Este for the studiolo at Belfiore. The Urbino cycle was doubtless known to Francesco II. In his letter of 21 June 1491 to his sister Chiara regarding the visit to Gonzaga and Marmirolo by Duke Ercole d'Este, Francesco II spoke of his intention of visiting Urbino on the way back from Florence.

It is thus an indisputable fact that the migration of the iconography of the Muses to Mantua was not accomplished single-handedly by Francesco II's wife Isabella d'Este. While she welcomed the Muses into her studiolo both on the portal, designed in 1497 by Gian Cristoforo Romano and in the Andrea Mantegna Parnassus of 1496-97, they were already there thanks to Francesco II. The closeness in the date of the Mantuan sets of muses is in itself highly suggestive and the connection becomes even clearer when it is realized that Isabella actually visited the complex at Gonzaga in 1496.(45)

It is fitting to end this discussion of the documentation for the pictorial decorations of Francesco II's residence at Gonzaga with a discussion of the muses who clearly did not migrate to Mantua solely on Isabella d'Este's command. Francesco II's claim to a prominent place in the cultural history of Mantua has long gone unrecognized, and this largely because of the influence of Alessandro Luzio's obsession with Isabella d'Este. She was not, however, a force totally independent of her husband. Indeed she was motivated to learn something about architectural theory (the writings of Ptolemy, Vitruvius, Homer, and Horace) precisely so that "when Your Excellency shall speak to me of your projects I shall be in a better position to understand them."(46)

Although Francesco II did not always share his wife's interests, especially her "insatiable desire for antiquities," he was far from being without a feeling for cultural pursuits. From the flooring in her original studiolo, to her selection of such artists as Andrea Mantegna, Luca Leombeni and Bernardino Parentino, Isabella showed herself to be a Gonzaga and not solely an Este princess. An Estense factor may, however, have been present in Francesco II's thinking since it may not be entirely coincidental that the decorative schemes at the residences both at Gonzaga and at Marmirolo evolved only after the tour given to his father-in-law Ercole d'Este.(47) Further scrutiny of the records of his chancery office will doubtless add further details to a new, and more balanced, image of Francesco II as a major exponent of art patronage in north Italy.(48)

Unlike Isabella, Francesco II was not obsessed with Greco-Roman art. Nonetheless he was far from indifferent to her needs. In 1502 he deferred to her in the matter of the offer of several of Lorenzo de'Medici's pietre dure vases, and he may not have intended the sarcasm that has been assumed in his reference the same year to her acquisition of the Montefeltro Sleeping Cupid of Michelangelo.(49) Mere politeness rather than any real dislike of incised gems may lie behind wording of the rejection of Gerolamo Casio's offer in 1513.(50) After all, the following year Francesco II expressed his satisfaction on his wife's forthcoming trip to Rome, sympathetically noting that "Piaceni che Sua Signoria habbi ritrovato pasto conveniente a l'ingegno suo in contemplare quelle antiquita, cosa di che sempre la s'e delettato molto."(51) As for the explosive exchange between husband and wife the preceding year, when he lamented his wife's independent streak, it has been shown that Luzio was in error, that it was Isabella who was actually in the wrong.(52)

A more judicious examination of the evidence and a more sensitive reading of select quotations from the court correspondence will further help to correct the serious imbalance in Mantuan scholarship concerning the epochal events that resulted from the union of the house of Gonzaga and Este through the persons of the leading arbiters in the cultural life of the city-state in the years after 1490. Sadly, however, many of Francesco II's more noteworthy acts of patronage of the arts - the villas at Gonzaga and Marmirolo - have been totally destroyed, or in the case of the Palazzo di San Sebastiano survive in a much altered state. Whereas the striking archival records of Isabella d'Este's patronage are matched by the survival of a goodly number of the objects themselves, her husband's significant use of art "to relax and console our mind" has left its mark primarily in the pages of his chancery office.

It should nonetheless be possible to mount in Mantua a meaningful exhibition of the art objects directly or indirectly associated with Francesco II's patronage of the arts. It would do for him what those in the Louvre in Paris and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna did for Isabella d'Este in 1975 and in 1994. The ideal location for such an exhibition would of course be the Casa Mantegna that Francesco II incorporated into the San Sebastiano complex, which in recent years has been provided a handsome setting for a number of useful didactic exhibitions including the 1989 I Trionfi di Cesare di Andrea Mantegna and the 1992 Medaglisti nell'eta di Mantegna.(53) Seen in splendid isolation and not as a casual aside, it will be possible to meditate on his personal accomplishments and also to think about them with respect to the parallel, and often complementary, actions of his celebrated spouse.

CARLETON UNIVERSITY

After this article was completed, word came of the untimely demise of Andrew Martindale. At the time of his death he was working on a book based on his important 1981 article "Painting for Pleasure: Some Lost Fifteenth-Century Secular Decorations of Northern Italy." Apparently there are plans to complete his research, thereby providing Renaissance scholars with the results of his thoughts on the larger issues of palace decorations. - Clifford M. Brown

1 Libri dei Decreti, no. 24, c. 198v (13 June 1494). Luzio, 1913, 191; Lightbown, 140.

2 Kolsky, 133, note 80.

3 B. 2904, l. 138, cc. 46-47. Lightbown, 140; Coniglio, 122-24.

4 Restori, 281-83; Luzio, 1899, 366ff.

5 Brown, 1969, 182-89.

6 Chambers, 140-41 (for Romano); Hill, 50-51 (Talpa), 103 (Sperandio). The iconography of portrait medals of Francesco II begins with the highly evocative one cast at the beginning of his reign (and including references to the dangers encountered by youth, by Bartolomeo Melioli sometime between 1481-84 (Hill, 48). The Gian Francesco Ruberti della Grana medal (Hill, 50) shows the marquis not much older than he appeared in the Melioli medal but the reverse is dedicated to a battle scene calling to mind Francesco II's role as a condottiere. As for the several medals by Gian Marco Cavalli (Hill, 62; Chambers, 151) their reverses portray Francesco II distributing to three men and with an inscription borrowed from the Aeneid. These have been associated (Superti Furga, 218ff.) with the marquis's role in founding the Monte di Pieta. See also Giovannoni and Giovetti, 64-73; Caro, passim.

