LORENZO TIEPOLO

Tiepolo´s commission for the Collegiate church of the Holy Trinity at La Granja de San Ildefonso

The final months of Giambattista Tiepolo´s lengthy career were dedicated to plan a set of frescoes for the Collegiate church at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, close to Segovia, whose construction, some fifty years earlier,had exemplified the artistic ambitions of Philip V after securing his position on the Spanish throne at the end of the War of Succession. The church itself (Fig.24) was begun around 1721 under the designs of Teodoro de Ardemans and was dedicated to the Holy Trinity on the 22nd December of 1723. Philip V's request to Pope Innocent XIII for a bull elevating the foundation to the status of a royal Collegiate church was delayedby the pope's death and the slow election of a successor, but in 1725, Benedict XIII issued the bull 'Deum infafigabilerrí, making this the mother church of all the churches at San Ildefonso. Philip´s attachment to it led him to choose it as his burial place.1

'The decoration of the church´s interior had remained unaccomplished at Philip´s death in 1746, and it was oniy in 1768 that Charles III undertook the embellishment of an edifice that was of such deep significance to a Bourbon king. The full complexity of the history of this commission has hitherto remained somewhat obscure,2 but a thorough search of the archives at both San Ildefonso and Madrid now allows the story to be told in full, and clarifies the degree of Tiepolo's involvement before his death in March 1770.

Philip V´s successor, Ferdinand VI, had bequeathed the Royal Site of San Ildefonso to his father´s second wife, Isabel Farnese. In August 1766 - after her death on lOth July when the site had reverted to the crown in the person of her son Charles III - the Chapter of Canons was informed by the king´s Secretary of State, the Marques de Grimaldi, that thenceforth everything to do with the church wouid be under the control of the Secretary of Grace and Justice, a position then held by Manuel de Roda.3 But the Canons ignored this direction when, in October that year, they addressed a memorándum directly to Grimaldi petitioning the king that one or other of the projects for building a new church should be revived or that the existing structures should be enlarged,since it was difficult to perform services with sufficient pomp 4.This request was curtly dismissed: 'por ahora no podía Su Majestad entrar en estos pensamientos 5

In March 1767, the Canons repeated the petition, only to be told by Grimaldi that any works shouid be 'a correspondencia del caudal que la Fábrica de esta iglesia pueda emplead 6" As well as paying for the construction of the church, Philip V had endowed it with income to provide for its finance,7 and this response thus constituted a warning that the Canons should give up any idea of enlarging it and instead concentrate on the decoration of the existing structure at their own expense. The Chapter named one of their members, Manuel Bueso, as their churchwarden 8, and during the court´s residence at San Ildefonso, that year he spoke with Grimaldi on 19th September 1767 to ask whether the church could be at least cleaned up to the extent of a 'whitewash (blanqueo)9

This seems to have been granted, for at the beginning of 1768 scaffolding was being installed to enable the walls to be plastered, and the paintings were ordered to be removed from their altars, the statues to be stored, and the celebration of mass to be transferred to the Pantheon.10 It was only now, with the furnishings almost completely dismantled and the scaffolding filling its interior, that the first attempt was made to embark on the real task of decoration. On 12th of January Bueso submitted to Grimaldi two proposals for stuccoes and frescoes, saying that even though the church could not afford them, the king might by persuaded to send some of his “pensionistas” unoccupied elsewhere to carry out whatever works he might think appropiated.11

Relations between the Chapter of Canons and the Regional Superior (abad), Miguel Ferrer y Figueredo, had never been particularly friendly, and the latter found the decision to embark on works of such importance without even consulting him understandably annoying.12 On 15thJanuary he complained to the Inquisitor General and on the following day to the king´s powerful confessor, Padre Eleta, saying that the Canons had acted outrageously behind his back 13 .The king's response was to halt the works. On 27thJanuary.

View of the collegiate church and part of the palace of La Granja. Spanish, nineteenth century (present whereabouts unknown).

In 1768 Grimaldi informed Bueso of this decisión, with the added threat that 'por la misma razón nada se ha tratado acerca de los nuevos proyectos que Vm. propone, y cuyo diseños conservo en mi poder. Padre Eleta was given the task of informing the “abad” of the appointment of Manuel de Roda as the intermediary through whom the king henceforth wished all reports to be made, and, after examining all the documentation the Secretary of Grace and Justice determined that a Board appomted by the king should mediate as to the final decisión.14

 Months went by and the date of the court's next visit to La Granja drew ever nearer.15 On 23rd April the Chapter decided to make known to the Board its concern at the lack of news,16 and on the lOth May the denouement carne in the form of an order to take down the scaffolding and to use the church's own resources to pay all the costs caused by the canons5 precipitate action.17 Bueso obeyed with resignation, and on 14th May ordered the scaffolding contractor to proceed with the dismantling and arrange for the sale of the timber.18

At this point, Charles III intervened in the Canons favour on the grounds that it would be a waste of money to have to re-erect the scaffolding if the project was to be carried through, and also suggested that perhaps a small scaffold (ícasteletoy), such as was used for painting the rooms in the palace, might suffice for the future.l9 0n 27th May the Chapter decided to leave the central scaffolding in place for the time being and to proceed with the first stage ofrepairs.20 The Aposentador of the palace, Domingo María Sany further recommended that it should be kept even after the first phase was finished, seeing that it did not encumber the church to the extent that the religious services were impeded.21

 From then on, the king´s interventions were directed towards facilitating the works. Having rejected the initial plan for enlarging the church, he appears to have considered himself obliged to assist with the decorations, and took up Bueso's suggestion of making use of people already on the Royal payroll, offering the services of his architect Francisco Sabatini to prepare drawings and supervise the undertaking.22

