The debts owed by the Castilian court to an emigrant painter: Michel Sittow’s sojourns in Castile (1492-1502/1504)

Abstract

This article focuses on two recently discovered documents from Spanish archives in Simancas and Zaragoza, which show a record of the relationship between the painter Michel Sittow (c. 1468-1525/6) and several members of the court of Isabella of Castile between 1492 and 1502. Further, it puts into context several formerly published documents that indicate significant debts were owed to the painter and give us clues about his artworks from 1494, as well as a visit he took to Zaragoza in 1498: one on Michel Sittow’s stay in Castile; an account of Fernando Gomes de Éçija from 1494; a notarial deed from Zaragoza dating from 1498; a list of court salaries, also from 1498; and an alphabetical list of court debts from 1497-1498. Additionally, reconsideration is given to the period Sittow spent at the court of the Spanish king as both an artist and a courtier. Apparently, he had left the court because the full salary he was due was not transferred. Based on the newly discovered documents, the artist may have left in 1502, electing to serve Philip the Fair between 1502 and 1504. It is also now possible to identify 1494 as the year when the painter worked on the Santiago altarpiece in Toledo. Only in 1515 did Sittow return to the Iberian Peninsula to collect the remaining sum, authorized by Charles V’s treasurer, Alonso de Arguello. The required amount was paid to him over the course of a year. Despite several uncertainties regarding his life and artistic practice, Michel Sittow’s career provides a significant insight into royal commissioning practices and the impact of fickle financial administration.