7 B. Brown, 1983, 1053ff; idem, 1993, 10-20.

8 Cerati, 1989. Writing from his prison cell in Venice on 24 September 1509 (b. 2118) Francesco II sent his greetings to Costa "et diteli el non mancha in li altri quatri cum sono certo el facia." The cycle was known to Giorgio Vasari and included a representation of Isabella d'Este "che ha seco molte signore che con vari suoni cantando fanno dolce armonia" and several of Francesco II including one showing him "condotto da Ercole, per la via della virtu, sopra la cima d'un monte consecrato all'eternita." Vasari, 3:133-34. See below under note 14 for reference to the commission awarded to Gentile Bellini in 1506 and also under note 42.

9 D'Arco (Documenti Patri, no. 45, 150-52) of a lost payment dated 8 May 1512. Another sheet concerns a painting executed by Dosso Dossi (Schede Davari, no. 1, c. 158) "pittore ducale pinse per trentatre ducati a lire 93 un quadro grande con undici figure umane." I am presently preparing a study concerning the works by Lorenzo Costa, Matteo di Bologna, and Dosso Dossi for the Palazzo di San Sebastiano.

10 Tellini Perina, 140.

11 D'Arco, Gaye, Kristeller (as cited in the appendix).

12 Gundersheimer; Welch, 169ff.

13 As he signed himself in a letter dated 16 July 1495, b. 2447.

14 C. Brown, 1988, 69ff. In April 1506 (Raccolta Volto, b. 1) Corradi was in Venice attending to various business on behalf of Francesco II, including checking on the progress that was made by the master responsible for the "coloni che vano ai telari [Triumphs of Caesar] de messer Andrea," by Pietro Lombardo on the marbles for the "capella de la Madonna in Santo Piedro," and Gentile Bellini for "quello telaro che Vostra Signoria vora metere al palazo da Santo Sebastiano."

15 It should be recalled that the still-enigmatic Samuele da Tradata decorated the camera de Ercule at Cavriana for Ludovico II in 1463. Vatovec, 251. Mantegna's precise role in the project, perhaps as a supplier of designs or ideas is difficult to determine. Similarly, in some sense, his creative genius touches on what was accomplished both at Gonzaga and Marmirolo. The Marmirolo Alexander (see below under note 35) was painted on canvas in direct imitation of a technical procedure pioneered by Mantegna.

16 Amadei and Marani, 10-11. The agricultural potential of this region was described (b. 2905,1. 143, c. 1:1492) as "uno de li piu fertile et abundante de ogne sorte de biave che sia nel dominio nostro."

17 Vatovec, 1979, 271-74.

18 Magistrato Camerale Antico, Fondi Camerali, b. 357 (23 June 1760 - "pietre delle Palazzine Camerale in Gonzaga proposte da vendersi all'asta." According to Amadei (4:343) in 1717 various fortresses were demolished together with the stables at Gonzaga from whose spoils 75,500 thousand stones were salvaged. A map showing the Gonzaga complex is found in ASMn, Magistrato Camerale Antico, b. 242. For another view, this one taken from a 1533 parchment of the territory around San Benedetto Po, see Bellu, no. 5.3.1. According to Adele Bellu, formerly director of the Mantua archives, the only document relevant to the structures at Gonzaga in the Archivio di Stato di Milano (Atti di Governo, Fondo Camerali p.a. Cartella 123-Comuni CI-GO, fasc. Gonzaga) is a brief description (23-26 June 1766) of the fact that "ritrovandosi nel Castello di Gonzaga alcune fabbriche di ragione di questa Regia Camera che chiamansi le Palazzine," described as "quasi totalmente diroccata." The text does not mention, even in passing, the frescoed decorations.

19 Vatovec, 302-03.

20 Welsh, 169-70. Amadei, 2:156, 167, 169, 189-90; Schivenoglia, 28-39, 41.

21 Baschet, 487-79. B.2897, l. 102, c. 69; l. 103, c. 47 for references in 1482-83 to stone ordered for Luca Fancelli for work on the castle that are not included in Vatovec's 1979 study.

22 The "representatione de Orpheo et Euridice" took place in May 1491. D'Ancona, 14-15. Three years later Francesco II had an illegitimate son whom he named Orpheo (b. 2445: Bernardino Mazzoni, S. Daniele, 15 June 1494). "Insuper certifico Vostra Celsitudine che la Paula ha partuirito uno fanciullo. Lo andai a vedere, ramentandomi di le parole gia mi disse Vostra Signoria quando la cognoscesti carnalmente: insumma il fanciulo ha asai di la vostra phisionomia et maxime del naso et bocha coi labri riversi. Lo piglia' in bracio et lo chiamai per nomme Orpheo. Al son dil primo chiamo aperse l'ochio dritto et riguardomi tenendo il mancho sempre chiuso. Questo atto mi fece piu pensar che anchor il fussi inscrito di la vostra dolce pianta et ho per questo facto iuditio ch'el debia essere homo iustissimo." Together with a copy of Lucretius, Francesco II returned a Plautius manuscript to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de'Medici in September of 1501. At the same time he asked for the loan of the "Plinio proprio dil Politiano." B.2910, l. 172, cc. 30v-31. For the response to the loan of 5 October, see Bertolotti, 26. The "Plauto quale fu del Politiano," as well as the "Lucretio emendato dal medesimo," were sent to Francesco II on 9 February 1500 (Bibliofilo, 26). Scattered throughout the "Varieta archivistiche" (Bibliofilo, 1884 ff) are many indications of Francesco II's unexpected literary interests. Theater played a special role throughout Francesco II's life but unfortunately little is presently known about the "bella representation" staged for Carnival in 1499 and for which the talents of the sculptor Antico were called upon (Allison, 276, no. 16).

23 Archivio Notarile Antico, Estensione, K 10, 31-37.

24 Federico II is documented at Gonzaga in September 1524 (b. 2929, l. 279, c. 64), but the history of the later use of the residence remains to be written; Cerati, 190-94.

