Cruse, Anna C. J. R. (2022) Cosimo I de’ Medici and the tapestries of the Ducal regime : 1545-1553. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Between 1545-6, Cosimo I de’ Medici founded two tapestry workshops in Florence and employed two Flemish master weavers – Nicholas Karcher and Jan Rost – to run each one. Although the weavers were free to produce tapestries for other clients, they predominantly served the duke, creating a number of exceptional artworks for him between 1545 and 1553. This study is the first to examine these tapestries with a view to understanding the function they performed within Cosimo’s political and cultural regime, addressing the myriad ways in which they were employed to support the ducal mythos, and offering novel insights regarding their display. My analysis centres on extant visual and documentary evidence and is roundly supported by a range of secondary literature, lending this study an appropriate sense of context while also establishing its contribution to the field. I investigate the historical circumstances of each objects’ creation, paying special attention to the ways in which the messages of the ducal regime were communicated differently from Cosimo’s artistic patronage in other mediums. Finding that his partnership with Eleonora di Toledo may have influenced the tapestries differently and to a greater extent than has previously been suggested, I observe that these artworks provided a sense of balance to the machismo which pervaded Cosimo’s other commissions during his early career. In sum, the capacity of this medium to represent the princely persona is expounded throughout this work, culminating in the first sustained analysis of the famous Story of Joseph series to have taken place in over three decades.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DG Italy N Fine Arts > NK Decorative arts Applied arts Decoration and ornament
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Tapestry -- Private collections -- Italy -- Florence, Cosimo I, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 1519-1574 -- Art collections, Cosimo I, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 1519-1574 -- Art patronage, Art -- Private collections -- Italy -- Florence
Official Date:	August 2022
Dates:	Date Event August 2022 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Pericolo, Lorenzo, 1966-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	372 pages : colour illustrations
Language:	eng

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