Details

ONLINE ART HISTORY COURSE
Eleonora of Toledo: Graces, Gifts and Gardens in Medici Florence

Course Description:

Eleonora di Toledo is one of the most famous women of the Medici family. Through her marriage to Grand Duke Cosimo I, she allowed the Medici line to flourish down to the 18th century. Eleonora brought new Spanish court manners and style to Florence, for which she was both praised and insulted. But she also adhered to Florentine traditions and asserted Medici power. 

In this 3-week course, we’ll explore how Eleonora’s Spanish heritage affected her role as Florence’s first lady, and how she adapted to her new city. As a noblewoman and Duchess, Eleonora was expected to demonstrate grace and decorum. She maintained diplomatic and familial ties through gifts and artistic exchanges. Eleonora also expanded the Medici imprint on Florence by purchasing the Palazzo Pitti and designing the large gardens now known as the Boboli Gardens. In the last week, we’ll learn how grazia affected Mannerist sculpture in the work of artists Eleonora employed, such as Niccolò Tribolo and Bartolomeo Ammannati, husband of the famous poet Laura Battiferra.

Instructor:

Dr. Meghan Callahan has lived and worked in London since 2006. Like Rocky, she earned her Master’s degree in Art History from Syracuse University as a Florence Fellow. She has a Ph.D. in Art History from Rutgers University. Meghan is the Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning at Syracuse University London, where she has taught art history and history classes on Italian Art in London and the UK; Women and Art: London and UK; and Underground London.

She worked on the reinstallation of the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and then with the sculpture dealer Patricia Wengraf. Meghan has published various articles and essays on the architectural patronage of the 16th-century mystic nun Sister Domenica da Paradiso, miraculous paintings in Renaissance Florence, and Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculpture.

Course Objectives:

• To understand Sixteenth Century concepts of grace (grazia) in Italian Renaissance courts, particularly that of Eleonora di Toledo
• To investigate Eleonora di Toledo’s role in Italian garden design 
• To consider Spanish influence in sixteenth-century Florence
• To recognize some sixteenth-century sculpture and formulate a working definition of Mannerism

Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with syllabus, videos of recordings, reading list, podcasts, discussion forum, and more.

Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE ART HISTORY LECTURES

Optional Readings:
Readings to be provided to students in PDF format prior to the beginning of course.

Complete syllabus will be provided upon registration.

• ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE

Schedule

LECTURE 1 – GRACES & GIFTS

-Thursday, June 2

Grazia was an important concept in Renaissance Italy and across European courts. It can be translated as grace, gracefulness, elegance and even clemency. It was especially important for noblewomen, who needed to constantly demonstrate grazia in the daily life of court. This included giving gifts to friends, relatives, and those in need, but also recommendations for work, connections, and commissions. We’ll look at some of the ways Eleonora employed grazia to strengthen both Spanish and Florentine networks in her role as Duchess of Florence.

LECTURE 2 – GARDENS

-Thursday, June 9

Eleonora’s purchase of the Palazzo Pitti included a large garden area that she soon developed. Gardens were an important feature of palaces in Spain and combined historic Roman, Christian, and Islamic influences. Eleonora’s Spanish heritage and upbringing in Naples meant she arrived in Florence with new views on garden design. We’ll look at how Italian and Spanish styles were combined in the Boboli Gardens as an expression of Mannerist art and courtly style.

LECTURE 3 – MANNERIST SCULPTURE

-Thursday, June 16

This week will focus on the sculpture of Niccolò Tribolo, Bartolomeo Ammannati and others who were employed by Cosimo I and Eleonora. We’ll learn how indoor and outdoor fountains created plays of light and sound around sculptures that celebrated nature and the Medici rule over Florence and Tuscany. We’ll explore what the courtly Mannerist style meant in art and society and investigate Eleonora’s influence on its development.

Instructor

Dr. Meghan Callahan has lived and worked in London since 2006. Like Rocky, she earned her Master’s degree in Art History from Syracuse University as a Florence Fellow. She has a Ph.D. in Art History from Rutgers University. Meghan is the Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning at Syracuse University London, where she has taught art history and history classes on Italian Art in London and the UK; Women and Art: London and UK; and Underground London.

She worked on the reinstallation of the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and then with the sculpture dealer Patricia Wengraf. Meghan has published various articles and essays on the architectural patronage of the 16th-century mystic nun Sister Domenica da Paradiso, miraculous paintings in Renaissance Florence, and Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculpture.