Brilliant Bodies: Fashioning Courtly Men in Early Renaissance Italy 9780271091471

Table of contents :
Contents
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Brilliant Bodies and Fashionable Men at Court
1. Riddled with Gilt: Lords in Shining Armor and Shimmering Brocades
2. “Ornado d’oro e giemme”: Brilliant Male Bodies Adorned
3. The Contours of Renaissance Fashion
4. Fair Princes: Blanched Beauty, Nobility, and Power
Epilogue: Black Is the New Gold
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

Brilliant Bodies

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Brilliant Bodies FASHIONING COURTLY MEN IN EARLY RENAISSANCE ITALY

TIMOTHY MCCALL

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA

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Portions of chapter 1 and the epilogue were previously published in “Brilliant Bodies: Material Culture and the Adornment of Men in North Italy’s Quattrocento Courts,” I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 16, nos. 1–2 (2013): 445–90, © 2013 by Villa I Tatti: The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. Passages from chapters 1 and 2 were originally published by Bard Graduate Center (NYC) in “Galeazzo’s Gem and Ghellero in the Uffizi Portrait by Piero Pollaiuolo,” Source: Notes in the History of Art 39, no. 3 (2020): 150–61. Chapter 2 contains modified excerpts originally published in “Material Fictions of Luxury in Sforza Milan,” in Luxury and the Ethics of Greed in Early Modern Italy, edited by Catherine Kovesi (Turnhout: Brepols, 2018), 239–76. Parts of chapter 3 were previously published by the Renaissance Society of America in “Materials for Renaissance Fashion,” Renaissance Quarterly 70, no. 4 (2017): 1449–64, and in the essay, coauthored with Sean Roberts, “Art and the Material Culture of Diplomacy,” in Italian Renaissance Diplomacy: A Sourcebook, edited by Monica Azzolini and Isabella Lazzarini, Durham Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Translations 6 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2017), 214–33, © Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Durham University, reprinted by permission. Additional credits: page i, Milanese silk velvet with gilt brocade, late fifteenth century (fig. 23), detail; page ii, Francesco del Cossa, Borso d’Este and His CourtCourt, late 1460s (fig. 4), detail; page xiv, Piero del Pollaiuolo, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, ca. 1460 (fig. 1), detail; page 16, Vincenzo Foppa, Giovanni Francesco Brivio, ca. 1495 (fig. 22), detail; page 54, Attributed to Pietro di Spagna, Justus van Gent, or Pedro Berruguete, Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, ca. 1476–78 (fig. 32), detail; page 80, Unknown, Hosiers (Calzaioli), ca. 1500 (fig. 61), detail; page 118, Francesco Francia, Federico Gonzaga, 1510 (fig. 75), detail; page 150; Workshop of (or after) Rogier van der Weyden, Philip the Good, 1450 (fig. 84), detail.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: McCall, Timothy, author. Title: Brilliant bodies : fashioning courtly men in early Renaissance Italy / Timothy McCall. Description: University Park, Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University Press, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: “Explores the relationship between fashion and power in Renaissance Italy, focusing on visual art and culture and the nature of aristocratic masculinity and patriarchal authority”—Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2021024267 | ISBN 9780271090603 (cloth) Subjects: LCSH: Nobility—Clothing—Italy—History—To 1500. | Men’s clothing—Italy—History—To 1500. | Fashion—Political aspects—Italy—History—To 1500. | Body image in men—Italy— History—To 1500. | Fashion and art. | Italy—Court and courtiers—Clothing—History—To 1500. Classification: LCC GT1760 M34 2022 | DDC 391/.1—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021024267 Copyright © 2022 Timothy McCall All rights reserved Printed in Korea Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA 16802–1003 The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the Association of University Presses. It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid-free paper. Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Material, ansi z39.48–1992.

This publication is made possible in part by a Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Publications Subsidy at Villa I Tatti.

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to my parents

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Contents

List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: Brilliant Bodies and Fashionable Men at Court 1

1 Riddled with Gilt: Lords in Shining Armor and Shimmering Brocades 17

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2 “Ornado d’oro e giemme”: Brilliant Male Bodies Adorned 55

3 The Contours of Renaissance Fashion 81

4 Fair Princes: Blanched Beauty, Nobility, and Power 119

Epilogue: Black Is the New Gold 151

Glossary 161 Notes 165 Bibliography 183 index 203

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Illustrations

1. Piero del Pollaiuolo, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 1471  2 2. Bonifacio Bembo and workshop, Pier Maria Rossi, ca. 1460 6 3. Salone dei Mesi, late 1460s  9 4. Francesco del Cossa, Borso d’Este and His Court, late 1460s 10 5. Doublet of Pandolfo Malatesta, ca. 1425  18 6. Andrea Mantegna, Horse, Hunting Dogs, and Their Handlers, 1465–74  20 7. Andrea Mantegna, The Meeting, 1465–74  20 8. Master of the Pala Sforzesca, Pala Sforzesca, ca. 1496  21 9. Attributed to Pietro di Spagna, Justus van Gent, or Pedro Berruguete, Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, ca. 1476–78 22 10. Attributed to Pietro di Spagna, Justus van Gent, or Pedro Berruguete, Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, ca. 1476–78, detail  23 11. Andrea Mantegna, Madonna della Vittoria, 1496, detail 25 12. Paolo Uccello, Battle of San Romano, ca. 1440  25 13. Italian armorer, coat of plates, early fifteenth century  26 14. Testone of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, obverse, ca. 1473  28 15. Ducato of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, obverse, ca. 1467  28 16. Cristoforo de Predis, manuscript cutting of the initial A depicting Galeazzo Maria Sforza in prayer, ca. 1476  29 17. Italian (Milanese?) armorer, Lion’s Head Sallet, ca. 1475 31 18. Milanese armorer, sallet, ca. 1470s  31 19. Andrea dall’Aquila and workshop, Aragonese soldier in velvet tunic and lion helmet among Prince Ferrante’s men, ca. 1455  32 20. Pisanello, Filippo Maria Visconti, reverse, ca. 1441  33 21. Pisanello, Velvet Brocaded with Loops of Gold, 1430s–40s 35 22. Vincenzo Foppa, Giovanni Francesco Brivio, ca. 1495  36 23. Milanese silk velvet with gilt brocade, late fifteenth century 37

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24. Ambrogio de Predis, Bianca Maria Sforza, 1493  38 25. Bartolomeo de’ Rigossi da Gallarate (attr.), manuscript illumination of Raffaele Vimercati presenting his book to Galeazzo Maria Sforza, early 1460s 41 26. Zanetto Bugatto (attr.), Bona of Savoy Presented by a Martyr Saint, ca. 1470, detail  42 27. Missaglia armorer, armet, ca. 1475  45 28. Jacopo da Cannobio, known as Bichignola, barbute, ca. 1460s  45 29. Francesco del Cossa, Weavers and Embroiderers / The Fates, late 1460s  47 30. Leonardo da Vinci, Sala delle Asse or Sala dei Moroni, ca. 1498  48 31. Giovanni Pietro Birago, illuminated frontispiece in La Sforziada, Cristoforo Landino’s Italian translation of Giovanni Simonetta, Rerum gestarum Francisci Sfortiae (Milan: Antonio Zarotto, 1490), 1493–94  50 32. Attributed to Pietro di Spagna, Justus van Gent, or Pedro Berruguete, Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, ca. 1476–78, detail  58 33. Master of the Pala Sforzesca, Pala Sforzesca, ca. 1496, detail 59 34. Baldassare d’Este, Borso d’Este, ca. 1470  61 35. Bartolomeo della Gatta, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, early 1480s 68 36. Pisanello, Leonello d’Este, ca. 1445  69 37. Francesco del Cossa, April, late 1460s, detail  70 38. Attributed to Bonifacio Bembo or Cristoforo de Predis, Francesco Sforza, ca. 1465–75  73 39. Bonifacio Bembo and workshop, Bianca Pellegrini presents a sword to the enamored Pier Maria Rossi, ca. 1460  76 40. Master of the Birago Hours, manuscript illumination depicting Galeazzo Maria Sforza among courtiers, early 1470s 78 41. Master of Ippolita Sforza, manuscript illumination of the initial B depicting Ippolita Maria Sforza with a phoenix, 1465 85

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Illustrations  ix

42. Unknown Emilian or Lombard artist, Griselda Disrobed, ca. 1470  86 43. Unknown Emilian or Lombard artist, Griselda Evicted from the Palace, ca. 1470  86 44. Unknown Emilian or Lombard artist, Attendants Tie Griselda’s Sleeves, ca. 1470  87 45. Lo Scheggia, Game of Civettino, ca. 1450  90 46. Unknown, manuscript illumination depicting youths training, 1460s  91 47. Unknown, August, late 1460s, detail  92 48. Francesco del Cossa, May, late 1460s, detail  93 49. Circle of Giacomo Jaquerio, newly rejuvenated man putting on a doublet at the Fountain of Youth, ca. 1415  94 50. Pisanello, Youth Removing His Tunic, 1420s–40s  95 51. Giornea of Diego Cavaniglia, ca. 1480  97 52. Jacopo della Pila, Tomb of Garzia Cavaniglia, ca. 1470  98 53. Team of illuminators including Taddeo Crivelli, Girolamo da Cremona, and Franco dei Russi, manuscript illumination of King Solomon enthroned (from 2 Chronicles), 1455–61  99 54. Gianfrancesco Enzola, Sforza dog and pine device, reverse of medal of Francesco Sforza, 1456  100 55. Unknown, manuscript illumination depicting Sforza dog and pine device, 1460s  100 56. Ambrogio Bergognone, Coronation of the Virgin with Francesco and Ludovico Sforza, ca. 1493, detail  101 57. Giulio Campi, Madonna and Child with Saints Sigismund of Burgundy, Jerome, Daria, and Chrysanthus, with Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza, 1540, detail 102 58. Unknown (Tuscan or Lombard?), Francesco Sforza, late fifteenth century  104 59. Unknown, manuscript illumination depicting Jupiter and Ganymede, ca. 1475  107 60. Francesco del Cossa, March, late 1460s, detail  108 61. Unknown, Hosiers (Calzaioli), ca. 1500  109 62. Andrea Mantegna, The Court, 1465–74, detail  109 63. Unknown, Borso d’Este Meeting with Courtiers and Subjects, late 1460s  113

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64. Pisanello, Male Leg with Calza and Ties, 1430s–40s  114 65. Unknown, Paris, mid-fifteenth century  114 66. Francesco del Cossa, Borso d’Este and His Court, late 1460s 116 67. Francesco del Cossa, April, late 1460s, detail  121 68. Pisanello, Borso d’Este, ca. 1440  123 69. Attributed to various artists, including Baldassare d’Este and Bonifacio Bembo, manuscript illumination depicting Leonello and Borso d’Este, 1474–75  123 70. Andrea Mantegna, Adoration of the Shepherds, early 1450s 124 71. Francesco del Cossa, Aries and the Decans of March, late 1460s 126 72. Unknown, Assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, ca. 1505 127 73. Unknown, Three Dukes Cassone, 1480s–early 1490s, detail 129 74. Ambrogio de Predis, Ludovico Sforza, ca. 1498  130 75. Francesco Francia, Federico Gonzaga, 1510  131 76. Cosmè Tura, Portrait of Young Man, ca. 1475  134 77. Attributed to various artists, including Baldassare d’Este and Bonifacio Bembo, manuscript illumination depicting Leonello d’Este, his wives Margherita Gonzaga and Maria of Aragon, and his blond sons, 1474–75 135 78. Giorgio d’Alemagna (attr.), manuscript illumination of Giovanni Bianchini, promoted by Borso d’Este, offering his book to Emperor Frederick III, ca. 1457–60  136 79. Attributed to Boccaccio Boccaccino, Boltraffio, or Andrea Solario, manuscript illumination depicting Massimiliano Sforza meeting Maximilian, king of the Romans, ca. 1498  137 80. Pisanello, Madonna and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot and George, ca. 1440  140 81. Piero della Francesca, Federico da Montefeltro, ca. 1472 142 82. Attributed to Giovanni Pietro Birago, among others, manuscript illumination of Massimiliano Sforza riding through Milan, ca. 1498  147

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x  Illustrations

83. Unknown (French or Lombard?), Fernando Francesco d’Ávalos, 1515–20  153 84. Workshop of (or after) Rogier van der Weyden, Philip the Good, 1450  153

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85. Rogier van der Weyden, Francesco d’Este, ca. 1460  156 86. Giovanni Bellini, Doge Leonardo Loredan, 1501  157

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Acknowledgments

This study originated during an invigorating and productive year in Florence and came to fruition seven years later during a second, equally intellectually exhilarating sabbatical in New York. This book was substantially written, however, in between, with the support and encouragement of my colleagues in the History Department at Villanova University. Yet my gratitude begins with the teachers and scholars who inspired me to think critically about Italy and art history as an undergraduate student in Washington and Fiesole: Eric Garberson, Eve Borsook, Imperatrice Di Passio, Elizabeth Dunn, Marcello Fantoni, John Pfordresher, and Linda Reynolds. Bruce Smith’s course on early modern masculinities planted seeds that only much later germinated and finally bloomed. In Ann Arbor, I was challenged and pushed further, especially by Betsy Sears, Maria Gough, and Diane Owen Hughes. During my graduate research in Italy, Marco Gentile and Alessandra Talignani provided early models for scholarly exchange. Wholehearted thanks go to the tattiani of my fellowship year at Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, notably Gerardo de Simone, Giovanni Fara, Marcella Marongiu, Nadia Marx, Liz Mellyn, and Cara Rachele. Lino Pertile, Anna Bensted, and Jonathan Nelson supported me and my work in innumerable ways while I was a fellow there. I miss Simona Mercuri’s and Janet Robson’s wit and laughter. I think often about these two radiant scholars, who left us much too soon. For generous assistance and guidance while a fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I warmly thank Cristina Carr, Giulia Chiostrini, Adam Eaker, William Gassaway, Melanie Holcomb, Ted Hunter, Dorothy Mahon, Alison Nogueira, and Stephan Wolohojian. I am indebted to Melinda Watt for welcoming me into the Antonio Ratti Textile Center and sharing her expertise. I learned a tremendous amount from my entire cohort of fellows but in particular want to single out the intellectual

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camaraderie of Gerrit Albertson, Sonali Dhingra, Nenagh Hathaway, Aaron Hyman, Joyce Klein Koerkamp, and Imogen Tedbury. The year in New York was all the more rewarding because of conversations with Caitlin Henningsen, Jill Lasersohn, Aimee Ng, Alexander Noelle, Elizabeth Rodini, and Lisa Schermerhorn. Three brilliant people I met this year—Jonquil O’Reilly, Anna Reynolds, and Amanda Wunder—inspired me to think more critically about fashion history; for this, and for their friendship, my gratitude is unbounded. With esteem and fondness, I wish to thank Andrea Bayer, who went out of her way to open doors and make connections for me. Andrea is a formidable and selfless mentor. A question posed by Catherine Kerrison many years ago, following my job talk at Villanova University, propelled me to frame my research more explicitly around masculinity—I thank Catherine for that question and the entire History Department for their support in the intervening years. Without a doubt, these are the best historians an art historian could ask for. Special thanks are due to Hibba Abugideiri, Craig Bailey, Judy Giesberg, Elizabeth Kolsky, Andy Liu, Whitney Martinko, Emmet McLaughlin, Mark Sullivan, and Rebecca Winer—and to Paul Rosier for generously sharing funds from the Birle Professorship to subsidize image acquisition. Beyond the History Department, I am grateful for many conversations with Luca Cottini, Alice Dailey, Ed Fierros, Travis Foster, Anthony Lagalante, Letizia Modena, Jutta Seibert, and Lauren Shohet—and for the pleasure of working, as co-director of the Gender and Women’s Studies Program, with Catherine Kerrison, Jean Lutes, Shauna MacDonald, and Lisa Sewell. Marc Gallicchio and Adele Lindenmeyr have unwaveringly supported me for many years, and I am deeply obliged to them both. Equally valuable have been intellectual exchange and friendship with Maghan Keita, Cristina Soriano, and Paul Steege, from whom I have learned much.

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xii  Acknowledgments

For generously sharing work in progress, guiding me toward crucial references, or assisting with images and last-minute sources, I am indebted to Cristina Borgioli, Leah Clark, Jordan Famularo, Laura Giannetti, Jocelyn Karlan, Evan MacCarthy, Gerry Milligan, Elizabeth Moodey, Steven Ostrow, Michele Robinson, Charles Rosenberg, Alexander Röstel, Rosa Salzberg, Susan Mosher Stuard, Jennifer Webb, and Joanna Whalley. For invitations to present or publish material from this study, and for the invaluable feedback that followed, I am most grateful to Monica Azzolini, Bill Caferro, Blake de Maria, Serena Ferente, Touba Ghadessi, Paula Hohti-Erichsen, Dana Katz, Jessica Keating, Isabella Lazzarini, Daniel Maze, Katherine McIver, Christina Neilson, Maureen Pelta, Gervase Rosser, Ann Tartsinis, Paola Ugolini, and Ittai Weinryb. With cheer, I recognize the marvelous and relentless Marina Cotugno for help obtaining many of the book’s images, and also Marco Romano, who shepherded a gang of art historians from Naples to Montella so I could finally see Diego Cavaniglia’s splendid garments. Books by a single author are nevertheless collaborative, communal endeavors, and this one matured and evolved over many years, enhanced by the criticism and encouragement of a number of art historians, historians, and fashionistas. For matters large and small, and for support and guidance of all kinds, I thank Frances Andrews, Tommaso Astarita, Niall Atkinson, Nic Baker, Jennifer Borland, Jill Burke, Elena Calvillo, Jean Campbell, Danielle Carrabino, Sarah Cockram, Maya Corry, Nick Eckstein, Ingrid Greenfield, Erin Griffey, Chriscinda Henry, Cecily Hilsdale, Katie Hornstein, Larry Hyman, Dale Kent, Allison Levy, Maria Loh, Louise Marshall, Lyle Massey, Alistair McFarlane, Chris Nygren, Debra Pincus, Sophie Pitman, Michael Rocke, Ulinka Rublack, Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, Carl Strehlke, Mary Vaccaro, and Kelli Wood. I want to single out Nerida Newbigin for generously sharing with me her edition and translation of

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the Florentine poem celebrating Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s first trip to Florence, and likewise Deanna Shemek for doing the same with the translations of Isabella d’Este’s letters before their publication. Areli Marina energized this study at an early stage and helped with the title, and Sarah Covington’s and Nick Terpstra’s faith in my (overdue) work offered me the opportunity to think through Renaissance fashion in an essay that consolidated some of the key frameworks that inform this book. Jacki Musacchio provided a most insightful reading of the text many years ago, and more recently Paul Kaplan did the same for chapter 4, and on very short notice. For unrelenting and enthusiastic support over many years, I wish to thank, with admiration and affection, Diane Cole Ahl, Cristelle Baskins, Louise Bourdua, Stephen Campbell, Anne Dunlop, Megan Holmes, and Catherine Kovesi. Wholehearted thanks likewise go to Lisa Bessette, Heather Flaherty, Stefan Fritsch, Nenette Luarca-Shoaf, Emanuele Lugli, Lia Markey, Peta Motture, Diana Bullen Presciutti, Mark Rosen, Monika Schmitter, Alexandra Schwartz, Matt Shoaf, and Yao-Fen You. Philadelphia’s scholarly community rivals that of just about any city, believe it or not. In Philly, I have found friendship and intellectual inspiration among Elly Truitt, Eva Del Soldato, Meredith Ray, Heidi Voskuhl, Linda Pellecchia, David Stone, David Kim, Alicia Walker, Sarah Guérin, Nick Herman, Emily Hage, Vicky Kirkham, Tick Ahearn, Homay King, Sylvia Houghteling, Eric Song, Sara Bryant, Rosi Song, and Jamie Taylor. For love and support in Louisville, New York, Melbourne, Shanghai, Bangkok, and here and there in between, I extend heartfelt appreciation to Scott Schaftlein, Andrew Newton Schaftlein, Nathan Clark, Jonah Johnson, Sarah Niehoff, Ryan Whelan, David Lambertus, Ken Hammond, Christina Dyson, Rob Rizzo, and Tracey Zaccone. Funding for the publication of this book’s images has been provided by Villanova University’s Department of

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Acknowledgments  xiii

History, and by the department’s Birle Professorship (with thanks to Jim Birle). Essential financial support for publication was also provided by a Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Publications Subsidy from Villa I Tatti. Research for this project has been supported by Villanova University; by Villanova’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Department of History; by short-term fellowships from the Renaissance Society of America, the Penn Humanities Forum of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Folger Shakespeare Library; and by yearlong fellowships from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Villa I Tatti. I sincerely thank everyone at Penn State University Press who has worked so diligently on this book—including the two anonymous reviewers, whose feedback made this a much more convincing and dynamic text (though, of course, all errors are my own). I extend my gratitude to Maddie Caso, for being so responsive to my queries and so even-keeled; to Suzanne Wolk, copyeditor extraordinaire, who refined and clarified my prose and saved me from more unforced errors than I care to remember; and

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to Laura Reed-Morrisson, for shepherding the book through the production process. Ellie Goodman, whose support for this project I appreciate profoundly, helped me sharpen key arguments and make the whole more streamlined and substantial. I am fortunate to have as longtime Renaissance comrades Jill Pederson, Andrea Rizzi, and Allie TerryFritsch, whose brilliance, feedback, and scholarship continue to inspire me. Much of what you will read in this book has been informed, shaped, and brought to life by four friends and scholars to whom I am likewise profoundly indebted, personally and intellectually. With affection, I thank John Gagné, Liz Horodowich, Sean Roberts, and Pat Simons, who have been mercilessly subjected to enough commentary on Renaissance lords and their clothes to fill many lifetimes. I hope they find something to like in this book; I certainly hear their voices as I read it. I warmly thank too my siblings, and their partners: Lauren, JR, Danielle, Kelly, Greg, Casey, Jill, and even Ryan. With love and gratitude, I dedicate this book to my parents, Jinny McCall and John Tim McCall.

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Introduction

Brilliant Bodies and Fashionable Men at Court

Sonno pomposo un pocho, e non è gran pecato in un signore. —Galeazzo Maria Sforza to Zaccaria Saggi

In April 1473, in the spirit of Lent, Galeazzo Maria Sforza confessed to Zaccaria Saggi, the Mantuan ambassador to Milan, “I am a little bit ostentatious [pomposo], but that is no great sin in a lord.”1 Scholars have long recognized pomposity in many aspects of the life and rule of this imperious and profligate Duke of Milan (fig. 1), and the exasperated Saggi, who confided in his lord that he wanted to smack Sforza but lacked the authority to do so, seems to have felt much the same way. Galeazzo affirmed that he was inclined to lust in “full perfection” and “in all the fashions and forms that it can be done,” and even his widow, Bona of Savoy—in a remarkable letter to Pope Sixtus IV, an endeavor to save her husband’s soul—willingly conceded his “extortion of subjects, neglect of justice . . . carnal vices . . . and innumerable sins.” Rather than inventory Galeazzo’s evildoings—and leaving aside

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rumors that he poisoned his mother—I want to turn critical attention to the cultural and ideological ramifications of Sforza’s playful and arrogant but nonetheless salient assertion that it was “no great sin” for a lord to be “pompous.”2 In short, it was a prince’s duty to exhibit and manifest extravagance, to distance himself visually from his subjects. Brilliant Bodies investigates Galeazzo Maria Sforza and other lords to explore and interpret how they used art, spectacle, and especially clothing and adornment to re­inforce and advertise power, and to seduce those who beheld them. The images and bodies of these signori convinced subjects that those who were represented and displayed ruled rightfully. Aristocratic ideologies of bodily representation are thus the focus of this book. I argue that brilliance and other qualities of light, including resplendence,

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2  Brilliant Bodies

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Introduction  3

glamour, and splendor, were essential courtly ideals that constituted authority and manifested status by emitting distinction and nobility. Radiant bodies—both actual living bodies and efficacious images of them—proclaimed courtliness and were requisite components of signorial sovereignty in fifteenth-century Italy. Lords were described in glowing terms as glorifying their city with the material splendor of their patronage and person. Light radiating and reflecting from skin, hair, clothing, jewels, weapons, and armor manifested virtue and hierarchical status in bodies on display in dazzling spectacles and shimmering frescoes. These illustrious and lustrous bodies were magnetic and charismatic, drawing gazes and desires toward them.

Brilliance and the Courtly Values of Light Splendore (splendor) and other values of expenditure and display reveal the contemporary resonance of brilliance, brightness, and shine.3 The honorific titles with which lords were addressed in letters and life, such as illustrissimus and spettabilis, further indicate both that ideals of nobility often related to light, for the former, and that visual attention should be directed to these men, for the latter. This study is attuned to inflections relating to light in adjectives such as chiaro (more luminous than merely clear, and in some contexts denoting fame) and pulito (polished, in addition to clean, with connections to noble class and decorum, as intimated by the English polite or the French politesse). English words that also shed valences of light in general usage include splendid, illustrious, luminary, and glamorous, among others.4

Figure 1  Piero del Pollaiuolo, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 1471. Tempera and oil (?) on cypress panel, 65 × 42 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Photo: Scala / Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali / Art Resource, New York.

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Radiance and splendor had long served as customary signifiers of sanctity and divine presence in Christianity, and the familiarity and currency of these traditions, which were second nature for Renaissance men and women, lent considerable authority to resplendent lords. Yet many cultures associated brilliance and resplendence with social status, sacrality, beauty, political authority, or wealth—for example, the coeval rulers of China, the Ming or “Bright” Dynasty, and many Amerindians.5 Light still dazzles and beguiles. Flashy metallic bling—which Krista Thompson excellently explores in relation to Black male spectacularity and self-representation—comes immediately to mind. And the word candidate derives from the toga candida, the specifically lustrous and “candid” white garment that marked “exclusivity and social superiority” as the traditional clothing of political office in ancient Rome.6 The adjective brilliant illustrates the positive value we accord words relating to light. In the book’s title, brilliant means bright, shining, or full of light, though one is most likely today to hear it used—often as an exclamation— without consciously suggesting illumination but rather to proclaim something to be wonderful, impressively clever or intelligent, or otherwise exceedingly well done. Brilliant derives from the translucent mineral beryl (beryllus or berillus in Latin and beril in Middle English) that, depending on its chemical makeup, occurs in a number of colors and varieties, including emerald and heliodor. Though the word did not exist in English in the fifteenth century, its Italian counterpart did, as both adjective (brillante) and verb (brillare—to shine). In “De Beryllo,” the humanist Nicolaus Cusanus described the stone as “bright, white, and clear.” Beryl crystals of various sorts, some of which were imputed magical powers, are found in Renaissance collections and wardrobes, among them Isabella d’Este’s chrysoberyl, known to her as a cat’s-eye. One particularly perceptive Sforza courtier—Leonardo

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4  Brilliant Bodies

da Vinci—enthused about the seductively kaleidoscopic color and light effects of sunlight refracted through the berillo’s facets. Leonardo compared the beryl’s brilliant rainbow with the “most beautiful colors” produced by the movement of iridescent feathers.7 Deploying metaphors of light in his Treatise on Architecture, Filarete liken princes to lustrous gems, asserting that both should be “splendid and luminous without any blemish.”8 Accordingly, sources celebrated the radiant beauty of Galeazzo Maria Sforza in the very years that Filarete composed this treatise in Milan. During a visit to Florence in 1459, the fifteen-year-old lord was lauded as pulito (polished), lustre (lustrous), candido (shining white), aureate (golden), and splendido (splendid) by a poet who praised Galeazzo’s luce (light), bianchezza (whiteness), and splendor, and compared him to a “living sun.” Courtiers traveling with Galeazzo were, according to Pope Pius II, “splendid and most ornamented.” Sforza possessed, moreover, “blond and splendid hair . . . that seemed to be rays of the sun and stars,” and a single lock from his gold, curly tresses could seduce even icy Diana. Resembling “the son of Mars descended to earth,” Galeazzo was extolled as “the most beautiful creature that was ever seen . . . the most polished and noblest lord.” One poet described him as a sun surrounded by “shining stars” at a dance, while another affirmed that his “gold and silver brocades, and pearls . . . made midnight a bright, clear day.” So too at the joust for Galeazzo organized by the young Lorenzo de’ Medici, “polished” fighters “made midnight seem day.”9 Lords’ splendor inescapably drew observers’ gazes. These were bodies dressed to impress, glittering in the Renaissance cityscape. The entire Medici clan—“young and old, female and male”—stared at the scintillating Galeazzo Maria Sforza, “just as the ostrich stares at her egg,” according to a poet echoing the avian lore that rays of heat from an ostrich’s unwavering glare accelerated the

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chick’s hatching. “Gazing on him is like running with your eyes fixed on the sun,” for the young Count of Pavia “dazzles so that nothing else is visible between.” This “flashing and sparkling” prince seemed to “shine more than the morning stars” when he moved.10 Metaphors praised and reinforced the ideals of radiant beauty embodied in lords, who responded in turn by presenting bodies specifically made brilliant by clothing, adornment, and somatic manipulation.11 Courtly male bodies were cynosures that glistened and glimmered with every move, whether in the sun or under torch or candlelight. Galeazzo Maria Sforza spent a veritable fortune on jewels, and a pair of his sleeves was adorned with nearly thirty-five hundred pearls and forty-five rubies.12 In life and in paintings, he wore expensive gems, including the balas—a reddish spinel often conflated with the ruby— suspended on a golden chain in Piero del Pollaiuolo’s portrait of 1471 (fig. 1). Crucially, Galeazzo dressed not only himself but scores of courtiers in silk brocades suffused with gold, that most desired and precious of metals, which contemporaries appreciated for its malleability and ductility, and because it did not tarnish or corrode. As Marsilio Ficino put it, gold was the safest from decay.13 In June 1466, an ambassador reported that Galeazzo—months after becoming duke at the age of twenty-two—planned to outfit his chamberlains splendidly “two or three times a year, from head to toe.” Two years later, the prince distributed four hundred silk velvet tunics embroidered with Sforza devices for the feast of Saint George, and in 1472 he dressed courtiers in crimson apparel brocaded with either silver or gold, depending on their status.14 Among these lavishly attired men and boys was the teenaged Bernardino Corio, the future historian of Milan. Galeazzo had indeed, as Corio later asserted, made his court “one of the most resplendent in the universe” and “splendid beyond measure.”15

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Introduction  5

Galeazzo understood that he was always on display, watched and judged by peers and courtiers and at times by large public gatherings. As a teenager, in letters to his parents, he described in detail the crowds who came to see him as he traveled. Throughout his life, moreover, the lord was clearly aware of subjects’ and courtiers’ expectations of signorial beauty and body type. On the day he was assassinated in 1476, Galeazzo took off a protective garment because he thought it made him look “too fat.”16 We shall see that noble men paid close attention to their self-image, their weight, and the presentation of a slender silhouette. Sforza’s death, it seems, was hastened by the fact that he could not bear to be seen as overweight and unlordly, particularly in the company of so many idealized portraits of himself. Although the bodies under interpretative scrutiny in this book are those of lords, I also examine men, and to a lesser extent women, from across the social hierarchy. Nobility was manifested somatically not only in the prince but in the entire court: wives and mistresses, courtiers and officials, children and attendants, and the crowds of beautiful young men and boys who surrounded and mirrored their signore. Courts were social arenas in which distinctions of rank were displayed and embodied, in the process simultaneously constituting and illustrating ever-shifting hierarchies enacted by economies of favor, access, and status. The illustrious lads whom we can with good reason call the fifteenth-century glitterati brought honor not merely to the prince but to the wider court and city, and to courtiers who turned proximity to the lord to their own advantage. As Galeazzo reminded men whose attendance he had requested in Milan for the approaching Christmas season, through their presence, “the prince himself stands out more, and the noble and excellent men who are in a state of favor in the prince’s eyes grow in grace and increase in honors.” Displays of courtliness and authority were collaborative rather than individual

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efforts, and thus to understand signorial power, we must describe the bodies not just of the lord but of the entourage visibly surrounding him.17

Spectacular Male Bodies Fifteenth-century courtly bodies were hardly ever seen or represented as undressed or unadorned. Indeed, clothing and accessories constituted these social bodies that efficiently conveyed immediately accessible and politically significant messages about social status and power for widely varying audiences.18 Courtly bodies were not mere flesh and blood, for bodies are never completely natural but are constituted and understood through culture and are ornamented, disciplined, and manipulated. Brilliance shone forth from the lord’s face, jewels, and brocades, whether he was glimpsed by subjects in the piazza or depicted on the frescoed walls of a palazzo. The shimmering surfaces of clothing and adornment reinforced light-emitting properties embodied in aristocratic men. Radiance was thus manifest in somatic, natural, and artificial materials. Skin and hair were cultural productions blanched in art and, cosmetically, in life. Somatic appearance and beauty were filtered through class- and gender-specific expectations, as we see in the Golden Chamber (Camera d’Oro) on the piano nobile (noble main floor) of the Castello di Torrechiara near Parma. Here, the almost fifty-year-old Pier Maria Rossi is represented as an idealized courtly warrior, youthful and fair haired (fig. 2). This “bel signore”— as he was called by a poet celebrating the room’s gold and azurite frescoes—delicately grasps the baton of command with his index finger and sports two swords at his side.19 This “beautiful lord” in shining armor stands forcefully but gracefully, his impossibly slender waist enclosed within the gleaming metal plates.

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6  Brilliant Bodies

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Introduction  7

Beauty served as a potent ideological tool wielded by signori and their supporters to legitimize authority and naturalize hegemony, to convince subjects that it was right and just that those in power remained there. Theirs were fair bodies—beautiful, blanched, and good—and fair seems to be an appropriately suggestive word, given its chivalric connotation and implicit value judgment. Lightemitting beauty had for centuries been conventionally invoked as an integral aspect of nobility and lordship. While scholars of medieval France and Germany have pointed to the cogency of brilliance in literary rhetoric, I investigate that value in material and visual culture.20 Fifteenth-century signori expected to be praised as beautiful, and contemporaries admired their ideally blond hair, luminous eyes, and beaming faces, fair complexioned and clean shaven. One chronicler lauded “the most courtly” Borso d’Este’s “ornamented body” and “beautiful face.” The duke was elsewhere characterized as “lordly and resplendent with his imperial appearance ornamented by gold and gems . . . in all ways refulgent.” His visage seemed bright enough to “obscure the sun,” even at midday.21 Brilliant bodies captivated viewers for whom radiant markers of beauty confirmed power and aristocratic status. This book builds on scholars’ valuable and lively focus on gender in the study of Italian Renaissance art. I draw attention to men and their array as a means of interpreting representations of masculinity (then as now essential to patriarchal power). Productive feminist scholarship by Patricia Simons, Cristelle Baskins, and Evelyn Welch, among many others, has investigated women on display.22 Only more recently has scrutiny

Figure 2  Bonifacio Bembo and workshop, Pier Maria Rossi, ca. 1460. Fresco. North lunette, Camera d’Oro, Castello di Torrechiara. Photo: author, courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo—Direzione Regionale Musei Emilia-Romagna.

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been directed toward performances and constructions of masculinity, including in crucial studies of early modern male fashion and adornment.23 Precisely because of widespread suspicion and disregard of men’s ornamentation, however, the bodies of Italian lords have not received the sustained, fine-grained, critical analysis that the present study offers. Looking in detail at signori allows us to denaturalize and shed new light upon commonplace assumptions about male fashion and ornamentation, through an examination of a period before the so-called great masculine renunciation of fashion: modernity’s broad, though never absolute, rejection of color and adornment in European men’s dress, conventionally associated with the Protestant Reformation and the Industrial Revolution, among other historical changes and trajectories.24 By scrutinizing male bodies, this study challenges the diminishing yet still resilient tendency to assume that only women are gendered or sexed, and that women have sexed bodies whereas men have standard or essentially human bodies, which were (and are) visible and valued, yet in certain ways unmarked and beyond critical surveillance. Without sustained interrogations dedicated to dismantling masculinity’s false claims to universality and immutability, patriarchal power generates the perception that it is inevitable and entirely natural. Brilliant Bodies seeks to unclothe (to divest) masculine privilege by examinating its apparel and adornment. Popular culture today, of course, is increasingly attentive to male attire and performances of maleness, and studies of masculinities are flourishing. Male fashion has been reclaimed, if it ever truly was renounced. It is vital to recognize and interpret both similarities and differences between aristocratic men and women. Both were lavishly ornamented in fifteenth-century Italy. Likewise, brilliant ideals of somatic beauty manifested nobility through complexion and hair color, regardless of

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8  Brilliant Bodies

gender, such that courtly women were commonly described as radiantly beautiful, just as their male counterparts were. Distinctions, however, will come to the fore, including the emphasis on men’s legs and the cultural invisibility of women’s. Men’s legs were shown off and accentuated by tight calze (stockings), while women’s were generally hidden beneath long, cascading dresses. Explanations for these differences are complex and range from prevailing moral strictures, to variations in clothing and modes of fastening, to traditions of literary praise. Sexual interest in specific body parts is to a certain degree historically and culturally specific, and distinct and resolutely gendered conventions of display—rather than somatic morphology or transhistorical truths about fashion—prompted the varying ways in which men and women were evaluated and their bodies and body parts idealized and eroticized. As crucial as gender is as an analytical category, it cannot be our sole interpretative key. Of course, fifteenthcentury men were not all equally privileged, even if most nevertheless enjoyed the benefits of the patriarchal dividend, and even if patriarchal systems are more forgiving and flexible for subordinated men than for analogous women.25 An individual’s power and visibility were shaped by and contingent upon a number of additional overlapping and potentially conflicting circumstances and identities that intersected with gendered power dynamics. Age, beauty, skin color, sanctity, and dynastic affiliation and allegiance all come into play in this study, and I investigate, for instance, youthful bodies surrounding the prince as he aged and lost his ideally svelte form. Intersecting and mutually constitutive expectations of gender and social rank shaped the values imputed to courtly individuals, and the centrality of noble status and lordship cannot be overstated. James Schultz coined the term aristophilia, love of the aristocracy, and convincingly argued that alluring bodies were more cogently marked

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by a hierarchy of courtliness than by gender in medieval German literature.26 Likewise in quattrocento Italy, fair beauty revealed and embodied privilege as much as sexual desirability. Brilliant Bodies fundamentally argues that nobility was manifested, and aristophiliac subjects were seduced, not so much through sprezzatura—the calculated and affected nonchalance that looms large in discussions of Renaissance courtliness—as through material signs of wealth and culturally legible somatic markers such as radiance, adornment, and resplendent clothing.27 On the walls of the Salone dei Mesi (Room of the Months) on the piano nobile of Ferrara’s Palazzo Schifanoia (figs. 3–4), the affable and flashy Borso d’Este smiles and laughs, surrounded by lavishly dressed courtiers. These bright young things with golden locks, shimmering sleeves, and elegant legs encircle Borso, whose gems and brocaded garments reflect social status, lucre, and light. This painted cortege manifests an idealized vision of Borso’s emphatically homosocial court, which itself was conventionally praised for the reciprocal, complementary qualities of nobility and beauty. Courtiers traveling to Rome in 1471—“some dressed in gold brocade, others in silver, and others in velvet”—included among their ranks the poet Matteo Maria Boiardo. They were “florid and gallant,” “beautiful, ordered, and adorned.”28 Borso was famous for his brocaded apparel, and chroniclers and other commentators asserted that Italian lords were not seen in public attired otherwise. Whether it was strictly true, the insistence that signori always wore cloth of gold clearly demonstrates the indispensable role of brilliant array in the display and exercise of power. Dazzling bodies established authority at first glance by reinforcing the separation between signorial dynasties and their subjects. Indeed, the artistic representation of vertical relations and interactions between classes made audiences ever more aware of these distinctions. In

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Introduction  9

Figure 3  Salone dei Mesi, late 1460s. Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: Alinari / SEAT / Art Resource, New York (George Tatge).

Schifanoia’s splendid frescoes, courtliness and aristocratic identity are conspicuously bolstered by the visualization of difference. In each month’s lowest register, Borso greets a supplicant whose inferior social and economic status is typically marked by clothing or skin color. Such social distinctions are reiterated by depictions of courtly activities—golden boys hunting and falconing—juxtaposed with agricultural labor performed by peasants in the

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frescoes’ secondary scenes. Borso’s radiantly embroidered nobility was thus visually articulated through opposition to rusticity and peasant status, marked by skin color and by dull, damaged clothing. In many ways, this book is a study of ideologies of representation activated through images of social distance, difference, and hierarchy. The display of elite men’s bodies in frescoes and spectacles constituted rather than merely reflected their

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10  Brilliant Bodies

authority. Power absolutely relied on such display. Laura Mulvey’s influential interrogation of the cinematic gaze inspired vital studies of the male gaze directed toward women in Italian Renaissance art and society.29 Yet this book acknowledges that fifteenth-century Italian courts put men on display. Here, men were peacocks, colorfully adorned to attract attention. Here, men became a “spectacular gender” in ways that remain insufficiently understood.30 Visibility and representation mattered. They produced real effects by persuading subjects to submit to their lord. Such display was an essential aspect of rule, necessary to support and amplify authority, even if it could simultaneously expose one to unanticipated judgments and criticisms. Thus we turn our gaze toward men not simply to challenge gendered assumptions about spectacle and bodies but to critically evaluate operations of power and dominance. The exhibition of noble bodies was as indispensable to lords’ rule as were waging war, dispensing justice, acquiring territory, and collecting taxes. Brilliant bodies were the fundamental images and models through which signorial power was sustained.

Material and Power: Bodies That Mattered Concomitant with art history’s expanding notions of visual and material culture, this study investigates a wide array of light-emitting and skillfully crafted objects: scintillating brocaded velvets, gleaming armor, metallic fresco cycles, and jewels and other glistening adornments, including sequins and belts. Though today they are most familiar to us frozen in paint, for fifteenth-century

Figure 4  Francesco del Cossa, Borso d’Este and His Court, late 1460s. Fresco. April, east wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: AGF Srl / Alamy Stock Photo.

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Introduction  11

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12  Brilliant Bodies

audiences, courtly bodies were rarely still. They moved through space, walking or on horseback, and so we must attend to bodies’ multisensory phenomena: reflections, reverberations, and sounds produced by clanking metal, twinkling gems, and glistering metallic threads.31 Radiating light would have been all the more spectacular as the individual moved and turned under different forms of illumination. Indeed, Georg Simmel’s influential sociological account of adornment ties its power and material means to brilliance, to flashes and reflections intended to arrest attention.32 I cultivate sensitivity to the material and sartorial eyes (and bodies) of consumers, producers, and wearers—and here I borrow and amend Michael Baxandall’s trenchant formulation of the period eye: society-specific, culturally contingent modes of viewing.33 These men and women were discerning and discriminating evaluators of clothing’s somatic, surface, and visual effects: the weight and feel of fabrics; the sparkle and sheen of metal adornments and iridescent silk velvets; the fastness of colors. These qualities, crucially, were embodied and not merely visual phenomena. As such, this book conceptualizes the material culture of Italian lords not as scraps of textile in museum storerooms or as jewels in vitrines, but rather as lustrous garments draped over bodies in motion. By investigating the materiality of signorial bodies, we can begin to appreciate the effort and labor that went into the production and presentation of these living images of power. Not only was the expense great; the prince’s discomfort could be too. Metal-infused garments were heavy, and adornments changed how their wearers stood or sat. Recent forensic analysis of lords’ embalmed bodies, moreover, confirms the grave physical damage done by a lifetime of bearing hefty armor.34 Gleaming swords and scabbards proclaimed knightly status, threatened violence, and changed the way men walked.

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Clothing and array are dynamic agents that provoke and communicate cultural ideals about bodies to which subsequent fashion innovations respond. Both the material artifacts of Renaissance bodies and their visual representations possessed remarkable agency.35 They engendered and not merely reflected meaning; they shaped and not merely embellished political power. Attending to contemporary values of light and radiance allows us to reconsider even the most familiar court monuments, notably the Salone dei Mesi in Ferrara and Andrea Mantegna’s Camera Picta in Mantua, though it is essential to remind ourselves of how much luster has been lost from these frescoes through the deterioration and tarnishing of metallic surfaces. Moving beyond art historians’ conventional focus on a single city, this study utilizes evidence from various courts to investigate the ideals and images that most efficaciously expressed lordship and authority. In recent decades, scholars have increasingly paid critical attention to Italian court society and art in order to redress disciplinary imbalances tilted toward Rome, Venice, and Florence, resisting what Vincent Ilardi diagnosed as “florentinitis.”36 Yet, by investigating the representation of lords, I intend not to glorify them but rather to lay bare the means by which art masked and facilitated the brutal effects of aristocratic rule even while it unrelentingly affirmed differentials of power. Signori maintained authority and enriched their regimes through intimidation and violence against even their own citizens. Relationships between lords, subjects, and partisans fluctuated between fealty, protection, consent, hostile coercion, and vicious domination. In 1447, men under the command of Francesco Sforza and Pier Maria Rossi mercilessly sacked Piacenza and raped the town’s women and girls on a systematic scale.37 Francesco seized Milan by holding the starving city hostage in a time of famine, and four decades later Sforza was posthumously celebrated as the “devastator of

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Introduction  13

Piacenza” in the imagery of a triumphal arch constructed for his grandson’s wedding. In the same decade, Rossi’s son Guido threatened “fire and flames” to villagers who refused to swear allegiance to his dynasty.38 Displays of male bodies were fundamental to such intimidation and dominance, as, for instance, when Francesco Sforza menacingly clad himself in armor in the presence of a delegation of Piacentine peasants rebelling against Milanese rule following rumors of the duke’s ill health in 1462. As the Gonzaga ambassador who witnessed the meeting related, “because some said he [Sforza] was swollen and could not move, he wanted them to see him, so he took off his robe to get dressed in front of them and have some armor put on and then said: ‘Do not doubt that I am the same as I ever was; if you do not wise up, you will all regret it.’ ”39 Renaissance signori were ruthless warlords, though they have often been regarded as enlightened patrons, ennobled by the art and other cultural productions they commissioned and inspired. In truth, these men were both, as violence and cultural refinement were equally attributes of the martial, noble culture that Brilliant Bodies excavates, alert to subtle relationships, intersections, and differences between reality and representation. These men were certainly lightened, if hardly enlightened rulers. All the same, it is crucial not to slander signori as tyrannical despots and as less cultured or benevolent than Italy’s republican leaders. Jacob Burckhardt, in the mid-nineteenth century, famously and influentially contrasted the illegitimacy, moral depravity, “unscrupulousness,” and “measureless egotism” of Italian lords with the “most elevated political thought,” “intellectual freedom,” and “wondrous . . . spirit” of the republics, chief among them Florence and Venice.40 The present study, by contrast, contributes to revisionist scholarship of recent decades that has critically examined the still tenacious and resilient court/republic divide from both historicist and historiographical perspectives. It is well known, for

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instance, that differences between modes and conventions of masculine clothing and ornamentation in courts and republics could be stark, whether manifested in the varying ideologies of male adornment separating aristocratic Milan from (ostensibly) self-effacing Florence, or in the contrasting cuts, colors, and materials worn by the ruling classes of Ferrara, where fashionable attire revealed courtly bodies, or Venice, where columnar togas asserted enduring political longevity and hid physiques underneath. All the same, where scholars once drew stark distinctions between courtly and republican cultures and forms of government, we now increasingly recognize similarities and parallels. Both republics and courts, after all, were ruled by aristocratic families and their noble adherents, who made up, fought against, and cooperated with civic institutions also built on privileged male oligarchies. The Medici of fifteenth-century Florence were not lords, though they expressed signorial ambitions and in particular contexts dressed and displayed themselves much like their princely peers. Theirs was a “republic of swaggering princes . . . gradually settling into oligarchy,” as Florence circa 1469 was recently characterized.41 The previous year, in fact, a Ferrarese ambassador informed Borso d’Este that Florence “honors clothing more than virtue or anything else.” The peninsula’s city-states can be defined, to varying degrees, as both courtly and republican, plutocratic and oligarchic. Parma was governed by councils equally divided among men from four squadre (factions), each commanded by a noble dynasty that directly controlled extra-urban territory.42 Dominant republican families such as the Medici, and the Bentivoglio of Bologna, moreover, deployed brilliant spectacle in ways similar though by no means identical to those of princes. All used the threat of violence, and, as Jean Campbell has shown in an eloquent study of republican San Gimignano, courtliness was constituted in the minds of the ruling classes and

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14  Brilliant Bodies

their subjects through art, and not merely through structures of government.43 We should not separate in absolute terms the visual exercise of power in republican from courtly contexts when evidence suggests shared forms and strategies. Audiences in courts and republics could be either seduced or outraged by extravagant display, and when lords came to town, people paid attention. Niccolò Machiavelli claimed that Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s entourage in 1471 not only spurred new sumptuary laws in Florence but also occasioned God’s wrath, identified in Santo Spirito’s fire, sparked by pyrotechnics intended for the sacra rappresentazione of Pentecost. The author of The Prince must have rolled over in his grave when Galeazzo’s great grandson became Tuscany’s first grand duke.44 Sforza’s visit to Florence in 1459 may have stimulated sumptuary legislation as well (though, in a seemingly but not entirely contradictory manner, such restrictions might be temporarily suspended while lords were in town). A few months after Galeazzo’s departure, Florence’s signoria updated legislation, troubled by the “immoderate expenditure upon the clothing and ornamentation of girls and women who are no longer content to go as daughters and wives of merchants and private citizens, but [dress] as daughters and wives of great princes and lords.”45 Of the Renaissance values deployed to sanction and sustain expenditure, in both courts and republics, magnificence looms large.46 While not insisting upon an absolute separation or dichotomy, let me suggest that magnificence was customarily conceptualized as an architectural and monumental paradigm, while splendor and politezza were conceived as embodied and somatic. The humanist Giovanni Pontano contended that “magnificence derives its name from the concept of grandeur and concerns building, spectacle and gifts, while splendor is primarily concerned with the ornament of the household, the care of

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the person, and with furnishings.”47 By spending vast sums on palaces and churches, lords and civic councils strove to “make great” (magnum facere, the etymological root of magnificence) their dynasties and cities. Accordingly, influential studies of the essential value of Aristotelian magnificence—one of the few such ideals not related etymologically to light—have engaged predominantly with architectural patronage. Brilliant Bodies builds upon these foundational investigations of the primarily architectural virtue of magnificence by shifting focus to the materialization of lordship through the bodily display, dress, and adornment that likewise constituted aristocratic power and authority in Renaissance Italy.

Brilliant Bodies Revealed Courtly bodies were clothed and ornamented in gilded spurs and stirrups, vibrant stockings revealing slender legs, glistening metal belts, sparkling metallic brocades, and candid gloves. These men were adorned with buttons, clasps, and fastenings that tightened clothing, shone, and produced sonorous effects; with ribbons of silk woven with gold or silver thread, used as trim or to tie together sleeves or hold up hose; with stamped gold-plate ornaments and gold foil; with scores of pearls and jewels, some real and others simulants (but most somehow enhanced), integrated into clothing or set in brooches; with gleaming daggers and swords; with shimmering spangles and sequins; and with shining armor, lined with silk or gilded leather. Through a sustained and resolutely historicist examination of the material culture that clothed and adorned aristocratic men, chapters 1 and 2 of this study explore the ways in which lords attained brilliant bodies. Resplendent surfaces captivated viewers, drawing gazes to these charismatic cynosures. Sensational phenomena marked

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Introduction  15

privilege by differentiating courtly bodies from common ones. Viewers understood that lustrous fabrics and glimmering metals were essential components of the visual presentation of lordship. Of course, prodigious amounts of wealth, labor, technical skill, and precious materials were expended to manufacture clothes and adornments. Signori, in fact, could barely afford to satisfy their categorical imperative to embody radiance, even if (or specifically because) their power fundamentally rested upon it. These responsibilities weighed heavily on lords, and thus I evaluate the precarious political ramifications of the production of brilliant material culture. Chapter 3 examines gendered and class-specific expectations of male fashion by investigating masculine garments that emphasized certain body parts and types and animated period-specific understandings of bodies, one’s own and those beheld in art and spectacle. Bodies both informed and were shaped by visual representations. A slender form was the masculine ideal, and it both drove and was conditioned by cuts of cloth and changes in fashion, specifically the pervasiveness of tightly buttoned doublets and close-fitting calze showing off shapely legs. Chapter 4 historicizes conceptions of noble beauty and argues that blanched bodies elicited status-affirming gazes from both men and women. For aristophiliac audiences enthralled by radiant allure and courtly splendor, these glamorous bodies elicited social and sexual desire. By interrogating fair male beauty—contrasted to darkness, along an axis of factors relating to status, skin color, occupation, and race or geographic origin—I aim to lay bare

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the contingent nature of equivalences between power, whiteness, and ideal bodies. Whiteness has for too long retained the unspoken and undeserved privilege of an inevitable norm in Renaissance studies. Its constructions are subjected to critical analysis here. Though quattrocento princes glittered in gold, this book also reckons with the less pervasive aristocratic practice of dressing in black, a notable exception to the rule that calls attention to the polysemic complexities that operate through clothing. The epilogue investigates the intermittent adoption of black attire by fifteenth-century aristocrats, setting the stage for black to become the conventional color not just for lords and courtiers but for men generally. The sixteenth-century distrust of brilliant clothing and adornment—men’s turn from peacocks to penguins—responded to, among other cultural and historical factors, the invasions and foreign occupation of Italy. Cinquecento moralizing and often exhortatory discourses against the bejeweled and (only from a later perspective) effeminate lords of the quattrocento should not be indiscriminately mapped onto the earlier century. The book thus ends by exploring transformations of normative masculinity wrought by social and political change and moving in a trajectory toward modern men’s ostensible rejection of adornment and their adoption of sober apparel. Here, as throughout Brilliant Bodies, quarrying masculinities of the past enables us to denaturalize, challenge, and resist not only patriarchal power but also our most familiar assumptions about male display, adornment, and fashion.

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1.

Riddled with Gilt: Lords in Shining Armor and Shimmering Brocades

In art and spectacle, lords displayed bodies adorned in metallic splendor. Both shining armor and shimmering brocades embodied their authority and fashioned signorial masculinity. Indeed, we should avoid stark distinctions between metals and textiles and instead endeavor to navigate the continuum between them, for metals in varying forms were woven or sewn into silks, and armor was lined or outfitted with fabrics (or leather) to cushion metal plates. This chapter thus investigates the luminescent materiality and prodigious wealth that arrayed aristocratic men, and the reflective textures and radiant surfaces that attracted gazes. To appreciate the political ramifications of brocades’ manufacture, I also reckon with the pressures, complications, and even failures engendered by the demand for this resplendent material culture. A discussion of the armored clothing worn at the scene of

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Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s assassination in 1476, moreover, initiates the book’s analysis of men’s concerns about body image and likewise its exploration of relationships between Renaissance bodies, selves, and clothes. Brilliant bodies attracted and overwhelmed viewers and subjects through conspicuous material extravagance and the symbolic economy of light-emitting properties. Glimmering silks’ “constant interplay with light and movement . . . defied normal experiences of colour constancy,” and they instantly distinguished aristocratic from common bodies.1 Clothing suffused with gems and metallic thread drew attention to the signore, particularly because most subjects would have worn clothing that was coarse, undyed, and drab—literally lackluster. Made of scratchy wool and vegetable fibers such as linen and hemp, this attire was often tattered, and if not shapeless

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then certainly less tight-fitting than the array of the Renaissance 1 percent. All the same, scholars increasingly recognize that members of the lower and middling classes sometimes possessed surprisingly colorful garments—to be worn and used as movable repositories of wealth—and that they could creatively customize apparel by combining fabrics, appending trim and accessories, and otherwise engaging with current fashions and trends.2 We take for granted that our clothes retain their vibrancy after repeated washing and that most of us can afford to wear any color we choose. This was most assuredly not the case for Renaissance men and women, for whom brightly colored clothing was prohibitively expensive. For those clad in precious crimsons and blacks, natural dyes were much less fast than modern synthetic ones, and thus Giovanni Pontano recommended at the end of the fifteenth century that splendid lords give away their old clothes “before they lose their sheen.”3 Vivid colors immediately and markedly signaled costly material and social distinction. It was the duty of princes to dress extravagantly—doing so conferred and confirmed their noble status.

Power Dressing: The Integration of Clothing and Armor From palazzo to piazza, dashing lords strutted in silk and often brocaded doublets. Both the English word doublet and the Italian diploide (or duploide) indicate the doubled construction of this garment, which was made of two layers of cloth sewn together. Between the fabrics was stuffed cotton, wool, fustian, scraps of silk cocoons, cloth shearings, fur, or even horsehair. Another Italian name for doublet—farsetto, from farcire (to fill)—also signals its padded nature. Additional terms include zupparello (or zuparello) and zuppone (or zupone), from giubbone, which

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Figure 5  Doublet of Pandolfo Malatesta, ca. 1425. Silk velvet. Museo del Palazzo Malatestiano, Fano. Photo: Museo Archeologico e Pinacoteca del Palazzo Malatestiano.

ultimately derives from the Arabic jubba, now a long outer robe but in the thirteenth century a padded defensive garment. Pandolfo Malatesta’s surviving burial doublet (fig. 5), which was sewn together from four individually stuffed sections, contains a mixture of wool, silk, hemp, linen, and cotton between its crimson velvet surfaces. An inventory of a tailor’s shop in Rimini from 1438 records sacks crammed with linen, cotton, and “bombice” to pack doublets, and in a Gonzaga register a century later, a white and yellow satin “giuppone” is filled with “bombaci.” This blend of cotton, wool, and often silk, known as bombazine in English, was used both as the main fabric of clothing and as wadding within doublets, and the latter use gives us the word bombastic.4 Fragments of Sigismondo Malatesta’s close-fitting burial doublet are displayed in Rimini’s Museo della Città. Its stuffing consisted of raw cotton. This silk velvet, goldbrocaded farsetto was tight at the waist, reached to the groin, and was adorned with at least forty velvet-covered buttons. Sigismondo also possessed murrey and black silk doublets, some of cloth of gold or matched with brocaded

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sleeves.5 Lords routinely wore doublets tailored from velvet or other silks. Sante Bentivoglio owned at least seven made of variously colored silks, six of which were embroidered with gold. In September 1475, moreover, Galeazzo Maria Sforza requested a crimson doublet cut from the most “beautiful and soft” satin “found in Milan,” in addition to similar apparel of crimson brocade lined with sable fur, from fabric already “in casa.” Two days later Sforza ordered sufficient crimson satin for ten “zupparelli for our own use,” and three days after that, satin of “dark murrey” for yet another doublet.6 The origins of the doublet can be traced to military attire. It served to insulate the body against armor’s metal plates and mail. A few thickly padded, fourteenth-century fabric- or coat-armors, also known as jupons, jacks, and pourpoints, can still be found throughout Europe. These arming doublets were intended to fit beneath, or sometimes on top of, armor.7 Indeed, rust stains on the interior of a crimson silk pourpoint traditionally associated with the Valois king of France Charles VI—sized for a boy and thus perhaps fabricated just before or around the time he ascended to the throne at age eleven—suggest regular contact with both a mail shirt and thigh armor.8 In the fifteenth century, tightly buttoned doublets were typically worn under a mantle or tunic, and as we will see in chapter 3, they shaped slender male silhouettes. Though doublets and contours would become bulkier and increasingly puffed out in the cinquecento, sleekly tailored arming doublets remained fashionable among Italian lords throughout the quattrocento. Sigismondo Malatesta wore a silk velvet doublet under his armor, and in March 1475 Galeazzo Maria Sforza ordered a “zuparello d’armare” and four months later a crimson satin “zuppone d’armare” lined with sendal, a lightweight silk. Galeazzo possessed a velvet giornea (tunic) that he matched with armor, as is suggested by instructions to procure for his four- and five-year-old sons satin giornee “brocaded like

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the one we wear over armor” (perhaps recalled by the garment, made of cloth of gold, seen in fig. 16). Galeazzo recommended that the official tasked with this acquisition seek out the embroiderer Giampietro da Gerenzano for assistance if he did not remember what the tunic looked like. He also requested that various arming doublets be furnished with silk sleeves outfitted with arming point laces. Additional sleeves tailored from crimson satin or zambellotto—a shiny wool or heavy silk known as camlet in English—were ordered for the lord’s doublets, including for two “old zupponi.”9 Arming points—strings hanging from the outer surface of sleeves just below the shoulder—served to anchor and secure armor to upper-body garments. We see these laces subtly twisting and turning off the doublet of Cosmè Tura’s blond Este courtier or lord in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 76), and on doublets throughout Andrea Mantegna’s Camera Picta: those of princes, courtiers, and even dog and horse handlers (who were not customarily clad in heavy armor) (fig. 6). In the second half of the fifteenth century, arming points adorned men’s dress even when shoulder armors were not fastened, to fashion a bold and cocksure look. On the Camera Picta’s west wall (fig. 7), the lord Ludovico and two Gonzaga lads are conspicuously outfitted with arming points, including, closest to Ludovico, his grandson Francesco. Black silk arming points were attached to the damask doublet in which Diego Cavaniglia, Count of Montella and Troia in southern Italy, was buried in 1481.10 Even very little lords—for example, Massimiliano Sforza kneeling piously next to his father, Ludovico, in the Pala Sforzesca (fig. 8) or mounted on a white horse in one of his Latin school grammars (fig. 82)—sported this masculine accessory, which should come as no surprise, for these youths donned armor. For Massimiliano’s cousins Ermes and Gian Galeazzo, ages four and five, respectively, Antonio Missaglia produced armor lined with satin in

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Figure 6  Andrea Mantegna, Horse, Hunting Dogs, and Their Handlers, 1465–74. Fresco. West wall, Camera Picta, Castello di San Giorgio, Mantua. Photo: Scala / Art Resource, New York. Figure 7  Andrea Mantegna, The Meeting, 1465–74. Fresco. West wall, Camera Picta, Castello di San Giorgio, Mantua. Photo: Erich Lessing / Art Resource, New York.

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Figure 8  Master of the Pala Sforzesca, Pala Sforzesca, ca. 1496. Tempera and oil on panel, 230 × 165 cm. Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan. Photo courtesy of the Pinacoteca di Brera.

advance of Milan’s Saint George’s Day parade in 1475.11 When armor was not worn, silk or leather arming points sheathed in precious metals glinted and clinked stylishly. They communicated to viewers that this was or would soon be a swashbuckling man of arms. For both fashion and defense, fifteenth-century lords matched brocaded array with individual elements of armor. Rarely did they wear a full ensemble or garniture,

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what we today might (anachronistically) call a suit of armor. When calling upon Emperor Frederick III in Trier, Galeazzo Maria Sforza showed off a breastplate and shin armor, a “very ornate” mantle, and “many jewels.”12 In the double portrait with his heir Guidobaldo (fig. 9), Federico da Montefeltro peruses a large tome—possibly a lavish manuscript copy of Gregory the Great’s Moralia in Job, one of the prized codices of the lord’s library—while

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Figure 9  Attributed to Pietro di Spagna, Justus van Gent, or Pedro Berruguete, Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, ca. 1476–78. Oil on fir panel, 138.5 × 82.5 cm. Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino. Photo: Scala / Art Resource, New York.

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Figure 10  Attributed to Pietro di Spagna, Justus van Gent, or Pedro Berruguete, Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, ca. 1476–78, detail showing ermine fur and pendant of the Order of the Ermine. Oil on fir panel, 138.5 × 82.5 cm. Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino. Photo: author, courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo—Galleria Nazionale delle Marche.

wearing plate and mail armor, with his armet, or enclosed helmet, casting a shadow over the painting’s fictive edge; a crimson, cloth-of-gold mantle furnished with ermine fur (which approximates but does not precisely correspond to the mantello of the Order of the Garter); and the insignia of both that order and the Order of the Ermine (each awarded in 1474 by, respectively, King Edward IV of England and King Ferrante of Naples). The garter encircles Federico’s leg and is unsparingly bejeweled and gilded, with a large pendant pearl, while the enameled ermine is set upon a banderole hanging from a weighty golden collar of interlocked links.13 The ermine was the most noble of Renaissance furs, reserved for the aristocracy in sumptuary laws. Strictly speaking, these were the white winter coats of stoats or related mustelids, since ermine are not actually a discrete species of animal.14 The individual ermine tails—often schematically represented in art as black dots on a white

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field—communicated the number of flayed animals whose pelts made up the garment, and thus further proclaimed its expense and the wearer’s wealth and status. The painter of the double portrait cleverly engaged with this sartorial conceit by positioning the order’s pendant insignia (fig. 10) so that a tail of one of the garment’s pelts appears to sprout from the rear of the enameled critter (which the ninth chapter of the order’s statutes reckoned the “purest beast”). A further visual and verbal play in this imaginative portrait may be the pendant banderole’s inscription, “corum,” suspended near Federico’s heart (cuore)—a witty pun made possible because the scroll on which the word is represented turns away from the viewer, from whom the first two letters of the order’s motto, “decorum,” are hidden.15 Scholars have rightfully highlighted the confected nature of this image with respect to Federico’s improbable reading attire. All the same, peers and subjects would have

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periodically seen Federico dressed at once in shining armor and brocaded crimson silks. Similarly arrayed, in resplendent armor and opulent brocades simultaneously, is the votive Francesco Gonzaga. In Mantegna’s Madonna della Vittoria—the victory being an indecisive one in 1495, at the Battle of Fornovo—Gonzaga’s cloth-of-gold tunic is worn tightly over his upper-body armor, which, like that adorning Federico, was probably produced in Milan by a Missaglia armorer. Gonzaga’s lance rest, moreover, projects conspicuously (fig. 11). According to a seventeenthcentury source, Francesco exhibited the armor worn at Fornovo in Santa Maria della Vittoria—the same church in which Mantegna’s painting was revered—which must have compellingly called visitors to make attentive comparisons between his armors, both actual and fictive.16 From annotations to his posthumous inventory, it seems that Sigismondo Malatesta’s silver-embroidered velvet giornea was placed atop the lord’s armor, enshrined beside his sarcophagus in Rimini’s church of San Francesco (also known as the Tempio Malatestiano). Perhaps the lavish tunic remained there as late as 1593, when Ferdinand II of Austria acquired the armor for his Heldenrüstkammer (armory of heroes) at Ambras Castle near Innsbruck. Fragments of Sigismondo’s armor from San Francesco are today in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer of Vienna’s Kuns­ thistorisches Museum.17 In Paolo Uccello’s Battle of San Romano in London (fig. 12), the hero Niccolò Mauruzzi da Tolentino, astride a white courser rearing boisterously and literally champing at the bit, sports both plate and mail armor. Over his shoulders falls a gold-brocaded crimson mantle (bavaro) made of the same material as his volumetric hat. Niccolò seems to stand in his stirrups, his right spur receding from view. This large panel and its companions, now in Paris and Florence, are covered in gold and silver leaf, which, like contemporary armors, is intricately incised—both freehand and with punch tools—to produce animated

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reflections of light and other surface effects. Niccolò is not the battle’s only warrior dressed in both luxurious clothing and luminous armor. A charging knight at the center of the painting, adorned with an elaborate feathered crest (cimiero), is encased in shining armor over which he wears a frilled tunic. The captain’s page dons a gold-brocaded surcoat over a golden doublet with crimson arming points. This perfectly postured blond youth displays Niccolò’s resplendent red and golden helmet (barbute, from the Italian barbuta), at the ready when combat requires reinforced headgear and his dashing brocaded hat will not do.18 In 1452, Francesco Sforza demanded that he be sent two of his corazze “furnished all in mail.”19 Corazza typically described a plate metal cuirass, but in some instances the term was conflated with corazzina, an upper-body armored garment protecting the chest and back, made of cloth or leather reinforced with metal in the form of small plates, studs, mail, or nails, akin to the brigandine, or coat of plates. A late fourteenth-century Milanese corazzina now in the Castello Sforzesco is lined with rows of mesh and fortified by plates riveted to the hemp covering. Interlocking steel plaques attached to velvet constitute a fifteenth-century reinforced coat of plates in fragmentary form, now in New York (fig. 13). This Italian brigandine was abandoned when the Venetian fortress of Negroponte on the Greek island of Euboea was routed by Turkish troops in 1470. Here we see the metal interior; the two voids to the left and right of center allowed space for the wearer’s arms when the garment was wrapped around the torso and secured with straps in front.20 Francesco Gonzaga gifted Milanese corazzine to the Ottoman sultan Bayezid in defiance of a papal ban on the export of materiel to the Turks in the early 1490s. Gonzaga also sent the Milanese armorer Bernardino Missaglia as diplomatic envoy to Istanbul, where he brought breastplates along with technological expertise. It seems that a janissary

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Figure 11  Andrea Mantegna, Madonna della Vittoria, 1496, detail showing Francesco Gonzaga. Oil on canvas, 280 × 166 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York ( Jean-Gilles Berizzi). Figure 12  Paolo Uccello, Battle of San Romano, ca. 1440. Tempera with oil on poplar panel, 182 × 320 cm. National Gallery, London. Photo © National Gallery, London / Art Resource, New York.

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Figure 13  Italian armorer, coat of plates, early fifteenth century. Steel and textile. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

commander escorting Missaglia back to Italy was so covetous of Italian cuirasses that he assaulted the Mantuan armorer Micheleto delle Corazzine and commandeered one of his custom-made garments.21 Filippo Maria Visconti was so fond of his favorite cuirass that late in life, when it no longer fit, he would have it hauled out of storage to show off to admiring audiences. An inventory taken following the death of Francesco Gonzaga in 1407 tallied ten jousting cuirasses, three for tourneys, and a pair covered in crimson velvet for the lord. Among those stockpiled at the Mantuan court in the sixteenth century was a corazzina made of crimson satin and gilded nails, which belonged to Federico Gonzaga, Francesco’s great-great-great grandson.22 “Chorazze” and “chorazzine” in the Medici armory were outfitted with silk damasks and velvets, together with hunks of metal, including lance rests, while one of Lorenzo’s doublets was “full of mail,” and other mails were covered with brocade. Would-be assassins embraced Giuliano de’ Medici early on the day of the Pazzi conspiracy to determine whether

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he was wearing armored clothing.23 He was not, though even the strongest corazzina would not have saved him from the relentless onslaught of dagger blows he suffered in Florence’s Duomo.

