Double Agents: Cultural and Political Brokerage in Early Modern Europe (Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions)

321 Pages·2011·8.79 MB·English

by  Marika Keblusek & Badeloch Vera Noldus

Double Agents
Studies in Medieval and
Reformation Traditions
Edited by
Andrew Colin Gow
Edmonton, Alberta
In cooperation with
Sylvia Brown, Edmonton, Alberta
Falk Eisermann, Berlin
Berndt Hamm, Erlangen
Johannes Heil, Heidelberg
Susan C. Karant-Nunn, Tucson, Arizona
Martin Kaufhold, Augsburg
Erik Kwakkel, Leiden
Jürgen Miethke, Heidelberg
Christopher Ocker, San Anselmo and Berkeley, California
Founding Editor
Heiko A. Oberman †
VOLUME 154
Double Agents
Cultural and Political Brokerage
in Early Modern Europe
Edited by
Marika Keblusek
and
Badeloch Vera Noldus
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2011
On the cover: [Detail of ] Thomas de Keyser, Constantijn Huygens and his(?) Clerk,
1627. Oil on panel, 92.4 × 69.3 cm. Courtesy National Gallery, London.
This publication was financed by NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific
Research) as part of the VIDI research project Double Agents: Cultural and Political
Brokerage in Early Modern Europe.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Double agents: cultural and political brokerage in early modern Europe / edited by
Marika Keblusek and Badeloch Vera Noldus.
p. cm.—(Studies in medieval and Reformation traditions, ISSN 1573-4188 ; v.
154)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-20269-6 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Europe—Relations. 2. Europe—Politics and government—17th century.
3. Commercial agents—Europe—History—17th century. 4. Foreign agents—Europe—
History—17th century. 5. Artists’ representatives—Europe—History—17th century.
6. Spies—Europe—History—17th century. 7. Europe—Court and courtiers—
History—17th century. 8. Cultural relations. I. Keblusek, Marika, 1925– II. Noldus,
Badeloch.
D247.D68 2011
303.48’2400903—dc22
2011007404
ISSN 1573-4188
ISBN 978 90 04 20269 6
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints BRILL, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission
from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by
Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to
The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910,
Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ............................................................................ vii
List of Figures and Tables ................................................................ ix
List of Abbreviations ......................................................................... xi
List of Contributors ........................................................................... xiii
Introduction Double Agents in Early Modern Europe ............ 1
Marika Keblusek
Chapter One The Embassy of Art: Diplomats as Cultural
Brokers ............................................................................................ 11
Marika Keblusek
Chapter Two Art and Patronage: Sir Henry Wotton and the
Venetian Embassy 1604-1624 ..................................................... 27
Robert Hill
Chapter Three Giovanni Andrea Doria: Citizen of Genoa,
Prince of Melfi, Agent of King Philip II of Spain ................... 59
Thomas Kirk
Chapter Four Politics and Letters: Gisbert Cuper as a Servant
of Two Republics ........................................................................... 71
Bianca Chen
Chapter Five Mercator Sapiens: Merchants as Cultural
Entrepreneurs ................................................................................. 95
Marika Keblusek
Chapter Six Acquiring Artistic Expertise: The Agent
Daniel Nijs and His Contacts with Artists in Venice ............. 111
Maartje van Gelder
Chapter Seven García de Yllán: A Merchant in Silver, Bread
and Bullets and a Broker in Art, 1591–1655 ............................ 125
Maurits A. Ebben
vi contents
Chapter Eight The Pretext of Pictures: Artists as Cultural
and Political Agents ...................................................................... 147
Marika Keblusek
Chapter Nine A Spider in Its Web: Agent and Artist
Michel le Blon and His Northern European Network ........... 161
Badeloch Vera Noldus
Chapter Ten John Dowland’s Employment at the Royal
Danish Court: Musician, Agent—and Spy? .............................. 193
Peter Hauge
Chapter Eleven Travels of a Court Jester: Gonzalo de Liaño,
Art Agent at the Court of King Philip II of Spain .................. 213
Susanne Kubersky-Piredda and Salvador Salort Pons
Chapter Twelve ‘From Russia with Love’: Agents and Their
Victims ............................................................................................ 233
Martin Dönike
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 247
