Studiolo Of Isabella D'Este
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The Studiolo of Isabella d'Este was a special private study, first in castello di San Giorgio, later the Studiolo was moved to the Corte Vecchi apartments in the
Ducal Palace Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France *Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon *Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy *Pa ...
in
Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
, designed by, and with a collection of art specially commissioned by
Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion ...
.


History


Beginnings

Born in
Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...
and educated by some of the most notable
humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" has ...
of the era, the sixteen-year-old Isabella arrived in Mantua on 12 February 1490 to marry
Francesco II Gonzaga Francesco II Gonzaga (10 August 1466 – ) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death. Biography Francesco was born in Mantua, the son of Marquis Federico I Gonzaga. Francesco had a career as a condottiero acting as V ...
. She was given apartments on the main floor of the castello di San Giorgio, close to the
Camera degli Sposi The Camera degli Sposi ("bridal chamber"), sometimes known as the Camera picta ("picture chamber"), is a room frescoed with illusionistic paintings by Andrea Mantegna in the Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy.. During the fifteenth century when the Cam ...
. Shortly after her arrival she selected two rooms in these apartments for private use. Badly-lit and with no fireplaces, these two rooms were in the San Niccolò tower - the upper one became her "studiolo" and beneath it her barrel-vaulted "grotta", accessed via a staircase and doorway decorated in marble. She was probably inspired by the
Studiolo of the Palazzo Belfiore The Studiolo of the Palazzo Belfiore was a former study, or room for intellectual pursuits, that was once found in a razed Renaissance palace in Ferrara, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. While the palace has disappeared, records do list the paintin ...
, designed for her uncle
Leonello d'Este Leonello d'Este (also spelled Lionello; 21 September 1407 – 1 October 1450) was Marquess of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio Emilia from 1441 to 1450. Despite the presence of legitimate children, Leonello was favoured by his father as his successo ...
, and those in
Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...
and
Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History Prehistory The ol ...
, both of which she could have got to know via her sister-in-law and close friend
Elisabetta Gonzaga Elisabetta Gonzaga (1471–1526) was a noblewoman of the Italian Renaissance, the Duchess of Urbino by marriage to Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. Because her husband was impotent, Elisabetta never had children of her own, but adopted her husban ...
, wife of
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Guidobaldo (or Guido Ubaldo) da Montefeltro (25 January 1472 – 10 April 1508), also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508. Biography Born in Gubbio, he succeeded his father Federico da Mon ...
. Isabella used the studiolo for leisure pursuits, writing, study and correspondence as well as for displaying the highlights of her collections, initially only archaeological items but latter moving to contrast modern artworks with ancient ones. She loved music, poetry and art and was nicknamed the "tenth Muse". There were also several images of the muses in Mantegna's paintings for the studiolo and on the doorway into the grotta, which contained her antiquities. From 1492 she commissioned a series of allegorical, mythological and literary paintings for the studiolo from the most notable painters of the era, along with others praising the Este and Gonzaga families. She began in 1497 with Mantegna's 1497 ''
Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...
'', followed in 1499-1502 by his '' Triumph of the Virtues''. He also painted two ''
trompe-l'œil ; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
'' bronze reliefs for the scheme, recorded in 1542 but now lost. Next came works by other artists such as
Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous ...
's ''
The Battle Between Love and Chastity ''The Battle Between Love and Chastity'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino, now in the Musée du Louvre, in Paris, France. It was originally commissioned for the '' studiolo'' (cabinet) of Isabella d'Este, Marchesa o ...
'' (a literary subject) and
Lorenzo Costa Lorenzo Costa (1460 – 5 March 1535) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born at Ferrara, but moved to Bologna by his early twenties, and was probably influenced by the Bolognese school, Bolognese School. However, many artists worked in ...
's '' Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation'' and '' Reign of Comus''. ''Comus'' was produced from an incomplete drawing left by Mantegna, who had died in 1506. Suggestions for the subjects came from her advisors, especially
Paride da Ceresara Paride da Ceresara (10 February 1466 – 1532) was an Italian humanist, poet, alchemist and astrologer. Life He was born in Ceresara and was descended from the Ceresara, a noble family. He was in the service of Isabella d'Este in Mantua and ...
. Her plan was to make the painters compete on identically-sized canvases, all with the same light source of the room's natural light and with foreground figures of the same size. Much correspondence between Isabella and Perugino survives, showing the difficult working process. He produced his work in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, but Isabella dictated its every detail via a drawing and even in the contract commissioning the work. Perugino was allowed to omit minor details but was absolutely banned from adding figures of his own invention or changing the brief. She continually sent her agents to check on his progress and when Perugino include a nude Venus rather than the clothed one she had specified in the brief, they reported back to her and she protested to the artist. Even when the painting was delivered in 1505, she said she would rather have had it done in oils, despite having specified tempera in the brief to match with Mantegna's style. The payment for Perugino's painting was only 100
ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...
s.