Armored Lords and Armed Assassins When Galeazzo Maria Sforza was assassinated precisely sixteen months earlier, he too had entered a church without reinforced upper-body garments. Documents reveal that Galeazzo owned scores of corazzine and breastplates throughout his life. In 1452, when he was eight years old, a corazza was furnished with reused gold-embroidered silk for the boy. As duke, in 1475, Galeazzo ordered a few “corezini,” including one to be repaired and two outfitted with silk cords and golden rings or hooks. Some of the lord’s corazze were given to courtiers after his death, and others were transferred to the armorers Antonio and Bernardino Missaglia.24

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Galeazzo was acutely aware of threats against his life. A plot orchestrated by his brothers Sforza Maria and Ludovico—in cahoots with their cousin Roberto Sanseverino—had nearly materialized in Pavia in June 1476, and the duke had taken additional steps to protect himself, including the deployment of mounted guards armed with swords while he hunted. In late November, Galeazzo sent Ludovico and Sforza Maria away, to Tours, ostensibly to “go see the world,” as his ambassador in France was told, but in truth to curtail the siblings’ power in Milan.25 Galeazzo even threatened astrologers who predicted his death: two in Bologna were warned to cease calculations involving him or Galeazzo would “show them our displeasure about the prognostications, and they will regret it.” Additionally, a Ferrarese astrologer who forecast trouble for Galeazzo had been menacingly informed that despite his premonitions about others, he was blind to his “own imminent dangers.” Indeed, two men were sent from Milan to “cut him to pieces.”26 Galeazzo spoke from his own experience when he advised Lorenzo de’ Medici, who would soon enough be targeted in a violent assassination attempt, to watch himself vigilantly and “keep an eye on what’s going on behind him.”27 Yet, despite his attention to potential threats, Galeazzo met a bloody demise on December 26, 1476. The duke had recently been troubled by a series of omens: a comet seen at Abbiategrasso, a fire in his chamber at the castle in Milan, and three black crows who hauntingly cawed while passing overhead. And this day after Christmas, the feast of the protomartyr Stephen, was “bitter cold.” Nevertheless, according to the courtier Bernardino Corio, just before Galeazzo departed the castle for the fatal Mass at Santo Stefano in Brolo—the Milanese church in which Caravaggio would be baptized ninety-five years later—he put on and then took off his “corazina,” saying that he thought it made him look “too fat.”28 As a teen, Galeazzo was renowned for his beauty and svelte body, both requisite physical characteristics for a

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prince. In 1459, a poet lauded the young Count of Pavia’s “shapely torso,” “noble, slender” waist, “beautiful, strong, and bold” limbs, and well-proportioned thighs and legs.29 For a decade or so, Galeazzo maintained his figure, and perhaps he leafed through the how-to book on losing and gaining weight in his library in Pavia. When he requested twenty “coraze” in 1471, his instructions specified that they must fit tightly.30 In that same year, his sister Ippolita, with whom Galeazzo had an antagonistic relationship, needled her brother from Naples after receiving coins struck with his portrait, commenting derisively that he “was once thin and now is fat.” Ippolita, while callous, was on to something.31 Though coins struck with Galeazzo’s portrait are not precisely dated, his profile displayed on testoni—first produced circa 1473–74 (fig. 14)—is decidedly fuller and more fleshy than those depicted on ducati or grossi da 4 soldi, including this golden ducat minted six or seven years prior (fig. 15), when the lord was in his early twenties.32 If Galeazzo’s fate was sealed because he could not bear to be seen by his subjects as overweight, perhaps he had been discomfited by the contrast between his thickening flesh and his pervasive and all too efficacious portrayal as an ideally slender prince. Assassinated while celebrating the feast of the first Christian martyr, and in his church, Galeazzo might be seen as a (proto)martyr for fashion and a veritable Renaissance fashion victim. Accounts of the assassins’ attack and getaway provide salient evidence for the resonance and cultural meanings imputed to armored clothing. More than Galeazzo, these men prioritized survival over body image. They hid knives in their sleeves and defensive garments under their tunics. Giovanni Andrea Lampugnani’s brothers claimed that he armed himself with a “coracina,” the “diabolical traitor” Carlo Visconti reportedly threw his corazzina into a well after fleeing the scene of the crime, and a certain Giano was later arrested for having helped the assailants put on their tight-fitting corazzine.33 One source recounts that

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Figure 14  Testone of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, obverse, ca. 1473. Silver, 2.8 cm in diameter. Collection of the author. Photo: author. Figure 15  Ducato of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, obverse, ca. 1467. Gold, 2.2 cm in diameter. British Museum, London. Photo © The Trustees of the British Museum.

Lampugnani—whom his own brother called “the most wicked traitor and detestable scoundrel”—was momentarily saved when the sword of one of Galeazzo’s men, “attempting to avenge the death of his lord,” broke against the helmet hidden under his hat. A Ferrarese chronicler, moreover, reported that Lampugnani wore not just a “corazina” and protective headgear (a “celadina” or sallet) but also mail stockings.34 Yet Lampugnani did not live long. He was slaughtered in the church, possibly by Galeazzo’s footman, Andrea Moro (about whom we will hear more in chapter 4), and clothing may have ensured his demise. The Florentine diarist Luca Landucci later repeated the rumor that women in Santo Stefano had spread out their long gowns to trip up Lampugnani as he made his escape. His corpse was mutilated and dragged through Milan and was subsequently fed to pigs, save his burned right hand, which was nailed to a column. Gabriele Paveri Fontana even claimed that not Milanese pigs but rather the town’s “citizens, horrible to relate, ate his heart, liver, and hands.”35 The conspirators Carlo Visconti and Gerolamo Olgiati fled Santo Stefano, as did Lampugnani’s attendant, Franzone. Yet the Milanese popolo failed to rise up against the Sforza regime and exalt the act of tyrannicide, as the assassins, inspired to some extent by the humanist Cola

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da Montano, had anticipated. Rewards were announced far and wide—five hundred ducats for Gerolamo alive and three hundred for him dead—and the hunted men were soon arrested, turned in by relatives who feared retribution. Olgiati’s father, Giacomino, grateful to have been merely exiled to Turin and allowed to retain his life and possessions, reminded Galeazzo’s widow and heir that he had offered “a thousand times” to kill his son “with his own hands.”36 Carlo, Gerolamo, and Franzone were tortured and then drawn and quartered alive. Their severed limbs were divided among the city gates, and their heads were set on pikes at the Broletto.37 Galeazzo’s corpse was more intact than those of his assassins, if just barely. Damiano da Barzi cleaned the body and distinguished fourteen wounds—in the back, throat, wrist, chest, and near the temple, mainly from daggers, with one gash from Franzone’s sword—many of which would have been fatal, he told the Mantuan ambassador, Zaccaria Saggi. Saggi had been immediately beside Galeazzo during the attack and added that he managed to escape only with much travail and in the face of extreme danger.38 Fourteen is, perhaps not coincidentally, the number of stab wounds from a poisoned blade that the butchered lord claims to have suffered in Lorenzo dalla Rota’s terza rima poem, voiced from the grave. A woodcut

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Figure 16  Cristoforo de Predis, manuscript cutting of the initial A depicting Galeazzo Maria Sforza in prayer, ca. 1476. Wallace Collection, London. Photo: Wallace Collection, London, UK / Bridgeman Images.

(fig. 72) published in early sixteenth-century editions of this Lamento del Duca Galeazo evokes the frenzied action of the assassination, with, as Saggi had put it, many “swords going all around.” Like Giuliano de’ Medici, Galeazzo would not have survived the assault even had he worn the discarded corazzina, rendering moot an anonymous poet’s lament: “why did you not arm yourself with strong armor?”39 In what may have been a posthumous portrayal (fig. 16), Cristoforo de Predis illuminated the devout Galeazzo with golden spurs and clad in corazza and mail underneath a brilliantly brocaded and fringed tunic.40 Accounts of the unrest throughout the Duchy of Milan that followed Galeazzo’s assassination corroborate the fact that corazzine and violence were linked in the Renaissance imagination. In Parma, calamitous riots targeted the Rossi faction and dynasty, which Galeazzo and his father had favored among the local nobility. Rossi partisans were robbed and threatened with physical violence; their houses were pillaged and churches and

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other institutions associated with the Rossi were sacked and burned, most famously San Giovanni Evangelista, where Pier Maria Rossi’s illegitimate son Ugolino served as abbot. According to a ducal official, members of Parma’s other three squadre (factions) sought to “extinguish the Rossi name” by “diverse means and methods.” Attempts to maintain order by strictly limiting the bearing of arms was thwarted by men who traveled the short distance to Reggio for weapons, as Ercole d’Este informed his ambassador in Florence.41 For yet another Sforza functionary, corazzine provided the most vivid indication of turmoil, bloodshed, and societal breakdown: Parma’s citizens were “disobedient, for the most part arrogant and disorderly . . . and [there were] so many corazine worn under cloaks that it could not be believed.” Four masked men protected by corazzine and bearing swords especially angered and unnerved the official; they moved about “presumptuously, as if this town was without law and without rule.”42 When Bartolomeo Colleoni began preparations for a duel with Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1471, he ordered cuirasses, pennants, lances, and velvet tunics. News of the impending clash between the approximately seventyyear-old Colleoni and Galeazzo, then in his mid-twenties, occasioned amusement. Venice’s Doge Cristoforo Moro predicted that when the Neapolitan King Ferrante (father-in-law of Galeazzo’s sister Ippolita) was informed about the duel, he “would laugh at the two crazy people, one young and one old.”43 For Colleoni and Galeazzo, however, such display was essential; it generated the visual impression that these lords and their men were properly masculine, courtly, and bellicose. Ferrante’s father, King Alfonso, was praised decades after his death for dressing his knights in gilded armor and silks: “never was there seen in those times such a splendid army,” according to Giovanni Pontano. Indeed, the allure of armor, and of the men who wore it, was amplified by its

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tactile qualities and radiance, and by variations in texture, surface, and reflection.44 Borso d’Este purchased gilded armor and an ensemble outfitted with cloth of gold, and several components of Alberto d’Este’s armor were consigned to Ottolino di Corneto (known as Ottolino dalle Arme) to be “burnished,” providing additional evidence that knights wanted to be seen by audiences in shining armor.45 In 1512 Emperor Maximilian ordered the polishing of armor reclaimed from a votive statue of himself previously offered to a prominent Marian cult site in Halle. Most admired were the reflective surfaces of heavily polished Milanese plate armor, which one scholar recently compared to modern chrome effects.46 Lords also treasured brilliant helmets. One of Pandolfo Malatesta’s was gilded and enameled by the goldsmith Antonio da Medda, and a Gonzaga barbute—a visorless helmet with a T-shaped opening, like that grasped by the page in Uccello’s Battle of San Romano (fig. 12)—was adorned with a gilt silver coronet and enamels. Splendid headgear was so coveted that Galeazzo Maria Sforza awarded the armorer Antonio Missaglia a mill on a vital Milanese canal in return for an annual tribute of a helmet enhanced with gold and silver.47 A lion’s head sallet dating to circa 1475 (fig. 17) conveys the dazzle and imaginative craftsmanship of helmets, which both seduced and intimidated Renaissance audiences.48 The underlying defensive steel sallet (celata—an open-faced but sometimes visored helmet) is almost entirely hidden beneath a much more delicate gilt copper shell marvelously embossed, chased, and incised to suggest the lion’s fur and the elegantly spiraling curls of his mane. A contemporaneous sallet with Milanese armorer’s marks (fig. 18) gives us some sense of the solid structure (visible at the back and around the lion’s mouth) over which a goldsmith fashioned the fierce yet charming king of beasts. The lion sallet—perhaps more enchantingly than any other extant object—manifests the fundamental and

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often dynamic collaboration between goldsmiths and armorers in fifteenth-century Italy, and also the contribution of artisans who produced textiles. Indeed, the helmet’s padded lining is a rare survival, and of its three layers, made of distinct fabrics, the one in contact with the head is silk. Though one or both of the lion’s glass eyes and some of the painted or silvered teeth are replacements, they suggest the original material and surface effects that animated the helmet, as does the cat’s tongue, depicted by (renewed) red paint laid directly on steel. Audiences, no doubt, would have been enthralled by the courage of the ferocious yet charismatic warrior gazing out of the lion’s roaring maw. Many would have associated the helmet’s wearer with the strength and power of Hercules, clad in the pelt and head of the Nemean lion, as did those in Naples who admired an attendant of Prince Ferrante (fig. 19) sculpted by Andrea dall’Aquila a decade or two earlier, on the lower interior of the Castel Nuovo’s triumphal arch—Ferrante’s man sported a similar, though unfortunately damaged, lion-shaped sallet, along with a tight, short tunic of figured silk velvet, with two heights and textures of pile gorgeously simulated in stone.49 Frightful yet splendid headgear also included the gilt silver helmet produced by Antonio del Pollaiuolo for Florence’s signoria to present to Federico da Montefeltro following the merciless siege of Volterra in 1472. The helmet’s imagery was as brutal as the hill town’s sack, which had been executed by Federico and orchestrated by Lorenzo de’ Medici in a bid to seize a newly discovered supply of alum, a mordant essential to the Florentine textile industry. Pollaiuolo’s crest depicted Hercules bearing a club, gnashing his teeth, and standing over the bound griffon of Volterra.50 Among the menacing helmet crests represented in art must also be counted that with batwings, visible between Niccolò and his page in Uccello’s painting (fig. 12). On the reverse of Pisanello’s portrait medal of Filippo Maria Visconti (fig. 20), the

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Figure 17  Italian (Milanese?) armorer, Lion’s Head Sallet, ca. 1475. Steel, copper, gold, glass, pigment, and textile, 29.8 × 21 × 31.8 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / Art Resource, New York. Figure 18  Milanese armorer, sallet, ca. 1470s. Steel, 24.1 × 20.8 × 25.4 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

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Figure 19  Andrea dall’Aquila and workshop, Aragonese soldier in velvet tunic and lion helmet among Prince Ferrante’s men, ca. 1455. Lower Arch, Aragonese Arch, Castel Nuovo, Naples. Photo: author.

mounted and armored lord is crowned by his dynasty’s fear-inducing biscione emblem of the viper or dragon flaring its own terrible crest while swallowing a man (who is sometimes instead a red, bloody infant or a Saracen, the latter slain in a legendary duel with a crusading Visconti ancestor).51 In 1452, a Ferrarese crest was surmounted by a unicorn, and for a joust a decade later, the helmet of Alberto d’Este—Borso’s half brother—was covered in silver and gold and outfitted with a phoenix. On Shrove Sunday 1473, Alberto gave a carnival ball at the Palazzo Schifanoia.

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Revelers could inspect the knights in shining armor covered in metallic leaf from the now damaged tournament scenes of the Salone dei Mesi’s south wall, frescoed between windows from which privileged viewers watched similar spectacles on other festive occasions.52 Indeed, armor gleams in artistic representation, as in Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro’s double portrait (fig. 9) or in Torrechiara’s Camera d’Oro, where Pier Maria Rossi is twice depicted as a devout, triumphant knight encased in armor of metallic leaf (figs. 2, 39). As Carolyn Springer argues, images of armor could be as politically efficacious

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Figure 20 Pisanello, Filippo Maria Visconti, reverse, ca. 1441. Bronze medal, 10.2 cm in diameter. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Photo: Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

as actual metal, and certainly cheaper. The vibrant luster of armor frustrated artists who attempted to re-create its sheen in painting by applying metals or oil paint. Giorgio Vasari, for instance, lamented that he “almost went out of [his] mind trying to make the burnished surface of the armour look shining, brilliant, and natural” in his portrait of Alessandro de’ Medici. Vasari was hardly reassured by Pontormo, who, upon sizing up both the painting and the armor used as a model, commented that iron is “more lustrous” than any pigment.53 Fictive armor paled in comparison to real metal.

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Velvet Goldmine Silk brocades infused with precious metals and foils epitomized signorial array in fifteenth-century Italy. Brocade, essentially, is cloth embroidered with metalsheathed threads (typically as the weft), and various techniques were used to accomplish this. Thin strips of metal wrapped around yellow silk threads were woven into most of the brocades discussed in this book; the application of beaten metal over strands of animal membrane, though prevalent in previous centuries, declined in

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the fifteenth. While various textiles could be saturated with gold, (gilt) silver, or brass threads, in Renaissance Italy silk was most frequently brocaded in this fashion. Though Italians distinguished silks—velvet (plain or figured), satin, damask, sendal, ormesino, and various blends—sources did so imprecisely, and thus I follow contemporaries’ identifications and distinctions, even when they seem contradictory or redundant (I do the same for claims about precious metals—specifically gold—which usually were merely gilt or were alloys or simulants of gold, and likewise for gems, which were often imprecisely defined or erroneously identified).54 Time and again, audiences took note of cloth of gold. Aristocratic guests at the wedding of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso d’Este were arrayed in so much brocade that, in the words of one attendee, “right here seemed to be a goldmine.”55 Gold-, silver-, and brass-covered threads granted material richness and visual splendor to iridescent velvets created by a supplementary silk warp first raised by rods into miniscule loops and then sliced open with a blade (guided by a grove in the rod) to create densely tufted and textured pile. Exorbitantly expensive brocaded velvets were all the more extravagant because of curls of gilded weft threads, also slightly lifted or pulled by hooks. Described as allucciolato (lit like fireflies), silk garments suffused with metallic loops sparkled and threw light as the wearer moved, or even remained still if the light was particularly animated or came from multiple directions or sources. In England, brocades with these coils were referred to as cloth of gold or cloth of tissue, though we likewise use the French term bouclé. Fifteenth-century Italians identified silks integrated with these brocaded loops as broccato (brocade) or panno d’oro (cloth of gold), or as some form of riccio or riccio sopra riccio (curl over curl, or loop over loop)—for instance, the length of “brochato d’oro rizo” that Galeazzo Maria Sforza “so

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liked” that he requested more of it in May 1475.56 Holding court in the Salone dei Mesi (fig. 4), Borso d’Este dons a fur-lined tunic of precisely this sort of majestically sumptuous, allucciolato, riccio sopra riccio brocade. We echo Renaissance voices when we refer to brocaded fabric and array as “cloth of gold.” Yet artisans commonly employed gilt silver and baser metals, or various alloys of gold. For instance, oricalco, an alloy of copper and calamine (a zinc oxide), similar to modern brass, was produced in significant quantities in Milan and was a chief component of brocaded threads that we assume to have been pure gold. It would thus be more accurate—materially, at least—to refer to these metalinfused garments as cloth of alloy of gold, or cloth of simulants of gold.57 Whether these brocades were cloth of gold, cloth of gilt silver, or cloth of brass, however, even audiences who closely observed, let alone subjects who merely glimpsed, their radiant lords might not know the difference. All that glittered in the Renaissance was not (necessarily) gold. But it still glittered. Artists painstakingly represented fictive brocades in painting and sculpture, exhibiting sometimes faithful attention to detail but also, no doubt, considerable invention. Artists at court provided sketches for luxury cloth, among the wide variety of material and visual culture that they were required to design or fashion. Pisanello’s drawing of brocaded velvet reveals a sophisticated understanding of recent developments in the manufacture of brocades using hundreds of loops of gilt thread that produced glistering allucciolato effects. The artist depicts countless faint half ovals within the stalk running up the image’s right side (fig. 21).58 Cut-pile silk velvets—even without metals, like the crimson figured velvet of two heights of pile consigned to the scissors of the Sforza tailor Emanuele Lanza in January 1475—reflected and refracted light, and their colors changed slightly but perceptibly with movement.59 The lavish velvet shown off

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Figure 21 Pisanello, Velvet Brocaded with Loops of Gold, 1430s–40s. Pen and brown ink and brown wash over black chalk on paper, 21.8 × 14.3 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York ( Jean-Gilles Berizzi).

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by Giovanni Francesco Brivio (fig. 22) in Vincenzo Foppa’s portrait closely recalls in crimson the shimmering blue robe worn by Ludovico Sforza in the Pala Sforzesca (fig. 8).60 Foppa evokes silk’s captivating visual effects with exceptional subtlety and sensitivity. Brivio is illuminated from the left, and a soft glow permeates and brightens the front of his garment, where the figured pile’s floral motifs are represented by a rich, intense red. As the furlined crimson velvet wraps around the body and away from the light source, the fabric, as one would expect, is increasingly cloaked in shadow. Yet Foppa captures the contrasts and highlights produced by the differing heights of pile here, reversing the dark and light tonal values. The figured pile now pops with light, glimmering against the darker ground. It is exceedingly difficult to establish with certainty where extant scraps and panels of silk velvet and brocade were made, not least because technologies, raw materials, and silk and metal workers moved, and imitative practices flourished. Yet Chiara Buss has tentatively identified a group of textiles of Milanese manufacture and Sforza consumption based on their Sempervivum decorative motif (seeming to depict, more or less, the Sempervivum tectorum plant, familiarly known as the houseleek or as a hen-and-chicks succulent). This hardy plant thrives in forbidding alpine environments and signified fortitude and perseverance to Francesco Sforza. Among the most lavish velvets that may portray Sempervivum succulents with spiky stalks, leaves, and buds is a fragment richly brocaded with gilt silver wrapped around silk threads and looped into myriad coils (fig. 23). Green-dyed silk woven in the pile around and throughout the foliage intimates a sense of verdant and florid naturalism within the radiantly golden and densely metallic fabric.61 The Sempervivum adorned all manner of Sforza garments and objects, including various caskets and vessels—and two ostrich-egg cups with silver

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Figure 22  Vincenzo Foppa, Giovanni Francesco Brivio, ca. 1495. Tempera on panel, 46.5 × 36.7 cm. Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan. Photo: HIP / Art Resource, New York. Figure 23  Milanese silk velvet with gilt brocade, late fifteenth century. Silk and gilt metal thread, 40 × 58.4 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

fixtures—that Galeazzo presented to his new wife, Bona of Savoy, in 1468.62 Twenty-five years later, their daughter Bianca Maria Sforza was given an opulent necklace made from a number of the Sempervivum devices, six emeralds, twenty-four diamonds, and a plethora of pearls (the succulents are also visible, opposite the radiant dove, in the upper right of the illuminated frontispiece illustrated in fig. 31). The plants are represented in the dazzling cloth-of-gold bodice and sleeve worn by Bianca Maria— set to marry Maximilian, the king of the Romans and later Holy Roman emperor—in the marvelous portrait painted by Ambrogio de Predis (fig. 24). The red flower tucked into Bianca’s stunningly bejeweled belt has been

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alternatively identified as a cornflower and a carnation, and in either case can be associated with betrothal. Observe that its petals cleverly echo those of the figured velvet’s floral motifs, against which the blossom is placed. The jewelry displayed here, moreover, may visualize the sensational adornment of Bianca’s dowry, notably the brooch of pendant pearls and diamonds, set at about ear level and arranged in the form of the scopetta brush device of her uncle Ludovico Sforza, who negotiated Bianca’s (ultimately miserable) marriage to Maximilian.63 Silk velvet brocaded with loops sheathed in gold or gilt silver was prohibitively, almost inconceivably expensive, because of the inordinate costs of precious metals,

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dyes, and mordants, and the extraordinarily time-consuming labor. Indeed, flashy garments made from cloth of gold were much less affordable for the average wage earner than anything paraded today on the catwalks of Milan or Paris (or at Pitti Uomo). These brocades were novel commodities, produced through technologies developed in Italy only in recent decades, and their fabrication required significant quantities of both precious and semiprecious metals. A number of letters among Ludovico Gonzaga, Barbara of Brandenburg, and various Mantuan officials provide evidence of gold, silver, pearls, and jewels being offered to and acquired by the Gonzaga, and then turned over to embroiderers for the manufacture of clothing.64 Brocades were attentively cared for, not only because of their costliness but on account of their fragility as well. In September 1475, Galeazzo Maria Sforza ordered that crimson gold brocade be dispatched “immediately” to an unnamed “friend,” and, “because we want to send it a long distance,” he specified that it be bundled in waxed cloth or canvas so that it could be “conveniently . . . carried without danger of damage.”65 Cloth of gold’s familiar, tactile materiality supplied metaphors that the men and women who wore it well understood. A poet proclaimed that being in Galeazzo’s presence multiplied his fame “more than all the threads we find in rich brocade”—a conceit that must have been exceptionally resonant and satisfying for aristocrats who demanded cloth-of-gold velvets, the value of which was determined by, among other factors, the densely packed warp and weft, and the heft and amplitude of the metal-wrapped silk threads.66 This

Figure 24  Ambrogio de Predis, Bianca Maria Sforza, 1493. Oil on poplar panel, 51 × 32.5 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Photo: Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

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poet knew that lords prized, assessed, and felt on their bodies the thread count of velvet brocades. According to Pope Pius II, in 1459 Francesco Sforza “was accompanied by a large, noble retinue, every last one of them clothed in garments of glittering gold or shining silver.”67 A decade later, in the reign of his son Galeazzo, Sforza luminaries were to be outfitted in armor and brocades in frescoes planned for the Castello Sforzesco depicting a magnificent procession of courtiers and soldiers from the castle to the cathedral, and back, to celebrate the feast of Saint George, a venerable cult in Milan. The day culminated in the bishop’s ceremonial benediction of civic banners at the Duomo’s altar dedicated to George, though equally crucial was the cavalcade’s bewildering and imperious manifestation of Sforza authority and military might. Galeazzo was armed and mounted, while Bernardino da Corte wore a gilt helmet and brandished an iron mace. Numerous chamberlains sported breastplates lined or covered with crimson velvet, while the garments of other courtiers were to be represented as damask velvet, gold and silver brocades, and silks of diverse colors.68 Cloth of gold also embodied signorial authority and was considered essential apparel for rituals marking the realization of lordship. Francesco Sforza and his son Galeazzo both donned luminescent white brocades when they assumed Milan’s signoria.69 A Milanese exile declared the “well-known fact” that Ludovico Sforza—following the death of his nephew Gian Galeazzo, whom he had poisoned—advanced “among the crowds with a golden mantle and ducal hat, and was acclaimed duke.” When Ludovico’s son Massimiliano entered Milan in lordly triumph two decades later, he too—along with his half brothers Cesare (son of Cecilia Gallerani) and Gian Paolo (son of Lucrezia Crivelli)—was clad in white silk.70 Upon being proclaimed signore, Borso d’Este put on crimson gold brocades and made a ride of possession through

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Ferrara on horseback. His brother Ercole, in turn, wore a crimson cloth-of-gold mantle, a short cape (bavaro) over his shoulders, a golden chain with precious stones, and a diamond- and pearl-studded berretta, a rounded, typically crimson or black hat of wool or silk often worn by fifteenth-century lords.71 Lordly authority absolutely depended on being radiantly arrayed. Borso d’Este dressed in cloth of gold throughout his reign. A number of sources claimed that he wore silk brocades (and also jewels and golden necklaces) whether in Ferrara, out hunting, or traveling at home and abroad.72 A chronicler described Borso as “worthily” attired in cloth of gold when Emperor Frederick III visited Ferrara in 1452, at which time, Michele Savonarola tells us, the imperial courtiers were so struck by the “preciousness of the clothing” of the Este court, with so much “cloth of gold and silver and silk” and a “great multitude” of crimson textiles, that they did not believe all of Germany had as many opulent vestments as they saw in Ferrara, which seemed to them “heaven on earth” and “the most noble city in Italy.”73 Yet another witness asserted that a bronze portrait of Borso enthroned, dressed in a gold cloak and tunic, depicted the “very clothing which he wore, that is, gold-brocaded silk.” This monument was located in front of Ferrara’s Palazzo della Ragione, though it was later moved across the piazza, opposite the cathedral’s façade. Destroyed in 1796, the statue was replaced with a modern copy. Modena’s ruling council, the Savi (wise men), commissioned Donatello to sculpt a similar bronze monument of Borso, depicted “in the clothes that he wished.” The work was never executed, but in their preparations, the Savi instructed Borso to provide Donatello with an “image” of these garments, which confirms the awareness of the visual power of clothing when shaping signorial representation through public art.74 The crimson clothing worn by Borso and other lords materially distinguished privileged men from common

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folk. Bolognese sumptuary laws, for instance, forbade manual laborers to wear crimson fabrics, and the preacher Bernardino da Siena shamed those tempted to dress above their station by declaring that “there is no one of such little worth” who does not wish to be clad in crimson. Throughout the peninsula, clothing dyed this color was reserved for civic officials, doctors, knights, and the nobility, and the ever humble Donatello, at least according to Vespasiano da Bisticci, was so uncomfortable in the crimson garments given to him by Cosimo de’ Medici that after trying them on, he “set them aside, and didn’t want to wear them anymore.”75 Costly red to purple colorants were derived from insects, plants, mollusks, woods, and lichen from throughout Europe, Asia, and, soon, the Americas. We know these colors and dyes today as vermilion, scarlet, carmine, carnation, cochineal, lac, and kermes. Contemporaries called them grana, purpura, scarlatto, and, notably, cremisino or chermisi.76 Especially prized were crimson dyes that held color particularly fast, or that were exceptionally luminous and shiny. Some were known as grana, or grain (from which we get the English ingrained), because of the granular appearance of the sun-dried, desiccated scale insects. Several sources used in this book confirm that luxury fabrics were colored with grana dye. This was the case, one ambassador thought, with the red “bareta de grana” worn by Francesco Sforza in 1464, a crimson cap calling to mind the painted profiles of Borso d’Este, Francesco, and Federico da Montefeltro (figs. 34, 38, and 81).77 The young Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s clothes, and in particular his doublet, impressed a Florentine observer as “richly enough adorned for any realm.” Galeazzo’s satin and velvet upper-body garments were lined on the inside with light silks (customarily sendal), as scores of orders for clothes tailored from one sort and color of silk, and then “furnished” or “lined” with another, attest.78 In an effulgent illuminated portrait from an astrological manuscript (fig.

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Figure 25  Bartolomeo de’ Rigossi da Gallarate (attr.), manuscript illumination of Raffaele Vimercati presenting his book to Galeazzo Maria Sforza, early 1460s. In Raffaele Vimercati, Liber iudiciorum in navitate Comitis GaleazMarie Vicecomitis Lugurum futuri ducis, Archivio Storico Civico Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan, MS Triv. 1329, fol. 2r. Photo © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

25), the author Raffaele Vimercati offers his book to the youthfully rosy-cheeked Galeazzo—not his father, Francesco, with whom the standing noble figure is often identified. Galeazzo is dressed for his coronation (and for the presentation of this horoscope) in glistening gold brocade, with his elegant slender legs covered in white and murrey Sforza calze.79 White silk brocaded with golden thread was decidedly popular among the Sforza and was commonly worn on momentous occasions, including the assumption of Milan’s signoria, as we have seen. For his nuptial festivities, Galeazzo’s cousin Costanzo Sforza, of the dynasty’s Pesaro branch, wore “beautiful white cloth of gold, made

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for the lord” and adorned with “rays of fire,” described as “truly lordly attire.”80 Galeazzo’s tight-fitting apparel, portrayed by Piero del Pollaiuolo (fig. 1) in a portrait that hung in the Medici Palace, was fabricated by the Milanese embroiderer Giampietro da Gerenzano for Sforza’s visit to Florence in the spring of 1471, or perhaps for a planned trip to France.81 In September 1470, the court spenditore—an official tasked with ordering, tracking down, gathering, and distributing locally manufactured and stored items, mainly bespoke and used clothes—informed the duke about an upper-body

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Figure 26  Zanetto Bugatto (attr.), Bona of Savoy Presented by a Martyr Saint (cut down from an altarpiece, perhaps for the Duomo of Milan), ca. 1470, detail. Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Photo: author, © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

garment “brocaded with lilies” that would soon be delivered. The following March, a dispatch to the Sienese signoria mentioned “azure” array embroidered with “lilies, in the device and arms of France,” worn in Florence by Galeazzo and his wife, Bona of Savoy.82 Galeazzo was keen both to signal his affiliation with royalty through Bona, whose sister Queen Charlotte was married to the Valois king of France Louis XI, and to flaunt his own French aristocratic blood on his mother’s side. Galeazzo’s marriage, in fact,

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served as a resonant parallel to that of Milan’s first duke, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Galeazzo’s great-grandfather, whose first wife, Isabella, was the daughter of the Valois king Jean le Bon. No doubt these alliances were meant to be advertised by gifts Galeazzo had presented to his new bride three years earlier—a necklace adorned with a lily (ziglio) made from a large diamond and pearl, and jewelry in the form of a “ziglio” made of more than sixty pearls, three balases, and sixteen diamonds of varying sizes and cuts. Fleurs-de-lis also decorate Bona’s cap (cuffia) in a cut-down painting now in the Castello Sforzesco’s Pinacoteca (fig. 26). This is probably a fragment of a prominent altarpiece from Milan Cathedral in which the duke and duchess were depicted specifically in “gold brocade [doro de imbrocato],” as Bona is here.83 Zaccaria Saggi, the Gonzaga ambassador traveling with the Sforza court, confirmed in a report from Florence that Galeazzo’s “celestro” silk clothing was “all full of golden lilies” and that Bona was “similarly dressed also in golden lilies.” The color celestro, more commonly celestrino, is a celestial blue generally a bit darker, or more green, than our sky blue. It may have been one of Sforza’s preferred colors; while in France in 1465—on an expedition supporting Louis XI, assisting the so-called League of the Public Weal—Galeazzo requested that his mother send him “zelestro” cloth of silver for a garment he would line with sable fur.84 The matching floral attire worn in Florence six years later by the brother- and sister-in-law of the French king strikingly visualized transalpine aristocratic networks. Of course, lilies are also among Florence’s most recognizable emblems. Brocaded in gold, they reiterated the alliance between the Lombard and Tuscan powers for the many Florentines who gazed upon Bona and Galeazzo during their stay. Galeazzo must have understood the centrality of lilies to the town’s identity, as he would have seen them adorning all sorts of objects on his two previous visits to Florence. In 1459, for instance,

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Galeazzo had written to his father from Florence about a magnificent dance held in his honor within a tent “worked with lilies.”85 Technical analysis reveals that Pollaiuolo’s painted fleurs-de-lis were originally set off more conspicuously by lozenge-shaped patterns, though the pigments have darkened and the contrast has diminished because he painted directly on the cypress panel, without an undercoat of gesso (fig. 1).86 The luscious, sparkling brocades of four profile portraits of women attributed to Piero or his brother Antonio convey an impression of the lustrous surface effects intended for Galeazzo’s garment. Piero’s brushwork may have suggested, I imagine, dual levels of voided velvet and thus a much more magnificent, tactile, and dazzling fabric than today’s museumgoers can appreciate. All the same, close inspection confirms the artist’s scrutiny of the material and sartorial details. Notice the glinting horizontal metallic threads of the fleurs-de-lis brocade, and that the emblems undulate in the fabric bunched up at the lord’s right elbow yet seem to align. Observe, too, the delicately rendered fur at the collar and at the sleeve’s seam, the linen hinted at around the neck and wrist, and Galeazzo’s just visible crimson sleeve, its color manifesting signorial status. Most scholars refer to Galeazzo’s brocaded attire as a doublet, yet this outer garment is not buttoned, laced, or otherwise fastened in the front. The crimson fabric seen on the right forearm seems to be our only glimpse of the lord’s doublet. The terminology employed for articles of clothing was hardly precise in fifteenth-century Italy (especially when we bear in mind regional distinctions), yet contemporary reports of Galeazzo’s raiment adorned with fleurs-de-lis identified a slightly longer and heavier upper-body garment than a doublet. The Mantuan ambassador Zaccaria Saggi perceived a ghellero, and the Sforza ricamatore specified a “meza turcha” (a half or shorter turca), both of which were commonly worn over

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doublets, could be lined with fur, and often had detachable and rather full sleeves, as in Pollaiuolo’s portrait.87 The ghellero was fashionable at court and could be sumptuously appointed. Cosmè Tura applied gilding to a “geler fato ala francese” for Alberto d’Este in 1462. Silk velvet ghelleri provided to Galeazzo’s adherents in 1475 included one furnished with fox fur for a ducal singer. In the same year, the lord himself had sleeves in black and crimson satin tailored for his “gheleri.” Two decades later, quartered “geleri” made of different sorts of cloth and worn “predominantly by courtiers” would be ridiculed by a Ferrarese chronicler.88

Production, Consumption, and the Signorial Imperative to Dress the Court Textiles served as repositories of wealth and were used as a form of currency by Italians up and down the social scale. For instance, the humanist Bonino Mombrizio requested from Galeazzo Maria Sforza at least thirty-eight ducats “either in money, or cloth, or gems,” so he could afford a daughter’s dowry.89 Silks and brocades functioned both as payment for artists at court and as a means of dressing them splendidly. Consider the silver-brocaded crimson damask that Ludovico Gonzaga gave to Andrea Mantegna in 1459 to be made into a doublet; the green damask presented to Cosmè Tura by Borso d’Este three years later for a doublet and tunic; the crimson cloth gifted by the same lord to his half brother, the painter Baldassare d’Este in 1470; and the satin given by their brother Ercole to Simone Bettini, who provided designs for a fountain.90 These rich fabrics served as both payments and gifts, and often somewhere in between, as was the case for the twelve braccia (seven meters) of crimson velvet and the sixty golden ducats that Borso presented to Antonio Cornazzano in 1466, in recompense for two

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manuscripts of Antonio’s poetry—one in Latin, the other in the vernacular—praising this lord.91 Aristocrats received, gave away, and in one way or another attracted brocades, as buyers and sellers well understood. Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza sent a representative to Ferrara, where Emperor Frederick III visited in 1452, because she was looking for high-quality cloth of gold and knew it could be had when the emperor was in town.92 Brocades were given as gifts at and between courts, and an expensive stretch of textile known as a palio (in English, pall or pallium) was awarded at jousts, horse and boat races, and weddings and other festive events. Today, the palio conjures mad-dash civic horse races and only secondarily the prizes from which these races take their name. Yet for Renaissance lords equally obsessed with swift stallions and brilliant velvets, the correlation between equine glory and brocaded splendor was second nature. An inventory from 1440 lists twenty-five pallia, many of brocaded silk, won by Este horses in races throughout Italy in that year alone.93 These glitzy textiles were proudly displayed, as was the palio won in Ferrara in 1486 by a horse of Francesco Gonzaga, who granted the cloth to a courtier, who then had it paraded through town by a prominent court jester, the dwarf Diodato.94 Lords had a difficult time keeping their hands off radiant silks, which were in turn reused, regifted, and recycled. A palio won by a Gonzaga horse at a Mantuan race on the feast of Saint Peter was made into sleeves, and the dynasty converted similar fabrics into an array of furnishings, cushions, and hangings. Francesco Gonzaga supplied a tailor with the brocaded palio of San Lorenzo, in addition to a second palio—of crimson damask—to be cut into robes for the Ottoman ambassador Khasim Bey.95 Of course, all sorts of textiles were altered for new purposes. In November 1475, satin and cloth-of-gold garments tailored for the eighteen-month-old Isabella d’Este

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were cut from apparel worn by her uncle Borso, who had died three years before the girl’s birth.96 The display and consumption of the materials that fashioned brilliant bodies were inextricably linked with courtly economies of production and exchange. Milan was a key center for the manufacture of armor, and armor forged there was purchased by or gifted to lords as far away as Denmark, Liège, Tunisia, and Norfolk.97 Lords closer to home demanded Lombard armor as well. In 1436, Leonello d’Este acquired an ensemble produced by a Milanese armorer active in Mantua—probably a member of the Missaglia family—and in 1489 Ludovico Sforza gave “most beautiful” gilt armor manufactured in the Missaglia bottega to the twelve-year-old Ferrante d’Este (who would spend the final decades of his life imprisoned, following a failed assassination attempt against his brother Alfonso).98 The Missaglia were far and away the most prominent producers of armor in fifteenth-century Milan, and they enjoyed a number of economic privileges and concessions granted by the Sforza. A steel visored armet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the many remaining components of armor branded with Missaglia maker’s marks: a cross with arms embracing an “m,” visible here toward the bottom of the helmet (fig. 27).99 The Missaglia bottega known in Milan as the casa dell’inferno (house of hell), no doubt because of its raucous din and fiery forges, was located just west of the Duomo on what is now Via Spadari (Street of the Swordsmiths). Though the inferno was demolished in 1902, capitals and other carvings from the edifice survive in the Castello Sforzesco.100 The house and workshop were described by the Ferrarese ambassador Giacomo Trotti as crowded “everywhere [with] armors of every sort,” and the Mantuan emissary Zaccaria Saggi informed his lord Ludovico Gonzaga—regarding “furnished armor” costing twenty ducats, the price at which the Missaglia provided made-to-measure ensembles for the Sforza—that “those with whom I talked

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Figure 27  Missaglia armorer, armet, ca. 1475. Steel, 25.4 × 22.5 × 31.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

Figure 28  Jacopo da Cannobio, known as Bichignola, barbute, ca. 1460s. Steel, 28.9 × 20 × 27 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

all said that I will not find anything better.” A month later, however, Saggi negotiated with another Milanese armorer the rate of fourteen ducats per, if enough were bought in bulk.101 An appointment at the Missaglia workshop for bespoke armor seems to have been de rigueur for nobles visiting Milan. King Christian of Denmark stopped by in 1474 and Antoine, Bastard of Burgundy (le grand bâtard), dropped in the following year.102 Milanese armorers were active beyond the Alps in Lyon, Arbois, and also Paris (where some had settled as early as the thirteenth century). In Paris in 1466, Francesco Missaglia was busy fabricating armor for King Louis XI,

who had in turn sent a French armorer to Milan to learn the craft. Two years earlier, Francesco had travelled to the Burgundian court of Philip the Good to provide the duke with armor and likewise to serve as envoy on Francesco Sforza’s behalf.103 Yet another Lombard armorer dispatched to France by the Sforza was Jacopo da Cannobio, known as Bichignola, who in 1472 was arrested for smuggling arms for enemies of King Louis. At least three extant steel barbutes bear Bichignola’s armorer’s marks, each formed by powerful yet graceful contours (fig. 28).104 Though Bichignola seems to have journeyed north at Galeazzo’s direction, many of the Milanese armorers

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working abroad had fled Lombardy as a result of heavy debts and difficulties collecting money owed them by local clients, including the Sforza. This was the case even though the dukes threatened harsh penalties for skilled craftsmen who emigrated, and indeed some were prevented from departing, or were compelled to return after doing so.105 Similarly guarded were Milanese brocade technologies. The commercial production of metallic, often gilt, threads was closely linked to the town’s silk industry in the second half of the fifteenth century, and the Sforza had a literally vested interest in promoting these enterprises. Sforza courtiers invested heavily in the manufacture of brocades, and the dynasty’s multifaceted support of their production served to clothe the court magnificently. It likewise created markets and commissions that bolstered the town’s economy.106 Yet, as we shall see, consequences could be dire when the desire for cloth of gold superseded what the regime could afford. Although Milanese artisans known as frixarie had used imported silk to fabricate purses, ribbons, fringes, and other narrow wares on a small scale for decades, the production of silk expanded rapidly in the mid-fifteenth century, following Filippo Maria Visconti’s extension of economic privileges to various foreign, particularly Tuscan, silk workers who arrived in Milan in the early 1440s.107 The silk guild’s statutes were approved two decades later, at which time there were sixty-eight workers in the town, most engaged in household silk manufacture. By the end of the 1460s, that number had ballooned to more than three hundred, no doubt because laborers were eligible for citizenship and for ten years of tax exemptions. The statutes approved by Francesco Sforza protected both weavers and merchants of silk and cloth of gold, and the measures, including a number defending Milanese artisans from foreign competition and regulating commerce between embroiderers and dealers, were extended by his sons.108 The rapid growth of Milan’s silk trade in these years is well

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illustrated by the fact that the Sforza procured great lengths of crimson velvets from Florence in 1455—via the merchant banker Pigello Portinari—though a decade later, velvet garments were more commonly moving south, from Lombardy to Florence. Under Portinari’s direction, the Medici bank supplied the Sforza court with jewelry, silks, and brocades imported from both Florence and Venice; in 1459, for instance, 40 percent of the earnings of the bank’s Milanese branch derived from selling luxury goods rather than lending money. The bank’s collapse following Portinari’s death was hastened by his brother Accerito’s mismanagement and by Sforza lords’ reluctance and inability to repay loans, but also by the ever more robust Milanese silk industry, which supplied the demands of city and court.109 The production of silk brocades, particularly velvets, was directed by setaioli, silk entrepreneurs and merchants who employed various sorts of artisans, including battiloro (gold beaters) and filaori or filatrici (gold-thread spinners).110 These diligent, talented workers were often women, and they manufactured heavy, densely metallic threads and garments the likes of which have not been produced for centuries. Female weavers and embroiderers call to mind those employed in these labors in Minerva’s realm, depicted in the upper, Olympian register of the month of March at Schifanoia (fig. 29). Some viewers would no doubt have recognized the three women seated in front of the loom as the Fates (Parcae) who control human destiny and could end a life as easily as cutting a thread—which the central figure seems just about to do with her massive shears. Yet this idealized image of production also presents a visual reminder of Borso d’Este’s promotion of textile trades, and perhaps more specifically the introduction of the silk industry in Ferrara, as Charles Rosenberg has argued.111 Milan’s brocades were prized throughout Italy. An attempt to lure Milanese battiloro to Florence failed after Ludovico Sforza interfered, and for decades many

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Figure 29  Francesco del Cossa, Weavers and Embroiderers / The Fates, late 1460s. Fresco. March, east wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: Scala / Art Resource, New York.

embroiderers active in Este Ferrara hailed from Lombardy—Giusto Giacomo da Milano, Tommasino dalla Rana, Agostino Frambaglia da Pavia, Francesco da Carcano, Giovanni Bischizza, Giovanni Corno, Giacomino Luppi, Antonio Boccaccino (father of the painter Boccaccio Boccaccino), and the brothers Ambrogio and Arcangelo Morbiolli, among others.112 The Gonzaga of Mantua, moreover, acquired large quantities of Milanese cloth of gold, and their resident ambassadors in Milan frequently served as middlemen in the purchase of sumptuous textiles. In July 1469, Zaccaria Saggi sent to Mantua via courier both finished cloth and materials needed to fabricate it: twenty-seven braccia (sixteen meters) of crimson gold brocade and thirty braccia (nearly eighteen meters) of black velvet, and, ten days later, gilt thread of

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“two sorts, half a pound of thin and half a little bit fatter.” In March 1475, Saggi informed Ludovico Gonzaga that he had ordered a requested length of crimson gold brocade and promised that it would be “beautiful and perfect” by mid-May.113 Ferrara endeavored, without success, to keep up with Milan’s artisanal technologies and industries. Leonello d’Este entreated Annibale Bentivoglio to lend Bologna’s best armorers, and he granted economic privileges and Ferrarese citizenship to a Venetian goldbeater. In the 1460s, Borso d’Este managed to attract the workshops of four master silk weavers from Genoa; the Milanese armorer Ottolino delle Arme (provided with two hundred gold florins to establish his bottega); from Bologna, a master dyer of crimson wools and silks (skilled in the use

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Figure 30  Leonardo da Vinci, Sala delle Asse or Sala dei Moroni, ca. 1498. Fresco. Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Photo © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

of grana); and Genoese and Venetian battiloro.114 Yet Sforza Milan remained an industrial juggernaut, rivaling Venice and Florence in the manufacture of scintillating textiles. Little wonder that Leonardo da Vinci experimented with techniques for producing golden threads and brocaded fabrics at Ludovico Sforza’s court.115 Leonardo’s much overpainted but newly restored frescoes in the Sala delle Asse (fig. 30), the ground-floor chamber of the Castello Sforzesco’s north east tower, glorified Ludovico Sforza by means of four inscriptions exalting il Moro’s triumphs, including his imperial investiture as duke and his niece Bianca Maria’s marriage to Maximilian, king of the Romans.116 The room’s ceiling and walls equally celebrated the Milanese silk industry. Intertwined strands and knots of gold-covered silk wind and spiral through the fictive mulberry canopy, and the hewn, nodulous trunks have been convincingly identified as those of the mulberry tree.117 My emphasis on Leonardo’s and Ludovico’s promotion of Milanese

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sericulture and silk production is supported by the recent revelation that the chamber was known in two early sources as the Sala dei Moroni, or the Room of the Mulberries. Luca Pacioli and Alberto Vignati described the space as, respectively, “la camera detta de’ moroni” (alluding to an event that took place there in 1498) and “la camera di moroni” (referencing a ceremony of 1511), yet it was in fact likewise known as a “sala della asse,” as one in a tradition of Sforza sale delle asse made of or decorated with planks (asse).118 Mulberry fruit fed Renaissance aristocrats (as archaeobotanical evidence from Palazzo Schifanoia confirms), and the tree’s leaves nourished Milanese silkworms, the larvae of the silk moth (Bombyx mori).119 In the 1480s, Ludovico planted an expansive grove of mulberry trees imported from the Veneto at his villa at Vigevano, known as la Sforzesca, and in April 1497, not long before Leonardo began his frescoes for the Sala dei Moroni, the duke reminded an acquaintance that “you

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well know the pleasure that I have always taken in mulberry trees and in our silk produced at the Sforzesca.”120 Moreover, morello—murrey or, more precisely, mulberrycolored—had long been a Sforza dynastic color, regulated such that in Milan only the Sforza and their adherents could wear stockings and tunics of this hue. Leonardo’s Sala dei Moroni is one in a succession of the castle’s ground-floor rooms adorned with Sforza emblems and devices, yet one with particular resonance for Ludovico il Moro, set apart from those displaying Galeazzo’s heraldry. The arboreal designation of the Sala dei Moroni should be read as a pun on Sforza’s multivalent nickname il Moro, which, as we shall see in chapter 4, also means Moor and is one that poets and artisans creatively embroidered. Crimson satin textiles brocaded “a moroni” were hung around the rostrum set up in Milan’s Duomo for Ludovico’s ducal investiture in 1495. A berry-laden branch—painted in a technique similar to those of the Sala delle Asse—has recently been identified in the central lunette above Leonardo’s Last Supper for the cenacolo of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a short walk from the castle. The berries likewise adorn an embroidered altar frontal granted by the duke to the sanctuary of the Sacro Monte at Varese.121 In Bernardo Bellincioni’s sonnets, the “sweet shade of those blessed” mulberry trees sheltered Milan, which for Gaspare Visconti—in his play Pasitea—“has attained glory under the shade of a moro.”122 Imagery of this sort is visualized in Giovanni Pietro Birago’s illuminated frontispiece for the Italian translation of Giovanni Simonetta’s Sforziada, printed on parchment and now in Paris (fig. 31). Ludovico in the form of a mulberry tree (with barely perceptible red berries dotting the leafy branches) embraces and safeguards a sapling symbolizing his nephew Gian Galeazzo, and he provides protective cover for two just-sprouting seedlings, perhaps Ludovico’s son Massimiliano and Gian Galeazzo’s son, Francesco. Adjacent to

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the hugging trees, on a shore, il Moro in human form instructs Gian Galeazzo (to whom the book was given) and directs attention to a portrait of the dynasty’s patriarch, Francesco, portrayed in profile above. Beyond these kneeling princes, a Moor steers the Milanese ship of state (just as Ludovico guides Milan) occupied by Gian Galeazzo praying toward his uncle’s namesake, Saint Louis of Toulouse.123 On this page and in Leonardo’s Sala dei Moroni, Ludovico il Moro’s visual construction of authority was rooted in the mulberry tree that munificently shaded both the Sforza dynasty and the Duchy of Milan, and which simultaneously fed and fostered the town’s increasingly indispensable silk industry. Indeed, Milanese production of cloth of gold was intimately connected with the Sforza court and the dukes who spent stupendous amounts to clothe their families and adherents. The centrality of the court’s expenditures for Milan’s luxury industries is made clear by a demonstration arranged by Galeazzo. Merchants and artisans periodically petitioned the duke, as in 1468, when they asked him to rely less heavily on bulk orders of textiles. Four years later, to appease Milan’s merchants and craftspeople, who, he believed, complained too much about his frequent absences from the capital, Galeazzo had laid out on tables his “garments, tunics, cloaks, accessories, stockings, caps, boots, shoes, horse-trappings, bridles, collars, and everything that could be found.” Sforza summoned the heads of Milanese guilds so that they would understand the extent to which he supported the town’s commerce, saying that “everything that was there he had had made in Milan to ensure that the profit remained there.”124 Galeazzo had spent extravagantly from the start of his reign. In June 1466, a few months after his father’s death, he informed the Gonzaga ambassador in Milan that he intended to dress his chamberlains (camerieri) in new garments “two or three times a year, from head to toe,” and in 1470 he paid an astronomical twelve thousand

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Figure 31  Giovanni Pietro Birago, illuminated frontispiece in La Sforziada, Cristoforo Landino’s Italian translation of Giovanni Simonetta, Rerum gestarum Francisci Sfortiae (Milan: Antonio Zarotto, 1490), 1493–94. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, Imprimés Réserve, Vélins 724, fol. 1r. Photo © Bibliothèque nationale de France.

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ducats for silk velvet tunics for these men.125 The following year, Galeazzo’s dazzling cortege made an awe-inspiring impression in Florence, bedecked in brocades and conspicuous gold chains.126 Bernardino Corio lauded Galeazzo’s “puliti regazi”—mounted riders arrayed in a veritable velvet goldmine of doublets and tunics in Sforza colors. Galeazzo’s “polished lads” parading through Florence were accompanied by an army of attendants sporting “new fashions [nove fogie]”: consiglieri decked out in cloth of gold and silver; courtiers in “velvet and other exceedingly fine silk cloth”; chamberlains in “resplendent brocades,” forty of whom had received costly golden necklaces; fifty footmen in silver brocades; kitchen staff dressed in “various velvets and satins”; and a herd of brilliantly appointed mules, horses, and dogs. A Gonzaga envoy identified velvets and damasks and judged the court’s arrival “a beautiful sight, [which] I believe could be compared to one of those Roman triumphs.” The Florentine herald Francesco Filarete admired the cloth of gold of Galeazzo’s crew and remarked that his own compatriots were doing their best to imitate the Sforza retinue. Even this most seasoned observer of Florence’s pageantry was decidedly awestruck. Filarete reckoned the splendor of the entry “beyond everything.”127 For Christmas celebrations in 1472, according to the Gonzaga ambassador Zaccaria Saggi, Galeazzo had purchased “all the silver and gold brocade in Milan.” Sixteen months later, Lombard merchants lacked the stock necessary to fabricate the silk velvet tunics (giornee) ordered for the cavalcade of Saint George’s Day. In a bid to appease the Milanese aristocracy, and to outshine rival courts throughout the peninsula, Galeazzo expanded his ranks of courtiers and provided many of them crimson velvet. Among his new, mostly young chamberlains, twenty were chosen to “accompany him wherever he went,” their horses now paid for.128 The connections between power, radiant clothing, and vicinity to the prince were crystal

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clear to Galeazzo’s men. A group of courtiers acknowledged that he “dressed the camerieri that find themselves following the person of Your Excellency,” but they—“not having been dressed for not being remembered”—now implored the duke to clothe them decorously, to “deign to have them dressed too.”129 The annual parade from the Castello Sforzesco to the Duomo and back, for the benediction of the ducal banners on April 24—the feast of Saint George, a patron saint of the Sforza dukes—was the most magnificent spectacle on Milan’s calendar during Galeazzo’s reign.130 Sforza requested four hundred brocaded velvet giornee for the festivities in 1468; as the Gonzaga ambassador put it, “according to what those who had seen past displays say, no one could remember if there had ever been such a beautiful one.” Seven years later, the sum came to 1,205 tunics (87 of silk velvet and 1,118 of wool) embroidered with Sforza devices, including a dog under a pine tree, discussed in chapter 3. Sforza footmen were dressed in green velvet doublets and tunics brocaded with the biscione viper insignia.131 News of the preparations circulated quickly, and a month before the feast, a different Gonzaga ambassador informed his lord that Galeazzo intended this to be the most magnificent Saint George’s Day yet, and with more men at arms than ever, all of whom he would outfit in giornee with Sforza devices (with a velvet one for the head of each division).132 With two weeks to go, the court’s spenditore, Gottardo Panigarola, was directed to distribute as soon as possible the tunics, doublets, and lances at hand so as to minimize “the fury of the eve of Saint George.” One can easily imagine not just the expense but also the organization that such a spectacle demanded, and thus, over the next week or so, Gottardo was intermittently updated about which courtiers still lacked garments. Sure enough, the fury of the eve of Saint George arrived, and courtiers were sent scrambling to locate 120 doublets and 120 pairs of stockings

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“ala Sforzescha” for the procession. “The names of these 120 people we will send you later today,” the missive from Galeazzo continued, “but make sure that these zuponi and calze are ready without fail!”133 Galeazzo’s spending on velvet and brocades nearly doubled from 1470 to 1473, and pressures to dress the prince and his entourage nobly weighed heavily on the Sforza state.134 Though the motives of Galeazzo’s assassins have been much debated, and they were legion, the extraordinary taxes and debilitating forced loans levied on the Milanese aristocracy to pay for the court’s clothing consumption have been identified as crucial factors contributing to his murder in December 1476.135 Sforza’s death seems to have put a dramatic if temporary halt to the manufacture of luxury cloth in Milan. Two months later, the Mantuan ambassador recommended that the Gonzaga “take the road to Venice” for cloth of gold, because in the Lombard capital, “to tell the truth, not too much brocade or other silks will be worked, because there will not be anyone as magnanimous as he [Galeazzo] for a good while.”136 By the mid-1480s, however, as Ludovico consolidated his rule, production had returned to a significant level, and once again Ferrara’s court was importing brocades from Milan.137 By the end of that decade, Stefano da Castrocaro told Lorenzo de’ Medici that the Milanese and Neapolitan courtiers in Milan were the “most beautiful and worthy spectacle the likes of which I have never seen. All the men were dressed in silk and brocade, and similarly the women.” The Florentine emissary gushed over the courtiers who surrounded Gian Galeazzo Sforza: “everyone seemed to be dressed in either gold or silver— and many are of the opinion that the court was never quite as magnificent as it is today.”138 In 1495, Ludovico sent to his sister-in-law Isabella d’Este thirteen braccia (almost eight meters) of riccio sopra riccio cloth of gold adorned with the Sforza dove device. Indeed, the Sforza court in the 1490s was, Bernardino

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Corio said, “illustrissima” and “full of new fashions [piena de nove fogi].”139 Earlier in the decade, the Sforza segretario Tristano Calco commented that, “to tell the truth,” one needed four or five changes of clothes of “equal luxury” to be genuinely well dressed at the Milanese court.140 A correspondent of Isabella d’Este confirmed this in 1493 when she recounted from Milan that Beatrice d’Este, Isabella of Aragon, and Anna Sforza “in the middle of the festivities changed their clothes, all three of them, yet were not ostentatious but rather each one very gallant.” Wardrobe changes took place elsewhere in Italy during courtly spectacles. Giovanni Gonzaga reported in 1492 that at a Bolognese wedding, young men arrayed in “golden collars and rich brocades . . . changed their outfits quite often, always upgrading their fashions.”141 Other lords spent equally extravagantly. Borso d’Este relied on a band of Florentine and Venetian merchants to supply him with the kilometers (literally) of brocaded velvets and other silks necessary to outfit his court for a journey to Rome, where Pope Paul II would invest him with the Duchy of Ferrara, in the summer of 1471. A few months earlier, the Florentine Giuliano Gondi provided in excess of sixteen hundred braccia (952 meters) of cloth, for the sum of sixty-two hundred gold florins, to be paid in three installments: at the end of September, at Christmas, and the following June (though Borso died in August, before even the first payment came due). The most expensive fabric was the thirty-two braccia (or nineteen meters, at twenty-one florins per braccio) of crimson pile-on-pile velvet brocaded “rizj e sopra rizj,” and least costly were the green and deep blue satins, at about one-twentieth the price. In between, Gondi furnished a wide variety of plain and figured velvets, plus additional silks such as damasks and satins, some brocaded with gold or silver of varying qualities. A Florentine consortium of merchants filled an additional order of high-end textiles (all cloth of gold except for 156 braccia of velvet crimson of two types), with an even greater length of

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the most expensive brocaded crimson velvet. From Venetian merchants, moreover, Borso’s officials purchased vast quantities of valuable but less magnificent cloths, many dyed with precious crimson grana, to outfit falconers, dog handlers, barbers, chaplains, and the attendants of prominent courtiers.142 With ducal finances overburdened by the colossal expenditures for Borso’s impending voyage to Rome, officials were directed to “squeeze as much juice as possible” out of subjects and to ferret out cash “by any means possible, and impossible.”143 In 1493, in the midst of ceremonies celebrating the nuptials of Bianca Maria Sforza (Galeazzo’s daughter) and Maximilian, king of the Romans, Beatrice d’Este related to her sister Isabella that “one saw nothing but brocade of gold and silver.” In “the judgment of all present,” she continued, “there had never been such a beautiful spectacle.” For good measure, Beatrice specified the discerning arbiters who had concurred with the verdict: the Russian ambassador, who had never seen “such pomp,” and those of the pope and the king of France, who had never beheld “such a beautiful thing,” even though they had witnessed the “coronation of popes, kings, and queens.”144 Put simply, clothing broadcast status in Renaissance Italy, and both lords and their audiences were sensitively attuned to the ways in which clothing’s materiality marked distinctions of social rank. Various brocaded silks worn by Galeazzo Maria Sforza in October 1473, when in Trier with Emperor Frederick III, were characterized alternatively as “ducal [habito ducale]” or “regal [al modo regale].”145 It was absolutely incumbent on members of the upper strata of society to wear clothing that conveyed their privilege. If a bishop celebrated Mass dressed as “a poor chaplain,” the people would lose “half or more” of their devotion, a

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French royal advisor surmised.146 The aristocratic imperative to clothe and display oneself and one’s court appropriately in public is illustrated by the lengths to which the teenaged Ginevra Sforza went to marry Sante Bentivoglio in Bologna in 1454. Because Ginevra and her attendants were draped in gold brocade, in violation of Cardinal Bessarion’s recent prohibition, they were turned away from the Basilica of San Petronio. Rather than shed the brocades for less radiant garb, they straightaway proceeded to San Giacomo Maggiore, where the couple was married despite risking excommunication for their apparel.147 Certain voices—moralizing preachers, civic officials, and authorities inimical to ruling regimes—condemned displays of splendor. Bernardino da Siena chastised the bride who “glows with gold,” and Pope Pius II criticized Borso d’Este’s bejeweled adornment, incensed by Borso’s neglect of papal calls for crusade.148 Brash or multicolored and gilded array came under censure as well.149 To adapt the early Christian theologian Tertullian’s clever analogy to our fifteenth-century context, if God had wanted lords to dress as they did, he would have made crimson and golden sheep.150 Nevertheless, a live sheep was adorned with “trembling” gold at a court performance in Turin in 1475. Two decades earlier, audiences of Borso d’Este’s ducal triumph in Reggio had set eyes upon a silver unicorn—in actuality a donkey somehow covered in silver and outfitted with a horn. Moreover, the prestige of the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece manifested the allure of gilt and glittering cloth for nobility across Europe.151 Fifteenth-century courts offer a literal “golden age” saturated with brilliant bodies, sparkling surfaces, and iridescent images that radiated nobility and power.

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2.

“Ornado d’oro e giemme”: Brilliant Male Bodies Adorned

From head to toe, precious metals, gems, and pearls studded Renaissance lords. Glamorous accessories and adornments proclaimed power and attracted gazes, and they demanded scarce and costly resources. This chapter reconstructs the ways in which men attained brilliant bodies. I inventory and scrutinize, in succession, jewels and pearls (both genuine and artificial); necklaces and golden chains; belts; fastenings such as buckles, bolts, and buttons; metallic sequins and tremblants; spurs and stirrups; and, finally, lustrous weapons, mainly swords. Courtly bodies were carefully posed, yet they were never perfectly still, and thus we must look and listen for their multisensory phenomena—reflections, refractions, reverberations, and sounds. Gems and precious metals entered the realm of culture when they were mined and when carved, polished,

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hammered, or forged.1 These materials were endowed with magical, talismanic, medicinal, and apotropaic qualities and powers that were intensified by astrological affinities with their wearers and that commonly related to or were revealed by their luminous effects.2 Such beliefs were not merely theoretical, nor were they the superstitions of the unsophisticated, but were put into practice by and for the nobility. Isabella d’Este hoped that pulverized gems would cure an unspecified malady suffered by her young son Federico Gonzaga, and Lorenzo de’ Medici sought to regain his health by drinking a concoction containing bits of pearls weeks before his death.3 These noble materials were thought to be efficacious precisely because of the patients’ rank. Marsilio Ficino, moreover, recommended throughout the first two of his Three Books on Life the salubrious benefits of consuming gold, particularly in leaf

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form, though the ingestion of gold seems to have contributed to the untimely death of Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henri II of France.4 Stones and gems were worn for their astrological affinities, and for prophylactic and curative properties. Giorgio Vasari recalled that the elderly painter Luca Signorelli suspended jasper around his neck in order to stanch nosebleeds. Isabella d’Este lent an eagle stone, or aetite, to an expectant mother and requested that it be returned after the child’s birth, and she sought a marvelous stone capable of growing mushrooms overnight.5 The Sforza possessed a ring containing a fragment of unicorn horn—perhaps intended to detect poison (one would perspire in its presence if poisoned), or to remove it from liquid—and in 1475 Galeazzo Maria Sforza ordered a court functionary to locate a sliver of unicorn horn and send it to him posthaste. Galeazzo also displayed an entire unicorn’s horn (in actuality a narwhal’s tusk or tooth) in his library in Pavia. Its value is made clear by the fact that its dimensions and weight were carefully recorded, but even more so because it was listed first among nearly a thousand entries in the library’s inventory of 1488.6 The Sforza collected other potent, amuletic, and antidotal substances: coral, a “griffon’s talon” set in gilt silver, and “serpents’ tongues,” which were triangular fossilized teeth of the Megalodon supershark from the Miocene Epoch (four are visible beyond the goldsmith’s shoulder in Petrus Christus’s painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, two in the leather wallet and another pair suspended above).7 Accessories engraved with sacred inscriptions, or otherwise incorporating religious texts, were also attributed efficacy and agency. “The bracelet with the Gospel of St. John on it was most precious to us, and an object of special devotion, because many religious persons tell us it has enormous powers,” Isabella d’Este informed her eleven-year-old son, Federico (fig. 75). Isabella had given the bracelet to the lad for his journey from Mantua to

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Rome, where he would reside as a hostage of Pope Julius II in his father’s stead, “because you had to travel such a long distance while you were still such a young boy, and with this object you traveled more securely.”8 Gold and gems manifested wealth and thus amplified lordship. Expensive jewels and metallic ornaments were bought, collected, pawned, borrowed, and used as down payments.9 The condottiere-lord Costanzo Sforza of Pesaro pledged gold chains to maintain his defense of Ferrara on behalf of Florence in the winter of 1481–82, because payment was not forthcoming from the Tuscan republic—a less drastic measure than that taken by his father, Alessandro, who, likewise owed back pay, had hijacked a Florentine caravan loaded with silk bound for Geneva’s fair twenty-five years earlier.10 Ercole d’Este pawned diamond-studded brooches and golden necklaces in Venice in 1474, and in 1459 Francesco Sforza had accepted a marvelous bejeweled collar as surety from his noble vassal Pietro Torelli. Francesco also attempted to claim Federico da Montefeltro’s gems to prevent them from being auctioned on the open market. Francesco’s wife, Bianca Maria, frequently pawned jewels as well, though her son Galeazzo resentfully accused her of doing so merely to avoid giving any to his new bride, Bona. One of Bianca’s major creditors at her death was the jeweler Ambrogio Arzoni; lesser creditors included seven embroiderers, nine goldsmiths, and the painter Zanetto Bugatto (who, for his part, was assuredly indebted to Bianca, who spoke on his behalf after he was threatened with expulsion from Rogier van der Weyden’s workshop on account of his heavy drinking).11 Metalinfused silks also were pawned for ready cash. A dozen or so silver-brocaded garments served as collateral for a loan of two thousand gold ducats (with 14 percent annual interest) to Francesco Sforza, who was raising money for the dowry of his daughter Polissena, the bride of Sigismondo Malatesta. Both the marriage and the

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Malatesta-Sforza alliance soon deteriorated, however, and following Polissena’s death, Francesco denounced Sigismondo and alleged that he had suffocated her and left her confessor to rot in a dungeon for refusing to support the lord’s accusation that she had been unfaithful.12 Contemporary sources often indicate the cost of opulent fabrics and jewels, which of course alerts us to the monetary value such commentators, and viewers in general, identified in splendid adornment and array. Indeed, Italy’s barons spent considerably more money on brocaded clothing and courtly accessories (gems, weapons, and golden belts, for instance) than on panel paintings or frescoes. Radiant attire advertised both material wealth and signorial authority. Yet potential values— whether social, exchange, or monetary—were multiple, overlapping, and always contingent.13 Throughout this book, I primarily explore the symbolic and representational meanings of brilliant materials and surfaces rather than their strictly economic worth (determined by their rarity or the labor required to work them) or their magical qualities. Of course, representational significance cannot be disentangled from commercial value. Symbolic meanings perceived in noble bodies were augmented by the literal wealth that embellished them, and certain jewels were both marvelous and valuable because they originated in distant lands: Arabia, Persia, India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia.14 Sri Lankan gems adorn a reliquary associated with Leonello d’Este.15 Renaissance rubies typically originated in South or Southeast Asia, as did many balas spinels, the Italian name of which, balascio, comes from the Badakhshan region (Balascia) of what is now Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where these stones are also found. The glut of diamonds—and indeed almost all the diamonds that reached Europe prior to the seventeenth century—were gathered or mined in India and Sri Lanka.16 Iridescent fabrics and precious metals likewise manifested the global

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nature of Renaissance luxury goods. Silks worn at court and the technologies for brocading them were imported not only from Genoa and Lucca but from Spain, Sicily, and the eastern Mediterranean, and from Central and East Asia, often through Venice, which was also a leading center for the production of sumptuous cloth.17 The terms used for prized silk weaves and textiles such as damask (damasco, from Damascus) and satin (sometimes zetano, from Quanzhou, China, then known as Zaiton to Europeans) reveal venerable Asian origins, even if they were fabricated in Italy in the fifteenth century. Italian silks, moreover, were exported throughout the Mediterranean and to northern Europe, further accelerating both material and cultural exchange.18 Raw materials used in the manufacture of signorial clothing—including dyes, metals, mordants, and pearls—also had African and Asian origins. Though this study focuses on the decades before Europe’s devastating encounters with the Americas, one should not underestimate the global orientation of quattrocento lords who covetously procured jewels and silks from points east and south, if their attention was not yet directed west in ways that it soon would be.

