Iconografia musicale nella Ferrara di Alfonso I d'Este

The thesis combines traditional methodology with new technology in order to cast further light on the extraordinary proliferation of musical images that characterised the ducal reign of Alfonso I d’Este (1505-1534), also offering the unprecedented opportunity to explore the Camerino delle Pitture, the Duke’s studiolo. With the exception of a few cases, the 60 works identified had never previously been analysed in terms of musical iconography. This led to the creation of the first musical-iconographical catalogue about Ferrara under Alfonso I (vol. II). The three-parts first volume exposes a critical analysis. The production of musical iconography in Alfonso’s Ferrara is framed within its specific cultural context and related to the climate of refined synergy between the arts, the consumption of music at the court and, above all, the value that Alfonso attributed to music in terms of his identity. Two functional areas are outlined. Firstly, some of these works seem to offer accounts of performative contexts, the resonance of the ensembles, the spread and interest in certain instruments and their value as emblems of the elegant and harmonious courtly life. Secondly, various musical elements are used for the purpose of paying homage to the Duke, his artistic tastes and cultural perspectives. Part II concentrates on the Duke and his identification with mythology. An accurate character profile is followed by analysis of some of the most significant works he commissioned, especially the masterworks from his two studiolo, the Studio dei Marmi and the Camerino delle Pitture. The latter also forms the focus of Third and final part of the thesis, which presents original 3D reconstruction, with a previously unavailable recording of the celebrated canon by Adrian Willaert depicted in Titian’s Bacchanal of the Andrians, a manifesto of Alfonso’s identity and culture.