Paintings for the Studiolo

File:La_Parnasse,_by_Andrea_Mantegna,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg, Parnassus (1497) by Andrea Mantegna. File:Minerve chassant les Vices du jardin des Vertus, Mantegna (Louvre INV 371) 02.jpg, Triumph of the Virtues (1499-1502) by Andrea Mantegna. File:Le Combat de l'Amour et de la Chasteté - Le Pérugin - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 722.jpg, Combat of Love and Chastity (1503) by Perugino. File:Allégorie de la cour d'Isabelle d'Este, Costa (Louvre INV 255) 01.jpg, '' Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation'' (1505-1506) by
Lorenzo Costa Lorenzo Costa (1460 – 5 March 1535) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born at Ferrara, but moved to Bologna by his early twenties, and was probably influenced by the Bolognese school, Bolognese School. However, many artists worked in ...
. File:Le Règne de Comus, Costa (Louvre INV 256) 02.jpg, ''The Reign of Comus'' (1506-1511) by Lorenzo Costa.
Many of the artists were working in other cities and sending their work to Mantua and so the different systems of measurement across the Italian city states made it difficult to make this plan work. At least once Isabella wrongly stated the light direction to the artists working for her and she often sent changed her mind about the subjects and compositions. Not all the artists were familiar with the mythological and allegorical themes she commissioned and many were put off by the work being shown alongside that of Mantegna, who began the series of paintings - for example,
Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...
was asked to produce a work and left free to choose his own subject, but he eventually declined the commission as he was not used to working to such a detailed brief. Isabella also tried and failed to commission paintings from
Giorgione Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco (; 1470s – 17 September 1510), known as Giorgione, was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, ...
(who died too soon to accept her offer) and
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
(despite repeated requests).
Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...
was available but on the advice of
Gian Cristoforo Romano Giovanni Cristoforo (or Giancristoforo) Romano (1456–1512) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and medallist. Born in Rome to Isaia da Pisa, he was probably a pupil of Andrea Bregno. His first known works are in the Ducal Palace of Urbino, ...
and Lorenzo da Pavia Isabella refused him in favour of Perugino. The two rooms became a must-see for dignitaries visiting the city, although many of the objects shown there were small and at risk of theft - after Charles III of Bourbon-Montpensier's entourage visited in 1509 it was found that some of the silverware had gone missing.


Second phase

Between
1519 __NOTOC__ Year 1519 ( MDXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1519th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 519th year of the 2nd millennium, the 19th year of the 16th century, ...
and
1522 __NOTOC__ Year 1522 ( MDXXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1522nd year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 522nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 22nd year of the 16th century ...
, after her husband's death, Isabella moved into new rooms on the ground floor of the so-called "Corte Vecchia", built by the ducal architect and "Prefect of the Gonzaga Buildings" Battista Covo. She dismantled the studiolo and moved it to these new rooms, which also included a "Nuova Grotta" or 'new Grotto', directly linked to the new studiolo. The rooms also included a 'secret garden', completed in 1522 and decorated with Ionic columns. The studiolo was paved with polychrome tiles from the workshop of Antonio Fedeli of
Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
, originally bought by
Francesco II Gonzaga Francesco II Gonzaga (10 August 1466 – ) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death. Biography Francesco was born in Mantua, the son of Marquis Federico I Gonzaga. Francesco had a career as a condottiero acting as V ...
for his residence at
Marmirolo Marmirolo ( Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan and about northwest of Mantua. Its territory, which is totally plain as part of the Pianura Padana, is ...
- once he had used those he needed, he sold the surplus to his wife to help her keep down the mice in her apartments. She had the sculptor
Tullio Lombardo Tullio Lombardo (c. 1455 – November 17, 1532), also known as Tullio Solari, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor. He was the brother of Antonio Lombardo and son of Pietro Lombardo. The Lombardo family worked together to sculpt famous Catholic ...
create her a new marble doorway from the studiolo to the grotto between 1522 and 1524. She also commissioned a new doorway for the entrance to the Studiolo from
Gian Cristoforo Romano Giovanni Cristoforo (or Giancristoforo) Romano (1456–1512) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and medallist. Born in Rome to Isaia da Pisa, he was probably a pupil of Andrea Bregno. His first known works are in the Ducal Palace of Urbino, ...
, with four
bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
s, tondoes and multicoloured marble. The grotto itself contained wood-inlay panels from the earlier studiolo, produced in 1506 by Paolo and Antonio della Mola. In 1531 she added '' Allegory of Virtue'' and '' Allegory of Vice'', both by
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...
, to the paintings in her studiolo. A 1542 inventory survives, giving some idea of how the paintings and objects were finally displayed on principals of harmony and symmetry but in a very high-density arrangement. File:Correggio_-_Allegory_of_Virtues_-_WGA05338.jpg, "Allegory of Virtues" File:Correggio_-_Allegory_of_Vices_-_WGA05339.jpg, "Allegory of Vice"


Dispersal

After Isabella's death the studiolo fell into disuse and in 1605 its paintings were moved to another part of the palace. Around 1627 Charles I of Nevers gave them to
cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
, who took them to Paris and added them to
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
's collection. After the French Revolution they thus entered the collection of the
Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
. The other furnishings were sold off and are now split between several different museums. The pavement tiles were lifted and sold off separately and are now in several Italian and foreign museums, including the applied art collections at the
Castello Sforzesco The Sforza Castle ( ; ) is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 1 ...
, the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
, the
Museo Bardini Bardini is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aleksander Bardini (1913–1995), Polish theatre and opera director, actor, and professor * Gaetano Bardini (1926–2017), Italian tenor * Lorenzo Bardini (born 1996), Italian footbal ...
in Florence and the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
in LondonImages
here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...
,
here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...
and
here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...
.