Gems and the Man As they did for adorned and adored cult images, jewels manifested and augmented authority for lords. Gems were so closely associated with courtly status that in 1486 Caterina Sforza—the famously fierce illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Lucrezia Landriani— refused to travel to Milan as promised because her jewels were temporarily pawned and she would not be seen in public without them.19 Sleeves belonging to Caterina’s uncles Filippo and Sforza Maria Sforza were bedecked with 1,548 and 1,279 pearls, respectively, and pairs of sleeves embroidered with gems and pearls worn by their

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brother Ludovico and nephew Gian Galeazzo at Ludovico’s wedding in 1491 were valued together at one hundred thousand ducats, though by the end of the decade this lord was forced to pawn a number of jewels and nearly twelve hundred pearls. Ludovico, as Ercole d’Este was informed in 1492, had “so many and such beautiful gems” that not even the great Persian kings “Cyrus or Darius had as many of such quality.”20 Indeed, the humanist Giuniano Maio, in his late fifteenth-century treatise On Majesty, confirmed both that the many jewels worn by princes were intended to bewilder subjects, and that these stones might be of variable worth and quality: “with the regalia of exalted princes it is not so much the exact amount of their [gems’] worth which is generally esteemed as their overwhelming abundance and inestimable number.”21 The double portrait of Federico da Montefeltro, clad in lustrous armor and crimson brocade, and his son and heir, Guidobaldo, displays countless pearls and gems (fig. 9). The young boy is weighed down with pearls (fig. 32): numerous oversized brooches (fermagli) arranged on his scintillating robe, an exquisite necklace, a resplendent headband made of three or four strings of pearls, and a tangled mass of pearls serving as a stunning belt. The two massy fermagli on the lad’s fur-lined left sleeve seem carefully and cleverly aligned with the designs of the brocaded silk velvet. Pearls adorned boys from an early age. For his baptism in October 1476 (attended by the aristocratic poets Matteo Maria Boiardo and Niccolò da Correggio), the three-month-old Alfonso d’Este was dressed in gold brocade and silk embroidered with pearls.22 No fewer than thirty pearls (and eight gems) ornament the cap (cuffia) of the tightly swaddled yet somehow kneeling Francesco II Sforza in the Pala Sforzesca (fig. 33). Of course, since the child is shown in profile, the viewer imagines that the cuffia bore at least twice that many. Pearls reminded viewers not only of the wealth but

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Figure 32  Attributed to Pietro di Spagna, Justus van Gent, or Pedro Berruguete, Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, ca. 1476–78, detail showing Guidobaldo. Oil on fir panel, 138.5 × 82.5 cm. Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino. Photo: DeA Picture Library / Art Resource, New York.

of the idealized purity of these youths, as they did in contemporary portraits of brides.23 Whether irregularly shaped, polished, or cut, gems and jewels shone—both absorbing and reflecting light— by daylight and candlelight alike.24 The sensationally luminous qualities of a brooch that King Ferrante of Naples sent to his daughter-in-law Ippolita Sforza—set with some two dozen diamonds (the hardest naturally occurring substance)—bedazzled the Milanese envoy Agostino Rossi: “never has one seen a more beautiful or more splendid thing. One is stupefied by the flashing

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Figure 33  Master of the Pala Sforzesca, Pala Sforzesca, ca. 1496, detail showing Francesco II Sforza. Tempera and oil on panel, 230 × 165 cm. Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan. Photo: author, courtesy of the Pinacoteca di Brera.

flames the diamonds make when rotated under light.”25 Precious stones and pearls—little lights, glowing and reflecting—were worn as components of necklaces, brooches, and other jewelry, and they were stitched and otherwise incorporated into garments. Aristocratic clothing was rarely mere cloth but was often enhanced by jewels, pearls, and bits of metal, and saturated by metallic threads. These adornments were hardly supplementary accessories but were at once integral and integrated, complementary and constituent for noble attire. Jewels were bought, sold, lent, and put into and taken out of clothes worn by both men and women. Following the death of Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza in October 1468, ducal goldsmiths in Milan were given rubies plucked from her clothing and from garments owned by her son Galeazzo and daughter Ippolita, in order to create new jewelry. Perhaps one of these was the costly balas (a translucent, red-, pink-, or violet-tinted spinel sometimes identified with the ruby) that the Venetian doge Francesco Foscari had presented to Bianca as a wedding gift two and a half decades

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earlier.26 Of course, expensive gems were vigilantly cared for and inventoried. In 1490, Francesco Gonzaga spread word of a lost and very valuable balas that had fallen from one of his sleeves, in the hope that it would be returned.27 Jewels and pearls were also frequently seized by usurpers and conquerors when princes fell from power. Filippo Maria Visconti confiscated a multitude of Cabrino Fondulo’s pearls when this lord of Cremona was beheaded in 1425. Visconti’s treasury, in turn, would be plundered upon his death two decades later.28 Pope Pius II commented that Borso d’Este “bought as many precious stones as he could and never appeared in public without jewels,” and indeed the lord displays gems on his shoulder, chest, and berretta in painted, illuminated, and cast portraits, such as the picture of the duke clad in crimson now attributed to his half brother Baldassare d’Este (fig. 34).29 When Borso hosted Emperor Frederick III in 1452, two jewels adorned his beretta, and yet another was seen on his left shoulder; these gems, together with the chain worn around his neck, were appraised by a chronicler at sixty thousand ducats. Borso later acquired a diamond for the conspicuous sum of twelve thousand ducats, and in 1470 he paid a Venetian jeweler thirteen thousand ducats for gems. Borso’s remarkable diamond would have been set in a brooch, like the fermaglio seen in Baldassare’s painting. This setting, studded with pearls, at least one diamond, and a large ruby or balas, may perhaps be the “jewelry with the triangle-shaped diamond” that Ercole d’Este later pawned.30 In the portrait, luminous pearls, secured in reflective, possibly enameled metal, course over the lord’s shoulder, between the sumptuous fur that lines his crimson tunic. Many literary and visual sources—chronicles and paintings, diplomatic correspondence and poetry—confirm that Borso typically wore gold-brocaded garments suffused with jewels, a fact of which modern beholders are also aware. Among the most perceptive must be counted Ali Smith, the Scottish novelist whose Francesco del

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Cossa—one of the two protagonists of How to Be Both (2014)—perceives that he works for the “kindly generous charismatic” Borso, a brilliant lord “glinting with gems” which “caught the sun like he was wearing lots of little mirrors or stars or was covered in sparks.”31 Borso’s brother Leonello d’Este possessed dozens of pearls, diamonds, sapphires, and rubies, plus fermagli, rings, and golden chains left to him by their father, Nicolò. Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Bergamo, Brescia, and Fano, used rings, pearls, and numerous brooches, including one in the form of a falcon and another of a “naked woman,” as collateral for a large loan from the Venetian government.32 Sforza inventories and letters document scores of rings with diamonds, rubies, chalcedony, mother-of-pearl, emeralds, and sapphires, among other precious materials. The dynasty’s fermagli were set with diamonds, pearls, balases, and emeralds, and they were commonly identified as da spalla—worn on the shoulder—or da zuffo (also da ciuffo) from cuffia, or cap, when displayed on a hat or headdress.33 Lithomaniac lords evaluated the ways in which gems complemented one another in terms of color, quality, and size. Pope Julius II presented the young Federico Gonzaga (fig. 75), ostensibly his hostage, a “beautiful ruby” to go with a diamond given by the boy’s mother, Isabella d’Este, saying that his diamond “did not look right” without a ruby.34 Galeazzo Maria Sforza, who often relied on his courtier Francesco Pagnani for advice on the purchase of jewels, had rubies, pearls, and diamonds placed in brooches shaped like the biscione, the prominent Visconti and then Sforza viper insignia. Galeazzo obtained gems from lords, courtiers, merchants, and ambassadors, sometimes at tremendous prices, and he was in enormous debt to jewelers throughout his reign. For instance, he owed Martino Zorzi ten thousand ducats in 1476 for a fermaglio set with a diamond, ruby, and pendant pearl, and for a collar studded with twenty-eight diamonds and as many

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pearls.35 Also in 1476, Francesco Pagnani and a court jeweler were sent to Lucerne in an unsuccessful attempt to secure what Pagnani assured Galeazzo was the largest diamond in the world, one formerly owned by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and seized by the Swiss following his defeat at the Battle of Grandson. This stone may have been the so-called Balle de Flandres, identified as walnutsized and originally a part of Valentina Visconti’s dowry at her marriage to Louis, Duke of Orléans. Perhaps the diamond was extraordinarily captivating to Pagnani if it had been recently transformed by Charles’s innovative Bruges gem cutter, Lodewyk van Bercken.36 As a teen, Galeazzo displayed around his neck a gold chain with “beautiful intaglios” and a pendant gem, and on his berretta a golden brooch described as “worth a treasure.” As lord, his fermagli were inventoried by Cicco Simonetta when worn on momentous occasions, including visits with Emperor Frederick III.37 Galeazzo’s appetite for gems was voracious. Among his balases can be counted a heartshaped “balasso grosso” intended for an unnamed lover in 1471 (thus too early to be a gift for his best-known mistress, Lucia Marliani, who, as we shall see, was promised a cherished gem); two additional “fat balases” procured by the jeweler Luchino della Chiesa for the lord’s hats; and two “balasi grandi” supplied by Riario envoys in 1473. Moreover, Galeazzo tried in vain to acquire six balases from the goods of Pope Paul II. Within three days of the pope’s death, in fact, Galeazzo’s representatives in Rome had filled him in on what was available and had already begun negotiations.38 Galeazzo may even have sported earrings, though these seem to have been worn primarily by Jews and Muslims in fifteenth-century Italy. Perhaps their presence in the

Figure 34  Baldassare d’Este, Borso d’Este, ca. 1470. Tempera on canvas mounted on panel, 48 × 36 cm. Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Photo: Scala / Art Resource, New York.

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Milanese court can be traced to Sforza connections with Naples, where they were more prevalent, according to Paola Venturelli.39 In February 1475, the goldsmith Dionigi da Sesto made a coral earring “for the lord’s use.” Two months later, a short directive referred to a silver earring “for our [i.e., Galeazzo’s] use,” and yet another, dating from September, mentioned an earring that a courtier had prepared or acquired. A list of Sforza jewelry from the end of the 1460s reveals sparkling earrings adorned with diamonds, and in the 1490s Gaspare Visconti composed a sonnet about the transfixing effects of a bejeweled earring, though in this case worn by a woman.40 Precious stones drew attention to the noble bodies of women and men alike. In 1493, Beatrice d’Este described Venetians who “fixed their gaze on the jewels” that she wore on her head and “inspected” those on her chest. Venice’s citizens also discussed the duchess’s adornment within earshot. “One said to the other,” Beatrice recounted to her husband back in Milan, “that is the wife of Signore Ludovico, look what beautiful balases and cut diamonds she has.”41 One of these gems was the large balas nicknamed spigo—a colloquial name for a species of lavender plant (Lavandula latifolia), no doubt referring to the stone’s color—which her brother-in-law had acquired two decades earlier and which the eminent historian of Milanese jewelry Paola Venturelli identified with the one the lord displays in his Uffizi portrait (though, as I argue elsewhere, the evidence is not clear-cut) (fig. 1).42 In 1475, four years after Pollaiuolo painted the portrait, Galeazzo pleaded with Lorenzo de’ Medici—writing the letter himself so as to stress the matter’s importance—to sell him a balas known as “libro” (book) which was formerly in the possession of King Alfonso of Naples and which Galeazzo may have seen on one of his three trips to Florence, or could have heard about from his sister Ippolita in Naples.43 When he wrote to request the “libro,” Galeazzo was madly in love with and eager to impress his mistress

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Lucia Marliani, and he implored Lorenzo to give him the gem “at any price,” so he could gift it to Lucia. Lorenzo countered that he held the “libretto . . . as dear as any of our jewels” and that he wanted to keep the balas both for its quality and because it had belonged to his father. Lorenzo relented, however, and deputized the director of the Medici bank in Milan, Accerito Portinari, to negotiate the sale. A few weeks later, the Mantuan ambassador confirmed that Galeazzo had purchased from Lorenzo the stone that “belonged to King Alfonso, that is a balas in the form of a libretto,” for ten thousand ducats.44 Prior owners of gems and jewelry were commonly identified with these precious objects, the charisma of which was amplified through their circulation. This should not surprise us, given jewels’ inherent worth and, when used as adornment, their intimate connection to bodies. In 1502, Isabella d’Este recalled that a “necklace of diamonds and rubies” worn by her sister-in-law Lucrezia Borgia had formerly “belonged to my dear departed mother,” Eleonora of Aragon, deceased by that time for nearly a decade.45 Whether Galeazzo kept Lorenzo’s gem for himself or presented it, as promised, to his mistress, whose goods were confiscated following the lord’s assassination in December 1476, this balas associated with Alfonso was in Sforza hands by the end of the decade. In 1479, Ercole d’Este was shown Lucia’s jewels in the Castello Sforzesco, though Bona of Savoy (Galeazzo’s widow) wanted nothing to do with this display. That same week, moreover, the ten-year-old Gian Galeazzo (Bona and Galeazzo’s son) wore on a golden chain around his neck a “most fat and large” balas called spigo, which may be Lorenzo’s “libro,” since Gian Galeazzo boasted that it had been previously owned by King Alfonso. Our source here is Paolo Antonio Trotti, the Ferrarese ambassador in Milan, who declared spigo to be the “most beautiful thing” he had ever seen.46 In 1493, Gian Galeazzo’s aunt Beatrice d’Este wore spigo in Venice, and the balas awed two Gonzaga informants who

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saw Ludovico Sforza flaunting it in Genoa in March 1498. Beatrice had died tragically in childbirth in early 1497, and undoubtedly spigo took on added resonance for Ludovico following the bitter loss of his young wife. Though the first source in Genoa referred generally to the lord’s “balasso molto grosso,” the second heard or somehow knew its name: “Spigolo.” The stone was no longer suspended from a golden chain. It was reported to be “hanging” but “attached without a golden ligature,” while the second witness described a “small cord of black silk.”47 The embattled Ludovico il Moro Sforza was soon reduced to pawning “Spico” to the textile merchant Giovanni Beolcho, for the significant sum of twenty-five thousand ducats. By March 1500, Ludovico had put in hock to Beolcho and other Milanese wheelers and dealers numerous precious stones, including other named jewels: the balas marone (which also had adorned Beatrice in Venice); a setting of multiple gems, including a “fat” diamond called lupo; jewelry identified with Sforza emblems, such as the buratto, a wrung cheesecloth sieve, and the Sempervivum plant, either because they were incised with or set in brooches in the form of these devices; and a balas with an “effigy” of the lord, perhaps the one engraved, according to Vasari, by Domenico dei Cammei (Domenico of the Cameos).48 In October, with Ludovico Sforza a French prisoner, Beolcho sold spigo and lupo, now mounted in rings, to King Louis XII of France, though a dispute with the Brivio family over a surety bond on the pawned gems continued for decades.49

Material Fictions: Artificial Jewels and Pearls Spigo was one of many Renaissance jewels accorded an individual identity and name.50 Yet many gems worn by signori were not genuine. They might instead be tinted crystal, colored glass or paste, or “doublets”—layered (i.e., doubled) glass or stones with colored foil placed behind

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or between them. Doublets (doppie and dupline) and fictive gems pervaded late medieval and early modern Europe, yet they should not be dismissed as mediocre imitations. Counterfeits glittered too. Wearers often understood these stones to be affordable simulants of more precious matter and cherished their splendid materiality and dazzling effects, in particular their translucency, among if not above other ideal characteristics of gems such as hardness and rarity.51 The goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini associated the manufacture of doublets with Milan, though Paris and Venice were also acknowledged centers for the production of false jewels. Even composite triplets were fashioned utilizing transparent pastes and glass.52 Jewels both real and factitious were set high or “proud with a good distance between the back of the gem and the back of the setting,” according to the conservator and gemologist Joanna Whalley, in whose experience the “examination of transparent or translucent gems in closed back settings almost always reveals some form of enhancement.”53 The underside of a precious stone might be tinted with ingredients like olive or cedar oil, talc, resin, or grated pigments. Crystals and vitreous pastes were sometimes heated and then quenched in cool dye emulsions to open fissures that allowed colorants to seep in, and many of these materials can be detected by conservators because they accelerate the deterioration of the rock crystals and stones to which they were affixed. Red colorants were applied to amethysts to mimic balases, and copper-based green pigments imitated emeralds. Artisans dyed even true diamonds with indigo or ivory black. Cellini, who noted that the diamond’s radiant twinkle recalled that of the stars, recommended that its lower facets be treated with lampblack pigment, gum mastic, almond oil, and pine resin to intensify luster.54 The mention of lampblack, also known as carbon black and made from soot, reminds us that diamonds—especially in the

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fifteenth century, before the development of the advanced cutting and polishing technologies that furnished the sparkling brilliance for which the stone is renowned— were generally set above black foils or were tinted black, and for this reason seem translucently dark in Renaissance paintings.55 Like true gems, counterfeit jewels were carefully cut. Price was dictated by the sophistication of the faceting technique in addition to the material, whether actual or simulated. Mirrors and foils placed behind and between (often doubled) stones and glass pastes further reflected light, of course, and they were sometimes produced by the same artisans who manufactured metallic foils for brocades. In his Treatises on Goldsmithing and Sculpture, Cellini provided recipes for different sorts and colors of foils made from alloys of gold, silver, and copper (while Giambattista della Porta reported that burning goose breast feathers furnished a blue gleam for copper foils). Cellini informed his readers that he had used a sliver of crimson silk set in wax to back and thus bring out the color of a dull ruby.56 Indeed, foils enlivened true but undesirably dim jewels: in 1463, a goldsmith placed foil underneath the ten large balases, one ruby, and one jacinth studding a dog collar worn by King Louis XI of France’s greyhound Chier, in order “to give them better color.”57 The brilliance of gems, moreover, was assessed with accompanying foils in mind. When Ludovico Gonzaga budgeted forty to fifty ducats for a balas in 1460, an intermediary in Venice proposed two that could be had in that price range but advised Ludovico to consider a stone available for seventy-two ducats, on account of its superior facets and because “it will take the foil better.” Beatrice d’Este described to her sister Isabella wearing “a beautiful balas without foil,” which suggests that viewers expected gems to be enhanced in this way, and that they could detect or discern foils and their visual effects.58

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Many of Gian Galeazzo Visconti’s gems were identified as simulated or enhanced in postmortem inventories, including doublets containing glass paste and characterized as de tolla, a Milanese term for tin, which referred to the foils or mirrors backing or set between glass or stones.59 In Milan, “the art of making counterfeit gems” (as it was called in a quattrocento document) had been practiced since the fourteenth century and received ducal protection in 1488. Glass and artificial vitreous materials were commonly used to produce imitation gems, as were mixtures made from grated rock crystal, which existed in abundance near Lake Como and was manufactured in Milan.60 Angelo Barovier, a Venetian glassmaker who experimented with rock crystal simulants, visited the Sforza court in 1455. In Filarete’s Treatise on Architecture, Angelo and his son Marino fashion glass tiles for Francesco Sforza’s idealized city, Sforzinda. Francesco’s son Galeazzo collected rock crystal and acquired two such vases from the goods of Pope Paul II.61 Even Leonardo da Vinci got in on the action. Christ’s orb in the (half-billiondollar) Salvator Mundi, for instance, confirms an engagement with the visual, refractive properties of rock crystal, as do the translucent orbs lining the hem of an angel’s garment above the shoulder in the Uffizi Baptism of Christ painted with Verrocchio. Leonardo’s recipes for the fabrication of precious stones integrated crystal, hair, and even cabbage, and as Venturelli established, he was particularly enthusiastic about ingredients that augmented luster and sheen.62 Galeazzo Maria Sforza was posthumously criticized by Giovanni Pontano for duplicitously exhibiting “as rare and precious many false gems that he had secretly purchased.” Though Galeazzo was renowned for his prodigality and vanity both during his life and after his death, the anti-Milanese position of Pontano’s Neapolitan employers provided a further motive for such slander. Pontano— who served as Ippolita Sforza’s segretario in

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Naples—seems to have harbored a personal grudge against Galeazzo. He denounced the duke for having refused to lend a book from the Sforza library in Pavia, and for having unjustly favored a rival humanist.63 Civic authorities, by contrast, were most troubled not by the display of manufactured gems but by the possibility that they could be mistaken for genuine items by those who bought or wore them (rather than by those who saw them worn). Of course, not all simulants were intended merely to deceive. Some were no doubt affordable surrogates for luxury materials destined for a wider swathe of customers, and the discernment of fabricated from true gems was a complicated and imprecise science (though modern gemologists now differentiate “simulants”—copies meant to resemble or simulate natural stones in color and luster—from “synthetics,” which are man-made syntheses with the same composition as natural gems).64 I have avoided the term “fake,” in fact, because many if not most Renaissance counterfeit luxury objects were not designed to mislead the initial purchaser. Legislation served to protect the buyer but not his or her eventual audiences. Ludovico da Foligno was denounced in Ferrara for deceptively gilding fictitious diamonds in 1458, and in Venice in 1487, where glass beads and buttons simulating pearls were produced in great numbers, the Senate decreed that goldsmiths or jewelers guilty of such infractions could be imprisoned, mutilated, banished, or banned from practicing their craft.65 Throughout Italy, it was illegal for goldsmiths to set artificial jewels in gold. In Milan, fictive gems could be mounted only in copper or brass, and in 1396 a statute dictated that “glass, doubled crystal, or counterfeited stone” could not be encased in gold, a prohibition reiterated in the regulations of goldsmiths in 1468, 1479, and 1492. Statutes imposed harsh punishments on Milanese goldsmiths who contravened civic or guild restrictions. The false stone would be destroyed and the gold confiscated, to be divided between

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the accuser and the guild, even if it was determined that the object had been obtained in good faith.66 �������������������������������������������������� In 1469, two men convicted of falsifying gems suffered painful and humiliating abuse in Milan. A ducal official informed Galeazzo Maria Sforza that after their faces and heads had been shaved, they were both crowned, or more literally “mitred,” with their “counterfeited jewels.” After being led through Milan to the Broletto Nuovo, “with the entire town watching, they were branded on the forehead and on each cheek.”67 Three years later, Galeazzo ordered the execution of the Mantuan Jew Mathesia, arrested for attempting to sell fictive gems as real to Milanese jewelers, though the lord consented to free the suspect upon payment of a fine of one thousand ducats, after learning about his wealthy relatives and following the intervention of Mantua’s marchesa, Barbara of Brandenburg. Sforza settled for half that sum, and Mathesia was pardoned; his horse, sword, spurs, hat, and boots were restored, though the stones in question were confiscated.68 While penalties were negotiable, rulers were not always so lenient. A Milanese jeweler detained in Mantua “on suspicion of having stolen or forged a diamond” seemed clearly guilty to Isabella d’Este, who directed an official to “bring about a strict justice” and to employ torture, if necessary, “for this truth to come out.”69 ���������������������������������������������� The young Gian Galeazzo Sforza impressed audiences in Milan with a pearl “fatter than a round hazelnut” in 1489, a characterization that indicates the great variety of descriptive language used to classify the size, shape, and quality of pearls, and contemporaries’ familiarity and fascination with them.70 This multitude of “pearls” had diverse origins. Many were ocean pearls from the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, or Indian Ocean (often from the Gulf of Mannar separating India and Sri Lanka) that had entered Italy through Venice or Genoa via Egypt or Constantinople. Others were freshwater “Scotch pearls” harvested

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from mussels native to Scottish rivers—or waterways in Ireland or Bavaria. The Sforza owned pearls from all over Europe, including a Scottish (“schozexe”) pearl inventoried in the late fifteenth century. Assorted “perle scozese” can be found in an Este list as well.71 A substantial number of pearls adorning lords, however, were colored glass beads or otherwise counterfeit; for instance, Leonardo da Vinci’s notes from the court of Milan in the 1480s include a recipe for artificial pearls made from a paste of lemon juice and egg whites. Leonardo also advised the use of a lathe and a burnisher equipped with crystal, chalcedony, or animal teeth (dog, wolf, or boar) to polish the spheres and maximize their pearlescent sheen.72 Imitation pearls made from mother-of-pearl, glass, mica, or alabaster have a venerable history, dating from at least late antiquity (as we know from the so-called Stockholm papyrus of circa 400 ce, an important source, too, for information about dyeing and mordanting textiles, forging metal alloys, and tinting crystals and stones).73 They might be soaked in oil or coated in iridescent mercury or isinglass, a collagen obtained from fish bladders. From the seventeenth century, many simulant pearls were glass beads filled with “essence of pearl,” an oily substance derived from fish scale fragments that contained mirrorlike crystals, producing reflections that hid fish from predators in water.74 A fifteenth-century formula from Bologna called for molded nacreous orbs made from a mixture of powdered crystal or glass, egg whites, and snail slime. Most concoctions required egg whites and fish glue, and some recommended a quantity of small seed pearls crushed to produce larger ones. Other fourteenth- through sixteenth-century recipes incorporated cheese, fig-tree sap, linseed oil, white wine, talc, fish eyes (which might be pulverized marine snail shells), mercury, goat’s milk, flour, or boiled parchment clippings. One procedure instructed that pearl paste should be baked in a fish’s belly, “as if it were a pie.”75 Lemon juice was a primary ingredient in a “secret for making pearls so

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beautiful that they are sold as real.” These pearls fooled even the goldsmiths of Venice, Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga was told in correspondence confirming that princes valued the most convincing imitations.76 Another method for polishing artificial pearls consisted of feeding them to a bird. They would then be rubbed smooth inside the creature’s stomach by gastric acids and grinding, much like gizzard stones (gastroliths). Chickens and doves were preferred, and the bird was to be slaughtered to recover the pearls. Though some sources maintained that they would be passed naturally, a recent study concluded that pearls would entirely dissolve if not removed after a few hours. Benvenuto Cellini demeaned the pearl as a mere “fish bone,” yet great lengths were taken to acquire and produce the pearls that made courtly bodies luminous and brilliant.77

Collars, Belts, and Sequins The Ferrarese courtier and poet Francesco Ariosto (uncle of the famous Ludovico) asserted that Borso d’Este’s “imperial appearance” was “ornamented with gold and gems”—the statement from which this chapter’s title is taken—when he journeyed to Rome in 1471.78 Indeed, signori enhanced their nobility by wearing all sorts of gold, silver, and gilded adornments, in addition to jewels and pearls. Adolfo Venturi described a “phalanx” of goldsmiths in Ferrara during Borso’s rule, and no fewer than seventeen goldsmiths or goldbeaters were active at the Malatesta court in Fano. Men at Renaissance courts showed off gold necklaces—among them Leonello d’Este, who owned a golden chain decorated with a royal English insignia. In 1453 and ’54, the goldsmith Amadio da Milano was paid to make, and then refashion with adornments designed by the illuminator Giorgio d’Alemagna, a large gold collar for Borso, with the lord’s paraduro (wattle fence) device in azurite and green enamel.79 Two decades

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later, Galeazzo Maria Sforza made multiple urgent requests for gold chains, instructing the court spenditore, Gottardo Panigarola, to find and send the right necklace as soon as possible—or, failing that, to update the duke on the matter the following day—and to “immediately use all of his attention, industry, and diligence” in locating one. An additional directive provides advice on how to obtain, through a certain amount of subterfuge, a golden collar from the lord’s brother Sforza Maria, and another calls for Panigarola to summon “four or five good masters of similar works” to Galeazzo so that he can discuss with these goldsmiths the precise design that he had in mind.80 In the Pala Sforzesca (fig. 8), Ludovico Sforza displays a weighty necklace of linked circles that Milan’s patron saint, Ambrose, standing behind Sforza and advocating on his behalf, touches delicately. Ludovico presented expensive chains to courtiers, and in 1500 an ambassador gushed about Sforza’s enameled gold necklace bedecked with glittering jewels and a sizeable pendant pearl, which seemed “a very beautiful, lordly thing.”81 In the early 1480s, Bartolomeo della Gatta portrayed the fair Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (fig. 35), perhaps age nine or ten, with lustrous blond locks and wearing a heavy golden chain, iridescent crimson velvet, and a berretta studded with a red gem and pearl (which recalls the brooch worn atop his head in the earlier double portrait with his father, Federico [fig. 32]).82 Guidobaldo is depicted as a paragon of youthful courtly beauty, far from the frail figure haunting Baldassare Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier. His golden collar may have been the very gift from Pope Sixtus IV that helped seal Federico’s participation in the Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici. Indeed, gold chains were frequently given as diplomatic gifts. They both manifested and propelled political alliance and intrigue.83 Audiences took note of golden necklaces. For King Ferrante’s wedding to Giovanna of Aragon in Naples in 1477, Rodolfo Gonzaga apprised his father, Ludovico, that

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in attendance were “all the lords of the realm, with extreme pomp in both clothing and golden chains.”84 Correspondence from Isabella d’Este, back in Ferrara in 1502 for the nuptials between her brother Alfonso and her rival and frenemy Lucrezia Borgia, reveals that she was underwhelmed by preparations for the festivities, and that she anticipated that the necklaces and array would nevertheless be their highlight: “aside from the great pomp of gold chains and rich clothing, this will not be such a beautiful show as people expect, because I see neither organization nor set-up for it.” When, days later, she wrote to her husband, Francesco, about one of the wedding processions, Isabella—still dismissive of the ceremony’s planning—tellingly inventoried the collars worn by courtiers with more precision than she used in describing the men themselves: “Behind these [musicians] were the courtiers and Ferrarese nobles in no particular order. Among them seventy gold chains were counted, none of which was valued under five hundred ducats; many were worth eight hundred, and some even up to twelve hundred.”85 Embodied luster was intensified and amplified by precious metals stamped into fabrics in foil or other forms. In Pisanello’s tightly framed portrait of Leonello d’Este, painted circa 1445 (fig. 36), metal florets serve as mounts for luminous pearls. These glistening petalshaped adornments scatter light, as did actual silver rosettes enameled in azurite that were produced by an Este goldsmith to decorate an embroidered garment in 1442. Pisanello’s burnished sequins seem to line the borders of the lord’s pleated crimson tunic, though—and it is difficult to make this out precisely—they may instead serve to hold in place the (pearl) buttons securing turned back flaps at the edge of the lavishly textured, gold-brocaded surcoat, which Chiara Buss considers a garment of the kind Leonello’s father, Nicolò, wore and thus out of fashion for decades by the time of this portrait. Whether

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Figure 35  Bartolomeo della Gatta, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, early 1480s. Oil on poplar panel, 53.5 × 40.9 cm. Galleria Colonna, Rome. Photo courtesy of the Galleria Colonna, Rome.

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Figure 36  Pisanello, Leonello d’Este, ca. 1445. Tempera on panel, 29.4 × 19.4 cm. Accademia Carrara, Bergamo. Photo: HIP / Art Resource, New York.

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we see vintage or modish attire, we should take note of the fancifully fringed, flowing white ribbons rounding off Leonello’s ensemble.86 Gold, silver, and silk or leather belts were worn by princes and their retainers both because they held outer garments close to the body and because they conspicuously displayed holstered daggers and sheathed swords. One of Sante Bentivoglio of Bologna’s numerous crimson silk belts was furnished with golden rings, perhaps to carry a sword. Tristano Sforza (Galeazzo’s older, illegitimate brother) possessed two belts embroidered with silver or gilded silver filigree, in addition to a crimson belt embellished with nielloed silver.87 Galeazzo’s request for a boy’s “belt of velvet a la divisa Sforzescha” suggests that courtly belts, like stockings and tunics, were manufactured in dynastic colors and marked with imprese.88 Belts worn by Borso d’Este and at least one courtier in the Palazzo Schifanoia’s Salone dei Mesi (fig. 37) are gilded with fantastical lettering, suggesting foreign origins and opulent manufacture through what might have been read as archaic or Arabic (Kufic) script. Such exotic-seeming objects may have been produced locally in Ferrara. The Este goldsmith Amadio da Milano forged and finished similarly Islamicizing metalwork, including a silver pomander decorated “alla Morescha,” with “perforations, knots, and Moorish letters.” These perfume burners, made in Syria and imitated in Venice, were popular at Italian courts.89 Buckles made of precious metals likewise adorned Renaissance signori. Amadio da Milano crafted scores of gilt bronze clasps and rivets for armor, and silver fastenings for belts made of black silk intended for Rinaldo and Gurone d’Este, two of the lord Leonello’s younger brothers (the latter would become abbot of Nonantola and was succeeded by his son in that office).90 If metalwork survives from this artisan’s output, it would probably be fastenings not for belts or armor but rather for books, from among those in Modena’s Biblioteca Estense.91 In

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Figure 37  Francesco del Cossa, April, late 1460s, detail depicting the belt of an Este courtier. Fresco. East wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: author, courtesy of the Musei di Arte Antica, Ferrara.

subsequent decades, the Este courtier Teofilo Calcagnini had the silver furnishings of a belt repaired by yet another Milanese goldsmith active in Ferrara, and Ludovico Magnano produced a nielloed silver buckle for Nicolò di Meliaduse d’Este. Metal buckles and studs could be hefty enough to inflict serious injuries if belts were brandished as weapons. Federico da Montefeltro accused Sigismondo

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Malatesta of whipping to death a young lover with a silk belt outfitted with gold bosses.92 Even if this were yet another of the sensationalized if not outright fabricated charges leveled against the lord of Rimini, it attests to the metallic density of silk belts. Bolts, buttons, rivets, and other fastenings reflected light and also rattled. Effulgent male bodies on display were audible, with armor and metals clanking. Both visually and aurally they announced the body’s presence and status from a distance, before individual faces could be discerned. Metal buttons, which were introduced into Italy in the late thirteenth century and soon proliferated in form and style, not only shone but also drove far-reaching changes in fashion, notably the increasing tightening of men’s clothing, discussed in chapter 3.93 Bottoni (also called maspilli) could be stamped, cast, or pressed into molds and were made of gold, silver, enamel, bone, wood, or base metals, sometimes encased in gold leaf or covered in iridescent fabrics. Buttons could be functional, or they might be decorative spheres attached to but not fastening clothing. They could also be scented, like the perfumed golden buttons sent by Isabella d’Este to Queen Claude of France.94 Sforza inventories reveal that buttons were made of or bedizened with gold, diamonds, rubies, pearls, or emeralds, and elsewhere on the peninsula were made of amber, coral, or crystal. The translucent beads embellishing Ludovico Gonzaga’s upper chest on the Camera Picta’s west wall (fig. 7) may be just these sorts of precious, luminescent orbs of polished crystal, or the sort of glass “pearls” produced in great numbers in Venice.95 Not just buttons but all manner of fittings and trimmings whose function was not limited to the practical could be made of or covered in metal. Both the eyelets or grommets (magete, also magiete or magliette) through which lacings or strings were threaded to tighten clothing, and the aglets (aghetti) applied to the ends of strings could be gilded or sheathed in other metals. Aghetti—also

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referred to as agugielle, punte, and puntali—are in English aiguillettes, aiglets, or points, which might also be the name for the entire cords. These laces tied stockings or sleeves to doublets, though they commonly served less strictly utilitarian purposes, adorning shoulders, for instance, as knightly arming points.96 Though they were originally designed to protect fabric edges from being frayed by laces (and they survive in this form, for instance, in the white damask doublet in which Diego Cavaniglia was buried), eyelets or rings known as magete soon spread around the surfaces of clothing.97 Magete, similar to stamped bezants in contemporary England, and to sequins or paillettes, were manufactured in enormous quantities in Milan, where their quality was regulated. These sequinlike trimmings could be made of iron, brass, copper, or silver and were typically finished in either silver or gold, though legally only on one side, so that the wearer or purchaser could inspect the object’s inherent substance. In 1493, Beatrice d’Este described wearing a velvet bodice ornamented with solid gold, I suspect, because of the regularity with which adornments were merely gilded.98 One of Leonardo da Vinci’s hypothetical machines was designed to stamp magete or similar sequins; additionally, Leonardo purchased “magliette” to decorate a mantle for his pupil and companion Salaì (Gian Giacomo Caprotti).99 Garments bedecked with silver paillettes could be had at the secondhand market at Milan’s cathedral, and extant magete can be examined today up close, and at rest, in two Milanese textile paintings attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio Bevilacqua, who no doubt depended on a crew of artisans.100 The lively flickers and glimmers produced by magete—their dynamic and fleeting optical effects—contributed to the charisma and visual attraction of noble bodies for audiences well practiced in the appreciation of the lustrous and lavish materiality that embodied aristocratic authority.

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Magete and comparable metal trimmings came in diverse shapes and designs, and their versatility and popularity are intimated by a heap inventoried in a Riminese mercer’s shop.101 Like buttons, they were decorative and functional, serving to fasten and hold clothing tight, all the while suggestively sparkling and flashing. Magete could be flat or convex, and either round discs or more elaborate shapes that called to mind floral motifs. Some were smooth and others were articulated with small relief mounds, perhaps burnished, to intensify the impression of shimmer. Numerous garments—tunics, doublets, and mantles—worn by the Milanese poet and courtier Gaspare Visconti were adorned by magete, mostly of silver, with many gilded, as were the “magiete” enhancing clothing that Galeazzo Maria Sforza gave to his mistress Lucia Marliani, described as “gilt” and “of gilt silver.” Lucia already owned attire strewn with paillettes, including crimson satin sleeves with gilded silver “magetis.” The Sforza segretario Cicco Simonetta possessed a string of gilt silver “magiete,” which he could have worn around his neck or attached to a garment.102 In the profile portrait now in the Pinacoteca di Brera, Francesco Sforza exhibits copious magete, suggested in paint by small, overlapping, semicircular shapes aligned vertically and horizontally on the front of his tunic at about chest level (fig. 38). This possibly posthumous image, conventionally attributed to Bonifacio Bembo though recently given to the mute artist Cristoforo de Predis, the elder half brother of the better known Ambrogio, provides clear evidence of the profusion of metallic magete that enriched both men and women’s clothing at court.103 In Francesco’s portrait, rows of magete recall the form and visual effects of chain-mail links, and no doubt this association was accessible to original viewers, given the etymological connection between these small, glittering objects (particularly in the alternate spelling of magliette) and the mail or mesh often worn by Italy’s

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lords.104 The tunic displayed here—a giornea, discussed in greater detail in chapter 3—was frequently spruced up with metallic pieces: Francesco’s brother Alessandro owned crimson giornee embellished with silver scaglie (scales), and one with silver campanelle (small bells). Silver scaglioni (large scales), moreover, adorned Alessandro’s longer mantles.105 Similar small, thin fragments of worked metal hanging from fringes, chains, or threads were also called tremolanti (from tremolare, to tremble or shake) because of the visual and aural sensations these dazzling accessories produced as bodies moved.106 Dozens of youths participating in the wedding of Costanzo Sforza and Camilla of Aragon were illuminated by tremolanti: seventy “gioveni” with silver “trimolanti” stitched to their green garments around the neck, and two lads in deep blue and green silk clothing drenched in golden “trimolanti” and furnished with flowing gilt fringes.107 In Ferrara, Giovanni Artone of Modena fabricated for Teofilo Calcagnini a spectacular helmet crest decorated with peacock feathers and tremblants in 1462, and nearly three decades later, at the nuptial celebrations of the cousins Gian Galeazzo Sforza and Isabella of Aragon, four musicians dressed in silks and “all covered . . . in trimolanti” were “beautiful to see and hear.”108 The sounds of these clinking and jingling metals, like diminutive cymbals, perhaps complemented or echoed the musicians’ instruments. Though tremolanti and magete seem to have been the most commonly used terms, I can identify others for small, reflective, and jangling bits of metal, some of which served to fasten or latch: scaglie, scaglioni, and scaiete: scales; additionally, ancinelli: hooks or clasps, five pairs of which were produced in floral shapes for a garment worn by Alberto d’Este; ferretti: small rods, dozens of which Isabella d’Este requested from a goldsmith; and rampini or rampinelli: hooks or rings that enhanced Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s boots and at least two of his armored upper-body garments.109

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Figure 38  Attributed to Bonifacio Bembo or Cristoforo de Predis, Francesco Sforza, ca. 1465–75. Tempera on canvas, 49 × 31 cm. Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan. Photo: Scala / Art Resource, New York.

Leonello d’Este ordered a helmet garnished with silver tremolanti for Ferrara’s podesta Giacomo Tolomei, a Sienese relative of the lord’s mother, Stella. The metalwork was executed by Amadio da Milano, who also fashioned silver threads and “tremolanti of various sorts” for a tunic intended for Folco da Villafora, a courtier close

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enough to Leonello that Andrea Mantegna painted a double portrait of the two.110 Amadio’s silver sequins were sometimes sewn into Leonello’s sleeves by Agostino Frambaglia da Pavia, who embroidered sleeves with an image of a target pierced by arrows, with broken and intact arrows strewn about, and gilded silver tremolanti all

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around. Before long, Agostino raised the suspicions of an official of the ducal guardaroba (wardrobe) who believed that the artisan had used less silver than he had been consigned for tremblants.111 This ducal representative kept a close eye on the silver entrusted to goldsmiths and embroiderers not only because of the material’s expense but also to ensure that his lord would be as radiant as possible. Given the sequins’ diminutive dimensions, it might not have been difficult for artisans to dilute purity or otherwise adulterate or substitute precious substances, yet their tiny size presented problems for goldsmiths, including Amadio da Milano. The fabrication of tremolanti was a substantial component of Amadio’s output, and in 1446 he complained to Leonello that the desire for increasingly thin and fragile spangles made their manufacture financially unsustainable because of the delicate beating work required, and because more gold was lost, the smaller the object to which it was applied. Amadio lamented pathetically that not even the “saddest labourer” earned so insignificant a profit from his trade, “considering the expense and even more the effort” that it necessitated. If he was not paid a higher rate both for tremolanti of silver and for those that he gilded, the goldsmith humbly implored, he would hardly be able to feed himself.112 Yet lords demanded, and audiences expected to see, splendid adornment. Thus tremolanti were sewn into elaborate garlands worn on the head or placed on hats or helmets. These garlands were regulated by sumptuary laws and could be lavish luxury objects, made of and embellished with (real or silk) flowers, velvet, gold tinsel, pearls, peacock or ostrich feathers, and even small bells.113 These garlands sparkled, shone, and clattered as their wearer moved. Spectators in Florence in 1452 were astounded by Emperor Frederick III’s male courtiers, who were “covered with gold and silver and with pearls and precious stones,” wore long wigs, “white and curled into ringlets, so that they looked like spun gold,” and were

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festooned with garlands of pearls.114 Lads participating in chivalric spectacles often sported chaplets of flowers, feathers, and cloth, which were bedecked with luminous jewels and metals. At his wedding festivities in 1475, Costanzo Sforza donned a hat or chaplet “encircled by pearls” and adorned “with a feather made entirely of pearls, which was most beautiful.”115 In 1459—in a joust organized by the ten-year-old Lorenzo de’ Medici for the visiting Count of Pavia, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, five years his elder—twelve combatants outfitted in silver-brocaded doublets and stockings stitched with pearls wore garlands with “silver scales” and golden feathers on their helmets. Each helmet, according to one spectator, was as “polished and resplendent as a star.”116

Knights of the Golden Spurs Princes radiated courtliness and privilege from head to toe—or, better, since heads were often covered and toes nearly always were, from gilt helmet to golden spur. Jangling and shining spurs and stirrups signaled skill and wealth—horse prowess and ownership—as spurs were essential for the control of a horse and thus the display of lordly command. Throughout Italy, golden spurs advertised chivalric honors. At his father’s deathbed, the nineyear-old Nicolò d’Este was girded with a sword and had golden spurs placed on his feet in a ceremony reinforcing his position as heir. Borso d’Este and Federico da Montefeltro were granted golden spurs when they received ducal investitures from, respectively, popes Paul II and Sixtus IV. Borso’s courtier Teofilo Calcagnini was himself made a knight of the speron d’oro, and spurs belonging to Leonello d’Este were gilded by Amadio da Milano.117 Sigismondo Malatesta’s mercury-gilded spurs were taken to the grave, along with a dagger, sword, and doublet of gold brocade. Francesco Gonzaga’s golden spurs are meticulously

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rendered—with the spiky rowels precisely gilded—by Andrea Mantegna in the Madonna della Vittoria (fig. 11). At the Este court, spurs were generally made of silver, copper, gilt brass, or baser metals and alloys.118 So many men in fifteenth-century courts would have used horses and worn spurs that lords’ nobly radiant ones would have stood out all the more. The gilded spurs and stirrups of princes, courtiers, and knights are familiar sights in frescoes, though in many cases the metallic leaf has lost its sheen. One pear-shaped and gold or gilt stirrup hanging from the saddle of a large courser in Mantegna’s fresco on the west wall of the Camera Picta (fig. 6) bears intricate foliate and volute metalwork decoration. Frescoes commissioned by Camerino’s lord Giulio Cesare da Varano within the Castello di Beldiletto in Le Marche depict blond mounted signori adorned with golden spurs that have been chromatically distinguished from the silver sabatons (foot armor) to which they are attached.119 At the Castello di Torrechiara, south of Parma, Pier Maria Rossi wears silver spurs in the Camera d’Oro’s scenes in which he dons armor (figs. 2, 39), and the horsemen of Schifanoia’s Salone dei Mesi, including Borso himself in many of the room’s cavalcades, wear once metallic, now degraded spurs. Shining metal weapons, sometimes gilt and covered by brocaded sheaths, adorned princes and their attendants in life and in visual representation. Daggers, swords, and other edged weapons threatened violence and, because their possession and display were carefully regulated, advertised power and status. Resplendently armed men both impressed and intimidated audiences. For instance, Francesco Ariosto described the soldiers “all covered in iron, with polished arms as shiny as mirrors,” who greeted Borso d’Este on the Ponte Sant’Angelo in Rome, as he made his way to (Old) Saint Peter’s Basilica in 1471. The visual impact of weapons was amplified by their luster, and it is no doubt for this reason that among

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the first tasks entrusted to the goldsmith Amadio da Milano by Borso’s successor, Ercole, upon becoming lord, was to gild and finish with silver the sword carried by the ducal sword bearer.120 The posthumous inventory of Sigismondo Malatesta, moreover, noted numerous radiant weapons, including a scimitar with a sheath finished in silver alongside jewels, golden chains, silver belts, and silk banners worked in gold. Among Malatesta’s conserved grave goods were a dagger and a mercury gilt sword bearing the inscription “ave duc” on the hilt, with the remnants of velvet on its pommel.121 Men bearing weapons at court ranged from humble infantrymen, to noble sword bearers, to princes themselves, such as Ludovico Gonzaga armed with two swords, with his left hand on one’s hilt, in the Camera Picta (fig. 7). A Gonzaga inventory of 1542, in fact, records the estoc (tuck, a long sword) with a gilt and chased hilt that Florence’s signoria presented to Ludovico when he was named their captain-general in 1447 (and thus some two decades before Mantegna’s fresco).122 Federico da Montefeltro’s sword on conspicuous display in the double portrait with Guidobaldo (fig. 9) may be the same as that at his side in the altarpiece by Piero della Francesco now in the Brera. The scabbards are distinct, but the brass or gilded pommels and quillons (the transverse bars that protect the hand from the blade) are quite alike, and each sword is similarly girded to the lord, suspended from crimson straps of silk velvet or perhaps dyed leather. The honeycomb pattern of the grip depicted by Piero corresponds to that of a late fifteenth-century sword now in Philadelphia. These images offer likenesses of treasured and trusted weapons.123 In Schifanoia’s frescoes, few if any weapons are visible when Borso d’Este is surrounded by courtiers and receiving petitioners and dignitaries. When hunting or traveling on horseback, however, Borso and his men bear daggers, swords, and pikes and other pole arms. Throughout the

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Salone dei Mesi, staffieri—pikemen or footmen, or perhaps, better, bodyguards who also helped the lord mount and dismount—are outfitted in green and white hose and green or blue doublets. These representations align closely with evidence from ducal account registers that confirm that, from the mid-1460s, the guardaroba provided the four or five staffieri who continually accompanied Borso with blue satin doublets and Este calze.124 In scenes from the months of April (far left, fig. 4), June, August, and September, an escort stands or strides alongside the mounted duke and is one of the few men among Borso’s entourage without an expensive tunic or mantle. Indeed, Borso’s staffieri did not wear them, no doubt because stripped-down apparel allowed them to wield weapons more deftly and thus better protect their signore. Such attendants at court were typically dressed in livery, which, like their pikes and swords, broadcast both their own status and that of the lord, serving as manifestations and instruments of power. Many of the armed men on display who might seem at first glance to be lowly guards were instead members of noble families connected to the prince and afforded privileged access to him. Through such service, youths were inculcated into the homosocial, militaristic culture of fifteenth-century courts. Pier Maria Rossi is presented with a sword in the second chivalric scene in Torrechiara’s Camera d’Oro, and he wears the weapon in the following two (figs. 2, 39). Here, the damsel Bianca Pellegrini, Rossi’s mistress, pledges love and loyalty to her lord by presenting him with a sword—a traditional symbol of fealty and

Figure 39  Bonifacio Bembo and workshop, Bianca Pellegrini presents a sword to the enamored Pier Maria Rossi, ca. 1460. Fresco. South lunette, Camera d’Oro, Castello di Torrechiara. Photo: author, courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo—Direzione Regionale Musei Emilia-Romagna.

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knighthood—inspiring Pier Maria Rossi’s martial deeds, conferring military honor, and validating his authority.125 Shining swords demonstrated chivalric ideals, and they violently embodied signorial authority and power. Though Italian cities strictly prohibited the carrying of arms, princes could grant immunity from these prohibitions, and thus being seen with a sword—even when approaching from afar, as many swords would no doubt have changed the way one walked—served as a visible sign of masculine privilege.126 Equally lustrous and deadly, these fashionable accessories were resonant and threatening symbols of noble status and, accordingly, were insistently flaunted by lords. In frescoes planned for the Castello Sforzesco in Milan in the early 1470s, Pietro Pusterla, sword bearer to both Francesco and Galeazzo Maria Sforza, was to appear “cum la spada”—as he did when Francesco gained possession of Genoa in 1464.127 Portrayed immediately adjacent to Pusterla was to be Cicco Simonetta, the powerful and dutiful Sforza segretario whose own head would, a few years later, be severed by an executioner’s sword. An additional cycle was to have twice shown the sword bearer Guido Antonio Arcimboldo armed with the golden “spada ducale” and taking part in the Saint George’s Day procession.128 These portraits were never painted, but in a manuscript illumination depicting the presentation of Gerolamo Mangiaria’s De impedimentis matrimonii (fig. 40)—a text on church decrees about marriages regulated or forbidden because of blood (consanguinity) or marital relations (affinity)—a ducal sword bearer, his weapon sheathed in a gilded scabbard, stands among a number of male courtiers, closest to the seated Galeazzo. Both this courtier and his lord sport gold-brocaded tunics and sleeves of figured velvet. Opposite the sword bearer and a boy in crimson who seems to be Gian Galeazzo Sforza—who may eventually have consulted this text, given that he

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Figure 40  Master of the Birago Hours, manuscript illumination depicting Galeazzo Maria Sforza among courtiers, early 1470s. In Gerolamo Mangiaria, De impedimentis matrimonii ratione consanguinitatis, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, MS Lat. 4586, fol. 1r. Photo © Bibliothèque nationale de France.

was already betrothed to and would marry his first cousin—Cicco Simonetta reads from a document and appears to announce Mangiaria, who, hat in hand, offers his book to Galeazzo. Dressed in a crimson damask tunic, Simonetta also immediately flanks the duke.129 In such images, men’s rank and privilege at court were clearly if subtly communicated through clothing, weapons, and proximity to their lord. A head severed by an executioner’s sword but then seamlessly stitched back onto its body brings us to perhaps the most accomplished feat of tailoring we will encounter in this book and confirms that not even death eclipsed a lord’s obligation to embody courtly radiance. In September 1476, Nicolò d’Este (son of Leonello) and his cousin Azzo were beheaded following a failed revolt against their uncle Ercole, the second uncle who had

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usurped Nicolò’s rightful rule of Ferrara (the first being Borso). Nicolò’s head and neck, multiple sources tell us, were sewn back together, “so that it did not seem that his head had been cut off.” Nicolò di Leonello was given a magnificent funeral procession attended by all strata of Ferrarese society, and he was buried in his dynasty’s porphyry tomb in San Francesco. According to a chronicler, Ercole ordered the citizens of Ferrara to “honor the body” of Nicolò. Among those present at Nicolò’s funeral was his cousin, the toddler Isabella d’Este.130 Chronicles and other sources confirm that lords were typically exhibited posthumously, and then buried, in lavish brocades. They were sometimes eviscerated and then embalmed—and a number of corpses have been exhumed and studied, including those of the mortal enemies Federico da Montefeltro and Sigismondo

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Malatesta (whose right ulna was stolen by a medical student in 1944!).131 Pier Maria Rossi (fig. 2) was embalmed and laid in state attired in cloth of gold in Torrechiara’s Camera d’Oro. His father, Pietro, had been depicted dressed in sumptuous brocades in his burial chapel in Parma’s church of Sant’Antonio Abate. In these frescoes, commissioned by Pietro’s widow, Giovanna Cavalcabò, the piously splendid Rossi knelt in prayer opposite scenes of the Last Judgment. An epitaph on the surviving, though transferred, tomb announces that Pietro wore cloth of gold when alive, thus reiterating the (lost) adjacent fresco and powerfully communicating to posterity this lordly imperative.132 Este lords displayed crimson silk brocades both during the assumption of lordship and when laid in state. Tricks up lords’ cloth-of-gold sleeves allowed them to do so efficiently, even deceptively. Though the chronicler and notary Ugo Caleffini described Borso arrayed posthumously in a crimson, gold-brocaded mantle over a goldbrocaded doublet—along with crimson stockings and a fur-lined berretta—an annotation from the registry of the ducal guardaroba indicates that only the doublet’s sleeves were brocaded and that the lord’s body and clothing were arranged so that the viewer would assume that the entire garment was. In the words of this unknown Este functionary, the sleeves “for the body of the former Duke Borso”

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were tailored so that, “having his arms outside the ducal mantle, it would seem that the garment worn underneath the aforesaid mantle was itself of gold brocade. This was done to carry the body to its burial in habito ducale.” The sartorial subterfuge evidently fooled Caleffini, and no doubt many other Ferrarese subjects who paid their final respects to their resplendent lord.133 The funerals of Borso and Nicolò di Leonello d’Este highlight the significance that Renaissance culture placed on the appropriate display of adorned aristocratic bodies. The final view of Nicolò di Leonello, wearing crimson cloth of gold, was the image that citizens expected of a lord, as diligently fashioned in death as in life or in art, and constructed through prodigious labor and expense. Indeed, Bernardino Corio commented that Nicolò— dressed in gold brocade (his body seemingly intact)— was exhibited and buried “a modo di principe.”134 For the many fifteenth-century Europeans who were interred naked or in shrouds rather than in the garments they wore in life, clothing was much too valuable to be wasted on a dead body. Yet even aristocratic corpses bore the responsibility to reveal and confirm signorial status. Thus, in both life and death, charismatic and carefully fashioned bodies communicated to subjects and peers the lord’s courtliness and nobility, and, therefore, his dynasty’s continuing right to rule.

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3.

The Contours of Renaissance Fashion

Italian lords were radiantly adorned, gilded in shining armor, illustrious men indeed. Having reconstructed the brilliance of their ornament and clothing, let us now turn our attention to the apparel that signori and their courtiers wore, and to the body parts and types that this attire accentuated. Changes in fashion and tailoring informed the ways that people understood themselves and their bodies, and this chapter provides a critical account of the entangled relations between clothing and bodies by investigating calze (stockings) and the giornea (short tunic). We commence with a brief outline of the regulation of fifteenth-century fashion, followed by an exploration of gender and class conventions of bodily display. A slender silhouette was the courtly masculine ideal, and it both formed and was conditioned by new fashions, specifically the pervasiveness of close-fitting upper-body

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garments and hose. Legs were gendered in Renaissance culture. Beautiful legs were shown off—their contours revealed by calze—as manifestations of specifically male courtliness and allure. Fifteenth-century courts were resolutely masculine, homosocial environments, and lords and subjects alike understood that the display of courtly male bodies was a fundamental facet of signorial power.1 Modernity, however, has by and large considered the splendor of the adorned male body antithetical to masculinity, or has viewed it with suspicion, partly owing to a distrust of men’s fashion, beauty, and display, following what has been influentially labeled “the great masculine renunciation of fashion.”2 Of course, some modern men never renounced fashion. They remained committed consumers and styled themselves boisterously and dashingly (as is increasingly the case in

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our century). I perceive “the great masculine renunciation of fashion” as a broadly compelling yet frequently illusory eschewal of color and ornamentation in European men’s attire. Less a historical fact than a trajectory, it moved—or leaped, to borrow Walter Benjamin’s suggestive imagining of fashion as a “tiger’s leap” (Tigersprung)—in fits and starts, oriented toward both the future and the past.3 The bounding tiger reminds us that fashion does not proceed linearly but accelerates, backtracks, and lurches, always imbued with conflicts and contradictions, disjunctions and disconnections. Attention to appearance and the invitation to scrutinize the body hardly effeminized a man in quattrocento courts. On the contrary, bodily display and sumptuous adornment established and communicated patriarchal authority. The pervasive gendering of fashion as feminine is culturally contingent rather than essentially constitutive. Thus we must examine cultures of adornment and display with rigorous historical specificity. Elite fifteenth-century men generally consumed more precious materials for their ornamentation than did women, and they customarily made decisions regarding the color, fabric, and cut of clothing worn by both genders.4 This study aims not to diminish the salience of fashion and clothing for women but rather to underscore their centrality for Renaissance masculinities. Trendsetters at court were indeed women, chief among them Beatrice d’Este—dubbed “novarum vestium inventrix [inventress of novel fashions]” by the chronicler Francesco Muralto—and her more famous sister, Isabella, both of whom created, modeled, and disseminated innovative and personalized fashions, sometimes by way of dressed dolls.5 Of course, men also selected, curated, and styled their wardrobe carefully. Galeazzo Maria Sforza may have had something like a style in our sense (or one associated with his court), or at least a distinct preference for certain cuts and modes of clothes, as is suggested by orders of garments “as usual,”

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tailored “in our style [a nostro modo],” or “in the fashion that we wear [a la fogia che portamo nuy].”6 A chorus of scholars have demonstrated that misogynist condemnations of women functioned to assert fashion as a properly masculine domain.7 Critiques of fashion often said more about power than about clothing. In fourteenth-century Milan, the Dominican Galvano Fiamma ridiculed women who wore newly fashionable tight-fitting array with golden belts, calling them Amazons who breached the sartorial confines of their gender and encroached upon men’s domain.8 Numerous voices—from bishops to chroniclers, poets to preachers—blamed women for excessive sartorial spending. Through their sumptuary laws, civic officials thundered that it was necessary “to curb the vain ambition of women and to stop the useless and costly ornaments of their clothing” and to “restrain the barbarous and irrepressible bestiality of women.”9 Yet it was aristocratic men who largely drove sartorial spending in quattrocento courts. The display of luxurious clothing and adornment reinforced the social order, separating nobles from their subjects by visualizing distinctions that sumptuary laws were devised to uphold. Ruling dynasties and those they ennobled or favored were typically exempt from these regulations in fifteenth-century court centers such as Ferrara, Milan, Mantua, Parma, and Rimini. Lords could reject sumptuary legislation passed by civic governments, as Sigismondo Malatesta managed to do in 1440 with a law curbing female adornment in Fano. Milanese sumptuary laws came relatively late—the first in 1396, the second only in 1498—and in Milan the enforcement of restrictions on brocaded garments was necessarily lax, given the importance of their production to the town’s economy.10 Though statutes regulating types of fabrics, furs, and pearls provided exceptions for the nobility, exactly who fell into that category varied. The honors that Borso d’Este conferred upon Florentines resident in Ferrara

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included a dispensation from sumptuary laws prohibiting the use of gold and silver. A fine levied there against a merchant whose wife had worn crimson cloth was disputed by the assertion of his family’s noble status, confirming both that subjects were well informed about aristocratic prerogatives regarding lavish dress and that these strictures could be negotiated.11 According to an anonymous denunciation made in Foligno, such measures were intended for the common folk, “because you can’t find nets to catch big fish.” Sumptuary legislation was notoriously difficult to enforce, and officers charged with investigating infractions met fierce resistance and scorn, as is suggested by a Venetian law against interfering with their work either through “injurious epithets, or throwing bread or oranges at their heads, as certain presumptuous persons have done.”12 Potential transgressors might merely “pagare le pompe”—pay the fine as a luxury tax—or they might slightly vary the styles, materials, or appellations of offending attire to stay beyond the law’s reach. Historians continue to debate sumptuary regulations’ intentions and effects; the extent to which these mandates were enforced, complied with, or transgressed; and whether they inhibited or stimulated consumption. Yet it is clear that sumptuary laws served to reinforce class and status; to maintain discipline and moral authority; to raise funds via a form of taxation; to police distinctions between genders; and to guard against the dissipation of capital and the flight of industrial technology or skilled labor.13 These statutes sparked aspirational spending on clothing and adornments imitating and emulating people across social divides that were never absolute but rather constantly negotiated, confused, and contested through fashion. By providing clear guidelines on what (or what not) to wear, sumptuary laws ensured that consumers desired, that artisans evolved to meet demand, and that economies were thereby spurred. These measures offered

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precisely the terms and materials that allowed fashion to innovate and proliferate effectively, and of course they also had protectionist aims, restricting imports and promoting local industry. Thus Venice’s Senate lamented that its citizens “think of nothing but discovering new fashions and inventions,” and the chronicler Marin Sanudo, triggered by a bride’s white and gold satin apparel, commented sardonically that everyone “does whatever they want, even if it is against the law.”14 Fashion changes and innovations circulated, driven by widely varying factors and actors—trickling down from above and bubbling up from below—and they could potentially confuse distinctions through the inventive adaptation and display of modes, fabrics, and adornments thought to be the preserve of members of a different class or status.15 Individuals at court assessed themselves within social hierarchies and made fashion choices to express conformity, imitation, or differentiation. For most, however, decisions regarding clothing were made for them. Choices and maneuvers available to even the most avantgarde and fashion-forward hewed closely to previous habits and trends—whether by recalling, rejecting, or revising them, or somewhere in between—and for the rest, options were circumscribed, if not altogether dictated, by one’s gender, rank, and age, among other categories of identity. Fashion’s realm of possibilities has never been limitless, and early modern clothing more often confirmed one’s belonging to a particular class or group than it displayed a desire to exhibit or create a personal identity (or than it dissembled, disguised, or dissented— as seductive as these acts are to some scholars). Choices were thus too consequential, and pressure to conform to collective social expectations too great, to be left to personal predilection or whim. While twenty-first-century fashion is customarily thought to express one’s unique individuality, it is likewise conformist and corporate, connecting members of various groups and (sub)cultures.

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In Nancy Troy’s penetrating assessment, fashion “requires a carefully calibrated oscillation not only between novelty and tradition but between distinction and conformity, the quest for visibility and the determination not to be seen.”16 In the fifteenth century as today, social imitation consolidated identity, and fashion embodied and revealed both affiliation and distinction. Clothes communicated with whom one wanted to be associated and from whom one wished to be distinguished.17 Throughout this chapter, I aim to keep our gaze focused on the dynamic relations between bodies and clothes. The body is both revealed and concealed by clothes, and changes in fashion and clothing’s cuts, curves, and contours both induced and were influenced by ideals of bodily types and body parts. Clothing needs the body, without which it seems little more than “a corpse or a mass of lifeless cloth.”18 If clothing, moreover, broadcasts status and identity most intelligibly and efficiently when worn, it simultaneously constitutes identity and indeed our sense of self, as the anthropologist Daniel Miller has shown. We make clothes, and clothes make us.19 As Virginia Woolf reminds us in Orlando, her fabulous, sartorially sensitive tale of a gender-bending fashionista, “Vain trifles as they seem, clothes . . . change our view of the world and the world’s view of us. . . . It is clothes that wear us and not we them; we may make them take the mould of arm or breast, but they mould our hearts, our brains, our tongues to their liking.”20

Renaissance Fashion Victims Renaissance men and women were attuned to distinct and fluctuating styles and to fashion’s transient nature— even if we acknowledge that Cesare Vecellio exaggerated when he joked that Italian fashion could be allegorized by a naked man lugging around a bolt of cloth, because every

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Italian is “so changeable, mutable, and capricious in his dress that he wanted to carry fabric on his shoulder so that he could have the tailor cut his garments according to his whim.”21 At court, boys and young men wore shorter and more closely tailored garb than did women, who donned constricting attire on the upper body but whose long dresses cascaded below the waist, covering the legs down to the shoes and thus rarely exhibiting the leg’s form beneath, let alone any flesh. Women’s belts were worn high, well above the waist, which further hid the lower body’s contours beneath hanging, columnar dresses. These feminine somatic ideals are suggested in—among many other images—an illuminated portrait of Ippolita Maria Sforza accompanied by a pet phoenix on a leash, from a manuscript of Virgil’s works that the Milanese princess took to Naples in 1465 along with many other books, as the bride of Alfonso II (fig. 41).22 Noble bodies, when visible, were invariably clothed. It would have been quite uncommon for most viewers— by this I mean their actual contemporaries—to have seen the arms, legs, or even ankles of aristocratic women in either public display or visual representation. In quattrocento imagery, female nudes are divine, mythical, heroic, or allegorical. As Jill Burke has shown, moreover, nakedness in both art and life was signaled by or understood through not what we would consider to be total nudity—a body entirely without clothes—but rather the lack of even one key garment and the indecorous display of legs, arms, breasts, or genitals.23 The contradictory and notoriously emotional responses to the plight and indeed the nudity of Griselda—most familiar from Boccaccio’s Decameron, Petrarch’s Latin adaptation, and Chaucer’s “Clerk’s Tale”—highlight her exceptional status. Griselda is perhaps the only (albeit fictional) courtly lady shown completely naked in fifteenth-century Italian art, without even a linen shirt (camicia), as she is with crowds

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Figure 41  Master of Ippolita Sforza, manuscript illumination of the initial B depicting Ippolita Maria Sforza with a phoenix, 1465. In Virgil, Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid, with Servius’s Commentary on Virgil, Biblioteca Històrica Universitat de València, Valencia, MS 891, fol. 4v.

looking on in the Camera di Griselda from Pier Maria Rossi’s Castello di Roccabianca (fig. 42). The visualization of Griselda’s body stripped bare is fundamental to the narrative progression of the tale, as are displays of clothes and representations of dressing and undressing.24 In the heavily damaged third scene of these terra verde frescoes (the episode immediately following the depiction of Gualtieri consenting to his subjects’ appeal to marry), the lord directs tailors at work on Griselda’s opulent dress laid out upon a table. This same garment is seen again about to be draped over the naked Griselda, and later in the narrative a woman conspicuously holds out this fashionably low-cut gown for the viewer to ponder as Griselda is ruthlessly expelled from

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her husband’s castle clad only in her long shift (fig. 43). In a later scene that has also unfortunately deteriorated, two attendants hurriedly pull into place and tie the sleeves of the soon-to-be remarried Griselda, following Gualtieri’s surprise announcement that he will wed her instead of a young Bolognese princess (who turns out to be the daughter whom Griselda and Gualtieri’s subjects believe was left for dead because of her mother’s ignoble ancestry) (fig. 44). This fresco provides visual evidence of the labor required to dress in fifteenth-century detachable sleeves.25 Ludovico Gonzaga considered a physician’s gaze upon the unclothed body of his daughter Dorotea to be an unacceptable threat to her honor, even though her impending marriage to Galeazzo Maria Sforza depended on convincing Francesco Sforza that the girl did not possess the same spinal deformity that marred her older sister Susanna (to whom Galeazzo had previously been promised), which would have endangered her childbearing capacities. Recently diagnosed as tuberculosis of the bone, this physical impairment afflicted the Gonzaga for generations and was manifested in a hunched back. According to Pope Pius II, the “humps and goiters” of these formerly beautiful children were “God’s vengeance on the family for certain ancestral sins.”26 Early in the engagement, the teenaged Galeazzo became smitten with the nine-year-old Dorotea and confessed to having “read and reread more than one hundred times” a letter from her. In the autumn of 1463, preparations were advancing for the wedding, planned for December, when she would turn fourteen. Galeazzo’s father, Francesco, had other ideas, however. In order to lay the groundwork for replacing Dorotea with a more prestigious bride of French royal stock, Francesco began to question Dorotea’s health and childbearing potential, accusations that were like a “knife to the hearts” of the girl’s parents, as the Mantuan ambassador in Milan told Galeazzo’s mother,

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Figure 42  Unknown Emilian or Lombard artist, Griselda Disrobed, ca. 1470. Fresco. Camera di Griselda (originally from Castello di Roccabianca), Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Photo: author, © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved. Figure 43  Unknown Emilian or Lombard artist, Griselda Evicted from the Palace, ca. 1470. Fresco. Camera di Griselda (originally from Castello di Roccabianca), Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Photo: author, © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

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Figure 44  Unknown Emilian or Lombard artist, Attendants Tie Griselda’s Sleeves, ca. 1470. Fresco. Camera di Griselda (originally from Castello di Roccabianca), Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Photo: author, © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

Bianca Maria. Francesco demanded that Dorotea be inspected by doctors and attempted, with little success, to negotiate with Ludovico Gonzaga the particulars of her state of undress while under examination. Francesco sent two court physicians from Milan (including the eminent Benedetto Reguardati da Norcia), and, through intermediaries, Bianca Maria implored Barbara of Brandenberg (the girl’s mother) to “persuade and beg” Ludovico to allow them to view at least Dorotea’s shoulders and back. It seems that the Sforza informant who got closest to her, however, was the tailor known as Matregnano, though six weeks later the Gonzaga envoy confirmed that an unnamed authority at the Milanese court reported that Dorotea’s shoulders were uneven, and that upon receiving this news Galeazzo groaned, “now they will never give her to me!” Galeazzo, according to the ambassador, later burst into

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tears when he learned that Ludovico Gonzaga had threatened to end the engagement and simultaneously annul his recently renewed condotta with the Sforza. With tensions running high, further complications arose after Dorotea overheard a lady in Bianca Maria’s retinue comment that she was too ugly, and had too large a mouth, to be a fit bride for Galeazzo.27 As rumors flew, the ambassador reassured the Gonzaga that Dorotea was as “beautiful as a lily,” after his wife received reports from the wives of a tailor and an embroiderer that he had said otherwise. The Sforza secretary Cicco Simonetta, for his part, tried to suss out the age at which Dorotea’s “crooked” uncle Alessandro Gonzaga became afflicted, and likewise to acquire information about the bodies of her paternal grandparents. To be sure, the correspondence reveals endless disinformation, protest, bluster, snark, subterfuge, wishful thinking, misunderstanding, misogynist suspicion, and stubborn defiance from all sides.28 The groom himself was hardly blameless. In August 1465, on his way to France to provide military backing for King Louis XI, Galeazzo stopped in Vercelli (in Piedmont) to call upon Marie of Savoy, the widow of the last Visconti duke, his maternal grandfather, Filippo Maria. From there Galeazzo wrote his father with unmistakable relish about the twenty Savoyard damsels whom he had kissed, adding that they were much more beautiful than Milanese girls. In an attempt at misdirection, Sforza left out the part about the French kissing when he informed his mother, in a separate letter, that if he previously had any desire to take a French wife, he had now lost it, because of the “little courtesy” the Savoyard maidens had shown him.29 Venerable medical authorities were invoked in these deliberations as well. Sforza doctors reckoned with Aristotle’s account of a Black Ethiopian who, because his father had been white, conceived a white son, during a dispute about the likelihood that Dorotea’s condition

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would be passed down to the next generation of Sforza lords. Dorotea’s brother Francesco turned instead to the Persian Ibn Sina regarding this question and reminded their father that “from women born from the blood of hunchbacks [gobbi] are born other gobbi, or lepers, as Avicenna says.”30 It soon became clear to Ludovico Gonzaga that the intolerable and literally spectacular demand on his daughter’s honor was merely a ruse to clear the path for a better marriage alliance for the Sforza—to Bona of Savoy, the sister of Queen Charlotte of France, consort of Louis XI. Gonzaga held firm and insisted that he would not “in any way put into question the honor of our house.” Indeed, Cremona’s podesta commended Ludovico for “preserving the honor of your dynasty rather than so lightly making a spectacle of your daughter’s chastity.” Galeazzo would never wed Dorotea, who died cloistered, still a teenager, in April 1467. Upon learning of Dorotea’s death, Galeazzo’s mother, Bianca Maria, wrote a tender letter to the girl’s mother mourning the loss of “your and my most sweet daughter.” According to an ambassador, Bianca “cried torrentially, as if one of her own daughters had died,” indicating how painful the whole ordeal had been for those involved.31 Ludovico Gonzaga’s desperate maneuvering had relied on the impossibility of viewing the noble female body without clothes. Nevertheless, the woman who became Galeazzo’s wife would soon be seen in what, in other circumstances, would have been a scandalous state of undress, during a wedding ritual that Sforza did not in fact attend. In his stead, Galeazzo sent his older, illegitimate brother Tristano to Amboise, where the bride Bona of Savoy resided with her sister Queen Charlotte. Tristano kissed Bona at the matrimonial Mass and later climbed into bed with her to consummate the union by proxy. Galeazzo was well informed about the charged moment when Tristano touched his exposed leg to Bona’s naked leg, in bed and under the eyes of witnesses. The

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singularity and potential perils of this contact and display are revealed by the repeated reassurances that Sforza offered his brother in a letter sent after he was notified about the episode. Twice Galeazzo assured Tristano that he was pleased with what had happened, since “according to what others have written, this is a custom of that realm” and a “sign of a true marriage.” Even when Tristano was “quite close and in bed with her, we are certain,” Galeazzo affirmed, that he acted as a “good brother.”32 Isabella d’Este, moreover, was apprised of a similar ritual in the “modo francese.” With a knife an opening was cut into the groom’s calza at the thigh, and the marriage was consummated by the bride’s touching this flesh with three fingers, followed by the groom’s brushing his leg against hers.33 When seen, brilliant female flesh made quite an impression, as Bona of Savoy’s case reveals. So too with Francesco Barbaro, for whom women’s arms were as “dangerous” as their speech and should “never be made public.”34 In Pietro Aretino’s Ragionamento from the 1530s, the seasoned prostitute Nanna recalls wearing a sleeveless satin gown in her youth to show off her arms, “which were as white as snowflakes.” “When I appeared, you would have thought that the star had shown in the eyes of the Magi, every one of those men seemed so dazzled and delighted by the sight of me. They . . . gazed at me with rapture, as prisoners gaze at a ray of sunlight.”35 Like Nanna’s admirers, Ludovico Canossa, in Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier, swoons at the “most graceful sight” of a woman lifting her dress to reveal not even the flesh but merely the stockings and ribbons covering her foot and ankle—confirming Roland Barthes’s insight that “the most erotic portion of the body [is] where the garment gapes . . . it is this flash which seduces.” Barthes has in mind “skin flashing between two articles of clothing . . . between two edges,” though these pleasures would have been all the more resonant and dynamic if skin actually was seen, given the extent to which it was concealed, at

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least among aristocrats.36 We have yet to fully reckon, I would add, with such conventions and reactions in accounts of the erotic charge and frisson of Italian Renaissance nudes. When Petrarch and his devotees described female flesh, focus was drawn to the chest or décolletage up, and to the hands. These, in fact, were the zones of the body appraised by three Milanese men who viewed Bona of Savoy in the flesh before Galeazzo did. From Amboise, Tristano Sforza reassured his brother that Bona was beautiful, and first anatomized her eyes (beautiful, though they could be darker), nose, mouth, and throat (“beautiful,” “beautiful,” and “most beautiful”), and then her “beautiful” teeth and hands. Two Sforza envoys in Genoa likewise stressed her pulchritude—“she is truly most beautiful, as much as one could say and think”—and while one asserted that he would proceed “from head to toe,” they inventoried her upper body exclusively, praising her forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, throat, teeth, hands, her two apples (her breasts), and her chest’s “admirable whiteness.”37 Though Tristano observed that Bona (who had previously been promised to King Edward IV of England) was well suited to childbearing, none of the three described any body part below her chest, with the exception of her hands. Turning Pietro Aretino’s metaphor around, one could claim that female arms and legs were confined as prisoners in Renaissance Italy.