Sabatini began by locating some bronze angels which had been carved for the main altar in the time of Philip V in the storerooms of the Royal Palace in Madrid.23 While he was
doing this he was almost certainly also asked to provide sketches for the ornamentation of the vault; requesting workmen to execute them in January 1768, Bueso added sarcastically, 'asi como la iglesia está el retablo' 24  In October, after the court had left San Ildefonso, Grimaldi sent a brief note to Sabatini from the Escorial where it said he was looking forward to hearing the architect's opinion on the San Ildefonso vault as soon as possible.25

The architect proved slow to fulfil his commitments, and the Chapter became impatient. On 27thJanuary 1769 the canons proposed that, since nobody knew what the king had instructed Sabatini to do about the stuccoes and paintings, they shouid write to Sabatini themselves to ask what was happening.26 This their representative, Francisco Javier Calvo, did on Ist January, only to be told by Sabatini that 'en breves días jugo tenerlo concluido, atareándome y dando de mano otras cosas'27 But, despite a gift — made through the Canons´s Madrid agent, Sebastián Yndabaru — of six arrobas of chocolate and five of sugar, no designs were forthcoming.28 On 6th May the canons finally decided to renew their representations to Grimaldi, who in turn wrote to Sabatini on 13th May29 simultaneously informing Manuel Bueso of the steps that he had taken.30

This impasse was still unresolved when, on 19th August 1769, Giambattista Tiepolo wrote to Miguel de Muzquiz, Secretary ofthe Royal Exchequer,31 ostensibly to inform the king that he had finished work on the series of altar-pieces for the new church of San Pascual Baylon at Aranjuez.32 What he really wanted was a fresh commission 'para manifestar el deseo que tengo de ser continuadamente empleado en su glorioso Real Servicio'. This amounted to a reminder of the king´s promise to ''darle obras para que esté ocupado' made when the artist had opted to remain in Spain rather than return to Venice after completing the frescoes in the royal palace at Madrid.33

 In the first week of September, and with the court once again at San Ildefonso, Muzquiz informed Charles III of Tiepolo's request.34 Contrary to what has sometimes been implied,35 it can now be affirmed that the king had not forgotten his promise. On 18th May the revious year, during the debate over the scaffolding, Manuel de Roda had remarked that the king was thinking of giving the San Ildefonso commission to Tiepolo,36 and it thus seems likely that Charles had been waiting since the previous spring for Tiepolo  to become available for this project. As we have seen, the canons were restless, and the scaffolding was still in place, all of which must have encouraged the king to note at once on the letter he hadjust received from Muzquiz: 'Que tome a su cuidado el pintar la media naranja de la Colegiata de este Sitio luego que pueda'.37

 Tiepolo was informed of his new commission on 9th September, and told to call on Francisco Sabatini to urge him to complete the designs that had been requested some eighteen months earlier.38 This he did on 13th September, and Sabatini promised to send the drawings by the middle of the following week for the king´s approval.39 They were sent to San Ildefonso on 18th September accompanied by an estimate of the costs,40 and this was made known at once to Muzquiz so that he could instruct Tiepolo.41

It was the marques de Grimaldi who, on 28th September,finally notified the president of the Chapter of the name of the artist chosen to decorate their church. At the same time he provided details of the projects devised by Sabatini, underlining that the king had approved the “'diseño no.3” which showed the dome with stucco decorations forming eight compartments to be filled with paintings.42 The next morning the Canons were convened in an extraordinary session, in the course of which it was decided that their representatives at Court, Ramón de Galamino and Francisco Javier Calvo, should thank Grimaldi for his help. They also seized the occasion to request that the stuccoists Juan Bola and Dominmgo Brili, who had given Sabatini an estimate of 254 thousand ”reales” for all the necessary work, should be engaged so that things could go forward as quickly as possible.43

 Indeed, the Canons concern for the fast execution of the works was becoming something of an obsession as the documentation makes clear.44 On 5th October Grimaldi had written to both the Chapter45 and to Francisco Sabatini that the stuccoists should come to San Ildefonso to formalise the contract and get on with the work, 46 and in a meeting held five days later, the Chapter was informed of these craftsmen's agreement to finish within a year and a half from November, and that the contract needed to be notarised.47

Abraham and the three angeis, by Francisco Bayeu. 59 by 32.6 cm. (Museo del Prado, Madrid).

In October Canon López Mayor, in the absence of the churchwarden, again gave orders that mass should be celebrated in the Pantheon,48 and by December work was definitely underway, as we learn from complaints about the noise '"The draft of this letter can be found in AGP, caja 13.620, the original in AGP, caja 18.221, exp.no 10 (see morales y marín, op. cit. at note 29 above, p. 189): ''pasen a este Sitio a formalizar su ajuste con el Cabildoy proceder a la execución de la obra quando éste disponga "ASCI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, fols 415v- :16:í darla fenecida dentro de un año y medio desde el noviembre próximo'.  Ibid., fol.422v.4C™., fols. 422v-23, sessions of 20th and 23rd December 1769: 'el sr. Buesso había hablado con los estuquistas a fin de que hiciesen menos ruido en la obra que así pudiesen celebrarse bs oficios'. After the bills for the materials Tiepolo had used at Aranjuez  (see note 32 above), the next occasion on which the artist ordered materials from his supplier was on Ist the stuccoists were making.49 Meanwhile, Tiepolo had probably started to sketch his compositions for each of the segments of the dome.50 This can be deduced from the fact that on 18th September Sabatini had asked Muzquiz to tell Tiepolo that he had completed his designs and that the latter should proceed with his bozzetti while the stuccoes were being done.51

