The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c29: Chapter XXIII. Venkata II and the Art of Painting
The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c29
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Chapter XXIII. Venkata II and the Art of Painting
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SUMMARY.—1. Indian painters at Venkata’s court.—2. Venkata’s interest in the art of painting shown in his first audience to the Jesuits.—3. Bro. Alexander Frey, painter to the Emperor.—4. Bro. Bartolomeo Fontebona called for the mission of Vijayanagara.—5. His introduction to Venkata. His paintings.—6. Venkata’s kindness to Fontebona.—7. The Provincial of Malabar wishes to promote Fontebona to the Priesthood.—8. Fontebona’s removal from the Court. His death in Bengal.
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CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.—1. Jesuit letters.—2. Du Jarric.
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VENKATA II’S predilection for the art of painting deserves a special chapter on his relations with the painters at his court.
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Unfortunately we know nothing about the Indian painters employed in his capital; their very existence is only known to us through a European source. Fr. du Jarric states that there were several native painters at Chandragiri; but these artists could not have approached the standard of the European paintings presented to the King by the Jesuits ¹.
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¹ Du Jarric, I, p. 669.
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About the two European painters who resided for some years at Chandragiri and at Vellore, our store of information is considerable. Hence we are able to trace the course of Venkata’s relations with them. Incidentally the subject will serve to give to our readers a hitherto unknown aspect of the character of that monarch.
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2. In the course of the first audience given by Venkata to Frs. de Sa and Ricio, the sovereign asked them about the King of Portugal. They happened to have with them several small portraits of Dom Sebastiao and his predecessors and showed them to the King. Venkata was amazed at seeing them. He scrutinised them carefully and passed them on for examination to the attendant nobles. They too were astonished at the perfection of these European paintings. Then Venkata inquired of his visitors whether there was at St. Thome a good painter. The Fathers replied that there was indeed one; and as a proof of their statement, offered to the sovereign another painting recently done at St. Thome. It represented the Gospel parable of the rich Epulon and the beggar Lazarus. Venkata asked for the explanation of this subject, which was courteously given in Telugu by Fr. Ricio. His explanation, according to du Jarric, resolved itself into a sermon on hell; Ricio was prepared with the subject-matter before leaving St. Thome; but now he was so carried away with his declamation that his pronunciation was often faulty, and occasionally made the nobles laugh ¹.
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¹ Ibid., p. 665.
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At the farewell audience some days later, Venkata questioned the Fathers once more about the painter they had at St. Thome ². From these facts de Sa and Ricio reasonably inferred that it would be of great importance for the future mission to have such a painter in the residence which was to be established at Chandragiri, and the idea was most likely communicated to Fr. Pimenta.
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² Ibid., p. 670.
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3. This painter was the Jesuit Lay Brother Alexander Frey. We know nothing more about him except that he was an Englishman, as the letters of those days often record ³.
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³ From Fr. Ricio to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Chandragiri, October 20th, 1601, Ap. C, No. I.
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In spite of the King's wishes, Bro. Alexander, as he is commonly called, was not among the Jesuits who reached Chandragiri in 1599. But in the following year we find him installed at Venkata's court. A Jesuit letter of 1600 gives some interesting information about his work at the imperial palace. It runs as follows: "Bro. Alexander showed to the King one of his paintings that represents the three Magi adoring our Saviour recently born and put in the manger. He offered besides to the sovereign another painting, showing the Blessed Virgin with Her Child in her arms. The King bowed before it and placed it in one of the rooms of his palace. The Brother is now painting another one of Christ's descent into hell. He (the King) is eagerly waiting for it, because out of many pictures previously shown he selected this and the preceding one to be reproduced. He talks quite unreservedly with the Brother. It happened once that the King was looking on while the Brother was painting; the latter happened to say that some of the colours required for his work were some times lacking; then the sovereign returned to his apartment, and came out bringing in his own hands a hundred gold pieces, which he gave to the Brother, in order to get all the necessary things ” ¹.
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¹ From Fr. B. Coutinho to Fr. N. Pimenta, Chandragiri, July 17th, 1600, Ap. C, No. V.
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Fr. Ricio informs us that at the end of 1601, Bro. Alexander was still working at Chandragiri, and was a great favourite with the King. In the same letter, he asks the General of the Society permission to give a beautiful painting to Venkata on the General’s behalf ².
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² From Fr. F. Ricio to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Chandragiri, October 20th, 1611, Ap. C, No. I.
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No further mention of Bro. Alexander Frey is discoverable in the Jesuit letters from Chandragiri. He probably left the court in 1602. We cannot assign any reason for his departure, though some years later we find his name among the missionaries of Malabar.
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4. No doubt Frey’s departure from Chandragiri was a blow to the recently founded mission. This enterprise required the support of the powerful sovereign; and the presence of a painter among the missionaries was conducive to this support. Hence the Provincial Fr. Laerzio, who, probably before leaving Italy, had made the acquaintance of an Italian Lay Brother, also a good painter, wrote to Fr. General in 1603, requesting a man of his type for the mission of Vijayanagara ³; and repeated his petition in the following year ⁴.
