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ÉLÉONORE GONZAGUE (Empress). Autograph letter signed "Leonor…
See original version (French)
8
-
ÉLÉONORE GONZAGUE (Empress). Autograph letter signed "Leonor…
See original version (French)
Estimate €500 - €600
Voluntary lot
Description
ÉLÉONORE GONZAGUE (Empress). Autograph letter signed "Leonora", in Italian, to Cardinal Odoardo Farnese. Vienna, 3 February 1624. One p. folio, address on back.
Wishes for the New Year, in response to those she has received from the cardinal: "... il nostro desiderio non è manco et minore del suo, qual è grandissimo acioche l'istesso felicemente goda, tanto Vostra Signoria Illustrissima et Reverendissima quanto ancho la sua inclita Casa ducale...". Translation: "... our desire is no less than yours, which is very great, that you enjoy the same happiness, both Your Illustrious Lordship and your prestigious Ducal Household...".
EMPRESS ELONORE GONZAGUE (1598-1655), daughter of the Duke of Mantua and a Medici, married Ferdinand II (then widower of Maria Anna of Bavaria) in 1622. Beautiful, pious and wealthy, she represented an advantageous alliance for both families: the House of Mantua, which was losing ground, wanted to strengthen its political position, while the House of Habsburg hoped to improve its finances at the costly start of the Thirty Years' War. Marked by the sack of Mantua and the dynastic change that placed the French branch of the family, the Gonzagues-Nevers, at the head of the duchy, the House of Habsburg was able to show prudence at a time when Austria and France were enemies. Above all, she was an essential bridge for artistic tastes, particularly music, between Mantua and Vienna.
A PRINCE OF THE CHURCH ASPIRING TO A CROWN, ODOARDO FARNESE (1573-1626) was the youngest son of the Duke of Parma. Raised to the rank of cardinal in 1591, he was opposed by several popes who were hostile to his family, and did not have the career he might have hoped for. A disappointed ambitious, he wanted to give up the hat and marry, for these reasons but also because his brother Duke Ranuccio was unable to have an heir. Appointed protector of England (an ecclesiastical role), he declared himself a pretender to the throne of England on the strength of his Lancaster descent through his mother Mary of Portugal, but without success. On the death of his brother, Odoardo took over the regency of the Duchy of Parma and died in 1626.
A great collector of antiquities and a patron of the arts, he supported the Carache brothers and the Dominiquin, and was one of those who encouraged the emergence of the Baroque style in painting.
Eleonore Gonzaga and Odoardo Farnese were linked by close family ties: Vincent Gonzaga, Eleonore's father, was first married to Margherita Farnese, from 1581 to 1582, sister of Ranuccio and Cardinal Odoardo.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures modified on 06/01/2026 at 4:53 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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