Another Influential Renaissance Woman, Alexandra Strozzi

This building, the Strozzi Palace in Florence, is getting ready to open in September a special exhibition to feature the works of Ai Wei-Wei, the Chinese activist/artist.  From "The Florentine," the English language newspaper we have this announcement:

"Flagship installation Reframe will consist of 22 large rubber inflatable lifeboats attached to the windows of Palazzo Strozzi's facade.  This powerful comment on the desperate plight of refugees who risk their lives to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean is representative of the overall theme of the exhibition:  the artist hopes to raise awareness about our contemporary international humanitarian crisis."

This magnificent palazzo might never have come about had it not been for the tireless activities of Alexandra Strozzi, the mother of the actual builder, Filippo Strozzi.  Alexandra married Matteo Strozzi in 1422.  They had eight children together, of whom five survived into adulthood.  Matteo was exiled from Florence in 1434 when the Medici came back to consolidate their power and Matteo died a year later in Pesaro, likely of the plague.

Alexandra then returned to Florence and began a lengthy career of her own, that of managing the family's property interests.  She oversaw the work of the tenant farmers, collected rents, and paid the taxes.  She had no male relatives of her own; her father-in-law was already gone and Matteo's other male relatives had voluntarily chosen exile in 1434.

Eventually Alexandra's sons had to be sent away also; because their father had been a legal exile, their prospects were not considered very good.  The sons, especially Filippo, learned the banking and cloth merchant business with their first cousins in Naples, eventually amassing an even greater fortune than they.

The sentence of exile was finally lifted from Filippo (and his brother Lorenzo) in 1466, and he returned to Florence, where he began to acquire the many properties needed to assemble the site for his greatest undertaking, the Palazzo Strozzi.

We know of this remarkable story because Alexandra wrote letters to her sons while they were in exile.   She was an acute observer of the political and social life in Florence in the mid 15th Century, and she was determined to preserve their property and prestige despite their adverse circumstances.

"Selected Letters of Alexandra Strozzi," bilingual edition, was translated by Heather Gregory, who has helpfully provided us with and introduction and notes.  It's available through the University of California Press.

Isabella d' Este, Another Influential Renaissance Woman

After seeing Titian's portrait of her (above), Isabella famously said it was "so pleasing that I doubt that at the age I am represented I could have possessed all the beauty it contains."  In reality, she was in her sixties at the time, and had given Titian instruction to portray herself as a much younger woman.  This portrait now hangs in a museum in Vienna.

Isabella, born in 1474, was the daughter of Eleanora of Aragon d'Este, Duchess of Ferrara (see post of 12/26/15) and Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. Her parents educated their daughters and sons equally (very unusual at the time).  Isabella and her sister Beatrice both studied Latin and Greek, Roman history, music and dancing.  

When Isabella was six, she was betrothed to the future fourth Marquis of Mantua, Francisco Gonzaga, and married him in 1490.   Her younger sister, Beatrice, married the Duke of Milan, and the sisters visited each other often.  Isabella is best remembered for her role as patron of Renaissance learning, arts and literature.  Over two thousand of her letters have survived, and are a valuable resource for art historians.

When I visited Mantua last year, I was somewhat surprised to see how little acknowledgement she is given in her own home town.
At the Palazzo Ducale, we visited the Camera degli Sposi, where the frescoes--done by Mantegna and his shop--were in quite good condition, obviously restored.   The frescoes were done between 1465 and 1474, and I had to content myself with just imagining Isabella being in those rooms.  

The palazzo is huge--over 500 rooms--but only the few rooms around the Camera deli Sposi were open to visitors.  In my opinion, it's quite a shame that this national treasure is such a neglected resource.

    

Meanwhile, and elsewhere in Italy, there were other interesting and influential Renaissance Women . . .

