Antico Apollo Belvedere , —8 Bronze, partly gilded, eyes inlaid in silver, h. A large marble statue was discovered in Rome in By it had been installed in the Cortile del Belvedere courtyard in the Vatican, where its fame grew. The statue came to be called the Apollo Belvedere. It was long thought to be a Hadrianic copy of a Hellenistic bronze, but many scholars today see it as an original Roman creation.
Antico replicated it in bronze statuettes. Isabella owned one of the Apollo Belvedere statuettes made by Antico, though it may not have been this particular one. To support the outstretched arm of the god, the marble statue included a support; as in many marble works, it is in the form of a tree stump.
Antico entirely eliminated the support because the strength of the bronze made it unnecessary. He perhaps also understood that such a support would not have been part of the ancient bronze original. Antico The Spinario , c. Isabella later requested a companion piece for the Spinario. Antico made several versions of this nymph, and other artists used it as a model. We do not know if this is the statuette owned by Isabella, but the level of its workmanship is very high, worthy of a patron such as the marchesa.
The round base of this and many other statuettes by Antico would invite someone to rotate and admire them from all sides. Antico Hercules and Antaeus , Bronze, h. The giant Antaeus was a son of the Earth. Because he was continually strengthened by his contact with the ground, he could never be defeated in a fight, until Hercules learned the secret and crushed Antaeus in his powerful grasp while holding him aloft.
The challenging composition of the contest between Hercules and Antaeus attracted many sculptors. She is known as a trendsetter and patron of the arts, popularizing fashions and art styles, but was also a political figure and ruled Mantua as regent for her husband and son in the early 16th century.
Isabella was born to a ruling family in Ferrara, Italy, the oldest of six children. Her parents believed in giving all their children an equal education, so Isabella and her sister Beatrice were taught the same subjects as their younger brothers.
She could read and translate Latin and Greek, discuss philosophy, sing, dance, and play the lute. When she was six, Isabella was betrothed to Francesco Gonzaga, who would later become the Marquis of Mantua.
A daughter Livia was born in ; she died in Ippolita, another daughter, arrived in ; she would live into her late 60s as a nun. Another son was born in , Ercole, who became a cardinal and was nearly selected in to serve as Pope. Ferrante was born in ; he became a soldier and married into the di Capua family. Despite Lucrezia's reputation—her first two marriages did not end well for those husbands—it appears that Isabella welcomed her warmly at first, and others followed her lead.
But dealing with the Borgia family brought other challenges to Isabella's life. She found herself negotiating with Lucrezia's brother Cesare Borgia, who had overthrown the Duke of Urbino, the husband of her sister-in-law and friend Elisabetta Gonzaga. As early as , Isabella's new sister-in-law Lucrezia Borgia and Isabella's husband Francesco had begun an affair; passionate letters between the two survived.
As might be expected, Isabella's initial welcome to Lucrezia turned to a coolness between them. In his absence, Isabella served as regent, defending the city as commander of the city's forces. She negotiated a peace treaty that provided for her husband's safe return in After this episode, the relationship between Francesco and Isabella deteriorated.
He had already begun to be publicly unfaithful before his capture and returned quite ill. The affair with Lucrezia Borgia ended when he realized he had syphilis. Isabella moved to Rome, where she was quite popular among the cultural elite. In , after Francesco died, Isabella's eldest son Federico became the marquis. Isabella served as his regent until he came of age, and after that, her son took advantage of her popularity, keeping her in a prominent role in the governing of the city.
In , Isabella bought a cardinalate for her son Ercole, paying 40, ducats to Pope Clement VII who needed money to face attacks by Bourbon forces. When the enemy attacked Rome, Isabella led the defense of her fortified property and she and many who had taken refuge with her were spared.
Isabella's son Ferrante was among the Imperial troops. Isabella soon returned to Mantua, where she led the city's recovery from illness and famine that killed almost one-third of the population. Isabella traveled quite a bit after her husband's death. She was in Bologna in when Emperor Charles V was crowned by the pope. She was able to convince the Emperor to raise her son's status to that of duke of Mantua. Her suburban villa, the Palazzo di Porto, provided an opportunity for escape with its gardens, fruit trees, and loggia.
Stephen Scher, pp. Lawrence Jenkins Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, Sign up for our newsletter! Receive occasional emails about new Smarthistory content.
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