Abraham and the three angels, by Giambauista Tiepolo. 197 by 151 cm. (Museo del Prado, Madrid)

Our next information comes from the new year, when the Chapter's representative in Madrid, Ramón Galamino, presented details of his expenses for a trip to El Pardo on business of various sorts, including negotiating with Tiepolo to do the frescoes as soon as possible.52 Although the exact date of Tiepolo´s presence at El Pardo is not known, the court's sojourn there usually covered the first three months of the year, and Galamino probably met Tiepolo in early March, as a letter from Galamino to Francisco Javier Calvo of 14th March suggests. Reporting on the outcome of the other business he had transacted at El Pardo, Galamino adds that'. . .ya están aprobados los asumptos que se han de pintar; á otro correo se los remitiré para que los vea el Cabildo 53. The 'asumptos' are most likely to be the bozzetti for the dome (rather than simply than the 'subjects´ in the normal meaning of the word), and if such bozzetti had been approved it would not be at all surprising for them to be sent to San Ildefonso for the Canons to see, as had earlier happened with Sabatini´s designs. A week later,on 22nd March, Galamino wrote that he had had an interview some days earlier with Tiepolo, who had told him that he would do as much as possible to keep costs down, and that the Canons should instruct Yndaburu to go and see Tiepolo to discuss what was required to get the work underway as it was necessary to buy colours and engage workmen.54

As the moment to start painting the frescoes of the church finally drew near, the first bills for the artist´s expenses began to be submitted. As late as 6th March the Canons seem to have been convinced that the king had undertaken to meet such costs out of the royal exchequer.55 After Galamino´s trip to El Pardo, however, Francisco Javier Calvo was left in no doubt that the king had never intended to do more than offer the services of his salaried painter.56 The Chapter's alarmed response was to ask, on 17th March, for more explicit details of the expenses they would have to bear. In his letter of 22nd March Galamino was obliged to spell it out: 'S.M nunca pensó sino en darnos la habilidad del pintor, siendo de nuestra cuenta todos los demás gastos que hiciese durante la obra, esto es su manutención, alojamiento durante la jornada, colores etc. 57

Once the Chapter had lost all hope of royal subvention, they began plotting how to get Tiepolo to reduce his budget. On 22nd March they decided to instruct Galamino and Yndaburu to seek out some painter of their school and ask him what he might charge. Armed with this information, they should then go to Tiepolo and tell him how embarrassing they found it that he was having to see to everything himself, in the hope that he would give an overall estimate of his costs. If these did not seem too exorbitant compared to what theyhad been told by the other painter, they should close with him there and then.58 On 30th March Francisco Javier Calvo informed Madrid of the Chapter's opinion, and Yndaburu affirmed on 4th April that he would visit Galamino and 'nos informaremos de algunos Pintores de satisfacción 59

 The solution to the Chapter´s problem was more unexpected, however, and had already taken place. Tiepolo had died during the night of 26th/27th March.60 Four days later, on 31st of March, Ramón Galamino wrote to San Ildefonso to announce the necessity of a second journey to El Pardo to resolve matters concerning the collection of the rents necessary for the financing of the works and to speak to the marques de Grimaldi about the implications of Tiepolo's death.61 In this letter, he added that he would keep the contents of their previous communication in mind when the occasion  aróse, and that the reckoning Tiepolo had given amounted to ninety thousand reales 62.

The calling of Isaiah, by Francisco Bayeu. 59 by 32.5 cm. (Museo del Prado, Madrid).

The calling of Isaiah. Spanish, eighteenth century. 73.1 by 46.6cm (Private Collection, Madrid)

Tiepolo had probably remained unaware of the Ghapter'8 schemings, secure in the knowledge that, even if the king was not going to pay the costs of the La Granja frescoes, he would anyway have continued to receive the salary assigned to him when he first arrived from Venice.63 After the artist´s death, his sons Domenico and Lorenzo presented a copy of the death certificate issued by the parish church of San Martín,64 together with the 'declaración de pobre' in which they were named as heirs.65 An explanation for this action can be found in their wish to claim the '71,411 reales y 19 marevedíes que dejo vencidos desde el 1 de septiembre de 1769 hasta el 27 de marzo de 7 77(7.66 These were the months in which Tiepolo had been engaged on the royal commission for the frescoes of the Colegiata de San Ildefonso. The archival material presented above implies that Tiepolo´s preparatory work for the dome of the Collegiate was further advanced than has hitherto been supposed. And although it is rather difficult to interpret, a receipt signed by the stuccoists Bola and Brili after the completion of their works in 1771 suggests that large cartoons had been prepared before Tiepolo´s death, and may even have been placed on the compartments of the dome.67 This cannot have happened unless bozzetti (or modelli) by Tiepolo had been approved by the king; but if this was the case, none that is securely identifiable appears to have survived. Nor are the subjects of the projected frescoes mentioned anywhere in the documentation; and although attempts have been made to reconstruct the programme through a study of surviving works and sketches from Tiepolo's last years,68 the most reliable evidence is that provided by the subsequent history of the commission after Tiepolo's death.