 . . . including Eleanora of Aragon d'Este, Duchess of Ferrara.  Daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabella of Clermont, Eleanora (1450-1493) was married first into the Sforza family and then, at age 23,  to Ercole I d'Este, duke of Ferrara.  She was known for her bravery and leadership skills, and in 1485 when Ercole's nephew Niccolo` attempted a coup d'etat, she escaped the besieged palace with her children Isabella, Beatrice, and Alfonso, who was only a few weeks old.

     Eleanora was also known for commissioning a number of artworks and building projects (see post of Jan 22, 2013), and as we shall see, for inspiring her daughters to become powerful women in their own rights.

     Recently I visited the Castello Estense in Ferrara, where I was gratified to see Eleanora remembered for the contributions she made to the Court.  She used her considerable dowry monies to refurbish not only her own apartments, connecting staircases and terraces, but also a hanging garden.  Through the years it was enlarged and eventually became the Garden of the Oranges, a tribute to her Neapolitan roots. (source, a placard in the Castello Estense)

And then Lorenzo died . . .

. . . at his villa at Careggi on April 9, 1492.  He was 43 years old, and had been suffering from the same disease that had affected many other members of the family, gout.  He had taken the last sacrament already, but according to some accounts, called for Fr. Savanarola, who had repeatedly preached against the power and might of the Medici, to hear his confession.

     Of course, we will never know if Lorenzo actually confessed to the sin of misappropriating state and trust funds, specifically the Monte di Doti, but the evidence seems to indicate that near the end of his life, Lorenzo did line his own pockets through a scheme of reducing the interest paid (see Alfred von Raumont's account in Lorenzo De' Medici:  the Magnificent, Volume 2).

     Lorenzo's "dark side" is symbolized for me by the above image, the reverse of the Desco da Porto (birth tray, see blog entry of 2/14/12), which was once resplendent in silver decoration that has now oxidized, and which is embellished with Piero de' Medici's emblem, a diamond ring, three feathers, and a banderole inscribed with the motto "Semper" or "Always."  The birth tray was hanging on the wall of Lorenzo's bedroom at Careggi, and was included in the inventory done at his death.  These inventories, while done at the time for tax purposes, have served history well in that we have  documentation from the time and place.

Another Orsini Marries into the Medici Family, 1488

Lorenzo di Medici and Clarice Orsini had ten children, including their oldest son, Piero de Lorenzo de Medici, called "the Unfortunate," because of the events he allowed to unfold after his father's death.

But that is skipping ahead of the date, 1488, when Piero married Alfonsina Orsini, who was 16 at the time, and the daughter of Roberto Orsini, Conte Tagliacozzo, and Catherine San Severino.   While Piero may be called "the Unfortunate," it was a fortunate  marriage for the Medici family (and the city of Florence) because decades later  Alfonsina would serve as Regent.

The portrait above, by Botticelli, is currently in the inventory of the Palazzo Pitti.  To my knowledge it has not been on display in recent years.  But just as there is renewed interest in Anna Luisa de Medici (and that's skipping centuries ahead) currently, perhaps there will come a time when some curator decides to do an exhibition on the Medici wives.

Lorenzo's Last Mistress

Francesco Guicciardini said that when he was forty Lorenzo who 'was licentious and very amorous,' fell desperately in love with Bartolommea dei Nasi, the wife of Donato Benci, and spent night after night with her at her country villa, returning to Florence just before dawn.  "Although she was not shapely, she was courteous and well-mannered."

Guicciardini further comments, "It is absurd to consider so important a man, with his reputation and judiciousness should, at the age of forty, be so taken with a woman who was not beautiful and already advanced in years."  Bartolommea was thirty at the time.

While the above portrait is not Bartolommea (it's Portrait of a Woman Inspired by Lucretia, by Lorenzo Lotto, c. 1553), I'd like to think that she might have looked something like this, beautiful in spite of her size and years.  

