The Cultural World of Eleonora di Toledo

Eleonora di Toledo was a powerful and influential woman who, over the course of nearly a quarter century (1539-62), contributed profoundly to the cultural flowering of ducal Florence. But in spite of all these contributions, Eleonora has attracted little attention from scholars. The examination of her impact on Tuscany provided in this volume is long overdue. This collection of essays provides a fuller, more nuanced understanding of the duchess, her impact on Tuscan culture in the sixteenth century, and the contribution of female consorts to the vitality of a successful early-modern state. The articles collected here expand our understanding of Eleonora's place in her society and shed a subtle, more profound light on a very complex, determined, and capable woman.

'... a valuable and much needed contribution to the scholarship on Eleonora di Toledo...' Gabriele Neher, The Art Book '...carefully crafted and most useful introduction... a collection of interconnected essays that are clearly written and tightly organized.' Renaissance Quarterly

Autorentext

Konrad Eisenbichler

Inhalt
Contents: Introduction, Konrad Eisenbichler; Veni, sponsa. Love and politics at the wedding of Eleonora di Toledo, Mary A. Watt; A 'Laura' for Cosimo: Bronzino's Eleonora di Toledo with her Son Giovanni, Gabrielle Langdon; La fecundissima Signora Duchessa: the courtly persona of Eleonora di Toledo and the iconography of abundance, Bruce L. Edelstein; A duchess' place at court: the Quartiere di Eleonora in the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence, Ilaria Hoppe; Eleonora and her 'famous sisters.' The tradition of 'illustrious women' in paintings for the domestic interior, Paola Tinagli; Eleonora di Toledo among the famous women: iconographic innovation after the conquest of Siena, Pamela J. Benson; Eleonora di Toledo's chapel: lineage, salvation and the war against the Turks, Robert W. Gaston; Los scholares son cosa de su excelentia, como lo es toda la Compañia: Eleonora di Toledo and the Jesuits, Chiara Franceschini; The burial attire of Eleonora di Toledo, Mary Westerman Bulgarella; La Ill.ma Sig.ra Duchessa felice memoria: the posthumous Eleonora di Toledo, Janet Cox-Rearick; Index of names.