Numerous artistic migrations throughout Europe have been explored by Sabine Frommel. Yet, these movements of artists have not always been voluntary, as creativity and innovation have always been a result of forced migrations.

To understand this phenomenon, I contacted Professor Sabine Frommel.

Traveling to Italy from the late 15th century onwards was considered on an educational journey where visitors could appreciate a new culture tying to the ancient roots of European art. Can you elaborate?

Artistic renewal of a region or country, particularly in the milieu of princely courts, depends largely upon contributions from foreign cultures and the migration of masters. During the Renaissance, the progress of artistic language and expression was strongly influenced by travel, mainly to Italy, which could take place under a wide variety of conditions. The military campaigns of Charles VIII, Louis II, and Francis I in Italy, for instance, activated the discovery of the impressive culture with its classicizing architecture and wide gardens, and generous relationships between buildings and surroundings, which caused the Frenchmen to change their style of living and transform their fortified castles.

Can you elaborate on how ‘patrons’ played a big part in artistic migrations?

After the groundbreaking artistic achievements promoted by illustrious patrons such as Julius II, the Medici, and the Farnese, in which the revival of the Greek-Roman heritage had reached a climax, direct experience with the foremost innovations in Florence and Rome, and the knowledge of the antique prototypes that had been assimilated became indispensable in the artistic education. Patrons often sent their artists to cultural centers in order to become well-informed. They returned home with suitcases and boxes full of drawings, either done on-site or from copies of other masters, and in some cases, they were even charged to design and execute works in the host country. The schedules of these journeys varied from country to country.

While Spanish artists like Pedro Machuca and Diego Siloé had studied for an extended time in Rome and Naples between 1508 and 1520, it was only in 1533 that the French architect Philibert Delorme accompanied the Cardinal Jean de Bellay, his protector, to Italy, where he stayed for three years. On the other hand, ambitious patrons invited Italian artists to introduce classicizing typologies and languages. This trend was actually accelerated by such political disasters as the Sacco di Roma in 1527, which forced Italian artists to accept commissions in foreign countries, a fact that a ruler like Francis I exploited with foresight. Therefore, a wide network of relationships instigated an important dynamic of appropriation, adaptation, and hybridization, creating new syntheses of local traditions and imported models.

It has been demonstrated that the movement of the artists and their artwork has helped forge a European identity since the Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance. Are there any maps or detailed information for scholars to trace their journeys?

Regarding the travel of artists of the Renaissance, there is only sketchy information. It is still unknown which route Leonardo took in 1516 while he set off from Rome, a rather spectacular episode of the migration of an Italian master in a foreign country in the 16th century, accompanied by his pupils Francesco Melzi, Salaì, and his servant Battista de Villanis. The fact that the “Gioconda” arrived safe and sound in Amboise, where Francis I provided Leonardo with a manor house, indicates that the artist protected his works and his manuscripts while crossing the Alps en route to an uncertain future. Indeed, traveling was dangerous, and people were at the mercy of natural forces, as well as robbery and theft, a particularly risky situation for an artist of 64 years.

Sebastiano Serlio, who moved in 1528 from Bologna to Venice, always under the influence of political conflicts, complained of having lost important measurements of ancient Roman buildings. When he left thirteen years later for France, he waited for the mild season so as not to endanger his children, especially a newborn baby. One of the main textual sources of traveling in the 16th century is “La Vita” by the goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini, who described the different phases of his trips to France in 1537 and between 1540 and 1545, without concealing that he killed a postmaster at Siena. He gives a colorful picture of his encounters, landscapes, vegetation, and food, and, in a somewhat immodest way, he interweaves his experiences with the celebration of his outstanding skills and recognition. Often Italians, such as Rosso Fiorentino, arrived first in Lyon, a wealthy town, where the fuoriusciti, the Florentine exiles, had taken refuge.

How did politics and money influence artistic migration?

The most of the fuorusciti came from wealthy banker families and held important political positions, and thus, they familiarized the compatriots with the conditions of life at the French court, both the challenges and the risks. Despite these protections, bitter disappointments could not be prevented. Antonio Mini, a pupil of Michelangelo, brought to France his master’s famous painting (tempera on canvas) of “Leda and the Swan,” which subsequently was mysteriously lost in the castle of Fontainebleau due to the vile intrigue of a fellow countryman. The young artist died two years later without seeing his homeland again.

Political missions were not only fruitful opportunities to develop knowledge of the most advanced innovations and ideas of princely courts but also to take part in the evolution of architectural designs. In 1527, when Charles V planned a sumptuous palace in Granada, Baldassare Castiglione, apostolic nuncio, influenced the choice of a circular courtyard, related to the “Teatro marittimo” of Villa Adriana at Tivoli. Together with Raphael and Italian humanists, he had visited this extraordinary archaeological testimonial from the Roman Empire, which already before had an impact on Villa Madama, one of the more prestigious projects of Leon X. The view of artists travelling in the direct entourage of a prince’s often was colored by political concerns. Gaspar del Vega, who accompanied Philip II in 1556 as an architect in France, criticized the castle of Fontainebleau rather harshly.