DOI Artikel:
Arciszewska, Barbara: "Despairing of success": Giacomo Leoni and Alessandro Galilei in eighteenth-century London
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14574#0148
136_BARBARA ARCISZEWSKA_
seems that Leoni, through his contacts with the Venetians working at the court of the future George I in
Hanover, must have been aware of the Elector's interests in Venetian architecture7. Artistic contacts between
Hanover and the Palatine court were quite close and had a long history, dating back to the seventeenth
century8. There is little doubt that the Palatine court architect overseeing Leoni's early work in Dusseldorf,
Matteo de' Alberti (с. 1646-1735)9, a fellow Venetian, knew of the Hanoverian fondness for Palladian
classicism. Alberti's awareness of the Venetian taste cultivated in Hanover might have dated back to his
years in Venice. The Hanoverian court's fréquent visits to the Venetian Republic were routinely accompanied
by exubérant pageantry, making the affection of the Hanoverian princes for ail things Venetian public
knowledge10. More importantly, an acquaintance of Alberti, Tommaso Giusti (c. 1644-1729), was among
numerous Venetian artists attracted by the patronage of the Hanoverian dynasty, having become the Hanoverian
court architect and decorator". Leoni, who later in life claimed, with some exaggeration, to have been the
court architect in Dusseldorf, was apparently engaged in the construction of Bensberg Castle (c. 1703-
1710), Elector's hunting lodge, as Matteo de' Alberti's assistant12. Strangely enough, however, he was not
mentioned in a contemporary list of artists active at the Palatine court under Elector Johann Wilhelm (1690-
1716)13. This omission is of some conséquence. It suggests that Leoni, clearly an underling, may have been
keeping an eye out for prospective positions at other courts in hope of improving his modest status. The
architectural taste of Elector Palatine relatives and neighbours (such as those in Hanover) must have been,
therefore, of much interest to the young Venetian. Not surprisingly, then, Leoni must have seen a move to
London as an opportunity for spearheading the Veneto-derived architectural taste in George Es new domain.
Presenting himself in England as an ex-court architect of George Es cousin, Elector Palatine, Leoni must
have hoped for an easy access to the future King and his German court.
der neunten Kur und der englischen Sukzession 1674-1714, A. Lax, Hildesheim 1938-1982; W. F r i с к e. Leibniz und die englische
Sukzession des Hauses Hannover, "Quellen und Darstellungen zur Geschichte Niedersachsens", 56, Hildesheim 1957. pp. 14f.
7 On the Hanoverian interest in Veneto-derived Palladian classicism, see B.Arciszewska, The Hanoverian Court and the
Triumph of Palladio: The Palladian Revival in Hanover and England с. 1700, DIG. Warszawa 2003.
8 On the precocious classicizing revival, which developed at the Palatine court at the outset of the seventeenth century, see
J. Harris, Inigo Jones and the my stery of Heidelberg Castle. The architects of the Englischer-Bau, 'Apollo", March 1993, pp.
147-152; and G. S к а 1 e с к i, Deutsche Architektur zur Zeit des dreissigjàhrige Krieges. Der Einflufi Italiens a uf das deutsche
Bauschaffen, Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1989, pp. 64-65. Elector Philip Wilhelm of the Palatinate (1615-1690. reigned from
1685), for instance, seems to have been well informed about Hanoverian plans for the rebuilding of the suburban résidence,
Herrenhausen. Indeed, his court architect, Johann Peter Wachter, was active in Hanover until 1690, see S с h n a t h. op. cit., vol. II.
pp. 397-398. The contacts were less lively at the beginning of the reign of Elector Johann Wilhelm (1690-1716) when the Palatine
architecture took a more French-oriented course, see ibidem, vol. П, pp. 465f.; and idem, Gartenfreude und Politik in Herren-
hausen, "Hannoversche Geschichtsblàtter", XX, 1966, p. 256. for détails.
9 For Alberti's biography, see J. G a m e r, Matteo Alberti, Oberbaudirektor des Kurfursten Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz,
Herzogs zu Julich und Berg etc., "Die Kunstdenkmâler des Rheinlandes," Beiheft 18, Schwann, Dusseldorf, 1978. passim,
especially pp. 29-35, regarding his career at the Palatine court.
