Isabella D’Este was one of Renaissance Italy’s most remarkable women. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, she moved to Mantua at the age of 16 and in time would rule this small city state. It was a difficult political era - the larger Italian states were constantly at war with one another or with outside powers, and the smaller states were constantly stuck in the middle. But it was also an era of change and rebirth - when artists like Leonardo da Vinci or Titian were at work. Isabella was a highly capable political operator, but her first love was always art and antiques and she would amass one of the largest private collections of her day.
Sources/Further Reading
Meyer, Edith Patterson: First Lady of the Renaissance, a biography of Isabella D’Este
Hollingsworth, Mary: Princes of the Renaissance - The Hidden Power Behind an Artistic Revolution
Italian Renaissance Learning Resources: Isabella D’Este Collects https://www.italianrenaissanceresources.com/units/unit-8/essays/isabella-deste-collects/#top
Macquire, Kelly: Isabella D’Este https://www.worldhistory.org/Isabella_d'Este/
Emporium.org.au: Fashioning Isabella D’Este https://www.emporium.org.au/isabella-deste-titian
Wikipedia: Isabella D’Este https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_d'Este
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