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³ From Fr. A. Laerzio to Fr. J. Alvarez, Cochin, January 18th, 1604, Ap. C, No. X.
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⁴ Ibid.
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This Lay Brother’s name was Bartolomeo Fontebona or Fontebuone. Owing to his artistic talent he became one of the most intimate friends of Venkata. It would seem that Fr.
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General sent him to India immediately upon the first petition of Laerzio; for Laerzio himself, in January of the year 1605, wrote to Aquaviva that Fontebona had already been in Goa for two years¹; but that the Provincial of Goa, Fr. Manoel de Veiga, had retained him in that city, in order to paint the new church of the Professed House². Five years later, in 1607, Fontebona wrote from Vellore: "I have been told that a Flemish Lay Brother, himself a very good painter, was coming (to India); I was very glad, indeed, for he will be able to finish the painting of the new church of the Professed House, started by me"³.
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¹ From Fr. A. Laerzio to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Cochin, January 12th, 1605, Ap. C, No. XI.
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² This was the house and the church of the Bom Jesus, which had been started in 1589. Cf. Fonseca, *Sketch of the City of Goa*, p.279-80.
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³ From Bro. B. Fontebona to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Vellore, November 7th, 1607, Ap. C, No. XVI; From the same to Fr. J. Alvarez, Vellore, November 11th, 1607, Ibid., No. XIX.
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The Provincial of Malabar wrote again to the General in 1605, pressing for the services of Fontebona in the Vijayanagara mission: "We are very much in need of Bro. Bartolomeo, the painter, for this Christendom", he said; "but Fr. Provincial (of Goa) will not allow him to leave Goa, if Your Paternity do not order him to do so. When in Rome I asked Your Paternity for this Brother for this Christendom; he has already been at Goa for two years; I should think that they must be quite satisfied"⁴.
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⁴ From Fr. A. Laerzio to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Cochin, January 12th, 1605, Ap. C, No. XI.
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Most likely the General sent his order to the Provincial of Goa, in accordance with Laerzio's wishes; because at the end of 1606, Fontebona was already at St. Thome waiting for an opportunity to go to Venkata's court. He happened to arrive there when the Jesuits had retired from the capital of the Empire, owing to the sudden storm occasioned by the fight of the inhabitants of St. Thome with the soldiers of the adigar. Hence Fr. Coutinho, in November, 1606, wrote from St. Thome that "Bro. Bartolomeo Fontebuone is here painting while waiting for a chance to proceed to the court with us; for we hope the King will renew our previous relations ; for this purpose he was sent to us by our Father (General)” 1.
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5. Finally, in January, 1607, the Fathers were allowed to return to Chandragiri, and even to establish a new residence at Vellore, the recently created capital. Fontebona was naturally sent there to be in readiness for the King’s orders 2. He was introduced to Venkata by Fr. Coutinho, who thus describes the audience held on this occasion : “I introduced the Brother (to the King), saying that he had come from far away, by order of our Fr. General, in order to paint before His Highness. He praised this highly, and asked the Brother at once whether he had at that time a good painting to show to him. The Brother had nothing else but the two portraits of our Blessed Fathers (Ignatius and Francis Xavier). The King on seeing them was astonished and could not persuade himself that the Brother had painted them. I told him I had witnessed his work. Hence he (the King) asked him (Fontebona) to paint others like them in his presence. He replied that he would, and began at once by his order to sketch them on a big panel. The King was surprised to see how quickly the Brother worked. In fact the painting was finished in an hour and a half. He retouched the face of Bl. Father Ignatius. The King on seeing that was greatly astonished ; and going back to his lodging, sent him according to his custom a rich golden cloth. He went on with his painting, while we took the opportunity to relate to him the main facts and the miracles and virtues of Bl. Father Ignatius and of Bl. Father Francis (Xavier). The King was much pleased on hearing those things. He (Fontebona) painted also his (the King’s) own portrait. He (the King) is a very grave man: on this occasion however he changed the place where he was sitting and moved to another which was selected by the Brother. He remained there until the portrait was completed. Furthermore, to please the King he painted a panel of the Bl. Virgin, Our Lady, with the child Jesus in her arms and the holy child, the Baptist, at her side, and St. Joseph in the rear, copying it from a small picture. The panel was finished to perfection; and the King ordered it to be hung in a prominent place in the room of the assembly, opposite his royal throne, where he reads with his learned Brahmans. These asked the King why that painting made by the Christians was there, and so on. The King replied:—
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¹ From Fr. B. Coutinho to Fr. C. Aquaviva, St. Thome, November 4th, 1606, Ap. C, No. XIII.
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² Litterae Annuae of the Province of Malabar, 1606-1607, Ap. C, No. XXVI.
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‘This carpet on which I am sitting, and you also, came from their country. If we are nevertheless sitting on it, why cannot that painting be there? Did not this velvet cap you have on your head come from their country too?’ Such discussions were repeated several times’¹.
