(b Mantua, c. 1515; d Vienna, ?Nov 1588). Architect, antiquary, draughtsman, goldsmith and collector. His significance as an artistic personality lies almost exclusively in the field of architecture: his name can be definitely linked with several influential projects north of the Alps: the Munich Antiquarium, and the Neugebäude and his own house in Vienna. In these he was strongly influenced by his early training under Giulio Romano and, in general, by central Italian architecture of the first half of the 16th century. In his ornamental designs, such as the elaborate and elegant title-pages of his manuscripts, he developed a courtly style that appears to owe more to Primaticcio than to the more classicist manner of Giulio. Yet, though Strada was certainly a competent draughtsman and an architect of some standing, he is of interest chiefly as an agent in the transmission of the values and formal language of the Italian Renaissance to regions north of the Alps, both through his commissions and through the influence of his collection or Musaeum, which was accessible to both artists and patrons. In particular, his collection of Italian drawings was potentially influential for the development of the arts, as Strada recognized; not only did he use this material to prepare ‘libri di disegni’ for his patrons, but he also attempted, largely in vain, to propagate it by means of the printing press.

Part of the Strada family

• Strada, Jacopo
  • Antiquaries and antiquarian societies, §1: 16th century and before
  • Strada
  • Vienna, §III, 2: Art life and organization, c 1500–c 1800
  • assistants
    • Strada: (2) Ottavio Strada
  • attributions
    • Vienna, §V, 5(i): Hofburg: Architecture
  • dealing
    • Fugger: (3) Hans Fugger
    • Kunstkammer, §2: Earlier history
    • Rozmberk
  • patrons and collectors
    • Bucovice
    • Habsburg, §I: (6) Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
    • Habsburg, §I: (8) Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
    • Habsburg, §I: (10) Rudolf II, §1: Artistic influences
    • Habsburg, §I: (10) Rudolf II, §2: Patronage
  • works
    • Andreasi, Ippolito
    • Austria, §II, 2(i): Secular Renaissance architecture, c 1500–c 1600
    • Cungi, Leonardo
    • Dosio, Giovanni Antonio
    • Egckl, Wilhelm
    • Ferabosco, Pietro
    • Munich, §IV, 2: Residenz
    • Strada: (1) Jacopo Strada, §3: Work for Albert V and other patrons
    • Wittelsbach, §I: (3) Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
  • writings
    • Serlio, Sebastiano, §1(ii): Writings