Isabella d’Este “la prima donna del mondo”

Reblogged from https://www.monstrousregimentofwomen.com/2015/02/isabella-deste-la-prima-donna-del-mondo.html Isabella d’Este, marchesa of Mantua (died 13 February 1539) Let Your Highness, I beg of you, keep a tranquil mind and attend wholly to military affairs, for I intend to govern the state with the help of these magnificent gentlemen and officials in such a manner that you will suffer no wrong, and all … More Isabella d’Este “la prima donna del mondo”

Impresa of Isabella d’Este

When Isabella d’Este first arrived in Mantua, she began having a set of rooms (camerini) built to showcase her books, artworks, and musical instruments, and to provide her with spaces for reflection, contemplation, and intimate music-making. Her first camerini were in the Castel San Giorgio in Mantua, adjacent to the Camera degli Sposi, which is decorated with frescoes … More Impresa of Isabella d’Este

Nec Spe Nec Metu: Isabella d’Este

Reblogged from https://aneardepthexperience.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/nec-spe-nec-metu-superman-caravaggio-and-hope/ Nec Spe Nec Metu: Superman, Caravaggio and Hope … The phrase ‘nec spe nec metu’ probably has its origins in Stoicism, meaning ‘neither hope nor fear’  or, more pedantically ‘without hope, without fear’  (perhaps from ancient medicine and Silesio; perhaps adapted from general Roman orations) – implying a kind of resigned equilibrium and forbearance. … More Nec Spe Nec Metu: Isabella d’Este

Marchetto Cara – Cortigiano di Isabella d’Este

“Nor does our friend Marchetto Cara move us less by his singing, but with a gentler harmony; because he softens and penetrates our souls by placid means, full of plaintive sweetness, greatly stirring them to sweet emotion.” (Né men commove nel suo cantar il nostro Marchetto Cara, ma con più molle armonia; ché per una via … More Marchetto Cara – Cortigiano di Isabella d’Este

Art of Isabella d’Este 

From https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings/isabella_d_este Isabella d’Este (Gonzaga) was a powerful and well-educated political figure, humanitarian, patron of the arts, and mother of seven. Known as “The First Lady of the Renaissance,” she was related to nearly every ruler in Italy either by birth or marriage. D’Este was the oldest of six children born into the ruling family … More Art of Isabella d’Este 

Isabella d’Este

Isabella d’Este: A Renaissance Woman by Lorenzo Bonoldi (Author), Clark Anthony Lawrence (Translator) “Isabella d’Este (Ferrara 1474 – Mantua 1539) was already defined in her lifetime as “The first lady of the world”, and remains today one of the most brilliant characters of the Italian Renaissance. The first-born daughter of Duke Ercole of Ferrara and Eleonora of Aragon, at … More Isabella d’Este