Exemplary models for a duchess: the decorative cycle for Eleonora di Toledo in Florence
Paola Tinagli
In 1561-62, Giorgio Vasari and his assistant Giovanni Stradano painted a fresco cycle for four rooms in the apartment of the Duchess of Florence Eleonora di Toledo in Palazzo Vecchio. The subject-matter of the decoration deals with stories of women: the Sabines, Esther, Penelope, and the Florentine Gualdrara. Placing the scheme within a tradition of paintings for the domestic interior, this papers examine how the textual and artistic traditions of 'donne illustri' were repositories of multiple meanings, and in particular considers how famous women were used as role models for wives of rulers.
Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh EH3 9DF.
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