Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle

Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1517-1586), Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, was a Burgundian statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish Habsburgs, and was one of the most influential European politicians during the time which immediately followed the appearance of Protestantism in Europe. He was also a notable art collector, the greatest private collector of his time, the friend and patron of Titian and Leoni and many other artists.

Granvelle, educated at Padua and at Louvain, was ordained priest and, in 1540, consecrated bishop of Arras. Pope Pius IV made him archbishop of Malines (1560) and cardinal (1561). In 1560 Philip II appointed Granvelle chief counselor to Margaret of Austria, regent in the Netherlands. His monarchism led him to clash with the Dutch leaders, Prince William the Silent and the counts of Egmont and Hoorn, all of whom opposed Philip’s policy of converting the Netherlands into a Spanish dependency, and the Dutch leaders eventually effected Philip’s removal of Granvelle (1564). Later Philip concluded that the Netherlands revolution never would have developed had he supported Granvelle.

From 1565 to 1579 Granvelle served in Italy as viceroy of Naples (1571-75) and as president of the Council for Italy (1575-79). In 1579 Philip appointed him secretary of state (Spain), in which capacity he campaigned against William and the Dutch Protestants and negotiated the union of the Portuguese and Spanish crowns.