The Religious Patronage of the Duke of Lerma, 1598–1621 by Lisa A. Banner (review)

122 REVIEWS ! ! ! ! ! Juana of Castile” (10). Its admirably broad geographic, chronological, and generic range offers something of value to scholars in many fields. Barbara F, Weissberger University of Minnesota—Twin Cities (Emerita) Banner, Lisa A. The Religious Patronage of the Duke of Lerma, 1598-1621. Farnham: Ashgate, 2009. HB. 272 pp. ISBN: 978-0-7546-6120-7. In this book, Lisa Banner provides insight into artistic patronage in Golden Age Spain by examining the religious art and architecture acquired and commissioned by Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, the Duke of Lerma and favorite of King Philip III. The book sheds new light on this long-neglected period in Spanish art history, complementing the recent exhibition catalogue, El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III (ed. Sarah Schroth and Ronni Baer. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2008), with which Banner assisted. By concentrating on sacred art and architecture, Banner furthermore contributes to scholars’ increasing interest in the overwhelmingly religious visual culture of early modern Spain. The text is divided into four chapters: a broad introductory chapter and three case studies focusing respectively on Lerma’s patronage in the cities of Valladolid, Lerma, and Madrid. In the introduction and chapter one, “The Culture and Practice of Lerma’s Religious Patronage,” Banner locates the duke’s activities within the social and religious frameworks of the time. Bringing a new approach to her subject, she highlights the duke’s strict adherence to the Regla of the military Order of Santiago, of which he was Comendador Mayor. For example, Banner demonstrates that Lerma’s seemingly idiosyncratic practice of buying paintings and then “selling them to the king, or … donating them to religious foundations” (21), was directly rooted in the Regla, which required members to take a “vow of poverty” and give one-fifth of their belongings to sacred institutions (22). Pointing toward a fuller understanding of the temporal and spiritual concerns of Spain’s elite, Banner elucidates the synthesis of action and contemplation prescribed by the Regla. She thus considers not only Lerma’s statesmanship but also his devotion, as exemplified 123 RESEÑAS ! ! ! ! ! by his recurrent desire to enter the religious life. This desire was realized in 1618, just before Lerma’s banishment from court, when he accepted a cardinalate and “became known as the ‘Cardenal Duque’” (192). In chapter two, “Valladolid 1600-1606,” Banner turns to Lerma’s impact on the social, religious, and architectural makeup of Valladolid during its brief efflorescence as the site of the royal court. Emphasizing the duke’s major projects, she concentrates on his remodeling of the Discalced Franciscan monastery of San Diego and the Dominican church and monastery of San Pablo. In Valladolid and elsewhere, Lerma adopted the widespread, if contentious, practice of emblazoning his arms on religious institutions, to which he constructed pasadizos (covered walkways, for his use and the king’s) from his own palaces. Banner demonstrates that Lerma fashioned himself and Philip III as true heirs to Philip II by “emulating the Escorial” (82), hiring architects who had worked on Philip II’s monumental complex and who promulgated its severe geometrical style. Lerma also commissioned sculptures of himself and family members from Pompeo Leoni (who made statues of Philip II and his family for the Escorial), which were intended for a burial chapel in San Pablo. Extrapolating from Banner’s observations, it would seem that Lerma used Philip II not only as a model of rulership and patronage, but also as one of piety. Chapter three, “Ciudad-Convento Lerma,” examines the duke’s transformation of the town of Lerma into his family seat and a city “dominated by churches and conventual buildings” (109). Drawing upon little-known primary sources, Banner details Lerma’s massive project, for which he employed eminent architects such as Francisco de Mora, who had collaborated on the Escorial (112). In this chapter, she also argues that “the town’s history figured prominently in Lerma’s campaign to create a perfect ducal town” (111). According to the early modern texts discussed here (including the notorious Chronicon, a forgery supposedly dating from ancient times), the town boasted a storied religious past, having been visited by Saints...