Chriscinda Henry: Pastoral Fellowship and the Performance of Virtuosity in Titian鈥檚 Concert Champ锚tre
Prof. Chriscinda Henry
Pastoral Fellowship and the Performance of Virtuosity in Titian鈥檚 Concert Champ锚tre
Thursday, February 3, 12:30-1:30 EST
Registration:
This talk is held in conjunction with the publication of Prof. Henry's new book "Playful Pictures: Art, Leisure, and Entertainment in the Venetian Renaissance Home". Find out more about the book here:
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This talk places Titian鈥檚听Concert Champ锚tre听(ca. 1509鈥�11) within the context of elite domestic leisure in early sixteenth-century Venice. In particular, it explores the combined role of sociable gathering, theatrical performance, music making, and art collection in the establishment of a new mode of self-fashioning and generational distinction on the part of young Venetian patricians and the听virtuosi听they patronized. In his book on the young Titian, Paul Joannides sensibly hypothesized that Titian鈥檚 painting registers the allusive portrait likenesses of its patron, to date unidentified, in the figure of the seated lutenist, while Jaynie Anderson and others have observed that this young man wears the uniform of one of the听Compagnie della calza听(Companies of the Hose), the hyper-elite fraternal youth societies that distinguished Venetian festive culture during the Renaissance. Through identification of the specific company, this talk more precisely considers the implications of this act of pictorial self-insertion. Following from Jonathan Unglaub鈥檚 sensitive delineation of the values and ideals demonstrated by elite patrician youths during the critical early years of the War of Cambrai (1509鈥�1511), I examine the cultural pursuits of the听Compagnie della calza听and their social engagement with听virtuosi听through the pastoral mode, including visual artists, musicians, and courtesans. The shepherd听maschera听adopted by elites and听virtuosi听alike provided the ideal vehicle for a liberating, poetic form of self-expression steeped in classical culture, which was enacted at banquets,听feste, theatrical performances, and likely also in the more intimate context of the听ridotto听(an informal salon-like gathering in the home). Illustrated books and artworks in a variety of media in turn visualized and preserved this pastoral fantasy world and its homosocial bonds within the homes of collectors.
Chriscinda Henry听is Associate Professor of Art History at 不良研究所. Her research focuses on听the relationship between art, recreation, and festivity in Renaissance Italy. Before joining the faculty at听不良研究所,听she听was ACLS/Mellon Postdoctoral fellow at Yale University and Visiting Assistant Professor of Renaissance and Baroque Art History at Oberlin College. Her recent work has been supported by Villa I听Tatti听/ The Harvard University听Center听for Italian Renaissance Studies (Hanna Kiel fellow, 2016-2017), the Fonds de Recherche du Qu茅bec, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
This talk is organised by Dr Irene Brooke (The Courtauld).