25 Little is known about the fabric and figurative hangings owned by Francesco II (for those inherited from Ludovico II, see Braghirolli, 1879, 39). In July 1491 he wrote to Giorgio Brognolo regarding the purchase in Venice of "un pezzo de tapezaria dove e suso la istoria de Rodi, cum un'altra spalera." In September, Brognolo was advised that "vogliamo che pagati quella spalera et cortina da muro dove e la istoria de Rodi per il pretio che haviti faro il merchato, perche deliberamo per ogni modo retenerla"; B. 2904, l. 130, c. 65; l. 132, c. 45; b. 1433, cc. 200, 206. The loan of the "panno di razo di Rodi" was requested by Bishop-elect Ludovico Gonzaga in 1501; Rossi, 4, note 1 in off-print. See also under note 26 for the depiction at Marmirolo of the "assedio de Rhodi."

26 C. Brown, 1979, 83-85. Depictions of the great cities of the world greatly interested Francesco II, so much so that the San Sebastiano palace possessed a "Camera del Mapamondi et del Caiero" (C. Brown, 1984, 33). The Stivini inventory of the contents of the structures at Marmirolo (3 November 1540: Archivio Notarile Antico, Estensioni Notarili, K 10, cc. 37- 54v) referred to both a Camera del Mapamundi as well as a Camerin[o] de Rhodi, which is probably to be identified with the Camera Graeca documented in various letters including Colennuccio's communication of 23 May 1494 (b. 2446, cc. 197-98: Kristeller, 556).

27 The documentation is extensive. For what has seen print, see Luzio, 1888, 276; C. Brown, 1979, 94, n. 11; Luzio and Renier, 1893, 68-69; Bertolotti, 115-16 and 1888, 10-11; Luzio and Renier, 1903, 151.

28 As cited above in note 3. See Chambers, 148-49, nos. 78-79 for letters of Henry VIII and Francesco II regarding an exchange of horses in 1514, and idem, 146, nos. 73-74 for treatises in the marquis's collection both on horses and on falcons and birds of prey.

29 Castagna, 1976, 14ff. The Camera del Cavallo in the Palazzo Vecchio at Marmirolo (Archivio Notarile Antico, Estensione K10, cc.37 ff) was restored by Benedetto Ferrari in 1518. D'Arco, 2:83.

30 B. 2485; D'Arco, 2:78-79; Bertolotti, 1886, 117. Several pages from the manuscript are reproduced in Chambers, 147. While the manuscript itself is in a private collection difficult to contact, I am advised that a set of photographs is on deposit in the Warburg Institute. Despite the best efforts of Chambers, it was apparently not possible to obtain permission to reproduce them in this article. Francesco II's overriding fascination with breeding horses was commented on by Paolo Giovio (1558, 352-53): "Ma in tutto il tempo della vita sua, cosa ch'apena si poteva credere che bastassero l'entrate, pareggiava la pompa di qual se voglia Re splendido, non solo d'hospitalita reale, et d'habito honorato di tutta la corte, ma anchora d'ornamenti di tutte le cose, et di magnificenza di fatti. Ma sopra tutti gli altri signori di quel tempo, senza dubio s'acquisto egli gloria grande di gran quantita, di bellezza, et diversita di cavalli: percioche egli manteneva le mandre delle cavalle per accrescere la razza, havendo fatto venire cavalle, et stalloni fin dall'ultima Spagna, di Barberia, et d'Irlanda . . . Ne vi fu anchora alcuno c'havesse piu corsiere da guerra ne piu belli di lui, ne che con piu diligente maestria gli domasse . . . Ma il signor Francesco con questi eccellentissimi cavalli, I quail variamente cambiato il seme potevano parere di nuova et bellissima razza, senza stancarsi mai d'usare in cio cortesia, s'acquisto l'amicitia de'Principi di nationi straniere, et sopra tutto fu in gratia de'signori Othomanni, havendo egli ottenuto da loro bellissimi cavalli Turchi per razza et per bisogno della guerra."

31 The Bull Dog was an impresa employed by Gian Francesco Gonzaga in 1432, although in point of fact it actually appeared much earlier; Verheyen, 113; and Signorini, 209. In her otherwise admirable summary of Francesco II's art patronage, Hollingsworth, 219-21, confused work for Gonzaga with activity at Marmirolo.

32 B. 2905, l. 144, c. 90.

33 Estensione K10, cc. 37ff. The camerino de la maiolicha appears together with the Camerin de Rodi and the Camera del Mapamundi under the Palacina. On 5 January 1493 (b. 1065; Braghirolli, 46) Giovanni Sforza da Pesaro wrote to confirm that the tiles were to be a gift for which no payment was either required or desired. See also 24 March (b. 2109, c. 10) and 10 June 1494 (b. 1065; Bertolotti, 1890, 14). Passing through Pesaro, Giovanni Gonzaga reported on what he had seen: "Mandai per il figliuolo che fa la saligata de Vostra Signoria et volsi vedere li quadretti che mi parveno belissimi et digni como potera etiam vedere quella perche il maestro me ha promesso volerli mandare in fin sei giorni." Calandra advised on 1 June 1494 (b. 2446, c. 260 [Bertolotti, 1890, 14] and Collenuccio, 31 May 1494, b. 2446, c. 199) that "da Pesaro sono sta portate a la Signoria Vostra tredece casse, secundo intendo, piene de quadretti de terra per li camerini de quella et lo le ho facto scaricare qua in Castello." While most of the crates were presumably transported to Marmirolo, some stayed behind in the castello, to be employed by Isabella d'Este for the new flooring in her studiolo. The "nova seligata" was in fact in place on 8 July 1494 (Violante de Pretis): "Hozi si e salicato el studiolo de la Signoria Vostra de li quadri da le divisie de l'Illustrissimo Signore nostro" (b. 2446, c. 172; Verheyen, 11). It is claimed that the surviving panels (Chambers, 173) came from Isabella's studiolo.

34 Martindale, 33, note 2.

35 The subject matter of the these trionfi is known from a chance reference by Ulisse Aldrovandi to the "sala grande dipinta dall'eccellente Francesco Mantegna con la storia del trionfo di Alessandro Magno." Franchini, 194. For the documentation for their creation, see b. 2440: Ghisolfo, 16 July 1491 (D'Arco, 2:29-30; Gaye, I, 309).

