Art Patronage, Family, and Gender in Renaissance Florence: The Tornabuoni

Description

This book examines the multi-media art patronage of three generations of the Tornabuoni family, who commissioned works from innovative artists, such as Sandro Botticelli and Rosso Fiorentino. Best known for commissioning the fresco cycle in Santa Maria Novella by Domenico Ghirlandaio, a key monument of the Florentine Renaissance, the Tornabuoni ordered a number of still-surviving art works, inspired by their commitment to family, knowledge of ancient literature, music, love, loss, and religious devotion. This extensive body of work makes the Tornabuoni a critically important family of early modern art patrons. However, they are further distinguished by the numerous objects they commissioned to honor female relations who served in different family roles, thus deepening understanding of Florentine Renaissance gender relations. Maria DePrano presents a comprehensive picture of how one Florentine family commissioned art to gain recognition in their society, revere God, honor family members, especially women, and memorialize deceased loved ones.

Maria DePrano is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of California, Merced. She has published articles in Viator, The Medal, and Renaissance Studies. Her work has been supported by fellowships from the Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, and the Fulbright Program.

'This beautifully illustrated book examines the extraordinary body of art work commissioned by male members of the patrician Tornabuoni family in late fifteenth-century Florence. ... DePrano offers substantive visual analyses of individual works, deftly analyzing the literary motifs and symbolism underpinning their imagery.' Sharon Strocchia, The Journal of Interdisciplinary History '... represents a thoughtful, important move in this direction. I sincerely hope she will be followed by others.' Jane Tylus, Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal