Magnificence, Dignity, and the Sociopolitical Function of Architectural Ornament: Cortesi's Discussion of the Cardinal's Architectural Patronage (Spring 2023)
By concentrating on Paolo Cortesi's discussion of the cardinal's architectural patronage in “De Cardinalatu Libri Tres” (1510), this article shows how Cortesi considered the construction of a sumptuous residence not as a sign of “magnificence” (“magnificentia”) but as a necessary operation to establish “dignity” (“dignitas”). Cortesi thus distinguished between the ethical and political-aesthetic dimension of magnificence, defining virtuous patronage in terms of honoring God and being of service, and sumptuous display as a means to acquire authority. This distinction also sheds new light on Cortesi's treatment of the exterior architectural ornament that should be applied to the cardinal's residence.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Book
Chiara Franceschini;
Ostrow, Steven F.;
Patrizia Tosini;
(2020)
Chapels of the Cinquecento and Seicento in the churches of Rome: form, function, meaning
(/isis/citation/CBB713217482/)
Article
Meserve, Margaret;
(2010)
Nestor Denied: Francesco Filelfo's Advice to Princes on the Crusade against the Turks
(/isis/citation/CBB001031418/)
Book
Azzolini, Monica;
(2012)
The Duke and the Stars: Astrology and Politics in Renaissance Milan
(/isis/citation/CBB001253014/)
Book
Romano Nanni;
(2013)
Leonardo e le arti meccaniche
(/isis/citation/CBB422417301/)
Chapter
Agostino Catalano;
(2015)
L'architettura tecnica in Leonardo da Vinci
(/isis/citation/CBB422716093/)
Chapter
Fabio Minutoli;
(2015)
Il sapere tecnico-scientifico di Leonardo come premessa del cantiere moderno
(/isis/citation/CBB816202607/)
Book
Agostino Catalano;
Rossano Pazzagli;
(2015)
Arte e tecnica in Leonardo ingegnere
(/isis/citation/CBB570902651/)
Chapter
Alfredo Buccaro;
(2015)
L'eredità di Leonardo nell'evoluzione della figura dell'ingegnere-architetto in età moderna e contemporanea
(/isis/citation/CBB751038662/)
Article
Lawson, James;
(2013)
The Extrinsic in the Architectural Thinking of Leon Battista Alberti: A Reading of Sant'Andrea in Mantua
(/isis/citation/CBB001212854/)
Book
Lauren Jacobi;
Zolli, Daniel M.;
(2021)
Contamination and purity in early modern art and architecture
(/isis/citation/CBB406943958/)
Article
Brendan Dooley;
(2008)
Narrazione e verità: don Giovanni de' Medici e Galileo
(/isis/citation/CBB479828025/)
Book
Bissera V. Pentcheva;
(2021)
Icons of sound : Voice, architecture, and imagination in Medieval art
(/isis/citation/CBB365782105/)
Chapter
Elena Taddei;
(2020)
Princely erudition, universities and the Republic of Letters as instruments of networking: the Este, Dukes of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, and the Holy Roman Empire
(/isis/citation/CBB854513267/)
Book
Massimo Firpo;
(2021)
Pontormo's frescos in San Lorenzo: heresy, politics and culture in the Florence of Cosimo I
(/isis/citation/CBB473745523/)
Book
Michael Wyatt;
(2014)
The Cambridge Companion to the Italian Renaissance
(/isis/citation/CBB275192686/)
Book
Karen Hope Goodchild;
Oettinger, April;
Leopoldine van Hogendorp Prosperetti;
(2019)
Green worlds in early modern Italy : Art and the verdant earth
(/isis/citation/CBB374581564/)
Article
Haines, Margaret;
(2011/2012)
Myth and Management in the Construction of Brunelleschi's Cupola
(/isis/citation/CBB001320635/)
Chapter
Elizabeth M. Merrill;
(2017)
Pocket-Size Architectural Notebooks and the Codification of Practical Knowledge
(/isis/citation/CBB334510553/)
Book
Caspar Pearson;
(2022)
Leon Battista Alberti: The Chameleon’s Eye
(/isis/citation/CBB092479661/)
Thesis
Danielle Abdon Guimaraes;
(2020)
Poverty, Disease, and Port Cities: Global Exchanges in Hospital Architecture During the Age of Exploration
(/isis/citation/CBB258526721/)
Be the first to comment!