This can be briefly summarised here, as I have recently published a full documentary account elsewhere.69 Within a week of Tiepolo's death Grimaldi asked Sabatini´s opinion about the king´s wish to hand over the La Granja commission to two young Spanish artists, Mariano Salvador de Maella and Francisco Bayeu, both associates of Mengs. Sabatini replied at once, saying that Bayeu would be suitable for the frescoes in the dome and pendentives and Maella for the rest of the vaults, but that Bayeu was fully occupied with other royal commissions (at Aranjuez and elsewhere) and could scarcely be expected to go to La Granja that year. Nevertheless, the canons were informed of the choice of these two painters on 18th April. Despite the Chapter´s increasing desperate requests for 'toda presteza'1 and complaints that the scaffolding was still going to be there during the next royal sojourn, purchases of materials were begun only in January
1771. Bayeu himself seems to have arrived at La Granja by early June 1771; he had finished the eight scenes in the cupola by the end of October and then he went on to complete the pendentives before 17th December, leaving the delighted Canons in full possession of their decorated church.

Detail

Given the speed with which Bayeu was chosen to replace Tiepolo, and given that the segmental compartments of the dome were already being created by the stuccoists, it is highly unlikely that any changes were made to the programme or format of the frescoes as a result of the change of artist.Whether or not Bayeu was expected simply to translate Tiepolo's compositions — for which, as we have seen, bozzetti, and even cartoons, seem already to have been made — into fresco is uncertain. In any case, a complete set of presentation bozzetti by Bayeu for the project survives (see Xavier Bray´s 8 árdele on p.543 below).

That some sort of reaction against Tiepolo´s style began to set after the artist´s death can be inferred from the king´s decision to have Tiepolo's set of large altar-pieces for San Pascual Baylon at Aranjuez — finished, as we have seen, around July of 1769 but installed only in May 1770 – replaced by works showing the same subjects by Mengs, Maella and Bayeu. This decision was taken from the Escorial before lOth November of 1771, 70 that is to say shortly after the king would have seen the recently finished works of Bayeu and Maella at La Granja. The extent to which Bayeu's frescoes there were indebted to Tiepolo in style and composition is therefore of particular interest.

This question is difficult to explore. Bayeu´s frescoes in the Collegiata were destroyed by fire in 1918, and although it has been suggested that he may have made use of Tiepolo´s designs when preparing his bozzetti,72 concrete evidence is lacking. It is clear, however, that the composition of his bozzetto of Abraham and the three angels for La Granja (Fig.25) was inspired by Tiepolo's large late altar-piece of this subject now in the Prado (Fig.26). More problematic is an oil sketch of uncertain status, here published for the first time (Fig.28), which is manifestly related to Bayeu's La Granja bozzetto for the Calling of Isaiah (Fig.27). While the compositional differences are few - the shapes of the upper borders are different, the tapering space is more amply filled in the bozzetto and the figure of God the father somewhat differently conceived the sketch is some fifteen centimetres larger in each axis than any of Bayeu´s La Granja bozzetti, and its technique is so alien to anything by Bayeu himself that it seems unlikely to be even a copy after him.73 Indeed, the fluid and rapid impasto (Fig.29) more closely emulates that of  Tiepolo's oil-sketches, and it seems possible that we may here be dealing with areminiscence of an early idea by Tiepolo or one of the compartments at La Granja. If so, it might suggest that Bayeu followed his predecessor's designs rather closely, though tempering them with the cooler tones and smoother finish of his master, Mengs.74

The iconography of Francisco Bayeu´s frescoes for the Colegiata at La Granja de San Ildefonso*

BY XAVIER BRAY      

In April 1771, as a result of Tiepolo's death the previous month, Charles III of Spain asked Francisco Bayeu to decorate the octagonal cupola of the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity at La Granja de San Ildefonso. In 1918, most of Bayeu's work in the church was destroyed by fire, only the four Evangelists in the pendentives escaping complete destruction. No detailed description or visual record of the completed cupola has survived, and its appearance has been postulated on the evidence of textual references, an incomplete set of Bayeu's bozzetti, and some related drawings. The recent discovery of two previously unpublished bozzetti, and the consequent linking of both of a pair of drawings in the National Gallery of Scotland to the commission, now permit a more detailed interpretation of the cycle's Trinitarian theme. As the recent researches of José Manuel de la Mano have shown, the history of this commission was far from straightforward.1 La Granja had been the favourite residence of Philip V, the founder of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty, and he had chosen it as his burial place, a significant break with the Spanish Habsburg tradition.
 

*I am grateful to the owner of the two pictures published here for permission to do so, and to Rocío Arnáez, Juliet WiIson-Bareau, Peter Cherry, David Davies, Enriqueta Harris, José de la Mano, José Luis Sancho, José Antonio de Urbina, Aidan Weston-Lewis, Catherine Whistier and Richard de Willermin for help in various ways. Support for my research was provided by the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Madrid, the Ministére de 1'Education, París, and the Casa de Velázquez, Madrid.

1 I am grateful to the priest in charge of the Collegiate Archives at San Ildefonso for his help, and aiso to Catherine Whistier and Jesús Urrea for their comments and advice which were crucial in the completion of this article. 1 See R. breñosa and j. castellarnau: Guía y Descripción del Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, Madrid [1884], pp. 130-35, and s. martín sedeño: Compendio histórico, topográfico y mitológico de los jardines y fuentes del Real Sitio de San Ildefonso. Su fundación y la de los Reales Sitios de Valsaín, Rio/río, Madrid [1825], pp.9-13.

2 The most detailed study to date is p.e. muller: 'Francisco Bayeu, Tiepolo, and the Trinitarian Dome Frescoes of the Colegiata at La Granja', Pantheon, XXXV [1977], pp.9-13.

3 Archivo de la Colegiata de San Ildefonso (hereafter cited in these notes as ACSI), Libro 2" de Acuerdos Comunes del Cabildo de la Insigne Real Iglesia Colegial de la S. Trinidad de San Ildefonso, Ist October 1750 to 17th January 1772, fol. 298: '... por la qual decía mandaba S.M. que todos los asumptos de esta Iglesia corriesen desde ahora en adelante por la secretaría de Gracia y Justicial.

