Juan Francisco Alonso Pimentel y Ponce de León

Juan Francisco Alonso Pimentel (1648), painting by Diego Velasquez

Juan Francisco Alonso Pimentel y Ponce de León (* 1584 in Benavente ; † December 24, 1652 in Valladolid ) was a Spanish grandee , 7th Duke of Benevente and courtier under King Philip IV.

Life

origin

He was the eldest son of Antonio Alonso Pimentel de Quiñones († 1633) and María Ponce de León (1572-1618), daughter of Rodrigo Ponce de León, 3rd Duque de Arcos . His mother was also a niece of the grande Rodrigo Ponce de León, 4th Duque of Arcos (1602-1658), successively Viceroy of Valencia (1642-1645) and Viceroy of Naples (1646-1648). After the death of his father, he inherited in 1633 the titles of 7th Duque de Benavente, 10th Conde de Mayorga and 8th Count de Comarca de Luna. The most important title of Duke of Benavente was first bestowed on his ancestor Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel († 1499) by King Henry IV of Castile in January 1473 .

Career

Around 1640 he was appointed chamberlain to the king, his name was changed to Pimentel de Herrera, since the 5th Duque Juan Alonso died in 1621 and his eldest brother, the 4th Duque, Luis Alonso had died in 1576. Pimentel called himself "Pimentel de Herrera" to emphasize their connection with the powerful Enriquez family. In 1644 he accompanied Philip IV on a trip to Aragon . On May 15, 1648 he married Antonia de Mendoza, lady-in-waiting of Queen Mariana of Austria and daughter of Antonio de Mendoza, Count of Castrojeriz from his fourth marriage to Ana María Manrique. The wedding took place in the Alcázar of Madrid , and Philip IV attended the ceremony as a guest of honor. In the same year 1648 the monarch appointed him knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece out of gratitude for the services to the crown . An occasion for the painter Diego Velázquez to immortalize him in a portrait.

Due to his courtly duties, which forced him to often live at court in Madrid, Juan Alfonso Pimentel moved the library and art collections of the family of the Dukes of Benavente to Valladolid from 1633. The previous Conde de Benavente, although not a scholar, had given in to the urge of several acquaintances to set up a library. In the two newly occupied palaces of the Conde de Benavente, where original paintings and copies by Rubens, Velázquez and Ribera were already on display, his inherited collection was added, many of which also attracted the attention of the king. Works by Lope de Vega , Cervantes and Góngora were also kept in the library set up in the Valisoletano Palace . Juan Alfonso died on December 24, 1652 in Valladolid and was buried in the family vault in the monastery of San Francisco de Benavente.

family

• In 1614 he got his 1st marriage with his cousin Mencia de Zúñiga y Requesens, daughter of Luis Fajardo y Requesens, 4th Marqués de los Vélez . With regard to his offspring, he had six children from his first marriage. The oldest male heir of five surviving children was Antonio Alonso Pimentel de Herrera y Zúñiga, 8th Duque de Benavente, who married in 1637 and died in 1677.
• The second marriage went to Pimentel in 1648 with Antonia de Mendoza y Orense, she was a daughter of Antonio Gómez Manrique de Mendoza, 5th Conde de Castrojeriz .

Web links

• Mercedes Simal López: Biography on Diccionario Biográfico Español (Spanish)