Isabella d'Este

Youth

Isabella was the eldest daughter of Ercole d'Este , Duke of Ferrara and Leonora of Naples , (daughter of King Ferdinand of Naples ). Despite the fact that after her many other children were born in the family, including boys, Isabella remained a beloved child. In 1474 , after the birth of her brother Ferrante, the girl, together with her mother, went to Naples to her grandfather. Then the Duchess of Leonora returned home to Ferrara, and Isabella returned with her, and her other brothers and sisters were left in Naples for the next 8 years.

Her younger sister was no less famous Beatrice d'Este , the Duchess of Milan, the wife of Lodovico Sforza . Isabella was related by kinship or marriage to almost all the rulers in Italy and is known as the first lady of the Renaissance.

Isabella d'Este - as is known from numerous correspondence from Mantua - received a very good education. Her mother, who also had an excellent education, played the harp, collected the canvases of famous painters and had a small library, took care of this. Isabella and her brothers and sisters were taught Latin and music (she perfectly played the lute and flute and had a beautiful voice), Greek and Roman history and classical literature. With special interest, Isabella studied geographical maps and studied astrology.

At the age of 16, on January 12, 1490 , Isabella married the 25-year-old Francesco II Gonzaga , the Marquis of Mantua , with whom she had been engaged since 1480 .

Married life

Contemporaries described her as eloquent, intelligent, very well-read, temperamental, witty, with great passion playing chess and cards. She was described as an extraordinary beauty, inclined, however, like her mother to be overweight.

She was in very good relations with her husband’s family, but not with her incredulous (and since 1512 syphilis- ill) spouse. Francesco was a condottiere and spent a lot of time outside his country, serving as a military leader with foreign sovereigns, he was also captured (1509). In his absence, Isabella remained at home and ruled Mantua on her own. The company at court was her mother, sister, and sister-in-law - Elizabeth Gonzaga .

On December 31, 1493, Isabella gave birth to her first child, a daughter, whom she named Eleanor , in honor of her recently deceased mother. Her disappointment that she did not give birth to a son was so great that it affected her attitude towards her daughter, who became her father’s favorite. Her second daughter, Margarita, died two months after birth.

On May 15, 1500, she gave birth to the long-awaited son of Federico II Gonzaga , named after her grandfather. In 1502, Libya was born (she died a child) and in 1503 - Hippolyta , with whom she also did not have a close relationship. In November 1505, she gave birth to Erkolo (since 1527 - Cardinal) and in January 1507, Ferrante (commander under Emperor Charles V , the first Duke of Guastalla ). In 1508, she gave birth to Libya (named after her sister, who died that same year).

She loved her sons more than anything, evil tongues used to say that then her dogs walked and only then their daughters. For political reasons, her eldest daughter was married to Francesco Maria I della Rovere , nephew of Pope Julius II , Hippolytus and Libya became nuns. Only in old age did her relationship with her daughters become warmer, and she included them in her will. She was especially worried about the unhappy marriage of her eldest daughter.

After the return of her ill husband to Mantua (1512), Isabella became convinced that his attitude towards her had noticeably worsened. He did not approve of a single decision. She decided to go to Rome. There, at the court of Pope Leo X , she was received as a queen and she became the center of attention. A few years later, she returned briefly to Mantua.

Widow

In 1519 her husband passed away, and her son Federico inherited the throne of Mantua. Isabella, because of his age, remained with him as regent and continued to rule the country. She became an important figure in Italian politics, significantly strengthening the position of Mantua. She played a role in transforming Mantua from a marquise to a duchy, chose a successful marriage for her eldest son, and helped her son Ercole become a cardinal. She demonstrated great intelligence and diplomatic skills in negotiations with Cesare Borgia , who deprived the throne of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro , her husband, sister-in-law of Elizabeth Gonzaga (1502).

In 1525, she returned to Rome, saying that her heart belongs to this city. She remained there during the looting of the papal capital by the troops of Emperor Charles in 1527 . Then the 60-year-old marquise returned to Mantua and turned it into a cultural center, setting up a school for girls and turning her apartments into a treasury of works of art.

But the restless Isabella could not remain in place and continued to travel, visiting Romagna, Solaro until her death in 1539 .

Isabella was a passionate collector of Roman sculptures, coins and a customer of paintings and contemporary sculptures in the antique style. She created Studiolo d'Este : apartments with a collection of paintings by Mantegna , Perugino , Lorenzo Costa and Correggio . The premises included the Grotta, where antique medals and coins, carved stones and sculpture were presented. ^[one]

Under her patronage, the Mantua courtyard became one of the most cultured in Europe: in addition to the listed artists, there were Rafael and Titian , composers Bartolome Trombonchino and Marchetto Cara . Her court sculptor was Bonacolsi .

Together with her husband, she was the patron of Ariosto when he wrote his " Frantic Orlando ", and were also greatly influenced by Baldassare Castiglione , the author of "The Court ". On his advice, Giulio Romano was invited to Mantua to expand the castle and other buildings.

Her letters to Leonardo da Vinci , who, trusting her words, tried to settle in Mantua after his departure from Milan, have been preserved and well studied. But he arrived at an unsuccessful political moment, when Isabella was busy settling the crisis and saving the country and, disappointed by the lack of attention, left. Despite the fact that Isabella then repeatedly asked him to create works of art for her, his work for her was limited to a sketch for an unfinished portrait (1499). However, there is a hypothesis that Isabella became a model for Leonardo's " Mona Lisa ".

Chess tournaments were held at the court of Isabella, in which the strongest Italian chess players took part. She herself played chess well and was interested in the chess composition. Isabella ordered the mathematics and the clergyman Luca Pacioli treatise "On the game of chess" part of the illustrations (and some scholars believe that part of the tasks presented in the treatise), performed it Leonardo da Vinci.

Her pencil portrait was left by Leonardo, the picturesque by Titian (plus the second painting, La Bella, which is also, possibly, her portrait), and the posthumous image by Rubens . Her sculptural image on medals was left by Gian Cristoforo Romano , there is also a bust of his work, which is also considered her portrait, mainly due to the similarity with the work of Leonardo. From correspondence it is known that her portraits were painted by Mantegna, Giovanni Santi , Gianfranchesko Mineri , Lorenzo Costa , Francesco Francha , and also that Leonardo completed another preparatory drawing. ^[2]

Pavel Muratov as follows appreciated the extensive correspondence of the marquise:

The great deeds and little adventures of the Renaissance, the achievements of artists, the intrigues of politicians, festivals, fashion, household affairs, government cares, petty little things - they all stir up, all these letters are poured before us like an inexhaustible pile of colored and dull stones mixed together. In each of them, as in a drop of water, the world of the Renaissance is reflected, and every detail of it is refracted by the versatile mind of Isabella.

• Essex K. Swans of Leonardo. A modern female love story about Isabella’s alleged love for her sister’s husband Lodovico Moreau.
• 2011 - Isabella d'Este - The Renaissance Diva / Isabella d'Este, la regista del potere (dir. Alessandra Gigante / Alessandra Gigante), documentary-fiction film, in chap. the role of Livia Maddalena / Livia Maddalena

• I sabella d`Este. Die Furstin und Mezenatin der Reneissance, 1994. Catalog of the exhibition at the Museum of the History of Art, Vienna.

• George, L., The Public Perception of Isabella d'Este , Clio History Journal, 2009.
• Celebrities of the Italian Renaissance in Florence and in the Louvre Authors: Robert de La Sizeranne
• Image Gallery