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.

    

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)

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.

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."

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.

Lorenzo il Magnifico, si' o no?

 

This image has been taken from a fresco called "Procession of the Magi" in the family chapel of the Medici-Riccardi Palace.   In 1459 Piero de' Medici commissioned Benozzo Gozzoli  to decorate three walls of this chapel.   The fresco cycle contains many figures, including Piero himself, as well as Lorenzo's grandparents, Cosimo and Piccarda.  From the web-site www.museumsinflorence.com, we learn the following:  "The sumptuous and varied costumes with their princely finishings make this pictorial series one of the most fascinating testimonies of art and costume of all time."  While the portrait above is widely held to be an idealized version of Lorenzo, when he grew to manhood he had very dark hair and a rather misshapen nose.   The frescoes were restored recently (1987-1992) and  now the richness of the original colors and the complex composition can be truly appreciated.

More on Lucrezia . . .

An excellent, and very readable resource on the life of Lucrezia Borgia. is the book of that name by Sarah Bradford.  When I read an historical novel I look for those with named resources, dense with facts, but woven together in a readable style.  No need to enhance the plot with the Borgias, so I am puzzled as to why the Showtime series is embellishing Lucrezia's role in the negotiations with Charles VIII of France.

First of all, Renaissance women of the rank of Lucrezia and Guilia Farnese (the Pope's mistress) wouldn't have been a party of two traveling between the Adriatic coast and Rome.  They would have been accompanied by their servants and various other household members.  Historical records do show that Guilia Farnese, along with 20 or 30 others, was indeed taken hostage by Charles VIII, and that the Pope paid 3000 ducats to the French king to have Guilia returned to him.  Then several months elapsed before Charles and the French army went on to Naples.

In spite of various criticisms I have of the Showtime series, I plan to continue to watch, for the spectacle it is.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the costumes alone are worth the viewing.  Note the sumptuous fabrics, the empire waistline (practical in an era when pregnancy was a continuous state), and the tie-on sleeves through which the undergarment, the camicia (chemise, fr. or shift, eng), is pulled and then puffed.

Lucrezia Borgia . . .

. . . the Pope's daughter, is played by actress Holliday Grainger (pictured here) on the Showtime series, "The Borgias."  I've just seen the first season on Netflix and find it worthwhile for the spectacle, if nothing else.  If one is not familiar with these Renaissance names, such as the Orsinis, the Colonnas, and the della Roveres, it might be difficult to follow the plot.  I also have some reservations about the historical accuracy of some of the plot developments.  But the costumes are wonderful!

The Borgias . . .

Lucrezia Borgia, one of my favorite Renaissance ladies, is on the cover of a beautiful book I received for Christmas.  The Borgia Chronicles, 1414-1572, by Mary Hollingsworth, speaks of not only Lucrezia's life but also that of her famous father, Pope Alexander VI, and her brother Cesare, as well as their ancestors and descendants.  Lucrezia, herself, is the ancestress of many of the current European royals, including Juan Carlos I of Spain, Albert II of Belgium, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, as well as the Count of Paris and the claimants to the Thrones of the Bavaria, Brazil, Parma, Saxony and the Two Sicilies.  I'm looking forward to ordering through Netflix the recent Showtime series, The Borgias, starring Jeremy Irons.

The Costume Gallery at the Pitti Palace

This portrait by Bronzino, of Eleonora di Toledo, who married Cosimo I di Medici, is one I saw in 2010 in a special exhibit at the Strozzi Palace Museum.  The actual costume Elenora is wearing (or one very much like it) is now featured in an exhibit at the Costume Gallery in the Pitti Palace, and may be the oldest extant costume (c. 1560) of Renaissance Florence.  Here's a link to a website that explains more: 

http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/workbox/extwomclo2.htm

Botticelli's "Primavera"

Botticelli's "Primavera" shows Venus clad in a camicia (chemise, shift), the first layer of women's clothing in the Quattrocento.  Note the round neckline, which would change to a square yoke in the following century.  The fabric was most likely cotton or very fine linen, not silk.

Florentine Renaissance Dress

While not my favorite figure in Ghirlandaio's fresco cycle, I have chosen this example to illustrate the second layer in red (the gamurra), and the third layer in blue (the cioppa).

Fashion in the Quattrocento (1400's)

I have been immersed for the past few days in research on the dress of Renaissance women in Florence.  Apparently there are no extant garments, so everything we know is either pictorial (mainly frescoes) or from descriptions in correspondence.  I have just reached the chapters in Iris Origo's "Merchant of Prato" in which the wardrobes of the master and mistress are detailed.  Women had basically three types of garments:  a camicia, or chemise, sometimes called a shift, next to the skin; a gamurra (or camora), a gown worn as the middle of three garments; and the cioppa or giornea, which were types of overdresses.  One of the best opportunities to study further will be when next I go to Santa Maria Novella and visit Ghirlandaio's fresco cycles in the Tournabuoni Chapel.