Author and historian Sarah Dunant joined me for a riveting conversation about her new book treating the life of Isabella d'Este, The Marchesa. A master of the historical fiction genre, Sarah walks us through her creative process from the archives of Mantua to the rich pages of her exceptional prose. We discuss art, patronage, and some newfound evidence that uncovers details about Isabella's intimate life during the 16th century Syphilis outbreak.

This title is the latest in a long list of Sarah Dunant's works set during the Renaissance and with a particular focus on giving voice to the women who helped shape and craft this exciting historical moment.

You can find Sarah Dunant's The Marchesa here: https://weatherglassbooks.com/ravenna-press/themarchesa

Some of the images discussed:

Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of Isabella d'Este, 1499/1500 https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl020111146

Titian, Portriat of Isabella d'Este, ca. 1536 https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/t/tiziano/10/1/09isabel.html

Andrea Mantegna, Parnassus, 1475-1500 https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010059312

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The Florentine Renaissance Course

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Among the many artists employed by Agostino Chigi, Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, better known as Il Sodoma, painted a remarkable fresco cycle of Alexander the Great in Rome's Villa Farnesina. At the center of the discussion is a question: what happens when an ancient story of Alexander, Hephaestion, and Roxana is filtered through the erotic and social culture of Renaissance Rome? Alexander the Great's relationship to his childhood friend and general Hephaestion has long been a subject of debate. Were they lovers, or simply life partners? Here, in the Villa Farnesina, close observation tells us that Renaissance artists and patrons were asking the same questions, and creating visual answers.

Ultimately, how these frescos are read informs us about the social construction around Sodoma, his patron Agostino Chigi, and the world they inhabited in the early 16th century.

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Works Discussed:

Il Sodoma, Marriage of Alexander and Roxane, ca. 1519 https://www.villafarnesina.it/en/percorso-di-visita/the-wedding-hall/

The Florentine Renaissance Course

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At the height of his career in Rome, Raphael was commissioned by the wealthy banker Agostino Chigi to join a large workforce of artists decorating his villa on the outskirts of central Rome, known today as the Villa Farnesina. The decoration is entirely secular, depicting a wide range of pagan mythologies all throughout what can be considered a pleasure palace.

Raphael's major contributions were his Galatea and his decoration of the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche. This episode explores the history of these works, particularly how they relate to their function and to their patron, Agostino Chigi. Raphael did not paint very many mythological works, so this villa serves as a stunning example of Raphael's work beyond the typical conventions of High Renaissance Rome.

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Works Discussed:

Sebastiano del Piombo, Polyphemus & Raphael, Galatea, ca. 1512 https://www.wga.hu/html_m/s/sebastia/polyphe.html

Raphael and workshop, Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, 1518 https://www.wga.hu/html_m/r/raphael/5roma/4a/

The Florentine Renaissance Course

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