Travel, acquisition, display : concerning Don Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera (1476-1539) and the Casa de Pilatos, Seville, c.1520-1540

• Main Author: Joseph, Philippa Eleanor
• Published: Oxford Brookes University 2010
• Subjects: 720.94686
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.616560

The Casa de Pilatos is a beguilingly beautiful. complex building in the centre of Seville, in southern Spain. It was the principal residence of a wealthy sixteenth-century nobleman, Don Fadrique Enriquez de Ribera (1476-1539), who was the person most responsible for its reconstruction. This reconstruction of the building commenced with Don Fadrique's return to Seville in October 1520, following a two-year trip to Italy and the Holy Land, and continued until his death in November 1539. The Casa de Pilatas combines Classical Roman and Greek, Italian Renaissance, Hispano-Gothic, and Moorish or Mudejar features. The result is a perfect example of what might be described as 'Fusion Architecture'. This thesis endeavours to understand the Casa de Pilatos through a careful study of Don Fadrique's religious devotion, life experiences, and personal possessions, using the central themes of travel, acquisition, and display throughout the four main chapters. After placing Don Fadrique and the Casa de Pilatos in a broad historical, social, and political context, the first chapter considers the statement above the triumphal entrance portal to the property, which reads, '4th day of August 1519, I entered Jerusalem', which is taken from Don Fadrique's detailed journal of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The chapter explores public and private aspects of Catholic devotion, as well as Don Fadriquc's own life experience. which is closely tied to his role as a Knight of the Order of Santiago and the then prevailing interest in Erasmian piety in Seville. Chapter 2 deals with Don Fadrique's response to Italy, and especially its architecture, in the months before and more than a year after his pilgrimage, which is recorded in the same travel journal as his pilgrimage. Don Fadrique describes important ecclesiastical buildings, hospitals, fortresses, and palazzi. as well as major cities, including Florence, Genoa, and Venice. Don Fadrique's two-year trip was an essential part of his religious and artistic development. Chapter 3 studies an inventory of Don Fadrique's personal possessions, drawn up in 1531 , which is translated into English and annotated. These possessions were sold off and dispersed after Don Fadrique's death, and included expensive tapestry sets, musical instruments, coins and medals, altarpieces, and holy relics. Studied together, they give us a clearer picture of Don Fadrique's tastes, interests, and social position, and those of his contemporaries. Returning to Casa de Pilatos, Chapter 4 looks at areas of the building most closely identified with Don Fadrique, namely, the entrance portal, main courtyard, and private chapel, as wen as some aspects of the gardens, main staircase with its fabulous media naranja ceiling, and the Azulejos-c1ad wal1s. In doing so, it is argued, we can begin to understand some of the bewildering complexities of the Casa de Pilatos, which could not have been constructed at any time other than between 1520 and 1540, and only by Don Fadriquc Enrfquez de Rihera.