Staging Privacy: Art and Architecture of the Palazzo Medici
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Date
2010-12
Authors
Bailie, Lindsey Leigh
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The Palazzo Medici was a site of significant social and political representation for
the Medici. Access to much of the interior was limited, ostensibly, to the family. In
republican Florence, however, visitors were a crucial component in the maintenance of a
political faction. Consequently, the "private" spaces of the Palazzo Medici were designed
and decorated with guests in mind. Visitor accounts reveal that the path and destination of
each visitor differed according to his status and significance to the family. The common
citizen waited, sometimes for great lengths, in the courtyard, taking in the anti-tyrannical
message of the space. The privileged guest, who had more to provide the Medici, was
given access to the more private spaces of the residence. Surrounded by art and architecture
that demonstrated the faith, education, and wealth of the Medici, he was assured that his
support of the family was beneficial to his own pursuits.
Description
xii, 112 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
Keywords
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence (Italy) -- History -- 1421-1737, Medici, House of