Borgia, Lucrezia (1480–1519) Italian noblewoman
The daughter of Rodrigo Borgia (Pope ALEXANDER VI) and
Vanozza Catanei, Lucrezia seems to have been a pawn in
her family’s intrigues, and accusations against her of poi-
soning and incest appear unfounded. Her marriage (1493)
to Giovanni Sforza, lord of Pesaro, was annulled (1497)
after her father quarreled with the Sforza clan. Furthering
his plan to strengthen the Neapolitan alliance, Alexander
then married her to Alfonso of Aragon (1498), an illegiti-
mate son of ALFONSO IIof Naples. When this alliance col-
lapsed Alfonso was murdered (1500), probably at Cesare’s
command. Lucrezia then married Alfonso d’Este, the duke
of Ferrara’s heir (1502). This apparently happy marriage
produced seven children. Lucrezia devoted herself to
charitable works and her children’s education; after be-
coming duchess of Ferrara (1505) she made the court a
center for artists, poets, and scholars, among them TITIAN
and ARIOSTO.
Further reading: Maria Bellonci, The Life and Times of
Lucrezia Borgia, transl. B. and B. Wall (London: Phoenix,
2000).
Borgia family A Spanish-Italian family of great power
and influence during the late 15th and the 16th centuries,
which has earned an unsavory reputation for immorality,
treachery, nepotism, and greed. Alfonso Borgia
(1378–1458), the founder of the family fortunes, became
Calixtus III (pope 1455–58). He was known not only for
his enthusiasm for a crusade against the Turks but also for
his nepotism, which led him to make his nephew,
Rodrigo, a cardinal in his mid-twenties. As Pope
ALEXANDER VI, Rodrigo schemed to advance the fortunes
of his illegitimate children, Cesare and Lucrezia. The
family also included a number of cardinals, a viceroy of
Sardinia, a viceroy of Portugal, a general in Flanders, and
a saint. St. Francis Borgia (1510–72), great-grandson of
Alexander VI, was third general of the Jesuits (1565–72)
and did much to redeem his family’s reputation: he
founded the university of Gandia and his generosity led to
the foundation of the GREGORIANAat Rome.
Further reading: Michael Mallett, The Borgias: The
Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Dynasty (London: Bodley
Head, 1969; new ed. Academy Chicago, 1987).
Borromeo, St. Charles See CHARLES BORROMEO, ST
Borromeo family An Italian family of Tuscan origin
which from the 12th century held land near Lake
Maggiore. In the 15th century the family amassed great
wealth from banking in Milan and acquired the title of
counts of Arona. Notable members of the family include
St. CHARLES BORROMEO, a leading COUNTER-REFORMATION
figure, and Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1564–1631),
archbishop of Milan from 1595 and founder of the
Bibliotheca AMBROSIANA, for which he collected 9000
manuscripts. The family built beautiful gardens on the
Borromean islands in Lake Maggiore.Bos, Cornelis (c. 1506–1556) Netherlands engraver
Bos was born at ’s-Hertogenbosch, but many other details
of his biography are uncertain. As a young man he seems
to have studied in Rome under RAIMONDI. By 1540 he was
in Antwerp, but was forced to leave for religious reasons
in 1544. He died in Groningen. Bos was particularly influ-
ential in his engravings after Italian or Flemish-influenced
Italian paintings of his day, but he was also significant in
his own original designs. His brother Balthasar Bos
(1518–80) was also a Raimondi-trained engraver.Boscán de Almogáver, Juan (Juan Boscà Almugáver)
(c. 1492–1542) Spanish poet
Born at Barcelona into an aristocratic Catalan family, but
brought up in Castile, Boscán was tutor to the future duke
of ALBAand an attendant at the court of Charles V. There
he met and became a friend of his younger fellow-poet,
GARCILASO DE LA VEGA. In Granada in 1526 Boscán met the
Venetian ambassador, Andrea NAVAGIERO, who suggested
that Boscán try his hand at writing sonnets and other
types of verse practiced by Italian poets. Boscán, who was
already acquainted with the hendecasyllabic line of
Provençal and Catalan lyric poetry, rapidly mastered the
Italian forms and introduced into Spanish the 11-syllable
meters that effected a transformation of Spanish poetry.
He wrote OTTAVA RIMAin imitation of Ariosto, sonnets, ter-
cets (TERZA RIMA), and blank verse (verso suelto). Al-
though the quality of his poetry cannot match that of
Garcilaso, who also started to write in the Italian mode,
the impact of his metrical innovations was enormous.
Published posthumously by Boscán’s widow, Las obras
de Boscán y algunas de Garcilaso de la Vega repartidas en
quatro libros (The Works...in Four Books; Barcelona, 1543)
is customarily taken as initiating the Golden Age (SIGLO
DE ORO) of Spanish literature. At Garcilaso’s urging,
Boscán also translated Castiglione’s THE COURTIER (El
Cortesano; 1534).Bosch, Hieronymus (c. 1453–1516) Netherlands painter
Bosch’s grandfather and father were both painters and he
probably trained in the family workshop. In 1486/87 he
joined the Brotherhood of Our Lady at the church of St.
Jan in his native town of ’sHertogenbosch; to this he ap-
parently belonged for the remainder of his life. He exe-
cuted works for Philip the Handsome and MARGARET OF
AUSTRIA, and after his death his paintings were avidly col-
lected by PHILIP II; thus, the better part of his oeuvre is
now in Spain. None of Bosch’s paintings is precisely dated
and, as his style changed relatively little, the course of his
development remains elusive.
Bosch’s pictures are primarily important for their sub-
ject matter. The Seven Deadly Sins (Madrid), originally aBBoosscchh,, HHiieerroonnyymmoouuss 6633