The sculpture collection of the 1st Duke of Alcalá
The Viceroyalty of Naples: genesis of an antiquarian passion
The sculpture collection of Per Afán de Ribera, 1st Duke of Alcalá, was formed during his time as a Viceroy of Naples in a double sense: in the material constitution of the collection, that is to say, in the gathering of the pieces that make it up; but also, in the genesis of a passion for classical antiquities who left no documentary trace of his previous life in Spain and who must have come into contact with the group of humanists who frequented the refined viceregal court.
It is hardly surprising that no such inclination for classical antiquities was born in Spain, if we take into account the lack of interest of the Spanish, including King Philip II and his court, in this type of collecting. Many testimonies attest to such disaffection, but the clearest is the reply of one of Philip II's main advisors, Cardinal Granvela, to the famous Roman antiquarian Fulvio Orsini to dissuade him from offering his library and antiquarian collection to the Spanish monarch:
" there [in Rome] they are better appreciated than they would be here [in Spain], where few people enjoy such things and where those who know how to appreciate them are even rarer."
A belated but intense passionas attested by the correspondence of the humanist Juan de Verzosa Ponce de León, archivist of the Spanish Embassy, in which he quotes the Duke of Alcalá as buyer of antiquities on a par with collectors of the stature of the Grand Duke Cosimo de Medicis or Cardinal Farnese..
Although the Duke of Alcalá bought sculptures all over Italy, through various Italian antique dealers who acted as his agents, an important part of his collection comes from the purchase of the complete collection of Adrian SpadaforaThe Neapolitan antique dealer who had contributed the most to shaping his taste for collecting antiques.
A unique survival: The sculpture collection in its architectural setting
What makes this sculpture collection unique is the authentic humanist foundation that drove its formation, as there was a profound intellectual complicity with the pieces assembled and with the way they were displayed. With regard to the former, the knowledge that the Duke of Alcalá or those who advised him had of contemporary scientific literature is surprising, as can be seen from the identifications made of some of the pieces in the 16th century, in a context in which the only instruments of study were literary descriptions and engravings. Thus, for example, the inscription "Pallas Pacifera" on the Medici Athena in the main courtyard is only known from a legend on a coin from the Severan period. With regard to the second, the form of display, both in the Great Garden and in the courtyard, we can observe a express desire for systematisation and integration with the architecture and the garden. The latter makes it particularly exceptional today, since it is the unique Renaissance collection preserved in the architectural framework designed for it. In addition, the collection includes represented all genres of ancient sculptureThe collection includes historical and mythological reliefs and portraits, both real and ideal. In the collection section of this website you can learn more about many of his pieces.
