The second half of the 15 th century saw the rise in the use of the name “studiolo” which loosely translated to “little study” that described a small private room inside the house of a ruler or influential figure in Italy. The room was separated from the bedrooms and mainly used for purposes of contemplation and private study. Most fundamental to appreciate is the fact that only the owner had access to the premises. However, in the 16 th century, the role of the rooms changed as they moved from being private spaces to museums holding valued possessions including sculptures, paintings, medals, coins, jewels, and other precious objects. The primary role of such studioli was to reinforce the intellectual qualities of the owner and further distinguish them from their contemporaries. In the 15 th and 16 th century, the studiolo played a critical role in enhancing the European Renaissance through the collection of various artifacts with immense artistic significance.
Historical Context
As earlier mentioned, the studiolo acted as a private domestic room in Italy where a distinguished figure would carry out their business. It was different from a bedchamber which in several instances held semi-public functions. It was smaller and found in the interior of the building with the owner alone allowed to gain admission. They began as libraries or places for studying and meditation but later evolved into private museums where owners would keep some of the most significant valuables they had collected in the course of their lives. Historical research has shown that owning such a room in one’s house was a way of underscoring the learning and cultivation that was unique to the Renaissance era. 1 The patron would spend many hours inside the room as documented by Machiavelli in his letter to Francesco Vettori. He says "When evening comes, I return home and go into my study. On the threshold, I strip off my muddy, sweaty workday clothes, and put on the robes of court and palace, and in this graver dress I enter the antique courts of the ancients and am welcomed by them.” 2
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It also remains critical to appreciate that the studiolo was in most circumstances showered with various decorations as shown by a scholar and an architect Filarete when he described the Piero de' Medici. "He has effigies and portraits of all the emperors and noblemen who have ever lived made in gold and silver, bronze, jewels, marble, or other materials." The Renaissance era is usually regarded as the Age of Exploration. It was a period of intense learning and appreciation, and individuals remained hell-bent to attain anything that was previously considered unachievable. The urge of enlightenment initiated a culture of collecting especially on the part of the Italian elites. As a result, this led to the emergence of political and cultural spaces in the form of the studioli. The materials connected further painted a picture of the patron's unique personality and sensibility. Other than merely depicting the individual tastes of these leaders, the artifacts also underscored the Renaissance era by connecting a diverse people across time and space. 3 It, therefore, meant that material possessions during the renaissance period were vital because they depicted political meanings, obligations, and memories.
Moving into the 16 th century, the studiolo provided prominent personalities with an opportunity to showcase their accomplishments and erudition which further played a role in emphasizing their worthiness as leaders. Leaders such as Federico da Montefeltro used the studiolo as an essential aspect of political propaganda. He is known to have filled his library with critical historical manuscripts and also acquired some of the best artists of his time to paint portraits of historical personalities such as Homer, Dante, and Euclid. It also remains essential to appreciate that each individual had a unique way of representing their Studioli that suited that suited their social and political philosophies. Due to the influence of Italy, the Renaissance period saw the spread of the concept of Studiolo to other countries across Europe. One of the countries that received the most significant influence was France leading to the formation of the studiolo of the castle Tanlay and the Francois ler in the castle of Blois.
Patrons, Their Studiolo, and Meaning
First, it remains fundamentally important to note that “both the name and the function of the studiolo testify to the intellectual qualities of the ideal Renaissance price.” One of the most famous studioli in the Renaissance era was known as the Belfiore. It was first created by Lionello d' Este and completed by his brother in Borso d'Este in 1450. One of the artistic representations evident in the Belfiore was beautiful paintings that decorated the inside of the premise. Many complex programs were used in developing the studiolo under the advice of experts and advisers. One of the experts was known as Guarino da Verona who wrote to Lionello d’Este informing him of how the paintings would have achieved their decorative value by applying the muses accordingly. Another significant studiolo in the Renaissance era was the one created by Federico II da Montefeltro. He hired the Maiano brothers who created a unique form of the studiolo using a philosophy known as the trompe l’ oeil. 4 The Maiano brothers used an art known as intarsia that primarily utilized wood products to create images and patterns inside the studiolo. They also employed various techniques aimed at producing a three-dimensionality style such as the singeing of the edges. The studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio is another significant masterpiece that captured the artistic and architectural perceptions of the Renaissance period. First, it is important to note that it was designed by an individual known as Francesco di Giorgio Martini, an Italian who lived between 1439 and 1501. The media used in its creation included rosewood, beech, walnut, fruitwoods, and oak. As mentioned earlier, the Italian Renaissance played a significant role in the development of various artistic styles.
Federico’s studiolo was an embodiment of the Renaissance philosophy. He kept several materials and artifacts that painted him as an ideal Renaissance man. Inside the room, the emphasis on engineering and mathematics was apparent as Federico thought that geometry was “the most important of the Liberal Arts, as well as the very foundation of architecture.” 5 Inside his room there included various tools of measurements for an engineer and an hourglass for measuring time. Most fundamentally, he also owned an armillary sphere which played a significant role in representing the Ptolemaic universe. 6 Inside various cabinets, he kept many musical instruments to illustrate his love both music and musicians. Federico's studiolo primarily emphasized his position a soldier and a leader. In one of the cabinets, he kept his shin guards, helmet, and a mace. He also held an ermine which symbolized purity and the image of the ostrich with a spearheaded beak illustrated his ability to persevere adversity. During the Renaissance era, a caged parrot was essential and a highly rated pet that put patrons in a class of their own. For Federico, it elevated him to the position of a small group of leaders including the kings, dukes, and the popes. One of the most important artifacts that Federico owned in his studiolo was the jeweled garter. It symbolized the admission of Federico into the Order of the Garter, the most significant English chivalric honor of the Renaissance.
