ESTE, ISABELLA D', MARCHIONESS OF MANTUA

(1474-1539)

Isabella was the daughter ofErcole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, and Eleonora of Aragon. She was the recipient of a solidclassiceducation from the literati in her father's service. At the age of 16, she married FrancescoGonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, and ruled the city with great skill during her husband's absences. At her new court, Isabella became a generous patron of art, literature, and music. She was also a major collector of antiquities and, as her letters reveal, at times she went to great lengths to obtain pieces for her collection. Some of the artists she patronized includedTitianandLeonardo da Vinci, both of whom rendered her portrait—Titian in 1536 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum) and Leonardo in 1499 (chalk drawing; Paris, Louvre). In 1496, Isabella began the planning of herstudioloin the Mantuan Ducal Palace for which she commissioned a series of works with allegorical content. Among the artists who contributed works for the project wereAndrea Mantegna, who rendered theExpulsion of the Vices from the Garden ofVirtue(1497);Pietro Perugino, who painted theBattle between Chastity and Love(1503-1505); and Lorenzo Costa, who provided theAllegory of the Court of Isabella d'Este(c. 1506; all in Paris, Louvre).