Austrian Habsburg Envoys to Rome 1619-1740

The research will focus on the role of Austrian Habsburg envoys to the Holy See as agents of cultural transfer and exchange, from the reign of Ferdinand II to that of Charles VI. The transnational context of diplomatic service and the cosmopolitan character of the artistic community in Rome during the 17th and 18th centuries make this a challenging point of observation. During their sojourns in Rome, diplomats came into contact with artists and craftsmen and visited the most prominent palaces and art collections. Beyond their political duties, envoys often acted as cultural agents by acquiring works of art for themselves and for their sovereigns, by promoting the latters representation on special occasions such as ceremonies, banquets, public spectacles and theatrical performances, and by facilitating both the arrival of co-nationals in Rome and travel to the North by Italian professionals. The research departs from a study on the collections of two Roman noblemen, Paolo and Federico Savelli, which acted as imperial envoys in Rome from 1620-1649, and will focus on the activity as agents and collectors of later imperial envoys such as Prince Liechtenstein, Count Martinitz, Cardinal Schrattenberg and Cardinal Althann, analyzing for the first time in a systematic way the privileged role of such imperial envoys for the artistic exchange between Austria and Italy from the beginning of the Thirty Years War through the pre-Theresian era. The project will carry out basic research on patrons and collectors by identifying and analyzing unpublished archival sources, especially correspondence and inventories of goods. Case studies on individual envoys will form the basis for a comparative analysis that will determine the role envoys played within the larger system of cultural and artistic exchange between South and North. This highly important chapter in the history of collecting requires an integration of Viennese and Roman sources as well as an exchange between Italian and Austrian scholarship on art collecting. It is expected that the results will facilitate the identification of individual works of art and the documentation of their provenances, but will also allow a reconstruction of individual collections and shed fresh light on the reasons behind the enormous diffusion and appreciation of Italian art in the imperial states.

The focus of the research was the role of Austrian Habsburg envoys to the Holy See as agents of artistic transfer (1619-1740). It consisted mainly in basic research on a large number of unknown archival sources in Vienna, Brno, Rome, Bologna and Florence, which allowed a deeper understanding of the cultural framework and the finding of new information about actors, objects and processes of this fruitful exchange. By systematic comparison of official documents regarding diplomatic missions with family papers (correspondences, expense books, travel accounts, testaments and inventories of goods) it has been possible to enlighten the involvement of several unexplored figures of envoys. The integration of methodological approaches from social art history, network analysis, history of diplomacy, history of collecting, iconographic analysis, has been effective in orientating basis archival research as well as in the interpretative stage. The definition of the Austrian-Italian network has been a main challenge of the research; besides providing an effective framing discourse for Habsburg's representation in Rome and for Italian presence at the court of Vienna, it gave also crucial clues to address further in-depth analysis. Among the most significant personalities there are to be mentioned Anton Florian von Liechtenstein and Scipione Santacroce. Both were supported by names that were still waiting to emerge from the archives, such as the banker Leonardo Libri, a key figure in mediating financial transactions, and the Marquise Gerolama Naro Santacroce, at whose residence were hosted high standing writers before travelling to Vienna, like Metastasio. With regard to art collecting among the Austrian network, important new actors and their roles have been analyzed: the envoy Scipione Santacroce, the cardinal Nicolò del Giudice, the agent Giovan Battista Barsotti, the general Enea Caprara, and the bankers Leonardo and Antonio Libri. They have been individually investigated; in a further stage their collections have been analyzed in a comparative perspective. It has therefore been proved to what extent the taste for Bolognese painting in the Habsburg lands along the 17-18th century has been set by members of the imperial network in Italy. It has also become clear how paintings could be significant in term of pro-imperial identity not only for their iconography but also because of their previous owner. Three international conferences have been organized within the project. Relevant collections of essays are now in print, and further publications have been scheduled in 2021-22. The study of the transnational cultural engagement of diplomats in the premodern era can enhance the understanding of the deep cultural common roots of Europe, showing how cultural heritage crossed national borders from its formation. Disseminating results of art historical research can therefore have a positive role in building a European identity among citizens.