"Guicciardini gave credence to the report that the fatal illness of Lorenzo was brought on by the exposure to which Lorenzo subjected himself in following up his love intrigue with Bartolommea de' Nasi, the wife of Donato Benci, a lady who was neither young nor beautiful but of much distinction in manner and intelligence.  In order to save the reputation of the lady, who lived near her villa in the country during the winter months, Lorenzo, then a widower, visited her regularly after nightfall and returned to Florence in the morning.  He was accompanied on these occasions by a portion of that body-guard, with some of whom he was always surrounded after the conspiracy of the Pazzi.  Two of them having complained of their hard service, the lady contrived o get them sent away in disgrace on distant embassies.  'A mad thing'..., says Guicciardini, 'was it, if we consider that a man of such greatness, reputation, and prudence---of forty years of age---should e so captivated by a lady, not beautiful and full of years, as to be brought to do things which would have misbecome any boy.'"  (Smith, 1876, p. 134)

And then Clarice died . . .

. . . of tuberculosis, at the age of only 34, on July 30, 1488.  Her grieving husband Lorenzo wrote the following to Pope Innocent VIII:

Sanctissime ac Beatissime Pater post Pedum oscula Beatorum Vestrorum

Too often am I obliged to trouble and worry Your Beatitude with accidents sent by fortune and divine interposition, which as they are not to be resisted must be borne with patience.  But the death of Clarice, which has just occurred, my most dear and beloved wife, has been and is so prejudicial, so great a loss, and such a grief to me for many reasons, that it has exhausted my patience and my power of enduring anguish, and the persecution of fortune, which I did not think would have made me suffer thus.  The deprivation of such habitual and such sweet company has filled my cup and has made me so miserable that I can find no peace.  Nought is left but to pray God that He may give me peace, and I have faith that in His infinite love He will alleviate my sorrow and not overwhelm me with so many disasters as I have endured during these last year.  I humbly beg your Beatitude with all my heart to pray for me as I know how efficacious are such prayers.  I commend myself and place myself at Your Holy Feet.----Filetta, July 31, 1488.  Your devoted servant, Laurentius de Medicis.

I've posted a view of the interior of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici family church.  There's no mention that I can find of whether or not Clarice is buried in either the Old Sacristry or the New Sacristry, but I would like to think that at least there was a service for her in this beautiful church, designed by Brunelleschi.

Maddelena, Lorenzo's favorite daughter

"Historians believe Maddalena de’ Medici, born in Florence on 25 July 1473, was Lorenzo il Magnifico’s favourite daughter. Her marriage to Franceschetto Cybo, the son of Pope Innocent VIII, was a vitally important development for this noble Florentine house. Lorenzo’s prestige grew and, furthermore, he was able to better cultivate his relations with the Pope. This marriage also paved the way for his second son, Giovanni, who was to assume the papal office as Leo X. Maddalena received this work, a small exquisitely adorned and bound book of prayers − now a part of the Rothschild   collection at Waddesdon Manor in England − as a wedding gift. (see post of Aug 24, 2013)  Of the codices commissioned for his daughters, this work was the finest and most richly adorned. The original binding went missing hundreds of years ago. Franco Cosimo Panini Editore therefore conducted in-depth historical and philological research to do the impossible: painstakingly reconstruct the binding as it was, down to the very last detail! An extraordinary tribute to Maddalena de’ Medici has thus been revived." (from http://www.oremedici.it/en/the-manuscript/

Lorenzo had these Books of Hours made . . .

. . . for his three daughters as wedding gifts.  'The first of these works - commissioned about 1485, and now to be found in Monaco - he gave to Lucrezia, who married Jacopo Salviati.  The second, now at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana library, was for Luisa, the betrothed of Giovanni di Pierfanncesco de' Medici (she died before the day of the wedding).  The third was a wedding gift for Maddalena, the bride of Count Franceschetto Cybo, the illegitimate son of Pope Innocent VIII.  These three Offizioli (or breviaries) are a touching tribute from a loving father - one of the most powerful men of the period of the Renaissance - to his three very young daughters."(from  http://www.oremedici.it/en/the-manuscript).

This Handsome Young Man . . .

