http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/774356715

Court culture in 17th-century Florence: The art patronage of Medici Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere (1622--1694)

This doctoral dissertation provides the first in-depth assessment of Medici Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere (1622-1694). My study, largely grounded in heretofore unexamined archival sources, investigates the art patronage of Vittoria della Rovere and reconsiders the 17th-century Florentine court culture that informed this patronage. The Grand Duchess emerges as a ruler who shrewdly manipulated courtly decorum and protocol in order to fulfill her own personal and political ends. In her patronage of state and "allegorical" portraiture (most intriguingly in the guise of religious personages), devotional paintings (especially by Carlo Dolci), and her remarkably active patronage of talented women (in music, literature, and the visual arts), Vittoria della Rovere materializes as a dynamic and important early modern patron. Period documents also testify to the Grand Duchess's pivotal role in the complex patronage networks between European courts in this period. Vittoria della Rovere's exchange of works of art and other property--as well as the sharing of musicians and singers with both local and foreign noblewomen--is particularly noteworthy in re-evaluating her historical contribution. By situating Vittoria della Rovere's collecting habits within the framework of the early modern court, I demonstrate that the social, political, and artistic culture of 17th-century Florence cannot be fully understood without the contributions of this Medici Grand Duchess.

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