Donati, Lucretia

Lucretia Donati was the lady who, according to the rules of courtesy love, Lorenzo Medici sang in his poems under the name "Diana". He extolled her as a bright star, as a brilliant sun, as a goddess who revealed heavenly perfection to the earth.

He chose her as his muse in 1465 , when she was 18 and he was 16, and she had just married Niccolo Ardingelli, with whom she had been engaged to two years. (Lorenzo himself could not marry her, since there were agreements on his dynastic marriage with a noble Roman) ^[1] .

“This poetic connection was announced publicly: at the big tournament in 1469, the name of Lucretia flaunted next to Clarice Orsini , the future wife of Lorenzo. She, however, did not hold a grudge: in 1471 she agreed to be the godmother of the newborn Pietro Ardingelli, son of Lucretius and Niccolo. And Niccolo did not mind that his wife was the queen of the Florentine holidays ” ^[2] .

The tournament, February 7, 1469, is said to have been associated with the image of Lucretia: Lorenzo performed under the standard of Verrocchio , depicting a young woman weaving a wreath of green and brown laurel leaves. Above the female figure was a rainbow in the sunny sky with the motto "The Age is Returning . " In the female figure they saw a hint of Lucretia ^[2] . Lorenzo, of course, was declared the winner, and Lucretius - the beauty queen of the tournament.

And before the tournament, which was given by Braccio Martelli to celebrate his wedding, Lucretia weaved a wreath of violets ^[1] for Lorenzo Medici and asked him to wear a token of love for her ^[3] .

The fact that Lorenzo’s passion for Lucretia remained platonic worship is known from the letters of his friends who complained about it in their correspondence (and even reported to Lorenzo about what they saw, peeping at Lucretia's first wedding night, and about the size of her husband’s manhood - Braccio Martelli was spying on it) ^[2] . Alessandra Strozzi, a relative of her husband, lets out a poisonous remark in a letter to her son that Lucretia hardly sees her husband, devoting all his time to balls and holidays in his absence on commercial matters. She writes, for example, that at the luxurious holiday that Lorenzo held in honor of Lucrezia on February 3, 1466 in the papal hall of Santa Maria Novella , this young lady was in magnificent clothes, in a necklace of large pearls. She sees the threat not at the expense of reputation, but condemns only idleness and excessive luxury ^[4] .

Lucretia died in 1501, is buried in the church of Santa Trinita , in the chapel Ardingelli ^[5] .

• The poem Innamoramento di Lorenzo de'Medici , written by Lorenzo, where, under the name Galatea, Lucretius is supposed to have been bred.
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  Andrea Verocchio , so-called. “Flora” - the alleged portrait of Lucretia Donati, approx. 1480
  The tournament, given by Lorenzo in honor of Lucretia, was sung by Pulchi in his "Standings for the tournament . " Lucretia had a sister, Constance, who is also mentioned in these verses.
• Pulchi and Bernardo Ruccellai made lines about how pale Lucretia became, attributing this change to her remorse and regrets ^[3] - presumably this is due to her refusals to Lorenzo.
• Luigi Pulci's poem Da poi che 'l Lauro states that Lucretia was of the same kind as Piccard , presumably Piccard Donati, whom Dante met in Paradise - a woman who was taken from the monastery and forced to marry. This image supposedly hints at the undesirability of her marriage to Ardingelli.
• Spring (painting by Botticelli) : it is assumed that Lucretius and Simonetta Vespucci (the object of worship of Lorenzo’s brother, Giuliano Medici , about the nature of the passion of which (carnal or platonic) continues to be debated) are depicted together as Venus and Flora ^[6] .
• The bust of Verocchio allegedly depicts Lucretia (according to other assumptions - Ginevra Benchi). It is also believed that the incisor, then student Verocchio Leonardo da Vinci , who could carve her hands, thanks to which the work is also called “Portrait of a Lady with Beautiful Hands” (La gentildonna dalle belle mani), could have attached to the work .
• Lucretia and Lorenzo were portrayed together in ceramics ^[7] .

Today

• Mentioned in the historical novel "Florentine" by Julietta Benzoni .
• In the historical novel Linda Proud "Pallas and the Centaur" .
• Forged in the XIX century, "Portrait of Lucretia Donati" was bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum ^[8] .
• The authors of the series “ Da Vinci 's Demons ” represent Lucretia Donati, not only as the mistress of Lorenzo Medici , but also as a secret agent of the Roman Church. The role of Lucretia was played by the English actress Laura Haddock .
• The Italian-British drama television series Medici: The Lords of Florence (2016-present). The role of Lucretia was played by the Italian actress Alessandra Mastronardi .

• Charles Dempsey, The Portrayal of Love: Botticelli's 'Primavera' (Princeton, 1992).
• E. MOLLER. La gentildonna dalle belle mani di Leonardo da Vinci (Lucrezia Donati) BOLOGNA 1954