Fashioning the Male Silhouette The slender male silhouette of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries created and reflected new ways of dressing, seeing, and idealizing bodies. Concomitant fashion innovations, in particular the tightening and shortening of men’s clothing effected by buttons and cutting-edge tailoring, have been influentially equated with the

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invention of fashion.38 This claim, though commonly repeated in scholarship, does not hold up when fashion is examined in broader chronological or geographical contexts. We would do well to heed Sarah-Grace Heller’s admonition that historians tend to discover the birth of fashion in the period and material they study; we should likewise remain critical of scholars’ persistent general impulse to pinpoint primacy.39 Two garments in particular, the giornea (tunic) and calze (stockings), are central to fifteenth-century ideals of masculine courtliness and beauty. Wealthy nonclerical men typically wore three layers of clothing in fifteenthcentury Italy: an undershirt (camicia) and underpants (braghe, mutande [for which see also fig. 49]); a form-fitting doublet (farsetto, giubbone, zupparello, zuppone, diploide) and hose (calze), connected together by laces; and a mantle or tunic (cioppa, giornea, gonnella, lucco), which might include a cape or sleeves. A birth tray (fig. 45) attributed to Masaccio’s brother, known as Lo Scheggia (The Splinter), shows these layers of dress worn by boys watching or playing civettino, a game in which each participant nimbly competes to tug his opponent’s hair, smack his face, or knock off his hat (which, for adults, was a serious affront to one’s dignity), while protecting himself and simultaneously maintaining both his balance and contact with his opponent’s foot. In the center, three blond youths have stripped to their doublets tied to taut calze, with mutande visible around the groin, while mates bundled in mantles and cloaks, some outfitted with large sleeves, look on.40 The lad at the far right who props himself up by leaning against two buddies’ shoulders shows how one’s underwear might be exposed if outer vestments were not held securely in place with a belt. We see a third pair of legs among this group; the rest of the body is nearly invisible behind the other two, except for part of his face, cheek by jowl to the fellow in the rear and suspiciously turning back and staring into his eyes. Close

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Figure 45  Lo Scheggia, Game of Civettino, ca. 1450. Desco da parto (birth salver). Tempera on panel, 59 cm in diameter. Museo di Palazzo Davanzati, Florence. Photo: Alfredo Dagli Orti / Art Resource, New York.

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Figure 46  Unknown, manuscript illumination depicting youths training, 1460s. In De sphaera, Gallerie Estensi—Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Modena, MS Lat. 209=α.x.2.14, fol. 8v. Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo— Gallerie Estensi.

examination, moreover, reveals that most of the boys have noticeably rosy cheeks, which of course emphasizes their youth but might also recall the sting of recent slaps. The “giovani” of Federico da Montefeltro’s court, according to Vespasiano da Bisticci, stripped to their doublets when throwing lances and wowed audiences with displays of athletic skill; Vespasiano found them “marvelous to see.” Seated nearby, watching intently but simultaneously holding audience with his subjects, Federico offered advice for improving each youth’s performance. When the evening meal approached, the lord ordered the boys to re-dress themselves, which they immediately did, now once again clad in tunics appropriately glitzy for dinner at the palace.41 A similarly

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exuberant gathering is depicted in the Sforza De sphaera, an astrological manuscript dating to the 1460s (fig. 46). Eight curly-haired children of the sun dressed in courtly garb vigorously perform a variety of impressive feats. They fight with swords, grapple, hold high a heavy rock, and prepare to hurl some sort of missile. Almost to a man, they are stripped down to their calze and doublets tied together tightly. The lone youth clad in a tunic is the necessarily motionless fellow attentively steadying the wooden table upon which his acrobatic comrade executes a headstand.42 These sprightly athletes prompt us to consider when and how outer garments were removed or at least loosened. Calze might be untied—left hanging or perhaps

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rolled down to the knees—to allow for more fluid movement, as laborers driving oxen or bending over to lift a heavy sack confirm in the Palazzo Schifanoia’s frescoes (fig. 47). The ties of calze—often leather or fabric and commonly referred to as “points”—are visible, for instance, in many images of the plague-infected Saint Roch displaying the bubo on his thigh. In addition to “rolling up their sleeves,” Italians getting down to work untied their calze, though Giovanni della Casa advised noble men not to undress, and especially to avoid taking off their hose in public.43 Only active youths and men of the laboring classes could risk being seen publicly disrobed and exposed, even partially, and it is the latter who are thus depicted at Schifanoia. The representation of this state of undress is permitted by their social status, and I argue in the following chapter that these peasants serve to reinforce, through juxtaposition, the visual construction of Borso and his court’s nobility. Unbuttoned doublets also afforded less encumbered motion, as demonstrated by Schifanoia’s dark-skinned harvester with torn calze wielding a scythe (fig. 48). While seated, mounted on a horse, standing, or walking, however, courtly men wore doublets buttoned tight and the laces of calze tied fast. Changes in fashion shaped the body and stimulated awareness of it: calze below and doublets above held fast, emphasizing svelte, wispy silhouettes. This tight fit was considered bold, masculine, and martial, and its profile was accentuated by Italian armor as well. In the fifteenth century, armor closely fit the contours of the body and emphasized a high, pinched waist, narrow hips, and lithe legs; only in the early sixteenth did it become bulkier and more voluminous.44 Ideals of beauty and bodily form were modified by and simultaneously expressed in styles of tailoring and modes of fastening, particularly buttons. Buttons of opulent, glimmering materials manifested and reflected wealth; rattled and jangled, calling attention to those they adorned; and pulled clothing taut, forever

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Figure 47 Unknown, August, late 1460s, detail depicting merchants and laborers. Fresco. North wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: DeA Picture Library / Art Resource, New York (A. De Gregorio).

altering conceptions and views of one’s own body and those of others. To the right of the Fountain of Youth from the frescoed Sala Baronale at La Manta, a newly rejuvenated golden-haired fellow puts on a doublet of what seems to be silk damask (fig. 49). The artist deliberately indicates the struggle one must have undergone to put on such a snug garment. Its many buttons, running from the bottom hem to the collar, have not been fastened, yet the youth needs assistance from a friend as he twists his arms into the

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Figure 48  Francesco del Cossa, May, late 1460s, detail depicting harvesters wielding scythes. Fresco. East wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: author, courtesy of the Musei di Arte Antica, Ferrara.

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Figure 49  Circle of Giacomo Jaquerio, newly rejuvenated man putting on a doublet at the Fountain of Youth, ca. 1415. Fresco. Sala Baronale, Castello della Manta, Manta. Photo: DeA Picture Library / Art Resource, New York.

narrow sleeves. In a drawing associated with Pisanello’s bottega (fig. 50), moreover, a lad pulls off his tight tunic, awkwardly raising it over his head. The gripping fingers of his left hand suggest undressing rather than dressing, pulling the garment up rather than letting it fall. Though no buttons are depicted, we plainly see that underneath he wears a body-hugging doublet.45 Crowds of courtiers sometimes assisted the lord when he dressed, which attests not only to the desirability of being near him but also to the effort required to encase signori in tight-fitting and multilayered clothing. For both of these reasons, Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s tutors disagreed about the number of courtiers needed for the

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six-year-old’s dressing in 1450: “two are needed to hold him when he is being buttoned, one needs to hold the calze, another, the shoes and yet another, the vestito.”46 The tight fit of doublets sometimes irritated wearers. Dining at Vigevano with the visiting Jean, Duke of Clèves, the fifteen-year-old Galeazzo caused a scene by complaining that his zupparello was too constricting and by indecorously removing it while at the table, as his most unimpressed grandmother Agnese del Maino reported to the boy’s father. Agnese—the mistress of Filippo Maria, the last Visconti Duke of Milan, and the mother of Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza—played an important role in raising her grandchildren. A few years later, Galeazzo’s

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Figure 50 Pisanello, Youth Removing His Tunic, 1420s–40s. Pen and brown ink, black chalk, and red chalk on paper, 27.8 × 38.2 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York.

younger brother Ottaviano also grumbled about his doublet. A Sforza tutor informed the boy’s father that Ottaviano objected “that it pressed him in a few places and that it was not ben acconcio”: this new “zupono” did not fit him well and was not adorned to his liking.47 The eight-year-old little lord was already a discerning fashion critic. Both fashions and bodily ideals evolved as princes grew up. As lords became increasingly mature and corpulent, bodies and their contours became less expressly delineated, and their display less essential. Filippo Maria Visconti, as Pier Candido Decembrio tells it, was “renowned for his distinctive dress and for the finery of his attire” as a young man, and he favored short, fringed, military-style cloaks. As he aged and gained weight, however, Visconti shifted exclusively to long turche, gowns hanging down to the feet.48 Indeed, older men at court often abandoned form-fitting doublets for looser and longer robes and garments similar to the cioppa, lucco, and toga draping Florence’s and Venice’s ostensibly sober

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and grave governing classes, who sought to accentuate tradition, continuity, and timelessness through seemingly unchanging attire—and lots of expensive fabric—tailored to bury bodies underneath.49 Yet the political deployment of antifashion was complex. It evoked the longevity of republican governments, though in costume books that imagined the world’s dress, denials of fashion’s temporality did not symbolize august traditions but rather insinuated non-Europeans’ political immaturity. Putatively immutable garb smoothed out hierarchies but additionally amplified them through subtle material distinctions, as we shall see in the epilogue’s investigation of black clothing. This attire also indicated that its wearers should not be presumed to move with vigor and agility, and often made it quite difficult to do so. In his satirical poem “Contro il portar la toga” (Against wearing the toga), Galileo observed that long garments are fine for those who move slowly, such as “fat priests” who only venture out to forage for mushrooms. For most other men, however, drapelike apparel “won’t let you walk / It gets in your

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way, impedes you and ties you in knots, / So that it’s a trial to attempt to walk.”50 The Sforza segretario Cicco Simonetta understood that the garments granted to ambassadors from Venice were tailored with long, hanging sleeves in “their Venetian custom” or style (“l’habito loro venetiano”).51 Such array was valued for concealing aging or imperfect bodies, as when Francesco Sforza wore, according to a Gonzaga envoy in Milan, “one of those long mantles” and oversized calze, in order to hide his swollen legs and knees when suffering from an illness in 1461. Civic officials in court cities donned flowing, voluminous robes as well—for instance, men “dressed in a long mantle reaching to the feet” who flanked the young prince Ludovico Sforza during a procession in Cremona.52 Of course, religious vocation dictated one’s dress, even for young aristocrats. On the west wall of Andrea Mantegna’s Camera Picta, the two Gonzaga prelates (Francesco and Ludovico) wear long, richly dyed cloaks covering even their ankles (fig. 7). The conspicuously armed lord Ludovico and his other sons and grandsons, however, don tight-fitting calze, tunics, and doublets, some of them adorned with arming points.53

Embodied Diplomacy and the Glamorous Giornea The tunic worn by Ludovico Gonzaga and the two young boys closest to him is the giornea, a must-have garment for the quattrocento’s fashion-forward glitterati. This short tunic was sometimes bordered with fur, and it was typically worn over a tightly buttoned or laced doublet, thus shaping masculine contours and silhouettes. The term also described a garment worn by women that was generally a good deal longer in the back. The origins of the giornea—which was considered elsewhere in Europe to be a specifically Italian fashion—can be traced to military attire, and giornee were indeed worn over armor and in

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combat, as is suggested by Andrea Mantegna’s portrait of Francesco Gonzaga in the Madonna della Vittoria (fig. 11) or Sigismondo Malatesta’s tunic positioned over his armor in San Francesco, both discussed in chapter 1. Sigismondo, in fact, possessed numerous brocaded and silk damask giornee.54 A month after the drowning death of Roberto Sanseverino at the Battle of Calliano in August 1487, an Este ambassador reported that Roberto’s armor and helmet, along with his “bloody” zornea from “the battlefield,” were erected above a “large horse” in the Cathedral of Trent, where he had been given a “most honorable burial.”55 As we shall see, giornee were worn during all manner of occasions, particularly, though not exclusively, by young men. Yet already by the early sixteenth century, this tunic was out of fashion. An informant at a French royal wedding in 1509 told Isabella d’Este about a fool outfitted in “battle armor, with a giornea, as is the old Italian custom.” A Gonzaga inventory of 1542, moreover, recorded half a dozen of these tunics of satin or velvet, some lined with shot silk, all drenched in metal in the form of gilt tremolanti or “gold cords” and each one described as “old.”56 In 1473, “polished youths, dressed elegantly in giornee” accompanied the bride Eleonora of Aragon in Ferrara.57 In 1485, Ludovico Sforza flaunted a “bellissima zornea” enhanced with a Visconti motto and with “pearls and small rubies and little diamonds and other jewels,” while his courtier-sidekick (and first cousin once removed) Galeazzo Sanseverino wore “another similar” tunic. Three years later, matching crimson satin giornee studded with pearls and embroidered with Spanish mottos would be made for Ludovico Sforza, Galeazzo Sanseverino, and Ercole d’Este. Ludovico, in fact, had long appreciated splendid giornee. As a fifteen-year-old, Sforza requested money from his mother so that he could travel to Genoa to greet his brother’s new bride, Bona of Savoy. Ludovico acknowledged that Mom had provided

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him with cash just a few days earlier but explained that he had already spent this allowance on a gold-brocaded silk doublet and giornea.58 Bernardino da Siena singled out the giornea as an expression of vanity and an offense to God when worn indecorously by a merchant rather than a “virile soldier,” thus indicating its associations with belligerent masculinity. The preacher joked that perhaps the giornea told the truth after all about the merchant, who was assuredly as much a thief as any soldier. To be sure, the acerbic Franciscan did not much like the garment even when worn by the sort to whom it pertained: “Have you thought about how the giornea is made? It is made like a small covering for horses, with fringes . . . so you wear clothes just as a beast does. . . . Since you are dressed as a beast on the outside . . . you must also be a beast on the inside.”59 Giornee were open at the sides (hence Bernardino’s comparison with horse coverings), might have attached mantles or sleeves, and were gathered around the waist by a belt of vibrant cloth or shimmering metal. They could be embroidered with metallic threads or furnished or reinforced with mail, metal plates, pitch, leather, or fabric. Giornee were commonly heavily pleated, and while we might pay little attention to pleats in our clothing today, this was decidedly not the case in the fifteenth century, when viewers noticed and preachers moralized against the conspicuous, costly, even wasteful quantity of cloth required to fashion deep pleats.60 Bulky pleats, in fact, characterize what seems to be the lone extant men’s giornea, that in which Diego Cavaniglia (or Cabinilla) was buried in 1481 (fig. 51). This Count of Montella and Troia was an important courtier of King Ferrante of Naples. In his twenties, Cavaniglia succumbed to injuries suffered while defending Otranto from Ottoman invaders. Exhumed with his body in 2004, the count’s crimson (though now brownish) silk tunic, on display at the Museo di San Francesco in Montella (east of

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Figure 51  Giornea of Diego Cavaniglia, ca. 1480. Museo di San Francesco a Folloni, Montella. Photo: author, courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo—Direzione Regionale Musei Campania.

Naples), was stitched together from four pieces.61 Oxidized discoloration along the garment’s hem and borders reveals that it was originally adorned with silver, possibly gilded trim. Modern wire and yellow fringes, plus a golden sash serving as a belt, have been added to the restored giornea. Even with the loss of its original metallic ornamentation, however, Cavaniglia’s garment still conveys a sense of its lavish materiality precisely through the impressively dense and voluminous pleats on both its front and back sides. Diego’s father, Garzia, moreover, may have likewise been buried wearing a silk velvet tunic. This close ally of King Alfonso perished fighting the

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Figure 52  Jacopo della Pila, Tomb of Garzia Cavaniglia, ca. 1470. Marble. Sant’Anna dei Lombardi (formerly Santa Maria di Monteoliveto), Naples. Photo: author, courtesy of the Archdiocese of Naples, Ufficio Diocesano Beni Culturali.

troops of Francesco Sforza in 1453, and the tomb was perhaps commissioned by Garzia’s widow, Giulia Caracciolo, from the Milanese sculptor Jacopo della Pila a decade or two later for the Neapolitan church of Santa Maria di Monteoliveto (now Sant’Anna dei Lombardi). Here, the elder Cavaniglia is depicted in marble, recumbent and at eternal rest, with arms and hands crossed over a thickly padded and pleated giornea girded around the waist (fig. 52).62 Garzia’s tunic is worn over plate and mail armor, though his pauldrons (shoulder armor) seem to be fixed atop the garment, reminding us once again how closely integrated were metal and cloth in the array of courtly men. Giornee, like stockings, were customarily decorated “a divisa,” that is, with dynastic colors or devices (often divided) sometimes as livery, though these “insigniabearing garments” were also awarded to subjects and allies.63 To give just a few examples out of many, Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1475 rewarded Andrea Fede with a velvet “zornea . . . a la Sforzesca” for having delivered a

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horse on behalf of one of Florence’s ambassadors to Milan, and in 1460, Ludovico Gonzaga presented a giornea to an adherent who had given the lord two hunting hawks. Ludovico seems to have been particularly fond of one of his tunics and sought to have it “improved” and made “more beautiful.”64 Sforza giornee (and calze) were often white and morello—mulberrycolored, though sometimes approaching a royal purple, and known as murrey in English. Tunics were embroidered with the dynasty’s emblems: among others, the viper (biscione); the Sempervivum succulent; the buratto, two hands wringing a wet sieving cloth, which is prominently visible on the bodice of Beatrice d’Este (Ludovico Sforza’s bride) in Gian Cristoforo Romano’s marble portrait in the Louvre; a dog under a pine tree, which we encounter below; and a crown and palm.65 Even murrey cloth itself was allocated to reward faithful service. Fine wool dyed this color was presented to the men who fished the drowned Ottaviano Sforza’s corpse out of the Adda River in 1477.66

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Figure 53  Team of illuminators including Taddeo Crivelli, Girolamo da Cremona, and Franco dei Russi, manuscript illumination of King Solomon enthroned (from 2 Chronicles), 1455–61. In the Bible of Borso d’Este, Gallerie Estensi—Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Modena, MS Lat. 422–423=α.V.G.12–13, vol. 1, fol. 179r. Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo— Gallerie Estensi.

Courtiers of Borso d’Este were clad in giornee embroidered with the paraduro or wattle fence, an impresa discussed in greater detail in chapter 4. The dwarf Scocola (fig. 4)—who sometimes accompanied Borso around Ferrara—was granted a green velvet giornea embroidered with the device.67 In an illumination from Borso’s stunningly magnificent two-volume Bible, a blond youth is similarly arrayed, in a green giornea with the paraduro in gold (fig. 53). The device is on conspicuous display for the viewer, with the courtier turned away from us as he attends his king, in a scene connecting Borso to the proverbially wise Solomon through this sartorial symbol of the Este dynasty. In the Salone dei Mesi, in the month of August, a blond courtier flanking and just behind Borso—with his back to us, and with arm boldly

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akimbo—dons a white giornea originally adorned with the paraduro fence. The metal leaf and pigment have been lost, so the emblems, one above and two below, resemble chevrons incised into the plaster. Fashionable giornee were not only bestowed upon courtiers but were frequently exchanged among allies. These tunics efficaciously bolstered political power and reinforced dominant models of courtly masculinity. Indeed, the conferral and display of giornee a divisa were significant acts that evocatively manifested and advertised alliance. A giornea decorated with Sforza heraldry granted to the teenaged Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1466 was no doubt silk velvet, probably with the emblem—a dog under a pine tree—embroidered in gilt or silver thread.68 Sforza princes and courtiers saw no end of cloth-of-gold giornee, which Lorenzo’s must have rivaled in splendor, for Pigello Portinari—a Florentine merchant and banker in Milan, essentially the Medici ambassador there—promised that it was “as rich and beautiful as any ever made” and again two months later “as beautiful as any ever seen.” The middleman Pigello regularly dealt in luxury velvets and brocades between Florence and Milan, and he was knowledgeable about this type of garment, having procured for Francesco Sforza four “giornee ad la dovisa ducale” made in Florence a decade prior to Lorenzo’s order.69 Though Florence and Milan were famous enemies in the early fifteenth century, Medici political and financial support bolstered Francesco Sforza’s campaign to seize the Lombard capital in the mid-1440s. Medici money bankrolled the Sforza in subsequent decades, and Milanese military might backed the Medici in return.70 The Sforza device represented on Lorenzo’s giornea—the dog under a pine tree—accentuated pacific aspirations through its associated motto: “Quietum Nemo Impune Lacesset” (No one shall lightly disturb the peace), which of course implicitly threatens fierce retaliation on Francesco’s part against anyone foolish enough to disturb it.

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Figure 54  Gianfrancesco Enzola, Sforza dog and pine device, reverse of medal of Francesco Sforza, 1456. Bronze, 4.2 cm in diameter. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Photo: Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Figure 55  Unknown, manuscript illumination depicting Sforza dog and pine device, 1460s. In De sphaera, Gallerie Estensi—Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Modena, MS Lat. 209=α.x.2.14, fol. 4v. Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo—Gallerie Estensi.

This insignia was visualized in an array of media, including the reverse of Gianfrancesco Enzola’s portrait medal of the lord (fig. 54). In a full-page illumination from the Sforza astrological manuscript De sphaera, a white greyhound sits vigilantly—the collar off its neck and at its feet—under a tree packed with gilded pine cones, as a hand extends from the heavens offering divine sanction for Sforza rule (fig. 55). Charmingly, this white hound, now collared, wanders about in a few of the manuscript’s other scenes.71 A good deal of visual and documentary evidence confirms that this device decorated Sforza clothing. Numerous giornee embroidered with the dog and pine were recorded in an inventory of Sforza attire from 1465,

and in that year it appeared on a crimson damask belt carried with Ippolita Maria Sforza to Naples.72 The device embellished clothing and was associated with Francesco Sforza well after his death in March 1466. In 1475, “el cane et el pino” decorated the velvet “zornee” of his son Filippo Maria and nine courtiers marching in the Saint George’s Day procession, and in frescoes depicting this parade planned the previous year, the ducal counselor Orfeo da Ricavo was to be represented wearing a “zornea dal cane ala divisa.”73 In January 1461, Francesco Sforza sported a crimson tunic with its sleeves embroidered “with his own device of the dog,” as the Gonzaga ambassador Marsilio Andreasi informed Barbara of Brandenburg.74 In an illuminated

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Figure 56  Ambrogio Bergognone, Coronation of the Virgin with Francesco and Ludovico Sforza, ca. 1493, detail depicting Francesco Sforza. Fresco. Apse, north transept, Certosa di Pavia. Photo © Mauro Ranzani, courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo—Segretariato Regionale per la Lombardia.

charter validating ducal privileges granted to the monastery of San Pietro in Senna Lodigiana (located between Lodi and Piacenza) the following year, the dog-and-pine emblem adorns the capacious sleeves of Francesco’s tunic, just as Andreasi described.75 This image, or a very similar one, served as the model for Sforza’s portrayal three decades after his death by Bergognone, in the frescoed apse of the right transept of the Certosa of Pavia. Here, Francesco flanks the Coronation of the Virgin, opposite his

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son Ludovico, and his heavily pleated murrey tunic is embroidered with the dog-and-pine device, which stretches up the garment’s side (fig. 56). Giulio Campi must have been looking at this source for his depiction of Sforza in the monumental altarpiece for San Sigismondo in Cremona, Bianca Maria’s dotal city and the church in which she and Francesco had wed a century prior. Around 1540, Campi portrayed the devout lord clad in, over armor, a rather elaborate crimson garment emblazoned

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Figure 57  Giulio Campi, Madonna and Child with Saints Sigismund of Burgundy, Jerome, Daria, and Chrysanthus, with Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza, 1540, detail showing Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza with saints. Oil on canvas, 580 × 315 cm. San Sigismondo, Cremona. Photo: Mario Bonotto / Scala / Art Resource, New York.

with the dog and pine; it seems to be painted rather than embroidered (fig. 57). We cannot entirely discount the possibility, however, that Bergognone or Campi had an old Sforza giornea at their disposal, as did a sculptor, I argue below. The emblem remained quite close to Francesco’s sons. Galeazzo sealed correspondence with a signet ring engraved with the dog under a pine tree. In the illuminated frontispieces for Giovanni Simonetta’s printed Sforziada, commissioned by Ludovico, the hound flanks Francesco’s portrait in the copy in Paris (fig. 31), is represented just above his profile in the book in Warsaw, and is depicted on the lord’s garment in the same image in London. Galeazzo presented his new wife, Bona of Savoy, with a necklace featuring the device, and Tristano Sforza owned a brocaded crimson giornea with the dog and pine. The impresa also adorns a capital from Tristano’s Milanese palace, a sculpture now in the collection of the Castello Sforzesco.76 Visitors to this museum also

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encounter the dog under a pine carved three times on the portal of the Banco Mediceo: above the profile portraits of both Francesco Sforza and his wife, Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza, and once again on the clothing of the allegorical (?) female figure to the right. In 1455, Francesco Sforza granted to Cosimo de’ Medici a group of adjacent buildings to be converted into the Banco Mediceo, the Milanese residence and office for the Medici and their bank. Filarete called the palazzo a “sign of gratitude and . . . friendship” between Francesco and Cosimo. By 1459 the palace was ready for occupancy, though work on its exterior and interior decoration—encompassing an elaborate assemblage of Sforza and Medici devices, including the dog and pine—continued well into the next decade.77 Lorenzo de’ Medici requested his giornea while in Milan in May 1465 for the wedding of Ippolita Sforza and the Duke of Calabria Alfonso II (though his younger brother Federico served in Alfonso’s stead), daughter of

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the Duke of Milan and son of the king of Naples, respectively. On this trip, which was intended to solidify MediciSforza relations and initiated a lifelong friendship between Ippolita and Lorenzo, the Florentine no doubt saw the dog-and-pine device in all manner of media around Milan, including embroidered on giornee and painted and carved throughout the Banco Mediceo.78 The sixteen-year-old Lorenzo was at this time instructed by his father to comport himself like “a man, not a boy,” and he was entrusted with keeping the peace through prudent diplomacy with Milan. This mission had become all the more crucial following the death of his grandfather Cosimo nine months earlier, when anti-Medicean factions in Florence endeavored to disrupt the dynasty’s alliance with the Sforza, as they would attempt to do after Francesco Sforza’s demise in 1466.79 Francesco had granted “permission [licentia]” to have the tunic decorated with his dynasty’s emblem and to be sized to Lorenzo’s precise measurements, though he died before it was completed. Pigello Portinari in Milan hoped that the giornea would nevertheless be “no less dear to Lorenzo.” Indeed, the garment may have more poignantly embodied affection and affiliation specifically because of the duke’s recent death, given the resonant ways in which clothing materializes both memory and intimacy.80 Lorenzo’s fondness for and piety toward Francesco persisted well beyond the latter’s life; in 1489 Lorenzo referred to Sforza, deceased by then for two decades, as “Signore mio” in a letter to Florence’s ambassador in Milan.81 This tunic was destined to outlive even Lorenzo. It was described in his posthumous inventory as the “giornea with the device of Duke Francesco, called the giornea of the dog,” together with a number of other objects that symbolized the dynasties’ friendship: eight pairs of Sforza calze; a painted map depicting the Castello Sforzesco; a double portrait of Francesco Sforza and the condottiere Gattamelata, by a Venetian painter; and Piero

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del Pollaiuolo’s portrait of Galeazzo (fig. 1). In the sixteenth century, Paolo Giovio associated the dog and pine with Francesco, and specifically with a brocaded “giornea militare” that he wore, which further indicates the personal and bellicose sartorial implications of the tunic for the Florentine boy.82 Exchanged garments forged and embodied alliances at various moments—when manufactured, when given, when worn, and, as may be the case for Lorenzo’s giornea, when represented in art. A relief portrait of Francesco today in the Bargello (fig. 58) depicts him attired in a giornea adorned with the dog-and-pine device, which is only partially carved, given the sculpture’s profile format. The artist convincingly suggests the texture of thick silk velvet in white marble, and if we accept the traditional (but improbable) attribution to Gian Cristoforo Romano, who was active in Milan in the 1490s, the image would readily fit into Ludovico Sforza’s campaign of art patronage celebrating his father, including marble portrait roundels commemorating Sforza and Visconti ancestors and Leonardo da Vinci’s projected equestrian monument to Francesco.83 Yet because it is paired with a similar though slightly smaller relief of another Medici ally, Federico da Montefeltro, and because it came to the Bargello from the collections of the dynasty’s villa at Poggio Imperiale, the relief seems likely to have been a Medici commission. The sculptor presumably had Lorenzo’s giornea at his disposal. This conjecture is bolstered by his description of the garment (discussed below), which implies that the dog decorated the wearer’s chest rather than the tunic’s lower side, as it does in the posthumous painted images of Francesco from San Sigismondo in Cremona and the Certosa of Pavia. Additional giornee in the “Lombard style” from Lorenzo’s posthumous inventory, moreover, might have likewise been gifts from the Sforza. At the very least, they make clear the courtly, Milanese associations their Tuscan allies imputed to this masculine apparel.84

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On June 9, 1466, the seventeen-year-old Lorenzo enthusiastically informed Francesco Sforza’s widow, Bianca Maria, and the new duke, Galeazzo, that his giornea had arrived “in time” to be worn at the wedding of his sister Lucrezia (known as Nannina) and Bernardo Rucellai. This momentous political event had taken place in the newly inaugurated Loggia Rucellai on the day before the letter was composed, with feasts and mock battles spilling out into the streets.85 Lorenzo poignantly asserted that he could not sufficiently thank the Sforza even if he had “one hundred tongues and all the paper in Fabriano.” This charming allusion to the leading Italian center for the manufacture of paper demonstrates that the fledgling poet Lorenzo de’ Medici was well attuned to the material culture of literary production (and to that of diplomacy). By showing off his new giornea, he dramatically announced to the town’s power brokers that his dynasty’s relationship with Milan—a coalition crucial for both Medici and Sforza rule—was as strong as ever.86 The visual force made by the de facto ruling family’s heir-inwaiting appearing publicly clothed in a foreign and signorial emblem assuredly struck, if not astounded, the Florentine elite, in their republican culture in which the sartorial exhibition of allegiance was strictly regulated and assiduously policed. Indeed, we should move beyond the conventional court/republic divide and explicitly acknowledge the Medici’s admiration and emulation of the Sforza, and the extent to which they cherished and even deployed the material culture of Milanese lords. The Sforza and the Medici engaged in a dynamic dialogue of representation in the service of constructing and displaying authority.

Figure 58  Unknown (Tuscan or Lombard?), Francesco Sforza, late fifteenth century. Marble, 45 × 33 cm. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. Photo: Erich Lessing / Art Resource, New York.

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Perhaps the giornea still fit Lorenzo the following summer—and of course it could have been let out for the growing lad—when Galeazzo made his second visit to Florence. No doubt the tunic returned to Milan and was worn, among other Sforza giornee, when Lorenzo journeyed to Lombardy for Galeazzo’s wedding to Bona of Savoy in 1468. Lorenzo knew full well that brilliant masculine clothing manifested political power. In 1459, at the tender age of ten, he had organized a joust in front of the new Palazzo Medici on the Via Larga (now Via Cavour) to celebrate Sforza’s visit to Florence. This was something of a public courtly debut for (or as) the Medici heir, who, as one contemporary incisively put it, “sought to demonstrate to all, that they were all subjects of a signore.”87 The jousters wore silver-brocaded doublets, and Lorenzo’s emblem of a golden falcon was represented on pages’ clothes and horses’ trappings. A poet recounts that Galeazzo granted Lorenzo the considerable honor of displaying Sforza insignia: “Brother, I ask you to consent / for love of me, to wear my emblem, which / I now bestow on you with my own hand.” The ten-year-old Florentine then pledged his eternal service and loyalty to the Sforza and accepted the fifteen-year-old Galeazzo’s request to adopt his emblem, adding that he would do so “with greatest happiness, joy, and delight.” We know from correspondence with his father, moreover, that during his stay Galeazzo awarded Lorenzo’s relative Bernardetto de’ Medici permission to wear Sforza calze.88 Bernardetto’s hose and Lorenzo’s tunic encourage us to acknowledge the ways in which insignia, and indeed fashion more generally, communicated not merely individuality but also collective identities and affiliations, or, in Susan Crane’s words, a “negotiable self” or a “self in circulation.”89 Upon receipt of the giornea in June 1466, Lorenzo de’ Medici affirmed that he was the Sforza’s “most faithful servant” and that he and all the Medici who followed would display emblems of, and love for, the Milanese

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lords “not on our shoulders, but sculpted and infixed in the center of our heart.” Devices were frequently embroidered on Renaissance sleeves, and thus on shoulders (and upper arms [fig. 24]). Lorenzo, however, movingly inverts this common trope: rather than wear his heart on his sleeve, he will wear his sleeve on his heart, an even more intimate part of the body. The heart serves, then as now, as a symbolic locus of the recording of desires and emotions, though these feelings are most efficacious when revealed—as they are in Lorenzo’s affectionate letter, which is at once insistently political and sincerely personal.90 Similar somatic and sartorial imagery was employed by contemporaries, including Pope Pius II, who—ostensibly paraphrasing Burgundian envoys— lamented the lack of resolve regarding his planned crusade: King Alfonso V of Portugal and King Alfonso of Naples “might have sewn the sign of the cross on their garments, but it was not engraved in their hearts.”91 Pius’s caustic comment, and even more so Lorenzo’s poignant and witty turn of phrase—that the dynastic device displayed on his chest would be worn not on his shoulder but in his heart—remind us that in order to study clothing, we must reckon with the body. The power of fashion’s material culture can be most fully appreciated and understood when we interpret its embodied representation. Arrayed in his Milanese giornea, Florence’s golden boy cut a dashing, courtly figure and vociferously declared his own and his dynasty’s allegiance to the Sforza.

Men in Tights Civic and religious authorities throughout Italy feared that upper-body garments like Lorenzo’s giornea were becoming too short and form fitting. A decree from Aquila in 1375 cautioned that no one should “dare to wear a doublet so

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short that the genitals remain uncovered,” while in Bergamo a century later any man whose low-cut clothing revealed his “shameful parts” faced a fine of six gold ducats.92 Generally, tunics covered the groin, though they were cut increasingly high over the course of the fifteenth century, necessitating the addition of triangular flaps of fabric at the fork between calze and doublets (visible at left, fig. 4). It was not until the following century, however, that men wore the extravagant projecting codpiece (brachetta or braghetta—related to the Latin bracae, meaning breeches) so familiar from portraits. Though codpieces— the English word refers to the scrotum (cod) and not the penis—might be the stereotypical fashion accessory for Renaissance men, they were only worn for several decades in the sixteenth century and were out of fashion, if not entirely gone, by the seventeenth.93 Shortened garments eroticized male bodies in both life and visual representation. Bernardino da Siena chastised Florentines for the insufficiently large pieces of fabric that covered their sons’ groins and buttocks, thus exposing flesh and tempting sodomites. Doublets and calze—and not only what was revealed between them— attracted moralizers’ scrutiny as well. In the sixteenth century, Giovanni della Casa counseled men not to wear “Ganymede’s stockings” or “Cupid’s doublet,” so named because of their erotic appeal.94 In an illuminated manuscript depicting the 1475 wedding festivities for the union of Costanzo Sforza and Camilla of Aragon, Ganymede is portrayed in a short giornea and multicolored calze, to which some viewers’ attention would no doubt have been drawn (fig. 59).95 Significantly, this blond Ganymede with flowing ribbons in his hair is not mentioned in the text, and he seems to be the manuscript’s only male figure dressed in fifteenth-century clothing rather than classicizing or otherwise fantastical garb. Contemporary male attire was thought to arouse desire. The preacher Giovanni da Capestrano railed against

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Figure 59  Unknown, manuscript illumination depicting Jupiter and Ganymede, ca. 1475. In Ordine delle nòze de lo illustrissimo signor misir Constantio Sfortia de Aragonia: Et de la illustrissima madona Camilla de Aragonia sui consorte nel anno 1475, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City, MS Urb. Lat. 899, fol. 99r. Photo © 2020, courtesy of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. All rights reserved.

apparel that revealed the body “both in front and in back to display the parts most obscene and dishonest, almost as disgracefully as if they were nude.” Bernardino da Siena condemned “little doublets that don’t cover half their bodies” and also taut, multicolored, but also split calze. “Oh, young man,” Bernardino growled, “I want to start with you. When you go around with tight-laced stockings on your legs, with your leg exposed and motley hose undone, with your little doublet up at your navel, with this behavior you certainly show what you are. . . . Oh, young man, you who care about nothing, know that

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God is not pleased that you wear stockings as saucily as you do, with them broken and split, as you well know, and with such a short doublet.”96 High-cut, figure-hugging clothing worn by men put the body on display. As Bernardino and his contemporaries understood, the male body was revealed by clothing not simply because body parts were left exposed but because carefully tailored garments fit so tightly. Calze were both functional and fashionable. They covered and warmed male bodies while highlighting and shaping ideally slender, agile, and beautiful legs left

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relatively unencumbered and able to stride powerfully. Stockings were attached at the waist to doublets by ties or laces. Indeed, the doublets from the tombs of Sigismondo Malatesta and Diego Cavaniglia have eyelets spaced across their bases for fastening calze. In later centuries, both silk and wool hose were more likely to be knitted, rather than cut and sewn, though in the fifteenth calze were tailored individually—one per leg—and each calza was made, typically, from one piece of cloth maybe two braccia (1.2 meters) long, though sometimes less.97 It was cut on the bias so as to stretch more flexibly and fit more closely, and seamed and sewn up the back, vertically, as we see in the calza of an Este courtier from Schifanoia, his back to us at the edge of the fictive space and with his leg at our eye level (fig. 60). This was the case for the most simply tailored stockings, of one fabric and color, and of course all calze had to be cut precisely, with remarkable sensitivity to the leg’s angles and contours, to best adhere when worn. Calze constructed of two colors were calze dimidiate or dimezzate, or they could be striped calze addogate. Frescoes from the Castello di Issogne’s portico depict two hosiers or calzaioli producing such stockings (fig. 61). One cuts while the other sews; finished garments hang above. Calze sberlate or sbarlate were seamed and stitched horizontally just below the knee, as horizontal bands or as differently colored fabrics for the two halves. Varied colors also fashioned calze a divisa, which expressed and materialized factional or dynastic identity. Lords changed their calze and heavy textiles or leather covered their legs when they rode horses. In April 1475, Galeazzo Maria Sforza ordered white and murrey cloth for sixteen pairs of Sforza “calze a la divisa” and enough canvas for twelve pairs of hose to be worn with boots.98 A related difference between materials and use probably explains why in the Salone dei Mesi’s frescoes, Borso d’Este is consistently portrayed sporting a green calza on his right leg and one of crimson and white on his left

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Figure 60  Francesco del Cossa, March, late 1460s, detail showing a courtier’s calza with seam. Fresco. East wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: author, courtesy of the Musei di Arte Antica, Ferrara.

when standing among courtiers (these being the Este colors), but two stockings of a much darker crimson when mounted on horseback. Calze, by and large, were made of wool, linen, or blends such as fustian, and commonly perpignano, a woolen cloth traditionally associated with Perpignan and available in various levels of heaviness or coarseness. High-end stockings were made of shimmering silks and adorned with metals and gems. When first worn, calze were visible signs of boyhood, marking the “rite of passage” identified with “control of their bowels,” and so too a sort of breeching, after graduation from wool, linen, or silk swaddling clothes and then from loose shifts hanging down to the knees, wide and open at the bottom.99 In 1422, two pairs of calze were tailored for Sigismondo Malatesta, who was nearly five years old, though breeching routinely took place a year or so later than that in early modern Europe. In the sixteenth century, Duke

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Figure 61 Unknown, Hosiers (Calzaioli), ca. 1500. Fresco. Portico, Castello di Issogne. Photo: Alfredo Dagli Orti / Art Resource, New York. Figure 62  Andrea Mantegna, The Court, 1465–74, detail showing the shoe of Ludovico Gonzaga. Fresco. North wall, Camera Picta, Castello di San Giorgio, Mantua. Photo: author, courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo—Palazzo Ducale di Mantova. Further reproduction forbidden.

Cosimo de’ Medici ordered special breeches to be worn during nasty bouts of diarrhea, confirming that hose might be difficult to remove quickly.100 Calze often covered the feet. Protective soles made of leather or felted wool, known as pedule, were sewn into the bottom of calze solate (soled stockings), though princes and courtiers also wore elegant shoes and boots. Perceptive viewers of Andrea Mantegna’s frescoes in the Camera Picta may have noticed the gilt buckle and strap of the seated Ludovico Gonzaga’s right shoe, visible at about eye level, and perhaps even his toes subtly pressing against the supple leather (fig. 62). A cobbler clad in a smock displays a crimson shoe to one of four fashionably dressed young men shopping in the upper register of the

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month of June, at Schifanoia; additional pairs are suspended above and laid out on his counter. Men throughout Italy wore shoes of gilded leather embossed, stamped, or embroidered so that light reflected and footwear shone.101 The Neapolitan kings Alfonso and Ferrante owned upward of ten pairs of gilded leather shoes. Alfonso possessed a luxurious pair of gilded leather boots dyed crimson, and in his Book of Hours, now in the British Library, the king sports crimson footwear in two illuminated portraits, and black shoes, elaborately gilded, in another.102 Sigismondo Malatesta wore vermilion shoes and boots as well, and his posthumous inventory records a pair of “Russian poulaines,” the long, pointy shoes also known as pikes and crakows, generally associated with eastern Europe and Poland in particular (visible in fig. 78).103 Shoes belonging to Borso d’Este’s courtier Teofilo Calcagnini were studded with silver in 1465, and later that decade an artisan produced “white” embroidered shoes for Borso’s brother Alberto and stitched gold thread adornments into the surface of shoes for his nephew Nicolò di Leonello (whose head would later have to be sewn back on). In April 1475, Galeazzo ordered for his boots two hundred pairs of little curving hooks (“rampini”) of gilt silver, and in the following weeks and months, he requested expensive crimson satin and sendal for four pairs of shoes, plus scarlet cloth for additional footwear. Galeazzo soon renewed the first purchase, this time involving “Paulino our cobbler.”104 In Venice, groups of fashionable young men dedicated to display belonged to Compagnie della calza, identified by their multicolored stockings, splendidly decorated with pearls and jewels. These fashion plates can be seen in paintings by Carpaccio and Titian and in the costume book of Titian’s (second) cousin Cesare Vecellio. Honorary members of these fraternities included nonVenetian princes such as the young Federico da Montefeltro.105 Rival companies jockeyed for Galeazzo Maria

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Sforza’s attention when he visited Venice at the age of eleven in 1455. Three years later, again in Venice, Galeazzo reported to his father that these lads, all “dressed gallantly,” sported hose bedecked with pearls and were a “polita thing to see.” It seems that Galeazzo was most closely associated with the Compagnia dei Fedeli (company of the faithful), though in 1491 Ercole d’Este favored the Compagnia dei Potenti (company of the powerful), the same crew that honored his sister Beatrice with allegorical performances two years later.106 Calze were periodically distributed among courtiers and were a frequent and substantial expense. Not only the prince but other members of the court who maintained a household, like the Sforza segretario Cicco Simonetta, were expected to disburse stockings to their footmen, pages, and falconers, and to their tailors or doublet-makers (zupponari). Simonetta likewise granted silk giornee to attendants. The prominence of calze within gift economies is made clear by their explicit exemption from restricted categories of wedding gifts in the Milanese sumptuary laws of 1498.107 Calze “a divisa” worn by princes and their adherents visually communicated dynastic allegiance through emblems or, more commonly, colors. Precisely dyed clothing alerted viewers to the wearer’s factional (rather than individual) identity and proclaimed that he was an ostensibly loyal extension of his lord. Jewels and other adornments on calze, however, further distinguished noble from more common legs: Galeazzo flaunted a “worthy brooch” with gems on a calza when calling upon Emperor Frederick III in Trier. In 1434, Giusto Giacomo da Milano applied metallic threads to stockings worn by Nicolò d’Este and his sons, and twelve years later one son—Leonello, now signore—had small chains of gilt silver fashioned for his calze.108 A number of artisans embroidered Borso d’Este’s silk calze with the paraduro (wattle fence). The lord sports extravagant hose enhanced with the emblem in

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manuscript illuminations, and in Schifanoia’s court scene for the month of April, remnants of the paraduro device, painted in red, are still visible on the surface of Borso’s left calza and on that of at least two men in his entourage (fig. 4; see also fig. 78). Vestiges of gold remain around the knee of a stocking worn by a courtier standing behind the lord in the scene of June, and also apparently on the left calza of Borso himself. Indeed, payments to Este embroiderers reveal that they applied silver and gold brocade to calze worn by courtiers of both Leonello and Borso.109 Additionally, the laces of Galeazzo’s calze were “tipped with golden points” and tied to fastenings of filigree metalwork when he visited Florence in 1459. Boys wore calze embroidered with pearls and silver to a dance and a joust celebrating the young Count of Pavia, who deemed their leggings “as gallant as can be.”110 A few years before Parisina Malatesta was beheaded, along with her stepson and lover Ugo d’Este (in a salacious story later adapted by Lord Byron and Gabriele d’Annunzio), she ordered stockings and a silk doublet for Ugo’s eight- or nine-year-old brother, Borso. The color of the little lord’s doublet was left to be decided, but the four pairs of calze had to be the customary Este green, white, and crimson.111 This fashion choice was too important to be left to a boy, and a similar anecdote involving Borso decades later makes this point even more compellingly. Francesco Sforza, who at his marriage struck an elegant figure, wearing one murrey and one blue and white stocking, was incensed when his son Galeazzo accepted Borso’s gift of calze dyed in Este colors. Galeazzo could keep the gems sent by Borso (including a lavish brooch), but he had to return the hose.112 The young prince was not yet in a position to declare his loyalty to the Este, the message he would have conveyed had he worn the calze. Galeazzo in turn carefully regulated who was allowed to wear murrey and white Sforza stockings. He ordered four crimson pairs and twenty-five of murrey and white in

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January 1475; another sixteen sets in these Sforza colors that April; a pair each for thirty-four pages in mid-July; and, weeks later, another twenty-four pairs for himself, tailored by “our hosier” Ambrogio.113 Galeazzo wore murrey and white calze “continually,” according to Bernardino Corio, and he granted them as marks of favor. Not just pages but also court musicians were presented an annual allotment on the feast of Saint George. Displaying Sforza calze without written permission was forbidden during Galeazzo’s rule—and after the lord spotted too many folks about town clad in Sforza stockings in 1474, he ordered a crackdown on those who did so without “license.”114 We still see the Sforza color combination in Bonifacio Bembo’s portrait of a kneeling Francesco from Sant’Agostino in Cremona, in Bergognone’s fresco depicting Francesco at the Certosa of Pavia (fig. 56), and in manuscript illuminations, including Gerolamo Mangiaria’s De impedimentis matrimonii, where Galeazzo exhibits gracefully crossed legs (figs. 25, 40). Ludovico Sforza presented calze as Christmas gifts to Gianfrancesco Pallavicino in 1480, symbolizing through stockings support of the Pallavicino dynasty over the Rossi, a shift from the strategy of both his father and his elder brother. Elsewhere in Lombardy, in Brescia, a statute of 1447 explicitly outlawed wearing calze or a giornea that would disguise one’s loyalties.115 In fact, unfamiliar or unexpected styles and colors of hose attracted viewers’ attention. Green calze attiring Galeazzo’s brothers and other companions during carnival in 1468—festive costumes based on the clothing of the earlier Visconti court recorded in frescoes in Pavia—astonished the Mantuan ambassador, accustomed as he was to murrey and white Sforza leggings.116 As political allegiance could prove perilous, so could its visual signs incorporated into clothing. Franzone, an attendant of Galeazzo’s assassin, Giovanni Andrea Lampugnani, had fled to the church of San Celso and was there identified by the dynastic colors of his calze. Franzone

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was subsequently tortured in an attempt to make him give up the names of other conspirators and, as we saw in chapter 1, was drawn and quartered.117 Representations of peasants and shepherds with torn calze confirm their lower social status and highlight the fact that nobles distinguished themselves through clothing that was not just colorful and fashionable but integral and well-maintained. A dark-complexioned supplicant approaches Borso and his radiant entourage in the month of July’s court scene from Schifanoia’s Salone dei Mesi (fig. 63). He is tellingly differentiated from the fairer and more opulently dressed members of the Este court not only by his swarthiness (discussed in chapter 4) but by his coarse and ragged clothing, particularly his right calza, which is ripped at the knee, held up by a thin rope, and shredded and torn away below the ankle. Only the abject and the menial bare their legs, or even just their knees or thighs, in the frescoes’ lower register: March’s tyke in buskins but showing his thighs; April’s palio runners— marginalized men and women, including prostitutes—in various states of undress; July’s supplicant; and farm or vineyard laborers in the months of March, May, and June (figs. 48, 66).118 In fifteenth-century Italy, tight-fitting doublets and calze shaped carefully posed bodies, both requiring and producing deliberately postured display. Leonardo da Vinci recognized that such attire worn day in and day out could fashion the body. To find a suitably agile, flexible, and malleable model for graceful yet complicated positions, Leonardo advised searching out a youth who was not “brought up in doublets, and so may not be of stiff carriage.”119 The doublet in which Pandolfo Malatesta was buried (fig. 5) was designed ergonomically to brace the back, particularly on long rides mounted on horses, and to otherwise protect the body and allow for fluid movement.120 The slightly raised backs or cantles of Renaissance saddles also provided support.121 One decorated

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with a gilded ball or disc wraps around the upper thigh of Niccolò Mauruzzi da Tolentino in Uccello’s Battle of San Romano in London (fig. 12), and they are depicted in Verrocchio’s monumental Bartolomeo Colleoni and in Carpaccio’s Saint George lunging at the dragon from the Venetian Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni. Male legs were conspicuously displayed in painting and spectacle because short tunics and tight doublets worn by fashionable men exposed their legs, just as stockings accentuated their shape. By wearing calze, I want to suggest, men showed off and attracted notice for their elegant legs, whether on view inside and outside palaces or when represented in frescoes, in which case their form might be idealized. Not surprisingly, artists were well attuned to male legs and their material culture. Pisanello made a number of studies of slender legs covered by tight calze. One sketch clearly depicts laces holding stockings to a doublet. Energetic hatching sensitively models the leg and calze’s contours. Though the doublet is only faintly indicated, its inclusion is essential, because hose could not be held so taut without it (fig. 64).122 A fifteenth-century reclining Paris shows off his long, elegant legs accentuated by calze, one crimson and one white, which are tied to a form-fitting brocaded doublet (fig. 65). This beautiful youth’s gaze and gesture suggest that he is aware that he is being looked at, perhaps by Helen or Venus from a lost panel.123 Paris’s svelte legs arrested their attention, and they are meant to capture ours. Indeed, lissome legs were praised for their specifically masculine beauty, and when the lower body was described for its attractiveness, it belonged to a male. Late medieval texts characterized particularly beautiful and elegant legs as imperial and as

Figure 63 Unknown, Borso d’Este Meeting with Courtiers and Subjects, late 1460s. Fresco. July, north wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: author, courtesy of the Musei di Arte Antica, Ferrara.

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Figure 64 Pisanello, Male Leg with Calza and Ties, 1430s–40s. Black chalk and pen with brown ink on paper, 24.8 × 17.6 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York (Michel Urtado). Figure 65 Unknown, Paris, mid-fifteenth century. Cassone panel, 59 × 174 cm. Museo Horne, Florence. Photo: Scala / Art Resource, New York.

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manifesting courtliness and noble status. Andreas Capellanus enjoined readers not to judge by legs alone the gorgeous male “who has slender legs . . . [and is] famous for every kind of beauty,” an admonition that of course suggests that people might very well judge a man by his legs.124 Bare legs were eroticized in fifteenth-century art throughout Europe, though those of historical aristocratic men were rarely if ever represented. The large feather from Goliath’s helmet running up the leg toward the buttocks of Donatello’s bronze David caresses and sensually highlights the leg’s flesh.125 Donatello’s was not the only nude David with legs that attracted viewers’ attention, however. Giorgio Vasari tellingly praised the beauty of the most famous David of the Renaissance primarily in relation to his legs: Michelangelo’s marble boasted the “most beautiful contours of legs and slender outlines of divine flanks.” When Baldassare Castiglione directs the conversation to the topic of male beauty, it is toward the legs that Bernardo Bibbiena casts his most critical glance: “as to the beauty of my person, I am rather doubtful, and especially as to these legs of mine which in truth do not seem to me as well-disposed as I could wish; as to my chest and the rest, I am well enough satisfied.”126 Countless men and boys precisely posed in frescoes sit, stand, and ride horseback, stretching and flaunting their lithe legs, which are seen from all angles. Even when the body seems to be entirely still, pairs of courtly male legs are rarely depicted as straight or parallel with each other; at least one is usually somehow aslant, bent, or turned, the better to emphasize shapely forms and show off slender, muscled calves. Svelte legs are on display throughout the cortege frescoed in the Palazzo Schifanoia, including the elegantly outstretched left leg, foot set firmly in its golden stirrup, of the mounted courtier with his back to us in the center of the lower register of the month of March (fig. 66). Behind the backsides of his retinue’s horses stands a younger blond lad who gestures toward a tethered monkey,

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grasping (if not humping) his calza-clad right leg and certainly calling attention to it. Dressed in a green velvet giornea, he may be one of Borso’s pages, as they were outfitted with this color of tunic, along with calze a divisa, doublets, and red caps.127 Though figures in the court scenes from July, August, and September seem to move toward our space, or give the impression of climbing out of it and into that of the frescoes, perhaps the most striking rupture of the Salone dei Mesi’s fictive frames are the legs of the youth with a falcon in the month of April. Dangled over the cornice of the fresco’s edge, these conspicuous legs invite us into the scene and at the same time emphatically demarcate the fictive realm (fig. 4). Induction into the English Order of the Garter conferred prestige on a number of fifteenth-century Italian princes, including Alfonso of Naples, Francesco Sforza, Ercole d’Este, and Guidobaldo and Federico da Montefeltro, the last conspicuously showing off the order’s insignia in the double portrait (fig. 9). As one of the only chivalric tokens that did not encircle the neck, the bejeweled garter insisted on the centrality of the leg and its material culture in the embodiment of lordship.128 In later centuries, monarchs ranging from England’s Henry VIII to France’s Louis XIV famously showed off their courtly, elegant legs at dances and in portraits. Henry VIII possessed, according to one inventory, roughly eighty pairs of hose made of twenty-two fabrics, notably velvets and other silks. The king was obsessed with his legs and those of rivals, and the painter Hans Holbein seems to have lengthened Henry’s legs below the knees to accentuate their shapeliness and make him more imposing. In May 1515, when Henry was twenty-three years old, he was curious to know about the legs of François I of France, a few years his junior. The Venetian ambassador Piero Pasqualigo reported that Henry had asked him, “‘The King of France, is he as tall as I am?’ I told him there was but little difference. . . . He then inquired, ‘What sort of legs has he?’ I replied: ‘Spare.’

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Whereupon he opened the front of his doublet, and placing his hand on his thigh, said: ‘Look here and I also have a good calf to my leg.’ ”129 Henry, of course, was just one in a long line of leg-obsessed Renaissance men who attentively, even rigorously assessed and appraised their own and other men’s legs. In terms of both visibility and display—and particularly so in artistic representation— noble women hardly had legs. Indeed, it was the Renaissance man, not the woman, who had legs and knew how to use them.130

Figure 66  Francesco del Cossa, Borso d’Este and His Court, late 1460s. Fresco. March, east wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: Scala / Art Resource, New York.

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4.

Fair Princes: Blanched Beauty, Nobility, and Power

In studies of Italian Renaissance courts, the stranglehold of sprezzatura has been so tight—and the backwardreaching arm of Norbert Elias’s seventeenth-century “civilizing process” so long—that scholars customarily identify courtliness and aristocratic distinction in conduct and visible expressions of unaffected affectation. In the fifteenth century, however, lordly nobility was principally manifested not through studied nonchalance but rather in eye-catching beauty and radiance. Fair complexion and blond hair magnified a prince’s charisma, that is, his ability to draw people and gazes to him. Blanched, brilliant beauty legitimized authority and privilege. Physical allure embodied noble status and communicated the lord’s right to rule. This chapter examines constructions of male beauty and the implications and effects of its unrelenting

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exhibition. As fundamental as beauty is for the discipline of art history, and as essential as the presentation of beauty was to operations of power in fifteenth-century Italy, male beauty remains little theorized or appreciated in Italian Renaissance art history.1 For audiences enthralled by noble allure and splendor, glamorous male bodies elicited social and sexual desire. Accordingly, artists both anticipated and reflected courtly ideals of beauty, and princes altered their appearances in life to resemble aristocratic paradigms. By exploring verbal and visual descriptions of lords, with a focus on Borso d’Este, this chapter excavates the ideological implications of whiteness, radiance, and fair beauty—constituted in contrast to darkness, along a constellation of factors relating to status, labor, social and historical visibility, and skin color (and configurations of difference approximating race). I seek to denaturalize

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equivalences between authority and ideal bodies and, equally, to cast a critical perspective on the historical contingency of whiteness and its normativity in our conceptions of Renaissance power. In addition, this chapter engages recent investigations of male fashion and masculine spectacle to historicize and evaluate both display and surveillance for lords, courtiers, and subjects. Men were put on display in Italian courts. They were spectacles meant to be seen. Gazes served to discipline, to be sure, though we should not interpret surveillance as straightforwardly oppressive or exclusively panoptic. Visibility and display likewise manifested and amplified the lord’s power and simultaneously provided aristocratic men essential opportunities to distinguish themselves.

Borso Bello: Fashioning Power Evocations of beauty pointedly reinforced social distinctions. Aristocratic beauty and brilliance were constituted via their opposites—rustic ugliness and darkness, or chromatic dullness. Such distinctions operate in art, and they fundamentally organize constructions of courtliness visualized by the frescoes of Palazzo Schifanoia’s Salone dei Mesi. The cycle’s blond, radiantly attired, bright young things surrounding their lord are all the more striking when compared to the shabbily dressed, dark-haired peasants of the cycle’s agricultural scenes or, for instance, the two swarthy and unshaven men—one with hat proverbially in hand—who humbly seek an audience with Borso in the month of March (fig. 66). Before interpreting Borso’s foils, however, we should carefully examine the models and rhetoric used by the Ferrarese when viewing and praising their lord. Ferrara’s governing council, the Savi, explicitly declared Borso d’Este’s beauty to be a constituent aspect of his nobility and lordship when they proclaimed him

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signore, and throughout his reign, Borso’s allies and apologists commonly invoked his physical comeliness to support his rule.2 In his acrostic dialogue De VII litteris huius nominis Borsius, Ludovico Carbone asserted that in Venice he had heard a German comment that if Borso— whom Carbone had described as beautiful and blond and whose appearance had particularly struck this German— “ever came to his province, they would kill their ruler and make Borso king.” The “u” in Borsius, according to this text of 1465, represents his physical beauty (“uenustas corporis”). Francesco Ariosto listed Borso’s “luminous beauty” first among his virtues, followed by his faith, constancy, and grace, and elsewhere Ariosto characterized Borso as “jocund and lordly and resplendent with his imperial appearance ornamented by gold and gems . . . in all ways refulgent.”3 The ducal notary and chronicler Ugo Caleffini portrayed Borso as “most courtly,” as endowed with an “ornamented body” and “beautiful face,” and as “graceful” and “beautiful.” For Carbone, Borso’s eyes were “resplendent,” and his face dazzled enough to “obscure the sun” even at midday.4 Despite damage to Schifanoia’s frescoes, we can still glimpse the lord’s blue eyes blazing (fig. 67), a compelling testament to the ideal of a fair and courtly countenance. The poet Malatesta Ariosto compared Borso to the sun during a triumphal entry, and a chronicler affirmed that he was so “beautiful” that “many lords and noble men came from far away countries merely to view” him. The physician Michele Savonarola, in a text celebrating Borso’s investiture of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, offered his opinion that a “true and worthy prince” is distinguished by the “beauty and shapeliness of his body.” Savonarola quoted Virgil and Homer twice on the matter and professed that, of the fourteen princely virtues he identified, beauty was the “greatest ornament.” “It is certainly the truth that faces demonstrate the quality of the heart,” the physician asserted elsewhere in

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Figure 67  Francesco del Cossa, April, late 1460s, detail depicting the blue-eyed Borso d’Este with young courtiers. Fresco. East wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: author, courtesy of the Musei di Arte Antica, Ferrara.

the treatise.5 Additionally, Ludovico Carbone invoked Achilles and Aeneas as beautiful men who, like Borso, merited praise and were entitled to power. “What prettier or more worthy face,” Carbone asked, “could either nature produce or the art of man imitate than the face which the favorable gods have granted to Borso?” Who, having once seen Borso’s “most serene forehead, his joyous” eyes, and “his shapely face . . . would not . . . devote himself wholly to him, and would not judge him most worthy to rule over the whole world?” As Carbone insisted in a wedding oration, with characteristic hyperbole, Borso was literally gale-staying; he was so majestic, and his “face so beautiful,” that he could “calm the wildest storm.”6 Borso’s entire entourage visually constituted and reinforced Este lordship and courtliness. In the Salone dei Mesi, gorgeous, often blond youths surround Borso. Slim and spry, their slender bodies and shining faces embody

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ideals of youthful pulchritude and vigor. Borso’s men were commonly praised for the aristocratic splendor that is tenaciously reiterated in visual form at Schifanoia. As we saw in the introduction to this book, Borso’s train of courtiers, traveling to Rome in 1471, were “florid and gallant” and “most beautiful and most adorned.” Some “were dressed in gold brocade, others of silver, and others in velvet,” according to a chronicler who emphatically declared, “never was there seen a more beautiful and rich company.” Schifanoia’s glitterati, with their golden locks and elegantly posed legs, visually manifest what one contemporary called Borso’s “bellissima fameglia” and another his “noble brigade.”7 Other lords joined chroniclers in their awe of the aristocratic beauty of Borso’s homosocial court. The young Galeazzo Maria Sforza extolled Ferrara’s “florid company of noble men” in September 1457. Two years

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later, Galeazzo again praised Borso’s “exceedingly beautiful company” and “the incredible pomp of their clothing.”8 Borso no doubt sought out and favored particularly beautiful courtiers, as did Galeazzo, who in 1473 asked an ambassador in Naples to recommend young men of “noble and beautiful appearance” to serve as chamberlains in Milan.9 Borso also publicly evaluated his courtiers’ attire. Following a joust in 1462, he praised Alberto de la Sala’s plumed helmet and pronounced Teofilo Calcagnini’s garment to be the finest among those worn by competitors. The conspicuous performance of the lord’s discernment and savvy confirmed his authority for all in attendance. For these audiences, courtiers’ displays of prowess, beauty, and adornment magnified not just their own honor but that of their lord, as Borso’s famous niece made clear a few decades later. Visiting Ferrara for the nuptial festivities of her brother Alfonso, Isabella d’Este recounted a joust to her husband back in Mantua, reporting proudly that his man Vicino “earned great honor, but Your Excellency has earned more, since his valor is attributed to his being your soldier.”10 Borso d’Este’s courtly image was not static. Throughout his life, including in the few portraits that can be plausibly identified before he became lord—such as a metalpoint and ink drawing on parchment by Pisanello (fig. 68), possibly a design for a medal—artists consistently emphasized his flowing tresses.11 While most manuscript portraits depict his golden locks, including a posthumous image from a genealogical manuscript, in which both Borso and his brother Leonello are shown among the many sons of Nicolò (fig. 69), in portraits dating to his final years—his mid- to late fifties—Borso’s hair has grayed, yet it still shines in lustrous waves.12 Later representations, including those at Schifanoia (figs. 4, 63, 66, 67) and the portrait attributed to his half brother Baldassare (fig. 34), emphasize Borso’s experience and wisdom. No longer as lean as the young men who

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surround him at Schifanoia, the jowly, corpulent duke is still elegant in close-fitting gold-brocaded garments (including giornee tied tight by a belt), and he displays svelte legs, whether standing or on horseback. Somatic idealization was fundamental to visual constructions of courtliness, yet naturalism seems to have remained the prince’s prerogative. Experienced and gray, though jocund, charismatic, and conspicuously aristocratic, Borso commands the attention of the lovely lads who constituted the Este courtly realm through their alluring bodies. Schifanoia’s frescoes thus simultaneously present a beautiful, youthful court and a wise and seasoned ruler. Through not only his but others’ bodies, Borso carefully shaped his representation. These walls display one of the most assiduously fashioned and effective images of lordship in Italian art. Among the Salone dei Mesi’s other bodies, dark-haired and ruddy-complexioned peasants in torn, coarse clothing carry out agricultural labor. They cut hay, plow the fields, and haul grain; in the month of March, they prune vines; in September, they harvest grapes (figs. 47, 48, 66). Such scenes indicate the frescoes’ calendric nature, akin to court representations of seasons and monthly labors, including the murals of the Torre Aquila in Trent’s Castello del Buonconsiglio and the Limbourg brothers’ illuminated Très Riches Heures for Jean, Duc de Berry. Ferrarese peasants and their bounty constitute Borso’s idealized realm of plenty, as do his golden boys, backed by garlands of apricots (in August) and pomegranates, pears, peaches, and cherries (in March). All of these luxury fruits were eaten at the Este court, as archaeobotanical evidence confirms.13 Schifanoia’s frescoes, in fact, are just one aspect of the visual promotion of the lord’s agricultural enterprise. Throughout his twenty-year rule, Borso greatly expanded Este control of regional agricultural production and administration through the ruthlessly exploitive system of large estates (castalderie), where peasant families produced

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Figure 68 Pisanello, Borso d’Este, ca. 1440. Metalpoint and ink on parchment, 9.3 × 7.4 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York ( Jean-Gilles Berizzi). Figure 69  Attributed to various artists, including Baldassare d’Este and Bonifacio Bembo, manuscript illumination depicting Leonello and Borso d’Este, 1474–75. In Genealogia de’ Signori d’Este, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome, MS Vitt.Em. 293, fol. 6r. Photo courtesy of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma.

grains, fruits and vegetables, meat and milk products, and natural fibers for clothing.14 The livelihood, and even the survival, of many Este subjects was intertwined with the River Po, which often flooded, and castalderie flourished through Borso’s programs of land reclamation, flood control, and irrigation expansion. A noteworthy component of the promotion of these endeavors is the lord’s paraduro emblem—the wattle fence or sluice gate made of wood and wicker and deployed to impede and divert currents of water, direct channels of irrigation, and manage erosion. The paraduro device adorned Este calze and giornee (figs. 53, 78). In the dynasty’s manuscripts, it often surmounts quick strokes of blue paint suggesting a rushing stream and is accompanied by a gourd hung to indicate water level.15 The paraduro survives in sculpted form prominently displayed on

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the exterior of Ferrara Cathedral’s bell tower, and in 1457 Cosmè Tura painted designs for tapestries that featured the emblem. The previous year, the goldsmith Amadio da Milano had produced a stamp with the paraduro for Borso, and an additional surviving echo, possibly from the same decade, is the fence with a hanging gourd to the left of Joseph in Andrea Mantegna’s intimate Adoration of the Shepherds (fig. 70). Here, the paraduro is adapted to serve as the cow’s pen rather than to control the flow of water.16 It can also be glimpsed erected on dry land in the frescoes of the Palazzo Schifanoia, just behind Apollo’s triumphal chariot in the upper register from May, and in the lower level of June, in the far distance immediately adjacent to the architecture inhabited by Borso and his courtiers. We must avoid the temptation to idealize Schifanoia’s depictions of peasant labor, even though, or perhaps

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Figure 70  Andrea Mantegna, Adoration of the Shepherds, early 1450s. Tempera on canvas, transferred from panel, 40 × 55.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

particularly because, the workers seem industrious and well fed. A historian recently pointed to a lost scene of Borso taking cherries from a basket held by a farmer— originally in the lower register of the month of May but destroyed by the insertion of a door—as evidence of the lord’s rapport with and affinity for his subjects, expressed through his willingness to share with them a humble repast.17 Yet this and similar representations mask predatory fiscal policies and the castalderia network’s exploitation of labor.18 Similarities between the tattered calze of Mantegna’s shepherds and those of Schifanoia’s peasants, moreover, alert us to the mediated and rhetorical nature of depictions of Borso’s subjects and to the frescoes’ visual construction of good government. Courtly sources often drip with disdain, even when praising lords’ humility and openness to those they rule, as did Michele Savonarola

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when he commended Borso for lending an ear to a “miserable, simple girl [vile feminuzulla]” who beseeched him on the street.19 Borso was famously accessible to subjects. He moved around Ferrara on foot and gave regular audiences as a means of forging popular consent. Principal passages and corridors into Ferrara’s main palace complex were relatively open to the circulation of citizens during Borso’s reign, though renovations under his successor Ercole would restrict foot traffic.20 Schifanoia’s frescoes convey this approachability, though I would insist that we critically examine those who are represented entreating their lord. In many scenes, Borso—surrounded by his entourage of beautiful males—jovially and generously interacts with one or two clearly differentiated and often marginalized figures, notably dark-skinned supplicants in the

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months of March and July, and March’s widow holding a petition yet momentarily preoccupied with her meagerly dressed boy munching on bread, his calze carelessly untied (fig. 66).21 Among this company we should include April’s dwarf, Scocola, whom Borso rewards with a coin (at Roberto Malatesta and Elisabetta da Montefeltro’s wedding in 1475, Scocola received more tips than the other four jesters combined). At Schifanoia, Scocola’s short legs and bulbous calves, set off by black calze, conspicuously contrast with the lithe contours and colorful hose of the forest of courtly legs encircling his (fig. 4).22 Though Borso exercises the virtues of charity and magnanimity for Schifanoia’s audiences, his openness functions to distinguish subjects from himself and his court quite pointedly. Peasants working the fields are carefully differentiated by their clothing and labor, and by the lowly beasts of burden they drive and tend, from Borso and his splendidly dressed men, who hunt and ride with raptors or on horses, creatures imputed noble status.23 In the distance beyond the courtly scenes of March, workers prune vines (fig. 66). Clad in dull-colored clothing and tattered, rolled down calze, these laborers are juxtaposed to a mounted retinue of Borso and his courtiers, attired in cloth of gold. Loss of pigment and metallic leaf allows the viewer to see the underlying plaster and sinopia designs, though gold generously applied to Borso’s giornea, and oxidized silver remaining on that worn by the rider at the back of the pack, hint at a formerly shimmering cavalcade. A close look at the frescoes thus confirms that while (or perhaps because) Borso’s subjects are the beneficiaries of his liberality and accessibility, and of the Christian virtue of charity accentuated in the adjacent Sala degli Stucchi, they are nevertheless deployed as foils against which the prince constructs an image of courtliness and nobility. Peasants’ drab and tattered clothing literally pales in comparison with the glistering array of the Este court.