10 One Matteo G. Alberti was responsible for the préparation and publication of an illustrated volume commemorating Ernest
August's (George Louis's father) visit to the Venetian Republic in 1685/1686. The publication, entitled Giochi festivi e militari...
in occasione délia visita del Duca di Brunswick (Venice) 1686, was illustrated with engravings by Aniello Portio and Alessandro
délia Via, see E. В a s s i, Tre palazzi veneziani délia Regione Veneto: Balbi, Flcmgini-Morosini, Molin, Regione del Veneto, Venice
1982, p. 59.
" For the standard biographical information on Giusti, „macchinista e architetto", see U. T h i e m e, F. Becker (eds.),
Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, W. Engelmann. Leipzig 1907-1950. vol. XIV. 1921,
p. 226; and entry prepared by H. R e u t h e r. Neue deutsche Biographie, vol. VI, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964. pp. 420—12 1.
12 On the title page of his 1715 édition of Palladio's Four Books, Leoni styled himself as „Architect to His most serene
Highness, the Elector Palatine". Leoni's édition, produced in 1715 (it was advertised in April of 1715). appeared in installments
between 1716 and 1720, cf.: The Architecture of A. Palladio in Four Books, Revis'd, Design'd, and Published by Giacomo Leoni
(N. Dubois transi.), London 1715. It went into second printing in 1721 and third in 1742, accompanied by Inigo Jones's notes and
the translation of Palladio's L' antichità di Roma. Leoni's édition was also the one pirated by Hoppus and Cole (1733-1736). see
C. W о 1 s d o r f f, Englische Publikationen des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts zu «architecture» und «building», [in:] G.C. R u m p (éd.).
Kunst und Kunsttheorie des XVIII. Jahrunderts in England. Studien zum Wandel dsthetischer Anschauungen 1650-1830,
Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1979, pp. 30-41.
13 Leoni, who explicitly stated in his manuscript Compendious Directions for Builders, that he collaborated with Alberti on
Bensberg, is not mentioned in the biographies of the artists active at the Palatine court, the list of which was compiled by the
elector's secretary Giorgio Maria Rapparini, cf. G.M. Rapparini, Le Portrait du vrai Mérite Dans la Personne sérénissime de
Monseigneur l'Électeur Palatin, "Verôffentlichungen der Landes- und Stadt- Bibliothek Dusseldorf, IV, Dusseldorf 1958, and see
Game r, op. cit., p. 42.
seems that Leoni, through his contacts with the Venetians working at the court of the future George I in
Hanover, must have been aware of the Elector's interests in Venetian architecture7. Artistic contacts between
Hanover and the Palatine court were quite close and had a long history, dating back to the seventeenth
century8. There is little doubt that the Palatine court architect overseeing Leoni's early work in Dusseldorf,
Matteo de' Alberti (с. 1646-1735)9, a fellow Venetian, knew of the Hanoverian fondness for Palladian
classicism. Alberti's awareness of the Venetian taste cultivated in Hanover might have dated back to his
years in Venice. The Hanoverian court's fréquent visits to the Venetian Republic were routinely accompanied
by exubérant pageantry, making the affection of the Hanoverian princes for ail things Venetian public
knowledge10. More importantly, an acquaintance of Alberti, Tommaso Giusti (c. 1644-1729), was among
numerous Venetian artists attracted by the patronage of the Hanoverian dynasty, having become the Hanoverian
court architect and decorator". Leoni, who later in life claimed, with some exaggeration, to have been the
court architect in Dusseldorf, was apparently engaged in the construction of Bensberg Castle (c. 1703-
1710), Elector's hunting lodge, as Matteo de' Alberti's assistant12. Strangely enough, however, he was not
mentioned in a contemporary list of artists active at the Palatine court under Elector Johann Wilhelm (1690-
1716)13. This omission is of some conséquence. It suggests that Leoni, clearly an underling, may have been
keeping an eye out for prospective positions at other courts in hope of improving his modest status. The
architectural taste of Elector Palatine relatives and neighbours (such as those in Hanover) must have been,
therefore, of much interest to the young Venetian. Not surprisingly, then, Leoni must have seen a move to
London as an opportunity for spearheading the Veneto-derived architectural taste in George Es new domain.
Presenting himself in England as an ex-court architect of George Es cousin, Elector Palatine, Leoni must
have hoped for an easy access to the future King and his German court.
der neunten Kur und der englischen Sukzession 1674-1714, A. Lax, Hildesheim 1938-1982; W. F r i с к e. Leibniz und die englische
Sukzession des Hauses Hannover, "Quellen und Darstellungen zur Geschichte Niedersachsens", 56, Hildesheim 1957. pp. 14f.
