The rhetoric of power in Renaissance courts

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Courts and Courtly Arts in Renaissance Italy: Art, Culture and Politics, 1395-1530

Marco Folin (editor)

Gian Galeazzo Visconti purchased the title of ‘Duke of Milan’ from Emperor Wenceslas of Luxembourg at the cost of 100,000 gold florins and his subsequent ducal investiture of 1395 became the turning point that gave rise to the Italian courts. Before this, as Italy emerged from the age of the commune and the city-republics and engaged with the imposition of lordly rule and the domination of an individual or family, it had been experiencing geographical, cultural and political fragmentation. Visconti’s action predicated new models of sovereignty and the accompanying growth of new building projects (palaces) in which to hold the courts.

In 1395 in most Italian states the idea of the court as an officially established institution was a relatively recent concept. It had no tradition in Italy, despite ruling family dynasties such as the Este, Gonzaga, Visconti, Malatesta, Trinci and Montefeltro families. This new regal territory had to be imported from other countries and, as a result, it came accompanied by the need for branding and self-advertising in order to establish credibility. Grand architecture and artwork became measurements of sovereign status. Thus the second half of the 15th century gave rise to new ways of expressing the rhetoric of power and patronage through the visual arts, music literature and theatre.

Yet as Marco Folin, the editor of this book, suggests, sovereignty was not alone in being changed in the process. The role of artists and their relationship with their patrons also underwent transformation and led to ‘the creation of some of the most extraordinary works of Western art, deigned to revolutionise — within a matter of years — the way monarchical power would be represented across Europe’. The book highlights that period of change in Italian history when imperial vicars became Princes and artists crossed the threshold into their courts, encountering privileges and opportunities for greater visibility than had been possible before.

The included detailed maps lucidly illustrate the political geography of Renaissance Italyand its regional fragmentation. Literature and music were both used to enhance perception of the Prince’s importance and splendour. The chapters on writing at court and court musicdistinguish the role of the humanists, explain how histories of ruling families written at court were used for marketing purposes, and outline the impact of print. Indeed, this period saw the rise of two eminent Renaissance books, Libro del Cortegiano  (The book of the Courtier) by Baldassare Castiglione and  Orlando Furioso  by Ludovico Ariosto.

Every region had its own court and ruling family – Milan had the Visconti and Sforza Families (1395–1535); the Venetian Republic with its Doges (1454–1509); Mantua, where the Gonzago family ruled (1397–1519); Ferrara, controlled by the Este Family (1393–1535);  Florence and the Medici, (1434–94): Rome, dominated by the Papacy (1420–1527), and many others.  These multiple states resisted being subsumed by any single dominating family and whilst they differed in geographical size and constitution (some were monarchical, others were republics or ‘minor’ seigniorial entities), and could only be described as a patchwork of individuation, nevertheless there was in this time period a sense that Italy had characteristics distinct from the rest of Europe. The Italic League, which was formed 1454–55, demonstrated an ability to control various destabilizing influences and whilst it was short-lived (less than ten years), owing to inherent distrust, the political geography that was created at the time of this League limned a scenario that ultimately was to last into the present time.

Each chapter of the book is beautifully illustrated with the work of the painters, sculptors and architects, illustrating the reigning families, their palazzi, building plans, statuary, maps, and illuminated manuscripts. There is an annotated bibliography and an index of names and places.The authors bring to life the difficulties of this period from a court perspective. Clear connections are shown between each ruling family and the artists whose work celebrated them.The book is a welcome addition to the area of Italian early modern studies.

Marco Folin is Professor in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Genova and for this book he has gathered around him well-known Italian scholars from leading Italian Universities as contributors.

Courts and Courtly Arts in Renaissance Italy: Art, Culture and Politics, 1395–1530  by Marco Folin (editor) is published by  Antique Collectors’ Club, 2011. 443 pp. 300 colour photographs, maps and plans. ISBN  9781851496433