by Elaine Ruffolo

8 - 22 September 2026
Tuesdays 18:00-19:30 CET

Detail of Fireplace Wall, Andrea Mantegna, Camera degli Sposi (1465-1474) (Wikipedia open source),

This seminar series provides a comprehensive analysis of the artistic and cultural output of three significant Renaissance courts: Milan, Mantua, and Urbino. These courts were vibrant centers of authority and innovation, where art served as a crucial tool for political representation, cultural identity, and intellectual exchange. By examining these courts, we will explore the complex interactions between patronage, artistic creation, and the broader social and political contexts of the Italian Renaissance.

The Renaissance court was not just a political entity but also a stage for cultural performance, where rulers commissioned artworks to express their power, refine their public image, and shape the intellectual and aesthetic landscape of their domains. Artists, architects, and scholars operated within these courtly systems, often negotiating creative freedom with the expectations of their patrons. This dynamic relationship led to some of the most remarkable artistic achievements of the era, from Piero della Francesca’s mathematically inspired masterpieces in Urbino to Leonardo da Vinci's visionary works in Milan.

This series will explore the roles of ruling families, their extraordinary personalities and projects, and the cultural milieu that fueled this artistic renaissance. We will investigate how regimes legitimized their power, the dynamics between princely patrons and the artists they employed, and how art emerged as a product of political regimes amid an era marked by conflict, terror, murder, and bloodshed.

Suggested texts:  

Alison Cole, Italian Renaissance Courts: Art, Pleasure and Power.

John Paoletti and Gary Radke, Art in Renaissance Italy.

Mary Hollingsworth, Patronage in Renaissance Italy: From 1400 to the Early Sixteenth Century

In person lectures in the Library and simultaneously available on Zoom.

Recordings will be available for registered participants only.