36 In 1492 (Braghirolli, 1878, 22-23) Francesco Bonsignori spoke of the need to obtain portraits of various members of the Gonzaga family, including Gian Francesco (d. 1496) of the Bozzolo branch, that were to be included "nel trionfo de la Fama." Presumably this and the other scenes of the "triumphi del Petrarcha, ancor loro penti per man del prefacto Mantengha" were subsequently transferred to Mantua to serve as the frontispiece for the stage erected in Mantua in February 1501 for a theater performance, at which time six of the canvases of Mantegna's Triumph of Caesar decorated the walls (Martindale, 183). On 18 November 1493 Nicola da Verona referred to payment "per la camera di Turchi depinta per me nel palazo del Magnifico Capitanio di quella" as well as to the "Trionfo a Vostra Signoria" (b. 2443, c. 23; Braghirolli, 1878, 23). The Room of the Turks was located (?) in what is now known as the Domus Nuova, embedded in which is found a remnant of an older room - the Sala del Capitano. Decorated in the 1490s, all that remains of the original program, perhaps all that was actually created, is the monumental fresco in the ducal palace in Mantua (Sala dei Capitani) depicting the Oath Taking of Luigi Gonzaga in 1328. Its attribution remains problematic and thus its connection with work undertaken by Nicola da Verona cannot be determined. Cottafavi, 421ff.

37 Martindale, 44-46, related the commission to Ludovico II despite the fact that, as he writes, "[Francesco II] admired the Triumphs of Caesar and they became the chief decorative feature of his new palace at S. Sebastiano c. 1508. But he is not, for this reason, the strongest candidate for being the original patron." Precisely what is meant by this is not entirely clear but what is certain is that Martindale is still affected by Luzio's negative evaluation of the marquis's cultural pretensions. Indeed Martindale cites from a letter by Mario Filelfo that Francesco II "non e troppo memorioso, che l'un di si impara, l'altro si smenticha." And yet other evidence (see note 22) suggests that the marquis was not "allergic" to some forms of scholarship and that he was positively obsessed with the theme of military victories.

38 Often accompanied by the motto "Cautius," the trap or muzzle appears frequently in art associated with Francesco II. It is thought that this impresa was invented for Federico I (d. 1484). Verheyen, 112, noted that what Hill (as above in note 6) identified as a basket on the reverse of Melioli's portrait medal is most likely the trap or muzzle device.

39 For the impresa of the Ring with Wings, see Verheyen, 113. The "Felse," the gondola cabin, appears prominently in a Giulio Romano fresco that may be based on the lost Andrea Mantegna grisaille for Isabella d'Este's studiolo. Mantegna may have introduced the motif as reference to Francesco II's impresa; C. Brown, forthcoming(2).

40 For the best overview of his military career, see Mahnke. Questions remain regarding the precise identification of the four battles selected for depiction. As for the conflict between Ludovico II and his brother Carlo, it was later depicted as part of a cyde of fasti gonzagheschi for Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga's villa at Goito. Three of the pictures from this cycle survive and are illustrated by Tellini Perina, 153.

41 Ventura, 26.

42 Ibid., 28. Vasari wrongly attributed the picture to Bonsignori, but correctly located it at the palace at Gonzaga. Given Francesco II's propensity for trionfi, it is important to recall that the Venetian legation visiting the Palazzo di San Sebastiano in Mantua in 1515 was shown not only the sala where the Andrea Mantegna Triumphs of Julius Caesar were displayed, but also a room were there was represented "le vitorie e fati l'avea fato, e il baston auto quando fu faro capitanio di la Signoria nostra." Cerati, 183, no. 37. Whereas at the Gonzaga villa the emphasis was on Francesco II's grandfather, the Marquis Ludovico II, the situation was more autobiographical at San Sebastiano.

43 For the Gloved Hand impresa, see Verheyen, 113.

44 Bazzotti, 156. Its connotations of marital harmony may well refer to the marquis's recent marriage to Isabella d'Este. The Wings accompanied by a ring was an impresa closely associated with Ludovico II who had it depicted in the Camera degli Sposi. Signorini, 210; Caro, 463.

45 On the muses in Quattrocento Italy, see Anderson, 155 ff. For Isabella's visit to Gonzaga in 1496, see b. 2992, 1.7, c. 69.

46 Luzio and Renier, 1903, 225. One spin-off of these studies was the casino bizzaro that Isabella had built by Biagio Rossetti according to her own designs. Brown, 1990, 33 ff.

47 As referred to in Francesco II's letter to his sister Chiara quoted at the beginning of this article (see under note 3).

48 Bernardino Parentino referred to himself in 1496 as the "sempre affectionatissimo et fidelissimo servitore de lo Illustrissimo Signor Marchese, vostro consorte" (C. Brown, 1969, 153) and the same year Francesco II received a letter from Araldi which suggest that the artist was known to him (Quintavalle, 326). In addition to the well-documented patronage of Andrea Mantegna (including the commissioning of the lost Allegory of the Fall of Humanity for the Palazzo di San Sebastiano [D. Ekserdjian and D. Landau in Martineau, 451-56]) and Lorenzo Costa (C. Brown, 1981, 24ff; idem, 1970, 120ff), Francesco II also had contact in 1511 with Vittorio Carpaccio concerning a depiction of the city of Jerusalem (Brown, 1984, 33) and in 1518 with Sodoma regarding a substitute for the Lucretia originally intended for him (Bertolotti, 1885, 151-52). Although the bronzes of the sculptor Antico are largely associated with Isabella d'Este, there is documentary evidence to suggest that he also worked for Francesco II (Allison, 1994, 274-75, no. 11; 276, no. 16; 295, no. 83).

49 The traditional negative interpretation of both actions was provided by C. Brown, 1985, 32, 40. In light of Kolsky's publication (note 2) it is no longer possible to portray Francesco II merely as possessing a "robuste mannliche Natur," primarily involved with the hunt, with horses, and with the military, as was done in Ferino-Pagden, 35. Perhaps one should take more seriously the as yet undocumented suggestion of Superti Furga, 248, that "Francesco era archeologo e numismatico." Given his own personal interest in and use of medals, it is not unreasonable to believe that he might have collected those from other courts as well as from the Greco-Roman world.

50 B. 2920, l. 228, c. 62v (7 November 1513); Luzio and Renier, 1903, 315. "Lo intaglio del Spirito Santo che n'haveti mandato, ve remandamo, reputando ch'el stia meglio appresso voi, come persona che meglio di noi conosce la bonta sua, che noi ce intendemo meglio de cavalli et arme che de intaglii."