Another dominant personality in the age of Renaissance was Francesco de’ Medici. He had his studiolo in a place called Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. It was a windowless premise and only accessible to a few individuals. As such, it inspired immense secrecy and introversion but with a rich sense of artifacts and artistry. Some of the materials found within the studiolo included marbles, mosaics, frescoes, bronzes gilded wood, oil-paintings on canvas, and painted stucco. The artifacts were well combined thus providing the viewer with a sense of brilliant craftsmanship, one of the primary characteristics of the Renaissance era. Important to note is that Francesco showed interests in particular industries and crafts. As such, most of the artifacts and spaces inside his studiolo aimed at emphasizing his stance on art and production. The decorative pattern revealed in his house was as a result of the work of an expert known as Giorgio Vasari, who contributed by making paintings inside the room. 7 Other than the paintings, Francesco achieved beauty and decoration in his studiolo by extra materials made of bronze. “Besides the paintings, the most considerable contributions to the decoration were the exquisite small bronzes of gods and goddesses provided by Giambologna and Bartolomeo Ammanati.” 8 Therefore, assessing Francesco’s studiolo provides one with the notion that art was more dominant in comparison intellect.
The two primary forms of studioli during the reconstruction era included the Urbino and the Gubbio. The studioli showed several similarities in that they were both small and secluded. In both scenarios, the primary means of creation was known as the trompe I’ oeil strategy. The Gubbio room, for instance, had a mirror which had a significant value. "The mirror had its long-established symbolic function as an attribute of prudence, for the prudent individual perceived his own true nature…" 9 On the other hand, the Urbino had many religious connotations associated with the Renaissance era. Some of the artifacts found within the studiolo included up to 28 portraits belonging to famous religious personalities starting from Moses down to the contemporary pope Sixtus. Additionally, below the portraits, there was a painted inscription linking the religious individual to Federico da Montefeltro. Also, the portraits provided great value in terms of spreading propaganda. The Renaissance period was an age where leaders wanted to leave their mark and legacies upon their death. The association of a leader with these images as seen in the case of Carrara showed their desire to become exemplary leaders and to have a long standing impact on their contemporaries. 10 It is in this regard that leaders such as Federico decorated their studioli with pictures and portraits of classical heroes.
In conclusion, in the 15 th and 16 th century, the studiolo played a critical role in enhancing the European Renaissance through the collection of various artifacts with immense artistic significance. Examples of leaders that had their studioli include Federico, Machiavelli, and Francesco among others. Although the premises began as buildings, they soon evolved to museums where different forms of arts, architecture, and artifacts were stored. Most fundamentally, the rooms were meant for private and personalized use and elevated the users to a prominent position in society. On a broader perspective, the concept of the studiolo was an extension of the practices and ways of life seen during the Renaissance. As earlier mentioned, this was a time of wisdom, discovery, and leadership. It was in this regard that many leaders ensured that they included books and portraits of great leaders in a show of knowledge and the urge to depict an exemplary rule.
Bibliography
“ Studiolo” Oxford Art Online http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000082050#oao-9781884446054-e-7000082050-bibliography-1
Cheles, Luciano. "The Inlaid Decorations of Federico da Montefeltro's Urbino Studiolo: An Iconographic Study." Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz (1982): 1-46.
Clough, Cecil H. "Art as Power in the Decoration of the Study of an Italian Renaissance Prince: The Case of Federico da Montefeltro." Artibus et historiae (1995): 19-50.
Koeppe, Wolfram. "Collecting for the Kunstkammer." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (2002).
Najemy, John M. Between friends: discourses of power and desire in the Machiavelli-Vettori letters of 1513-1515. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Raggio, Olga, and Antoine M. Wilmering. The liberal arts studiolo from the ducal palace at Gubbio. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996.
1 “Studiolo” Oxford Art Online
2 John M., Najemy. Between friends: discourses of power and desire in the Machiavelli-Vettori letters of 1513-1515. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
3 Wolfram, Koeppe. "Collecting for the Kunstkammer." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (2002).
4 Cecil H, Clough. "Art as Power in the Decoration of the Study of an Italian Renaissance Prince: The Case of Federico da Montefeltro." Artibus et historiae (1995): 19-50.
5 Ibid., 19-50.
6 Luciano, Cheles. "The Inlaid Decorations of Federico da Montefeltro's Urbino Studiolo: An Iconographic Study." Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz (1982): 1-46.
7 Ibid., 1-46.
8 Wolfram, Koeppe. "Collecting for the Kunstkammer." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (2002).
9 Olga, Raggio, and Antoine M. Wilmering. The liberal arts studiolo from the ducal palace at Gubbio. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996.
10 “Studiolo” Oxford Art Online
