Patronage of Art at the Radvila Court During the Wettin Period: Widows, Wives and Daughters
The article deals with the patronage of art by the Radvila women of the Nesvizh-
Olyka branch of the family. It is seen as a complex organisational process that involved not only clients but also intermediaries. The aim is to reveal the typical roles of female patrons, identify the areas of art they supported the most, and assess the individual contribution of women. Firstly, the focus of the article is the hitherto less explored aspects of patronage by Ona Sanguškaitė-Radvilienė (1676–1746): her strategies for recruiting artists, the role of intermediaries, the organisation of artists’ work, and the duchess’s involvement in the execution of commissions. The article reveals how, assisted by intermediaries, this noblewoman could mobilise and control high-level professionals at her court. The duchess’s initiatives covered a wide range of artistic fields and had a lasting impact on several generations of the Radvila. Moreover, works
by the masters from Ona Radvilienė’s court were passed on to other aristocrats of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and supposedly influenced the art of their courts. The patronage of other Radvila women was less extensive. They were primarily involved in the decoration of the interiors of palaces and in commissioning portraits and religious paintings. The activities of Pranciška Uršulė Radvilienė (1703–1753) were quite significant in this field. Her education and amateur art practices may have influenced her artistic initiatives, her contacts with artists, and her mediation in executing her husband’s commissions. Research into the women’s activities during the Wettin period helps to reveal an important and still underestimated aspect of the social history of art in the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania: the importance of family ties and cooperation in art commissions. The women often acted as intermediaries for their spouses and mother, Ona Sanguškaitė-Radvilienė. Compared to Western European countries, in the eighteenth century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had a poorly developed network of art agents and specialised art dealers. Therefore family ties and women’s mediation were crucial both in the hiring of artists and in the control of their work.
Keywords: the Radvilas, female patronage, commissioning art, 18th century, network.