Index of Personal Names ................................................................. 269
Index of Places ................................................................................... 278
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Diplomats, merchants and artists figure prominently in this book,
and have been central to our research project Double Agents: Cultural
and Political Brokerage in Early Modern Europe. Financed by the
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and facilitated by
Leiden University, the project started in March 2002 and concluded
with an international and interdisciplinary conference in December
2006.
In the intermediate years, we have benefited greatly from the gener-
osity and hospitality of many academic institutions, libraries and
archives, both in the Netherlands and abroad: Leiden University Insti-
tute for Cultural Disciplines / Pallas, Leiden; Det Kongelige Bibliotek
and Rigsarkivet, Copenhagen; European University Institute, Florence;
Stiftelsen Riksantikvarien Ingvar Anderssons Fond, Landsarkivet,
Göteborg; Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität, Greifswald; Det National-
historiske Museum på Frederiksborg Slot, Hillerød; Hessisches
Staatsarchiv, Marburg; Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Oldenburg;
Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Rome;
Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut, Rome; Det Kungliga Biblioteket,
Skokloster Museum and Riksarkivet, Stockholm; Herzog August
Bibliothek and Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv, Wolfenbüttel.
Like the early modern agents, who depended largely on their per-
sonal and professional contacts to be able to function succesfully, we
would not have been able to pursue our research had we not been
able to enjoy the support and wisdom of our own, contemporary, net-
works. We would like to thank Michael Auwers, Helmut Backhaus,
Paul Begheyn SJ, Jill Bepler, Marten Jan Bok, Elke Bujok, Pierre Burger,
Hans Cools, Heiko Droste, Christoph Franck, Dagmar Freist, Peter
Gillgren, Ebeltje Hartkamp-Jonxis, Linda Hinners, Irene Jacobs, Helen
Jacobsen, Koenraad Jonckheere, Alexandra Lapierre, Arne Losman,
Joachim Lund, Peter Björn Kerber, Bengt Kylberg, Friso Lammertse,
Mark Meadow, Gerhard Menk, Michael North, Juliette Roding, Frits
Scholten, Arne Spohr, Arno Strohmeyer, Kees Teszelsky, Susan Tipton,
Wardy Poelstra, Judith Pollmann, Sebastian Posth, Hanne Kolind
viii acknowledgements
Poulsen, Jaap van der Veen, Anuschka Tischer, Rebecca Tucker and
Stephen Turk Christensen for supplying us with great ideas, valuable
advice, intellectual stimulation and warm friendship.
Sincere thanks go to Andrew Colin Gow, series editor, and to our
anonymous peer reviewers.
Marika Keblusek and Badeloch Vera Noldus
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
Figures
(Figures 1–21 can be found following page 110.)
Fig. 1. John de Critz the Elder, Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury,
c.1602. Oil on panel, 90.2 × 73.4 cm. National Portrait Gallery,
London.
Fig. 2. Palma Giovane, Prometheus Chained to the Caucasus. Oil
on canvas, 184 × 160.6 cm. The Royal Collection, HM Queen
Elizabeth II.
Fig. 3. Robert Peake, Henry, Prince of Wales, c.1610. Oil on canvas,
172.7 × 113.7 cm. National Portrait Gallery, London.
Fig. 4. William Larkin, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham,
c.1616. Oil on canvas, 203.7 × 119.5 cm. National Portrait Gallery,
London.
Fig. 5. [Unknown artist,] Henry Wotton, 1620. Oil on canvas, 99.1 ×
82.6 cm. Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.
Fig. 6. G. Hofsted van Essen, View of the ruins of Palmyra, 1693.
Oil on canvas, 86 × 430 cm. Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam,
University of Amsterdam.
Fig. 7. Caspar Netscher, Gisbert Cuper, 1680. Oil on canvas, 50 × 41
cm. Stedelijk Museum, Zwolle.
Fig. 8. Odoardo Fialetti, Daniel Nijs, in La pittura trionfante, Venice
1615.
Fig. 9. Odoardo Fialetti, Title-page from La pittura trionfante, Venice
1615.
Fig. 10. Odoardo Fialetti, An artist’s studio with apprentices draw-
ing from casts and antique busts, in: Il vero mode et ordine, Venice
1608.
Fig. 11. Anthony van Dyck, Michel le Blon, c.1630–35. Oil on canvas,
78.1 × 61 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.
Fig. 12. Title page of Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, and William
Davison, Profitable Instructions, London 1633. Det Kongelige
Bibliotek, Copenhagen.
Fig. 13. The narrow sound between Denmark (Elsinore) and Sweden
(Helsingborg), in Freti Danici Orsundt accuratissima delineatio,
cum regis Sueciæ, Daniæ et Hollandia classibg., Cologne 1588. Det
Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen.