What is a renaissance court? | Lodovico Gonzaga of Mantua in the Camera Picta

While some Italian renaissance city-states were republics, others were governed by a single ruler and his family. In this video, we explore art and life at a renaissance court, looking closely at Andrea Mantegna's spectacular fresco program in the bedchamber of Lodovico Gonzaga of Mantua. This room is called the Camera Picta (or the Camera degli Sposi). Presented as noble and virtuous, Lodovico and his family are the center of both politics and social life in Mantua.

Speaker: Dr. Heather Graham


CHAPTERS 

00:00 Meet Lodovico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, and his family

00:45 The Camera Picta: Lodovico’s private bedchamber

00:54 A slice of life at a renaissance court

01:00 What is a court?

01:13 The Italian City-States

01:35 Political meanings of “court”

01:47 Physical “court”

02:00 The Palazzo Ducale in Mantua

02:14 The idea of “the court”

02:35 Presenting the noble self

03:07 Origins of term “court”

03:20 Court life was ever changing

03:55 Courts across Europe were interconnected

04:09 Lodovico’s marriage to Barbara of Brandenburg

04:38 Access to the ruler was the key to success

04:40 Andrea Mantegna, court painter


Learn more

Check out our entire glossary of art history: https://www.artsq.org/about-key-terms-ideas-art-history 

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What is a conquistador? | A Portrait of Hernán Cortés