Ferrarese Metamorphoses: sixteenth-century artistic transformations
Dr Arvi Wattel, University of Western Australia
Dossi, Dosso 'Aeneas and Achates on the Libyan Coast ' c. 1520 painted for Alfonso I d'Este via National Gallery of Art, Washington
The artistic output of the Ferrarese painter Dosso Dossi’s decreased markedly after the death of his main employer, Duke Alfonso I. This reduction has long attracted comment, starting with Vasari, who suggested that Dosso had been able to retire in his old age as he enjoyed a pension provided by the Este duke. More recently, the decline in Dosso’s production has been credited to a change of taste at the court of Alfonso’s son, Ercole II, who apparently tended towards the classical as exemplified in the work of Giulio Romano at the neighbouring court of Mantua. This talk will focus on the often cited “paradigm shift” in Ferrarese art in the era of Alfonso I and Ercole II, touching upon contemporary debates of imitation and art vs. nature.
Date: Thursday 22 August 2020 5.00pm
Venue: Room 506, Babel (Building 139), University of Melbourne, Parkville
Free. All Welcome