Collections


Sculpture

She had a great passion for collecting ancient sculpture, limited only by her lack of money and the papal ban on exporting such sculptures from Rome. However, thanks to help from the knight of Malta Fra Sabba da Castiglione, she was able to acquire original ancient Greek sculptures from Nasso and Rodi and fragments of the
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus (; ) was a tomb built between 353 and 351 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an Anatolian from Caria and a satrap in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and his sister-wi ...
. A sarcophagus relief showing Hermes looking for Proserpina in Hades was built into the wall under the window of the studiolo. She paid art agents in the main Italian cities through whom she heard of opportunities for improving her collection. One of these was the sale of Michele Vianello's collections in Venice in 1506, at which she bought a late-antique onyx vase. She also acquired some alabaster heads looted from the
palazzo Bentivoglio Palazzo Bentivoglio may refer to: * Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna The original Palazzo Bentivoglio was a palace in Bologna, which was destroyed by a mob in 1507. A second palace by the same name was built nearby, and is still standing. History Th ...
in Bologna, despite knowing their provenance. She forced Mantegna to sell her an ancient Roman bust of a woman in 1498 since it was said to resemble her and later, when he was old and sick, forced him to give her his favourite bust of
Faustina the Elder Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder, sometimes referred to as Faustina I or Faustina Major ( 100 – late October 140), was a Roman empress and wife of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. The emperor Marcus Aurelius was her nephew and later became he ...
in return for paying off his debts. When she heard that
Gian Galeazzo Sforza Gian Galeazzo Sforza (20 June 1469 – 21 October 1494), also known as Giovan Galeazzo Sforza, was the sixth Duke of Milan. He was the father of Bona Maria Sforza, who later became Queen of Poland. He died in 1494 aged 25 and was succeeded by ...
was about to die and had left her part of his collection, she sent emissaries to Milan even before his death to safeguard the relevant artworks. Her modern artworks included Michelangelo's ''
Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...
'', of which she was particularly fond. It had been suggested to her as a possible purchase in 1496 - she initially declined it as only an imitation of an ancient work of art, but on learning it was by Michelangelo keenly sought to acquire it. It was then owned by the Montefeltro family of
Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...
, but when
Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...
overthrow them she acquired it from him. When the Montefeltro family was restored to power she refused to return it to them, despite being related to them. It was displayed beside an ancient sculpture of Cupid attributed to
Praxiteles Praxiteles (; ) of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubitably attributable sculpture ...
, inviting comparisons between modern and ancient sculpture. She acquired small bronzes by
Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi (c. 1460–1528), called L'Antico by his contemporaries, and often Antico in English, the nickname given for the refined interpretation of the Antique they recognized in his work, was a 15th- and 16th-century Italian ...
reproducing some of the famous statues of antiquity - one of these, ''Hercules and Antaeus'', is now in the
Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...
in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. Her ancient sculptures also included busts, agate and jasper vases and bas reliefs.


Other

Isabella's collection also included medals, cameos (such as the noted
Gonzaga Cameo The Gonzaga Cameo is a Hellenistic engraved gem; a cameo of the ''capita jugata'' variety cut out from the three layers of an Indian sardonyx, dating from perhaps the 3rd century BC.
), gems, classical coins, wooden-inlay panels and curiosities such as gilded cages, clocks and a 'unicorn's horn'. It also included objects she kept for sentimental reasons, such as a beechwood cabinet made by her brother
Alfonso II d'Este Alfonso II d'Este (22 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este. Biography Alfonso was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of F ...
in his spare time.


References


Bibliography (in Italian)

* Mauro Lucco (a cura di), ''Mantegna a Mantova 1460-1506'', catalogo della mostra, Skira Milano, 2006 * Alberta De Nicolò Salmazo, ''Mantegna'', Electa, Milano 1997. * Andrea Ciaroni, ''Maioliche del Quattrocento a Pesaro, frammenti di storia dell'arte ceramica dalla bottega dei Fedeli'', CentroDi, Firenze 2004. * Stefano L'Occaso, ''Il Palazzo Ducale di Mantova'', Milano, 2002.


External links

* * {{cite web, url=http://ideaart.web.unc.edu/studiolo-virtuale/, title=Ricostruzione virtuale dello Studiolo di Isabella d'Este (progetto IDEA), language=Italian Buildings and structures in Mantua House of Este * Gonzaga residences