51 Kolsky, 148.

52 Ibid., 133.

53 C. Brown, forthcoming(2).

Appendix

CHECKLIST AND TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE DOCUMENTS FOR THE DECORATION OF THE VILLA AT GONZAGA 1490-1497 (1509)

It remains uncertain whether it was for Gonzaga or for Marmirolo that Antonio Triumpho (b. 2906, l. 149, c. 98v) was asked to provide "oro per i lavoreri facemo fare" on 22 August 1494. On 28 June 1499 (b.2908, l. 161, c. 67v) Francesco II ordered funds given to Bernardino Ghisolfo so that he would be able to proceed to "coprire il palazzo nostro de Gonzaga et conciare quelle stalle." The appendix focuses on the texts that document the pictorial decoration of the villa at Gonzaga, and it does not include much of the secondary material. The following, however, should be noted: (a) 1494: b. 2906, l. 151, c. 22 regarding the four columns from S. Domenico which were moved to the palace (or the convent?) at Gonzaga; (b) 1497: b. 2908, l. 158, cc. 29, 36; b. 2962, l. 6, c. 81v and l. 7, c. 1 (regarding stone from the castle used for the convent church and with a reference to painters either for the castle or the convent); and (c) 1502: b. 2459 (from Ghisolfo regarding the "camerini del palazzo di Gonzaga").

1. Stanga to Francesco II, Mantua, 7 November 1490; b. 2438, c. 334.

2. Fancelli to Francesco II, Mantua, 11 December 1490; b. 2438.

3. Francesco II to del Bosco, Goito, 11 December 1490; b. 2903, l. 135, c.70v.

4. Francesco Corradi to Antonio Schazano, 6 February 1491; b. 2439, c. 537.

5. Francesco II to F. Bonsignori, Gonzaga, 27 July 1492; b. 2905, l. 144, c. 40. Schmitt, 140.

6. Francesco II to Antonio Schazano, Luca Fiorentino, and Maestro Geraldo, Marmirolo, 28 July 1491; b. 2904, l. 137, c. 91.

7. Francesco II to Ghisolfo (called "Superiore nostro de la fabriche" by 25 July 1495; b. 2905, l. 144, c. 36v). Gonzaga, 23 August 1492; b. 2905, l. 144, c. 90.

8. Francesco II to F. Bonsignori, Gonzaga, 7 September 1492; b. 2905, l. 145, c. 33. Schmitt, 140.

9. Francesco II to the Vicar of Gonzaga, Sermedi, 1 October 1492; b. 2905, l. 143, c. 54v. Veneranno li li depintori ad depinzere nel Palazo nostro novo due camere che gli habiamo commisso; vogliamo che tu li alogi in quello nostro palazzo.

10. Bernardino Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 13 October 1492; b. 2441.

11. Francesco II to Ghisolfo, Ferrara, 16 October 1492; b. 2905, l. 145, cc. 77r-v.

12. Francesco II to Ghisolfo, Gonzaga, 31 October 1492; b. 2905, l. 145, c. 90v.

13. Teofilo Collenuccio to Francesco II Gonzaga, Gonzaga, 17 November 1493; b. 2444, c. 151. (Teofilo, the son of the celebrated author Pandolfo, came to Mantua in 1491 to take up the post of podesta originally assigned to his father; he fought alongside Francesco II at the Battle of Fornovo where he was fatally wounded [Luzio and Renier, 1903, 152-55].)

Sono arrivato stamatina . . . a Gonzaga dove ho ritrovato maestro Hieronymo haver dipincto e fornito, con gran galantaria, quelle due citta, cioe Roma e Constantinopoli in modo che, havendo lui facto ben le citta e facendo fare le Signoria Vostra ad Polidoro o ad altri, come parera alla Signoria Vostra, le figure, gli animali e i legni che andranno n'i mari che qui vanno dipincti, riuscira ogni cosa tanto ben del mondo. E pero gli ho dato Napoli accio possa finire el principiato lavorero. Solliciti la Signoria Vostra d'haver Venetia e mandatila al maestro per farla ritrare e puntegiare secondo l'ordine; e, quanto piu presto, meglio. Ha facto, oltra di questo, el prefato maestro Hiero[n]imo due colomne e un pilastro messe ad oro che stanno anche benissimo e con bon garbo et e superba cosa a vedere.

El Ghisolpho non e anche venuto a far fare l'uscio como mi dixe la Signoria Vostra. Staro tanto quiche lui venga. E perche la campana del camino della Camera dalle Citta, per andare epsa fin presso al solaro, impediva che due citta non venivano integre e cosi una de quelle belle colomne antiche, ho disegnato col dipinctore e col muratore in modo ch'el si po senza guastar l'andar del fumo o i marmi sculpti che andavano al camino. Si po tagliare e scurtare questa tal campana in modo che le due citta e la colomna, verranno integre che sara bellissimo vedere ne disdira niente. S'el pare alla Signoria Vostra ch'io metta ad exequtione tal disegno, Vostra Signoria me lo advisi che, nanzi ch'io parta, lo faro fare. Le rose e le bacinelle che vanno al solaro s'aspectano d'hora in hora tucte et io staro tanto qui che ne vedero metter su qualche una. E questo e quanto al facto vostro.

14. Collenuccio to Francesco II Gonzaga, Gonzaga, 23 November 1493; b. 2444, c. 153.

El Napoli se dipinge tucta via e riuscira bello. L'o facto porre dopoi Roma, perche l'ordine deve esser questo, pero che, cominciando da l'uscio del camarino, gli e Constantinopoli, quale e citta maritima, segue poi Roma, ch' e citta meditterranea, segue Napoli, che e terra maritima, seguitara Fiorenza che e terra mediterranea, seguitara Venetia che e terra maritima, seguitara el Cairo che e citta mediterranea, seguira Genoa, che e citta maritima. El ci resta e avanza el loco per una altra citta mediterranea: pensate qual voi volite ch'ella sia. Ma faccia la Signoria Vostra omnino d'havere una Fiorenza accio si possi expedire per l'ordine ve ho dicto.