4 Ibid., fols.300v-301: 'in the qual se suplicaba al Rey nro. sr. se dignase S.M seguir alguno de los planes antiguos para Iglesia nueva ó a lo menos ensanchar la actual, haciéndole presente lo dificultoso que es practicar los Divinos oficios, con la Magostad, Solemnidad, y pompa que requieren del modo queoy está\

5 Ibid., fols. 301-301v, transcribed in p. martín: Las Pinturas de las Bóvedas del Palacio
Real de San Ildefonso, Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, [1989], p.71.
13.626.

7 While the decoration of the church was being carried out, rents were received by the Chapter from the Archbishops of Valencia and Saragossa, and the Bishops of Murcia, Málaga, Cuenca, Ávila, Pamplona and Plasencia (ACSI, Correspondencia Apoderados).

8 ACSI, Libro 2" cited at note 3 above, fol.323: 'amplía y absoluta facultad al sr. dn. Mame. de Buesso, para practicar quantos oficios quissiere y juagase conveniente por lo perteneciente a solicitar permisso para promover la hermosura y adorno de la Iglesia'.

9 AGP, caja 13.620.

10 All the documentation concerning this preparatory work is in the Archivo de la
Abadía de San Ildefonso (hereafter cited as AASI), leg.3, nos. 28-29, and in AGP
caja 13.620.

11 ACSI, caja 23, leg.2, no. 1 (transcribed in martín, op. cit. at note 5 above, p.239): 'nc alcanzan los caudales de la fabrica; pero me ocurría el medio, que teniendo Su Magostad pensionistas,  y creo al presente sin particular destino ni obra, podría dignarse mandar que viniese aqui a trabajar, según su Real agrado e idea

12 .On 29th November 1766 The Chapter was complaining to Manuel de Roda oíalas tropelías, y violencias, que sufre de su Abad, con quien no ha sido posible desde su ingreso tener un día de Pa  AASI, leg.3, nos.28-29.

13 Ibid.: 'con total independencia, y separación del Abad como si absolutamente no hubiese Prelado. . . . V.M sabe no es posible haya buen gobierno donde falta sumisión y obediencia del cuerpo á la

14 The relevant documents are all in AASI, leg.3, nos.28-29, and some of the first
drafts in AGP, caja 13.620.

15 In the ordinary session that the Chapter held every Friday, the canons complained
íde la tardanza de los señores Jueces de las Constituciones en responder a el Cabildo para proseguir o no la obra que se tiene empegada9 (ACSI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, fbl.367v)"

16 AASI, leg.3, nos.28-29.

17 "Ibid.

18 ACSI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, fol.369v.

19 Letters from Manuel de Roda, dated 16th and 18th May 1768, in AASI, leg.3,nos.28—29:'/o que le Rey sentía en esta providencia era el gasto que se duplicaba en quitarlos ahora y ponerlos de nuevo después en caso de que se llevase a efecto la obra proiectada';'... para cuio efecto, dice no son necesarios los andamies sino un casteleto, como el que se usa para pintar los Quartos  de Palacio

20 ACSI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, fol.371v.

21 Letter from Sany dated 20th May 1768, in AASI, leg.3, nos.28-29: 'no embarazan la
Iglesia porque sobre quatro palos derechos están puestos en lo alto las tablas, y no se impide la vista de los Altares, ni estorban los Oficios.

22 Sabatini's role is made clear by a later declaration to the canons on 26thJanuary
1771: Soy el nombrado por S.M. para la dirección de los adornos de esa Insigne Colegial. . .'

23 (AGP, caja 13.263).

24 AGP, caja 18.221, exp.no.l0 (several drafts of these letters between Sabatini and Grimaldi are aiso in AGP caja 13.620)

25 ASGI, caja 23, leg.2, no.l (transcribed in martín, op. cit. at note 5 above,

25 AGP, caja 18.219, exp.no.21 (cited m Francisco Sabatini 1721-1797. La arquitectura como metáfora de poder, exh. cat., Real Academia de San Fernando, Madrid [1993], p.338): 'Estoy esperando el dictamen de VI sobre la bóveda de San Ildefonso y así se servirá remitírmelo quanto antes le sea posible.'

26 AGSI, Libro 2" cited at note 3 above,1.391:'... como nada se sabia acerca de los planes que el Rey (KS) tenia mandado formar á su Arquitecto maior, Sabatini, para la obra de pintura y estuque que se tenia proiectada en esta Iglesia: que si parecía á el Cabildo se escribiese a dicho Arquitecto por medio de nuestro Secretario Capitular para saber de él en que estado los tenia'.

27 ACSI, caja 23, leg.2, no. 1 (cited in martín, op. cit. at note 5 above, p.239).-

28 ACSI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, íbls.394r-v.

29 AGP, caja 18.221, exp. no. 10 (transcribed in j.l. morales Y marín: Los Bqyeu,Saragossa[1979],p.l88).

30 Letter from Grimaldi dated 17th May 1769 in ACSI, caja 23 leg.2, no. 17: 'He instado a Dn. Feo. Sabatini para que despache los Planes de la obra proyectada en aquella Iglesia"

31 When this document was first published, in g.m. urbani de gheltof: Tiepolo inIspagna (Documenti estratti dair Archivio della Real Casa di Spagna in Madrid), Venice[1881], pp.l 1-12, the date was given as 2 9th August 1769. But Muzquiz replies: 'Hehecho presente al Rey quanto Vm. refiere en carta de 19 del mes pasado. . .'. Unfortunately ,Tiepolo's letter can no longer be found in the Archives of the Royal Palace, Madrid.

