"Art and Architecture from Renaissance Milan"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the tensions and arrangements between the city government and the court in Evelyn Welch's "Art and Authority in Renaissance Milan." Images are used to legitimize the authority of the dukes as well as the details of the multitude of problems that occurred during the constructions of the monumental cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Ospedale Maggiore, and the Castello di Porta Giovia along with the grievances that the artists and architects had with the Milanese court and government.

From the Paper:

"In the first chapter, Welch discusses the images that were used to claim authority in Milan. Unlike the King of France, the signori of Milan in the fourteenth and fifteenth-century could not declare their authority as God-given. The Milan rulers, from the first duke (Gian Galeazzo Visconti) to the last (Ludovico Maria Sforza), used various sources of confirmation of their position from distant papal or imperial investitures. But the most effective means of imposing authority over the Milanese citizens and residents of the surrounding countryside was to produce countless images that asserted ducal ownership of buildings, works of art, and people. Some of these images took the form of family arms, portraits, and color codes. Bridges and towers were branded with a coat of arms when absorbed under new dominions. Some signori asserted their authority with equestrian portraits. Images were represented differently in art and literature depending on the audience and the time. Art was used as a collaborator for political control (which was not uncommon). There was a constant transition in leadership. Two dynasties controlled Milan - the Visconti and the Sforza. The Viscontis, native Milanese, were based in the surrounding countryside. The Sforzas, originally mercenary soldiers, were from the Romagna and acquired their rights over Milan through a marriage to the daughter of the last Visconti duke. In art, historical armed conflict was disguised. Successive rulers changed ancestral histories. A leader that became powerful through tyranny was transformed as reverent. But regardless of even great court commissions, the images of authority were only effective if their audiences were predisposed to accept the court's authority. There was a reciprocal relationship between the art and the audience. "

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