15. Francesco II Gonzaga to the Vicar of Gonzaga, Mantua, 10 March 1494; b. 2906, l. 149, c. 37v.

El vene li Tondo pictore cum octo compagni mandati da nui per depingere. Vogliamo che tu li provedi de conveniente logiamento et piu propinquo al Castello se possa acio non vengano a perdere troppo tempo ne l'andare e venire.

16. Collenuccio to Francesco II Gonzaga, Gonzaga, 7 April 1494 (date written on the outside and thus the date when it was received in the chancery office); b. 2446, c. 196. Kristeller, 555.

Breviter diro alla Signoria Vostra quello se e facto. Prima la sala della Palazzina vostra e parata con le sue tapezzarie como si sol fare. La Camera dalli Cavalli ha el suo lecto con un paramento de broccato d'oro, azurro con un bellissimo pavaglione de renso, lavorato d'oro e de seta. La Camera dalla Citta ha el suo letto parato de damascho biancho a fioron d'oro con el pavaglione bellissimo de tela ortichina lavorato d'oro. El quadro de Constantinopoli e bello ma non e compito, pur Polidoro li ha facto molti de quelli turchi a cavallo. El resto delli quadri stanno si como erano. El Camarino della Excellentia Vostra ha el pavimento e il solo tucto parato de tapeti. Li maestri son drieto a metter su la lettiera, la quale e richissima e bellissima piu mille volte che quella da Marmirolo. Como la lettiera sara in ordine, li mettero li soi mattarazzi cremesini eli soi lenzoli de renso con una coverta sopra cremesina con i cani alani de perle in modo acconcia che tucta la lettiera se vedera. El quadro de messer Andrea Mantegna non e anche suso perche el Ghisolpho non e anche venuto da Mantoa con le sue cantinelle che li vanno intorno. Pur, per esser l'hora tarda, lo faro metter su al meglio si potra con el raso cremesino nel loco dove manchano li doi triomphi. In mezzo del camarino ve e quel candeliero lavorato alla spagnola col suo torchietto de cera biancha. Attendero ad expedire el resto . . . El Cairo non e comenzato anchora per amor delle feste.

17. Collenuccio to Francesco II Gonzaga, Gonzaga, 7 April 1494 (second letter of the same date; see comment under item 16 above); b. 2446, c. 195. Kristeller, 555.

La lettiera, col nome de Dio, e in piede, polita e galante, non s'e potuto far piu presto per esser lei venuta troppo tardi. El quadro de messer Andrea Mantegna e suso anche lui con le sue cantinelle intorno dorate. Semo drieto ad attachare el raso cremesino, anchora lui con le sue cantinelle d'oro intorno.

18. Giovanni Maria Turotti on 15 February 1500 [ASMn, Libri dei Decreti, 33, cc. 8v-9 and in recognition of his role as "ad custodiam palatii nostri Gonzage deputato," was awarded "unam petiam terre pasculive trium bubulcharum positam in territorio nostro Gonzage"] to Francesco II Gonzaga, Gonzaga, 20 April 1494; b. 2445.

19. Bernardino Ghisolfo to Jacopo d'Atri, Mantua, 13 September 1494; b. 2446, cc. 53-54 (two letters of this date).

20. Collenuccio to Francesco II Gonzaga, Gonzaga, 16 December 1494; b. 2445.

Per quanta fede, amore e servitu ch'io porto alla Excellentia tua, ti giuro ch'io non vidi mai li piu belli solari a mei di como questi che son facti e finiti qui a Gonzaga dapoi ch'io non gli fui, si nelle camere principale como nelle guardacamere. Quanto sia bella la Sala dalle Victorie non v'el potria dire [ne] quanta dolcezza e galantaria e garbo habbiano quelle due camerette che son sopra le guardacamere. Pero prego la Excellentia Vostra che, volendo fare el Ghisolph[o] a quelle i solari di legno adesso, che quella mi dia licentia ch'io gli faccia fare d'inta[gli]o de legnamo como son gli altri di sotto, perche so che alla Excellentia Vostra verra anche voglia de farli due bellissime stantie, cioe una chiamata La Geneologia di Gonzagheschi, l'altra la camera dalle Muse. Concludo che non vidi mai la piu bella casa in Italia. Per tanta casa, se la Signoria Vostra seguira el mio debile ricordo di far dipingere e adornare la logia, basta ch'io ne faro yenire voglia alla Excellentia Vostra co[me] vedere [?] le altre stantie di questa casa si belle e si degne.

21. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 5 February 1495; b. 2448.

22. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 10 February 1495; b. 2448.

23. Collenuccio to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 12 March 1495; b. 2448.

24. Suardi to Francesco II, Mantua, 17 June 1495; b. 2447, c. 307.

25. Donato to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 25 September 1495; b. 2447, c. 52.

26. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 21 October 1495; b. 2447, cc. 18-19. Gaye, 1:331-33; D'Arco, 2:36-37.

Per satisfar quanto ne comise Vostra Excellentia, siamo stati, Francesco de Verona e mi inscieme ale Geroli, dove se fece el facto d'arme. Et ha tolto il disegno e dice ne fara uno come l'ha facto la testa del Re de Franza, a la qual ge ha dato principio, et a me pare ge somiglia. Maestro Francesco dice che per questo inverno non poteria dipingere in la logia et che poi, al bono tempo, la fara subito quanto ha comisso la Excellentia Vostra.

Possa siamo stati a Gonzaga et li habiamo visto quanto s'e operato da ognuno et le cose stanno in questo termine, cioe le torette sonno coperte et dipincta quella verso il ponte, eta l'altra s'e dato principio a dipingere et anchora ge sonno facti li solari et presto se fara, mo che sonno facti li muri. La cosina si e voltara. Li logi del bagno non sonno anchor coperti, quello de la stufa e coperto ma non e anche divisi li logi cioe non s'e facto le parzaglie.

El Camerino del Mirto non e anchora dorati li mirti che sonno dipincti suso il muro; e questo e perche non se po dorar per li muri che non sonno sutti. La Camera de l'Ayere e principiata et e facto pocho, perche l'azurro se smariva, nientedimeno ge ho comisso la fornischa. In le quattro targe non g'e facto niente che sonno per la camera de l'ayere per rispecto che non se sa quello voglia la Signoria Vostra se ge faza; siche quella potra farli fantasia et darne adviso quello voleti se ge faza dentro in dicte targe. La logia e facta biancha, el solaro faro dipingere secondo disse a la Excellentia Vostra, cum li cartoni parendo a quella, ho comesso sia murato l'usso.

