José María Alvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga, 15th Duke of Medina-Sidonia

Infobox Person
name= José María Alvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga


caption= Don José Àlvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga" by Francisco de Goya, 1795
title= 15th Duke of Medina-Sidonia and 11th Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo
Occuptaion= Chamberlain to King Charles IV and Inquisitor General of Seville
spouse= María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva Alvarez de Toledo
children= María de la Luz (Adopted)
royal house= House of Alba
birth_date= birth date|1756|7|16|mf=y
birth_place= Madrid, Spain
death_date= death date and age|1796|6|9|1756|7|16|mf=y
death_place= Seville, Andalusia, Spain

Don José María Alvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga, 15th Duke of Medina-Sidonia and 11th Marquis of Villafranca (16 July 1756 – 9 June 1796) was a patron of the artist Francisco Goya. (Spanish: "Don José Álvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga, décimotercer duque de Alba, undécimo marqués de Villafranca")

Life

In 1756, Alvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga was born on 16 July in Madrid.

He became chamberlain, at thirteen, to King Charles IV of Spain. He, originally Marquess of Villafranca, married his kinswoman Doña María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba, who was the legendary "Duchess of Alba" in Goya's paintings, thus becoming "de jure uxoris" Duke of Alba. Their marriage made them the wealthiest couple in the kigndom; they competed against the Osuna family. A year after his marriage, he inherited the dukedom of Medina-Sidonia and joined two of the most important Houses of the Spanish nobility.

The failed attempt of his friend Alejandro Malaspina to oust Queen María Luisa 's favourite Manuel de Godoy in favour of the Duke of Alba put an early end to the political career of the progressive aristocrat.

In 1796, Álvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga died on June 9 in Seville.

In a famous portrait by Goya, the duke is clad in elegant riding clothes. With an air of melancholy he looks up from the music book he is holding in his hands, including the "Four songs/with piano accompaniment/by Mr. Haydn". The duke commissioned several works from Joseph Haydn and was a gifted musician himself. In his painting, Goya subtly combines the symbols of his model's passion for music and equestrian skills (viola or violin, riding boots and riding hat) with the neoclassical interior of the ducal residence.