 . . . is Giuliano de Medici, brother to Lorenzo.  This portrait, by Botticelli, hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and was most likely done posthumously, as Giuliano was murdered in the Duomo in Florence, on Sunday, April 26, 1478 in the Pazzi Conspiracy (more later on that).

     At the time of his death, Giuliano was no longer enamored of Simonetta Vespucci, as she herself had died exactly two years earlier, on April 26, 1476.  Giuliano had taken as his lover Fioretta Gorini, the daughter of a tradesman.  Fortunately for the Medici family, Giuliano had taken some of his friends into his confidence, and after his death, it was revealed to Lorenzo that Giuliano had had a love affair which was to result in the birth of a boy on May 26, 1478.   Lorenzo reportedly sought out Fioretta, and "without much difficulty, persuaded her to let him have the rearing of the child."  (per David Loth, in Lorenzo the Magnificent)

     The child was named Giulio, and was raised along side the other children of Lorenzo and Clarice.  Giulio was later to become Pope Clement VII.
   

Is this Simonetta Vespucci?

This detail is one of the "three graces" in Botticelli's "Primavera," which hangs in the Uffizi in Florence.  But who is she?  And is she the same model, or inspiration, for the central figure in Botticelli's "Birth of Venus,"  which also hangs in the Uffizi?

For centuries, people have speculated on this matter.  A pretty story is that she is Simonetta Cattaneo de Candia Vespucci (1453-1476), a young noblewoman, perhaps from Liguria, who married a distant cousin of Amerigo Vespucci when she was 15 or 16.  She met Marco, her husband-to-be, in Genoa, but they were married at the Medici Palazzo in Florence because of Marco's connections to the Medici family.

Soon all of Florence was in love with Simonetta.  She was feted at a Joust held in Piazza Santa Croce in 1475, where Lorenzo's brother, Giuliano, carried a banner painted by Botticelli on which was created a likeness of her.

Unfortunately, she died the very next year.  Her image continued to be recreated by Botticelli for many years to come.  And he asked to be buried at her feet in the Church of Ognissanti when he died some 34 years later.

More on the Medici Villas

Here, in a drawing by an unknown artist, is the Medici Villa in Fiesole, the hilltown above Firenze.  This hilltop dwelling, commissioned by Giovanni, Cosimo il Vecchio's second son, with its view over the city, is the very first example of a Renaissance villa: that is to say it follows the Albertian criteria for rendering a country dwelling a "villa suburbana".  Once believed to have been designed by the architect Michelozzo, current attribution is given to Alberti.

Unlike the other Medici in the countryside, which are the centers of agricultural operations, this villa has around it only a very beautiful garden.  Visitors to the garden are allowed, in groups, with advance reservations by fax:  (+39) 055 2398994.   

This villa, and 13 other Medici villas, has been nominated for inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  More information, and a way to sign the petition is here:

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/intoscana2/export/TurismoRTen/sito-TurismoRTen/Contenuti/Elementi-interesse/Siti-storici/visualizza_asset.html_334468815.html

Clarice, lonely for Lorenzo, writes . . .

From Clarice de' Medici to her husband Lorenzo at Florence (from Lives of the early Medici as told in their letters):

"By the bearer we send you seventeen partridges which your falconers took to-day.  I should have been glad had you come to enjoy them with us;  we have expected you until the third hour (an hour before sunset) for the last three evenings.  I was astonished you did not come and fear something extra-orrdinary must have happened to keep you.  I beg that if it is so you will let me know, for surely it is in any case better  we should be together than one in France and the other in Lombardy.  I expect you at all events to-morrow and pray if it is possible that we should not await you in vain.  The children are well and so are all of the rest of the family.  I commend myself to you, and beg you to come and to bring Madonna Lucrezia."  Cafaggiuolo, August 20, 1476

Married Life for Clarice and Lorenzo

From "Lives of the early Medici, as told in their correspondence:"

On March 15, 1472 Lorenzo di Piero di Medici began his memoirs, in which he wrote:

"I, Lorenzo, took to  wife, Clarice, daughter of Lord Jacopo Orsini, or rather she was give (i.e. betrothed) to me in December 1468, and the marriage was celebrated in our house on June 4, 1469.  Till now I have by her two children, a girl called Lucrezia, of  . . . years, and a boy names Piero, of . . . months.  Clarice is again with child.  God preserve her to us for many years and guard us from all evil.  Twin boys were born prematurely at five or six months, they lived long enough to be baptized."

