'' Don'' José Álvarez de Toledo Osorio y Gonzaga, 11th Marquess of Villafranca,

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

, ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' Duke of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain (16 July 1756 – 9 June 1796) was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of the artist

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

Early life

Álvarez de Toledo was born on 16 July 1756 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. He was the eldest son of Antonio Álvarez de Toledo, 10th

Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo 250px, Castle of Villafranca. Villafranca del Bierzo ( Galician: Vilafranca do Bierzo) is a village and municipality located in the comarca of El Bierzo, in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. Villafranca del Bierzo lies 187 kilomete ...

and Princess Maria Antonia Gonzaga. His paternal grandparents were Fadrique Vicente de Toledo Osorio, 9th Marquis of Villafranca and Juana Pérez de Guzmán y Silva (a daughter of Manuel Pérez de Guzmán, 12th Duke of Medina Sidonia). His maternal grandparents were Francesco Gonzaga, 1st Duke of Solferino (a son of Ferdinando Gonzaga, 3rd Prince of Castiglione) and Giulia Caracciolo di Santo Buono (a daughter of Carmine Caracciolo, 5th Prince of Santo Buono). At thirteen, he became chamberlain to King

Charles IV of Spain Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808. The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...

Career

A year after his marriage, he inherited the dukedom of Medina-Sidonia (by the 21st century the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom) and joined two of the most important Houses of the

Spanish nobility The Spanish nobility are people who possess a title of nobility confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, as well as those individuals appointed to one of Spain's three highest orders of knightho ...

. The failed attempt of his friend

Alejandro Malaspina Brigadier Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Spanish Navy officer and explorer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 to 1794, a scientific expedit ...

to oust Queen María Luisa's favourite

Manuel de Godoy Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria Ríos (12 May 1767 – 4 October 1851), 1st ''Prince of the Peace'', 1st ''Duke of Alcudia'', 1st ''Duke of Sueca'', 1st ''Baron of Mascalbó'', was the First Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Spain from ...

in favour of the Duke of Alba put an early end to the political career of the progressive

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

Personal life

In 1775, as the 11th Marquess of Villafranca, he married his kinswoman ''

Doña The terms Don (in Spanish and Italian), Dom (in Portuguese), and Domn (in Romanian), are honorific prefixes derived from the Latin ''Dominus'', meaning "lord" or "owner". The honorific is commonly used in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, as well ...

'' María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo. Their marriage made them the wealthiest couple in the kingdom; they competed against the

Osuna Osuna () is a town and municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , it has a population of c. 17,800. It is the location of the Andalusian Social Economy School. Osuna is built on a hill, o ...

family. The year after their marriage, she became the 13th Duchess of Alba after inheriting the title from her paternal grandfather,

Fernando de Silva, 12th Duke of Alba Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 12th Duke of Alba (27 October 1714 – 15 November 1776), was a Spanish politician and general who was Prime Minister of Spain in 1754.in full, Biography Better known as the ''Duke of Huéscar'', Fer ...

, thereby José Álvarez became ''de

'' Duke of Alba. María Teresa, as she was known in her family, was the legendary "Duchess of Alba" in Goya's paintings. Álvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga died on 9 June 1796, in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. As the couple had no children, Álvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga was succeeded by his brother Francisco de Borja. His wife held the title of Duchess of Alba until her death in 1802 and she was succeeded by a relative Carlos Miguel Fitz-James Stuart.

Art patronage

In a famous

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

by Goya, the duke is clad in elegant riding clothes. With an air of melancholy he looks up from the music book he is holding in his hands, including the "Four songs/with piano accompaniment/by Mr. Haydn". The duke commissioned several works from

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and was a gifted musician himself. In his painting, Goya subtly combines the symbols of his model's passion for music and equestrian skills (

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, riding

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

s and riding hat) with the neoclassical interior of the ducal residence. File:José Álvarez de Toledo, Duque de Alba.jpg, José Álvarez de Toledo around 1795 by Goya Image:La marquesa viuda de Villafranca por Francisco de Goya.jpg, María Antonia Gonzaga, his mother. Image:Anonymous portrait of Pedro de Alcántara Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, 14th Duke of Medina Sidonia (1724-1779).jpg, The 14th Duke of Medina Sidonia, his cousin and predecessor. Image:16th Duke of Medina Sidonia by Goya.jpg, The 12th Marquess of Villafranca, his brother and successor.

Ancestry

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez De Toledo, Jose 1756 births 1796 deaths 115 108 Jose Maria Jose Maria Jose Maria 18th-century Spanish nobility Marquesses of Los Vélez Grandees of Spain Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Marquesses of Molina