Friday, October 15
A Tale of Three Cities
Lecture Portraits of Power
From the patronage of the courts of the Gonzagas, Isabella D’Este and the Duke of Montefeltro came works by Bellini, Mantegna, and others. Joanna Woods Marsden (UCLA) will survey the court personalities and politics of the day through the portraiture of Pisanello, Mantegna, Piero della Francesca, and Titian.
Performance A Night in Ferrara
A showcase of Renaissance madrigals from Ferrara will be performed by the six voice ensembleInQuire.
Rebirth in the Hills
Saturday, October 16
Lecture Remote Grandeur: Works from the Studioli of Mantua, Ferrara and Urbino
As examples of a unique patrimony in Italian architecture and paintings, the buildings of Ugo Sissi and Giulio Romano and paintings of Dosso Dossi, Bellini and Titian were monumental for their time. In this lecture, Loren Partridge (Professor of Art History, UC Berkeley) will discuss Alfonso D’Este’s Camerino d’Alabastro and its paintings in the context of Renaissance studies (studioli) and their significance in respect to other cities, including that of Federigo da Montefeltro of Urbino.
Lecture The Original Grand Tour: Exploration within Italian Universities
Heightened scientific exploration during the Renaissance yielded major progress in medicine and universal thought. From anatomy to genetics, from astronomy to physics, Paula Findlen (Co-Chair, Science, Technology and Society Program, and Ubaldo Pierotti Professor in Italian History, Stanford University) will outline how the Renaissance showed humankind’s potential to survey the world around them and how the universities of Italy were at the forefront of research and discovery.
Performance
The classic alta capella ensemble Alta Sonora performs on period instruments.
Lecture Renaissance Politics off Center Stage
Around the region, Florence, Rome, and Venice were the dominant seats of power during the Renaissance, yet the courts of their neighbors had heavy hands in the politics of the day. Robert Harrison (Rosina Pierotti Professor in Italian Literature and Chair, Department of French & Italian, Stanford University) will examine court interplay through literary works by Ludovico Ariosto and Castiglione, among others.
Lecture Behind the Scenes, Influential Renaissance Women
Despite the shrouds of public decorum, women of the Renaissance yielded power with the same purpose and authority as their male counterparts. Lisa Regan (Lecturer, UC Berkeley) will explore the lives of women in the courts and their infinite, including Isabella D’Este and Catherine De Medici.
Panel discussion with all participants
Presenters
Paula Findlen, History, Stanford
Robert Harrison, Italian, Stanford
Loren Pardridge, Art History, UC Berkeley
Lisa Regan, Italian, UC Berkeley
Joanna Woods-Marsden, Italian Art, UCLA