Synopses & Reviews
Overlooked in traditional studies of Italian art, cassone painting was nonetheless a popular genre in Early Renaissance Tuscany. In this study, Cristelle Baskins questions the traditional readings of these decorated chests as merely didactic or moralizing. She argues that the pieces performed an important role in the socialization and gender formation of women during the Renaissance. She demonstrates that cassone, which invariably depict exemplary women from classical mythology, invited a range of responses, ranging from coercion to pleasure.
Review
"...she provides a wealth of thoroughly researched information regarding the heroines' stories..." Maria DePrano, Comitatus
Synopsis
A study of the significance of cassone (decorated chest) painting in Renaissance Italy.
Synopsis
Overlooked in traditional studies of Italian Art, cassone (decorated chest) painting was nonetheless a popular genre in Early Renaissance Tuscany. Baskins argues that these decorated chests, which invariably depict exemplary women from mythology, performed an important role in the socialisation and gender formation of women during the Renaissance.
Table of Contents
Introduction; Object lessons: a cassone in the Della Famiglia; 1. Le Nozze di Emilia: Amazons, armed and beautiful; 2. Dido: taking the gold out of Carthage; 3. Camilla: Filialogy and the family romance; 4. Hersilia and the sabine women: Piece-making; 5. Lucretia: dangerous familiars; 6. Virginia/Virginius: her body, himself.