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Magnificence, Dignity, and the Sociopolitical Function of Architectural Ornament: Cortesi's Discussion of the Cardinal's Architectural Patronage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 April 2023
Abstract
By concentrating on Paolo Cortesi's discussion of the cardinal's architectural patronage in “De Cardinalatu Libri Tres” (1510), this article shows how Cortesi considered the construction of a sumptuous residence not as a sign of “magnificence” (“magnificentia”) but as a necessary operation to establish “dignity” (“dignitas”). Cortesi thus distinguished between the ethical and political-aesthetic dimension of magnificence, defining virtuous patronage in terms of honoring God and being of service, and sumptuous display as a means to acquire authority. This distinction also sheds new light on Cortesi's treatment of the exterior architectural ornament that should be applied to the cardinal's residence.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Renaissance Society of America
Footnotes
This article results from my doctoral research at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Ghent University and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck-Institut, and was additionally supported by the Academia Belgica and the Belgian Historical Institute in Rome. I would like to thank Maarten Delbeke, Anne-Françoise Morel, Alessandro Nova, Brigitte Sölch, and Hannah Gründler for their continuous support, and Elizabeth Merrill and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on this text.
References
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