32  For this commission, see c. whistler: 'G.B. Tiepolo and Charles III: The Church of S. Pascual Baylon at Aranjuez', Apollo, CXXI [May 1985], pp.321-27. The paintings must have been finished while the court was still in Madrid (from 2 6th June until 19thJuly 1769), before moving to San Ildefonso. Numerous receipts from Tiepolo relating to the paintings in the church of San Pascual Baylon can be found in the Archives of the Royal Palace, Madrid. An example is that presented on 5th August 1768 by Francisco Manzano, master locksmith, for  natro trocólas limadas con quarto pasadores con sus chabelas quatro casquillos de y erro batido para un Castillejo del Pintor Dn Juan Baptista Tiepolo a ciento y\ veinte rr.s. cada una. 480' (AGP, caja 17.424). The last receipt
relating to the pictures at Aranjuez is an order for colours from Tiepolo to FelipeTrápaga on 3rd of July 1769 (ibid., caja 17.433).

33 urbani de gheltof, op. cit. at note 31 above, p.9.

34 Muzquiz to Charles III; AGP, caja 1028/35; this letter is undated, but its date can be inferred from the king's response (see note 37 below).

35 E.G m. levey: Paintinp m Eiphteenth-Centurv Venice. 2nd ed.. London [19801. D.236: 'The Spanish tactics of silence and delay were already weaving an atmosphere of unease around the ageing painter.'

36 AASI, leg.3 nos.28-29: 'que esta trabajo piensa encargarlo a tiepolo'.

37 See note 34 above; the sectretary notes: ''Dicho a 9 de septiembre por aviso á Tiepolo'.

38 When this letter was published (in a. matilla tasgón: 'Documentos del Archivo del Ministerio de Hacienda relativos a Pintores de Cámara', Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos, LXVIII [1960], p.254) the date was erroneously transcribed as 2nd September. The original (Madrid, Archivo Histórico Nacional, Fondos Contemporáneos, Archivo Ministerio de Hacienda, Copiador General de Reales Ordenes tom.10.810, fol.461) is dated 9th September.

39 AGP, caja 1028/35 (first transcribed in urbani de gheltof, op. cit. at note 31 above, p. 130): 'a mediados de la semana que viene para la aprobación de S.M.'.

40 See urbani de gheltof, op. cit. at note 31 above, p.l2, where these drawings by Sabatini for the arrangement of the stuccoes are mistaken for Tiepolo's bozzetü for the frescoes.

41 AGP, caja 1028/35: tpara lo que pueda convenir esta noticia en dar las ordenes oportunas al Pintor destinado"'.

42 AGP, caja 13.620 (see martín, op. cit. at note 5 above, p.240): ''S.M ha aprobado el diseño n.3 en que se presenta la media naranja con repartimientos de estuques y pinturas.' Sabatini´s plans perhaps consisted of different, more or less ornate versions, the architect being aware that the final choice would be determined by the funds available in the church's coffers. The division of the cupola into eight discrete segments made it very different from the extensive expenses of the vaults on which Tiepolo had worked at Madrid.

43 ACSI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, fols.413r—v: ''que los Maestros Estuquistas Juan
Bola y Domingo Brili, que habían ajustado el todo de la obra con dicho Arquitecto en la cantitad de 254.000 reales... vengan quanto antes a poner manos en ella para adelantarla quanto se pueda'.

44 Ibid., fol.414, recording the session of 6th October 1769:'.. .yo el infrascripto que hice presente una carta del Sr. Marqués de Grimaldi del día de ayer en que en contestación de la que el Cabildo le dirigió con fecha del día dos expresaba que con la misma se pasaba la orden conveniente a Dn. Francisco Sabatini para que los dos estuquistas que han hecho las proposiciones de ajuste de la obra que deve executarse en esta Iglesia pasasen a formalizar con el cabildo el ajuste mediante la correspondiente escritura aj

45 AGP caja 13.620.

46 the drafto of this setter can be found in AGP, caja 13.260, the original in AGP, caja 18.221,exp no 10 ( see morales y Marín,op cit ,at note 29 above p189.:´pasen a este Sitio a fomalizar su ajuste con el Cabildo y proceder a la excavación de la obra quando éste disponga`

47 ACSI,Libro 2º cited at note 3 above, Fol. 415v-416: `darla fenecida dentro de un año y medio desde el noviembre proximo`

48 Ibid,fol 442v

49 Ibid,Fol. 422v-23,sessions of 20th and 23rd December 1769 :èl sr.Bueso había hablado con los estuquistas a fin de que hiciesen menos ruido en la obra que asi pudiesen celebrarse los oficios

50 After the bills for the materials Tiepolo had used at aranjuez ( see note 32 above),the next occasion on wich the artist ordered materials from this supplier was on 1st December 1769 (AGP, caja 17.433). These were probably for the San Ildefonso bozzetti. There is aiso a note from his son dated 8thJanuary: '.Necesita mi Padre Dn.Juan Bautista Tiepolo para el servicio de S.M. una on a de laca fina quatro on as deAwl eprusiay seis libras de Albayaldefino de Benecia. Md. 8 de Henero de 1770. Lorenzo Tiepolo' caja 17.440).