La camera de li Elementi, ne e fornite due faciate che ha facto Bartolino, dicto el Filosofo, et sonno quelle de la terra e del foco ch'e fornite, excepto mancha fare li abasamenti che se fara presto. Ha facto in le altre due una pontada, cioe: quella de l'ayere che fa il dicto Bartolino, et ge ha facto una figura granda dal naturale che sede suso uno carro trionfale cum ucelli d'intorno che volano per l'ayere. E Polidoro lavora in quella de l'aqua et ne ha facto una pontata, excepto che ge mancha a fare una figura che ge va dentro. Et credo, avante che sia quindice giorni, sera fornita dicta camera. Credo sera de le bele cose sia in Lonbardia de beleza et de significato, perche la fantasia e bona e bene composta.

El Camarino del Felese non se adora per rispecto de la humidita. L'altro camarino sopra a quello del Felese, e adorato li quadri tuti et se adora li festoni che liga dicti quadri; siche credo la septimana che vene seranno forniti se non mancha l'oro, benche s'e mandato a Venecia per esso.

In la sala apresso la Camera dai Cavalli de sopra se lavora, ma e facto poco al mio parere et non so dar judicio quando lor debano fornire. El zardino facto, alcuni arbori sonno verdi, alchuni sechi: li osmarini sonno tuti belli et e una bella cosa da vedere et maxime quella faciata ha facto Polidoro. Sichl la Signoria Vostra se potra contentare se bene dicto Polidoro e stato un poco pigro che almeno ha facto bene siche quella ge po perdonare perche in quella fazada de la camera veramente fa il dovere. Siche tuti li maestri, dipinctori, muradori, marengoni, e bracenti, per pochi che sonno stati, hanno facti il dover suo. Avisando la Signoria Vostra come non g'e stato altro che maestro Girardo cum li suoi garzoni et uno marengon e questo e proceduto per non ge essere il modo de denari et non ha habuto se non libre centoctantaquatro, soldi dece il mese. Siche la Signoria Vostra se vole se fornischa, bisognara se proveda de haverge meglior modo che non s'e habuto per il tempo passato et essendoge il modo se fara presto quanto sia del murare et anche di solari se hanno a fare a quelli logi bastardi che per mia fe seranno belli et utili et credo ve piacera. Siche volendo se facia presto, la Excellentia Vostra potera scrivere a messer Baldesare Suvardo proveda secondo bisognara, la spesa non posso fare intendere a la Excellentia Vostra per non ge havere facto fantasia per il poco tempo ho habuto.

27. Turotti to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 28 February 1496; b. 2450.

28. Turotti to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 1 April 1496; b. 2450.

29. Francesco II to Ghisolfo, Andretta (Veneto), 20 June 1496; b. 2907, l. 155, c. 90v.

30. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 30 June 1496; b. 2449, c. 5.

31. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 28 July 1496; b. 2449, c. 6. Gaye, 1:334-35; D'Arco, 2:38-39.

32. Vicino to Francesco II, Mantua: 3 August 1496; b. 2449, c. 254.

Aviso la prefata Vostra Signoria como sono andato a Gonzaga et ho visto el palazo novo che al presente fa fare la Vostra Excellentia, in el qual e in tuto fornita, la Camera de li Elementi, et similiter la Guardacamera del Feleso. La loza terena tuta e fornita, cioe fatta biancha da li adornamenti de li frixi in zoso et lo solaro e fatto cum li mane in fede. La Camera de li Ali e fornita e similiter la Guardacamera de li Mirti. Li camerini tuti dui de sopra sono forniti li salari [solari] de mettere oro. Resta solum lornire li sui telari et adornamenti ge vano atorno, a li quali tuthora se lavora. Tuti li altri cameri de detro sono involtati, smaltate et sbianchezate, e in tuto fornite de fenestre e ussi da li letere in fora. Lo revolto similiter e smaltato, sbianchizato et in tuto fornito. A la Sala de li Victorii ne son fornite trei fazate, resta solum la fazata e verso la strata et tuthora se ge lavora: li qual cossi tuti, per quanto me pare a me, me pareno esser ben condute et belle. Item aviso la prefata Vostra Excellentia como ogne zorno se attende a piliare de li ayroni e se meteno a la garzara et se ge attende; ultimo, videlicet fra dece zorni, credo infalanter se lavoreri al barcho et ala garzara nova, secundo me anno ditto Antonio Donato et lo Gisolpho.

33. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 8 August 1496; b. 2449, c. 7.

34. Francesco II to Ghisolfo, Schifata, 13 August 1496; b. 2907, l. 155, c. 121.

35. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 27 August 1496; b. 2449, c. 8.

36. Vicino to Francesco II, Mantua, 28 August 1496; b. 2449, c. 256.

Vostra Excellentia sara avixata per questa mia de le cosse infrascripte. Et primo la loza da Gonzaga e fornita, el solare, el battu, el revolto g'e facto lo battu. Non mancha noma a sugarse. La Camera di Alimenti e fornita e messa a horo, como sa la Vostra Signoria. El Camarino dal Felexe e fornito, metuto a horo, como sa la Vostra Signoria. Le scale sono fornite, a Felexe che va al camarino de supra metutto a horo. La cosina fornita del tutto. El forno se fa. El pozo e fornito. Lo bagno fornito. Questa setimana ge meteremo le caldere. La camera supra la cosina e fornita. La camera supra el bagno e fornita. El luoco supra el pozo e fornito. La toreta supra la cosina e facto la sofita e requadrata. Mancha mo a dipenzere.