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¹ From Fr. B. Coutinho to Fr. J. Alvarez, Vellore, November 11th, 1607, Ap. C, No. XVIII.
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By the same letter of Fr. Coutinho we are made aware that Fontebona showed to the King several books and albums of pictures, one of them being that of Fr. Nadal. This especially was liked very much by the King². Then Venkata told the Brother that he was greatly pleased to see him painting those small pictures. Accordingly Fontebona spent a good length of time in this work, and ‘has been praised very highly by the King’³. The Provincial Laerzio confirms this news, while stating that ‘Fontebona is loved by the King and by all’⁴. Fontebona himself at the same time reports: “I am at Vellore at present...My daily occupation consists in painting several things in the palace and in the King’s presence. His Majesty is as much pleased by watching me paint painting, as I am pleased by gratifying him”⁵.
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² Cf. Ch. XXII, No. 9.
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³ Letter mentioned in note 1.
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⁴ From Fr. A. Laerzio to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Cochin, November 20th, 1607, Ap. C, No. XX.
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⁵ From Bro. B. Fontebona to Fr. J. Alvarez, Vellore, November 11th, 1607, Ap. C, No. XIX.
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6. As a result of this continual work, Fontebona fell sick at the end of the same year, 1607. On the occasion of this sickness, Venkata’s love towards the Brother was openly shown.
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Fontebona himself gives an interesting account of his relations with the monarch at this time. His letter runs as follows: "I once heard, while sick, that the King was going to leave the palace (for a walk). I went to the palace gate in order to greet him while passing. When he went out I presented myself to him and offered him a crystal cup full of rose water. He stopped and received the cup with his own hands, saying at the same time how sorry he was to see me so lean and pale from my sickness. On the following day my sickness grew worse; it was necessary to go to St. Thome to recover. I have been there for almost two months. The King on learning that I could not get rid of my disease sent a message through the Queen, instructing me in the way I could be cured. I came back to Vellore after my recovery, and began to paint a panel of Our Lady.
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"He (the King) offered me many gifts, but since the Provincial forbade us to receive money, we declined his offerings; this made a great impression on him, so much so that he said to his courtiers that we had never asked for anything. I have also painted several small pictures, specially one of Our Saviour. I once showed to him a painting of Our Lady which I had made presentation to one of our Fathers. He was greatly surprised at the sight of it and took it to his apartments to show it to the Queen; the picture never came back to my hands. Later on we were given to understand that the King had preserved it in a box where he keeps the jewellery, very well covered; we were told moreover that he used to open this box and look at the picture every day" ¹.
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¹ From Bro. B. Fontebona to Fr. J. Alvarez, Vellore, November 11th, 1607, Ap. C, No. XIX; From the same to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Vellore, November 7th, 1607, Ibid., No. XVI.
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Fontebona continued his work in the presence of Venkata, who was every day more pleased with the skill of the Italian Jesuit. Fr. Rubino wrote of the latter in the year 1609, that 'he was still often busy painting before the King', and later on the same writer adds that Venkata 'had given the Brother two hundred gold coins (scudi) for buying colours' ².
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² From Fr. A. Rubino to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Vellore, September 30th, 1609, Ap. C, No. XXVII.
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7. So great was the help given to the mission by the humble painter, who knew how to keep alive the good-will of Venkata towards the Fathers, that the Provincial Fr. Laerzio, contrary to the custom of the Society of Jesus, thought seriously of promoting him to the sacred priesthood. This would have given Fontebona a better opportunity to work for the propagation of the faith.
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Laerzio in a letter to Fr. General dated November 20th, 1607, after paying tribute to Fontebona’s virtue, example and goodness, adds: “It seems to me that he would help us still more in that kingdom if he were a priest; he knows Latin pretty well. It is true that he never manifested to me any wish in any way, nor did other persons speak to me about this. Probably he never thought of this; it is only an idea growing upon me for some years past, that as a priest, he would be of more profit to the service of God. In case my idea is approved of by Your Paternity, kindly send me your permission. I feel sure it will be for the glory of God and for the greater profit of the souls of that kingdom” 1.
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8. Apparently the General’s permission never came. Fontebona was removed from Venkata’s court with the rest of the missionaries at the end of 1611, when the missions of Chandragiri and Vellore were definitely abandoned.
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The Superior of Malabar, Fr. Laerzio, after realizing that Bro. Fontebona’s work would not be required any more at the court of Vijayanagara, as hopes of re-establishing the mission were groundless, sent him in the company of Frs. Stefano Cacella and Joao Cabral on an expedition to Tibet, that was to start from Bengal. They left Cochin on April 30th, 1626. Having set out on their journey from Hugli, on one of the branches of the Ganges, Fontebona (who was then fifty) was sent back to Hugli from Siripur on account of the difficulties of the enterprise. He fell ill shortly after his arrival, and died there on December 26th, 1626. 2.
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¹ From Fr. A. Laerzio to Fr. C. Aquaviva, Cochin, November 20th, 1607, Ap. C, No. XX.
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² Wessels, *Early Jesuit Travellers*, p. 121-2.