51 AGP, caja 1028/35, Sabatini to Muzquiz, 18th September 1769: 'afin de que con tiempo pueda hacer los bosquejos de las Pinturas, mientras se ejecutan los estucos"

52 ACSI, Libro 2" cited at note 3 above, fols.438-39: 'del viaje a el Pardo que le había sido preciso para facilitar la resolución sobre la libre elección de los Ministros de esta Iglesia, y in the aumento de rentas y asi mismo la conducción del Pintor para acordar con el Ministro y Sabatini la pintura de esta Iglesia a la maior brevedad

53 ACSI, caja 23, leg.2 no. 1.539

54 ACSI, caja 23, leg.2, no. 1 (cited in martín, op. cit. at note 5 above, p. 241): ''que procurara llevar adelantado quanto pueda de todo el trabajo para hacer el menor gasto; para lo que se hace preciso que el Cabildo de orden a Yndaburu para que se vea con él y traten de lo necesario para empegar a trabajar, pues tiene necesidad de comprar colores y buscar peones.

55 ACSI, Libro 2" cited at note 3 above, fbls.433-33v, session of6th March 1770: 'S.M había determinado se hiciese la Pintura de quenta de el Real Erario'

56 ACSI, caja 23, leg.2, no.l: ''por lo que mira a que el Rey pague la pintura, es negada enteramente esta pretendan, y dicen quejamos S.M pensó en tal cosa ni ofreció as que la habilidad del pintor: á mas de esso quiere la desgracia que no hai un quarto, con que no hai sino apelar a lo que nos debe el Rey, si se puede cobrar de una vez, o esperar a que tenga mucho dinero'.

57 Ibid., cited in martín, op. cit.at note 5 above, p.241.'"ACSI, Libro 2 cited at note 3 above, fbl.435v: 'algún Pintor de su satisfacción el coste que pueda tener y tomado este informe pasen a estar con el nombrado por S.M y le digan lo embarazoso que le es correr por su mano todo esto, para si lo pueden convencer a que haga una regulación prudencial de todo el coste,y en caso que les parezca no exorbitante, según el Informe tomado, se la ofrezcan para que corra todo el gasto de su quenta'.

59 ACSI, leg. Correspondencia Apoderados.

60 Sabatini immediately informed Muzquiz (AGP, caja 14.243): 'Illmo. Sor. “La noche pasada ha fallecido el Pintor de Cámara dn. Juan Bauta. Tiepolo; Lo que participo a V.L para lo que pueda convenir al Rl. Servicio esta noticia en punto a Pinturas. / Dios ge. a VI. ms. as. Madrid y Marzo 27 de 1770. / Illmo. Sor. Bim. de VS. Illma. Su mas Rendo. Servor f Fraco. Sabatini.” Illmo. Sor. Dn. Miguel de Muzquiz.' On the back of this letter, the secretary notes: ''Dn. Franco. Sabatini. Da cuenta con fecha de ayer 27 que la noche del 26 murió Dn. Juan Baptista Tiepolo Pintor de Cámara, por lo que pueda convenir esta noticia al Real Servicio en punto á Pinturas' and it is further annotated in Grimaldi's own hand: 'Enterado y que recoja los quadros que tenia hechos para el convento de Sn. Pasqual ,y se que se los haga ver a S.M. luego quevaya a Madrid, dho. en 28 de Marzo de 1770.

61 It is not clear whether the Chapter was aware of Tiepolo's death before receiving this letter. In the transcription of the meeting in which his death was announced, the secretary recorded the date incorrectly: '. . . En 24 de Marzo hubo Cabildo en que se dio quenta de haber muerto el Pintor nombrado por S.M. para esta Iglesia con dicho motivo se acordó que por mi el Infrascripto se le suplique al Sor. Galamino que luego que se traslade la Corte a Madrid se presente al Sor. Marqués de Grimaldi suplicándole lo haga presente a S.M. para que se digne a nombrar a otro en su lugar' (ACSI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, fol.436).

62 ACSI, caja 23, leg.2, no.l (cited m martín, op. cit. at note 5 above, pp.243-44): ten quanto a los particulares de la antecedente de Vmd. los tendré presente para quando llegue la ocasión  entretanto digo que el computo que Tiepolo había hecho de sus gastos era de 90.000 reales'. Later, at a meeting held on 20th April, after they knew that Bayeu and Maella were to replace Tiepolo, the Chapter decided to write to the commissioner in Madrid, saying that íen atención a haber tan distante la venida de los Pintoresy haber parecido excesiva la regulación que tenía hecha el Difunto Tiepolo, suspenda por ahora toda diligencia in the encargo que se le tenía hecho y que lo mismo se avise a nuestro Apoderado a Madrid dn. Sebastián de Tndaburv'(ACSI, Libro 2° cited at note 3 above, fol.436v).

63 As well as his salary, Tiepolo was paid the cost of his living quarters in the house of 'Antonio Muriel Salzedo y Valdivieso. The rent was 2800 reales every six months. '\fter his death, this matter was resolved in a letter from Sabatini to Muzquiz dated?8thJune (AGP, caja 18.254, exp. no.23) and another from Muzquiz to Sabatiniiated 2nd July {ibid., caja 18.222). The practice of charging rent by semester generdly related to houses of some size: see c. caro lópez: 'Casas y alquileres in the antiguo Madrid', Anales del Instituto de Estudios Madrileños, XX [1983], p.99.

64 Madrid, Archivo de la Iglesia de San Martín, Libro 2" 21 de difuntos, fol.364 (see g.m. urbani de gheltof: Tiepolo e la sua famiglia, Venice [1879], p.40, and m. agulló y cobo: Más noticias sobre Pintores Madrileños de los siglos XVI al XVIII, Madrid [1981],pp. 191-92)

65 This  'declaración de pobre' made by Tiepolo before the notary don Manuel de Robleshas not yet been found in the Archivo de Protocolos in Madrid. It was, however, acommon practice and did not necessarily reflect economic difficulties, as has beenstated in the past. Rather, it was an inexpensive way of legalising a will. Some clerks even advertised their services in this regard in the Gaceta de Madrid. For the whole question of Tiepolo's salary and death, see c. whistler: 'G.B. Tiepolo at the court of Charles IIP, the burlington magazine, CXXVIII [1986J, pp. 199-203.