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Ludovico il Moro and Other Moors Radiance was embodied in both clothing and flesh. In Schifanoia’s frescoes, courtiers’ blond hair and smooth white skin are poignantly contrasted to peasants’ dark hair and complexion. To account for these visual distinctions, we must bear in mind how privilege was set in opposition to labor and the necessity to toil in the sun and wind.24 The alignment of dark skin with manual agricultural production and of fair, glowing skin with aristocratic identity is fundamental—it resounds throughout the Salone dei Mesi—though here whiteness should be likewise defined in contrast with blackness and brownness as markers of geographic origin. A shabbily dressed man with a ripped calza draws the viewer’s notice by approaching Borso in the month of July (fig. 63). He is unfavorably juxtaposed not only to the prince but to the blanched, elegantly posed, and resplendently attired youths also vying for their lord’s attention. July’s rustic may appear elsewhere in the cycle—petitioning Borso in March (fig. 66) and harvesting in May (fig. 48)—though I would suggest that it is not entirely certain that viewers would have recognized the same person. While the three men share similar facial features, that of May seems markedly younger and less particularized than the other two (distinctions that could be explained, perhaps, by the many painters active within the Salone dei Mesi). An additional complication is presented by the fact that the figures represented in the months of March and May are both accompanied by a second swarthy individual: another supplicant in the former scene and a brownskinned farmhand in the latter. They are also echoed by the first or far left decan of March’s astrological register, another dark-hued man in tattered clothing (fig. 71). The two men in March wear more magnificent attire than those depicted in May and July, though the deteriorated surfaces impede definitive assessments (and, as a rule,

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Figure 71  Francesco del Cossa, Aries and the Decans of March, late 1460s. Fresco. March, east wall, Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara. Photo: Werner Forman / Art Resource, New York.

dully colored clothing survives throughout the frescoes in better condition than lavishly painted array simulating lustrous fabrics). The varied clothing certainly troubles simple equivalences between the men, though we can say with certainty that they seem darker than ordinary laborers tanned from long days spent outdoors. Their hair and facial features, particularly those of the petitioner of July, may indicate African origins. Afro-Italians held a number of occupations in Venice by the 1470s, and perhaps the Salone dei Mesi, dating to the late 1460s, furnishes evidence of the same in Ferrara.25 Noteworthy too, however, is a payment from the ducal accounts to a musician identified as “Cingano” (zingaro, a Romani person) in 1469, when Schifanoia’s frescoes were being painted. Though fifteenth-century (and earlier) literary sources associated the Romani with dark skin, we lack much visual evidence for quattrocento Italy. Often referred to as Egyptians, from which the problematic term Gypsy derives, Romani were connected with North Africa as well as eastern Europe in Renaissance culture. They trekked throughout northern Italy from at least the 1450s and were expelled from the Duchy of Milan by Ludovico il Moro Sforza in 1493 (and again and again in numerous early sixteenth-century Milanese edicts).26 Though Borso’s payment and Schifanoia’s tattered clothing are certainly suggestive, without further knowledge about the visual representation of the Romani in fifteenth-century Italy, the potential identification of one or all of these men as Roma must remain wholly speculative.

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Notions of whiteness and European identity have long been constituted, in part, through contrast with bodies not considered to be European. Historians have until quite recently, moreover, vastly underestimated the number of people of African descent in early modern Europe, thus neglecting the somatic diversity of the many lands connected by the Mediterranean and in the process whitewashing European history and ethnicities.27 Many Black Africans in mid-fifteenth-century Italy would not have been enslaved, though in subsequent decades the presence of African captives increased dramatically.28 Enslaved persons in late medieval Italy typically came from the Balkans or Caucasus, from beyond the Adriatic or Black Seas, and their subjugation, too, was sometimes identified in perceived darker skin color and ugliness. Petrarch, for instance, described those who had “afflicted” Venice “with deformed Scythian faces, just like when a muddy current destroys the brilliance of a clear one.”29 In 1486, the Sforza courtier Gaspare Visconti obtained through a merchant a four-year-old Black Tunisian boy named Dionisio.30 Indeed, Paul Kaplan and Kate Lowe have called attention to the aristocratic fashion for Black attendants in Ferrara, Mantua, Milan, and Naples. A Black “mora” had accompanied Eleonora of Aragon from Naples to Ferrara in 1473, and two decades later Eleonora outbid her teenaged daughter Isabella d’Este for a four-year-old “moretta” by inviting into her service the entire family from Venice (where the father

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Figure 72 Unknown, Assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, ca. 1505. Woodcut. Frontispiece in Lorenzo dalla Rota, Lamento del Duca Galeazo, Duca di Milano, quando fu morto in Sancto Stephano da Giaoanandrea da Lampognano (Florence: Bernardo Zucchetta, 1505). Archivio Storico Civico Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan, Triv H 314-1, fol. 1r. Photo © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

was a gondolier). Isabella registered delight when informed about the adorable babblings of her sister-inlaw Anna Sforza’s young Black girl, and Isabella herself also preferred small children valued for their Black beauty and charming behavior. Particularly in her early adulthood, Isabella sought cute and amusing companions—human accessories—rather than laborers or domestic servants (though these girls may have been expected eventually to enter service).31 Fifteenth-century Afro-Europeans or Afro-Italians were frequently identified as Moors, a malleable designation that, before the ascendance of modern epistemologies of race, was less fixed on geographical place than we might imagine, and that commonly but not invariably intersected with Islamic identity.32 The term’s elasticity is confirmed by a roster of the courtiers and attendants who accompanied Isabella of Aragon from Naples to Milan, where she married her cousin Gian Galeazzo Sforza:

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seven Black enslaved females and three Black enslaved men, and additionally three “white Moorish slaves [more bianche schiave].” Though the nuances of the document’s distinctions are not entirely available to us, we can imagine that these women or girls perhaps were Muslims, with perceptibly lighter skin than Isabella’s enslaved nere and neri. They may have hailed from the Maghreb, Anatolia, or further east.33 Indeed, the men and women whom Italians identified as Moors came from throughout the Mediterranean: from Iberia, Italy, and Ottoman lands, and from the sea’s eastern and southern shores. One Moor intended to be identified by early modern audiences as such is the black-skinned man who violently wields a dagger in a woodcut portraying Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s assassination (fig. 72). Huddled women intently watch the Moor’s attack, while the men or boys fleeing the chaotic scene stage right glance back toward the duke— identified by his hefty necklace, tellingly a lordly fashion

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of circa 1500 more than of 1476—crumpled on the floor and succumbing to the furious blows of three assailants. This Afro-Italian may be the Sforza footman or bodyguard (staffiere) Andrea Moro, who, according to some reports, killed one of Galeazzo’s assassins and was simultaneously slain as his victim retaliated. Fifteenth-century sources disagree about Andrea’s identity and even his existence, however. No one, to my knowledge, expressly claims that he was a Moor, and a number make no mention of him but instead focus on another of the lord’s staffieri, either Francesco or Bartolomeo da Riva.34 In the sixteenth century, however, a Moor is placed at the scene in multiple editions of the Florentine poet Lorenzo dalla Rota’s terza rima Lamento, voiced by the slain duke (who extols “mio Moro stafieri” without explicitly naming him), and a few decades later in the accounts of Niccolò Machiavelli and Paolo Giovio.35 The woodcut was first published circa 1505, some thirty years after the assassination, and the Black figure may have prompted viewers alternatively to indict or commend Ludovico il Moro for his participation in the conspiracy. Though the few early modern sources that refer to Andrea Moro consistently praise his bravery in Galeazzo’s defense, the first modern scholar to publish the Lamento (in 1875) confused the loyalties of this suspiciously dark and Ludovico-il-Moro-like character and reckoned him an assassin.36 The image provides contradictory evidence. The Moor attacks an unarmed man, suggesting that he is an assailant rather than a bodyguard; yet the long sword worn openly at his side indicates the opposite, for the confederates had to hide their weapons. Even though early sources concurred that the staffiere had devotedly served his lord, some viewers would no doubt have associated this Moor with Ludovico il Moro, who at the time of the image’s publication was being held hostage in the faraway Château de Loches, and who, as we saw in chapter 1, had earlier plotted against Galeazzo, was for this

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reason exiled, and eventually had Galeazzo’s son and heir poisoned. Ludovico was called “the Moor” throughout his child- and adulthood because of his swarthy complexion, dark eyes, and black hair.37 Soon after birth, the infant’s mother, Bianca Maria, wrote to his father, Francesco, requesting that he choose a name for the newborn, “who is il più sozo [the darkest/dirtiest] of all our other children.”38 Sozo, or sozzo, could also mean ugly, which reiterates the intersections between darkness and ugliness for the aristocratic parents. A few years later, moreover, Bianca Maria’s correspondence regarding a silver votive portrait of Ludovico—precisely life-sized for the boy as a five-year-old, the age at which he suffered a grave illness— referred to “ludovicus maurus.”39 The courtier Giovanni Biffi asserted in the 1490s that Francesco himself nicknamed his son il moro, and visual representations throughout Ludovico’s life consistently depict his dark hair and skin. In an illuminated grammar transcribed by the fifteen-year-old Ludovico, for instance, the prince’s hair is much darker than the golden locks of his younger brother Ottaviano, who would drown in the Adda River fleeing Milan following Galeazzo’s assassination.40 As was the case with the Moor depicted at Galeazzo’s assassination, meanings associated with Ludovico as il Moro proliferated. At a joust celebrating Ludovico’s wedding in 1491, a Moor sang the lord’s praises.41 In Venice two years later, in performances arranged by members of the Compagnia dei Potenti for Beatrice d’Este (Sforza’s wife), a Moor’s head crowned with palm and olive branches symbolized peace between Milan and the Serenissima, and an enthroned “Moor” was surrounded by allegories of Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance, and Justice. Yet an image of a “Moor” displayed in Asti disparaged Ludovico il Moro.42 Dark-skinned boys or putti populate the lord’s illuminated manuscripts, and a device no doubt familiar to

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Figure 73 Unknown, Three Dukes Cassone, 1480s–early 1490s, detail depicting Ludovico Sforza and two men at arms. Cassone, 63.5 × 195 × 48.5 cm. Civiche Raccolte d’Arte Applicata del Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Photo © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

Sforza’s subjects—yet another sartorial allegory— depicted a Black servant brushing the clothing of and thus cleansing Queen Italia. In the so-called Three Dukes Cassone (fig. 73), a Black staffiere bearing a shield and a pole arm dutifully serves il Moro. The soldier wears Sforza calze and the white headband or torse that, as Kaplan reminds us, had long been associated with Africans in European art. Il Moro (the mounted lord, not the attendant on foot) is armored and brandishes a sword, and his horse is draped in a magnificent bard decorated with no fewer than four scopetta (brush) devices.43 The Florentine poet Bernardo Bellincioni wrote that Ludovico, the “Italian Ethiopian,” steered the Milanese ship of state on its proper course, as in fact a Moor does on the illuminated frontispiece of Giovanni Simonetta’s Sforziada (fig. 31).44 The chronicler Francesco Muralto, who as we saw in the previous chapter was attuned to fashion, noted the trend among Ludovico’s courtiers to have Black attendants in their retinues. Other Moors in Milan included the four “mauris” who escorted an elephant and tiger from Cyprus to France and who were granted safe passage

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through town in 1479. Presumably, these were South Asian men, as were most mahouts who made their way to early modern Europe, though they may have been of African or Near Eastern descent.45 Visual representation is complex and polysemous, as the woodcut’s “Moor” suggests. Black could be positive, indeed beautiful, in Renaissance culture, and art historians who interpret representational ideologies of dominance must elucidate the contingent nature of any equivalence between power, virtue, and ideal bodies or body types.46 Blond hair and light skin often are and have been equated with inherent virtue and purity, and by investigating fair bodies, I seek to denaturalize rather than reify white or blond as beautiful, good, or noble. It is crucial to acknowledge that in no culture are standards of beauty monolithic. The color black in sartorial contexts was at times admired at court, as we shall see in the epilogue, which explores the turn to black clothing. In 1490s Milan, black hair became fashionable under the rule of il Moro, who seems to have gone gray by the end of the decade (and for good reason). Indeed, Ludovico’s

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Figure 74  Ambrogio de Predis, Ludovico Sforza, ca. 1498. In Aelius Donatus, Grammatica (or Ianua), Archivio Storico Civico Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan, MS Triv. 2167, fol. 54r. Photo © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

hair—in the modish zazzera style, short at the front, cut diagonally, and longer in the back—is positively lustrous in a portrait illuminated by Ambrogio de Predis in a grammar produced for his son Massimiliano (notice too how the lance rest breaks through the border of the image) (fig. 74). Ludovico’s niece Caterina Sforza compiled recipes for dyeing hair black, though these were far fewer in number than concoctions that would make one’s hair “like gold.”47

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The young Francesco Sforza, known in Milan as il duchetto (the little duke), was seen at court “one day with black hair, and the next with his natural” color, according to Isabella d’Este, who eagerly sought out the “remedy” for these changes, adding that she knew that the duchetto’s father, Gian Galeazzo, had dyed his curls black.48 Dark hair remained intermittently in fashion for young men. A decade or so later, Isabella complained that her son Federico Gonzaga was “too blond” in a portrait painted in some twelve days by Francesco Francia (fig. 75) to console her while the ten-year-old resided as Pope Julius II’s hostage in Rome (where this most precocious little lord maneuvered unsuccessfully to secure the recently unearthed Laocoön for his mamma). Francia’s picture beguiled no less a critic than Ernest Hemingway, who in an infamous New Yorker interview disarmingly identified in its trees the sort of thing “we always have . . . when we write.”49 Isabella was not, at least at first, as pleased with the portrait as Hemingway would be, and she sent it back to Bologna for a change of hair color. From there, it was soon taken to Rome by a chamberlain of Julius II, and it is not certain whether Francia ever retouched Federico’s locks. Technical analysis provides no evidence that Francia altered the boy’s hair, yet a new tint cannot entirely be excluded; before long, the painting returned to Mantua, and Isabella proclaimed it “much improved.”50 A year later, Isabella parted again with Francia’s portrait, presenting it to the Ferrarese poet Gian Francesco Zaninello in return for a deluxe manuscript of sonnets by Antonio Cammelli (il Pistoia). Isabella soon sought out a replacement from Raphael. Federico sat in both armor and cloth of gold, though Raphael discontinued work following

Figure 75  Francesco Francia, Federico Gonzaga, 1510. Tempera on panel, 47.9 × 35.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

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the pope’s death. The unfinished picture eventually reached Federico in Mantua, but it seems to be lost, and so the closest indication we have of Raphael’s representation of the young Gonzaga’s hair color may be found in the School of Athens. Vasari identified Federico in that fresco as the lad with flowing, blond locks leaning over Euclid (Bramante) with arms “opened wide in marvel.”51 Isabella’s dissatisfaction with Francia’s choice of hair color notwithstanding, the ideal of the fair, blond prince is one to which European nobles conventionally aspired. Yet it cannot be taken to be natural or inevitable, and we must endeavor to unmoor whiteness from its normative position in Renaissance studies, a privilege that it enjoys but hardly deserves. In what follows, I excavate, and in doing so hope to denaturalize, the ways in which correlations between whiteness, power, and beauty were fundamental to aristocratic structures and ideologies of rule. Above all else, brilliant beauty embodied and communicated nobility. In a trenchant study of medieval German literature, James Schultz deftly explored aristophilia, love of or for the courtly aristocracy. Schultz convincingly argues that alluring, fair bodies were more typically marked by class and status—courtliness—than by gender. These charismatic bodies elicited status-affirming gazes and praise from men and women. Love was provoked by blanched beauty that manifested youth and nobility without strict distinctions between female and male beauty.52 These insights provide a compelling model for Italian Renaissance art historians who, as I suggest below, tend to prioritize gender as the sole interpretative lens through which to analyze beauty. The aristocratic bodies of both women and men broadcast privilege through alluring radiance, and distinct conventions of display, clothing, spectacle, and representation—more so than somatic morphology—accounted for the varying ways in which noble Renaissance men and women were

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viewed, differentiated, and evaluated by their peers and subjects. As the film historian Richard Dyer has affirmed, “beauty (as distinct from sexual magnetism) has traditionally been the prerogative of social and ethnic elites.”53 Beauty was among the most potent ideological tools wielded by Italy’s aristocracy to legitimize power and naturalize hegemony. Brilliant bodies were beautiful because they were noble, and noble because they were beautiful. The Este courtier and poet Matteo Maria Boiardo evoked the contemporary equivalence between signorial power and beauty in his Orlando Innamorato. Men praising Ruggiero confirm that “it’s fitting that high valor / Lodges in someone of such splendor. / Boldness and strength and nobleness / Combine well with great handsomeness.” Beauty gave bodily form to virtue and divine favor and, as Como’s noble bishop Antonio Trivulzio claimed, was “essential for rulers.”54 Grammars instructed lords from a young age that they were beautiful because beauty was a requisite quality of their station. Baldo Martorelli’s Latin handbook, intended for Galeazzo and Ippolita Maria Sforza, reminded them that “Galeazzo is beautiful, strong and wise, which is necessary to be a prince.”55 Galeazzo’s pulchritude was praised throughout his life. His beauty rivaled Ganymede’s, according to a poet who may have been a court falconer. Shortly after his death, Sforza was lauded in verse as “the so very beautiful signor.”56 Standards of beauty are constituted by overlapping categories not limited to gender and class. Fair complexion often denoted youth, as artists well understood. Cennino Cennini advised tempering pigments used to paint youthful faces with “egg yolk from city hens because they are whiter yolks than those that country or farm hens produce; these are good, because of their ruddiness, for binding flesh tones of old or brown-skinned people.”57 Fair beauty might indicate sanctity, as in representations of glowing martyrs such as Sebastian or the blond angels

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dressed in resplendent white and gilded armor in Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s chapel in the Castello Sforzesco. Indeed, the aristocratic devotion to blond hair reflects this culture’s obsession with youthful beauty. Of course, sanctity and nobility were by no means distinct from each other, and many sources conflated them. Gerbert de Montreuil’s Perceval, for instance, was overwhelmed by the sight of knights in armor and mistook them for angels who, he recalled his mother had said, “are the most beautiful things that exist, except for God.”58 Renaissance lords were likewise compared with heavenly beings. For a Ferrarese ambassador, Ludovico il Moro—wearing ermine-lined cloth of gold and a golden chain adorned with a balas and pearl—was an “angel of paradise.” Nearly three decades earlier, this exact phrase had been invoked to extol his brother Galeazzo, because of his “beauty” and “shapely body.”59

Fairest One of All Among the most resonant bodily signs of aristocratic status was blond hair, which was customarily lauded in literary descriptions and depicted in art. Colors, however, were typically less fixed in medieval and Renaissance Europe than they are considered to be today, and they were frequently characterized in relation to luminosity and intensity rather than hue. Blond, notably, could be equated with an “impression of sheen and brightness” rather than a particular shade.60 This luster is well represented by Cosmè Tura’s sitter, with his curls of luminescent, metallic hair, alternatively identified as Nicolò di Leonello d’Este or as one of Borso’s or Ercole’s courtiers, brothers, or other nephews (fig. 76). This fellow has been connected to Schifanoia’s blond youth with corkscrew curls dressed in a white giornea standing immediately behind Scocola (fig. 4), though significant differences

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between the figures’ noses hinder a definitive verdict. Recent technical analysis of Tura’s panel suggests that the green doublet outfitted with arming points is made primarily of oil paint, with heavy use of glue. Tura may have used egg tempera for the blond hair, which accentuates the brushstrokes forming the undulating, seemingly burnished locks and tufts, including the delicately formed hook- or comma-shaped ringlets just above his eye, and other wisps curling around his cap.61 Scores of blond men and boys populate Schifanoia’s Salone dei Mesi and Ferrarese manuscript illuminations. One folio from an Este genealogy of the mid-1470s includes six blond princelings (besides the Marquis of Ferrara, Leonello, top center, and his two wives), each elegantly dressed and depicted with golden locks (fig. 77). The figure representing the third decan of March is described by Abu Ma’shar (Albumasar) and in other astrological sources as having a ruddy complexion and red hair, though he has been conspicuously blanched—translated into a fashionably dressed lad sporting blond curls and a lustrous belt—in the middle register of the Salone dei Mesi (fig. 71).62 The prevalence of blond hair in Este portraits has been interpreted as a manifestation of the dynasty’s (ostensible) northern European heritage. Fair men—such as the “relucent and blond” Polidoro in Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato—inhabit Este mythological genealogies that reach back to Carolingian heroes.63 Moreover, blond German courtiers of Emperor Frederick III, with wigs of “long hair down to their shoulders, white and curled into ringlets, so that they looked like spun gold,” fascinated and seduced Italian audiences. Imperial courtiers with narrow waists and flowing blond locks show off pearl-studded garlands, gilded belts, and stylishly pointy poulaines (and also clogs, or pattens) in a Ferrarese illumination (fig. 78). Borso here flashes scintillating crimson cloth of gold, bejeweled brooches on both his shoulder and billowy berretta, and

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Figure 76  Cosmè Tura, Portrait of Young Man, ca. 1475. Tempera and oil on panel, 27.3 × 14 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org. Figure 77  Attributed to various artists, including Baldassare d’Este and Bonifacio Bembo, manuscript illumination depicting Leonello d’Este, his wives Margherita Gonzaga and Maria of Aragon, and his blond sons, 1474–75. In Genealogia de’ Signori d’Este, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome, MS Vitt.Em. 293, fol. 7v. Photo courtesy of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma.

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calze embroidered with the paraduro emblem and metallic “water” rushing underneath, and he presents to the seated emperor the book’s kneeling author, Giovanni Bianchini, as happened during Frederick’s visit in 1452. This prominent mathematician and astrologer (the lunar crater Blanchinus is named after him) was not noble.64 Accordingly (and ironically, given his name), Bianchini is the image’s only nonblond figure. His legs and calze are covered by a long professorial robe, and indeed he lectured at Ferrara’s university. Of course, visual comparisons of blondness between Italian princes and German royalty resonated beyond Ferrara. In a full-page illumination from the Liber Iesus produced for Ludovico il Moro’s son Massimiliano—one attributed variously to Boccaccio Boccaccino, Boltraffio, or Andrea Solario—the young Sforza’s golden hair conspicuously mimics that of King Maximilian and his entourage (fig. 79). The facing page provides a short German script that the not-yet-four-year-old, whose cousin Bianca Maria (fig. 24) had recently married Maximilian, practiced with his tutors in preparation for meeting his namesake near Como.65 Born Ercole Sforza, the boy was rechristened Massimiliano. Lords were expected to be, or at least were celebrated as, beautiful. But we should resist the temptation to dismiss hyperbolic literary and visual expressions as empty rhetoric, insincere flattery of vain princes, or nostalgic echoes of chivalric romances. Even the most conventional rhetoric produces understandings of reality, and in quattrocento courts—for audiences up and down the social scale—brilliant male beauty constituted and embodied nobility. According to Angelo Decembrio, Leonello d’Este’s “eyes were aglow with vitality.” Ugo Caleffini called him “beautiful and blond” and “more suave than sweet honey.” For Boiardo, Leonello’s father, Nicolò, was “so handsome and so polished, / No one in his time was his rival.” Nicolò became Ferrara’s lord at the tender age of nine. According to Caleffini, “never had you

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Figure 78  Giorgio d’Alemagna (attr.), manuscript illumination of Giovanni Bianchini, promoted by Borso d’Este, offering his book to Emperor Frederick III, ca. 1457–60. In Giovanni Bianchini, Tabulae astrologiae, Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea, Ferrara, MS I 147, fol. 1r. Photo © Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea, Ferrara.

seen a more beautiful youth.”66 Whether such praise described living lords or was (like that of Nicolò) posthumous, we should keep in mind that it often tells us more about the ideological value of beauty than about actual appearance. Invocations of fair, radiant beauty bolstered the rule of lords throughout Italy. In Francesco Filelfo’s Odes, King Alfonso of Naples was “resplendent,” “the shining light of our century,” and a “shimmering star of fame,” while his Psychagogia proclaimed that Francesco Gonzaga’s virtue “flashes like a golden star.” In shining armor, Sigismondo Malatesta was compared to Apollo by Basinio da Parma: “when Apollo rises . . . he spreads light over all the earth and the smaller stars become hidden by the new splendor, so illustrious was Sigismondo in his armor.”67 Baldassare Rasinus lauded Francesco Sforza for the refulgent “glowing

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Figure 79  Attributed to Boccaccio Boccaccino, Boltraffio, or Andrea Solario, manuscript illumination depicting Massimiliano Sforza meeting Maximilian, king of the Romans, ca. 1498. In Liber Iesus, Archivio Storico Civico Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan, MS Triv. 2163, fol. 6r. Photo © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

splendor” of his face. Rasinus cited ancient authorities, including Plato and Virgil, to confirm that beautiful bodies manifest virtue. Francesco’s ten-year-old daughter, Ippolita, quoted the Aeneid’s first book to praise her brother Tristano on his wedding day: “he shines in a brilliant light.”68 Immaculate white hands signified nobility, as did lords’ leather, silk, and sometimes embroidered or

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perfumed gloves.69 At Schifanoia, Borso and courtiers wear or conspicuously hold gloves, and at Torrechiara, Pier Maria Rossi’s hands are encased in luminous white gloves or shining metal gauntlets (figs. 2, 39). Sigismondo Malatesta possessed green silk gloves, and Borso’s were furnished with gold borders and crimson silk. Eighty-four pairs of chamois leather gloves were distributed to

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courtiers who greeted Eleonora of Aragon, the bride of Ercole d’Este, when she entered Ferrara in 1473. A sonnet that Gaspare Visconti composed at the Sforza court pitifully evokes the fashion for translucent gloves and their relation to beautiful hands; a kid goat voices his delight in an early death, since his “pelle” is destined to adorn hands “più belle.”70 In Pollaiuolo’s portrait (fig. 1), Galeazzo Maria Sforza gestures with authority, demonstrating lordly prerogative while wearing a leather and most subtly and skillfully represented transparent kid glove, which tightly hugs the skin. The nail of his index finger is visible through the glove. In this, his right hand, the Duke of Milan clutches the other glove, intimating, one can imagine, that his (unseen) left hand was bare.71 The hands of noble men and women were praised for their whiteness. Galeazzo was particularly pleased with his beautiful hands, according to Bernardino Corio, and his delight in them seems to have been well known. Two courtiers sent to greet Bona of Savoy in Genoa—on the way to meet her new husband in Milan—reported to Sforza that her hands were “most white” and “delicate and beautiful.” Both informants, however, stressed that Galeazzo’s hands compared favorably to Bona’s, as white and beautiful as hers were. Perhaps they reached this conclusion independently, though it is more likely that a conversation between the two sizing up Bona inescapably veered toward her hands, given Sforza’s interests or instructions. Either way, the two men clearly knew what Galeazzo wanted to hear—little wonder, then, that his sister Ippolita concocted lotions of rose powder and pulverized bones to beautify her hands.72 Galeazzo himself used crushed violet and orris root, and received from the ambassador of the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay perfumes made from musk, balsam, ambergris, and civet oil. Along with the oil, the Egyptian sultan’s gifts included “two of the animals that make it.” Civet cats were relatively new arrivals to Italy, though they would

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soon be collected by Isabella d’Este, among others. Galeazzo wore perfumed gloves, and he requested chamois leather gloves for playing palla. In 1475, he dressed the court’s new master perfumer from Naples in a scarlet mantle and Sforza calze.73 Renaissance Italians were well versed in available methods for manipulating bodies. The seductive blond hair of signori and their attendants might have been natural, fabricated in verbal or visual portraits, or achieved via recipes incorporating saffron, beeswax, honey, urine, mercury, alum, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sulfur, ivy, white wine, or distilled waters such as those sent by Barbara of Brandenburg to Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza in 1456. From the Roman de la Rose to Ludovico Ariosto’s Cassaria, texts counseling young men against the application of cosmetics suggest that they employed these very means, as does the fact that books of secrets included recipes for dyeing beards.74 Leonello d’Este’s blond hair may have been bleached (fig. 36), and women tinted hair blond and in Venice even mixed gilded threads into it.75 Because fair faces needed to be shielded from the sun, men and women wore wide-brimmed straw hats known as solane. Yet direct exposure to sunlight bleached hair, and so these cappelli di paglia could be made crownless.76 A posthumous inventory of Sigismondo Malatesta’s goods included two straw hats “without crowns,” and Isabella d’Este ordered one made of two detachable parts that could be raised or lowered separately. Straw hats were produced in Cremona and Ferrara and were prized by Francesco Sforza and Borso d’Este. In May 1451, “because summertime is coming,” Francesco requested made-tomeasure cappelli di paglia for himself and procured others to be given as gifts to other lords, including Sigismondo and Borso.77 Straw hats can indeed be seen in the frescoes of Schifanoia’s summer months ( June, July, and August) and were presented by Este ambassadors to Abu ‘Amr ‘Uthman, the Hafsid caliph of Tunisia (Ifriqiya). They

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could be radiantly decorated as well: Borso’s with peacock feathers, crimson silk, and gilded strings, and his father, Nicolò’s, with peacock and ostrich feathers, dyed red.78 Michele Savonarola, in a work dedicated to Borso, advised that a mixture of egg white and rosewater should be applied to the lord’s face if he did not want to be “roasted” while riding in the sun.79 The wide straw hat embellished with a feather sported by Pisanello’s princely Saint George (fig. 80) shields the saint’s skin from the rays of the intensely blazing aureole that encloses a tender interaction between Madonna and Child. This is a playful painting. Note, for instance, George’s comically small and panicked dragon nervously seeking safety behind the saint’s armor, while both snarling at and cowering before Anthony’s curious pig. Viewers aware of the noble imperative to display a fair countenance, and of the lengths taken to do so, would have recognized and enjoyed Pisanello’s clever juxtaposition of the beaming sun and the hat designed to provide protection from it. Close examination of the intimate devotional panel reveals streaks or shades of gold applied to the straw hat’s crown and brim, which are turned toward the sun, materially suggesting the power of the rays from which George and his rosy cheeks are sheltered. Fifteenth-century princes shaved frequently. According to a contemporary source, Galeazzo Maria Sforza also visited baths and applied depilatory lotions or ointments to eliminate unwanted facial, and perhaps body, hair.80 In art, Sforza’s shining visage is commonly set off from the gray and matte stubble of less noble men, including authors presenting their books to the lord (figs. 25, 40). We know the names of Galeazzo’s barbers (Bono, Donato, and Travaino), though it seems that his smooth son and heir Gian Galeazzo was not shaved until his twenties, at which point he asked his uncle Ludovico il Moro for permission to thank the barber Travaino with a gift of his clothes worn during the shave. In directives to his

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spenditore, moreover, Galeazzo many times instructed that items be consigned to barbers, and presumably then delivered to him, indicating their proximity to Sforza and the regularity of his shaves (in addition to other interventions in his health regimen).81 Recipes for whitening teeth, hands, and especially faces existed in abundance in Renaissance Italy. Mixtures recorded in a Ferrarese manuscript promised skin “white like a beautiful pearl,” “polished,” and “splendid.” The book of the “experiments” of Caterina Sforza, Galeazzo’s illegitimate daughter, includes dozens of concoctions intended to make one’s face free of ignoble blemishes and therefore “like crystal,” “bianchissima,” or “relucent”; hands “so white and beautiful that they seem to be ivory”; and teeth “white” or “chiari lucenti et Belli.”82 Isabella d’Este collected from Urbino, Rome, and even Cairo waters and powders for bleaching teeth. Isabella of Aragon took things a step further in her pursuit of pearly whites. She destructively scraped away at and abraded her teeth to remove the black discoloration caused by the mercury that she had ingested to treat syphilis but that poisoned and ultimately killed her.83 Though recipes were often specifically addressed to and even written and compiled by women, they were also used by men, who were praised for the physical features furnished by these artificial means. As men were customarily believed to be the darker sex because of essential gender characteristics induced by the humoral system of complexion, they may have intervened more aggressively to present a suitably aristocratic countenance. With disfigurement caused by skin diseases less preventable and treatable in the fifteenth century than today, a radiant face communicated social status and nobility in ways we have not yet acknowledged, and of course toxic cosmetics used to conceal blemishes damaged skin further.84 Lords both masked and revealed facial scars and imperfections. In 1453, Francesco Sforza requested from

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his wife an ointment to remove a red and rather stubborn cicatrix under his eye, caused by a violent fall. Bianca Maria assured Francesco that the unguent she sent would remove the unsightly protrusion of flesh if diligently applied.85 Visual representations of Federico da Montefeltro, by contrast, consistently display a small scar on his lower cheek, and his warts, mangled nose, and sallow complexion in Piero della Francesca’s famous portrait make clear that experience could be visualized even through deformity or ugliness, and that it too was valued by signori of a certain age (fig. 81). This most recognizable signorial visage of the quattrocento at once hides and highlights a horrific injury sustained during a joust held in Francesco Sforza’s honor two decades earlier. According to Raphael’s father, the painter and poet Giovanni Santi, who mythologized the incident in terza rima, the lance of Montefeltro’s rival “jumped under his visor . . . breaking the bone,” mauling his face and putting his survival momentarily in doubt.86 Federico later reckoned the blow divine retribution for seducing a lover under a blasted oak and fitting a twig from the tree into his helmet as a love token, thus leaving himself vulnerable. While the scar itself and the lord’s mutilated eye socket are safely out of sight in the Uffizi panel, Federico’s experience and age are visualized not only through his warts, ashen complexion, and the nick just above his jawline, but, most poignantly, through his wound, concealed from the viewer yet evoked by Piero in the deformed nose’s jarringly absent bridge. Leon Battista Alberti commended the example of ancient painters who, when they portrayed kings with “some physical defect,” made sure to correct it “as far as possible

Figure 80 Pisanello, Madonna and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot and George, ca. 1440. Tempera on poplar panel, 46.5 × 29 cm. National Gallery, London. Photo © National Gallery, London / Art Resource, New York ( Jean-Gilles Berizzi).

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while still maintaining the likeness.” If Piero follows here the example of Apelles—praised by Pliny and Alberti alike for representing only the good side of the face of the one-eyed Macedonian general Antigonus—the painter yet subtly recalls Federico’s mutilation and so too, crucially, his own act of artistic emulation.87 Federico long endured the agonizing pain of gout, which he diagnosed himself and described in miserable terms in a letter to his physician, Battiferro da Mercatello, in 1461—a diagnosis, moreover, recently corroborated by the paleopathological examination of the lord’s first right metatarsal bone.88 In November 1477, Federico crashed through a rotten plank in a loggia of a palace near San Marino, severely dislocating his left foot and raising the specter of amputation, or even death, once gangrene caused by his tight bandages spread. Federico had a contraption engineered so that, the following year, he could ride horseback with his leg angled up, placed against the animal’s neck. Command of a horse was an essential skill for noble men to exhibit, and Federico’s subjects expected their signore to exercise his lordship through daily trips around Urbino. Tellingly, the duke reacted angrily after an ambassador witnessed him grimacing when dismounting.89 Though Federico drew attention to his injury in scores of profile images (and sometimes joked about it, according to Giovanni Pontano), he otherwise could not afford to show signs of physical weakness. In his double portrait with Guidobaldo (fig. 9), Federico’s conspicuously projecting left leg and its bejeweled velvet garter prominently declare that he had been inducted into the English Order of the Garter. Perhaps certain viewers might have likewise recognized that the leg was now healed and once again robust.90 Life as a signore took a considerable toll on the body. Forensic investigations of the embalmed bodies of exhumed lords have identified deformed knees, femur damage, and arthritis as “knightly markers,” caused by

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Figure 81  Piero della Francesca, Federico da Montefeltro, ca. 1472. Oil on panel, 47 × 33 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Photo: Alfredo Dagli Orti / Art Resource, New York.

years of riding horseback, wielding swords, and supporting heavy armor (which may have provoked in Federico da Montefeltro hyperkyphosis, an excessive curvature of the spine).91 Contemporaries sought to minimize this wear and tear. Sigismondo’s brother Malatesta Novello was lauded in a funeral oration for his adeptness in bearing “armor like clothes, so as to not suffer from its weight.” More than one Renaissance warlord was done in by armor’s heft. Muzio Attendolo Sforza drowned in the Pescara River in 1424, weighed down by his armor, as did his grandson Roberto Sanseverino, in the Adige six

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decades later. Awareness of such a fate no doubt accounts for Pope Pius II’s admiration of the “warlike men” of Jean, Duke of Clèves, who were “so strong they can swim the Rhine in full armor.”92 It was incumbent upon artists, as they knew full well, to present flattering but still recognizable images of noble beauty. We must acknowledge the efficacy of Federico’s use of portraiture and of his idealized, even seductive representation. Though subjects would have seen a hobbled leg and a disfigured face, we are shown instead, in the double portrait, a stoutly anchored leg encased in armor and, in Piero’s panel, a distinguished, imperial visage surmounted by a crimson berretta alla capitanesca proclaiming Federico’s lordly status.93 Scholars recognize the carefully constructed nature of the profile portrait and often point out that a jousting accident forced Federico to shield one side of his face from the viewer, yet we have great difficulty imagining just what this other side must have looked like. Art here conceals and misdirects through the very act of representation. Engagement with the visual construction of beauty has been foundational for the discipline of art history and remains central to the study of Italian Renaissance art. But when investigating images of ideally beautiful men, and in particular those who seem to modern eyes to be conspicuously feminine or suspiciously unmanly, we must scrupulously historicize constructions of gender and masculinity, mindful of our own categories and assumptions. Merely labeling a beautiful male figure androgynous, as scholars frequently do, tells us very little in the end. Renaissance artists and writers certainly played on gender, wittily confusing their audiences’ expectations by blurring distinctions in verbal description and visual image. Yet intersecting and overlapping values and ideals related to class, age, civic identity, rank, profession, courtliness, and sanctity, among other categories of identity, informed understandings of male beauty.94

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Elizabeth Cropper’s immensely persuasive and authoritative studies of Petrarchan ideals of female beauty reflected in cinquecento painting loom large, and have come to stand for much of Italian Renaissance beauty in ways the essays never asserted.95 Though scholars return time and again to Petrarch and his legacy, contemporaries conceptualized beauty through paradigms that emerged from and were elaborated in a wide array of sources and traditions: from chronicles to chivalric narratives, from Latin prose to dynastic genealogies, from novelle to vernacular poetry. Petrarch’s immensely formative poetic language is gendered as it defines a prototypically beautiful woman, one who embodied feminine beauty, but also beauty more generally, even representation itself. Of course, most manifestations of beauty were not intended to evoke or theorize art or representation, and yet we must still attend to them. Ideal beauty signified much— nobility and sanctity, to give two examples—in much more powerful, immediate, and indeed relevant ways for most contemporaries, men and women. That Petrarch did not engage with male beauty in detail should not lead us to suppose that men were not considered desirable in the fifteenth century or that displays of their beauty were not compelling and resonant for Italian audiences. Implicit assumptions or explicit declarations to the contrary reinforce the untenable notion that women’s bodies alone are gendered or sexed. Paradigmatic of scholarly myopia in regard to male beauty is neglect of the fact that boys also are gazed at in what is perhaps the archetypal topos of Renaissance ideals of beauty, Zeuxis’s story of the maidens of Croton. When asked about beautiful virgins in the city, the citizens of Croton first take Zeuxis to a palestra, where, as Cicero tells it, the painter “marveled greatly at the forms and bodies of these boys.” The Crotoniats then exclaimed, “Their sisters are our virgins; and so you can guess how beautiful they are from these youths.”96 In

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fifteenth-century Italy, beautiful, adorned males were praised in humanist encomia, chronicles, and court poetry celebrating the nobility of ruling dynasties. They were described and gossiped about in letters between courts and in the ephemeral poetry composed there. Aristocratic men were on display and were meant to be looked at, and authors concerned with beauty were well aware that it was possessed by both men and women and that everyone evaluated and appreciated alluring bodies. As Lorenzo Valla reminded the presumed male readers of On Pleasure, “in the same way we look at women, so do they pursue the handsome among us with eager eyes.”97 Detailed descriptions of blanched men read at court provided models through which poets, painters, chroniclers, and audiences filtered their experiences of lordship. Written by a courtier of both Borso and Ercole d’Este, Matteo Maria Boiardo’s epic Orlando Innamorato has long been understood as representative of late fifteenth-century court culture and ideologies, and the poem’s radiant paragons of noble beauty confirm James Schultz’s perceptions about aristophiliac literary ideals of earlier narratives.98 Women of the Orlando Innamorato were attracted to fair-skinned blond men. Feragu—dark complected, with hair “black as coal”—did not excite Angelica, “who wanted at all costs a blond.” Noble Ordauro, “forelock to toe a handsome blond,” captured Leodilla’s fancy, and the enchantress Morgana fell in love with Zilïante “il biondo,” a “white and lovely youth.” Boiardo’s fictional women, like those at fifteenth-century courts, look upon beautiful men with pleasure and desire. A voyeuristic maiden observes the sleeping Ranaldo, who “was good-looking and still young / . . . With joy the damsel watches him; / She almost died from her delight. / She takes such pleasure from his sight. / She sees, she thinks of, just this knight.” Men’s gazes, too, were inescapably drawn to aristocratic male beauty, as toward bold Ruggiero: “Fierce Agramant, more than the others, / Can’t seem to take his

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eyes off him.”99 Indeed, as we shall now see, very few could take their eyes off lords.

How Do I Look? Renaissance lords were rigorously scrutinized. Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s fatal conviction that he looked “too fat” makes clear both that he struggled to present a slender profile and that he was cognizant of his subjects’ judgments. Even if Bernardino Corio fabricated or embellished this anecdote, it demonstrates the expectations that audiences might bring to their lords’ bodies. It also implies that signori anticipated and reckoned with their gazes.100 Galeazzo, whom we saw teased by his sister Ippolita for gaining weight, was far from the only prince watching his figure. These men and boys were thus equally attentive to the two meanings I perceive in the question “How do I look?”: first, the more colloquial and familiar sizing up of one’s own appearance, and second, a concern about how precisely—in what ways, under what circumstances, through what mechanisms, in what contexts, to what ends—we look at others and others look at us. Ercole d’Este worried about managing his weight, and his brother Borso, a chronicler claimed, regularly moved around on foot in order to shrink his waistline. In a treatise dedicated to Borso on long and healthy living, Michele Savonarola surveyed the courtly activities, among them hunting, horseback riding, and sword practice, that afforded it. King Ferrante of Naples, according to a posthumous account, never passed on the opportunity to strip down to his doublet and flaunt his physique.101 After contemplating a portrait medal of Francesco Sforza in 1456, Ferrante’s father, King Alfonso, joked that if Sforza had put on so much weight as to be almost unrecognizable (as a Neapolitan courtier asserted), this was no doubt because of the tasty cuisine of Lombardy, where they have

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“the best stuff in the world.” The ambassador who reported the incident added that he had insisted that Francesco was certainly not fat but was rather “beautifully proportioned.”102 Ludovico Gonzaga seems trim and shows off svelte legs in the Camera Picta (fig. 7). As a pudgy child, Ludovico suffered intense emotional distress, and his father openly favored and threatened to promote his taller and more handsome younger brother, Carlo. Later in life, Ludovico recalled painfully both his dieting (“eating little, drinking lots of water, hardly sleeping”) and the verbal abuse of his father, who cruelly compared the boy to a pig and said that he would be better off dead than in such poor shape. Ludovico recounted these experiences in a letter to his son Gianfrancesco, who, in his midtwenties, was laid up in bed in Rome with a leg ailment that doctors attributed to his obesity (and that had both of his parents supremely worried). Ludovico pointedly admonished Gianfrancesco to “rein in his appetite” or else he would meet an early demise. This lord also rather brusquely refused to provide a new cuirass to one of his men, suggesting instead that the fellow fast throughout Lent until he fit into his old one.103 It is perhaps no surprise that Ludovico Gonzaga’s children harassed one another about their body size. Barbara (Countess of Württemberg) caustically congratulated her brother Federico (the future Marquis of Mantua) for having “grown and multiplied” his waistline, what she called his “latitude,” through careful “bodily concern and diligence” and to the extent that he would soon rival pregnant women.104 In 1459, the Gonzaga envoy in Milan marveled at the size and length of Francesco Sforza’s garments when Jean, Duke of Clèves—in Italy to attend the Council of Mantua on behalf of his uncle Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy—had a tailor reduce one of Francesco’s doublets, even though Jean was characterized as “large in stature.” The “gallant” Burgundian wished to dress “in the Italian

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style and in the lord’s fashion [al modo italiano et alla fogia del signore].” He did so in this doublet matched with Sforza stockings, boots, hat, and a cloth-of-gold mantle, to demonstrate respect and affection for Francesco (and the berretta is specifically described as having paper folded within it, as in fact we see in Sforza’s painted profile portrait [fig. 38]). Jean delighted the court, particularly Sforza’s wife, Bianca Maria, and mother-in-law, Agnese del Maino, and equally the ambassador who noted that Jean was “truly . . . of noble appearance.” “God help me,” he continued, gazing at the Duke of Clèves, “there was no lack of beauty.”105 Panel portraits and courtly frescoes both displayed and produced ideals of masculinity that lords strove to fashion in life and that they readily identified in images of peers, as when Ludovico il Moro perceived Federico Gonzaga’s “great and lordly air” in one of Andrea Mantegna’s lost paintings. That nobles struggled to live up to these visual models and the unattainable ideals they presented is intimated in the Gonzaga ambassador’s comment to his marchesa, Barbara of Brandenburg, that “painting makes one beautiful and one’s presence renders it ugly.”106 Poets who flattered princes drew explicit comparisons between art and life, moreover, recognizing that court audiences compared actual men with their artistic representations. For instance, “noble” Guido Rossi, son of the “bel signore” Pier Maria, was declared to be more beautiful than any painted Narcissus or Ganymede, even in his late twenties, in a poem cementing his status as heir.107 All eyes were on noble men. A treatise composed for Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s education instructed that while on horseback, he should be available to whomever approached him and that he must “willingly leave himself to be seen.”108 Sforza’s correspondence demonstrates that from an early age he was mindful of audiences and their gazes. Boats crowded around Galeazzo’s when he visited Venice as an eleven-year-old, and from Modena, four

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years later in 1459, the Count of Pavia described to his mother the “enormous multitude” that had turned out to see him, countless men along the street and women watching from windows. In Parma, Sforza was met by noble youths in silk velvet doublets and by an “innumerable multitude” of townsfolk, rejoicing as if he were “sent from heaven.” A month later, Galeazzo reported that his entry into Ferrara was attended by “all the citizens, women, and the people numbered infinitely, all there to see me.” Cosmè Tura assisted in the production of decorations for the arrival.109 A Florentine source claimed, also in 1459, that streets teemed with townsfolk who hoped to glimpse Sforza’s beauty and nobility. Galeazzo asserted that the spaces through which he moved were “crammed” with Florentines who had hung magnificent carpets and tapestries from their balconies to greet him.110 Ever on display, how could these princes not be hyperaware of their appearance? An image from Massimiliano Sforza’s illuminated grammar further confirms that noble boys were expected to fashion their courtliness visibly, with an eye toward seducing subjects (fig. 82). This blond and blushing young Count of Pavia—mounted perfectly upright atop a white steed and accompanied by three attendants on foot, plus a little shaggy dog—shows off crimson calze, brocaded garments, fluttering arming points and sleeve ties, and golden spurs and stirrups, with a bejeweled brooch and a white feather in his crimson cap. From a window above, a female with flowing blond hair clutches a flower and gazes upon the lad, who would be five or six years old, while a caption below makes clear what is depicted: “Through Milan travels the count in love [conte inamorato], who is admired by all the ladies.” Inamorato does double duty here, and implies that Massimiliano not only is in love but is lovable, or beloved, by those who contemplate him. Facing this image, the budding reader encountered the first of five pages working through, in painstaking detail,

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the conjugation of the Latin verb amare, to love.111 Thus even in school grammar books, and from a surprisingly young age, aristocrats were made aware of the viewers who gazed upon them and would do so for the rest of their days. Lords were nearly always watched, particularly as boys. Galeazzo Maria Sforza was continuously surrounded and surveilled by courtiers overseeing his health and education—in both letters and deportment—among them Cristoforo da Soncino, Franchino Caimi, Guiniforte Barzizza, and his great-uncle Lancillotto del Maino.112 Other relatives—chief among them Galeazzo’s maternal grandmother, Agnese del Maino—also kept a close, critical eye on the young prince and relayed to his parents detailed accounts of his behavior. Agnese frequently assessed the honor and courtliness that Sforza’s conduct demonstrated or lacked, and she judged him, for example, to be “more beautiful than ever” at the age of thirteen. Guards and preceptors surrounded Galeazzo at all times, protecting the boy under instructions to observe carefully “his every act and gesture.” He “cannot move a foot, without it being seen and noted.”113 His parents eagerly anticipated news of Galeazzo’s public exhibitions of nobility. In 1457, the physician Cristoforo da Soncino described the young lord’s respectful and succinct movements, gestures, and speech toward Borso d’Este when they met on a boat approaching Ferrara. In a letter to Galeazzo’s mother two years later, Cristoforo contentedly recounted that the teenager greeted all those he met in Parma with the respect due their station. At about the same time, the Mantuan ambassador reported that many were “stupefied” that Galeazzo at such a “tender age knew how to speak, respond, offer, and use such worthy deportment” during a Florentine encounter with cardinals and Pope Pius II, who counseled the young count to “give himself to [both] arms and letters,” because “one without the other does not render man perfectly whole.”114

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Directives specified that Galeazzo be monitored at all times so that he could not confer in secret with anyone and somehow be corrupted, politically or otherwise. Such vigilance would also ensure that he not “use himself dishonestly” during the night, presumably through masturbation. When Lancillotto del Maino became ill and briefly bedridden during Galeazzo’s trip to Florence in 1459, he arranged for “spies” to follow the boy and to report on his movements and behavior.115 Such surveillance, leaving aside the psychological damage it may have done, prepared young lords for a life ever on display, in the public eye, critically scrutinized by all. Observers endlessly assessed and judged princes’ signorilità—the visible manifestations of their authority—and thus early instruction in courtly appearances was essential in order to secure, preserve, and sustain their dynasties’ rule. “In truth, not even the [hundred] eyes of Argus are sufficient” to make certain that Galeazzo would become fully lordly, according to a treatise coauthored by the men overseeing his education. Indeed, a few decades later, Bramante or Bramantino would paint a muscular figure of Argus in the Rocchetta of the Castello Sforzesco, protecting the entrance into the Sforza treasury, within which were guarded and displayed jewels and golden chains; luxury fabrics; gold and silver coins (“so many silver coins in a mountain that a deer could not leap over them,” the Ferrarese ambassador said); large silver candelabras “the size of a man, or a bit less”; and, at times, the newborn ducal heirs.116 Not only young princes but other men and women residing at or passing through court were on view, ever surveilled and always judged by multiple and shifting

Figure 82  Attributed to Giovanni Pietro Birago, among others, manuscript illumination of Massimiliano Sforza riding through Milan, ca. 1498. In Aelius Donatus, Grammatica (or Ianua), Archivio Storico Civico Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan, MS Triv. 2167, fol. 10v. Photo © Comune di Milano. All rights reserved.

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audiences. Physical nearness to the signore and the attention that it entailed are often thought to have been fraught with risk and danger, but they likewise presented opportunities for distinction, reward, and the visible suggestion of favor. Display fed power in the Renaissance, and the visibility of courtly bodies amplified lordship and prestige. Embodied ostentation precisely constituted the court—a fluid entity to be sure, yet one only actualized or reified by bodies. Surveillance polices and disciplines, as we know in the wake of Michel Foucault. I want to follow Foucault, however, by acknowledging the productive operations and effects of the gaze. In fifteenth-century Italy, gazes and male specularity were intrinsic to the operations and proliferation of power and to the visual representation of nobility and authority. In courts and republics alike, the audiences for ritual exhibitions of prowess encompassed not only women but also other men who admired and assessed their comrades’ and rivals’ skill and finesse. In 1464, the Florentine Bartolomeo Benci’s crew of jousters broke gilded lances to honor Marietta Strozzi, who—viewing from a window above and illuminated by torches—was at once active onlooker and passive object of the male gaze. A poet who later described (and no doubt embellished) this event accentuated procedures of vision and spectatorship, specifically through the reiteration of words such as occhi (eyes) and vedere (to see), and thus saliently signaled the multidirectionality and complexity of gazes.117 Men on display in tourneys and parades could indeed draw or shift gazes. An interlocutor in Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier, for instance, advised men participating in “public spectacles” to “pull to themselves the eyes of spectators, like magnets to iron.” Gazes and glimpses disciplined, but they likewise provided opportunities to distinguish. Agency was not exercised exclusively by those doing the looking.118 The gazes of lords, courtiers, and subjects alike were complicated, multifaceted, and critical. They functioned

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erotically and homosocially, in ways that blurred distinctions between the sexual, admiring, and desiring. Members of the court looked at, appreciated, and assessed one another in life and in artistic productions. They were voyeurs and exhibitionists, performers and audiences, agents and objects who visually sized one another up, continually aware of how they themselves were seen in turn. With discerning gazes, they identified, scrutinized, and evaluated signs of status and distinction to emulate, replicate, and extol.119 Signori, the lord’s family, and other courtiers were simultaneously and alternatively on display and on watch, looking and being looked at, evaluating and being appraised. According to one seasoned Florentine observer, the Neapolitan prince Federico of Aragon—in Florence in the stead of his brother Alfonso II in 1465, accompanying Alfonso’s promised Ippolita Maria Sforza from Milan to Naples—“dances very well, and is favored by all the women and by the men, and the bride looks at him, and talks and dances with him, as though he were a god.”120 Federico mesmerized a Milanese princess and enthralled crowds of Florentines. This “god” was thirteen years old. As a poet wrote of Florentine damsels attending a dance honoring Ippolita’s fifteen-year-old brother, Galeazzo: “Some dance, some take their leisure, and some jest, / and some are gazed upon, and some do stare, / and some are flirted with and some do flirt.” Two charming and deferential “giovinette” who asked the “gentil conte” to dance did so “united in desire for nobleness,” an affirmation that betrays the unmistakable aristophilia of both the poet and the girls.121 Indeed, lords seduced and captivated viewers. Either women or men might imagine the pleasure a prince could bring, or might look to confirm or deny for themselves his authority, or somewhere between these possibilities. This was the case when, in a scene worthy of a slapstick film, two women tumbled from their horses in Milan, struck by the sight of the

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seventeen-year-old Rodolfo Gonzaga (who would brutally murder his wife, Antonia Malatesta, fourteen years later). The crowd of mounted women celebrating the feast of Saint Christopher astounded the Mantua ambassador Zaccaria Saggi. Milanese ladies “showed themselves to him [Rodolfo] one after the next,” and “twisted on their horses to watch him as much as they could, such that a pair of them fell off their horses.” “Beautiful things,” Saggi mused, “always appeal to everyone.”122 A dynamic fashion system needs an educated audience, a critical mass adept at interpreting signs of

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conformity, emulation, and differentiation within a theatrically arrayed social hierarchy.123 Fifteenth-century Italian court culture provided such a stage, a particularly vibrant and radiant one, in which dazzling bodies advertised and amplified authority. For aristophiliac audiences, adorned lords were at once resolutely visible, culturally intelligible, and admirable. They attracted both attention and high regard. Men and women gazed not only to fulfill individual desires. They did so because court hierarchies efficiently organized visual evaluations of nobility by placing brilliant bodies on display.

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Epilogue

Black Is the New Gold

Across Europe, princes intermittently rejected the brilliance of cloth of gold, astounding audiences and separating themselves from peers and predecessors by dressing in black.1 One Italian noble of Spanish descent, the Marquis of Pescara Fernando Francesco d’Ávalos (fig. 83), made a stunningly dramatic entrance “dressed in black” at a Neapolitan wedding at which the other guests were “covered in gold.”2 This event, adroitly interpreted by Amedeo Quondam, was recounted by Benedetto di Falco in 1538, almost twenty years after the fact and in the same year that his illustrious widow, Vittoria Colonna, published poems celebrating Fernando, who in 1525 had perished from the lingering effects of injuries suffered at the Battle of Pavia. Fernando’s striking appearance in black serves as a foundation myth for the newfound austerity of sixteenth-century men’s fashion, heroicizing

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d’Ávalos and by extension Colonna, both of whom the Italian literati exalted. The anecdote was interpreted as a moral exemplum, in the words of Benedetto di Falco, against “ostentation and vain riches that in the end gave way to virtue.” Affirmation of her husband’s uprightness, moreover, poignantly reinforced the widow Colonna’s pious reputation.3 The tale of this trendsetter’s sensational black clothing was one of the many hortatory discourses chastising the quattrocento’s glittering and (though only from a later standpoint) effeminized princes, familiar in the cinquecento writings of, among others, Niccolò Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, and, most famously, Baldassare Castiglione, for whom (as Federico Fregoso put it) “the most graceful color for clothing is black.”4 In the first decades of the sixteenth century, these laments became

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increasingly strident and shrill, as Italian power waned in the aftermath of the numerous military debacles, and resulting social upheavals, of the Italian Wars (1494–1559). Conceptions of Italian manhood fluctuated, sometimes dramatically, bound up in convictions linking the political and the cultural and connecting ideologies of rule to those of fashion.5 Sixteenth-century texts deployed accusations of effeminacy to discipline male adornment and behavior, and Italian dependence on foreign fashion trends was diagnosed as pathological emulation, revealing in equal measure sartorial and political subordination and submission. Concerns about fashion were thus inextricably enmeshed with realities of foreign invasion and occupation, as blame was laid squarely upon both Italian lords and ultramontane influences.6 In evaluating these claims for normative masculinity, however, we must bear in mind the distance between Benedetto di Falco’s account of d’Ávalos’s entrance and the act itself, and the similar gulf between cinquecento rhetoric and the princes examined throughout this book. Opulent adornment meant very different things in 1470 and 1530. It is a commonplace of Renaissance art history that men portrayed in black clothing expressed a Spanish style or identity. Yet this is only part of the story, particularly in the fifteenth century. Debates regarding the geographic and temporal origins of European fashions of wearing black are far from settled. For Michel Pastoureau, the recurring but not continuous northern European fashion for black in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was an Italian import brought north from Milan by Valentina Visconti when she married Louis, Duke of Orléans, son of the Valois king Charles V. Another important influence, in this view, was the conspicuously black-attired Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, who ostensibly wore the color to mourn his father, the assassinated John the Fearless, and to signal enduring desire for vengeance.7 Recent scholarship complicates both the chronology and the

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strategy underpinning Philip’s turn to black, however, confirming that his lustrous damasks reveal a more sophisticated and ostentatious political positioning.8 Philip founded the Order of the Golden Fleece and was portrayed in costly blacks, as we see in a portrait associated with Rogier van der Weyden’s workshop (fig. 84). Here, the duke displays a hefty gold chain adorned with the chivalric order’s pendant (familiar to modern audiences as the symbol of the American clothier Brooks Brothers). The glittering ram—like the enameled collar made of interlocking golden flints and steels from which it is suspended—stands out prominently and magnificently against Philip’s dark clothing. This “passionate gemmophile . . . bordered on lithomania” and consistently showed off pearls, balases, and glistening diamonds set off by his black silks.9 In the fifteenth century, Burgundian princes and Italian lords occasionally donned black in life and in portraits. This fashion, however, did not dominate Spanish courts in Iberia and beyond until the mid-sixteenth century, though black remained the principal color of Spanish kings’ wardrobes through the eighteenth.10 One scholar argues that this development was influenced by black’s popularity in Islamic Iberia, though two others contend precisely the opposite, that it opposed Muslims’ “splendid, brightly-colored garments.” It has even been suggested that Emperor Charles V’s penchant for black was informed by Florentine trends.11 In fifteenth-century Italy, alla spagnola (in the Spanish style) generally referred to clothing’s cut and fit—not its color. Historians of clothing and adornment have underscored the difficulty of discerning what commentators meant when they identified the Spanish, Castilian, French, or Parisian manner. The last example—alla parexina, parisina, or parigina— often implied, in Milan at least, filigree or niello metalwork.12 Color sometimes informed these distinctions, though more commonly such descriptors

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Figure 83  Unknown (French or Lombard?), Fernando Francesco d’Ávalos, 1515–20. Tempera on panel, 46 × 32 cm. Museo Correr, Venice. Photo: Universal Images Group / Art Resource, New York. Figure 84  Workshop of (or after) Rogier van der Weyden, Philip the Good, 1450. Oil on panel, 31 × 23 cm. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York.

characterized a technique, a cut, or a mode of fastening, as was the case in 1475 with Costanzo Sforza’s tunic “cincta a la spagnola,” girded or fastened “in the Spanish style.” Two decades earlier, Ferrarese courtiers marveled at the French ambassador’s extraordinarily expensive upperbody garment of “black silk, in the French fashion, which is narrow and short.”13 Spanish clothing was not always black but could be colorful in Italy, as in a number of crimson, murrey, and

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green garments of assorted silk fabrics, sometimes brocaded, tailored alla castigliana or a la spagnuola for Galeazzo Maria Sforza in the 1470s.14 Isabella of Aragon, who married her first cousin Gian Galeazzo Sforza (Galeazzo’s son), was dressed alla spagnola in Milan. Yet Isabella was not wearing black, nor was her clothing austere. On the contrary, at the 1490 performance of the Festa del Paradiso with Leonardo’s astrological stage machines, she wore a white silk mantle over a multicolored cloth-of-gold

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garment, all manufactured by Nicolò da Gerenzano. Isabella was so radiantly adorned with pearls and jewels that an ambassador compared her, “beautiful and polished,” to the sun. Isabella’s uncle Ludovico il Moro was likewise vestito a la spagnola, though his clothes were made of murrey velvet, white cloth of gold, and black fabrics. Performers dressed in “Spanish” styles donned variously colored and even particolored garments. Men and women who were dressed a la francese, however, displayed black clothing most consistently at these celebrations.15 Vespasiano da Bisticci observed that the Spanish king Alfonso of Naples typically wore black except for the gold chain around his neck and the bejeweled brooches in his hat. This book dealer—toward the end of the fifteenth century, decades after the king’s death—also recounted the tale of the arrogant Sienese ambassador made to look a fool by Alfonso’s courtiers, who intentionally rubbed themselves against his “crimson, allucciolato, pile on pile” velvet until the gold had entirely flaked away, making the garment “the most ugly thing in the world.” This episode has been familiar to art historians, in particular, ever since Michael Baxandall employed it to substantiate his influential account of a shift from materials to skill in quattrocento artistic practice. But Baxandall fumbles a bit with the passage. He suggests that the attire turned crimson because of the courtiers’ jostling. However, the friction would have caused the metallic foil to disintegrate and exposed the dull and lackluster yellow thread core of the brocaded weft. The sensational visual effects of rich crimson against shimmering gold thus vanished. This story, penned by the Florentine Vespasiano, in fact tells us more about Florence’s rivalry with and antipathy for Siena—and about the author’s animosity toward indecorous display—than it does about Baxandall’s Italy-wide “atmosphere” of criticism of gold and gilt fabrics. Moreover, Vespasiano’s derision of Siena, more than of gold, is

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seconded by an anecdote ridiculing yet another Sienese envoy in Naples and his out-of-fashion horse bard, adorned with long fringes, which King Alfonso shredded by making the ambassador ride through hedges and shrubs while following the king during the hunt.16 Fawning veneration of the Aragonese king served to bolster the formerly pro-Angevin Vespasiano’s standing with Alfonso’s successor, Ferrante. The tale likewise echoes Alfonso’s contempt for the upstart nouveau riche, a disdain he flaunted in ostentatious displays of indifference to wealth.17 Though Alfonso wore black clothing, he also donned more colorful apparel, for instance, crimson velvet for a triumphal entry in 1443. In the illuminations of his London Book of Hours, Alfonso is portrayed at least nine times, not one of them in black. In these illustrations, the king displays an array of blue, crimson, and violet garments, many of which are fur-lined cloth of gold or seem to mimic damasks or pile-on-pile velvets.18 Vespasiano’s claim that Alfonso rarely wore silks is demonstrably false, for both he and Ferrante spent vast amounts on Florentine crimson silk velvets. Ferrante, moreover, often dressed splendidly, and he possessed a tunic of blue damask brocaded in silver and gold and fringed with blue and gold silk.19 Renaissance princes’ sartorial “fade to black” drew its visual power from the prevailing convention of dressing in cloth of gold. Astonishment was predicated on the ubiquity of the norm it opposed, as a conspicuous exception to the (golden) rule. However, even Italian lords north of Naples were sometimes clad in rich black clothing in the fifteenth century, well before d’Ávalos’s dramatic entrance at the wedding in Naples. Ercole Bentivoglio of Bologna, “by nature beautiful,” commonly wore black, according to Giovanni Sabadino degli Arienti.20 Galeazzo Maria Sforza owned a black doublet made of a shiny, heavy silk or wool (zambellotto, or camlet), though most black garments ordered by the duke were given to more soberly dressed

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court officials or to foreigners. In February 1475, Sforza instructed that black clothing be presented to Salvatore de Troya, secretary of the Duke of Burgundy, and to an unnamed Spanish knight who had been detained in Milan (perhaps the ambassador whom Galeazzo imprisoned the year before in retaliation for the arrest of two of his horse traders in Spain).21 Sforza modeled black silk berrette— including one to be made “in the style that we currently wear [al modo le portamo de presente]”—and dressed his singers in black to emulate the choirs of Charles the Bold, though Galeazzo readily resorted to the deceptive use of less precious dark dyes to curtail expenses.22 Ercole d’Este of Ferrara favored black to stress his modesty and piety and to distinguish himself from his opulently arrayed predecessor Borso. As a teenager, in 1445, Ercole was sent to Naples, where he lived until Borso recalled him to Ferrara in 1460. Ercole’s Neapolitan sojourn no doubt also explains why he is depicted in black clothing—though wearing golden jewelry—in a number of manuscript illuminations. At the end of the century, the cut and color of Ercole’s attire would be moralized as “solemn,” “honest,” and “without ostentation” by Sabadino degli Arienti, though without quite the consternation that characterized similar judgments in subsequent decades. Ercole did not, however, invariably present himself “without ostentation.” He spent liberally on jewels for his personal adornment, and in Belriguardo’s frescoes he was depicted wearing a gold chain with a “most rich” gem hanging at his chest, and on his berretta an “exceedingly large and ornate” pearl.23 Like Federico da Montefeltro in the double portrait with Guidobaldo (fig. 9), Ercole displayed on his left leg the gemmed garter that King Edward IV of England granted him upon induction into the Order of the Garter. Ercole’s nephew Francesco d’Este, illegitimate son of Leonello, dons black clothing and a gold necklace in an illuminated manuscript (fig. 77, center row, left), as he

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does in Rogier van der Weyden’s striking panel portrait (fig. 85).24 In 1444, young Francesco left Ferrara for the court of Burgundy, where he spent three decades, before he switched allegiance to France’s King Louis XI and served as governor of Montpellier, following Charles the Bold’s famously wretched death at the Battle of Nancy. Francesco made several journeys to Italy as a diplomatic envoy, and he both greeted Italian ambassadors visiting the Burgundian court and acted as middleman, facilitating political and material exchanges with Italian lords. Francesco kept close ties with his natal dynasty, though he was no longer welcome in Ferrara after his brother Nicolò’s first unsuccessful coup attempt in 1471.25 Both Rogier and the anonymous Italian artist captured Francesco’s long hooked nose, yet in the Italian image he is shown with radiantly blond hair, even though it dates to a decade and a half later than the Netherlandish painting, in which Francesco sports lustrous brown locks. The illuminator of the Ferrarese genealogy insisted on the representation of Italian (and Este) ideals of blanched nobility but at the same time revealed sensitivity to foreign fashions. A seventeenth-century Spanish writer asserted that the black worn by his compatriots was the “most honest color of all, and bespeaks modesty, reputation, authority, and wit,” whereas the French, he said, saw Spaniards’ preference for black as proof that they were “desperate, widows, and bankrupt.”26 Meanings ascribed to clothing’s colors are dynamic, multiple, and variable. They fluctuate according to contexts of display, wearing, and viewing. As black could, of course, indicate a period of mourning, some three hundred courtiers donned black at Leonello d’Este’s funeral.27 When Agnese del Maino died in December 1465, Francesco Sforza notified Galeazzo, then away in France, that all of her other grandsons—Galeazzo’s brothers—had adopted dark murrey. Galeazzo responded that his soul felt “incredible pain and torment” and that he and his men would dress in “very dark

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Figure 85  Rogier van der Weyden, Francesco d’Este, ca. 1460. Oil on panel, 31.8 × 22.2 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, www‌.metmuseum‌.org.

murrey . . . as long as possible.” His brother Ludovico would three decades later take up black mourning clothes for years, following the death of his young wife, Beatrice d’Este.28 Galeazzo was seen in black at his father’s obsequies, until the point at which he removed his “black cloth” and appeared in white damask, the attire necessary to be made duke. Borso d’Este did the same when he became signore. In the church of San Giorgio fuori le mura, Borso shed the “black garment worn for his brother,” the recently deceased Leonello, for one of

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crimson cloth of gold, and from there entered Ferrara in triumph. Antonello Petrucci explained to Lorenzo de’ Medici, visiting Naples, that the entire court wore black because of their ally Francesco Sforza’s death—which of course implies that Neapolitan aristocrats were not perpetually clad in black.29 Black apparel could also express religious austerity, as in Savonarola’s Florence. It might embody republican ideologies and political distinctions, as in Venice, where “they wear a lot of black,” in the words of Marin Sanudo.

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Figure 86  Giovanni Bellini, Doge Leonardo Loredan, 1501. Oil on poplar panel, 61.6 × 45.1 cm. National Gallery, London. Photo © National Gallery, London / Art Resource, New York.

