You’ve finished binging Tiger King (even the sad ‘wrap up’ episode). Outlander just had its season finale on Starz. What is a cooped up fan of soapy, historical, problematic dramas to do? Well, there’s always season three of “Medici: Masters of Florence,” now streaming on Netflix. I just finished watching it and while some of …
Tag Archives: Idealization
In and Out of the Habit
Renaissance Nuns and Their Bodies. Sexuality isn’t normally something we attribute to nuns. But, of course, the sexuality of Renaissance nuns was vitally important. Their lack of sex is precisely what made them effective mediators between the Renaissance faithful and Christ, who was, himself, celibate. While we tend to think of nuns as shrouded in …
The Enchantress of Art History
Who was Simonetta Vespucci? Why does she continue to beguile us? In 1469 a sixteen-year-old girl named Simonetta Cattaneo married Marco Vespucci. Her beauty earned her a host of admirers, including Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici. These men wrote her poetry, fought in jousts to win her favor, and watched as she performed as a …
The Renaissance Uncensored 