The Renaissance courts of northern Italy, among the wealthiest and most sophisticated in Europe, attracted innovative artists who created objects of remarkable beauty and refinement. Princes, prelates, and courtiers provided painters and illuminators with favorable contracts and social prestige in exchange for lavishly decorated panels and books. These works prominently displayed their owners’ scholarly learning, religious devotion, and elite status. The illuminations that resulted were a combination of the artists’ talents and the patrons’ tastes. Drawn largely from the Getty Museum’s permanent collection, this exhibition celebrates the magnificent manuscripts that emerged from this courtly context—an array of visual riches fit for the highest-ranking members of Renaissance society.
A virtual exhibition, produced in collaboration with institutions in Ferrara, Mantua, Milan, Venice, and Verona, will allow visitors to view additional illuminated manuscripts by artists active in the northern Italian courts as well as items owned by various patrons who ruled there.
Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts runs March 31 through June 21, 2015 at The Getty Center in Los Angeles.