Venetians were capable of keen discrimination between various dark dyes, and black became so fashionable that in 1536 the town’s Great Council resorted to legal action to compel office holders to wear crimson, as was their privilege and duty.30 In his portrait by Giovanni Bellini (fig. 86), Doge Leonardo Loredan wears an iridescent, almost nacreous white damask mantle brocaded with gilt threads and adorned with large golden or gilt buttons, which, like his silver- and gold-brocaded, horn-shaped hat of state (corno ducale), were required components of the regalia

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that proclaimed his status and distinguished him from ordinary citizens. Doge Andrea Gritti bequeathed San Francesco della Vigna his gold and white mantle and gown, to be tailored into ecclesiastical furnishings, in an act that illustrates the reverence accorded golden ducal array in a city crowded with men in black.31 Well before Benedetto di Falco’s and Baldassare Castiglione’s advocacy of virtuous and graceful black— since the fourteenth century, in fact, in the aftermath of the Black Death—dark clothing communicated

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temperance, penitence, and restraint. Similarly moralizing and chromophobic were Protestant reformers and solemn merchants, who were suspicious of bright colors and fashion novelties and who favored black to suggest humility, industry, and frugality.32 Black’s reign over (men’s) apparel did not end there. Black clothed the Romantics as suitably melancholy, and in postrevolutionary France black materialized égalité. From the Industrial Revolution to the present day, black has announced a sober and serious work ethic, expressed in the twenty-first century by the respectably and uniformly dark suits of bankers and businesswomen and -men. Black likewise serves as de rigueur attire for the intellectual and creative classes and signifies a cool, sleek modernity: from Coco Chanel’s little black dress to bikers’ black leather jackets; from Steve Jobs in his black turtleneck to the model on the runway, artist in the gallery, or poet in the café.33 For many today, black represents fashion itself, seeming at once timeless and natural, sleek and modest, severe and chic. In the fifteenth century and the twenty-first, however, black clothing produces multivalent and conflicting messages, signaling—in both periods—gravity, probity, and sobriety but also a fashionable, even glamorous sensibility. As I argued in chapter 3, the “great masculine renunciation of fashion” was less an act or an event than a trajectory—an uneven, halting, and contradictory one. Indeed, fashion never went out of fashion for men. Self-effacement and self-discipline exercised and advertised through clothing and adornment are engaged rather than disinterested maneuvers. Presenting one’s self as austere could and can be done fashionably, even ostentatiously, and, as Giorgio Riello contends, the black clothing of early modern princes typically suggested false modesty. Or, as David Kuchta puts it, an emphasis on understated or “inconspicuous consumption” was itself a fashion statement and a “motivating dynamic to men’s fashion change.”34

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Black was hardly a rejection of opulence by lords, whose subjects understood that their black clothing was far from materially sober. Though it may seem dour and unassuming to our eyes, the black cloth worn by Ercole d’Este and Fernando Francesco d’Ávalos was exceedingly costly, not least because of complicated dyeing processes.35 The flowing black robes worn by civic officials throughout Italy evoked political stability through ostensibly unchanging and timeless fashion, and they reified power through the abundance of expensive cloth, dyes, and mordants used to dress these ranks of serious, somber men. Lords’ black garments were lustrous and glossy, particularly when compared to the clothing of ordinary men and women. Not surprisingly, discerning early modern wearers sought out shimmering black cloth, as did Spanish consumers who coveted refulgent fabrics dyed with logwood or Campeachy wood, native to the environs of Mexico’s Bay of Campeche, to produce “crow’s wing” black, rather than either the duller, more traditional “fly’s wing” black or matte blacks prepared from madder and woad. The dark textiles worn by sixteenth-century aristocratic men in Milan also possessed a “strongly relucent character.”36 Black hues could be as shiny, seductive, and vibrant as opulent crimsons were, and contemporaries appreciated their luminous surfaces. Artists, and no doubt their patrons, discriminated between black shades and sheens, as when Giorgio Vasari extolled Sebastiano del Piombo’s virtuosity, showcased in a portrait of Pietro Aretino. Sebastiano skillfully represented “the five or six different sorts of black he is wearing: velvet, satin, sarcenet [ermisino], damask, and [wool] cloth, and a very black beard above the other blacks.”37 Lords understood black to flatter fair complexions, to highlight bleached hair, and to frame, isolate, and intensify the glint and glister of jewels, metallic threads, and adornments like Ercole d’Este’s enormous pearl or Philip the Good’s golden collar.38 The day after he wore

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the Sforza livery discussed in chapter 4, Jean, Duke of Clèves, donned a short black mantle in Milan and was again dressed “in his own style,” according to an ambassador for whom “al modo suo” more likely indicated Burgundian fashion than an individual style. Raised at his uncle Philip’s court in Brussels, Jean admired black clothing, but, once again, this garment was hardly austere. Half of the mantle was suffused with gold threads and the other half with a “tempest” of pearls, with rubies, balases, and diamonds glittering against the black fabric.39 In Lorenzo de’ Medici’s commentary on his sonnet “Quell’amoroso e candido pallore,” the Florentine affirmed that a beautiful pearl possesses “true and perfect whiteness” when seen against a black or dark ground. In 1494, Marin Sanudo informs us, King Alfonso II’s gems, shown to dignitaries visiting Naples, were removed from a marvelous gilded cabinet with 430 drawers and then set out on a table “covered in black velvet.” In the same

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decade, the poet Gaspare Visconti wrote at the court of Milan, “The wise merchant who hopes to sell / the beautiful, white pearl / will set it off against black sendal / to better make its whiteness understood.”40 In the sacristy of San Domenico in Naples, we can still view the burial garb of Fernando Francesco d’Ávalos— Quondam’s fashion-forward man in black, his cool and collected arbiter elegantiae—lined with gilded strips of fabric. In his painted portrait (fig. 83) now in Venice, Fernando’s lavish black cloth is adorned with gilt coils or aglets, and golden studs or beads embellish his cap.41 Indeed, richly dyed blacks made effective foils, and thus even in the sixteenth century, when black frequently replaced cloth of gold as the principal apparel of lords and courtiers alike, it was often garnished by jewels and gold. Black was the new gold. Yet, for Renaissance aristocrats, black hardly lacked luster, either literally or symbolically. Through it all, gold maintained its power to enchant and seduce.

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Glossary

This glossary is not exhaustive but presents a selected list of terms, discussed in the text, relating to fifteenth-century Italian clothing and adornment, with a focus on objects and materials that are commonly confused or misunderstood.1 (a) divisa or divisata: divided or particolored, often marked by dynastic devices and/or colors, as a form of livery; the term is applied often to calze and the giornea. aghetti (also agugielle, pontali, puntali, punte): aglets, metal and sometimes gilt tips or tags applied to the ends of laces, to protect and reinforce the laces and to allow them to be more conveniently inserted through magete or other holes. In English, also known as points, aglets, aiglets, or aiguillettes. These terms came to refer to the laces themselves, which tied stockings and sleeves to upperbody garments such as doublets, and also fastened armor. allucciolato: literally, “lit up like fireflies,” from the Latin luceo, to shine, glitter, sparkle; visual effects produced by scintillating loops or curls of metal-sheathed weft threads slightly lifted or pulled (by hooks) atop velvet. ancinelli: hooks or clasps, both ornamental and functional. armet: an enclosed helmet, often with a visor. arming doublet: thickly padded upper-body garments that insulated the body against armor’s metal plates and mail, intended to fit beneath, or sometimes on top of, armor; known also as jacks, jupons, and pourpoints. arming points: laces hanging from sleeves just below the shoulder that anchor and secure armor to upper-body garments; for a few decades in the fifteenth century, they were displayed as fashionable adornments even when armor was not worn. balas: a reddish to violet spinel gemstone often conflated with the ruby; the Italian term balascio derives from the Badakhshan region (Balascia) of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

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barbute: a visorless helmet with a T-shaped opening for visibility. bavaro: a short mantle or cape attached around the neck and falling down the back, sometimes made of cloth of gold and lined with fur. berretta: a rounded or oval-shaped hat, of various types and forms, often silk or felted wool; fifteenth-century lords wore the velvet berretta alla capitanesca dyed crimson or black. beryl: a translucent mineral that occurs in a number of varieties and colors; the etymological source for the English “brilliant” (beryllus or berillus in Latin). bombas/zina (also bambagia, bambagino, bombace, bombice): a blend of cotton and wool, or cotton and linen, sometimes with silk (the term derives from the Latin bombyx, silkworm), known as bombazine in English; used both as the main fabric in clothing and as wadding within doublets, which was also known as bombast (from which we get the English “bombastic”). braccio/braccia (pl.): “arm,” or more precisely “arm’s length,” the unit of measure analogous to the ell and circa 60 cm in length, though precise measurements varied slightly throughout the peninsula. The Milanese braccio of silk cloth, for instance, measured approximately 59.5 cm. brachetta (also braghetta): codpiece, a pouch that covered the groin, fashionable in the sixteenth century, both protecting and suggesting male genitals; adapted from the triangular flap covering the fork between calze; from the Latin bracae, meaning breeches, though the English “cod” means scrotum. braghe: see mutande. brigandine: upper-body garment of light armor, sometimes covering the hips, made of metal plates or lames affixed, often riveted, to textile or leather. brocade: sumptuous textiles, generally silk velvet or damask, woven with supplementary wefts of metal-wrapped threads inserted to create

a pattern. Though brocade was conventionally known as cloth of gold (panno d’oro), its weft threads were typically yellow or white silk wrapped in either (gilt) silver, alloys of gold, brass, or oricalco (which might be gilt). Drawn wire (oro tirato) was occasionally employed in the fifteenth century, while in earlier centuries animal membranes commonly constituted the core over which metals were sheathed; the most expensive Italian brocades were known as riccio sopra riccio, made of loops or curls of metallic thread pulled above plush velvet pile and characterized by dazzling allucciolato visual effects. calze: stockings pulled tight, tied to the doublet by laces or points, extending to and often covering the feet, tailored from wool, linen, various blends, or silk (from approximately two braccia of cloth). In the fifteenth century, calze were two separate items, cut on the bias and seamed and sewn up the back, vertically; in later centuries they were knitted. At court, calze were sometimes embroidered and were commonly made of fabric of different colors (often as dynastic livery). calze addogate: particolored stockings, specifically those characterized by vertical stripes. calze dimidiate or dimezzate: particolored stockings. calze sberlate or sbarlate: stockings sewn horizontally just below the knee, as horizontal bands or as variously colored fabrics for the two halves. calze solate: stockings with soles of felt or leather (see also pedule). camicia: undershirt, typically of linen or cotton though sometimes of silk. cantle: the upward projecting rear part of a saddle that wrapped around the rider’s lower back, providing support, often adorned with polished metal discs and expensive fabrics. cappello di paglia: a wide-brimmed straw hat, worn especially to protect the face from the sun (see also solana).

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cimiero: helmet crest made of various sorts of materials, sometimes precious, often elaborate and fearsome and commonly related to dynastic imagery. From the Latin cima, peak, height, top. cioppa: a long, ample overgown taking varying forms, typically with hanging sleeves and lined with fur. cloth of gold (panno d’oro): see brocade. corazza: a cuirass, or plate armor of two parts— breastplate and backplate—protecting the upper body. corazzina: a cloth or leather upper-body armored garment that protected the chest and back, akin to the brigandine, reinforced with metal in the form of small plates (lames), studs, or mail. cuffia (also ciuffo, scuffia, zuffo): a close-fitting cap commonly tied around the chin, made of various materials (linen, wool, or silk) and sometimes lavishly decorated. damask: in fifteenth-century Italy, a lustrous figured silk with a reversible pattern; a satin weave with the pattern formed by contrasting the weave’s (shiny and matte) faces. The term is derived from Damascus, though the textile was fabricated in Italy. diploide (also duploide): see doublet (1). doublet (1) (also diploide or duploide, farsetto, giubbone or gippone or jupon, zupparello, zuppone or zupone): upper-body garment worn by men, close-fitting and tightly buttoned or laced up the front, producing slender silhouettes, so called because of the garment’s padded nature and doubled construction, made of two layers of cloth sewn together with stuffing between them (as is also indicated by Italian terms for the garment, including diploide and farsetto, from farcito [filled]), hip-length, tied tight to calze, and typically covered by a mantle or tunic, though still visible around the neck or on the arms, made of various textiles, including wool, light silk, velvet, or even cloth of gold for those worn by courtly men.

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doublet (2): a “doubled” gem or gem simulant produced by two juxtaposed strata, generally some combination of true gems, minerals, crystal, glass, or other vitreous substances, often colored or tinted and commonly set with reflective foil behind or between the layers. estoc (stocho): tuck, a thrusting long sword. farsetto: see doublet (1). fermaglio: a brooch, often worn on the shoulder (da spalla) or headdress (da zuffo, ciuffo, cuffia, or scuffia). The term also refers to various sorts of buckles, latches, or fibulas; fifteenthcentury sources also use gioiello/zoiello for a brooch, which has sometimes confused scholars who assume that gioiello always indicates a jewel rather than jewelry. ferretti: small metal rods, sometimes gilded; applied adornments for garments. fustian (fustagno): textile blend usually of linen warp and cotton weft, though sometimes including wool or made entirely of cotton; the term derives from the early Muslim capital of Egypt, Fustat (modern Cairo). ghellero: an upper-body garment worn over the doublet, fur-lined and outfitted with sleeves. giornea: a short tunic derived from military attire, open at the sides, perhaps bordered with fur, worn over a doublet and cinched with a belt, thus shaping masculine silhouettes. It could be made of various materials, including wool, silks, and cloth of gold, and was sometimes heavily pleated and commonly particolored with dynastic colors or decorated with emblems embroidered or delineated in voided velvet. Women’s giornee were generally much longer garments. giubbone (also gippone, jupon): see doublet (1). gonnella: when worn by men, an overgown or mantle, sometimes falling to the ankles though in some instances shorter, cut just above or below the knees. grana: crimson dye and color meaning grain; the term derives from the granular appearance of the desiccated kermes scale insects (from

which English gets “ingrained”); grana dyes were used to produce other colors, however, including morello, violet, and blacks. lance rest (resta): an often hinged and foldable metal support bolted, typically, to the right side of an armor breastplate, to assist holding a lance steady and horizontal. lucco: a long gown, pleated and sleeveless, with openings or slits on the sides for arms. magete (also magiete, magliette, mazete): eyelets or grommets through which laces (aghetti or points) were threaded to tighten clothing; used as decorative spangles or sequins on sumptuous textiles and on various types of garments; made of brass, copper, oricalco, or silver and commonly gilded. Magete could be flat and smooth round discs or convex, though they were sometimes more elaborately shaped, and were stamped or articulated with small relief mounds, all to intensify shimmering visual effects. mantello: an ankle-length and typically sleeveless mantle or long cloak. maspilli (also bottoni): buttons used to fasten garments or as entirely decorative beads stitched to them; these could be stamped, cast, carved, or formed in molds, and in courtly clothing were made of gold, silver, copper, oricalco, gems, pearls, crystal, coral, amber, bone, enamel, wood (covered in silk), or base metals silvered or gilded. mordant: a dye fixer applied to fabric to absorb and hold dye, enabling it to bite (mordere) into the cloth; the most important fifteenthcentury mordant was alum, a hydrated double sulfate of aluminum and potassium effective in holding fast crimson dyes. morello: murrey, or mulberry-colored, produced through grana dyes or alternatively indigo or woad; a Sforza dynastic color; a violet to dark brown also suitable for mourning clothes. mutande (also braghe): underpants, often of linen or sometimes cotton; from the Latin mutare, to change.

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oricalco: an alloy of copper and calamine (a zinc oxide), similar to brass, also known as aurichalum and latten; used for an array of adornments and decorative surfaces; a widespread simulant of gold. ormesino (also ermesino): a light silk fabric. The term is derived from the Persian kingdom Ormus and is often associated with sarcenet (or “Saracen” textile). palio: an expensive stretch of textile—typically silk damask or velvet, often cloth of gold— that was the prize for civic horse races and other festive events; now better known as the name of the horse race itself; in English, pall or sometimes pallium, and also a textile used in Christian ceremonies, including the draping of coffins during funerals. patten: a clog-type shoe with a raised sole of (typically) wood or cork. pedule: protective soles of leather or felted wools sewn into the bottom of calze solate. perpignano: a woolen cloth traditionally associated with Perpignan, available in various levels of heaviness or coarseness, used for calze and berrette, among other garments. pile: velvet’s supplementary warp, raised by rods into tiny loops that are either left uncut (riccio) or sliced open (tagliato) by a small blade guided by a groove in the rod, to produce a densely tufted surface; can be varied to create two or even three heights of pile. points: see aghetti. pommel: the rounded knob at the end of a sword’s hilt, which prevents the bearer’s hands from slipping off the sword and provides a counterweight to the blade.

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poulaines (also crakows, pikes): long and tapering pointy shoes, typically of leather and generally associated with Poland (as the term poulaines indicates), eastern Europe, and sometimes Russia. quillon: the transverse bar of a sword’s hilt that protects the bearer’s hands from the blade. rampini (also rampinelli): curved hooks or rings that adorn garments and accessories. riccio sopra riccio (also rizo sopra rizo): literally, loop over loop or curl over curl; the most expensive cloth of gold, typically silk velvet with looped metallic weft threads that produced scintillating allucciolato visual effects. rowel: a (generally) revolving disk with radiating points or spikes at the end of a spur, used to prick and propel the horse. sallet: an open-faced but sometimes visored helmet. satin (also raso, zetano/zetanino): a textile weave in which warp threads float over wefts, but generally used to indicate light silks of this weave; a solid or plain but glossy and lustrous singlecolor silk, also used as the ground structure of figured damask or velvet. The term derives from Quanzhou, China, known as Zaiton to European merchants in the late Middle Ages. scaglie (also scaiete, scaglioni): decorative spangles, bits of worked metal resembling scales of varying sizes and materials. sendal: a lightweight silk fabric, often used for linings. serpent’s tongue: the triangular fossilized teeth of the prehistoric (Miocene) Megalodon shark, attributed amuletic properties in Renaissance culture.

solana: a wide-brimmed straw hat (cappello di paglia) without a crown, it protected the face from the sun and simultaneously bleached hair that had been pulled up through the top and let fall over the brim. tremolanti (also tremaroli): small, hanging fragments of worked metal; from tremolare, to tremble or shake, so called because of the visual and aural sensations the dazzling accessories produced; in English, sequins, spangles, paillettes, or tremblants. turca: a long, ample gown with sleeves, open in the front, often reaching to the ankles and understood to be modeled on contemporary Turkish or Byzantine dress. velvet: a sumptuous silk textile with dense surface pile created by a supplementary warp raised by rods into miniscule loops; described as plain velvet if the entire surface is covered by tufts or as voided velvet when some areas are left free (thus void) of pile, in order to delineate patterns; characterized as pile on pile, of two piles (due pili), or alto e basso if the loops are pulled to and cut at different heights. zambellotto (also ciambellotto): a heavy, shiny fabric initially of mohair (the hair of the Turkish Angora goat) or camel hair, though in Italy by the fifteenth century, typically a thick, lustrous wool or silk; in English “camlet.” zazzera: popular men’s haircut, short at the front, cut diagonally, and longer in the back. zornea: see giornea. zupparello: see doublet (1). zuppone (also zupone): see doublet (1).

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Notes

Introduction 1. Welch, Art and Authority, 216–17; Leverotti, “Lucia Marliani,” 281. 2. Pasolini, Caterina Sforza, 3:30–32. For rumors of poisoning, see Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1377. All translations are my own unless otherwise noted. 3. Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance, 78–104; Welch, “Public Magnificence and Private Display.” 4. However, on pulito and cleanliness, see Biow, Culture of Cleanliness. For glamour’s complicated etymology, see Heller, “Light as Glamour,” 936–37; Wilson, “Note on Glamour.” For chiaro and polito in relation to gems, see Bol, “Polito et Claro,” 224–25. 5. Saunders, “Stealers of Light”; Saunders, “Biographies of Brilliance”; Kessler, Seeing Medieval Art, 19–42; Clunas, Empire of Great Brightness. 6. Thompson, Shine. For the toga, see Flohr, World of the Fullo, 58–68; Olson, Masculinity and Dress, 113. 7. Leonardo, Literary Works, 1:154; Nicholas of Cusa, “De Beryllo,” 792; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:132. 8. Averlino [Filarete], Trattato di architettura, 1:75–76. 9. Volpi, Ricordi di Firenze, 24, 30; Dei, Cronica dall’anno 1400, 67; Pius II, Commentaries, 1:311; Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 70–75, 101, 104. 10. Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 69, 73. I thank Nerida Newbigin for providing her English translation of the poem, which I cite throughout this book. 11. For embodied metaphor, see Simons, Sex of Men in Premodern Europe, 16–22, 290–96. See also Silverman, “Fragments of a Fashionable Discourse”; Entwistle, Fashioned Body; Canning, Gender History in Practice. 12. Herald, Renaissance Dress in Italy, 142–44; Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 168–69, 182, 194. 13. Ficino, Three Books on Life, 195; Zorach and

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Phillips, Gold; Holcomb, Jewelry, 21; Kim, “Points on a Field.” 14. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 7, 1466–1467, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 86; Leverotti, “Organization of the Sforza Court,” 20. 15. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1394, 1409; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 87. 16. Cappelli, “Guiniforte Barzizza,” 418–19; Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1399. 17. Galeazzo quoted in Lubkin, “Christmas at the Court,” 258; see also Welch, Art and Authority, 206–9, 244; Heller, “Anxiety, Hierarchy, and Appearance,” 333. 18. For social bodies and historicist conceptions of embodiment, see Butler, Bodies That Matter; Burns, Courtly Love Undressed; Canning, Gender History in Practice; Simons, Sex of Men in Premodern Europe. For social bodies and clothing, see Entwistle, Fashioned Body; Jones and Stallybrass, Renaissance Clothing; Rublack, “Matter in the Material Renaissance.” 19. Rustici, Cantilena pro potenti, fol. 9v. 20. Heller, “Light as Glamour”; Schultz, Courtly Love, 29–40, 80–88. 21. Caleffini, “Cronica de la ill.ma et ex.ma Casa da Este,” 290; Ariosto, “Fortunata e felice entrata,” 401; Carbone, Facezie e Dialogo, 77. 22. Among many other studies, see Simons, “Women in Frames”; Baskins, “Griselda”; Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture.” 23. Kuchta, Three-Piece Suit; Hayward, Dress at the Court; Rublack and Hayward, First Book of Fashion; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity; Awais-Dean, Bejewelled; Hayward, Stuart Style. For Italian Renaissance masculinity, see Finucci, Manly Masquerade; Levy, Re-membering Masculinity; Springer, Armour and Masculinity; Simons, Sex of Men in Premodern Europe; Biow, Importance of Being an Individual. For the centrality of male bodies to Renaissance artistic practice, see Dunlop, Andrea del Castagno, 54–60; Rubin, Seen from Behind. 24. See chapter 3 and the epilogue, which

address J. C. Flügel’s “great masculine renunciation of fashion.” Later men, of course, were hardly disinterested consumers of fashion. See Breward, Hidden Consumer; McNeil, Pretty Gentlemen. 25. An indispensable study theorizing multiple masculinities remains Connell, Masculinities. See also Karras, From Boys to Men; Phillips, “Masculinities”; Shepard, “Manhood, Patriarchy, and Gender.” For caution about studying masculinity in isolation from women, see Canning, Gender History in Practice, 6, 10, 62; Adler, Balzaretti, and Mitchell, “Practising Gender History”; Watt, “Why Men Still Aren’t Enough.” 26. Schultz, Courtly Love. Useful, too, is Burns, Courtly Love Undressed. 27. For trenchant criticism of scholars’ overreliance on sprezzatura, see Campbell, “Cosmè Tura and Court Culture.” 28. Celani, “Venuta di Borso d’Este,” 373; Ariosto, “Fortunata e felice entrata,” 401. 29. Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”; Simons, “Women in Frames.” 30. Butler, Bodies That Matter, 235. See too Silverman, “Fragments of a Fashionable Discourse”; L’Estrange, “Gazing at Gawain.” 31. Material culture’s vast bibliography is engaged throughout the book. For affinities with this study, start with Marina, “Introduction: Lordship Reified”; Rublack, “Matter in the Material Renaissance”; McCall and Roberts, “Object Lessons and Raw Materials”; McCall, “Materials for Renaissance Fashion”; Holcomb, Jewelry. 32. Simmel, “Adornment”; Pointon, Brilliant Effects, 47. 33. Baxandall, Painting and Experience. This point was made recently by two other scholars— Rublack, in “Renaissance Dress,” and Welch, in “Presentism and the Renaissance”—in addition to myself in “Materials for Renaissance Fashion,” 1454. 34. Ciranni, Giuffra, and Fornaciari, “‘Le donne, i cavalieri, l’arme.’ ” See also chapter 4.

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35. Jones and Stallybrass, Renaissance Clothing; Burns, Courtly Love Undressed; Miller, “Materiality: An Introduction”; Miller, “Why Clothing Is Not Superficial”; McCall and Roberts, “Art and the Material Culture”; Rublack, “Matter in the Material Renaissance”; McCall, “Materials for Renaissance Fashion.” Essential, more broadly, is Bennett, Vibrant Matter. 36. Ilardi, “Visconti-Sforza Regime,” 342. A fundamental study of Italian Renaissance court culture is Rosenberg, Court Cities of Northern Italy. 37. Robin, Filelfo in Milan, 7, 56–81, 177–96; Simonetta, Rinascimento segreto, 107–10; Decembrio, Lives of the Milanese Tyrants, 215–17. For consent, violence, and rebellion, see Provasi, Popolo ama il duca. 38. Schofield and Tavernor, “Humanist Description,” 215; Arcangeli, “Principi, homines e ‘partesani,’” 239. 39. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 4, 1462, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 152; Lazzarini, Communication and Conflict, 202. For the brutal suppression of this revolt, see Andreozzi, “Rivolta contadina del 1462.” 40. Burckhardt, Civilization of the Renaissance, 27–73, quotations on 39 (Sigismondo Malatesta), 44 (Galeazzo Maria Sforza), and 65–66 (Florence). 41. Boucheron, Machiavelli, 23. Generally, see Jones, “Communes and Despots”; Shaw, Popular Government and Oligarchy; Law and Paton, Communes and Despots; Black, “Medici and Sforza—Breeds Apart?”; Black and Law, Medici. 42. Folin, “Oratori estensi nel sistema politico,” 77; Gentile, Fazioni al governo. 43. Campbell, Game of Courting; Boucheron, Machiavelli, 24. 44. Machiavelli, Florentine Histories, 307; Trexler, Public Life in Renaissance Florence, 314–15, 409–10. For Santo Spirito, see Newbigin, Feste d’Oltrarno, 1:39–41, 205, 2:749–52. Galeazzo’s illegitimate daughter Caterina was the

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mother of Giovanni delle Bande Nere, father of Cosimo I de’ Medici. 45. Bridgeman, “‘Pagare le pompe,’” 214–19; Bryce, “Performing for Strangers,” 1086. 46. Jenkins, “Cosimo de’ Medici’s Patronage”; Green, “Galvano Fiamma”; Guerzoni, “Liberalitas, Magnificentia, Splendor”; Marina, “Magnificent Architecture in Late Medieval Italy.” 47. Pontano, Libri delle virtù sociali, 224; Welch, “Public Magnificence and Private Display,” 214.

Chapter 1 1. Rublack, Dressing Up, 83. 2. Ibid., 262–63; Allerston, “Clothing.” 3. Pontano, Libri delle virtù sociali, 238. 4. Mann, “Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas,” 302; Morelli, “Fogge, ornamenti e tecniche,” 84–90; Bruna, Fashioning the Body, 39–45; Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto, 29–30, 97–98, 189–91. 5. Tosi Brandi, Abbigliamento e società a Rimini, 77–78; Nucci et al., “Veste funebre di Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta”; Tosi Brandi, “Vesti funebri di Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.” 6. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 665–68; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 141–42. 7. Mazzaoui, Italian Cotton Industry, 98–99; Arnold, “Jupon or Coat-Armour”; Finley, “Lübeck Wappenröcke”; Coatsworth and Owen-Crocker, Clothing the Past, 252–64. 8. Coatsworth and Owen-Crocker, Clothing the Past, 237, 263. 9. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 126, 129, 260–61, 267, 654; Tosi Brandi, Abbigliamento e società a Rimini, 76. Zambellotto (or ciambellotto) initially came from mohair, the lustrous hair of the Turkish Angora goat, or alternatively from camel hair, though by the fifteenth century it was commonly a thick and lustrous wool or silk. Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale,

354; Faroqhi, “Ottoman Textiles in European Markets,” 237–40. For zambellotto garments tailored for Galeazzo and courtiers, see Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 123, 125–26, 254, 269. For sendal, a lighter silk in the fifteenth century than in the thirteenth and fourteenth, see Desrosiers, “Sendal-Cendal-Zendado,” 340–41. 10. Capwell, “Italian Arming Doublet”; Fabbri, Moda italiana nel XV secolo, 77–80. 11. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 268. 12. Simonetta, Diari di Cicco Simonetta, 59. 13. Simonetta, Federico da Montefeltro, 105–9, 120–29; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 287–90. For this mantle and the garter, see Boulton, Knights of the Crown, 152–61, 426. 14. In a forthcoming publication, I examine the ermine as animal and animal product (fur) through the lens of Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Cecilia Gallerani. 15. For the collar described in the Order of the Ermine’s statutes, see Boulton, Knights of the Crown, 423–26; Clark, Collecting Art, 161–65. 16. For the Missaglia connection, see Cevizli, “More Than a Messenger,” 170–71. For the altarpiece’s commission—forced upon the Jew Daniele da Norsa under threat of death—and its enshrinement, see Bourne, Francesco II Gonzaga, 65–99, 367–84, 400–402; Katz, Jew in the Art, 40–68. For Francesco’s armor in later Gonzaga collections, see Mann, “Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas,” 251, 284. 17. Nucci et al., “Veste funebre di Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta,” 49; Tosi Brandi, “Vesti funebri di Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta,” 32–34. 18. Roy and Gordon, “Uccello’s Battle of San Romano”; Boccia, “Armature di Paolo Uccello,” 59. On the barbute, see Breiding, Arms and Armor, 48. 19. Motta, “Armaiuoli milanesi,” 205. 20. Grancsay, “Interrelationships of Costume

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and Armor,” 179, 186; Allevi, Museo d’arti applicate, 25; Patterson, Fashion and Armour, 29–30; La Rocca, How to Read European Armor, 10–16; Breiding, Arms and Armor, 204–5. For prices of Milanese corazzine, see Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 4:30. 21. Cevizli, “More Than a Messenger,” 171–75; Cevizli, “Portraits, Turbans, and Cuirasses,” 50–51. 22. Decembrio, Lives of the Milanese Tyrants, 114; Mann, “Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas,” 274–84, 290, 300. 23. Martines, April Blood, 116; Stapleford, Lorenzo de’ Medici at Home, 72, 93, 151–52. Alessandro de’ Medici, either Giuliano’s grandson or his great-nephew, also typically wore chain-mail clothing but met a bloody end. Fletcher, Black Prince of Florence, 99, 144. 24. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 273, 662; Simonetta, Diari di Cicco Simonetta, 254–57; Roman, “Azienda serica di Leonardo Lanteri,” 935. 25. Dina, “Ludovico il Moro,” 766; Simonetta, Diari di Cicco Simonetta, 224; Fubini, “Osservazioni e documenti,” 1:67n3; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 239–41; Frazier, Possible Lives, 121. 26. Azzolini, Duke and the Stars, 108–9, 130–31; Lazzarini, “Âge des conjurations,” 329–32. 27. Fubini, Italia quattrocentesca, 100. 28. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1398–99; Azzolini, Duke and the Stars, 128. 29. Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 75. 30. Pellegrin, Bibliothèque des Visconti, 351; Motta, “Armaiuoli milanesi,” 214. 31. Welch, “Between Milan and Naples,” 132. For Galeazzo’s immature antics, intended to annoy Ippolita, see Ferente, “Women and Men,” 148–49. For Ippolita’s money troubles and pawning of jewels, see Welch, “Women in Debt,” 60–64; Clark, Collecting Art, 72–73, 96–98. 32. For the dating of coins bearing Galeazzo’s profile, see Albertario, Ducato di Milano. 33. Motta, “Documento per il Lampugnano,”

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416; Bonazzi, Cronica gestorum, 3; Motta, “Ancora dell’uccisione,” 407, 412; Belotti, Storia di una congiura, 110, 124, 142–43. The best source for the assassination is Belotti, Storia di una congiura (originally published in 1929 as Il dramma di Gerolamo Ogliati, but suppressed when the author was arrested for antifascist activities). 34. Tummulillis, Notabilia temporum, 225; Casanova, “Uccisione di Galeazzo,” 307; Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 95; Belotti, Storia di una congiura, 118, 209. For “mail” stockings in Gonzaga inventories, see Mann, “Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas,” 274, 310. 35. Landucci, Florentine Diary, 12–13; Leydi, “‘O Facinus Inauditum,’” 144. 36. Ghinzoni, “Gerolamo Olgiati,” 969–70; Belotti, Storia di una congiura, 120–53; Ilardi, “Assassination of Galeazzo,” 74–75. 37. Frisi, Memorie storiche, 448; Casanova, “Uccisione di Galeazzo,” 306; Bonazzi, Cronica gestorum, 4; Motta, “Ancora dell’uccisione,” 409–11; Gallo, Commentarii de rebus Genuensium, 36; Belotti, Storia di una congiura, 114–15, 121, 132–33; Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1401, 1408. 38. Belotti, Storia di una congiura, 113–19. See also Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 10, 1475–1477, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 431–32, 437. For other eyewitness accounts of the wounds (and Franzone’s participation), see D’Adda, “Canti storici popolari italiani,” 287–90; Motta, “Ancora dell’uccisione,” 407, 409; Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1401, 1405. 39. Medin, “Frammento di un cantare,” 803; Salzberg and Rospocher, “Murder Ballads,” 167–69. 40. Jacobsen, “Sforza Miniature”; Nogueira, “Portraits of the Visconti,” 127–29, 244������� . Alex����� ander doubts that the image is posthumous; see his Painted Book in Renaissance Italy, 119, 325n40. 41. Bonazzi, Cronica gestorum; Fubini, “Osservazioni e documenti,” 99; Arcangeli, “Principi, homines e ‘partesani,’” 258–59.

42. Belotti, Storia di una congiura, 158. 43. Fumi, “Sfida del duca Galeazzo Maria,” 378; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 101–2; Ilardi, “Towards the Tragedia d’Italia,” 110. 44. Pontano, Libri delle virtù sociali, 214; Springer, Armour and Masculinity, 94. For recent approaches to Renaissance armor, see also Patterson, Fashion and Armour; Krause, Fashion in Steel; La Rocca, How to Read European Armor. 45. Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 232; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:381. 46. Leydi, “Suiting Up Armies,” 120–21; Terjanian, Last Knight, 24, 264–66. 47. Motta, “Armaiuoli milanesi,” 212–13; Mann, “Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas,” 278; Falcioni, Costume e la moda, 79n123. 48. Hunter, “Technical Examination of the Lion Helmet”; La Rocca, How to Read European Armor, 116–18. 49. Caglioti, “Conferma per Andrea dall’Aquila,” 11–17. 50. Wright, Pollaiuolo Brothers, 295–96; Di Lorenzo and Galli, Antonio and Piero del Pollaiuolo, 99–101. For Volterra’s horrific sack in relation to the production of crimson textiles, see McCall and Roberts, “Object Lessons and Raw Materials,” 118–19. 51. Boccia, “Armature di Paolo Uccello,” 59; Rossi, “Pisanello et la représentation,” 309; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 246–48; Natale and Romano, Arte lombarda dai Visconti, 231–32. For the biscione’s origin myths and meanings, see Nogueira, “Portraits of the Visconti,” 28–30; Giannini, “Biscione.” 52. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 85–86; Rosenberg, “Notes on the Borsian Addition”; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:384; Tuohy, Herculean Ferrara, 255. 53. Vasari, Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, 7:657; Springer, Armour and Masculinity, 145–47, 158–61. 54. Key studies of silks include Cavaciocchi, Seta in Europa; Molà, Silk Industry of Renaissance

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Venice; Molà, Mueller, and Zanier, Seta in Italia dal Medioevo; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson; Monnas, Renaissance Velvets; Molà, “Luxury Industry”; Farmer, Silk Industries of Medieval Paris; Orsi Landini, Velvets; and Brachmann, Arrayed in Splendour. 55. Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 2:73. 56. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 638. 57. McCall, “Material Fictions of Luxury,” 260–64. 58. Monnas, Renaissance Velvets, 27–29. For Pisanello’s drawings of textiles, see Cordellier and Marini, Pisanello, 444–46. 59. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 120. For twisting methods that intensified silk’s brilliance, see Molà, “Luxury Industry,” 215–16. 60. See Andrea Bayer’s catalog entry in Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 260–62. 61. For the Sempervivum, see Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 78–81, 97–103. This identification is not universally accepted. Orsi Landini, Velvets, 68–69. 62. Calvi, Bianca Maria Sforza-Visconti, 131; Motta, Nozze principesche del quattrocento, 42–49. 63. Venturelli, “Gioiello per Bianca Maria Sforza”; Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture,” 104; Syson, Leonardo da Vinci, 106; ��������� Terjanian, Last Knight, 134–40. For the unhappy union, see Gagné, Milan Undone, 90. 64. Calzona, “Abito alla corte dei Gonzaga,” 239, 246, 251–52. 65. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 667. 66. Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 71. 67. Pius II, Commentaries, 2:78–79. 68. Beltrami, Castello di Milano, 365–71; Welch, “Secular Fresco Painting,” 87–104, 228–35; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 216–17; Covini, Esercito del duca, 318–25. 69. Colombo, “Ingresso di Francesco Sforza,” 56–59; Magnani, Relazioni private, 43, xxxiv.

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70. Azzolini, Duke and the Stars, 159–66, 200, 208; Gagné, Milan Undone, 97. 71. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 26, 33, 69; Savonarola, Felice progresso di Borso d’Este, 147–48; Rosenberg, Este Monuments and Urban Development, 53, 73, 81. For Milanese berrette, and for those worn by lords, see Zanoboni, “Lana, berretti e mercanti inglesi,” 32–65; Ansani and Verheyen, “Berretta del condottiero.” 72. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 66, 73; Giuliano Antigini, Annali di Ferrara, excerpted in Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 41; Hondedio di Vitale, Cronaca, excerpted in Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 42; Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 11. 73. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 35; Savonarola, Felice progresso di Borso d’Este, 175–77. 74. Bertoni and Vicini, “Donatello a Modena,” 70–71; Rosenberg, “Some New Documents”; Rosenberg, Este Monuments and Urban Development, 89, 98, 101, 234n28. 75. Bernardino da Siena, Prediche volgari, 3:191; Vespasiano, Vite, 2:194; Muzzarelli, Inganni delle apparenze, 114, 146–48. 76. Molà, Silk Industry of Renaissance Venice, 107–31; Phipps, “Cochineal Red”; AjmarWollheim and Molà, “Global Renaissance,” 13–14; Padilla and Anderson, Red Like No Other; McCall, “Materials for Renaissance Fashion,” 1450–51. 77. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 6, 1464–1465, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 296. For Milanese berrette dyed specifically with grana, see Zanoboni, “Lana, berretti e mercanti inglesi,” 57–65. 78. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza”; Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 72. 79. For more on Sforza calze, see chapter 3. On this astrological manuscript and portrait, see Nogueira, “Portraits of the Visconti,” 148–49; Azzolini, Duke and the Stars, 98–111. Galeazzo is approximately sixteen years old here, brilliant and blond (and with a full head of hair, unlike his father).

80. “Vestiti ambedui li sposi di brocato doro bianco richissimo et bello facto a posta del prefato segnor a gropi depuncti de diamanti et razi di fuoco cum uno habito veramente signorile.” Ordine delle nòze, unpaginated. See also Bridgeman, Renaissance Wedding, 49. Generally, see Magnani, Relazioni private, 82; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 114. 81. Wright, “Portrait for the Visit”; Wright, Pollaiuolo Brothers, 131–36; Stapleford, Lorenzo de’ Medici at Home, 71; McCall, “Galeazzo’s Gem.” For Gerenzano, see Zanoboni, Rinascimento sforzesco, 35–36. 82. Malaguzzi Valeri, “Ricamatori e arazzieri,” 44; Paoli, Rubini, and Stromboli, Della venuta in Firenze, 38. 83. Motta, Nozze principesche del quattrocento, 39, 42; Syson, “Zanetto Bugatto, Court Portraitist,” 302–6. 84. Fubini, “In margine all’edizione,” 200; Manfredini, “‘Vederò de asuefarme,’” 20. 85. Magnani, Relazioni private, xxi. 86. Di Lorenzo and Galli, Antonio and Piero del Pollaiuolo, 68–70. 87. Malaguzzi Valeri, “Ricamatori e arazzieri,” 44; Fubini, “In margine all’edizione,” 200. 88. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 117, 128, 642, 667; Venturi, “Cosma Tura genannt Cosmè,” 8; Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 144; Butazzi, Costume in Lombardia, 42; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:600. 89. Frazier, Possible Lives, 110. 90. For Mantegna, see Brown and Lorenzoni, “Gleanings from the Gonzaga Documents,” 158n13. For Tura, see Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:599. For Baldasssare, see Buganza, “Intorno a Baldassarre d’Este,” 14, 55, 65. For Ercole’s gift, see Campori, “Architetti e gl’ingegneri,” 41–43. For additional examples, see Venturi, “Arte ferrarese,” 410–11 (in vol. 6, nos. 4–6); Welch, Art and Authority, 262; Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture,” 109–10. 91. Mottola Molfino and Natale, Muse e il principe, 1:179.

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92. Magenta, Visconti e gli Sforza, 2:226. 93. Gandini, “Viaggi, cavalli, bardature e stalle,” 71–72. For pallia, see Olson, Masculinity and Dress, 74–77. 94. James, Renaissance Marriage, 23. 95. Tobey, “Palio Banner,” 1276; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:314–15; Cevizli, “Portraits, Turbans, and Cuirasses,” 46–47. For Medici reuse, see Fletcher, Black Prince of Florence, 233. 96. Gandini, Isabella, Beatrice e Alfonso d’Este, 22, 46–47. 97. Motta, “Armaiuoli milanesi,” 189, 196, 198, 213; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 182, 212. 98. Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 230, 235–36, 248; Franceschini, “Aspetti della vita milanese,” 892–93. 99. La Rocca, How to Read European Armor, 28–29. For extant Missaglia armor, see Mann, “Sanctuary of the Madonna”; Boccia, Armature di S. Maria delle Grazie; Rossi, “Pisanello et la représentation”; Terjanian, Last Knight, 114–19. 100. Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 4:31–34; Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 387. 101. Frangioni, “Aspetti della produzione,” 198–99. Saggi seems to refer to price, though quality is implied as well. Welch, “Gonzaga Go Shopping,” 281; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 8, 1468–1471, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 250, 290–91. 102. Lubkin, “Strategic Hospitality,” 185–87. 103. Motta, “Armaiuoli milanesi,” 190, 210–14; Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance, 62, 128–30; Terjanian, Last Knight, 25–26, 233. For Paris in 1292, see Farmer, Silk Industries of Medieval Paris, 27. 104. Grancsay, “Sculpture in Steel”; Hunter, “Technical Examination of the Lion Helmet,” 193. 105. Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 145–51; Molà, “States and Crafts,” 137–38; Leydi, “Suiting Up Armies,” 126–29. 106. Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 161. See also Malaguzzi Valeri, “Ricamatori e arazzieri”;

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Venturelli, “Produzione tessile”; Zanoboni, Rinascimento sforzesco, 23–86. 107. Malaguzzi Valeri, “Ricamatori e arazzieri”; Butazzi, Costume in Lombardia, 55–56; Grillo, “Origini della manifattura serica”; Mainoni, “Seta a Milano nel XV secolo”; Roman, “Azienda serica di Leonardo Lanteri”; Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 53–72; Molà, Silk Industry of Renaissance Venice, 4–6, 33–35. 108. Verga, Comune di Milano, xii–xxii; Brenni, Arte del battiloro, 53; Grillo, “Origini della manifattura serica,” 913–14; Mainoni, “Seta a Milano nel XV secolo,” 889–93; Scharf, “Amor di patria,” 962–63; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 32–44. 109. Mazzi, “Compagnia mercantile”; De Roover, Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank, 261–75; Zanoboni, “‘Et che . . . el dicto Pigello,’” 96. For merchant bankers as mediators through whom a wide array of objects passed, see Clark, Collecting Art, 59–111. 110. Brenni, Arte del battiloro; Zanoboni, “Statuti del 1511”; Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 130–45; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 44–61. 111. Rosenberg, “Immagini di Borso,” 82. For female workers, see Zanoboni, “‘De suo labore et mercede.’ ” 112. Venturi, “Arte a Ferrara,” 744; Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 252–53; Malaguzzi Valeri, “Ricamatori e arazzieri,” 53; Scharf, “Amor di patria,” 969; Venturelli, “Produzione tessile,” 55; Venturelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 140; Toffanello, Arti a Ferrara nel quattrocento, 367–77. 113. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 8, 1468–1471, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 108; ibid., vol. 10, 1475–1477, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 119. This correspondence is littered with examples (including failures to fulfill requests). Ibid., vol. 1, 1450–1459, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 333, 351; 8:101, 104–5, 291; 10:146–48. Welch’s essay “The Gonzaga Go Shopping” covers similar ground.

114. Cittadella, Notizie amministrative, storiche, artistiche, 1:497�������������������������������� –������������������������������� 513; Venturi, �������������������������� “Relazioni artistiche,” 231–32; Pardi, Leonello d’Este, 201–3; Molà, “States and Crafts,” 135. 115. Mischi de Volpi, “Contribution de Léonard,” 126–29; Venturelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 120. 116. Welch, Art and Authority, 230–38. For the room’s extensive conservation, following earlier overpaintings, see Fiorio and Lucchini, “Nella Sala delle Asse”; Tasso, “Camera grande da le Asse.” 117. Marani, “Leonardo e le colonne,” 109–16; Kiang, “Gasparo Visconti’s Pasitea.” 118. Catturini, “Leonardo da Vinci nel Castello Sforzesco,” 162–63; Catturini, “Dopo Leonardo,” 16–17; Pederson, Leonardo, Bramante, and the Academia, 141–80. For Sforza sale delle asse, see Catturini, “Leonardo da Vinci nel Castello Sforzesco,” 159–65; McCall, “Secrecy and the Production,” 89; Tasso, “Camera grande da le Asse,” 32–39. 119. For sericulture, see Bergamaschi, “Morarii e celsi”; Molà, “Luxury Industry.” For Schifanoia, see Bosi et al., “Luxury Food and Ornamental Plants,” 395. 120. Schofield, “Ludovico il Moro and Vigevano,” 95–96, 138. 121. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1570; Welch, Art and Authority, 236–37; Fiorio and Lucchini, “Nella Sala delle Asse,” 133, 136; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 82–85; Catturini, “Dopo Leonardo,” 20–23. 122. Bellincioni, Rime, 1:34, 106; Kiang, “Gasparo Visconti’s Pasitea,” 101. 123. Evans, “Politicized Page,” 350–51; Natale and Romano, Arte lombarda dai Visconti, 374–75. 124. Welch, Art and Authority, 247; Welch, “Gonzaga Go Shopping,” 283–84. 125. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 7, 1466–1467, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 86; Leverotti, “Organization of the Sforza Court,” 19. 126. Magnani, Relazioni private, 56; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 88; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 44–48.

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127. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1380–81; Filarete and Manfidi, Libro Cerimoniale, 85; Trexler, Public Life in Renaissance Florence, 314; Fubini, “In margine all’edizione,” 171, 193. 128. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1393–94; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 156; Merkley and Merkley, Music and Patronage in the Sforza Court, 220, 225; Leverotti, “Organization of the Sforza Court,” 22. 129. Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 129, 172. 130. The feast falls on April 23 on the Roman calendar (when, for instance, Ferrara’s palio di San Giorgio was run). For the Milanese Ambrosian calendar’s date and cult, see Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 215; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 7, 1466–1467, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 286–87; Frazier, Possible Lives, 153–57. For Galeazzo’s expenditures over many years, see Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 214–18; Covini, Esercito del duca, 318–25. 131. Morbio, Codice visconteo-sforzesco, 448–51; Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 128–29, 255–59, 264–68; Covini, Esercito del duca, 320–21; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 8, 1468–1471, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 84; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 46–47. 132. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 10, 1475–1477, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 117. 133. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 268, 270–72. 134. Leverotti, “Scritture finanziarie,” 129. 135. Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 168; Zanoboni, Rinascimento sforzesco, 23–86; Leverotti, “Organization of the Sforza Court,” 21–22; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 48–49. For varying motives, see in particular Fubini’s study, which considers Galeazzo’s brothers, other Milanese aristocrats, and nobles throughout Europe. By pinning the blame on three individuals, Bona of Savoy deflected attention from broader antiducal sentiment; her actions were intended to placate the Milanese nobility and populace and redress their dissatisfaction with Gale-

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azzo’s rule. Morbio, Codice visconteo-sforzesco, 495–97; Ilardi, “Assassination of Galeazzo,” 76–77; Fubini, “L’assassinio di Galeazzo Maria Sforza nelle sue circostanze politiche,” in Medici, Lettere, 2:523–24, 535; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 10, 1475–1477, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 433, 435; Frazier, Possible Lives, 122–23, 146–47. 136. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 10, 1475–1477, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 495–96. 137. Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:165; Herald, Renaissance Dress in Italy, 94. 138. Magnani, Relazioni private, liv. 139. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1479; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 15, 1495–1498, ed. Antonella Grati and Arturo Pacini, 106–7. 140. Calco, Mediolanensis historiographi, 92; McCall, “Material Fictions of Luxury,” 241. 141. Portioli, “Nascita di Massimiliano Sforza,” 332; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:284–85. 142. Gandini, “Viaggi, cavalli, bardature e stalle,” 47–51. 143. Venturi, “Arte ferrarese,” 94. 144. Luzio and Renier, Delle relazioni di Isabella d’Este, 93. 145. Simonetta, Diari di Cicco Simonetta, 59–60. 146. Rublack, Dressing Up, 85. For the centrality of splendid clerical dress to the exercise of authority, see Miller, Clothing the Clergy. 147. Kovesi Killerby, “‘Heralds of a Well-Instructed Mind’”; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 254–55; Bridgeman, “‘Pagare le pompe,’” 209–11, 221. 148. Bernardino da Siena, Prediche volgari, 3:359. I investigate Pius and Borso’s antagonistic relationship in a forthcoming study; for this criticism, see Pius II, Commentaries, 1:360–63, 2:84–87. Moralizing discourses about fashion, gender, and sartorial expenditure are discussed further in chapter 3. 149. Pastoureau, Devil’s Cloth; Quondam, Tutti i colori del nero, 101.

150. Kovesi Killerby, Sumptuary Law in Italy, 18. 151. Levi, Poesie latine e italiane, 30; Boulton, Knights of the Crown, 356–96; Blackburn, “Anna Inglese and Other Women Singers,” 246–47, 251.

Chapter 2 1. Pointon, Brilliant Effects, 4, 47. 2. Castelli, “Virtù delle gemme”; Mottana, “Italian Gemology During the Renaissance”; de Maria, “Multifaceted Endeavors”; Dunlop, “Origins of European Painting Materials.” 3. Magnani, Relazioni private, 85; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:128. For consuming crushed pearls, see also Loh, Titian’s Touch, 196. 4. Ficino, Three Books on Life; Charlier et al., “Fatal Alchemy,” 1402–3. 5. Luzio and Renier, Lusso di Isabella d’Este, 38–39; Vasari, Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, 3:693; Este, Selected Letters, 39, 63. 6. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1394; Albertini Ottolenghi, “Biblioteca dei Visconti,” 22. For unicorn horns, see Lavers, “Origin of Myths”; Morrall, “Power of Nature.” 7. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 274; Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 28, 54, 89, 97, 147, 149. For Megalodon teeth, see Duffin, “Fossil Sharks’ Teeth.” 8. Este, Selected Letters, 343. 9. Welch, Shopping in the Renaissance, 196–203; Welch, “Women in Debt”; Barbot, “Valore economico”; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:147–57; Clark, Collecting Art, 95–104. 10. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 1, 1450–1459, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 98; Zanoboni, “‘Et che . . . el dicto Pigello,’” 44; Bridgeman, Renaissance Wedding, 26. 11. Caffi, “Creditori della duchessa”; Venturi, “Arte ferrarese,” 95; Malaguzzi Valeri, “Ricamatori e arazzieri,” 41; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 54; Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 72, 80; Welch, Shopping in the Renaissance, 197–98; Covini, Donne, emozioni e potere, 34. For Zanetto’s promise to not

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drink wine for a year, and Bianca’s letter of thanks to Rogier, see Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance, 194–96. 12. Fumi, “Atteggiamento di Francesco Sforza”; Vaglienti, Sunt enim duo populi, 68–70; D’Elia, Pagan Virtue in a Christian World, 18, 188–89. 13. Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture”; Campbell, Cabinet of Eros, 55–57; Miller, Comfort of Things; Clark, Collecting Art. 14. Lightbown, Mediaeval European Jewellery, 27–32; de Maria, “Multifaceted Endeavors”; Buettner, “Precious Stones, Mineral Beings,” 213–16; Bycroft and Dupré, Gems in the Early Modern World. 15. Istituto Gemmologico Italiano, “Indagine gemmologica,” 147. 16. Ogden, Diamonds, 2, 317; Bycroft and Dupré, “Introduction,” 5. 17. Lemire and Riello, “East and West”; AjmarWollheim and Molà, “Global Renaissance,” 13–14; Faroqhi, “Ottoman Textiles in European Markets”; McCall and Roberts, “Object Lessons and Raw Materials,” 115–17; Schäfer, Riello, and Molà, Threads of Global Desire. 18. Dini, “Industria serica in Italia”; Phillips, “Localisation of the Global,” 109–10. 19. Welch, “Women in Debt,” 52–53. 20. Calco, Mediolanensis historiographi, 92; Trivulzio, “Gioje di Ludovico il Moro”; Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:388; Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 168– 69, 194. For the material culture of sleeves, see also Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture.” 21. Kraye, Political Philosophy, 111. 22. Zambotti, Diario ferrarese dall’anno 1476, 22–23. 23. Pointon, Brilliant Effects, 107–27; Raber, “Chains of Pearls”; Buettner, “Precious Stones, Mineral Beings,” 207. 24. For the cuts and shapes of Milanese jewels, see Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 62–63, 85–87, 113, 136. For faceting technologies, see

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Lightbown, Mediaeval European Jewellery, 11–17; Mottana, “Italian Gemology During the Renaissance,” 2–3; Ogden, Diamonds, 79–165; Bol, “Polito et Claro.” 25. Motta, Nozze principesche del quattrocento, 87; Welch, “Between Milan and Naples,” 126. 26. Terni de Gregory, Bianca Maria Visconti, 90; Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 72; Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 148–50. 27. Luzio, “Isabella d’Este e Francesco Gonzaga,” 66; Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture,” 105. 28. Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 383. 29. Pius II, Commentaries, 1:362–63; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 214–18. 30. Venturi, “Arte a Ferrara,” 740; Venturi, “Arte ferrarese,” 95; Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 35; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:760–61. 31. Smith, How to Be Both, 258. 32. Pardi, Leonello d’Este, 191–93; Bonfiglio Dosio, “Gioielli e debiti di un principe.” 33. Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 174–79; Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 27–30, 69–71, 174–79. 34. Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:163. 35. Morbio, Codice visconteo-sforzesco, 407, 439, 445; Porro Lambertenghi, “Preventivo delle spese,” 133; Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 68, 134, 182; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 120–21, 137. 36. Motta, “Diamante del duca”; Buettner, “Precious Stones, Mineral Beings,” 213–15. For Lodewyk van Bercken, and for diamonds lost at Grandson, see Ogden, Diamonds, 76, 95–96, 108–13. 37. Simonetta, Diari di Cicco Simonetta, 59, 67; Herald, Renaissance Dress in Italy, 142–44; Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 72. 38. Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 144, 182; Fusco and Corti, Lorenzo de’ Medici, 7–9. 39. Hughes, “Distinguishing Signs”; Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 97, 148; Awais-Dean, Bejewelled, 3, 6. 40. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo

Maria Sforza,” 122, 260, 665; Visconti, Canzonieri, 27. 41. Welch, Shopping in the Renaissance, 183–84; Venturelli, “‘Novarum Vestium Inventrix,’ ” 157. 42. Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 68; Venturelli, “‘Novarum Vestium Inventrix,’” 157. I examine the case of spigo in greater detail in McCall, “Galeazzo’s Gem.” 43. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 109. 44. Medici, Lettere, 2:103–4; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 10, 1475–1477, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 147. 45. Este, Selected Letters, 180. For jewelry and memory, see Holcomb, Jewelry, 21–23. 46. Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:389–90; Leverotti, “Lucia Marliani,” 287. The stone’s connection to Alfonso would have been of particular interest to his granddaughter Eleonora. Clark, “Transient Possessions,” 194–95; Clark, “Dispersal, Exchange, and the Culture,” 97–98. 47. Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:474. 48. Trivulzio, “Gioje di Ludovico il Moro,” 531–32; Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 72; Venturelli, “‘Novarum Vestium Inventrix,’” 157. For Domenico dei Cammei, perhaps Domenico de’ Rossi, see Vasari, Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, 5:369; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 257–58. 49. Brivio Sforza and Brivio Sforza, Notizie storico-genealogiche, 99. 50. Clark, Collecting Art, 101–4. 51. Merrifield, Arts of Painting, 2:506–15; Lightbown, Mediaeval European Jewellery, 17–22; Silva, “Colore dell’inganno”; Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 121–29; Zanoboni, Rinascimento sforzesco, 119–32; Bol, “Coloring Topaz, Crystal, and Moonstone,” 110. 52. Cellini, Due trattati, fols. 4r–6r; Mottana, “Italian Gemology During the Renaissance,” 11–12; Allen, “Crafting a Profession”; Whalley, “Smoke and Mirrors,” 83–84.

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53. Whalley, “Smoke and Mirrors,” 79, 83–85. 54. Cellini, Due trattati, fols. 8v–9r; Silva, “Colore dell’inganno,” 33; Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 124–27; Allen, “Crafting a Profession,” 51, 53; Whalley, “Faded Glory”; Ray, Daughters of Alchemy, 14; Ogden, Diamonds, 145–46. 55. Whalley, “Smoke and Mirrors,” 85–88. 56. Cellini, Due trattati, fols. 4r–6r; Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 125–26, 141; Allen, “Crafting a Profession,” 53; Whalley, “Faded Glory,” S316; Whalley, “Smoke and Mirrors,” 82–83; Bol, “Coloring Topaz, Crystal, and Moonstone,” 123–24. 57. Friedman, “Coats, Collars, and Capes,” 71. 58. Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 2:71, 113. 59. Pisoni and Zanoboni, “Gioielli di Gian Galeazzo Visconti,” 346–48; Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 141–42. For tolla, see Cherubini, Vocabolario milanese-italiano, 4:409. 60. Syson and Thornton, Objects of Virtue, 186–87; Zanoboni, Rinascimento sforzesco, 119–21. 61. Averlino [Filarete], Trattato di architettura, 1:257–58, 318; Radcliffe and Avery, “‘Chellini Madonna’ by Donatello,” 381–82; Fusco and Corti, Lorenzo de’ Medici, 10. 62. Brescia and Tomìo, “Leonardo da Vinci e il segreto,” 90–92; Venturelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 92–93; Zanoboni, Rinascimento sforzesco, 125; Syson, Leonardo da Vinci, 302–3; Venturelli, “Bride Valentina to Leonardo,” 104–5. 63. Pontano, Libri delle virtù sociali, 74–76, 228; Welch, “Public Magnificence and Private Display,” 217. For Galeazzo’s rivalry with Naples, see Ilardi, “Towards the Tragedia d’Italia”; Azzolini, Duke and the Stars, 191–200. 64. Silva, “Colore dell’inganno,” 32; Craddock, Scientific Investigation of Copies, 394–411. 65. Venturi, “Arte a Ferrara,” 740; Newett, “Sumptuary Laws of Venice,” 251; Giomo, “Lusso”; Zecchin, “Nascita delle conterie veneziane,” 80–81. 66. Associazione Orafa Lombarda, Antichi statuti, 6, 32–33, 44–48; Romagnoli, Matricole

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degli orefici di Milano, xix–xx; Zanoboni, Rinascimento sforzesco, 121–22. 67. Motta, “Come si punivano a Milano.” 68. Simonsohn, Jews in the Duchy of Milan, 1:590–91; McCall, “Material Fictions of Luxury,” 246–47. 69. Este, Selected Letters, 409. 70. Magnani, Relazioni private, 83. This may be the same pearl later characterized as “most fat [grossisima].” Solmi, “Festa del Paradiso,” 82. For imaginative Milanese language, see Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 104–9, 139. 71. Donkin, Beyond Price; Saunders, “Biographies of Brilliance”; Warsh, American Baroque. For Scotch pearls, see Campori, Raccolta di cataloghi ed inventarii, 4–5; Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 105; Warsh, American Baroque, 204–13. 72. Venturelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 105–10, 116; Whalley, “Smoke and Mirrors,” 83. 73. Caley, “Stockholm Papyrus”; Bol, “Coloring Topaz, Crystal, and Moonstone,” 113–15. 74. Craddock, Scientific Investigation of Copies, 402–3; Eng and Fusco, “Fish Scales and Faux Pearls.” See also Zecchin, “Nascita delle conterie veneziane.” 75. Merrifield, Arts of Painting, 2:508–13; Lightbown, Mediaeval European Jewellery, 20–21; Silva, “Colore dell’inganno,” 37; Donkin, Beyond Price, 261–63; Venturelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 112–21; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 2:112–13; Whalley, “Smoke and Mirrors,” 83. 76. Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:470–71. 77. Nassau and Hanson, “Pearl in the Chicken”; Donkin, Beyond Price, 261; Venturelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 113–14; Allen, “Crafting a Profession,” 50, 54–55. 78. Ariosto, “Fortunata e felice entrata,” 401. 79. Venturi, “Arte a Ferrara,” 738–39; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:410, 412–13, 848; Vaccari, “Inventario de zoglie,” 237; Falcioni, Costume e la moda, 19–20; Toffanello, Arti a Ferrara nel quattrocento, 380, 384. 80. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 652, 654, 658–59.

81. Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:344–45; Gagné, Milan Undone, 79. For bejeweled Sforza collars, see also Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 50–52. 82. For the boy’s definitive identification, see Fattorini, “Bronzo e medaglie nella Siena,” 32–33. Additionally, see Simonetta, “Guidoubaldus dux Urbini,” 13–14; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 297; Martelli, Bartolomeo della Gatta, 84–87, 319–20. 83. Simonetta, Montefeltro Conspiracy, 94–96; Clark, Collecting Art, 197–98. 84. Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:352, 2:70. 85. Este, Selected Letters, 177, 179. 86. Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 239; Buss, “Abito e persona.” 87. Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 142–43; Covini, “Inventario del palazzo,” 60. For men’s gold belts, see Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 378; Stuard, Gilding the Market, 28–29, 46–57. 88. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 125. 89. Venturi, “Arti minori a Ferrara,” 448–49; Clark, Collecting Art, 214–15. 90. Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 276; Tuohy, Herculean Ferrara, 255. 91. For a missal (Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Modena, MS Lat. 239 = α.W.5.2), see Paola Di Pietro Lombardi’s entry in Cavallo, Luoghi della memoria scritta, 269. For Amadio generally, see Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 237–45; Toffanello, Arti a Ferrara nel quattrocento, 113–15, 380–87. 92. Venturi, “Arte a Ferrara,” 739, 742; Tuohy, Herculean Ferrara, 255; D’Elia, Pagan Virtue in a Christian World, 187. 93. Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 77–82, 136–40; Nevinson, “Buttons and Buttonholes”; Frugoni, Medioevo sul naso, 102–3; Stuard, Gilding the Market, 24–28, 162–63. 94. Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 240; Welch, “Scented Buttons and Perfumed Gloves”; Awais-Dean, Bejewelled, 20–23, 39–45; Este, Selected Letters, 408–9.

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95. Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 136; Muzzarelli, Inganni delle apparenze, 63, 132– 35; Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 37–40; Zecchin, “Nascita delle conterie veneziane.” 96. Capwell, “Italian Arming Doublet”; Buss, “Silk and Gold,” 56–63; Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto, 32. 97. For Cavaniglia’s doublet, see Stoia, “Rinascenze,” 53; Fabbri, Moda italiana nel XV secolo, 79. 98. Associazione Orafa Lombarda, Antichi statuti, 33; Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 110–14; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 50–59; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 2:71; Buss, “Abito e persona,” 26. 99. Mischi de Volpi, “Contribution de Léonard,” 126–29; Venturelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 129–31, 140–41; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 56, 149–54. 100. Venturelli, Gioielli e gioiellieri milanesi, 72. For magete and the textile pictures, see McCall, “Material Fictions of Luxury,” 252–58. 101. Tosi Brandi, Abbigliamento e società a Rimini, 119. 102. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 123, 656; Motta, review of Tre corredi milanesi, 508; Giulini, “Inventario di cose appartenenti,” 581; Rossetti, “Ritratti di baroni in città,” 90–91. 103. Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 253–54; Nogueira, “Illuminated Schoolbook,” 198–200. 104. For Francesco’s garments “fornite de tucta maglia,” see Motta, “Armaiuoli milanesi,” 205. For the Milanese production of mail, see Frangioni, “Merci di Lombardia,” 98–100. 105. Vaglienti, Sunt enim duo populi, 69. 106. Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 131. In Milan, tremolanti (or tremiroeu) also referred to decorative aiglets hanging from headdresses. Zanoboni, Artigiani, imprenditori, mercanti, 110. 107. “Septanta gioveni del dicto castello tuti vestiti di verde ad una livrea li qualli acompagnavano el cavallo di Madona et sopra loro vestiti verdi havevano trimolanti al colaro et

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di sotto de argento”; “dui gioveni vestiti a la curta di sopra a meza coxa; uno di setta verde et laltro di setta alexandrina cum frange doro intorno et fiochi pendenti ali gobiti carci tuti di trimolanti doro.” Ordine delle nòze, unpaginated. See also Bridgeman, Renaissance Wedding, 48, 97. 108. Solmi, “Festa del Paradiso,” 85; Tuohy, Herculean Ferrara, 256. 109. Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 396. For rampini on Galeazzo’s boots and corazzine, see Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 267, 273, 662. For rampini adorning Gaspare Visconti’s mantles, see Rossetti, “Ritratti di baroni in città,” 90–91. For Amadio da Milano producing “tremolanti e le moschete e le scaiete,” see Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:262. For ancinelli forming an impresa for Alberto d’Este’s crimson vestito, see Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:580. For “feretti d’oro,” see Luzio and Renier, Lusso di Isabella d’Este, 45; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:162. 110. Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 241, 263–64, 270; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:264, 301–2, 319, 342; Toffanello, Arti a Ferrara nel quattrocento, 28, 221, 245; Buss, “Abito e persona,” 23. 111. Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:280; Toffanello, Arti a Ferrara nel quattrocento, 368. 112. Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:262; McCall, “Material Fictions of Luxury,” 257–58. 113. For sumptuary laws regulating garlands, see Lightbown, Mediaeval European Jewellery, 85–88; Kovesi Killerby, Sumptuary Law in Italy, 151; Stuard, Gilding the Market, 96, 102. 114. Trexler, Public Life in Renaissance Florence, 310–11; Baskins, Triumph of Marriage, 49, 63. 115. “In capo uno capelleto di beretino ala francescha circundato di perle et in mezo una penna facta tuta di perle le qual erano bellissime.” Ordine delle nòze, unpaginated. See also Bridgeman, Renaissance Wedding, 100. 116. Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 108–11.

117. Frizzi, Memorie per la storia di Ferrara, 3:392, 4:58–59; Venturi, “Arte a Ferrara,” 695; Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 259; Ariosto, “Origine de la excelsa dignità,” 421; Simonetta, Montefeltro Conspiracy, 63. 118. Gandini, “Viaggi, cavalli, bardature e stalle,” 60–61; Tabanelli, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 410; Brini et al., “Analisi stratigrafiche,” 107–11. For Milanese production of spurs in various metals, see Frangioni, “Merci di Lombardia,” 106–8. 119. Arcangeli, Dipinti murali, 94–114, 202–17. 120. Ariosto, “Fortunata e felice entrata,” 408; Toffanello, Arti a Ferrara nel quattrocento, 386. 121. Tabanelli, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 391–92, 395, 401, 408; Brini et al., “Analisi stratigrafiche,” 108–10. 122. Mann, “Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas,” 292. 123. Breiding, Arms and Armor, 64–67. 124. Merendoni, “‘Genti d’arme’ dei duchi d’Este,” 67–68. For Renaissance pole arms, see Breiding, Arms and Armor, 88–89, 228–31, 252–53. 125. Coerver, “Donna/Dono,” 200–208. For swords and authority, see Terjanian, Last Knight, 169, 196–99. 126. Patterson, Fashion and Armour, 56–72. 127. Welch, “Image of a Fifteenth-Century Court,” 177, 182. For Milanese sword bearers, see Welch, “Secular Fresco Painting,” 81, 97–99, 200, 218; Fubini, Italia quattrocentesca, 119–22; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 33, 106, 137, 204–5. For the lavish ceremonies in Genoa, see Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 6, 1464–1465, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 296. 128. Beltrami, Castello di Milano, 365, 368; Welch, “Secular Fresco Painting,” 97, 228; Simonetta, Rinascimento segreto, 131. For Simonetta generally, see Covini, Potere, ricchezza e distinzione a Milano. 129. Natale and Romano, Arte lombarda dai Visconti, 290; Alexander, Painted Book in Renaissance Italy, 128, 215. Gian Galeazzo’s father, Galeazzo, was the brother of Isabella’s

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mother, Ippolita; the cousins were betrothed when he was three years old and she not yet two. 130. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 77, 92–93; Zambotti, Diario ferrarese dall’anno 1476, 18–21; Ricci, Principe e la morte, 111–13; Caleffini, Croniche, 1471–1494, 186. 131. In general, see Ricci, Principe e la morte. For specific lords, see Fornaciari, “Esplorazione della tomba di Federico II”; Nucci et al., “Veste funebre di Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta”; De Carolis, “Ricognizioni dei resti mortali,” 39; Brini et al., “Analisi stratigrafiche”; Ciranni, Giuffra, and Fornaciari, “‘Le donne, i cavalieri, l’arme’”; Caleffini, Croniche, 1471–1494, 5; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 114. 132. “Aurea quem vestis redimebat tempora vitae / Nunc Rubeum Petrum aspera petra tegit.” For Pietro, see Carrari, Historia de’ Rossi parmigiani, 138; Angeli, Historia della città di Parma, 239–40. For Pier Maria, see Pezzana, Storia della città di Parma, 4:300; Bertelli, King’s Body, 50. 133. Caleffini, Croniche, 1471–1494, 5; Melograni, “Quanto costa la magnificenza,” 16. 134. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1395. For another description, see Zambotti, Diario ferrarese dall’anno 1476, 19.

