Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation
Encyclopedia
The Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation is a painting by the Italian
Renaissance painter Lorenzo Costa the Elder, dating to about 1505-1506. It is displayed in the Louvre Museum of Paris
, France
.
(Parnassus
and the Triumph of the Virtues
, respectively from 1497 and 1499-1502) and Perugino's Combat of Love and Chastity
(1503).
The subject was provided by the court poet Paride of Ceresara and was initially assigned to Mantegna. However, after the latter's death in 1506, he was replaced by Lorenzo Costa, who deleted all the work made by his predecessor. Isabella liked the painting, and this granted Costa the position as the new court painter of the Gonzaga of Mantua
.
Duke Charles I of Nevers gifted this and the other paintings in the studiolo to Cardinal Richelieu, and the Allegory thus went to Paris. After belonging to several collections, it became part of the collections of the Louvre Museum.
, who is held by his mother, Venus: the two mythological figures would symoblize the heavenly and virtuous love, compared to the earthly and carnal one.
The scene would be in the garden of Harmony, where it is possible to freely practice Music, Arts and Poetry, which are referred to by the characters surrounding the coronation. In the foreground, behind the garden's boundaries, are Diana
, symbol of chastity, and Cadmus
(on the left), protectors of the arts such as Mercury
, identified by the scene of battle behind him on the painting's left. The two female characters sitting on the ground are identifiable with the Virtues who watch over Isabella's world: the one crowning the ox would be Perseverance, the one crowning the lamb would be Purity or Innocence.
Another interpretation is that based on the Tabula Cebetis: the painting would represent the different genres of poetry, the foremost of which is lyrics, portrayed by Venus in the center. The character being crowned would be Sappho
, and the personifications around her would be outstanding early lyricists such as Callimachus
, Propertius, Ovid
and Tibullus
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Renaissance painter Lorenzo Costa the Elder, dating to about 1505-1506. It is displayed in the Louvre Museum of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
The painting was the fourth commissioned by Isabella d'Este for her studiolo, after two canvasses by Andrea MantegnaAndrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...
(Parnassus
Parnassus (Mantegna)
The Parnassus is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, executed in 1497. It is housed in the Musée du Louvre of Paris.-History:...
and the Triumph of the Virtues
Triumph of the Virtues (Mantegna)
The Triumph of the Virtues is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, executed in 1502. It is housed in the Musée du Louvre of Paris....
, respectively from 1497 and 1499-1502) and Perugino's Combat of Love and Chastity
Combat of Love and Chastity
Combat of Love and Chastity is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino, currently housed in the Musée du Louvre, in Paris, France...
(1503).
The subject was provided by the court poet Paride of Ceresara and was initially assigned to Mantegna. However, after the latter's death in 1506, he was replaced by Lorenzo Costa, who deleted all the work made by his predecessor. Isabella liked the painting, and this granted Costa the position as the new court painter of the Gonzaga of Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
.
Duke Charles I of Nevers gifted this and the other paintings in the studiolo to Cardinal Richelieu, and the Allegory thus went to Paris. After belonging to several collections, it became part of the collections of the Louvre Museum.
Description
The most accepted interpretation of the painting is an exaltation of Isabella d'Este, her rule and her role as patron of the arts, which generates harmony. She would be the figure in the center, crowned with laurel by AnterosAnteros
In Greek mythology, Anteros was the god of requited love, literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher of those who scorn love and the advances of others, or the avenger of unrequited love....
, who is held by his mother, Venus: the two mythological figures would symoblize the heavenly and virtuous love, compared to the earthly and carnal one.
The scene would be in the garden of Harmony, where it is possible to freely practice Music, Arts and Poetry, which are referred to by the characters surrounding the coronation. In the foreground, behind the garden's boundaries, are Diana
Diana (mythology)
In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...
, symbol of chastity, and Cadmus
Cadmus
Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores...
(on the left), protectors of the arts such as Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
, identified by the scene of battle behind him on the painting's left. The two female characters sitting on the ground are identifiable with the Virtues who watch over Isabella's world: the one crowning the ox would be Perseverance, the one crowning the lamb would be Purity or Innocence.
Another interpretation is that based on the Tabula Cebetis: the painting would represent the different genres of poetry, the foremost of which is lyrics, portrayed by Venus in the center. The character being crowned would be Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
, and the personifications around her would be outstanding early lyricists such as Callimachus
Callimachus
Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
, Propertius, Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
and Tibullus
Tibullus
Albius Tibullus was a Latin poet and writer of elegies.Little is known about his life. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to Tibullus are of questionable origins. There are only a few references to him in later writers and a short Life of doubtful authority...
.