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Sheila Edmunds
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Ingrid Sattel Bernardini
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Sheila Edmunds
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Italian dynasty of rulers, patrons, and collectors (see fig.). In 1328 Ludovico Gonzaga (d 1360) seized power from the Bonacolsi family, becoming Capitano of Mantua. For the next four centuries the Gonzaga ruled the city, acquiring the title of Marchese, and later Duke, of Mantua. The urban development and art life of Mantua was strongly influenced by the patronage of the family: in the mid-15th century Ludovico II Gonzaga, 2nd Marchese of Mantua, employed many artists and architects, among them Leon Battista Alberti and Andrea Mantegna, from other areas in Italy, resulting in a flourishing Renaissance court. Similarly, Ludovico’s great-grandson Federico II Gonzaga, 5th Marchese and 1st Duke of Mantua, persuaded Giulio Romano to come to Mantua, where Giulio became the leading painter, architect and town planner. Vincenzo I Gonzaga, who employed such northern artists as Frans Pourbus the younger and Peter Paul Rubens, was one of the last notable Gonzaga patrons, and collectors; his son, ...