Chapter 3 1. For Italian Renaissance homosociality, see Simons, “Homosociality and Erotics.” For male legs, and gazes toward them and buttocks, see Rubin, Seen from Behind; Turner, Eros Visible, 298–309. 2. Flügel, Psychology of Clothes, 113. For critiques, see Silverman, “Fragments of a Fashionable Discourse”; Breward, Hidden Consumer; Kuchta, Three-Piece Suit, 50, 116, 162–78; Riello, Moda, 54–64; McNeil, Pretty Gentlemen. 3. Lehmann, Tigersprung. 4. See especially Heller, Fashion in Medieval France, 28–29. See also Frick, Dressing

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Renaissance Florence, 208, 222; Stuard, Gilding the Market, 53, 74; Rublack and Hayward, First Book of Fashion; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity. 5. Muralto, Annalia Francisci Muralti, 54; Luzio and Renier, Lusso di Isabella d’Este, 25–28, 90–92; Welch, “New, Old, and SecondHand Culture”; Croizat, “‘Living Dolls’”; Venturelli, “‘Novarum Vestium Inventrix.’ ” 6. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 648, 652, 667. 7. Hughes, “Regulating Women’s Fashion”; Heller, “Anxiety, Hierarchy, and Appearance,” 337–38; Stuard, Gilding the Market, 34–35, 59–60, 83–88; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity, 60–61. 8. Fiamma, Opusculum de rebus gestis, 37; Burns, Courtly Love Undressed, 134; Miller, Clothing the Clergy, 220–37; Lugli, “Fashion’s Measure.” 9. Kovesi Killerby, Sumptuary Law in Italy, 36–39, 111–18. See, further, Hughes, “Regulating Women’s Fashion”; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 336–49. 10. Verga, “Leggi suntuarie milanesi”; Muzzarelli, Inganni delle apparenze, 127–28; Tosi Brandi, “Legislazione suntuaria riminese,” 32–34. 11. Kovesi Killerby, Sumptuary Law in Italy, 157; Campbell, “‘Our Eagles Always Held Fast,’” 152. See also Kovesi Killerby, “‘Heralds of a Well-Instructed Mind.’ ” 12. Newett, “Sumptuary Laws of Venice,” 256; Muzzarelli, “Corpo spogliato,” 401–2. 13. This and the following two paragraphs are adapted from McCall, “Materials for Renaissance Fashion,” 1456–57. See also Bridgeman, “‘Pagare le pompe’”; Muzzarelli, “Reconciling the Privilege of a Few”; Doda, “‘Saide Monstrous Hose’”; Wilson, “Common Threads”; Muzzarelli, “Sumptuary Laws in Italy”; Riello and Rublack, Right to Dress. 14. Senate statute quoted in Mometto, “‘Vizi privati, pubbliche virtù,’” 248; Sanudo quoted in Campagnol, Forbidden Fashions, 27.

15. Heller, Fashion in Medieval France, 42–45; Rublack, Dressing Up, 6, 268–71; Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto, 42–43; Welch, Fashioning the Early Modern. 16. Troy, Couture Culture, 74; Heller, Fashion in Medieval France, 16–32. 17. Miller, “Little Black Dress,” 121–25; Rublack, Dressing Up, 10. 18. Bruna, Fashioning the Body, 32. See also Hollander, Seeing Through Clothes; Entwistle, Fashioned Body. 19. Miller, “Materiality: An Introduction,” 32–42; Miller, “Why Clothing Is Not Superficial.” Consider, as well, Eco, “Lumbar Thought”; Rublack, “Matter in the Material Renaissance”; McCall, “Materials for Renaissance Fashion.” 20. Woolf, Orlando, 187–88. Note Woolf ’s attention to beautiful, aristocratic male legs elsewhere in the novel. 21. Quoted in Paulicelli, Writing Fashion in Early Modern Italy, 97–99; see Vecellio, De gli habiti antichi et moderni, fol. 6v. For contemporaries’ awareness of fashion’s changes, see also Rublack and Hayward, First Book of Fashion; McCall, review of The First Book of Fashion. 22. Alexander, Painted Page, 67; Zanichelli, “Maestro di Ippolita Sforza.” 23. Burke, Italian Renaissance Nude, 25–65. 24. Baskins, “Griselda.” 25. For sleeves, see Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture.” The significance of clothing and (un)dressing in the narrative has been accentuated in numerous studies, chief among them Baskins, “Griselda”; Jones and Stallybrass, Renaissance Clothing, 220–44; and Crane, Performance of Self, 29–37. I am preparing a broader study of the Camera di Griselda frescoes. 26. Dina, “Qualche notizia su Dorotea Gonzaga”; Beltrami, “Annullamento del contratto”; Beltrami, Sponsali di Galeazzo Maria Sforza; Pius II, Commentaries, 1:373; Finucci, Prince’s Body, 6, 100, 110.

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27. Dina, “Qualche notizia su Dorotea Gonzaga”; Beltrami, Sponsali di Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 11–17; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 5, 1463, ed. Marco Folin, 378–79, 410–11, 437–38, 454–56, 460–64, 470–73, 476–77; Ferente, “Women and Men,” 141–45. 28. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 4, 1462, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 288–89; ibid., vol. 5, 1463, ed. Marco Folin, 410–11, 442–43, 448–78; ibid., vol. 6, 1464–1465, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 300, 422–27; Lazzarini, “Informazione politico-diplomatica,” 273–79; Ferente, “Women and Men,” 143. 29. Manfredini, “‘Vederò de asuefarme,’” 14–15. 30. Beltrami, Sponsali di Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 17; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 5, 1463, ed. Marco Folin, 443. The Sforza library in Pavia contained three manuscripts of Ibn Sina’s works, and a commentary on them. Albertini Ottolenghi, “Biblioteca dei Visconti,” 46–47. 31. Beltrami, Sponsali di Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 19; Fantoni, “Carteggio femminile del secolo XV,” 11; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 5, 1463, ed. Marco Folin, 469, and vol. 7, 1466–1467, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 283–84. 32. Cantù, “Nozze di Bona Sforza,” 184; Beltrami, Sponsali di Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 23–36. 33. Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:361. 34. Quoted in Burke, Italian Renaissance Nude, 51. 35. Quoted in Wolfthal, In and Out of the Marital Bed, 82–83. 36. Castiglione, Libro del cortegiano, 68–69; Laughran and Vianello, “‘Grandissima Gratia,’” 272. The italics are Barthes’s. Barthes, Pleasure of the Text, 9–10. For such plays and pleasures, see also McCall and Roberts, “Revealing Early Modern Secrecy.” 37. Magenta, Visconti e gli Sforza, 2:273, 314–15. 38. The most influential accounts are Post, “Naissance du costume masculin”; Newton, Fashion in the Age of the Black Prince; and Blanc, Parades et parures.

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39. Heller, Fashion in Medieval France, 46–60. The sartorial characteristics of fashion’s fourteenth-century “invention” have also been identified in the twelfth; see Waugh, “‘Well-Cut Through the Body.’ ” For critiques in addition to Heller’s, see Belfanti, “Was Fashion a European Invention?”; Riello and McNeil, “Fashion’s ‘Origins,’” 21; Rublack, Dressing Up, 7, 14; Miller, Clothing the Clergy, 8–9; Bruna, Fashioning the Body, 31; Lugli, “Fashion’s Measure.” 40. For these garments and layers, see Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 326–70; Frick, Dressing Renaissance Florence, 159–67; Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto. For the desco, see Bayer, Art and Love in Renaissance Italy, 157–58. For surviving fifteenth-century male underpants (from Tyrol), see Coatsworth and Owen-Crocker, Clothing the Past, 276–78. 41. Vespasiano, Vite, 1:406. 42. For the manuscript, see De sphaera: Commentario; Alexander, Painted Book in Renaissance Italy, 119–20. 43. Della Casa, Galateo overo de’ costume, 64. See also Rubin, Seen from Behind, 33–35. 44. Patterson, Fashion and Armour, 30–33, 44. See also Blanc, Parades et parures; Waugh, “‘Well-Cut Through the Body.’ ” 45. Cordellier and Marini, Pisanello, 40–41. 46. Welch, Art and Authority, 209–10; Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 58–80, 176; Welch, “Painting as Performance,” 22. 47. Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 120–21; Ferrari, “Stralci di corrispondenza famigliare,” 36–37. 48. Decembrio, Lives of the Milanese Tyrants, 95–97. 49. For the lucco and cioppa, see Currie, Fashion and Masculinity, 36–55. See also McCall, “Materials for Renaissance Fashion,” 1450; Olson, Masculinity and Dress, 53. 50. Reynolds, “Galileo Galilei and the Satirical Poem,” 60–61. 51. Simonetta, Diari di Cicco Simonetta, 155. 52. Dina, “Ludovico il Moro,” 753; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 3, 1461,

ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 362. For religious dress, see Warr, Dressing for Heaven; Miller, Clothing the Clergy. 53. Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga holds the letter; the other prelate wearing a long cloak is his younger brother Ludovico, protonotary apostolic and eventually bishop of Mantua. The youngest boy, Sigismondo (Federico’s son and Ludovico’s grandson), would later become a cardinal but is dressed here in secular, courtly clothing. 54. Tabanelli, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 398. For tailoring the giornea, see Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 338–41; Tosi Brandi, Abbigliamento e società a Rimini, 71–72, 89–90; Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto, 31, 194. 55. De Gramatica, “Sepoltura ‘honoratissima,’” 237. 56. Mann, “Lost Armoury of the Gonzagas,” 288, 290; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 2:59. 57. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 89. 58. Beltrami, Sponsali di Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 28; Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:425. 59. Bernardino da Siena, Prediche volgari, 3:186–89. 60. For tailors’ pricing for garments with and without pleats, see Tosi Brandi, Abbigliamento e società a Rimini, 117. 61. Stoia, “Rinascenze”; Fabbri, Moda italiana nel XV secolo, 78–81. 62. Stoia, “Rinascenze,” 52. 63. For the concept of the “veste ‘soprinsegna’” and “abito porta-insegna,” see Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto, 31. 64. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 641; Calzona, “Abito alla corte dei Gonzaga,” 251; Malacarne, Cacce del principe, 80. 65. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 128–29, 255, 260, 262–68, 638, 643; Welch, “Secular Fresco Painting,” 188, 230–31, 242. For morello, see Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 112–13. 66. Leverotti, “Organization of the Sforza Court,” 22.

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67. Pardi, “Borso d’Este,” 48; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:637. 68. For a translation of Lorenzo’s letter thanking the dukes, see McCall and Roberts, “Art and the Material Culture,” 223–28. For the Italian, see Medici, Lettere, 1:21–22. 69. Magnani, Relazioni private, xxxv–xxxvi; Zanoboni, “‘Et che . . . el dicto Pigello,’” 41–52, 96. 70. Fubini, “Età delle congiure”; Ilardi, “BankerStatesman”; Kent, “Patriarchal Ideals,” 232–33. 71. Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 178; De sphaera: Commentario; Natale and Romano, Arte lombarda dai Visconti, 286. 72. Motta, Nozze principesche del quattrocento, 76; Malaguzzi Valeri, “Ricamatori e arazzieri,” 52. 73. Morbio, Codice visconteo-sforzesco, 450; Beltrami, Castello di Milano, 368. 74. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 3, 1461, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 74. 75. Zanichelli, “Maestro di Ippolita Sforza,” 18–19; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 161; Natale and Romano, Arte lombarda dai Visconti, 286–87. 76. Motta, Nozze principesche del quattrocento, 40; Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 379; Covini, “Inventario del palazzo,” 46, 59. 77. Averlino [Filarete], Trattato di architettura, 2:698–704; Paoletti, “Banco Mediceo in Milan.” 78. Rochon, Jeunesse de Laurent de Médicis, 74–78; Medici, Lettere, 1:14–16; Simonetta, Montefeltro Conspiracy, 34. 79. Magnani, Relazioni private, 33, 43–45; Trexler, Public Life in Renaissance Florence, 429–31; Ganz, “Perceived Insults and Their Consequences,” 166–70; Simonetta, Rinascimento segreto, 172–73. 80. Magnani, Relazioni private, xxxv–xxxvi. For clothing, memory, and intimacy, see Jones and Stallybrass, Renaissance Clothing; Welch, “New, Old, and Second-Hand Culture.” 81. Fusco and Corti, “Lorenzo de’ Medici on the Sforza Monument,” 17, 25. For Lorenzo’s

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affection and reverence for Francesco and the Sforza around the time of Piero’s death, see Medici, Lettere, 1:48–55. 82. Giovio, Dialogo dell’imprese militari, 35–36; Stapleford, Lorenzo de’ Medici at Home, 71, 94, 115, 138, 183. 83. For these dynastic roundels, see Albertario, “Per un ‘profilo’ dei duchi di Milano.” 84. Stapleford, Lorenzo de’ Medici at Home, 149, 152, 184. 85. Perosa, Giovanni Rucellai ed il suo Zibaldone, 1:28–34; Kent, “Making of a Renaissance Patron,” 66–72. 86. McCall and Roberts, “Art and the Material Culture,” 227–28. 87. Volpi, Ricordi di Firenze, 31. For this event as Lorenzo’s debut, see Ricciardi, “Col senno, col tesoro,” 132–33, 154–55; Newbigin, “Piety and Politics,” 31. 88. Cappelli, “Guiniforte Barzizza,” 423; Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 107–13, 116. 89. Crane, Performance of Self, 20. 90. Jager, Book of the Heart; Hahn, Heart’s Desire. See also McCall and Roberts, “Revealing Early Modern Secrecy.” 91. Pius II, Commentaries, 2:61. 92. Quoted in Kovesi Killerby, Sumptuary Law in Italy, 62. 93. Hollander, Seeing Through Clothes, 231–36; Simons, “Alert and Erect,” 170–75; Bruna, Fashioning the Body, 51–55. For cods and codpieces, see Simons, Sex of Men in Premodern Europe, 97–105. 94. Della Casa, Galateo overo de’ costume, 59; Rocke, Forbidden Friendships, 36–44; Camille, “‘For Our Devotion and Pleasure,’” 177; Simons, Sex of Men in Premodern Europe, 99; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity, 119; Coatsworth and Owen-Crocker, Clothing the Past, 274; Rubin, Seen from Behind, 36–37. 95. Bridgeman, Renaissance Wedding, 111–15. 96. Bernardino da Siena, Prediche volgari, 3:189; Laughran and Vianello, “‘Grandissima Gratia,’” 258. For earlier moralizing criticism

of doublets and related jackets, see Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 41–51; Mazzaoui, Italian Cotton Industry, 99. 97. Morelli, “Fogge, ornamenti e tecniche,” 90–94; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 204–8; Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto, 131; Zanoboni, “Lana, berretti e mercanti inglesi,” 29–32, 65–66. 98. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 267; Gandini, “Viaggi, cavalli, bardature e stalle,” 60, 71; Rublack, “Matter in the Material Renaissance,” 57. 99. Rublack, Dressing Up, 19, 40. 100. Falcioni, Costume e la moda, 67; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity, 71. 101. O’Malley, “Pair of Little Gilded Shoes,” 56–57. For shoes and boots, see Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 370–78; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 192–204; Laughran and Vianello, “‘Grandissima Gratia’”; Rublack, “Matter in the Material Renaissance.” 102. Book of Hours of King Alfonso, fols. 14v, 44v, 106v. For the shoes, see Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 370–71; O’Malley, “Pair of Little Gilded Shoes,” 71. 103. Tabanelli, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 390, 403; Tosi Brandi, Abbigliamento e società a Rimini, 79. 104. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 267, 273, 656, 664; Toffanello, Arti a Ferrara nel quattrocento, 374, 377; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:638, 711, 737. 105. Vecellio, De gli habiti antichi et moderni, fol. 69r–v; Venturi, Compagnie della Calza; Anderson, “Spectacle in Sixteenth-Century Venice,” 116, 125; Casini, “‘Company of the Hose’”; Covini, Donne, emozioni e potere, 79. 106. Ghinzoni, “Alcune rappresentazioni in Italia,” 960; Muraro, “Festa a Venezia,” 320, 334. 107. Verga, “Leggi suntuarie milanesi,” 25, 53; Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 401–11; Covini, Potere, ricchezza e distinzione a Milano, 47, 55. 108. Venturi, “Relazioni artistiche,” 264, 274;

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Simonetta, Diari di Cicco Simonetta, 59; Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:163; Marina, “Introduction: Lordship Reified,” 374. 109. Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:265, 298, 406, 411, 441, 463, 487, 532, 581, 600, 613, 626, 638, 731, 737, 763, 765, 791. 110. Magnani, Relazioni private, xxii; Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 72, 97–98, 108. For the dance, see Ricciardi, “Col senno, col tesoro,” 142–47. 111. Gandini, “Saggio degli usi e delle costumanze,” 160–61. 112. Cappelli, “Guiniforte Barzizza,” 434; Lippincott, “Genesis and Significance,” 59. For Francesco’s wedding array, see Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 430. 113. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 119, 267, 657, 660. 114. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1399. See also Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 105, 129; Lippin������� cott, “Genesis and Significance,” 59; Welch, Art and Authority, 6–7; Vaglienti, “Iudicare Secundum Faciem,” 22–27. 115. Verga, “Leggi suntuarie milanesi,” 55; Bonazzi, Cronica gestorum, 92. 116. Welch, “Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 355–57; Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 45; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 8, 1468–1471, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 81. 117. Franzone was “cognitus ex caligis diversi coloribus quod lapognanorum insignia gestabat.” Bosso, Chronica, unpaginated; Belotti, Storia di una congiura, 98, 122–23. 118. For the runners, see Shemek, “Circular Definitions.” 119. Leonardo, Literary Works, 1:250; Burke, Italian Renaissance Nude, 99. 120. Kusch, Mignani, and Pozzi, Redire, 1427– 2009, 48; Tosi Brandi, Arte del sarto, 190. 121. La Rocca, How to Read European Armor, 77. 122. For Pisanello’s sketches of legs, see Cordellier and Marini, Pisanello, 111–24. 123. Paolini, Parenti, and Sebregondi, Virtù d’amore, 268–69. 124. Capellanus, Art of Courtly Love, 57–58;

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Schultz, Courtly Love, 41–42, 79; Rublack, Dressing Up, 18. 125. Rubin, Seen from Behind, 68–70; Burke, Italian Renaissance Nude, 61–65. 126. Vasari, Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, 7:156; Castiglione, Libro del cortegiano, 36; Milligan, “Politics of Effeminacy,” 350–51. 127. For pages’ attire, see Butazzi, “‘Magnificentia’ della corte,” 121. 128. For the order, see Boulton, Knights of the Crown, 96–166. 129. Hayward, Dress at the Court, 4, 100–102. 130. To paraphrase ZZ Top.

Chapter 4 1. Most useful, however, are Simons, “Homosociality and Erotics”; Campbell, “Eros in the Flesh”; Corry, “Alluring Beauty of a Leonardesque Ideal”; Hudson, “Classical Ideal of Male Beauty”; and Pfisterer, “Erotik der Macht.” 2. Rosenberg, Este Monuments and Urban Development, 104. 3. Ariosto, “Fortunata e felice entrata,” 401; Ariosto, “Origine de la excelsa dignità,” 443; Lazzari, “Dialogo di Lodovico Carbone,” 132, 146–47. 4. Caleffini, “Cronica de la ill.ma et ex.ma Casa da Este,” 290; Carbone, Facezie e Dialogo, 77. 5. Levi, Poesie latine e italiane, 28; Savonarola, Felice progresso di Borso d’Este, 116, 132, 138, 153, 161; Giuliano Antigini, Annali di Ferrara, excerpted in Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 40. 6. Quoted in D’Elia, Renaissance of Marriage, 95. 7. Cappelli, “Notizie di Ugo Caleffini,” 306; Ariosto, “Fortunata e felice entrata,” 401; Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 73; Antigini, Annali di Ferrara, excerpted in Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 40. 8. Cappelli, “Guiniforte Barzizza,” 436, 439–40. 9. Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 202. I by no means discount Lubkin’s interpretation of Galeazzo’s preference in terms of sexual desire, though I suggest that beauty functions in complex ways. In a study in progress

tenatively titled Making the Renaissance Man, I investigate the homosocial environments of Italian courts in relation to constructions of sexuality. 10. Woods-Marsden, Gonzaga of Mantua, 140, 244n112; Este, Selected Letters, 190. 11. Cordellier and Marini, Pisanello, 377–80; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 217. 12. A second image in the genealogical manuscript represents Borso as duke in his own right, with gray hair (and, significantly, as the book’s only full-page figure). I explore these images of Borso in a forthcoming study. See Bini, “Genealogia dei principi d’Este,” 130–31, 142–43; Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 42; McCall, “Brilliant Bodies,” 458. For Borso and experience, see also Manca, “Blond Hair as a Mark of Nobility,” 53. 13. Bosi et al., “Luxury Food and Ornamental Plants.” 14. Cazzola, “Produzioni agricole e rendimenti unitari”; Cazzola, “Sistema delle castalderie”; Folin, “Residenze di corte,” 88–91, 102–4. 15. Frizzi, Memorie per la storia di Ferrara, 4:26, 35–36; Gundersheimer, Ferrara, 135–37; Cazzola, “Terra costruita,” 35–40. For catastrophic flooding, see Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 38, 90. For the paraduro (from paratoia, in Ferrarese dialect), see Di Pietro Lombardi, “Emblemi”; Cazzola, “Sistema delle castalderie,” 60. 16. Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara, 1:465, 485; Christiansen, “Genius of Andrea Mantegna,” 15–18. The paraduro decorated Este interiors prior to Borso’s reign. Tuohy, Herculean Ferrara, 62, 212–14; Buss, “Abito e persona,” 27. 17. Provasi, Popolo ama il duca, 74. For a nineteenth-century description of the scene, see Baruffaldi, Vite de’ pittori e scultori ferraresi, 1:72. 18. Cazzola, “Produzioni agricole e rendimenti unitari,” 239. 19. Savonarola, Felice progresso di Borso d’Este, 160.

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178   Notes to Pages 124–130

20. Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 22–25; Provasi, Popolo ama il duca, 59–60, 74; Folin, “Renewal of Ferrara’s Court Palace,” 191–92. 21. Those received by Borso are generally of a markedly lower class; in the months of August and September, however, the men speaking to him are well dressed yet deferential (that of August holds his hat in hand). September’s supplicant has been identified as either Guarino da Verona or an ambassador. Baruffaldi, Vite de’ pittori e scultori ferraresi, 1:90; Cheles, “Tipologia dei ritratti,” 76. 22. Lombardi, “‘Liste’ delle nozze di Roberto Malatesta,” 22; O’Bryan, “Grotesque Bodies, Princely Delight,” 261. 23. For hierarchies of animals used for either hunting or husbandry, and the subjectivities granted or denied them, see Norton, “Going to the Birds.” 24. Dyer, White, 57. 25. Kaplan, “Isabella d’Este and Black African Women,” 129; Kaplan, “Italy, 1490–1700,” 93–101; Lowe, “Visible Lives,” 445–47. 26. For Romani in fifteenth-century Italy, see Arlati, “Zingari nello stato di Milano”; Fraser, Gypsies, 105–7; Fletcher, Black Prince of Florence, 164–66; Heng, Invention of Race, 431–35; Stoichita, Darker Shades, 185–87. 27. Fundamental works include Chakrabarty, Provincializing Europe; Earle and Lowe, Black Africans in Renaissance Europe; Heng, Invention of Race. 28. See Keita, “Africans in Europe.” 29. Petrarch is quoted in McKee, “Domestic Slavery in Renaissance Italy,” 305. See also Barker, That Most Precious Merchandise, 58. More generally, see also Tognetti, “Trade in Black African Slaves”; Barker, That Most Precious Merchandise. For enslaved persons in Este households, and in Ferrara generally, see Luzio and Renier, Buffoni, nani e schiavi dei Gonzaga, 64n4; Peverada, Schiavi a Ferrara nel quattrocento. 30. Verga, “Per la storia degli schiavi,” 195–99. 31. Luzio and Renier, Buffoni, nani e schiavi dei

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Gonzaga, 64–69; Gandini, Isabella, Beatrice e Alfonso d’Este, 11; Kaplan, “Titian’s ‘Laura Dianti,’” 12–15; Kaplan, “Isabella d’Este and Black African Women,” 128–35; Lowe, “Isabella d’Este and the Acquisition”; Este, Selected Letters, 41–42, 46, 127–28. For early modern human accessories, see Bailey, “‘Bought My Boye.’ ” 32. McGrath, “Ludovico il Moro and His Moors”; Kaplan, “Black Turks”; Lowe, “Isabella d’Este and the Acquisition,” 66–67; Lowe, “Visible Lives,” 415–18; Fletcher, Black Prince of Florence, 6–8, 251–61. 33. Rosmini, Dell’istoria di Milano, 4:250–51. For race, color, and appearance in this general context, see also Barker, That Most Precious Merchandise, 39–60. 34. Belotti discounted the idea that Andrea was a “Moor.” Storia di una congiura, 114–15, 119. He is also identified as “Gallo Mauro, staphero dil Sforcesco” in Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1401. For sources that name the staffiere, including those that mention Francesco or Bartolomeo da Riva, who seems to have been killed by Lampugnani or his attendant Franzone, see Bosso, Chronica, unpaginated; D’Adda, “Canti storici popolari italiani,” 287–90; Motta, “Ancora dell’uccisione,” 409; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 10, 1475–1477, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 432. A certain Gallo Boza served as staffiere, and a “Morelleto” as sotto cameriero; see Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 256; Welch, “Sight, Sound, and Ceremony,” 181, 189. Francesco da Riva began his service as staffiere in April 1475 (and was at that time dressed accordingly). Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 272. 35. For the Lamento’s Moor, see D’Adda, “Canti storici popolari italiani,” 290. Machiavelli followed Corio closely, though not exactly, and made errors of fact (for example, that Carlo Visconti perished at Santo Stefano). Machiavelli, Florentine Histories, 312–16. Giovio

repeated the name Gallo, which I have found previously only in Corio’s account. Giovio, Elogi degli uomini illustri, 647; Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1401. 36. D’Adda, “Canti storici popolari italiani,” 284. 37. For Ludovico as il Moro, see Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:6–8; Schofield, “Ludovico il Moro and Vigevano,” 96; McGrath, “Ludovico il Moro and His Moors”; Giordano, “Politica, tradizione e propaganda,” 110–15. For an alternate interpretation of the nickname, see Giovio, Elogi degli uomini illustri, 706. 38. Terni de Gregory, Bianca Maria Visconti, 153–54; Covini, “Tra cure domestiche,” 317–18, 343. 39. McCall, “Bramante’s coro finto,” 31. 40. Firpo, Francesco Filelfo educatore, plates 3 and 16. 41. Calco, Mediolanensis historiographi, 94; Calvi, “Castello di Porta Giovia,” 255; Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:8; Ricci, “Lezione di geopolitica,” 72–73. See also Kaplan, “Titian’s ‘Laura Dianti,’” 12; McGrath, “Ludovico il Moro and His Moors.” 42. Molmenti, Storia di Venezia, 2:590–94; Muraro, “Festa a Venezia,” 334–35; McGrath, “Ludovico il Moro and His Moors,” 88; Kaplan, “Italy, 1490–1700,” 105–6. 43. Allevi, “Cassone dei tre duchi”; Giordano and Olivari, Splendori di corte, 82–87; Kaplan, “Italy, 1490–1700,” 105. For the scopetta, see Calvi, “Castello di Porta Giovia,” 256; Giordano, “Politica, tradizione e propaganda,” 114. 44. Bellincioni, Rime, 1:27, 168–69, 2:43–44, 106. 45. Muralto, Annalia Francisci Muralti, 59; Motta, “Primo elefante in Milano,” 106. For mahouts, see Cockram, “Interspecies Understanding.” 46. Kaplan, “Isabella d’Este and Black African Women”; Ostrow, “Pietro Tacca and His Quattro Mori,” 161–67; Rowe, Black Saints, 195–204; Stoichita, Darker Shades, 65–71. 47. Sforza, Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.ra Caterina, 59, 62–63; Natale and Romano, Arte lombarda dai Visconti, 379.

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Notes to Pages 130–141   179

48. Luzio and Renier, Lusso di Isabella d’Este, 94; Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:348; Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 362; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:61–62. 49. Ross, “How Do You Like It,” 58. The essential study of this painting is Bayer, “Francesco Francia’s Portrait.” 50. The collar of Federico’s camicia and his black garment were lowered at some point, but no evidence definitively suggests a change to the hair. I thank Andrea Bayer, Gerrit Albertson, and Dorothy Mahon for assistance. 51. Luzio, “Federico Gonzaga,” 513–15, 544–49; Luzio and Renier, Lusso di Isabella d’Este, 67; Hickson, “‘To See Ourselves as Others See Us’”; Bayer, “Francesco Francia’s Portrait.” Scholars generally dismiss this identification in Raphael’s fresco, for which, see Vasari, Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, 4:331. 52. Schultz, Courtly Love, 17–28, 79–92, 169–72. 53. Dyer, White, 72. 54. Boiardo, Orlando Innamorato, 2.21.49; D’Elia, Renaissance of Marriage, 93–95, 231n63. 55. Cingolani, Baldo Martorello da Serra de’ Conti, 191, 204. See also Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 132–34. 56. Medin, “Frammento di un cantare,” 809; Novati, “Di un codice sforzesco,” 93. 57. Broecke, Cennini’s Il libro dell’arte, 190. 58. Quoted in Burgwinkle, Sodomy, Masculinity, and Law, 99. Pertinent too is Corry, “Alluring Beauty of a Leonardesque Ideal.” 59. Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:344–45; Terni de Gregory, Bianca Maria Visconti, 161; Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 186. 60. Heller, “Light as Glamour,” 939; Pulliam, “Color,” 4. 61. Campbell, Cosmè Tura of Ferrara, 25; Settis and Cupperi, Palazzo Schifanoia, 1:264; Torboli, Duca Borso d’Este, 26; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 218–21. Technical evidence is inconclusive; I thank Julie Arslanoglu and Dorothy Mahon for their expertise.

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62. Bini, “Genealogia dei principi d’Este,” 136–41; Bertozzi, Tirannia degli astri, 46. 63. Boiardo, Orlando Innamorato, 3.5.27; Manca, “Blond Hair as a Mark of Nobility.” 64. Alexander, Painted Book in Renaissance Italy, 82, 215–17. 65. Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 137, 153; Natale and Romano, Arte lombarda dai Visconti, 379; Alexander, Painted Book in Renaissance Italy, 124, 274; Terjanian, Last Knight, 140–42. 66. Caleffini, “Cronica de la ill.ma et ex.ma Casa da Este,” 280, 287–89; Decembrio, De politia litteraria, 145–46. I have adapted Ross’s translation, changing his “exquisite” to “polished” so as to account for the suggestion of light in “polita.” Boiardo, Orlando Innamorato, 2.25.50. 67. For Alfonso, see Filelfo, Odes, 266–67, 270–71, 294–95. For Francesco, see Robin, Filelfo in Milan, 223. For Sigismondo, see D’Elia, Pagan Virtue in a Christian World, 41. 68. D’Elia, Renaissance of Marriage, 94–95; Sforza, Duchess and Hostage in Renaissance Naples, 179. 69. Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 367–70; Stallybrass and Jones, “Fetishizing the Glove”; Welch, “Scented Buttons and Perfumed Gloves.” 70. Gandini, “Viaggi, cavalli, bardature e stalle,” 60; Gandini, Isabella, Beatrice e Alfonso d’Este, 12; Tabanelli, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 391; Visconti, Canzonieri, xxiii–xxv, 89. For a sensitive reading of Borso’s gloves depicted at Schifanoia, see Cheles, “Tipologia dei ritratti,” 81–83. 71. Wright, Pollaiuolo Brothers, 131–36; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 169–71. 72. Magenta, Visconti e gli Sforza, 2:314–15; Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1408. For the recipe attributed to Ippolita, see Ray, Daughters of Alchemy, 16. See also Simonetta, Rinascimento segreto, 218. 73. Ghinzoni, “Ambasciatore del Soldano,” 165; Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo

Maria Sforza,” 654–55, 663; Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 362–63, 367. For civets, see Cockram, “Interspecies Understanding.” 74. For Barbara’s gift, see Motta, “Per la storia dei barbieri,” 491–92. For recipes, see Guerrini, Ricettario galante, xii–xiii; Herald, Renaissance Dress in Italy, 161–62; Heller, “Light as Glamour,” 941–43; Laughran, “Oltre la pelle,” 59, 74; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:63; Campagnol, Forbidden Fashions, 86. 75. Mammana, “Donne alla toletta,” 89–92; Campagnol, Forbidden Fashions, 27. For Leonello, see Buss, “Abito e persona,” 23. 76. Vecellio, De gli habiti antichi et moderni, fol. 145r–v. 77. Motta, “Cappelli di paglia”; Tabanelli, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 402, 410; Este, Selected Letters, 550. 78. Gandini, “Saggio degli usi e delle costumanze,” 163; Gandini, “Viaggi, cavalli, bardature e stalle,” 59; Horodowich, “Wider World,” 200–201. 79. Past, “Ricetta per longo e iocundo vivere,” 123. 80. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1408. 81. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 271, 648, 652, 665; Motta, “Quando si fece radere”; Motta, “Per la storia dei barbieri.” 82. Sforza, Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.ra Caterina, 26, 32, 42, 52, 59–63, 67–69; Corrain, “Alcune ricette interessanti,” 23–26; Laughran, “Oltre la pelle”; Mammana, “Donne alla toletta,” 80–82; Phillippy, Painting Women, 5–7; Ray, Daughters of Alchemy, 14–45. See also Jill Burke’s website Making Up the Renaissance, http://‌sites‌.ace‌.ed‌.ac‌.uk‌ /renaissancecosmetics. 83. D’Errico and Villa, “Sorriso di Isabella”; Malacarne, Fruscianti vestimenti, 1:179. 84. For cosmetics to manage a humorally ideal complexion, see Laughran, “Oltre la pelle,” 50–59. For facial diseases, see Finucci, Prince’s Body, 62–72. 85. Covini, “Tra cure domestiche,” 319, 345.

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180   Notes to Pages 141–148

86. Santi, Vita e le gesta, 152–55; Simonetta, Rinascimento segreto, 188. 87. Pliny, Natural History, 9:326–29 (35.36); Alberti, On Painting, 78–81. 88. Fornaciari et al., “Gout in Duke Federico of Montefeltro.” 89. Santi, Vita e le gesta, 489–91; Simonetta, Montefeltro Conspiracy, 84–85, 139. 90. Pontano, “De fortitudine,” fol. 80r. For the injury and the double portrait, see Bernini, “‘Come un uccello sacro.’ ” This reading would have been available to viewers only after early 1478, as it took months for Federico to recover from his fall the previous November. Scholars typically date the painting circa 1475–77 (most recently, Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 287–90), since Federico was awarded the Orders of the Garter and Ermine in 1474, and based on the apparent age of Guidobaldo (born in 1472). 91. Fornaciari, “Esplorazione della tomba di Federico II,” 217–18; Ciranni, Giuffra, and Fornaciari, “‘Le donne, i cavalieri, l’arme.’” The diagnosis of hyperkyphosis is less convincing, as it is determined exclusively through artistic representation. D’Antoni and Terzulli, “Federico di Montefeltro’s Hyperkyphosis.” 92. Pius II, Commentaries, 2:45; D’Elia, Pagan Virtue in a Christian World, 63. 93. For Federico’s berretta alla capitanesca, see Ansani and Verheyen, “Berretta del condottiero,” 100. 94. For gender as dialectical in art theory and representation, see Fermor, “Movement and Gender”; Jacobs, “Aretino and Michelangelo, Dolce and Titian”; Campbell, “Eros in the Flesh”; Turner, Eros Visible. For youth and male beauty, see Simons, “Homosociality and Erotics.” For sanctity, androgyny, and youth, see Corry, “Alluring Beauty of a Leonardesque Ideal.” 95. Cropper, “On Beautiful Women”; Cropper, “Beauty of Woman.”

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96. Mansfield, Too Beautiful to Picture, 13–20, 39–53. For Alberti’s variation, see On Painting, 98–99. Vincenzo Danti adapted the tale to conceptualize male beauty; see Jacobs, “Aretino and Michelangelo, Dolce and Titian,” 55–56. Useful, as well, is L’Estrange, “Gazing at Gawain”; Burke, Italian Renaissance Nude, 107–39. 97. Valla, On Pleasure, 98. 98. Campbell, “Cosmè Tura and Court Culture,” 18–19; Schultz, Courtly Love. 99. Boiardo, Orlando Innamorato, 1.2.10–11, 1.13.50, 1.21.51–52, 2.9.28, 2.21.49. 100. Corio, Storia di Milano, 2:1399. 101. On Borso, see Antigini, Annali di Ferrara, excerpted in Folin, “Borso a Schifanoia,” 41; Past, “Ricetta per longo e iocundo vivere,” 119–20. On Ercole, see Folin, “Corte della duchessa,” 505. On Ferrante, see Castiglione, Libro del cortegiano, 146. 102. Senatore, Dispacci sforzeschi da Napoli, 446– 48. For a similar case involving Ludovico da Foligno’s medal of Bona of Savoy, presented to Lorenzo de’ Medici, see Syson, “Zanetto Bugatto, Court Portraitist,” 307. 103. Signorini, “‘Manzare poco, bevere aqua asai,’” 121–22, 144–45; Woods-Marsden, Gonzaga of Mantua, 75–76. 104. Ferrari, “Affetti coniugali e ragione di stato,” 119. 105. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 1, 1450–1459, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 368–71. For Jean’s magnificence at the council, see Pius II, Commentaries, 2:36–41. 106. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 6, 1464–1465, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 424; ibid., vol. 12, 1480–1482, ed. Gianluca Battioni, 329. 107. “Quil nobil guido / Lieto, gratioso, con il benigno riso, / Chi par narciso, / E qual ad ypolito iace in una scede. / O da quila aquila rapto a ganimede, / O uero ad ascanio fiolo di enea, / E a quil di medea / Chi per sua arte hebe lo aureo uello. / E non se poterebe pengere il piu bello, / Magnifico, glorioso, e

benigno / E molto digno.” Rustici, Cantilena pro potenti, fols. 5v–6r; “In piu loci poi ritrato il bel signore” (fol. 9v). 108. Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 78. 109. Cappelli, “Guiniforte Barzizza,” 417–19, 440; Covini, Donne, emozioni e potere, 79. For Tura, see Venturi, “Arte a Ferrara,” 712. 110. Magnani, Relazioni private, xiii; Filarete and Manfidi, Libro Cerimoniale, 75; Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 64. 111. Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 138–42; Alexander, Painted Book in Renaissance Italy, 123–24; Terjanian, Last Knight, 138–40. 112. For an exhaustive investigation, see Ferrari, “Per non manchare.” See also Lubkin, Renaissance Court, 24–26; Simonetta, Rinascimento segreto, 115–20. 113. Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 63, 71–72, 118–22, 177. 114. Cappelli, “Guiniforte Barzizza,” 409, 418, 422; Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 1, 1450–1459, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 333; Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 89–91. 115. Cappelli, “Guiniforte Barzizza,” 427; Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 40, 42, 69, 71. 116. Malaguzzi Valeri, Corte di Lodovico, 1:381–82; Ferrari, “Per non manchare,” 39, 68. Argus may be a conflation of Argus and Mercury or straightforwardly the latter. Welch, Art and Authority, 223–29; Cavalieri, “Altre pitture dell’età sforzesca,” 140–49. 117. For these rhetorics of vision, see Nethersole, “Armeggerie, Wedding Chests, and Battles,” 285, 290, 303. For sexual puns appreciated in breaking lances, see Simons, Sex of Men in Premodern Europe, 38–40, 112–13. 118. Castiglione, Libro del cortegiano, 102–4; L’Estrange, “Gazing at Gawain”; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity, 22–27, 130. 119. For such gazes, see Silverman, “Fragments of a Fashionable Discourse”; Simons, “Homosociality and Erotics”; Heller, “Light as Glamour,” 950; L’Estrange, “Gazing at Gawain.” 120. Marco Parenti, quoted in Bryce, “Performing for Strangers,” 1093n63, 1102.

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Notes to Pages 148–157   181

121. Newbigin, “Onoranze fiorentine del 1459,” 100–101. 122. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani, vol. 8, 1468–1471, ed. Maria Nadia Covini, 109. 123. Heller, Fashion in Medieval France, 32–38.

Epilogue 1. Hollander, Seeing Through Clothes, 365–90; Harvey, Men in Black; Miller, “Little Black Dress”; Munro, “Anti-Red Shift”; Quondam, Tutti i colori del nero; Pastoureau, Black; Riello, Moda, 20–23; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity, 93–108. 2. Quondam, Tutti i colori del nero, 27–30. 3. Falco quoted in ibid., 28. For d’Ávalos and Colonna, see Najemy, “Arms and Letters,” 230–38; Giovio, Notable Men and Women, 196–211, 502–43; Gouwens, “Meanings of Masculinity,” 85, 92; Milligan, Moral Combat, 81–85. 4. Castiglione, Libro del cortegiano, 127. For hortatory rhetoric, see ibid., 36–37, 96, 124–28, 310; Guicciardini, Storia d’Italia, 73; Della Casa, Galateo overo de’ costume, 30, 59–60. For key accounts, see Laven, “Machiavelli, Italianità”; Currie, “Prescribing Fashion”; Quondam, Questo povero Cortegiano, 381–88; Milligan, “Politics of Effeminacy”; Milligan, “Masculinity and Machiavelli”; Quondam, Tutti i colori del nero, 21–22, 35–36; Milligan and Tylus, “Introduction,” 17–19, 24–25; Springer, Armour and Masculinity, 15–21; Gaylard, Hollow Men, 26, 59–60. 5. Milligan and Tylus, “Introduction”; Gouwens, “Meanings of Masculinity”; Paulicelli, Writing Fashion in Early Modern Italy, 74–82. 6. Milligan, “Politics of Effeminacy”; Currie, Fashion and Masculinity, 116–27. To supplement my discussion in chapter 3 of critiques of fashion, see Pontano, De principe, 80–83; Rublack, Dressing Up, 125–75; McNeil, Pretty Gentlemen, 123–49; Lugli, “Fashion’s Measure.” John Gagné and I investigate these fashion changes in a forthcoming essay provisionally titled “Fashion 1500: Transnational

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Discourses of Dress in Italy.” 7. Harvey, Men in Black, 52–58, 175; Pastoureau, Black, 102. 8. Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance, 64, 121–22; Jolivet, “Construction d’une image.” Elizabeth Moodey generously shared with me her chapter “Clothing the Man in Black: Philip the Good and the Expressive Potential of Color,” in her forthcoming Conspicuous Abstention: Grisaille in the Art of the Burgundian Netherlands. 9. Buettner, “Precious Stones, Mineral Beings,” 212. For the order’s collar, see Boulton, Knights of the Crown, 366–70; Terjanian, Last Knight, 189–90. 10. Harvey, Men in Black, 72–82; Quondam, Tutti i colori del nero, 119–37; Pastoureau, Black, 100–103, 159; Muzzarelli, Breve storia della moda, 14–15; Colomer, “Black and the Royal Image”; Wunder, “Spanish Fashion,” 259–60. 11. Cirillo Mastrocinque, “Rapporti tra Napoli spagnola,” 215–18; McKim-Smith and Welles, “Material Girls—and Boys,” 92–93; Harvey, Story of Black, 92–94. 12. Venturelli, Glossario e documenti, 12–13, 23–24; Currie, “Prescribing Fashion,” 163; Venturelli, “Bride Valentina to Leonardo,” 106–7; Awais-Dean, Bejewelled, 13. For a clear reference to color, however, see Lowe, “Black Africans’ Religious and Cultural Assimilation,” 77. 13. Savonarola, Felice progresso di Borso d’Este, 81; Bridgeman, Renaissance Wedding, 133. 14. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 274, 643–46, 652, 663. 15. Solmi, “Festa del Paradiso,” 82–85; Verga, Storia della vita milanese, 212. 16. Vespasiano, Vite, 1:102–3; Baxandall, Painting and Experience, 14–15. 17. Campbell, Cabinet of Eros, 55. For Vespasiano’s political allegiances, see Margolis, “‘Gallic Crowd’ at the ‘Aragonese Doors.’ ” 18. Book of Hours of King Alfonso, fols. 14v, 38r, 44v, 67v, 78r, 106v, 281v, 302r, 312r. For this manuscript, made in Valencia circa 1440, see

Alexander, Painted Book in Renaissance Italy, 55, 219–20. 19. Levi Pisetzky, Il trecento–Il quattrocento, 435; Cirillo Mastrocinque, “Rapporti tra Napoli spagnola,” 199; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 252. 20. Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 110–11; Sabadino degli Arienti, Porretane, 41–42. 21. Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 122–25. For the arrest, see Lubkin, “Strategic Hospitality,” 182–83. 22. For singers in black, see Merkley and Merkley, Music and Patronage in the Sforza Court, 104, 119, 142–43, 177–80; Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance, 198. For berrette, see Porro Lambertenghi, “Lettere di Galeazzo Maria Sforza,” 638, 642, 654. For Galeazzo’s deceptive use of dyes, see McCall, “Material Fictions of Luxury,” 266–67. 23. Gundersheimer, Art and Life at the Court, 50–51, 61–62; Manca, “Presentation of a Renaissance Lord,” 532–33; Bini, “Genealogia dei principi d’Este,” 144–45. 24. Kantorowicz, “Este Portrait”; Bini, “Genealogia dei principi d’Este,” 136–37; Christiansen and Weppelmann, Renaissance Portrait, 208–10. 25. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 28, 74; Merkley and Merkley, Music and Patronage in the Sforza Court, 77; Walsh, Charles the Bold and Italy, 283–90. 26. Guarino, “Spanish Fashions and Sumptuary Legislation,” 242, 249. 27. Pardi, Diario ferrarese, 33. For mourning, see Hollander, Seeing Through Clothes, 373–83; Harvey, Men in Black. 28. Terni de Gregory, Bianca Maria Visconti, 192; Manfredini, “‘Vederò de asuefarme,’” 18–19, 32; Gagné, Milan Undone, 303n36. 29. Magnani, Relazioni private, xxxiv–xxxv; Savonarola, Felice progresso di Borso d’Este, 147; Simonetta, Rinascimento segreto, 176. 30. Newett, “Sumptuary Laws of Venice,” 250; Sanudo, “Praise of the City of Venice,” 6–7. 31. Ferrara, “Ritratto del doge Leonardo Lore-

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182   Notes to Pages 158–161

dan”; Allerston, “Reconstructing the SecondHand Clothes Trade,” 52. See also Allerston, “Clothing,” 370–75. 32. Harvey, Men in Black, 68–69, 85–91, 118–47; Murdock, “Dress to Repress?”; Rublack, Dressing Up, 81–123; Muzzarelli, Breve storia della moda, 88–89, 106–7; Miller, Clothing the Clergy, 242–45. 33. For modernity’s black clothing, see Hollander, Seeing Through Clothes, 374–90; Harvey, Men in Black; Miller, “Little Black Dress”; Steele, Black Dress; Farren, Black Leather Jacket; Pastoureau, Black; Riello, Moda, 56. 34. Riello, Moda, 26; Kuchta, “Making of the Self-Made Man,” 72; see also Miller, “Little Black Dress,” 117–19, 126; Olson, Masculinity and Dress, 126.

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35. Currie, “Prescribing Fashion,” 161; Molà, Silk Industry of Renaissance Venice, 133–37; Muzzarelli, Breve storia della moda, 87; Miller, Clothing the Clergy, 242–44. For an essential qualification, see Munro, “Anti-Red Shift,” 90–92. 36. Armstrong, “Logwood and Brazilwood”; Venturelli, “Milano 1577,” 446–47; Colomer, “Black and the Royal Image,” 91–94. 37. Vasari, Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, 5:575. For shimmering black textiles, see Harvey, Men in Black, 55–56; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 165; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 110–11. 38. Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance, 88–89, 121–22; Rublack, Dressing Up, 21; Wunder, “Spanish Fashion,” 260. 39. Leverotti, Carteggio degli oratori mantovani,

vol. 1, 1450–1459, ed. Isabella Lazzarini, 373–74. 40. Sanudo, Spedizione di Carlo VIII in Italia, 240; Visconti, Canzonieri, 14; Medici, Comento de’ miei sonetti, 523–24. 41. Quondam, Tutti i colori del nero, 48.

Glossary 1. Useful guides for this glossary can be found in Herald, Renaissance Dress in Italy, 209–31; Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale, 353–62; Venturelli, Glossario e documenti; Buss, Silk Gold Crimson, 183; Monnas, Renaissance Velvets, 152–53; Rublack and Hayward, First Book of Fashion, 397–402; Fabbri, Moda italiana nel XV secolo, 131–42; Breiding, Arms and Armor, 306–8.

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index

Italicized page references indicate illustrations. Endnotes are noted with “n” and the endnote number. Abbiategrasso (Italy), 27 Abu ‘Amr ‘Uthman, caliph of Tunisia, 138 Abu Ma’shar, 133 accessibility, 5, 124–25, 145 accessories expenditure comparisons, 57 footwear, 49, 65, 72, 75, 84, 94, 108, 109, 109–10, 133, 136, 145 with sacred inscriptions, 56 spurs, 6, 24, 25, 29, 65, 74–75, 76, 145 See also belts; gems and stones; hats and headdresses; jewelry; swords; weapons Achilles (mythological figure), 121 Adda River, 98, 128 Adige River, 143 Adoration of the Shepherds (Mantegna), 123, 124 Aelius Donatus, 130, 147 Aeneas (mythological figure), 121 Aeneid (Virgil), 85, 137 aetite, 56 Africans and Afro-Italians, 92, 93, 113, 126–29, 127, 129 age clothed concealment of, 95–96 facial deformities as visualizations of experience and, 141 public disrobing appropriateness, 92 visual representations and symbolism of, 11, 117, 121, 122 See also children; youth Agnese del Maino, 94, 145, 146, 155–56 agricultural production, 48–49, 122–23, 123–24, 125 See also laborers Alamanni, Piero (Florentine ambassador in Milan), 103 Alberti, Leon Battista, 141 Albumasar, 133 Alemagna, Giorgio d’, 66, 136 Alfonso I d’Este, 34, 44, 58, 67, 122 Alfonso I of Naples beauty of, 136 clothing color, 154

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crusades crosses, 106 footwear of, 110 gems and jewelry, 62, 171n46 knighthood order inductions, 115 knights dressed in armor and silks, 29 Sienese ridicule, 154 wedding and courtier displays, 122 weight gain comments by, 144 Alfonso II of Naples, 84, 102–3, 148, 159 Alfonso V of Portugal, 106 alliances and allegiance clothing signifying, 99, 102–3, 105–6, 111, 156–57 domination and intimidation for, 12–13 gifts for, 44, 99, 110, 111 marriages for, 42 murder accusations deteriorating, 56–57 allucciolato, 34, 154 Amadio da Milano, 66, 70, 73, 74, 75, 123 Amazons, 82 ambassadors aristophilia and gazes of, 22, 145, 149 armorers as, 24, 45 on armor production, 44, 45 assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza accounts, 27, 28, 29 betrothal assessments and negotiations, 85, 87, 88, 89, 97 clothing as gifts to, 44, 96, 98 clothing of, 96, 153, 154 on clothing orders and acquisitions, 50, 51, 52, 99 courtliness training of children commentaries, 146 duke’s pomposity confessions, 1 fashion and clothing commentaries, 4, 13, 40, 42, 43, 49, 51, 53, 96, 100, 106, 111, 115–16, 133, 144–45, 154, 159 on gems and jewelry, 58–59, 52, 67, 133 gifts delivered through, 138 health issues and appearance, 13, 141 imprisoned, 155 as middlemen for gems and textiles, 47, 60, 99, 103, 155 on painted representations vs. live, 145 Sforza treasury description, 146 weight assessments, 144

Ambras Castle, Innsbruck, 24 Ambrose, Saint, 21, 67 amethysts, 63 amulets, 56 ancinelli (hooks or clasps), 26, 72 Andrea dall’Aquila and workshop: Castel Nuovo triumphal arch, 30, 32 Andreas Capellanus, 115 Andreasi, Marsilio (Mantuan ambassador in Milan), 4, 49, 51, 52, 88, 100, 101, 111 Antoine, Bastard of Burgundy, 45 Antonio da Medda, 30 Apelles (Greek painter), 141 Apollo (Greek god), 123, 136 April (Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia). See Borso d’Este and His Court, April (Cossa) Arcimboldo, Guido Antonio, 77 Aretino, Pietro, 88, 89, 158 Argus (mythological figure), 146 Aries and the Decans of March (Cossa), 125–26, 126, 133 Ariosto, Francesco, 66, 75, 120 Ariosto, Ludovico, 66, 138 Ariosto, Malatesta, 120 aristophilia, 8, 15, 132, 143, 148–49 Aristotle, 87 armets, 22, 23, 44, 45 arming points (and doublets) in portraits, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 96, 145, 147, 133, 134 descriptions and function, 19, 21, 71, 134 of knights’ pages, 24, 25 armor armored garments, 12, 17, 19, 24–29, 25, 26, 72 of assassins, 28 for boys, 19, 44 deaths due to, 96, 142 as diplomatic gifts, 44 foot (sabatons), 75 gauntlets, 6, 137 health and physical effects of, 12, 141–42 memorialized, 24, 96 men’s silhouettes accented by, 92 painted representations of, challenges, 32–33 production of, 30, 44–46, 47 public displays of, 13

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armor (continued) sensory effects of, auditory, 12, 71 sensory effects of, visual, 5, 6, 17, 22, 24, 25, 30, 32, 76, 133, 136 style trends, 21, 22, 23–24, 25, 30 textile linings, 17, 19, 30 tunics worn over, 19, 25, 96, 98 See also arming points; helmet crests; helmets armored garments, 12, 17, 19, 24–29, 25, 26 arms, exposure of, 88 arrow targets (motif), 73 artist compensation, 43 Artone, Giovanni, 72 Arzoni, Ambrogio, 56 Assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza (Unknown artist), 28–29, 127, 127–28 astrology assassination predictions, 27 gems and stones used for, 55, 56 illustrations in manuscripts of, 40–41, 41, 91, 91, 100, 100, 136, 136 Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia, 125, 126, 133 athletic displays, 91, 91 attendants, 28, 30, 51, 53, 75, 77, 110, 111–12, 126–27, 129, 145 Attendants Tie Griselda’s Sleeves (Unknown artist), 85, 87 August (Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia) (Unknown artist), 77, 92, 92, 99, 122, 138, 178n21 authority and power accessories symbolizing, 75, 77 displays of, 5–10, 7, 12–13, 53, 57, 82 domination and violence for, 12–13 visibility for, 8, 10, 84, 120, 143, 145 Averlino, Antonio (Filarete), 4, 64, 102 Avicenna, 88 balases and balas spinels, 2, 4, 42, 57, 59, 60, 62– 63, 64, 133, 152, 159 Baldassare d’Este Borso d’Este, 59, 61, 122 Este family manuscript illustrations, attrib., 122, 123, 133, 135, 155 textile payments to, 43 Balle de Flandres, 60

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Banco Mediceo (palace) and Medici Bank, 46, 62, 99, 102, 103 Baptism of Christ (Leonardo da Vinci and Verrocchio), 64 baptisms, 58 Barbara, Countess of Württemberg, 144 Barbara of Brandenburg, 39, 65, 87, 100, 138, 145 Barbaro, Francesco, 88 barbers, 53, 139 barbutes, 24, 25, 30, 45, 45 Barovier, Angelo, 64 Barovier, Marino, 64 Barthes, Roland, 88 Bartolomeo Colleoni (Verrocchio), 112 Bartolomeo da Riva, 128 Bartolomeo della Gatta: Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, 67, 68 Barzizza, Guiniforte, 146 Basilica of San Petronio, Bologna, 53 Basinio da Parma, 136 Baskins, Cristelle, 7 Battiferro da Mercatello, 141 Battle of San Romano (Uccello), 24, 25, 30, 112 batwings (motif), 25, 30 bavaro, 24, 25, 40, 89, 90 Baxandall, Michael, 12, 154 Bayezid (sultan), 24 beards, 138, 158 Beatrice d’Este Compagnie della calza performances honoring, 110 death of, 63, 156 as fashion trendsetter, 82 festival clothing changes, 52 gems and jewelry, 62–63, 64 magete on garments of, 71 Sforza devices depicted in art, 98 wedding attendance descriptions, 53 beauty expectations and evaluation of, 144, 148 idealized representations and symbolism, 7, 136, 141, 142, 143 male body parts as standards of, 112, 114, 115–16 men/boys as models of, 143 as nobility virtue and requisite, 7–8, 119, 120, 132, 136–37

standards of, 27, 88, 89, 129, 132 beheadings, 28, 59, 78, 111 Bellincioni, Bernardo, 49, 129 Bellini, Giovanni: Doge Leonardo Loredan, 157, 157 bells, 72, 74 belts buckles for, 70 with dynastic device designs, 70, 100 with fantastical lettering, 70, 70 function of, 70, 89, 97, 122 of gold, 57, 70, 82, 126, 133 materials for, 70, 75 men’s styles, 126, 133, 136 of pearls, 58, 58 as weapons, 70–71 women’s styles, 37, 82, 84, 85 Bembo, Bonifacio Camera d’Oro frescoes at Castello di Torrechiara, and workshop, 5, 6, 32, 75, 76, 77, 79, 137 Este family manuscript illustrations, attrib., 122, 123, 133, 135, 155 Francesco Sforza, attrib., 73, 73 frescoes featuring Francesco I Sforza, 111 Benci, Bartolomeo, 148 Benjamin, Walter, 82 Bentivoglio, Annibale, 47 Bentivoglio, Ercole, 154 Bentivoglio, Sante, 19, 53, 70 Bentivoglio of Bologna, 13 Beolcho, Giovanni, 63 Bercken, Lodewyk van, 60 Bergognone, Ambrogio: Coronation of the Virgin with Francesco and Ludovico Sforza, 101–2, 101 (detail), 111 Bernardino da Corte, 39 Bernardino da Siena, 40, 53, 97, 106, 107 berrette (hat) black, 40, 153, 155, 159 as burial accessory, 79 crimson-dyed, 40, 59, 61, 67, 68, 73, 79, 115, 136, 142, 142, 145 gem-studded, 40, 59, 60, 67, 133, 145, 147, 155 paper folded within, 73, 145 symbolism, 40, 133, 142

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Berruguete, Pedro. See Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro beryl (mineral), 3–4 Bessarion, Basilius (cardinal), 53 betrothals and dowries, 37, 38, 43, 46 flowers symbolizing, 37, 38 matrimonial consummation rituals, 88 to relatives, 77–78 women’s physical assessments, 80, 85, 87–88 women’s portraits celebrating, 37, 38 Bettini, Simone, 43 Bevilacqua, Giovanni Ambrogio, 71 Bianca Maria Sforza, 37, 38, 48, 53, 136 Bianca Maria Sforza (Predis, A. de), 37, 38 Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza blond hair recipes, 138 brocade availability, 44 death of, 1 dotal city (Cremona), 101 duke visits and admiration of, 145 gems and jewelry, 56, 59 husband’s facial imperfection remedies, 141 mother’s role as grandmother, 94, 146 Sforza devices depicted in art and clothing, 102, 102, 105 son’s betrothal, 85, 87, 88 son’s name and appearance criticism, 128 Bianchini, Giovanni, 136, 136 Bibbiena, Bernardo, 115 Bible of Borso d’Este, 99, 99 Biblioteca Estense, Modena, 70 Bichignola, 45, 45 Birago, Giovanni Pietro Grammatica (or Ianua) manuscript illustrations, attrib., 19, 145–46, 147 La Sforziada frontispiece, 37, 49, 50, 102 birth trays, 89–91, 90 Bischizza, Giovanni, 47 biscione (device), 32, 33, 51, 60, 98 black (color) for clothing, 15, 18, 40, 43, 47, 125, 135, 151–59, 153, 156 for gems and foils, 63, 64 for hair, popularity of, 129–30 mercury treatments and tooth discoloration, 139

McCall book.indb 205

bleaching, 130, 138, 139, 158 blond hair aristocratic aspirations and obsession with, 126, 132, 133, 135, 155 characterizations of, 133 methods for obtaining, 130, 133, 138 painting techniques for, 133 portraits criticized for, 130, 131 praise of, 4, 7, 8, 119, 120, 121, 136 symbolism, 129, 133 blue (color), 35, 42, 52, 64, 72, 77, 111, 154 Boccaccino, Antonio, 47 Boccaccino, Boccaccio, 47, 136, 137 Boccaccio, Giovanni, 84 bodily form and representation appearance preoccupation, 5, 27, 144–45 armor accentuating, 92 courtly masculine ideal of, 81 defects, deformities, and injuries, 13, 85, 96, 126, 139, 141–42, 151 device placement, 105–6 eroticism of, 106–7, 116, 148 idealized, 7, 136, 141, 142, 143 men’s silhouette fashioning, 19, 89, 92, 96 nudity, 79, 84–89, 115 painting representations vs. life comparisons, 145 posture effected by fashion, 112 weight management, 5, 27, 95, 144 See also beauty; blond hair; legs; whiteness bodyguards. See footmen Boiardo, Matteo Maria, 8, 58, 132, 133, 136, 143–44 Bologna (Italy), 13, 40, 47, 53, 130 Boltraffio, Giovanni Antonio, 136, 137 bombazine, 18 Bombyx mori, 48 Bona of Savoy beauty of, 88, 89, 138 betrothals, 88, 89, 96, 105 brocade patterns worn by, 42, 42 gems and jewelry, 56, 102 hands of, 138 husband’s mistress’ jewelry, 62 husband’s soul-saving efforts, 1 matrimonial consummation rituals, 88, 89 wedding gifts with Sempervivum motifs, 35, 37, 42

Bona of Savoy Presented by a Martyr Saint (Bugatto, attrib.), 42, 42 (detail) Bonatto, Bartolomeo (Mantuan ambassador in Milan), 51 Bono (barber), 139 Book of Hours, 110, 154 Book of the Courtier (Castiglione), 67, 88, 118, 148, 151, 157 books, clasps and fasteners for, 70 Borgia, Lucrezia, 34, 62, 67 Borso d’Este accessibility of, 124–25 aging representations, 122 agricultural production, 122–23 armor, 30 beauty of, 7, 120–22 belts, 70 black clothing, 156 brocades, 30, 34, 39–40, 44, 79, 133 burial clothing, 79 calze, 110–11, 136, 136 courtiers of, 8–10, 10–11, 99, 116–17, 121–22 ducal ceremonies of, 39–40, 53, 74, 75 frescoes featuring, 10, 11, 113, 116–17, 117, 121, 125 Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s meeting with, 146 gem-infused clothing, 59–60, 66 gems and jewelry, 40, 59, 136, 136 gifts to Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 111 gloves, 137 hair color, 122, 123 hats, 59, 61, 121, 133, 136, 138, 139 illuminated bibles of, 99, 99 profile portraits, drawings, 122, 123 profile portraits, manuscript illustrations, 123, 123 profile portraits, painted, 40, 59, 61, 122 spurs, 74, 75 stamps with devices, 123 statues of, 40 sumptuary laws adjusted by, 82–83 sunscreens, 139 textile payments made by, 43–44 textile production and purchases, 46, 47–48, 52–53 Borso d’Este (Baldassare d’Este), 59, 61, 122 Borso d’Este (Pisanello), 122, 123

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Borso d’Este and His Court, April (Cossa) aging imagery, 11, 121 (detail), 122 brocaded tunics, 11, 34 calze with insignia, 11, 99, 110–11 court displays, 11, 121, 122 courtier’s belt, 70, 70 (detail) dress as social status marker, 112 footmen featured in, 10, 77 lord and subject relations, 125 male leg displays, 10–11, 115 social hierarchy displays, 8–10 Borso d’Este and His Court, March (Cossa) aging imagery, 117, 122 agricultural displays, 122 courtier displays, 117, 122 courtier’s calza with seam, 108, 108 (detail) fresco view, 116–17 lord and subjects, 125 male leg displays, 115, 116–17 social status distinctions, 112, 120 undress as social status marker, 112 Borso d’Este Meeting with Courtiers and Subjects, July (Unknown artist), 112, 113, 122, 125 bottoni (buttons), 71, 92, 94, 94, 157, 157 Boza, Gallo, 178n34–35 bracelets, 56 brachetta/braghetta, 106 braghe (underpants), 89, 90, 91, 94 Bramante, Donato, 132, 146 Bramantino (Bartolomeo Suardi), 146 brass, 34, 65, 71, 75 breast exposure, 84, 89 breeching, 108 Brera altarpiece (Piero della Francesca), 75 brigandine, 24, 26 brilliance (term usage), 3, 7 Brivio, Giovanni Francesco, 35, 36 Brivio dynasty, 63 brocades acquisitions of, 4, 44, 49, 51–52, 52 armor with, 24, 25, 26, 30 artisans for, 46 in black, 47, 154 as burial clothing, 74, 79 care and maintenance, 39 as currency, 43–44, 56

McCall book.indb 206

definition, 33 doublets of, 18–19, 51, 74, 79, 97, 105, 112 drawings of, 34, 35 for ducal ceremonies, 39–40 with dynastic devices, lilies, 2, 41–42 dynastic devices on calze, 11, 99, 110–11, 117, 123, 136, 136 with dynastic devices of the Este, 11, 110–11, 117, 123, 136, 136 with dynastic devices of the Sforza, 35, 37, 38, 49, 51, 98, 99–102, 101, 102, 102–3, 105–6 dynastic devices on tunics, 4, 51, 96, 99, 98, 100–102, 101, 102, 102–3, 105–6, 123 embellishments of, 4, 57, 58, 59, 67, 69, 70 English terms for, 34 expenditures on, 37, 39, 49, 51, 52, 57 French terms for, 34 Italian terms for, 34 for mantles, 23 materials and descriptions, 2, 24, 34, 37, 41, 42, 42–43, 74, 77, 78, 96, 121, 133, 136, 154, 157, 157 popularity of, 33–34 production of, 33, 46–49, 57 prohibitions on, 53 sensory effects of, 17, 34 sumptuary laws on, 82 symbolism, 39, 57 threads for, 17, 34, 46, 59 for Venetian doges, 157, 157 wearing, 17 Broletto Nuovo (Palazzo della Ragione), Milan, 28, 65 bronze clasps, 70 bronze medals, 30, 32, 33, 100, 100 brooches (fermagli) black clothing accentuating, 154 for calze adornment, 110 children wearing, 58, 58, 67, 145, 147 collections featuring, 60, 133, 136 cost of diamond-studded, 59 as currency, 56 as dynastic devices, 37, 60, 63 as gifts and dowries, 37, 58–59, 111 brushes (device), 37, 38, 129, 129 buckles, 70, 109 Bugatto, Zanetto

Bona of Savoy Presented by a Martyr Saint, attrib., 42, 42 (detail) heavy drinking, 56 buratto (device), 63, 98 Burckhardt, Jacob, 13 Burke, Jill, 84 Buss, Chiara, 35, 67 buttons, 71, 92, 94, 94, 157, 157 Caimi, Franchino, 146 Calcagnini, Teofilo, 70, 72, 74, 110, 122 Calco, Tristano, 52 Caleffini, Ugo, 79, 120, 136 calzaioili (hosiers), 108, 109 calze (hose, stockings) age and styles of, 96 attachment methods, 91–92, 92, 108, 111, 112, 114 boyhood rite of passage and wearing, 108 burials in, 79 construction of, 108, 108, 109 criticism and censorship, 106–7 in dynastic colors (see calze a divisa) dynastic devices embroidered on, 99, 110–11, 123, 136, 136 embellishment of, 11, 108, 110, 111 erotic associations, 106, 107 as fashion trend, 8, 107–8, 112, 114, 115, 116 fraternal societies dedicated to display of, 110, 128 legal restrictions on, 111 lower social class and condition of, 93, 112, 113, 116, 117, 125 matrimonial consummation rituals with, 88 as marks of favor, 111, 138 materials for, 108 men’s silhouettes influenced by, 89, 92 particolored, 20, 106, 107, 108, 112, 114 particolored striped, 108 with protective soles, 109 removal or loosening of, 91–92, 92, 93, 109 seamed horizontally, 101, 108, 108 youth activities and displays of, 89, 90, 91, 91, 110 calze addogate, 108 calze a divisa assassins identified by, 111–12

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in Este colors, 115, 117 function and style of, 98, 108, 110 in Sforza colors, 41, 41, 77, 78, 101, 105, 111, 145, 147 calze dimidiate/dimezzate, 108 calze sberlate, 108, 108 calze solate, 109 Camera d’Oro, Castello di Torrechiara, 5, 6, 32, 75, 76, 77, 79 Camera Griselda, Castello di Roccabianca, 84– 85, 86, 87 Camera Picta, Castello di San Giorgio, 12, 19, 20, 71, 75, 96, 109, 109 (detail), 144 camerieri (chamberlains), 4, 39, 49, 51, 122, 130 camicie (camicia), 84, 89, 179n50 Camilla of Aragon, 72, 106, 107 Cammelli, Antonio, 130 Campbell, Jean, 13–14 Campi, Giulio: Madonna and Child with Saints Sigismund of Burgundy, Jerome, Daria, and Chrysanthus, with Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza, 101–2, 102 (detail) capes, 40, 89 cappelli di paglia, 39, 138, 140 Caprotti, Gian Giacomo, 71 caps (cuffie), 42, 42, 58, 59, 60 Caracciolo, Giulia, 98 Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), 27 Carbone, Ludovico, 120, 121 carnations, 37, 38 Carpaccio, Vittore fashion plates in paintings by, 110 St. George and the Dragon, 112 Casa, Giovanni della, 92, 106 Cassaria (Ariosto, L.), 138 castalderie, 122–24 Castello del Buonconsiglio, 122 Castello della Manta, 92, 94, 94 Castello di Beldiletto, 75 Castello di Issogne, 108, 109 Castello di Roccabianca, 84–85, 86, 87 Castello di San Giorgio, 19, 20, 75, 96, 109, 109 (detail) Castello di Torrechiara, 5, 6, 32, 75, 76, 77, 79 Castello Sforzesco, Milan

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collections of, 24, 26, 42, 44, 86, 87, 102, 129 fires at, 27 frescoes planned for, 39, 77, 100 frescoes within, 48, 48, 49, 132–33, 146 painted maps of, 103 Castello Visconteo, Pavia, 27, 56, 65, 111, 175n30 Castel Nuovo, 30, 32 Castiglione, Baldassare, 67, 88, 115, 148, 151 Cavalcabò, Giovanna, 79 Cavaniglia, Diego, 19, 71, 97, 97, 108 Cavaniglia, Garzia, 97–98, 98 Cecilia Gallerani (Leonardo da Vinci), 166n14 celate (celata) (sallets), 28, 30, 31 Cellini, Benvenuto, 63, 64, 66 Cennini, Cennino, 132 Certosa di Pavia, 101–2, 101 (detail), 103, 111 chains and necklaces bejeweled, 2, 4, 37, 42, 50, 56, 58, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 66, 67, 133, 155 with black clothing, 135, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 as calze embellishment, 110 collections featuring, 40, 49, 60, 66, 67, 75, 146 of courtiers, 51, 52, 67 as currency, 56 as diplomatic gifts, 67 with dynastic devices and insignias, 37, 42, 66, 102 with knighthood order pendants, 23, 23, 152, 153, 158, 166n15 lordship identification, 127, 127 noble children’s portraits featuring, 58, 58, 67, 68 orders for, 67 as tunic embellishments, 72 as wedding gifts, 42, 102 chalcedony, 60, 66 chamberlains, 4, 39, 49, 51, 122, 130 Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, 60, 155 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, 152 Charles V, king of France, 152 Charles VI, king of France, 19 Charlotte, queen of France, 42, 88 Chaucer, Geoffrey, 84 cheesecloth, wrung (device), 63, 98 chickens, for artificial pearl polishing, 66 Chiesa, Luchino della, 60

children (boys) archetypal beauty of, 143 armor of, 19, 20, 21, 21, 26, 147 breeching and first calze, 108 courtliness monitoring and visibility expectations, 145–46 fashion style of, 20, 84, 89–91, 90, 91, 96, 111 first shaves, 139 weight management of, 144 Christian, king of Denmark, 45 chrysoberyl, 3 ciambellotto (zambellotto), 19, 154, 166n9 cimieri (cimiero). See helmet crests cioppe (cioppa), 89, 95 civet cats, 138 civettino (game), 89–91, 90 clasps, 70, 72 Claude, queen of France, 71 “Clerk’s Tale” (Chaucer), 84 clothing, overview age and weight gain concealment, 95–96 armored, 12, 17, 19, 24–29, 25, 26, 72 body dependency of, 84 censorship and restrictions, 53, 97, 106–7 colors and dyes for, 12, 18, 40, 158 dressing assistance, 92, 94, 94 dressing with detachable sleeves, 85, 87 identity, 83–84, 105, 110 men’s layers of, descriptions, 89 multiple changing of, 52 multisensory embodiment of, 12 recycling, 18, 44 removal of outer, 89–92, 90, 91 social status distinctions, 9, 17–18, 82 sumptuary laws on, 14, 23, 40, 82–83, 110 See also specific pieces of clothing: doublets, hose, mantles, tunics, etc. coats of plates (armored garments), 12, 17, 19, 24–29, 25, 26 cobblers, 109–10 codpieces, 106 coins, 27, 28, 125, 146 Cola da Montano, 28 collars. See chains and necklaces collars, dog, 64, 100 Colleoni, Bartolomeo, 29, 112

