Schedule

LECTURE 1 -Married

-Friday, February 2

During the Renaissance, marriages among the upper classes were business deals, brokered across courts throughout the peninsula. In order to know what one’s future spouse would look like (or to make a choice), prospective suitors relied on portraits sent to them. To celebrate a successful union, marriage portraits were then commissioned, either celebrating the couple or the woman’s fertility. This class will examine how we can identify and read engagement and marriage portraits from the Renaissance.

LECTURE 2 – Mistress

-Friday, February 9

Whether married or single, Renaissance men looked to mistresses to amuse them, enhance their status or provide sons if their own wives could not provide them. Their status was commemorated in portraits by some of the most famous artists of the day. Some of the women were professionals, who worked as courtesans across Italy. Others were women of the court, and a few, unusually, became wives.

LECTURE 3 – Mortuary

-Friday, February 16

Once deceased, a woman moved into the realm of memory. If she had brought money and connections to the man’s family, and provided him an heir (or several), she could be commemorated in painting or a tomb. Some women made sure to incorporate themselves into memorial displays for their pre-deceased husbands, providing us with valuable information about women’s agency in the Renaissance.