Clarice spent the majority of her married life at the Villa Careggio, pictured above, a building still in use today.

What Clarice Wore at her Wedding . . .

Of course, the young woman in the portrait is not Clarice, but it is likely the fabric shown on the sleeve of Pollaiolo's "Portrait of a Lady" (c. 1475, currently in the Uffizi) was similar to the fabric used for Clarice's gown.

From a letter written by Piero di Marco Parenti  to (most likely) Filippo di Mateo Strozzi , published in Lives of the early Medici as told in their correspondence:

“On Tuesday the bride left (a tournament was held first), and returned to the house of the Alessandri in the same dress in which she came to be married.  This was a robe of white and gold brocade and a magnificent hood on her head, as is used here.  She rode the same horse and was accompanied b the same youths, whose rich dresses of silver brocade embroidered with large pearls and jewels baffle description.  From what they tell of courts of great princes nothing was ever seen like it save certain jewels of great value worn by some great Lords.  Of the women I say nothing!  Such jackets and robes of silk, all of them embroidered with pearls."

But there was another woman . . .

Like every year at carneval time, in 1469 the Guelph Party organized the traditional joust in Piazza Santa Croce, appropriately decorated and enclosed. The participants in the event were young nobles from the leading Florentine families, as well as famous condottieri and foreign knights.  The joust of 7 February 1469 is documented by contemporary sources that describe it in detail, in particular, La giostra by Luigi Pulci and the anonymous Ricordo, transcribed by Pietro Fanfani.

In the “mostra” or parade that preceded the equestrian contest, the mounted participants with their respective corteges made up of damsels, grooms and trumpeters, flaunted apparel, harness, standards, arms and other objects of the most superb quality and precious workmanship.

The star of the joust was the young Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici who dedicated his victory to Lucrezia Donati, to whom the female figure portrayed on his standard may allude.  (from the archives at the Medici-Riccardi Palazzo).


Quite the bachelor party!  And just to put that dowry in perspective, the accoutrements of Lorenzo and his ‘brigade’ or retinue, were valued at 10,000 florins!

And this dedication to Lucrezia Donati is not the last we hear of her . . .

The Dowry of Clarice Orsini . . .

. . . was 6000 florins.  When we ask how much money that is in today's world, we could either calculate using the value of gold (one florin had 54 grains of nominally pure ('fine') gold (3.5g, 0.1125 troy ounce-- check my math, but I think one florin is around $200 US), perhaps $1,200,000.  Not a paltry sum, but let's consider what florins would buy at the time Clarice married Lorenzo:

Using an income calculation and consulting Frick in her book (now available on Kindle), Dressing Renaissance Florence, a family of four could live at a basic level on 56 to 70 florins a year, and Brunelleschi as foreman for the Duomo, made 100 florins a year. A famous university professor and a successful lawyer each made 200-500 florins a year.  So let us add three 000's to that 6000 florins, and now we see that the Orsini contribution was perhaps closer to six million dollars.

Going forward, we'll be looking at what six million dollars would buy in Renaissance Florence.  A 15 acre vineyard was valued at 120 florins; a middle class artisan could rent housing in the Olt'arno for 10 florins a year.  A wedding feast cost 67 lire (about 10 florins), and included 52 brace of capons, 530 loaves of white bread, 140 eggs and half a barrel of red wine. 

Of course, barter and trade, as well as an extensive system of credit and lending, favors and obligations,  further complicate the issue of comparing the lives of Renaissance women to that of our own.

The Wedding of Clarice and Lorenzo

 
"The wedding was celebrated in the Church of San Lorenzo. The bride brought with her a small Book of Hours with gold writing on ultramarine pages and bound in crystal and silver, given to her by Gentile Becchi.
No expense was spared in the celebrations. For the five banquets that continued over three days, 150 calves and 4,000 capons had been procured, and many kegs of wine from Italy and abroad. Over the festivities 17 tons of sweetmeats and sugared almonds were consumed. The magnificent tables were set up in the garden and courtyard of the palazzo. The banquets were attended, among others, by fifty young ladies seated at the table of Clarice, set beneath the loggia in the garden; the older ladies instead sat with Lucrezia in the upper balcony. The young ladies and gentlemen enlivened the feasts with dancing. Copper goblets holding wines of various kinds were placed in the garden around the pedestal of Donatello’s David, set in the centre." (from the web-site for the Medici Palace:  http://www.palazzo-medici.it).

While the above portrait is widely held to be that of Clarice, from the looks of it, it seems to be a plate done in the 19th century.  I have not been able to find the source.  The collar looks more finely constructed than was common in the Quattrocento.

A Wife for Lorenzo . . .

Clarice Orsini, on the left, with possibly Lorenzo himself (look at that nose!) dressed as a woman,* in the fresco cycle "John the Baptist," at Santa Maria Novella. In an effort to strengthen Medici ties to the Papal States, Lucrezia, Lorenzo's mother went to Rome to find a wife for her son.  In a letter to her husband, Piero, Lucrezia wrote:

"As I said she is of good height and has a nice complexion, her manners are gentle, though not so winning as those of our girls, but she is very modest and would soon learn our customs.  She has not fair hair, because here there are no fair women; her hair is reddish and abundant, her face rather round, but it does not displease me.  Her throat is fairly elegant, but it seems a little meager, or to speak better, slight.  Her bosom I could not see, as here the women are entirely covered up, but it appeared to me of good proportions.  She dies not carry her head proudly like our girls, but pokes it a little forward; I think she was shy, indeed I see no fault in her save shyness.  Her hands are long and delicate.  In short I think the girl is much above the common, though she cannot compare with Maria, Lucrezia, and Bianca.  Lorenzo has seen her and thou canst find out whether she pleases him.  Whatever thou and he determine will be well done, and I shall be content.  Let us leave the issue to God."

P. 108 and 109 of “Lives of the early Medici as told in their correspondence," on openlibrary.org.  As translated by Janet Ross in 1910. 

 *correction!!!  Behind this richly dressed young woman is a portait of an older woman, plainly dressed, which has been identified as /p. 72: the patron's sister, Lucrezia Tornabuoni. According to fifteenth century manuals on behaviour and manners, clothing had to be appropriate not only to social rank and income, but also to age. Lucrezia Tornabuoni, who belonged by marriage to the most powerful Florentine family, the Medici, plays here only a supporting role, with her simple gown almost hidden by a cloak and a white cloth which covers her head (from Paola Tinagli, Women in Italian Renaissance Art: Gender, Representation, Identity (Manchester, 1997).

A gift from Piero to Lucrezia . . .

. . . on the occasion in 1449 of the birth of their first-born, Lorenzo (later known as Lorenzo the Magnificent), was this birth tray (desco da parto).  The scene is of 28 men on horseback pledging allegiance to Fame, a beautiful winged woman holding a sword and a statuette of Cupid as she stands on a globe atop an enormous pedestal.  The work was done in tempera, gold and silver on wood; the artist was Giovanni di Ser Giovanni Guido, known as Lo Scheggia, brother to the more famous painter Massacio.  The rear of the tray shows the Medici and Tournabuoni arms and devices.  This tray is the best executed and preserved of perhaps 28 known trays from the Renaissance period.  It was included in the list of possessions in Lorenzo's bedroom upon his death in 1492.  Today it hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.