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Colonna, Vittoria, 151 Commentary on Virgil (Servius), 85 Compagnia dei Fedeli, 110 Compagnia dei Potenti, 110, 128 Compagnie della calza, 110 “Contro il portar la toga” (Galileo Galilei), 95 copper for artificial gem faceting, 64 for artificial jewel mounting, 65 -based green pigments for artificial gems, 63 brocade threads in alloys of, 34 magete of, 71 helmet material, 30 spurs of, 75 coral, 56, 62, 71 Corazzine, Micheleto delle, 26 corazzine/corazze (armored garments), 12, 17, 19, 24–29, 25, 26, 144 Corio, Bernardino beheaded lord’s burial display, 79 calze with dynastic colors, 111 Galeazzo’s white hands, 138 protective wear and assassination, 27, 144 Sforza court display descriptions, 4, 51, 52 Cornazzano, Antonio, 43–44 cornflower, 37, 38 Corno, Giovanni, 47 Coronation of the Virgin with Francesco and Ludovico Sforza (Bergognone), 101–2, 101 (detail), 111 Correggio, Niccolò da, 58 cosmetics, 130, 138–39, 141 Cossa, Francesco del Aries and the Decans of March, 125–26, 126, 133 May, 92, 93 (detail), 112, 122, 123–24, 125 in novels, 59–60 Weavers and Embroiderers / The Fates, 46, 47 See also Borso d’Este and His Court, April (Cossa); Borso d’Este and His Court, March (Cossa) Court, The (Mantegna), 109, 109 (detail) courtiers Africans (Moors) as, 126–28 armored garments gifted to, 26 with Black attendants, 129 calze of, 110, 111

McCall book.indb 208

chains as gifts to, 67 courtly displays of, 4, 5, 8–10, 10–11, 34, 39, 43, 46, 51, 52, 53, 67, 70, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 81, 94, 99, 99, 100, 108, 110, 115, 120, 121, 121–22, 125, 133, 136, 137, 138, 148, 155 double portraits of lords and, 73 as gem acquisition advisers, 60, 62 rubbing gold off crimson velvet, 154 selection criteria, 52, 122 textiles as gifts to, 44 courtliness children monitored for, 145–46 court displays of, 3, 4, 5, 8–10, 29, 39, 51, 52, 121 hierarchical values of, 5, 8 marks of, 1, 3, 67, 112, 115–16, 120, 132 as republican virtue, 13–14 crakows, 110, 136 Crane, Susan, 105 Cremona (Italy), 59, 88, 96, 101, 103, 111, 138 crimson (color) for civic officials, 157 color fastness of, 18, 40 as dynastic color, 108, 111 fabric cost comparisons, 52 for gem enhancement, 64 materiality of, 40 sumptuary laws on, 40, 83 Cristoforo da Soncino, 146 Crivelli, Lucrezia, 39 Crivelli, Taddeo, 99 Cropper, Elizabeth, 143 crown and palm (device), 98 crystals, 3, 63, 64, 65, 66, 71 cuffie (cuffia) (caps), 42, 42, 58, 59, 60 cuirasses, 24, 26, 29, 29, 144 currency, 27, 28, 43–44, 56, 125, 146 daggers, 14, 26, 28, 70, 74, 75, 127 damask as armor lining, 26 armored garments in, 26 belts of, 100 black, 152, 158 for courtiers’ garments, 39, 51, 52 doublets of, 19, 71, 92, 96, 154 for ducal ceremonies, 156

as gifts, 43, 44 as payment, 43 as silk type, 34, 57 tunics of, 78, 154 for Venetian doges, 157, 157 Damiano da Barzi, 28 Daniele da Norsa, 166n16 Danti, Vincenzo, 180n96 darkness, 15, 119, 120, 128, 129–30, 139 See also dark-skinned people dark-skinned people associations of, 15, 119, 143 astrological decan, 125, 126 attendants, 126–27, 129 footmen, 28, 127, 127–28, 129, 129 identity of, 127 laborers, 92, 93, 116, 120, 122, 125, 126 Moors, 49, 127, 127–29, 129 Romani, 126 servants, 126, 127, 129, 129 enslaved people, 126, 127, 178n29 South Asian mahouts, 129 supplicants-subjects, 112, 113, 117, 120, 124–26 David (Donatello), 115 David (Michelangelo), 115 “De Beryllo” (Nicolaus Cusanus), 3 Decameron (Boccaccio), 84 Decembrio, Angelo, 136 Decembrio, Pier Candido, 95 defects, deformities, and injuries, 13, 85, 96, 126, 139, 141–42, 151 De impedimentis matrimonii (Mangiaria), 77–78, 78, 111 De sphaera (manuscript), 91, 91, 100, 100 devices, dynastic. See paraduro; Sforza devices and emblems De VII litteris huius nominis Borsius (Carbone), 120 diamonds acquisition and cost, 59, 60 artificial, 65 buttons with, 71 clothing studded with, 96 dowries including brooches with, 37, 40 enhancements to, 63–64 gem collections featuring, 60, 63, 152

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index  209

geographic origins, 57 jewelry with, 37, 41, 56, 58, 59, 60, 62, 152 largest, 60 diarrhea, 109 Diodato (jester), 44 Dionigi da Sesto, 62 Dionisio (enslaved person), 126 diploide. See doublets (garments) disrobing in public, 84, 85, 86, 92 See also nudity Doge Leonardo Loredan (Bellini), 157, 157 dog handlers, 19, 20, 53 dogs in children’s portraits, 145, 147 as dynastic devices, 50, 51, 98, 99, 100, 100–106, 101, 102, 104 hunting, 19, 20, 51, 64 dolls, fashion, 82 Domenico dei Cammei, 63 Donatello Borso statue commission, 40 crimson garments gifted to, 40 David, 115 Donato (barber), 139 doublets (artificial gems), 63, 64 doublets (garments) black, 154 as burial clothing, 18, 18, 74, 79, 112 calze attachments to, 71, 89, 91–92, 92, 108, 112, 114 crimson, 2, 18, 18, 19, 43 criticism and censorship of, 106–7 decrees on, 106 dressing challenges, 92, 94, 94 with ergonomic support, 112 fabrics for, 18–19 fashion styles of, 15, 18, 19, 40, 74, 89, 92, 96, 97, 111, 112, 133, 144–45 fastenings for, 71, 92, 94, 94 of footmen, 51, 77 garment descriptions, 18, 89 as gifts, 43, 51 Italian terms for, 18, 89 of jousters, 105 of pages, 24, 25, 115 makers of (zupponari), 110

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materials for, 18, 19, 26, 51, 72 origins of, 19 tunic removal and views of, 89, 90, 91, 91, 94, 95, 144 wearers’ irritation with, 94–95 doves, 37, 50, 52, 66 dowries, 37, 43, 56, 60 dragon, 112, 139 dragon (biscione device), 32, 33, 51, 60, 98 drownings, 96, 98, 128, 142 duels, 29, 32 dupline (artificial gems), 63, 64 dwarfs, 11, 44, 99, 125, 133 Dyer, Richard, 132 dyes ancient sources for, 66 for beards, 138 color fastness of, 18, 40 fabric, 35, 39, 40, 47, 53, 96, 96, 110, 111, 155, 157, 158, 159 for feathers, 139 for gems and precious materials, 63–64 for hair, 130 for leather, 75, 110 origins of raw materials for, 40, 57, 158 eagle stone, 56 earrings, 60, 62 Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid (Virgil), 85 Edward IV, king of England, 23, 89, 155 effeminacy, 15, 82, 142, 151, 152 Eleonora of Aragon, 62, 96, 126, 138, 171n46 Elias, Norbert, 119 embroiderers, 19, 39, 41, 43, 46, 47, 47, 56, 74, 87, 111, 154 emeralds, 3, 37, 60, 63, 71 emigration restrictions, 46 enamel, 23, 23, 30, 59, 66, 67, 71, 152 Enzola, Gianfrancesco, 100, 100 ergonomic clothing, 112 ermine fur, 22, 23, 23, 133 eroticism, 88, 89, 106–7, 115, 148 Este, Alberto d’, 30, 32, 43, 72, 110 Este, Azzo d’, 78 Este, Ercole d’ accessibility of, 124

artist textile payments made by, 43 black clothing, 155, 158 Compagnie della calza memberships, 110 ducal ceremonies, 40 fashion style of, 155 gems and jewelry, 56, 58, 59, 62, 155, 158 gem-studded tunics, 96 knighthood order inductions, 115, 155 revolts against, 78 weaponry gilding, 75 weaponry restrictions, 29 weight management, 144 Este, Francesco d’, 135, 155, 156 Este, Gurone d’, 70 Este, Leonello d’ armor, 44, 47, 73 beauty of, 136 blond hair of, 122, 123, 133, 135, 138 calze, 110, 111 funeral of, 155, 156 gems and jewelry, 57, 60, 66, 67, 69, 74 painted portraits of, 67, 69, 73 reliquaries, 57 spurs, 74 tunics, 67, 69, 70 Este, Nicolò di Leonello d’, 78, 79, 110, 133, 134, 155 Este, Nicolò di Meliaduse d’, 70 Este, Nicolò III d’, 60, 67, 74, 110, 136, 139 Este, Rinaldo, 70 Este, Ugo d’, 111 Este of Ferrara burial clothing of, 79, 155 devices of (see paraduro) dynastic colors of, 108, 111, 115 hair color characteristics, 133, 135 horse racing, 44 See also Alfonso I d’Este; Baldassare d’Este; Borso d’Este; Isabella d’Este eyelets (magete), 71–72, 108 faceting, 4, 63, 64 facial skin and hair, 138, 139, 141 Falco, Benedetto di, 151, 152, 157 falconers, 53, 110, 132 falcons, 60, 105, 115 farsetto. See doublets (garments)

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210  index

fashion, overview bodies and, 8, 12, 15, 71, 81, 84, 89, 92, 106, 112 censorship and restrictions, 53, 97, 106–7 gendering of, 82 goals of, 83 hair color, 129–30 individuality and, 82, 83–84, 105, 149, 158, 159 invention of, 89 masculinity and, 7, 81, 82, 120, 151, 158, 165n24 men’s silhouettes and, 15, 71, 81, 89, 92, 112 style trends, 18, 21, 43, 51, 52, 67, 71, 81, 82, 83, 95, 96, 106, 127, 129, 144–45, 151, 152, 153, 157, 159 sumptuary laws on, 14, 23, 40, 74, 82–83, 110 transient nature of, 82, 84, 95, 158, 174n21 trendsetters in, 82, 83, 129–30, 110, 151 fastenings for armor, 70 for belts, 70 body representations influenced by, 8, 92 buttons, 71, 92, 94, 94 for calze, 71, 89, 91–92, 92, 108, 111, 112, 114 sensory effects of, 71 for upper-body garments, 72, 73, 79, 92, 94, 94, 153 Fates, 46, 47 feathers, 4, 24, 64, 72, 74, 115, 139, 145 Fede, Andrea, 98 Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (Berruguete, or Justus van Gent, or Pietro di Spagna, attrib.) dating, 180n90 dress and armor of, 21, 23–24, 32 idealized representation of, 141,142 jewelry, 23, 23 (detail), 58, 58 (detail), 67, 115, 155 knighthood order insignias, 23, 23 (detail), 115, 141, 155 manuscripts in, 21 son’s portrait, 23, 58, 58 (detail) views of, 22 weapons in, 75 Federico da Montefeltro athletic displays at court of, 91 belts as weapons accusations, 70–71 burials and corpse, 78 Compagnie della calza memberships, 110

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double portraits featuring (see Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro) dress and armor worn by, 21, 22, 23–24, 32 ducal ceremonies, 74 garters, 22, 23, 115, 141, 155 gems and jewelry, 23, 23, 56, 67 hats of, 40, 142 helmets gifted to, 30 injuries and scars, 141, 142 knighthood order, 23, 115, 141 political alliances of, 103 profile portraits of, 103, 141, 142, 142 spurs, 74 swords, 22, 75 Volterra siege, 30 Federico da Montefeltro (Piero della Francesca), 141, 142, 142 Federico Gonzaga (Francia), 130, 131, 132 Federico I Gonzaga, 144, 145, 175n53 Federico II Gonzaga armored garments of, 26 bracelets with religious texts, 56 childhood portraits and hair color, 130, 131, 132 gem medicinals used by, 55 gems gifted to, 60 as papal hostage, 56, 130 Federico of Aragon, 102, 148 Ferdinand II of Austria, 24 fermagli. See brooches Fernando Francesco d’Ávalos, 151, 152, 153, 154, 158, 159 Fernando Francesco d’Ávalos (Unknown artist), 151, 153, 159 Ferrante d’Este, 44 Ferrante of Naples attendants of, with lion’s head helmet, 30, 32 clothing of, 154 duels and age-difference humor, 29 footwear, 110 jewels given to daughter-in-law, 58 Order of the Ermine, 23 physique displays, 144 wedding of, 67 Ferrara (Italy), 13, 40, 44, 46, 47, 82, 120, 124, 126, 136, 138, 145, 156 Ferrara Cathedral, 40, 123

ferretti, 72 Festa del Paradiso (performance), 153–54 Fiamma, Galvano, 82 Ficino, Marsilio, 4, 55–56 filaori/filatrici, 46 Filarete (Antonio Averlino), 4, 64, 102 Filarete, Francesco, 51 Filelfo, Francesco, 136 filigree metalwork, 70, 111, 152 Filippo Maria Visconti age and clothing, 26, 95 medals of, 30, 32, 33 mistresses of, 94 silk workers’ economic privileges granted by, 46 treasury plundering, 59 wives of, 87 Filippo Maria Visconti (Pisanello), 30, 32, 33 fleur-de-lis (lily device), 2, 42, 42–43 Florence (Italy), 12, 13, 14, 30, 41–43, 46, 48, 51, 52–53, 56, 75, 95, 99, 103, 105, 148, 152, 154, 156 Florence Cathedral, 26 flowers, 37, 38, 74, 145, 147 foils, 33, 63, 64, 67, 154 Folco da Villafora, 73 Foligno (Italy), 83 Fondulo, Cabrino, 59 Fontana, Gabriele Paveri, 28 footmen (staffieri) clothing of, 10, 51, 77, 110, 129 duties of, 75, 77 at Sforza assassination, 28, 127, 127–28, 178n34 footwear, 49, 65, 72, 75, 84, 94, 108, 109, 109–10, 133, 136, 145 Foppa, Vincenzo: Giovanni Francesco Brivio, 35, 36 Foscari, Francesco, doge of Venice, 59 Foucault, Michel, 148 Fountain of Youth, 92, 94 Frambaglia da Pavia, Agostino, 47, 73–74 Francesco da Carcano, 47 Francesco da Riva, 128, 178n34 Francesco d’Este (Weyden), 155, 156 Francesco II Gonzaga arming points, 19, 20 armor, 24, 25, 96

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clothing and armored garments gifted by, 24, 44 horse race winnings, 44 lost jewels of, 59 painted portraits of, 20, 24, 25, 74–75, 96 spurs, 74–75 textiles uses, 44 tunics, 24, 25, 96 Francesco I Sforza age and clothing, 96 age and weight gain comments, 144 allies of, 97, 98, 99, 102, 103, 176n81 armor and armored garments of, 24, 45 authority displays, 12, 13, 39, 77 beauty of, 136–37 calze with dynastic colors, 101, 111 clothing borrowed from, 144–45 courtier displays, 39 daughter’s dowry, marriage and death, 56–57 death of, 103, 156 ducal ceremonies, 39, 141 dynastic devices of, 35, 99, 100, 100–102, 101, 102, 103, 104 equestrian monument, 103 frescoes featuring, 101, 101, 111 hats, 40, 73, 138 health issues, 13, 96 idealized cities of, 64 jewelry as currency, 56 knighthood order inductions, 115 magete on tunics of, 72, 73 mourning displays, 155 naming of son, 128 portraits of, 49, 50, 72, 73, 101, 102, 102, 103, 104 silk and brocade production protections, 46 skin imperfections, 139, 141 son’s betrothal assessments, 85, 87 Francesco Sforza (Bembo or Predis, C. de, attrib.), 72, 73 Francesco Sforza (Unknown artist), 103, 104 Francesco II Sforza, 21, 58, 59 Francesco Sforza, “il duchetto,” 49, 50, 130 Francia, Francesco: Federico Gonzaga, 130, 131, 132 Franco dei Russi, 99 François I, king of France, 116–17 Franzone, 28, 111–12, 178n34

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Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor brocade availability during visits of, 44 courtiers dressed in garlands, 74 courtiers with blond wigs, 133 manuscripts given to, 133, 136 noble attire when visiting, 21, 40, 53, 59, 60, 110 Fregoso, Federico, 151 French style clothing, 152, 153, 154 fringes, 29, 46, 70, 72, 95, 97, 154 frixarie, 46 funerary rituals beheadings and head reattachments, 78 burial clothing and adornment, 18, 18, 19, 74, 79, 112, 159 corpse preparation, 28, 78–79 mourning colors, 155–56 orations, 142 pre-burial corpse exhibitions, 78 social status and, 78, 79 weaponry accessories, 74, 75 furs clothing lined with, 19, 22, 23, 23, 34, 35, 42, 43, 58, 58, 82, 96, 133, 154 hats lined with, 79 symbolism, 23 fustian, 18, 108 Galeazzo Maria Sforza armor and armored garments of, 5, 19, 21, 26, 27, 29, 39, 45, 72 assassination of, 5, 17, 26, 27–29, 52, 111, 127, 127–28, 170n135 beauty of, 4, 132, 133, 138 betrothals, 85, 87–88, 89, 96, 138 black clothing, 154, 155, 156 brocade deliveries and care, 39 brocades and brocade expenditures, 34, 39, 40, 41, 43, 49, 51, 52, 53, 74, 77, 153, 170n130 burial preparation, 28 calze of, 41, 41, 78, 94, 108, 110, 111 chapel of, 133 childhood and courtliness monitoring, 146 coins of, 27, 28 color preferences, 42 Compagnie della calza memberships, 110 courtier selection criteria, 122

criticism of, 1, 14, 64–65 depilation and shaving, 139 display of self and court, 4, 5, 14, 29, 39, 49, 51–52, 74, 77, 110, 111, 144, 145–46, 148 doublets, 2, 19, 40, 43, 94 doublet-wearing challenges, 94 dressing assistance, 94 ducal ceremonies, 39, 156 duels, 29 Este court praise, 121–22 fashion style sense, 51, 82 footwear of, 72, 94, 110 Florence, visits to, 4, 14, 40, 41–43, 51, 62, 74, 105, 111, 145, 148 French women relations, 87 gem acquisition advisers for, 60, 62 gem falsification penalties ordered by, 65 gems and jewelry, 2, 4, 21, 56, 59, 60, 62, 64, 67, 110, 111 ghelleri, 2, 42, 43 gloves, 2, 138 grandmother’s death and mourning colors, 155–56 hands, 138 helmets of, 30 insignia, 2, 41–43, 49, 70, 102, 105 insignia-bearing garments as gifts, 98, 105 jousts, 4, 74, 105, 111 manuscript illustrations featuring, 29, 29, 40– 41, 41, 77–78, 78 mistresses of, 57, 60, 62, 72 pomposity self-declarations, 1 portraits of, 2, 4, 27, 28, 39, 41, 41, 42, 43, 77–78, 78, 103 rock crystal collection of, 64 signet rings, 102 Spanish clothing styles, 153 tunics of, 19, 29, 29, 77, 78 unicorn horns owned by, 56 wedding and wedding gifts of, 37, 42, 102, 105 weight gain and body image, 5, 27, 28, 144 Galeazzo Maria Sforza (Pollaiuolo, P. del), 2, 4, 41, 43, 103 Galilei, Galileo, 95 Gallerani, Cecilia, 39, 166n14 Game of Civettino (Lo Scheggia), 89–91, 90

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gangrene, 141 Ganymede (mythological character), 106, 107, 132, 145 Ganymede’s stockings, 106 garlands, 74, 133, 136 garters, 22, 23, 115, 141, 155 Gattamelata (Erasmo da Narni), 103 Gattamelata, Francesco (Ferrarese envoy to Tunisia), 138 gauntlets, 6, 76, 137 gaze boys as male beauty models, 143 female nudity and, 84, 85, 87, 88 jewel effects, 55, 62 for scrutiny and comparison, 115–16, 120, 132, 143–44, 148 visibility and expectation of, 3–10, 10, 14, 15, 17, 84, 112, 119, 120, 143, 144–49 gems and stones artificial, 63–66 astrological and magical qualities of, 3, 55, 56 “brilliant” terminology origins, 3–4 buttons of, 71 for calze adornment, 108, 110 care and management of, 59 carving and polishing, 55, 58, 60, 64, 66, 71 clothing embroidered with, 4, 17, 57–58, 59 collections of, 58, 59–60, 63, 152, 159 as currency, 43, 56 enhancements to, 63, 64, 66 falsification of, 64–65 on garters, 22, 23, 115, 155 geographic origins of, 57 with individual identities, 62–63 medicinal properties of, 55, 56 plundering of treasuries with, 59 princes compared to, 4 provenance importance, 62 settings for, 63, 65 value or cost of, 57, 59, 62, 64 visual effects of, 4, 12, 55, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64 See also balases and balas spinels; brooches (fermagli); diamonds; jewelry; pearls; rubies gender beauty and, 132, 143

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bodies and, 5, 7, 8, 10, 82, 143 humoral system and, 139 effeminate/androgynous perceptions, 15, 82, 142, 152 fifteenth-century fashion and, 82 legs of, 8, 81 Genealogia de’ Signori d’Este (manuscript), 122, 123, 133, 135, 155 Genoa (Italy), 47, 57, 63, 65, 77 George, Saint festivities honoring, 4, 19, 21, 39, 51–52, 77, 100, 111 as Sforza patron saint, 51 with straw hat, 139, 140 ghelleri, 2, 43 Giacomo da Milano, Giusto, 47, 110 Giacomo Jaquerio, circle of: Castello della Manta fresco, 92, 94, 94 Giampietro da Gerenzano, 19, 41 Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, 144 Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga, 144 Gianfrancesco I Pallavicino, 111 Gian Galeazzo Sforza armor of, 19, 21 black hair dye, 130 court displays, 52 death of, 39, 128 gem-embroidered clothing of, 58 gems and jewelry, 62, 65 manuscript illustrations of, 49, 50, 77–78, 78 marriage of, 72, 78, 127, 153 shaving, 139 Gian Galeazzo Visconti, 42, 64 gifts armor and armored garments 24, 30, 44 clothing, 43, 44, 96, 98, 99, 102–3, 105–6, 110, 111, 139, 155 cosmetics, 138 gems and jewelry, 37, 42, 59, 60, 62, 67, 102, 111 straw hats, 138 Giorgio d’Alemagna, 66, 136 giornee. See tunics giornee a divisa, 4, 51, 98, 99, 100–106, 101, 102, 104, 123 Giovanna of Aragon, 67 Giovanni da Capestrano, 106–7

Giovanni delle Bande Nere, 166n44 Giovanni Francesco Brivio (Foppa), 35, 36 Giovio, Paolo, 103, 128 Girolamo da Cremona, 99 giubboni (giubbone). See doublets (garments) Giulio Cesare da Varano, 75 gloves, 2, 76, 137–38 God, 14, 53, 85, 97, 107, 133, 145 gold armored garments embellished with, 26 armor gilded with, 30, 44, belts and garters with, 22, 23, 37, 57, 79, 71, 82, 97, 115, 133, 141, 155 as brocade thread cover, 34, 41, 46, 48, 154 buckles and buttons made from, 70, 71, 109, 157 calze embroidered with metallic threads of, 111 calze laces with points of, 21, 70, 111 clothing embellishments of, 72–74, 96 clothing gilded with, 53 cloth-of- (see brocades) coins, 27, 28, 43, 47, 52, 56, 106, 146 foils of, 64, 67, 154 hair or wigs woven with or described as, 4, 8, 74, 92, 121, 122, 128, 130, 133, 136, 138 for helmet embellishment, 24, 30, 31, 32, 39, 74 jewelry as currency, 56 laws on jewel mounting with, 65 leather gilded with, 21, 70, 110, 137 magete finished in, 71 medicinal consumption of, 55–56 as painted embellishment, 5, 24, 25, 100, 111, 139 qualities and values of, 4, 8, 136, 159 spurs, stirrups, and saddles of, 29, 74–75,112, 115, 145 swords and weapons gilded with, 74, 75, 77, 148 See also chains and necklaces gold alloys, 34, 64, 66, 75 goldbeaters, 46, 47, 48, 66, 74 gold leaf, 24, 25, 71 goldsmiths, 30, 56, 59, 60, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 123 gold-thread spinners, 46 Gondi, Giuliano, 52 gonnelle (gonnella), 89 Gonzaga, Alessandro, 87

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Gonzaga, Carlo, 144 Gonzaga, Dorotea, 85, 87–88 Gonzaga, Francesco (cardinal), 20, 88, 96, 136, 175n53 Gonzaga, Giovanni, 52 Gonzaga, Ludovico, bishop of Mantua, 19, 20, 96, 175n53 Gonzaga, Rodolfo, 67, 148–49 Gonzaga, Sigismondo, 20, 175n53 Gonzaga, Susanna, 85 Gonzaga, Vincenzo I, 66 Gonzaga of Mantua armory inventories, 18, 75, 96 ancestral sins of, 85 horses of, 44 Milanese brocade acquisitions, 39, 47, 52 See also Federico I Gonzaga; Federico II Gonzaga; Francesco II Gonzaga; Ludovico III Gonzaga; Margherita Gonzaga gout, 141 Grammatica (Aelius Donatus), 19, 130, 130, 145– 46, 147 grana, 40, 47–48, 53 green (color) beryl colors of, 3 as Este dynastic color, 66, 77, 108, 111, 115 for gem imitations, 63 silk dyed, 35, 42, 43, 51, 52, 72, 77, 99, 115, 133, 137, 153 as Visconti dynastic color, 111 Gregory the Great, 21, 21, 22 griffon and griffon’s talons (amulet), 30, 56 Griselda Disrobed (Unknown artist), 84–85, 86 Griselda Evicted from the Palace (Unknown artist), 85, 86 Gritti, Andrea, doge of Venice, 157 grommets/eyelets (magete), 71–72, 108 Guarino da Verona, 178n21 Guicciardini, Francesco, 151 Guidobaldo da Montefeltro gems and jewelry, 58, 58, 67 knighthood order inductions, 115 painted portraits of, 67, 68 painted portraits with father, 21, 22, 38, 58 (detail) Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (Bartolomeo della Gatta), 67, 68

McCall book.indb 213

hair aristocratic aspirations of, 5, 7, 132, 133 bleaching and dyeing methods, 5, 130, 138, 158 facial, 139 for fake gem recipes, 64 fashion trends in, 129–30 See also blond hair hands beauty assessments of, 89, 138, 139 gloves for, 2, 76, 137–38 lotions and treatments for, 138 mutilated, 28 whiteness of, 137, 138 whitening recipes, 139 hats and headdresses African, 129, 129 caps (cuffie), 42, 42, 58, 59, 60 crownless straw, 138 dignity offense and, 89 embellishments of, 24, 25, 74, 139, 173n106 straw, 138–39, 140 of Venetian doges, 157 See also berrette hearts, 23, 28, 60, 84, 85, 106, 120 Heldenrüstkammer of Ferdinand II of Austria, 24 Heller, Sarah-Grace, 89 helmet crests (cimiero) with batwings, 25, 30 biscione (dragon) imagery with, 30, 32, 33 feather embellishments, 24, 25, 72, 74 with Hercules and the griffon of Volterra, 30 tremolanti embellishments, 72 with unicorn, 32 helmets armets, 22, 23, 44, 45 barbutes, 24, 25, 30, 45, 45 displayed at tomb, 24, 96 embellishments for, 22, 30, 31, 32, 32, 39, 73, 74, 112 padded linings for, 30 sallets, 28, 30, 31 Hemingway, Ernest, 130 Henri II, king of France, 56 Henry VIII, king of France, 115–16 Hercules (mythological character), 30 Holbein, Hans, 115

homosociality Compagnie della calza, 110 in Italian courts, 8, 77, 81, 177n9 knighthood orders, 23, 53, 115, 141, 152, 155 male exhibitionism and gazing, 8, 121–22, 148 hooks, 26, 72, 110 horse coverings and trappings, 49, 75, 97, 105, 112, 129, Horse, Hunting Dogs, and Their Handlers (Mantegna), 19, 20, 75 horsemanship, 51, 74, 75, 125, 141–42, 144, 148–49 horse races, 44 hose. See calze Hosiers (Calzaioli) (Unknown artist), 108, 109 houseleeks (motif), 35, 37, 37, 38, 50, 63, 98 How to Be Both (Smith), 59–60 hyperkyphosis, 142 Ianua (Grammatica) (Aelius Donatus), 19, 130, 130, 145–46, 147 Ibn Sina, 88 identity, 83–84, 105, 110 Ifriqiya, Tunisia, 83, 138 Ilardi, Vincent, 12 India, 57, 65, 129 Inscriptions, 23, 23, 48, 56, 70, 70, 75 Ippolita Maria Sforza belts with insignias, 100 brothers’ radiant beauty, 132, 137 brother’s weight gain comment, 27 fashion style of, 84, 85 gems and jewelry, 58–59, 167n31 hand lotions, 138 manuscript illustrations featuring, 84, 85 wedding and journey of, 102–3, 148 Isabella, Countess of Vertus, 42 Isabella d’Este animals collected by, 138 Black attendants of, 126–27 brocades handed down to, 44 crownless hats of, 138 fashion reports, 52, 52, 64, 67, 82, 96, 122 as fashion trendsetter, 82 funeral attended by, 78 gems and jewelry, 3, 60, 62, 64, 65, 72 hair color recipes, 130

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Isabella d’Este (continued) marital consummation rituals, 88 medicinal and magical gems and stones of, 3, 55, 56 perfumed gold buttons as gifts from, 71 religious engravings on accessories of, 56 son’s portrait, 130, 132 textiles gifted to, 52 tooth bleaching, 139 Isabella of Aragon, 52, 72, 127, 139, 153–43, 174n129 Islamicizing metalwork, 70, 70 Italian Wars, 152 ivory, 139 ivory black, 63

July (Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia) (Unknown artist), 112, 113 (detail), 122, 115, 125, 126, 138 June (Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia) (Unknown artist), 77, 109–10, 111, 112, 123, 138 Jupiter, 107 jupons, 19 Justus van Gent. See Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro

jacks, 19 Jacopo da Cannobio, 45, 45 Jacopo della Pila: Tomb of Garzia Cavaniglia, 97–98, 98 jasper, 56 Jean, duke of Clèves, 94, 142, 144–45, 159, 180n105 Jean, duke of Berry, 122 Jean le Bon, king of France, 42 jewelry with black clothing, 155, 158, 159 bracelets, 56 collection quantities, 58 courtly status associations, 57 earrings, 60, 62 as loan collateral, 56, 60 knighthood order insignias, 23, 23, 115, 141, 152, 153, 155 multisensory effects of, 12, 55, 58–59, 62 pendants, 2, 23, 23, 37, 37, 60, 62–63, 67, 152, 153 with poison-detecting substances, 56 provenance sentimentality, 62 rings, 56, 60, 63, 102 See also brooches; chains and necklaces; gems and stones Jews, 60, 65, 166n16 John’s Gospel, 56 John the Fearless, 152 jousts, 4, 26, 32, 44, 74, 105, 111, 122, 128, 141, 142, 148 jubba, 18 Julius II, (pope), 56, 60, 130, 132

labor and adornment, 12, 15, 39, 46, 57, 74, 79, 83, 84 laborers dark-skinned, 92, 93, 116, 119, 120, 122, 125 Este agricultural production and exploitation, 122–23, 123–24, 127 idealized depictions of, 112, 123–24, 125 social status distinctions, 9, 92, 92, 93, 116, 119, 120, 122, 125 sumptuary law restrictions on clothing for, 40 Lamento del Duca Galeazo (Rota), 28–29, 127, 127–28 lampblack, 63–64 Lampugnani, Giovanni Andrea, 27, 28, 111, 178n34 lance rests, 24, 25, 26, 130, 130 lances, 29, 51, 91, 91, 141, 148 Lancillotto del Maino, 146 Landino, Cristoforo, 50 Landriani, Lucrezia, 57 Landucci, Luca, 28 Lanza, Emanuele, 34 Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci), 49 League of the Public Weal, 42 legs artistic positioning of, 41, 111, 115, 117 as beauty standard, 10–11, 108, 112, 114, 115–16, 116–17, 121, 122, 125, 142, 144, 174n20 gendered displays of, 8, 27, 81, 84, 111, 115, 116, 141, 174n1 men’s garments accentuating, 8, 15, 41, 82, 92, 107–8, 110, 112

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Kaplan, Paul, 126, 129 Khasim Bey, 44 Kuchta, David, 158

women’s, 84, 88, 89, 116 Leonardo da Vinci Baptism of Christ, with Verrocchio, 64 brocades and golden threads, 48 Sala delle Asse frescoes, 48, 48, 49 Cecilia Gallerani, 166n14 equestrian monument, 103 Festa del Paradiso, 153 gems and gem recipes, 3–4, 64, 66 Last Supper, 49 magete stamping machines of, 71 posture of models, 112 Salvator Mundi, 64 Leonello d’Este (Pisanello), 67, 69, 138 Liber Iesus (manuscript), 136, 137 Liber iudiciorum in navitate Comitis GaleazMarie Vicecomitis Lugurum futuri ducis (Vimercati), 40–41, 41, 111, 139 “libro” (balas), 62 light and radiance authority produced by, 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 15, 40, 53, 57, 78, 105, 119, 125, 132, 136–37, 130 beauty descriptions, as virtue, 120 of black fabric, 158 “brilliance” terminology usage, 3, 4, 7 descriptive terms for, 3, 4, 7, 14 visual effects of, 3, 4, 10, 12, 17, 24, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 55, 58–59, 60, 63, 64, 66, 67, 71, 81, 88, 110, 154 See also blond hair; whiteness lilies (motif), 2, 41–43, 42 Limbourg brothers, 122 linen, 17, 18, 43, 84, 89, 108 lions, 30, 31, 32 Loggia Rucellai, 105 Loredan, Leonardo, doge of Venice, 157, 157 Lo Scheggia: Game of Civettino, 89–91, 90 Louis, duke of Orléans, 60, 152 Louis of Toulouse, Saint, 49, 50 Louis XI, king of France, 42, 45, 64, 87, 88, 155 Louis XII, king of France, 63 Louis XIV, king of France, 115 Lowe, Kate, 126 Lucca (Italy), 57 lucco, 89, 95 Ludovico da Foligno, 65, 180n102

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Ludovico III Gonzaga armor, 44–45 brocades, 39, 43, 47 buttons, 20, 71 weight management, 144 daughter’s betrothal assessments and honor, 85, 87–88 fashion descriptions, 20, 67, 96 footwear of, 109, 109 frescoes featuring, 19, 20, 109 gems and jewelry, 64 niece’s marriage negotiations, 37 tunics, 20, 96, 98 weapons, 20, 75 Ludovico Sforza (Predis, A. de), 130, 130 Ludovico Sforza, il Moro assassination plots of, 27, 128 beauty of, 133 betrothals and weddings, 37, 58, 98, 128 brocades, 21, 35, 48, 52, 96–97, 154 childhood health, 111 craftsmen emigration restrictions, 46 ducal ceremonies, 39, 96 equestrian monument, 103 exile of, 128 gems and jewelry, 21, 58, 62, 63, 67 gifts of armor, clothing, and textiles, 44, 52, 111, 139 hair color and style, 129–30, 130 manuscripts commissioned by, 50, 102, 130, 130, 136, 137 Moor nickname origins and references, 128–29 mulberry fruit and trees, 48, 49, 50 nobility portraits as models for, 145 portraits of, 37, 49, 50, 101, 102, 103, 129, 129, 130, 130 poisoning of nephew, 39, 128 Romani expulsion by, 126 Sala delle Asse, 48, 48, 49 silk production promotion, 48–49 wife’s death and mourning cloths, 156 Luppi, Giacomino, 47 Machiavelli, Niccolò, 14, 128, 151 Madonna and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot and George (Pisanello), 139, 140

McCall book.indb 215

Madonna and Child with Saints Sigismund of Burgundy, Jerome, Daria, and Chrysanthus, with Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza (Campi), 101–2, 102 (detail) Madonna della Vittoria (Mantegna), 24, 25 (detail), 74–75, 96 magete/magiete/magliette (eyelets/grommets), 71–72, 73, 108 Magnano, Ludovico, 70 magnificence, term usage, 14 mahouts, 129 Maio, Giuniano, 58 Malatesta, Antonia, 149 Malatesta, Francesco (Mantuan ambassador in Milan), 67 Malatesta, Pandolfo, 18, 18, 30, 60, 112 Malatesta, Parisina, 111 Malatesta, Roberto, 125 Malatesta, Sigismondo accessories, 71, 74, 75, 110, 137, 138 armor, 24, 96, 136 belts as weapons used by, 71 breeching and first calze of, 108 burial clothing and accessories, 18, 24, 74, 75, 96, 108 corpse studies on, 78–79 doublet and tunics, 18, 19, 24, 96, 108 marriage and murder, 56–57 rejection of sumptuary law, 82 splendor of, 136 tomb effigy, 24, 96, 108 Malatesta Novello, Domenico, 142 Male Leg with Calza and Ties (Pisanello), 112, 114 Mangiaria, Gerolamo, 77–78, 78, 111 Mantegna, Andrea Adoration of the Shepherds, 123, 124, 124 Camera Picta, Castello di San Giorgio, 12, 19, 20, 71, 75, 96, 109, 109 (detail), 144 Court, The, 109, 109 (detail) Federico II Gonzaga portrait, 145 Horse, Hunting Dogs, and Their Handlers, 19, 20, 75 Leonello d’Este and courtier double portrait by, 73 Madonna della Vittoria, 24, 25 (detail), 74–75, 96 Meeting, The, 19, 20, 71, 75, 96, 144 textile payments to, 43

mantles age and style preferences, 95, 96 brocades, 21, 23, 24, 39, 40, 79, 145, 159 as burial garments, 79 for ducal ceremonies, 39, 40 as gifts, 71, 138 large, overgown styles (cioppa), 89, 95 long, sleeveless styles (mantello), 21, 22, 23 long with slits on sides styles (lucco), 89, 90, 95 with metal embellishments, 72 as outer layer, 18, 29, 77, 89, 97 short (bavaro), 24, 25, 40 of Venetian doges, 157, 157 Mantua (Italy), 82, 126, 144 March (Salone dei Messi, Palazzo Schifanoia) (Cossa), 46, 47, 125–26, 126, 133 See also Borso d’Este and His Court, March (Cossa) Margherita Gonzaga, 133, 135 Maria of Aragon, 133, 135 Marie of Savoy, 87 Marliani, Lucia, 60, 62, 72 Martorelli, Baldo, 132 masculinity critical approaches to, 7, 15, 81–82, 120, 142 duels and displays of, 29 fashion and, 7, 81, 82, 120, 151, 158, 165n24 fifteenth-century embodiments of, 7, 12, 15, 17, 19, 77, 81, 82, 92, 97, 99, 105, 145, 152 men’s legs, 15, 89, 112 modern perceptions of, 7, 81–82, 142 maspilli (buttons), 71, 92, 94, 94, 157, 157 Master of Ippolita Sforza, 85 Master of the Birago Hours, 78 Master of the Pala Sforzesca: Pala Sforzesca, 19, 21, 35, 58, 59 (detail), 67 masturbation, 146 Mathesia (Mantuan Jew), 65 matrimonial consummation rituals, 88 Mauro, Gallo, 178n34–35 Mauruzzi da Tolentino, Niccolò, 24, 25, 112 Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor, 30, 37, 48, 53, 136, 137 May (Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia) (Cossa), 92, 93 (detail), 112, 122, 123–24, 125 medals, 30, 32, 33, 100, 100, 122, 144, 180n102

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Medici, Alessandro de’, 33, 167n23 Medici, Bernardetto de’, 105 Medici, Cosimo I de’, 109, 166n44 Medici, Cosimo, il Vecchio, de’, 40, 102, 103 Medici, Giuliano de’, 26, 29 Medici, Lorenzo de’ armored garments of, 26 assassination warnings, 27 emblems of, 105 gem medicinals used by, 55 gems and jewelry, 62, 74, 159 jousts of, 4, 74, 105 mourning colors, 156 tunics as diplomatic gifts to, 99, 102–3, 105–6 Volterra siege, 30 Medici, Lucrezia de’, 105 Medici family armored garments of, 26 conspiracies against, 26, 29, 67, 103 political alliances, 99, 103, 105–6 social status of, 13 medicinals, 55–56 Meeting, The (Mantegna), 19, 20, 71, 75, 96 metallic threads for brocades, 12, 17, 33, 34, 35, 39, 41, 43, 46, 47, 48, 59, 72, 73, 97, 99, 154, 157, 158, 158 calze embroidered with, 110, 111 hair woven with, 138 metals bells, 72, 74 bling and sensory effects, 3, 12, 15, 17, 21, 55 buckles and fasteners, 70–71, 109 buttons, 71, 92, 157 clasps, 70, 72 cost and value of, 37, 55, 56, 57 hooks, 26, 72, 110 magete, 71 medals, 30, 32, 33, 100, 100, 122, 144, 180n102 in paintings, 5, 10, 12, 32, 33, 48, 75, 79, 99, 115, 125–26, 139 See also armor; copper; foils; gold; metallic threads; silver Michelangelo: David, 115 Milan (Italy) armor production in, 30, 44–46, 45 artificial jewel production in, 63, 64, 65

McCall book.indb 216

brocade production in, 34, 35, 46–49, 51, 52, 71 magete production in, 71 religious cults of, 4, 21, 39, 51, 67, 77, 100, 111 silk production and trade, 46, 52 sumptuary laws in, 82, 110 Milan Cathedral, 39, 42, 42, 44, 49, 51, 71 military attire, 19, 95, 96, 103 See also armor; armored garments; helmets Miller, Daniel, 84 mirrors, 60, 64, 75 Missaglia, Antonio, 19, 21, 26, 30 Missaglia, Bernardino, 24, 26 Missaglia, Francesco, 45 Missaglia armor workshop, 24, 44–45, 45 mistresses, 56, 57, 60, 62, 72, 76, 77, 94, 166n14 Mombrizio, Bonino, 43 monkeys, 115, 117 Montefeltro, Elisabetta, 125 Montefeltro of Urbino. See Federico da Montefeltro; Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Montreuil, Gerbert de, 133 Moors, 49, 50, 127, 127–29, 129 Moralia in Job (Gregory the Great), 21, 22 Morbiolli, Ambrogio, 47 Morbiolli, Arcangelo, 47 morello. See murrey Moro, Andrea, 28, 128 Moro, Cristoforo, doge of Venice, 29 mother-of-pearl, 60, 66 mulberry fruit and trees, 48, 48–49, 50 See also murrey multisensory experiences auditory, 12, 55, 66, 71, 72, 74, 92 as material embodiment and agency, 12, 17, 83, 103, 106, 148 visual, 3–5, 7, 12, 14, 20, 24, 32, 55, 58–59, 62, 67, 71, 92, 133, 148 Mulvey, Laura, 10 Muralto, Francesco, 82, 129 murrey (morello) cloth of, as service award, 98 as doublet material color, 18, 19 for mourning, 155–56 as Sforza dynastic color, 41, 41, 49, 78, 98, 101, 101, 108, 111, 153, 154 musicians, 67, 72, 111, 126

Muslims, 60, 62, 127, 152 mutande (underpants), 89, 91, 94 necklaces. See chains and necklaces Negroponte (Greece), 24 Nicolaus Cusanus, 3 Nicolò da Gerenzano, 154 nobility aristophilia, 8, 15, 132, 143, 148–49 beauty as virtue of, 7–8, 15, 119, 120, 132, 136–39, 143–45 hair color aspirations, 132, 133 markers of, 3, 8, 23, 55, 59, 66, 74, 77, 82, 125, 129, 132–33, 137–39, 138, 141, 143 perceptions of, 13 visibility expectations, 2–10, 15, 18, 52, 82, 84, 120, 125–26, 141, 143, 144–49 See also authority and power nose deformities and injuries, 56, 141, 142, 155 nudity betrothals and physician exams, 85, 87–88 burials, 79 dress and concepts of, 84 imagery of, 60, 84–85, 86, 89 of legs, 88, 107, 115 light and, 3, 5, 7, 15, 53, 71, 75, 119, 129, 136–37 women’s skin as, 88–89 Odes (Filelfo), 136 Old Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, 74, 75 Olgiati, Gerolamo, 28 Olgiati, Giacomino, 28 On Majesty (Maio), 58 On Pleasure (Valla), 143 Order of the Ermine, 23, 23, 180n90 Order of the Garter, 22, 23, 115, 141, 155 Order of the Golden Fleece, 53, 152, 153 Ordine delle nòze de lo illustrissimo signor misir Constantio Sfortia de Aragona (manuscript), 106, 107 oricalco, 34 Orlando (Woolf), 84 Orlando Innamorato (Boiardo), 132, 133, 143–44 Ottolino di Corneto (Ottolino dalle Arme), 30, 47 Pacioli, Luca, 48

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pages, 24, 25, 30, 105, 110, 111, 115, 117 Pagnani, Francesco, 60 Pala Sforzesca (Master of the Pala Sforzesca), 19, 21, 58, 59 (detail), 67 Palazzo della Ragione, Ferrara, 40 Palazzo Ducale, Urbino, 91 Palazzo Medici, 41, 105 Palazzo Schifanoia, 32, 48 See also Salone dei Mesi frescoes, Palazzo Schifanoia Pallia (pallium/palio) 44, 112 Panigarola, Gottardo (spenditore), 41–42, 51, 67, 139 paraduro (wattle fence device) as animal pen, 123 calze embroidered with, 11, 110–11, 123, 136, 136 jewelry with, 66 in painting and sculpture, 123, 124 stamps with, 123 tunics embroidered with, 99, 99, 123 Paris (France), 39, 45, 63, 152 Paris (Unknown artist), 112, 114 Parma (Italy), 13, 29, 82 Pasitea (play, G. Visconti), 49 Paul II, (pope), 52, 60, 64, 74 Pazzi conspiracy, 26, 29, 67 pearls artificial, 65, 66 berrette studded with, 40, 58, 59, 67, 68, 155 caps (cuffie) studded with, 42, 42, 58, 59 black clothing accentuating, 152, 159 brooches, 37, 42, 58, 59, 60 buttons, 65, 67, 71 chains and necklaces with, 37, 42, 58, 58, 60, 67, 133 clothing with, 4, 37, 57, 58, 58, 59, 67, 69, 74, 96, 110, 111, 154, 159 garlands of, 74, 133 garters with, 22, 23, 158 gem collections featuring, 58, 59, 60, 65–66, 152 medicinal qualities of, 55 origins of, 57, 65, 66 symbolism, 58 peasantry and lower classes burial rituals of, 79 clothing condition of, 9, 92, 93, 112, 113, 116, 125

McCall book.indb 217

clothing style comparisons, 17–18, 40, 110, 112, 125 darkness and dullness of, 9, 113, 120, 122, 125 rebellions, 13 See also laborers pedule, 109 Pellegrini, Bianca, 76, 77 perfume, 70, 71, 137, 138 perfumers, 138 perpignano, 108 Pescara River, 142 Petrarch, 84, 89, 126, 143 Petrucci, Antonello, 156 Philip the Good (Weyden or workshop), 152, 153 Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, 45, 144, 152, 153, 158, 159 phoenixes, 32, 84, 85 physician examinations, 85, 87 Pier Maria Rossi (Bembo and workshop), 5, 6, 32, 75, 77, 137 Piero della Francesca Brera altarpiece, 75 Federico da Montefeltro, 141, 142, 142 Pietro di Spagna. See Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro pigs, 28, 66, 139, 144 pikes (footwear), 110, 136 pikes (weapons), 28, 77, 75 pine trees (devices), 51, 98, 99, 100, 100–106, 101, 102 Pisanello Borso d’Este, 122, 123 Filippo Maria Visconti, 30, 32, 33 Leonello d’Este, 67, 69, 70, 138 Madonna and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot and George, 139, 140 Male Leg with Calza and Ties, 112, 114 Velvet Brocaded with Loops of Gold, 34, 35 Youth Removing His Tunic, 94, 95 Pistoia, il (Antonio Cammelli), 130 Pius II, (pope) advice of, 146 commentary on Borso d’Este, 53, 59, 170n148 embodied imagery, 106 men’s strength admired by, 142 physical defects and ancestral sins, 85 Sforza court display, 4, 39

Plato, 137 pleats, 67, 97, 97, 98, 101, 101, 102 Pliny, 141 points (calze ties), 71, 89, 91–92, 92, 108, 111, 112, 114 poisons and poisonings, 1, 28, 39, 56, 128, 139 Poitiers, Diane de, 56 Pollaiuolo, Antonio del, 30, 43 Pollaiuolo, Piero del: Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 2, 4, 41, 43, 103, 138 pomanders, 70 Pontano, Giovanni, 14, 18, 29, 64–65, 141 Ponte Sant’Angelo, 75 Pontormo, Jacopo da, 33 Porta, Giambattista della, 64 Portinari, Accerito, 46, 62 Portinari, Pigello, 46, 99, 103 Portrait of a Young Man (Tura), 19, 133, 134 Poulaines, 100, 133, 136 pourpoints, 19 Predis, Ambrogio de Bianca Maria Sforza, 37, 38, 106, 136 Ludovico Sforza, 130, 130 Predis, Cristoforo de Francesco Sforza, attrib., 72, 73, 145 Galeazzo Maria Sforza in posthumous prayer, 19, 29, 29 Protestant Church, 7, 158 Psychagogia (Filelfo), 136 purple (color), 40, 98 See also murrey Pusterla, Pietro, 77 Qaitbay (sultan), 138 Quanzhou (China), 57 “Quell’amoroso e candido pallore” (Medici, L. de’), 159 “Quietum Nemo Impune Lacesset” (motto), 99 Quondam, Amedeo, 151, 159 Ragionamento (Aretino), 88, 89 rampini/rampinelli (hooks/rings), 72, 110 Rana, Tommasino dalla, 47 Raphael Federico II Gonzaga portraits by, 130, 132 School of Athens, 132

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Rasinus, Baldassare, 136–37 red (color), 40, 63, 111, 139 See also crimson; murrey reflection, as visual effect, 3, 12, 17, 24, 30, 34, 55, 58, 59, 64, 66, 71, 100 Reguardati da Norcia, Benedetto, 87 religious clothing, 20, 95, 96, 156, 157, 158 religious texts on jewelry, 56 reliquaries, 57 republics, 13–14, 95, 105, 148, 156–57 Rerum gestarum Francisci Sfortiae, or La Sforziada (Simonetta, G./Landino, trans.), 37, 49, 50, 102, 129 Riello, Giorgio, 158 Rigossi da Gallarate, Bartolomeo de’, 41 Rimini (Italy), 18, 24, 82 River Po, 123 Roch, Saint, 92 rock crystal, 63, 64 rods, small, 34, 72 Roman de la Rose (poem), 138 Romani people, 126 Romano, Gian Cristoforo, 98, 103 Rome (Italy), 3, 12, 51, 56, 75, 130, 139 Rosenberg, Charles, 46 Rossi, Agostino, 58–59 Rossi, Guido, 13, 145 Rossi, Pier Maria accessories of, 5, 6, 75, 76, 77, 137 authority and domination, 12 beauty of, 5, 145 burial of, 79 fresco portraits of, 5, 6, 32, 39, 76 Griselda frescoes patronage, 85, 86, 87 Rossi, Pietro, 79 Rossi, Ugolino, 29 Rossi in Parma, 29, 111 Rota, Lorenzo dalla, 28–29, 127, 127–28 rubies brooches and rings with, 59, 60 buttons with, 71 clothing embroidered with, 4, 59, 96, 159 enhancements to, 64 gem collections featuring, 60 geographic origins, 57 necklaces with, 62

McCall book.indb 218

See also balases and balas spinels Rucellai, Bernardo, 105 Sabadino degli Arienti, Giovanni, 154, 155 sabatons, 75 Sacro Monte di Varese, 49 saddles, 20, 25, 75, 112 Sadoletti, Nicolò (Ferrarese ambassador in Milan), 96 Saggi, Zaccaria (Mantuan ambassador in Milan) aristophilia and gazes, 149 armor custom orders and production, 44–45 assassination accounts, 28, 29 brocade production and purchases, 47, 51 duke’s pomposity confessions, 1 fashion commentaries, 42, 43, 51 gem acquisitions, 62 Saint George’s Day, 4, 19, 21, 39, 51–52, 77, 100, 111 Sala, Alberto de la, 122 Sala Baronale, Castello della Manta, Manta, 92, 94, 94 Sala delle Asse (Sala dei Moroni), Castello Sforzesco, Milan, 48, 48, 49 Salaì (Gian Ciacomo Caprotti), 71 sallets, 28, 30, 31 Salone dei Mesi frescoes, Palazzo Schifanoia aging imagery, 11 (detail), 117 (detail), 121 (detail), 122 agricultural production, 122–23 belts, 70, 70 (detail), 126, 133 blond hair, 126 (detail), 133 brocades, 11, 34, 121 (detail) calze, 11 (detail), 99, 108, 108 (detail), 110–11, 111, 112 clothing condition, 112, 113 (detail), 125–26, 126 cobblers, 109–10 court displays, 11 (detail), 116–17 (detail), 120, 121, 121 (detail), 122 dark-skinned people, 93 (detail), 113 (detail), 117 (detail), 120, 125, 126 dynastic devices, 11, 99, 110–11, 123 footmen/bodyguards, 10, 77 gloves, 137 leg displays, 10–11 (detail), 115, 116–17 (detail) lord and subject relations, 124–25 pages, 115, 117

peasants and laborers, 92, 92 (detail), 93 (detail), 116 (detail), 122, 123–24, 125 room view, 9 social status distinctions, 8–10, 112, 120, 178n21 spurs, 75 states of undress, 93 (detail), 112, 116 (detail), 117 (detail), 125 straw hats, 138 supplicants, 112, 113 (detail), 117 (detail), 120, 124–25, 126 tournament scenes, 32 weapons, 10, 75, 77 weavers and embroiderers, 46, 47 (detail) Salvator Mundi (Leonardo da Vinci), 64 San Celso, Milan, 111 sanctity, 3, 132–33, 142, 143 San Domenico, Naples, 159 San Francesco, Ferrara, 78 San Francesco, Rimini (Tempio Malatestiano), 24, 96 San Francesco a Folloni, Montella, 97, 97 San Francesco della Vigna, Venice, 157 San Giacomo Maggiore, Bologna, 53 San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma, 29 San Gimignano (Italy), 13–14 San Giorgio fuori le mura, Ferrara, 156 San Marino, 141 San Pietro, Senna Lodigiana, 101 Sanseverino, Galeazzo, 96 Sanseverino, Roberto, 27, 96, 142 San Sigismondo, Cremona, 101, 102, 103 Sant’Agostino, Cremona, 111 Santa Maria della Vittoria, Mantua, 24 Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, 49 Santa Maria di Monteoliveto, Naples, 98, 98 Sant’Antonio Abate, Parma, 79 Santi, Giovanni, 141 Santo Spirito, Florence, 14 Santo Stefano in Brolo, Milan, 26, 27, 28, 127, 178n35 Sanudo, Marin, 83, 156–57, 159 sapphires, 60 satin, 18, 19, 26, 34, 40, 43, 44, 49, 51, 52, 57, 72, 77, 83, 88, 96, 110, 158 Savi, 120 Savonarola, Girolamo, 156

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Savonarola, Michele, 40, 120, 124, 139, 144 sberlate, 108 scabbards, 12, 75, 77, 78 scales, 66, 72, 74 Scalona, Vincenzo (Mantuan ambassador in Milan), 13, 40, 85, 87, 96, 144, 145, 146, 159 scars, 139, 141 School of Athens (Raphael), 132 Schultz, James, 8, 132, 143 scimitars, 75 Scocola (dwarf), 11, 99, 125, 133 scopetta (device), 37, 38, 129, 129 Scotland, 65–66 Sebastiano del Piombo, 158 segretario, 52, 60, 64–65, 72, 77, 78, 87, 96, 110, 155 Sempervivum (device), 35, 37, 37, 38, 50, 68, 98 sendal, 19, 34, 40, 110 September (Salone dei Mesi, Palazzo Schifanoia) (Unknown artist), 77, 115, 122, 178n21 sequins, 67, 71–74, 96 serpents’ tongues (amulets), 56 Servius, 85 setaioli, 46 sexuality, 8, 15, 106–7, 119, 171n9 Sforza, Alessandro, 56, 72 Sforza, Anna, 52, 127 Sforza, Caterina, 57, 130, 139, 166n44 Sforza, Cesare, 39 Sforza, Costanzo, 41, 56, 72, 74, 106, 107, 153 Sforza, Ercole. See Sforza, Massimiliano Sforza, Ermes Galeazzo, 19, 21 Sforza, Filippo Maria, 57–58, 100 Sforza, Gian Paolo, 39 Sforza, Ginevra, 53 Sforza, Massimiliano (formerly Ercole Sforza) armor and arming points, 19, 21, 147 courtliness of, 145, 147 ducal ceremonies, 39 grammar books of, 130, 136, 137, 145–46, 147 Maximillian meeting with, 136, 137 mulberry representations, 49, 50 name change, 136 Sforza, Muzio Attendolo, 142 Sforza, Ottaviano, 95, 98, 128 Sforza, Polissena, 56–57 Sforza, Sforza Maria, 27, 57–58, 67

McCall book.indb 219

Sforza, Tristano, 70, 88, 89, 102, 137 Sforza devices and emblems belts with, 70 brush (scopetta), 37, 38, 129, 129 calze with, 41, 51–52, 78, 101, 108, 110, 111 crown and palm, 98 dog and pine, 51, 98, 99, 100, 100–106, 101, 102 doves, 37, 50, 52 frescoes with, 49 houseleek (Sempervivum), 35, 37, 37, 38, 50, 63, 98 tunics with, 4, 51, 98 viper or dragon (biscione), 32, 33, 51, 60, 98 wrung cheesecloth (buratto), 63, 98 Sforza of Milan alliances, 99, 102–3, 105–6 amuletic objects of, 56 armor production and consumption, 44–45 brocade production support, 46–53 craftsmen payments, 46 mottos of, 99 patron saints of, 51 agricultural production, 48–49 See also Bianca Maria Sforza; Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza; Francesco I Sforza; Francesco II Sforza; Francesco Sforza, “il duchetto”; Galeazzo Maria Sforza; Gian Galeazzo Sforza; Ippolita Maria Sforza; Ludovico Sforza, il Moro; Sforza devices and emblems Sforziada, La, (Simonetta, G./Landino, trans.), 37, 49, 50, 102, 129 Sforzinda (idealized city), 64 shaving, 139 Signorelli, Luca, 56 silk belts of, 70, 71 flowers of, 74 for gem backing, 64, 152 gloves of, 137 material extravagance of, 17–19, 33–35, 39, 43, 52–53, 56 padding and lining, 14, 17, 18, 19, 30, 40, 96 painted representations, 34, 35, 106, 103, 158 production of, 46–49, 48, 48, 52, 57 recycled, 44

straw hats embellished with, 139 types of, 34, 57 See also brocades; calze; damask; doublets; satin; sendal; tunics; velvet silk merchants, 46, 51, 52–53, 63 silk moths, 48 silver accessories and adornments with, 62, 66, 67, 70, 71, 72–74, 75, 97, 157 animals covered in, 53 artisans diluting, 74 belts, 70, 75 brocades, 4, 8, 24, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 51, 52, 53, 56, 105, 121, 154 calze embroidered with, 110, 111 clothing embellishments of, 72–74 coins of, 27, 28, 146 embellishment for paintings, 24, 75, 125 fabric stamped with rosettes of, 67 foils of, 64 footwear studded with, 110 for helmet embellishment, 30, 32 magete of, 71, 72 objects set in, 35, 38, 56 sequins of, 73–74 spurs, 75 votive portrait, 128 Simmel, Georg, 12 Simonetta, Cicco adornments, 72 betrothal assessments, 87 execution, 77 fashion reports, 60, 96 gifts of clothing, 110 portraits, 77, 78, 78 Simonetta, Giovanni, 37, 49, 50, 102, 129 Simons, Patricia, 7 singers, 43, 155 Sixtus IV, (pope), 1, 67, 74 skin care, 138–39, 141 slavery, 126–27 sleeves adorned with magete, 72, 73 bejeweled, 4, 57–58, 58, brocaded, 2, 18–19, 37, 38, 43, 44, 58, 58, 73, 79, 101, 101, 106

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sleeves (continued) as hiding place, 27 putting on, 85, 87, 92 silk, 19, 43, 77, 78, 89, 94, 94, 96, 97 Smith, Ali, 59–60 social status beauty standards for, 7, 8, 112, 115, 119, 120, 129, 132–33, 139 clothing distinctions, 17–18, 53, 77, 82, 84, 92, 112, 157 court displays and hierarchies of, 3, 4, 5, 8–10, 10–11, 116–17, 148 funerary rituals, 79 light as value of, 3, 7, 120 material markers of, 23, 40, 43, 57, 71, 75, 77, 83 sumptuary laws reinforcing, 23, 40, 82, 83 See also laborers; peasantry and lower classes solane (straw hats), 138–39, 140 Solario, Andrea, 136, 137 Solomon, King, 99, 99 sound, as sensory effects, 12, 21, 55, 71, 72, 74, 92 Spanish clothing styles, 152–54 spenditore, 41–42, 51, 67, 139 spigo (balas), 62–63 splendor, as value, 3, 4, 14, 51, 53, 121 Springer, Carolyn, 32–33 spurs, 6, 24, 25, 29, 65, 74–75, 76, 145, 147 Sri Lanka, 57, 65, 129 St. George and the Dragon (Carpaccio), 112 staffieri. See footmen Stefano da Castrocaro, 52 stirrups, 20, 24, 74, 75, 115, 145, 147 Stockholm papyrus, 66 stockings. See calze straw hats, 138–39, 140 strength, as virtue, 30, 132, 141, 142 Strozzi, Marietta, 148 Stufa, Angelo della (Florentine ambassador in Milan), 98 sumptuary laws, 14, 23, 40, 74, 82–83, 105, 110 sun and sunlight, 4, 7, 60, 88, 91, 120, 138–39, 140, 154 swords in art, 6, 20, 22, 76, 78, 91, 127, 129 bodily effects of, 12, 77, 142 as burial accessories, 74, 75

McCall book.indb 220

footmen/bodyguard displays of, 77, 127, 128 girding methods, 70, 75 health issues and deformities caused by, 141–42 as noble accessories, 12, 22, 74, 75, 76, 77, 129, 144 presentation of, 76, 77 regulations on, 75, 77 scabbards for, 12, 75, 77, 78 uses and threats of, 12, 27, 28, 29, 75, 77, 78, 91, 91, 128, 144 syphilis, 139 Tabulae astrologiae (Bianchini), 110, 111, 133, 136, 136 tailors, 18, 34, 44, 84, 85, 87, 110, 144 teeth and tusks, 56, 66, 89, 139 Tertullian, 53 textiles (fabrics), 12, 17, 30, 34, 43, 44, 48–53, 56, 57, 66, 71 See also specific types of fabrics and garments Thompson, Krista, 3 Three Books on Life (Ficino), 55–56 Three Dukes Cassone (Unknown artist), 129, 129 tin, 64 tinsel, 74 Titian, 110 toga, 3, 13, 95–96 Tolomei, Giacomo, 73 Tomb of Garzia Cavaniglia ( Jacopo della Pila), 97–98, 98 Torelli, Pietro, 56 Torre, Giovanni Giacomo della (Ferrarese envoy to Tunisia), 138 Torre Aquila, Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trent, 122 Torrechiara, 5, 6, 32, 75, 76, 77, 79 Travaino (barber), 139 Treatise on Architecture (Averlino/Filarete), 4, 64, 102 Treatises on Goldsmithing and Sculpture (Cellini), 64 tremolanti, 72–74, 96 Trent Cathedral, 96 Très Riches Heures (Limbourg brothers), 122 Trezzo, Antonio da (Milanese ambassador in Naples), 144 Trivulzio, Antonio, bishop of Como, 132

Trotti, Giacomo (Ferrarese ambassador in Milan), 44, 133, 146 Trotti, Paolo Antonio (Ferrarese ambassador in Milan), 62 Troy, Nancy, 84 Troya, Salvatore de, 155 tuberculosis of the bone, 85, 87 tunics (giornee, zornea) athletic displays without, 91, 91 as burial garments, 97, 97, 98, 98 court dressed in, 49, 51, 91, 96, 115 criticism of, 97, 106 as diplomatic gifts (to political allies), 98, 99, 100–106 disrobing and removal of, 91, 94, 95 for duels, 29 fastenings for, 72, 73, 122, 152 garment style descriptions, 89, 96, 97, 106 insignia-embroidered, 4, 51, 70, 98, 99, 100– 106, 101, 102, 104, 123 Italian words for, 19, 96, 98, 100 with magete and tremolanti , 72, 73, 73, 96 materials and descriptions, 19, 20, 24, 29, 29, 34, 67, 69, 70, 77, 78, 78–79, 96, 97, 99, 125, 154 memorialized, 24, 96 men’s silhouettes influenced by, 81, 89, 106, 112 origins, 25, 96 outdating of, 96 pleated, 67, 97, 97, 98, 98, 101, 102 sculpture featuring, 30, 32, 40, 97–98, 98 women’s style descriptions, 96 Tura, Cosmè Galeazzo’s arrival in Ferrara, 145 garment gilding, 43 Portrait of a Young Man, 19, 133, 134 tapestry designs, 123 textile payments to, 43 turche (turca), 43, 95 Uccello, Paolo: Battle of San Romano, 24, 25, 30, 112 ugliness, 120, 126, 128, 141 underpants, 89, 91, 94 undershirts, 43, 84, 89, 179n50 unicorns, 32, 53, 56 Valla, Lorenzo, 143

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Vasari, Giorgio, 33, 56, 63, 115, 132, 158 Vecellio, Cesare, 84, 110 velvet acquisitions of, 46, 52–53, 99, 154 arms, armor, and armed garments with, 24, 26, 39, 75 as awards, 44 belts and garters of, 22, 70, 141 black, 47, 149 buttons of, 18 calze of, 115 as currency, 43–44 damage to, 154 doublets, 18, 19, 40, 51, 145 effects of, 12, 34–35, 36, 39 garlands of, 74 representations of, 2, 30, 32, 34, 35, 35, 36, 37, 38, 43, 98, 103, 104, 158 production of, 34, 46–47 tunics, 4, 24, 29, 30, 32, 51, 77, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 115 types of, 34 Velvet Brocaded with Loops of Gold (Pisanello), 34, 35 Venice (Italy), 12, 13, 46, 48, 52, 53, 57, 63, 65, 70, 71, 83, 110, 126, 128, 156, 157 Venturelli, Paola, 62, 64 Venturi, Adolfo, 66 Verrocchio, Andrea del Baptism of Christ, with Leonardo da Vinci, 64 Bartolomeo Colleoni, 112 Vespasiano da Bisticci, 40, 91, 154 Vigevano (Italy), 48–49 Vignati, Alberto, 48 Vimercati, Raffaele, 40–41, 41, 111, 139 viper (biscione device), 32, 33, 51, 60, 98 Virgil, 84, 85, 120, 137 Visconti, Carlo, 27, 28, 178n35 Visconti, Gaspare, 49, 62, 72, 126, 138, 159 Visconti, Valentina, 60, 152 Visconti of Milan, 32, 103, 111 See also Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza; Filippo Maria Visconti Volterra (Italy), 30 warts, 141

McCall book.indb 221

wattle fence (device). See paraduro weapons belts used as, 70–71 bodily effects of, 12, 77, 142 court displays of, 10, 75, 77 daggers, 26, 28, 70, 74, 75, 127, 127 embellishments of, 75 jousting lances, 29, 51, 141, 148 pole arms (pikes and staffs), 10, 28, 75, 77, 91, 91, 129, 129 rebellion control and restrictions of, 29 regulations and restrictions on, 29, 75, 77 symbolism and values of, 3, 57, 75, 78 See also swords weavers, 46, 47, 47 Weavers and Embroiderers / The Fates (Cossa), 46, 47 weight and weight management, 5, 27, 94, 95, 144 Welch, Evelyn, 7 Weyden, Rogier van der Francesco d’Este, 155, 156 Philip the Good, or workshop, 152, 153 Weyden, Rogier van der, workshop of Philip the Good, or Weyden, 152, 153 Zanetto Bugatto’s expulsion from, 56 Whalley, Joanna, 63 white (color) for ducal ceremonies, 39 as Este dynastic color, 77, 108, 111 furs, 23 gems, 3, 159 horse and dogs, 19, 24, 25, 100, 100, 145, 147 as Sforza dynastic color, 39, 41, 41, 98, 108, 111 whiteness as courtliness marker, 4, 132, 143 of faces, 138–39 of hands, 137, 138, 139 Moors, 127 non-European contrast comparisons, 126 as social status marker, 15, 89, 119, 120, 125, 129, 132 of teeth, 139 whitening recipes, 138, 139 See also blond hair women bodies and display, 7, 8, 10, 82, 84, 88, 116

cosmetics, use of, 138, 139 fashion criticism of, 14, 82 fashion styles of, 84, 96 idealized beauty of, 143 male beauty preferences, 143, 148, 149 and nudity, 84–85, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 as silk and brocade workers, 46 violence directed against, 12, 112 wood, 40, 71 wool as calze material, 108 doublets and tunics of, 18, 19, 51, 154 dyers, 47 in dynastic colors, as service rewards, 98 hats of, 40 painted representations of black, 158 protective soles of felted, 109 social status and, 17 Woolf, Virginia, 84 youth courtliness of, 5, 8, 51, 52, 67, 72, 77, 84, 91, 95, 96, 110, 120, 121, 122, 125, 133, 136, 146 fair complexions indicating, 5, 41, 88, 121, 125, 132, 143, 145 pearls symbolizing purity of, 58 painting techniques for faces of, 132 public disrobing, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95 as virtue, 5, 32, 67, 121 See also children (boys) Youth Removing His Tunic (Pisanello), 94, 95 zambellotto, 19, 154, 166n9 Zaninello, Gian Francesco, 130 zazzera, 130, 130 Zeuxis, 143 zornea. See tunics Zorzi, Martino, 60 zuparrelli/zuparelli (zuparello/zuparello). See doublets (garments) zupponi/zuponi (zuppone/zupone). See doublets (garments)

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