66 Archivo General de Simancas, DGT, inv. 16, índice 23, leg.26 (cited in J. urrea:'Una famiglia di pittori veneziani in Spagna: I Tiepolo', in Venezja e la Spagna, Milán [1988],p.252).

67 ACSI, legajos cuentas 31, recibo no. 42, August 1771:''ochocientos y ocho reales de vellón que han importado los diez y seis cartones que hicieron, y se enviaron al Pintor Tiepolo como encargado por S.M para hacer las mismas pinturas en Miestra Real Iglesia cuyos cartones valían dicha cantidad, incluso el papel de marca impenal, cola y trabajo de haberlos a sus respectivos lugares, que aunque no sirvieron de nada por haber fallecido dicho pintor, se les hicieron hacer a los dos dichos' (transcribed in martín, op. cit. at note 5 above, p.250).

68  See muller, loc.cit. at note 2 above.

69 J.M. de la mano: 'Francisco Bayeu y los frescos de la cúpula de la Colegiata de la Granja', in Francisco Bayeu 1734—1795, exh. caí., Museo e Instituto de Humanidades 'Canón Aznar', Saragossa [1996], pp.51-61.

70 See whister, loe. cit. at note 29 above, esp. p.325, and note 47. Although Whisderreads the date on the relevant document (AGP, Obras del Palacio, legajo 391; a letter from Eleta to Sabatini) as lOth November 1770, comparison with other holograph letters by Eleta leads me to believe that the final digit is a ' 1'; a date of 1771 is also supported by the context of the letter in legajo 391. Tiepolo's alter-pieces wouid therefore seem to have been in situ for some eighteen months before it was decided
to replace them.

 71 See de la mano, loc.. cit. at note 69 above, p.52

72 muller, loc. cit. at note 2 above, p.21.

73 Its provenance cannot be traced; there are fragmentary remains of four wax seáis on the reverse. Whereas this sketch shows a thread of smoke rising up from the coal with which Isaiah's lips will be purified, and which the angel seems to hold in tongs following Isaiah 6:6—7, Bayeu shows the coal on a flame in the Seraph's hands.

74 As Valentín de Sambricio pointed out in his discussion of Bayeu's La Granja bozzetti in 1955: '/a sobria apacibilidad de su composición, fielmente inspiradas en pinturas del maestro veneciano, contrastan, sin embargo, con las nacaradas tonalidades de su colorido, debido al influjo de Antonio Rafael Mengs' (v. de sambricio: Francisco Bayeu, Madrid [1955], p.l5)

75 One such was Luis Gil Ranz, then studying under Goya, who appeared before the Junta on 7th April 1806 with 'una copia al olio de un borrón de Tiepolo'', prompting a decisión from the Academicians that ''se tuviese presente para quando traiga otra obra al olio'. A few months later he returned with yet another adaptation after Tiepolo, eliciting the response 'que evite copiar por bocetos, y que por lo que hace a la copia de Tiepolo ha parecido mui bien' (Archivo de la Academia de San Fernando, Libros de Juntas ordinarias, generales y publicas. Juntas Ordinarias 7th April and 6th July 1806, Síg.3/89, fols.235-36 and 253-54).

76 See, for example, xavier bray's remarks on Bayeu's small copper StJoseph (extübition review, the burlington magazine, CXXXVIII [1966], p.480).

77 These included a Júpiter, Neptune and the Winds, St Thecla interceding for the end of the plague and an oval bozzetto probably of a mythological scene for a ceiling painting;

Bayeu also etched, and his style was undoubtedly influenced by the ''due  estampas de Tiepolo con su retrato grabado al aguafuerte' in his collection and various engravings from the Raccolta di teste and the Flight to Egypt. See j.l. morales y marín: Francisco Boyen Viday obra, Saragossa [1995], pp.264-93.“

78 Among the paintings owned by Francisco Sabatini inventoried in 1798 were the following attributed to the circle of Tiepolo: ' Una Virgen de la Contemplación (de una tercia de alto), dos caberas (de tres pies de alto por dos y medio ancho), la música en figura de mujer (de cuatro pies y medio alto, por tres y ocho dedos de ancho)7. SeeJ.A. ruiz hernando: 'La testamentaria de Francisco Sabatini', in the exh. cat. cited at note 25 above,pp.91-114.

79 An inventory of the property of Larrea on the occasion of his marriage on 23rd January 1771 to María Luisa Merlo, daughter of the King's Aposentador Mayor, Diego Merlo, includes:' Un quadro nuebo de dos varas,y media de largo, mas de siete quartas de ancho, con su marco dorado de toda moda, que representa Nra. Sra de la Concep n. echo por el Pintor Tiepolo tasado en mil, y quinientos reales'1 (Madrid, Archivo Histórico de Protocolos, escribano Leandro Beleña, prot. no. 19.843, fols.l6-28v

80 In the 1812 inventory of the contents of Goya's house, two paintings by Tiepolo, marked XI O, are valued at 200 reales; see f.j. sánchez cantón: 'Como vivía Goya. El inventario de sus bienes. Leyenda e Historia de la Quinta del Sordo', Archivo Español de Arte, XVIII [1946], pp.73-109.

Claudio Coello 6 28001 Madrid tel. (34) 91 435 0174 galeria@josedelamano.com