anonymously in an anthology; a number of shorter poems
were also anthologized later in Pedro Espinosa’s Flores de
poetas ilustres (1605). In the meantime he had met his
contemporary Lope de VEGA CARPIO, whom he disliked,
and while staying at the court in Valladolid had been lam-
pooned by QUEVEDO, the first of many attacks. In 1613
two works, which had earlier circulated in manuscript, set
off the great controversy over culterano style: Fábula de Po-
lifemo y Galatea, based on Ovid (Metamorphoses XIII), in
504 octavas reales (ottava rima), and Soledad primera
(1091 verses), the first of an uncompleted four-part work,
Soledades, of which only 979 further lines of Soledad se-
gunda were finished. Góngora insisted on an allegorical
reading of this poem, which deals with the journey and
experiences of a youth shipwrecked on a strange shore, all
rendered in a style of the utmost artificiality.
In 1617 Góngora, hoping to make his way at court,
moved to Madrid, was ordained, and became a chaplain to
King Philip III. The decision was unfortunate; he failed to
advance as expected, his debts increased, and his health
worsened. While collecting his works for publication, he
suffered a stroke and lost his memory, dying a few months
after returning to Cordova. His works, however, were pub-
lished later the same year. Gongorismo or culteranismo
(culto: polished, learned, “witty”), which Góngora’s style
exemplifies—but which he himself was quite capable of
parodying, as in Fábula de Píramo y Tisbe (1618)—is con-
ventionally said to involve surface elaborations, excessive
metaphor, Latinate word order, inversions, and other de-
vices, and is contrasted to conceptismo, in which the “wit”
(agudeza) derives from catachresis (extension of mean-
ing), ambiguity, etc. But a simplified opposition between
the two is misleading, and the culterano style was not a
novelty, as Lope de Vega claimed. The quarrel ignited by
Góngora’s verse reflects older stylistic arguments over Ci-
ceronian elegance versus Senecan brevity, and such dis-
tinctions as those made by the Roman rhetorician
Quintilian between figures of speech and figures of
thought. Of Góngora’s shorter poems, his 94 ballads (ro-
mances) excel the rest. He also wrote 166 sonnets, 121
letrillas, and a number of other lyrics; many more are
doubtfully ascribed to him.
Further reading: Marsha S. Collins, The Soledades:
Góngora’s Masque of the Imagination (Columbia, Miss.:
University of Missouri Press, 2002).
Gonzaga, Federico II (1500–1540) Marquis (1519–40)
and duke of Mantua (1530–40)
Federico was a prominent military commander; appointed
Captain of the Church (1521), he led the imperial forces
during the siege of Pavia and in defense of Parma (1521-
22). After the Peace of Cambrai (1529) his protector, Em-
peror Charles V, enhanced his title to duke of Mantua. In
1531 he married Maria Palaeologo, thus becoming the
successor to the duchy of Monferrato. Under Federico’s
rule the court of Mantua enjoyed its finest period of cul-
tural activity, as, like his mother Isabella d’ESTE, he was an
enthusiastic patron of the arts. Among the villas and
palaces he commissioned was Giulio Romano’s famous
Palazzo del TÈ. He was a patron and host to many artists
and writers, including LEONARDO DA VINCI, RAPHAEL, TIT-
IAN, CASTIGLIONE, and Pietro BEMBO.Gonzaga, Gianfrancesco II (1466–1519) Marquis of
Mantua (1484–1519)
Gianfrancesco was a military captain who sided with the
Holy Roman emperor Charles V following the French in-
vasion of Italy in 1494 (see ITALY, WARS OF). He led the al-
lied Italian troops of the Holy League against Charles VIII
of France at Fornovo (1495), winning a victory which he
celebrated by commissioning MANTEGNA’s Madonna della
Vittoria as an ex voto. He went on to fight in Tuscany
(1505) and Bologna (1506), but was captured by the
Venetians (1509) and imprisoned for a year. On his release
he adopted a more peaceful strategy.
Gianfrancesco was husband to the celebrated Isabella
d’ESTE, who ruled Mantua during his numerous absences;
his foreign policy was consequently sometimes deter-
mined by her Ferrarese interests. His reputation and cul-
tural achievements have been overshadowed by those of
his wife, although he too promoted the arts. He was par-
ticularly active in promoting organ and choral music in
Mantua cathedral. His letters reveal a man who had a
fondness for representations of animals, particularly
horses and dogs. He contracted syphilis and died in 1519.Gonzaga, Ludovico III (1412–1478) Marquis of Mantua
(1444–78)
Ludovico distinguished himself as a military captain on
the Milanese side in the wars against Venice. He was also
a patron of many artists and scholars, and in 1460 he hired
MANTEGNAas his court painter. Mantegna’s evocative de-
piction of Ludovico, his family, court, and friends (1472)
survives in the camera picta of Mantua’s Castello di San
Giorgio. Putting into practice the humanistic ideals of his
tutor VITTORINO DA FELTRE, Ludovico was a collector of
classics, particularly the works of Virgil, and sponsored a
printing press in Mantua. He was in close contact with
Medicean Florence, and his interest in architecture is evi-
dent in his employment of Luca Fancelli and ALBERTIon
various Mantuan projects, including the innovative Vitru-
vian-influenced churches of San Sebastiano and Sant’ An-
drea.Gonzaga family The dynasty that ruled Mantua (1328–
1707) as marquesses (1433–1530) and dukes (1530–
1707) and Montferrat as marquesses (1536–74) and dukes
(1575–1707). The Gonzaga were feudal nobility near
Mantua in the 12th century. During the Renaissance the
family included cardinals, a saint, CONDOTTIERI, and many221188 GGoonnzzaaggaa,, FFeeddeerriiccoo IIII