Portraying the Ideal Spanish Tridentine Prelate

Abstract

The role played by cardinal portraits in Spain in the sixteenth century has not been\n much discussed, in part because there are few surviving examples, and many of\n these are still hard of access. Furthermore, Spanish cardinals formed a minority\n in the Roman Curia, even in the years of Spanish predominance in Europe after\n the Council of Trent. Extant portraits of Spanish cardinals are most common in\n Spain, where, as with images of ecclesiastics of lesser rank, they tended to form an\n integral part of a funerary complex or other commemorative setting. Alongside\n their tomb, the ecclesiastic left his portrait as an eternal memory of himself in\n the pious foundation he had established, where he is often represented in the\n very act of devotion.