7 On the Hanoverian interest in Veneto-derived Palladian classicism, see B.Arciszewska, The Hanoverian Court and the
Triumph of Palladio: The Palladian Revival in Hanover and England с. 1700, DIG. Warszawa 2003.
8 On the precocious classicizing revival, which developed at the Palatine court at the outset of the seventeenth century, see
J. Harris, Inigo Jones and the my stery of Heidelberg Castle. The architects of the Englischer-Bau, 'Apollo", March 1993, pp.
147-152; and G. S к а 1 e с к i, Deutsche Architektur zur Zeit des dreissigjàhrige Krieges. Der Einflufi Italiens a uf das deutsche
Bauschaffen, Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1989, pp. 64-65. Elector Philip Wilhelm of the Palatinate (1615-1690. reigned from
1685), for instance, seems to have been well informed about Hanoverian plans for the rebuilding of the suburban résidence,
Herrenhausen. Indeed, his court architect, Johann Peter Wachter, was active in Hanover until 1690, see S с h n a t h. op. cit., vol. II.
pp. 397-398. The contacts were less lively at the beginning of the reign of Elector Johann Wilhelm (1690-1716) when the Palatine
architecture took a more French-oriented course, see ibidem, vol. П, pp. 465f.; and idem, Gartenfreude und Politik in Herren-
hausen, "Hannoversche Geschichtsblàtter", XX, 1966, p. 256. for détails.
9 For Alberti's biography, see J. G a m e r, Matteo Alberti, Oberbaudirektor des Kurfursten Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz,
Herzogs zu Julich und Berg etc., "Die Kunstdenkmâler des Rheinlandes," Beiheft 18, Schwann, Dusseldorf, 1978. passim,
especially pp. 29-35, regarding his career at the Palatine court.
10 One Matteo G. Alberti was responsible for the préparation and publication of an illustrated volume commemorating Ernest
August's (George Louis's father) visit to the Venetian Republic in 1685/1686. The publication, entitled Giochi festivi e militari...
in occasione délia visita del Duca di Brunswick (Venice) 1686, was illustrated with engravings by Aniello Portio and Alessandro
délia Via, see E. В a s s i, Tre palazzi veneziani délia Regione Veneto: Balbi, Flcmgini-Morosini, Molin, Regione del Veneto, Venice
1982, p. 59.
" For the standard biographical information on Giusti, „macchinista e architetto", see U. T h i e m e, F. Becker (eds.),
Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, W. Engelmann. Leipzig 1907-1950. vol. XIV. 1921,
p. 226; and entry prepared by H. R e u t h e r. Neue deutsche Biographie, vol. VI, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964. pp. 420—12 1.
12 On the title page of his 1715 édition of Palladio's Four Books, Leoni styled himself as „Architect to His most serene
Highness, the Elector Palatine". Leoni's édition, produced in 1715 (it was advertised in April of 1715). appeared in installments
between 1716 and 1720, cf.: The Architecture of A. Palladio in Four Books, Revis'd, Design'd, and Published by Giacomo Leoni
(N. Dubois transi.), London 1715. It went into second printing in 1721 and third in 1742, accompanied by Inigo Jones's notes and
the translation of Palladio's L' antichità di Roma. Leoni's édition was also the one pirated by Hoppus and Cole (1733-1736). see
C. W о 1 s d o r f f, Englische Publikationen des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts zu «architecture» und «building», [in:] G.C. R u m p (éd.).
Kunst und Kunsttheorie des XVIII. Jahrunderts in England. Studien zum Wandel dsthetischer Anschauungen 1650-1830,
Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1979, pp. 30-41.
13 Leoni, who explicitly stated in his manuscript Compendious Directions for Builders, that he collaborated with Alberti on
Bensberg, is not mentioned in the biographies of the artists active at the Palatine court, the list of which was compiled by the
elector's secretary Giorgio Maria Rapparini, cf. G.M. Rapparini, Le Portrait du vrai Mérite Dans la Personne sérénissime de
Monseigneur l'Électeur Palatin, "Verôffentlichungen der Landes- und Stadt- Bibliothek Dusseldorf, IV, Dusseldorf 1958, and see
Game r, op. cit., p. 42.