La Camera da l'Aiero e fornita, messa a horo, como vui vedestive. El Camarino dal Mirito (sic) e fornito, mettuto a horo el salaro, como vui sapite. Li andedi e le scale andando suso el Camarino da le Muse, metutto a horo sono fornite. Se fanno li telari che dipinge maestro Francesco da Verona, el quale e stato infermo e dice spera sara fornito presto, se non ge acade altro. El fornimento dove a stare li telari se ge lavora a intaliare, e presto sara forniti e se dorerano. El Camarino supra quella dal Felexe dorado, se ge lavora zoe a dipinzere. Li telari che fa Bertholino e Polidoro e n'e facto dui. El bassamento de dicto camarino se ge lavora, e presto sara fornito e metterasse a horo. La camera apresso a la stua e fornita. La stua e fornita: se mettera li calderi questa setimana. La camara supra da quella de la stua e fornita. La camara supra el bagno e fornita. La tore verso el ponte supra alla stua e fornita e se ge fa la sufita e sara fornita questa setimana. La cortesella ch'e tra la stua e'l bagno se depingera secondo havite scripto al Ghisulpho. La Sala da le Victori del condam vostro avo e facto due testade. La quadra verso la corte presto se fornira. La quadra verso la strada s'e comenzada a mettere a colore e s'el fa como la cominzo: credo se fornira presto. El Ghisulpho me ha dicto vuole cavare l'acqua dentro quelli revolti del palazo vechio, che sara una buona cossa e dice porasse godere: parendo a Vostra Signoria poterite farge intendere fara bene a farlo e, parendo a quella, podite fare scrivere al Vicario de Gonzaga ge daga li homini secondo ge domandara.

37. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 29 August 1496; b. 2449, c. 9. Gaye, 1:335-36; D'Arco, 2:39.

Havendo receputo una vostra sotto di 13 de agosto 1496, notificandomi, se a la venuta sua non ritrovara finito la fabricha del palazo novo de Gonzaga, si de le picture, come de le altre opere manuale opportune a dicte fabriche, che quella se dolera di me e non de altro, per il che faccio intendere a Vostra Signoria che da me non mancha per solicitudine e far tuto quello che scio, e posso per adimpir quanto circha cio e de mente de Vostra Signoria. Io facto ho finire il tuto de dicta fabricha excepto le sofitte de le torette che non sonno anchora finite, e la septimana proxima che vene seranno finite. Io non sonno dipinctore, et non scio dipingere. Bartholino dipinctore, dicto el Philosopho, habuto da me libre cinquantacinque e soldi dodice et ha finito uno de sui telari et sequita l'altro dipingendolo. Maestro Polidoro dipinctore ha habuto da me anchora lui libre quarantasei e soldi sedice, et non ha anchora finito uno di suoi et ge mancha pocho. Ma non vole lavorare et sonno piu de octo di che non l'o visto che l'e partito de Gonzaga senza mia saputa. Maestro Petro Antonio Guerzo e comenciato a meter li colori sopra la sua faciata de Bologna et ha facto bono lavorero e s'el seguita come ha principiato finira presto, siche, signor mio, non posso sforciare niuno se non volenno lavorare. Preterea, a di 27 de agosto 1496 se comincio lavorare al parcho e fin qui ene facto pertege ducentocinquanta de muro et tuta via se lavora. A la suprascritta sala de Gonzaga sonno finite le testade, a l'altra faciata, maestro Bernardino de Verona seguita per finirla. Maestro Francesco de Verona, depinctore, seguita li suoi quadri et harebe facto bono lavoriero se non fusse stato infirmo. Siche Vostra Excellentia po intender il tuto de dicte fabriche.

38. Turotti to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 30 August 1496; b. 2450.

Aviso la Illustrissima Signoria Vostra como Petro Antonio dipintore si ha fornito la testata de la salla, zoe del facte d'arme fu facto al Castellaro, e ha comenzato el facto d'arme che fu facto a Bologna suso l'altra quadra de la salla. E in la palacina nova la loza e salegata tuta de batu, e dipinta la sofitta de essa loza e tute due le torrette sono salegate de batu, e facto la soffitta de una, e l'altra quasi finita. El revolto e tuto smaltato e sbianchezato e salegato de batuto quasi tuto el quale, como sera finito, parera una beletissima cosa a la Excellentia Vostra. Aviso etiam la Signoria Vostra como Bartolino dipintore ha fornito una de li tellari del camerino e va dre a l'altro; e cusi etiam Polidoro va dri lavorando.

39. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 28 September 1496; b. 2449, c. 10. Gaye, 1:336-37, D'Arco, 2:40.

40. Turotti to Francesco II, Gonzaga, 12 October 1496; b. 2450.

Aviso la Excellentia Vostra como Maestro Jhyeronimo dipintore ha finito lo facto d'arme fu facto a VillaFrancha suso la salla, e Pedro Antonio ha facto la mitade de Bologna como el conta suo la salla, e maestro Bernardino ha finito li dui terzi de la sua quadra pure suso la sala. Le camare de la palacina nova sono finite de dipinzere de sotto e di sopra excepto li camarini, che li tellari non sono anchora forniti.

41. Francesco II to Benedicto Tosabezzio, Marmirolo, 19 March 1497; b. 2962, l. 6, c. 52v.

Volemo che provediate di quelche denaro alli pictori de Gonzagha, presenti exhibitiori, secundo el possibile et il bisogno, che cusi e nostro intentione.

42. Francesco II to the Treasurer, Gonzaga, 13 May 1497; b. 2962, l. 6, c. 81v.

43. Francesco II to the "Maestri dell'Intrate," Gonzaga, 27 March 1508; b. 2915, l. 200, c.2v.

Apresso fati intendere a maestro Francesco depintor che mandi fora suo fratello per racontiar alcuni de questi quadri in qualche loco d'esi.

44. Ghisolfo to Francesco II, Mantua, 28 May 1509; b. 2475. Bertolotti, 1889, 21, 24; Schmitt, 143 (for the response, see b. 2925, l. 200, c. 2v).

Havendomi richiesto per parte de Vostra Excellentia il Grosino in che termine sonno le camere de Gonzaga, notifico a quella come la Camera de le Ale, dove sonno li pianeti, e finita. El Camerino del Mirto, dove fu acuncio il sollaro, anchora lui e fenito et repeciato il solaro. La Camera di quatro Elimenti resta esser acunza de pictura. El Camarino dale Citta non g'e sta facto niente. Io ho parlato cum maestro Francesco de Verona, doman[dan]doli de suo fratello Bernardino che seco parli et me rispose che, dandoli dui dipinctori apresso, lui fornirebe il tuto per spacio de quindici di.

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