Cardinal Wilhelm van Enckenvoirt as Patron of the Arts in Rome

Cardinal Enckevoirt proved himself a true Roman: he became very wealthy thanks to the lucrative benefices bestowed upon him by Pope Adrian and others and he spent his riches on art. The resulting maecenatism was unrivalled by his Dutch peers, nor was it limited to Rome. The Pope’s funeral monument is only one out of his many donations made to the church of Santa Maria dell’Anima and its brotherhood. Van Enkenvoirt’s efforts were crucial to insuring Adrian’s memory. By paying a thousand ducats for a sumptuous monument, he made sure that the Pope’s mortal remains were moved to the Anima. Even as the monument was being built, the cardinal was already planning his own tomb as a pendant on the opposite wall. In fact, he was the moving spirit behind the construction of a whole new building on its premises, which was meant to include his cardinal’s palace.