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Home » @theMediciArchiveProject

@theMediciArchiveProject

Cristofano Bronzini dedicated ON THE DIGNITY AND N Cristofano Bronzini dedicated ON THE DIGNITY AND NOBILITY OF WOMEN to Grand Duchess of Tuscany and consort of Cosimo II de’ Medici, Maria Maddalena of Austria. In light of the Grand Duke’s chronic illness, Maria Maddalena and her mother-in-law, Christina of Lorraine, played integral roles in managing the state’s affairs. Following Cosimo’s death in 1621, the two women assumed the role of co-regents on behalf of Maria Maddalena’s eleven-year-old son, Grand Duke Ferdinando II.

In several places throughout the manuscript, Bronzini has corrected references to the “Grand Duke of Tuscany” to reflect Cosimo's death. These kinds of corrections help us date sections of the manuscript.  Bronzini also edited the dedicatory letter so that Maria Maddalena’s title of “Archduchess,” the title she held through her Habsburg lineage, precedes “Grand Duchess of Tuscany,” the title she received through her marriage into the Medici family in 1609. This edit emphasizes that Maria Maddalena is “Archduchess” first and “Grand Duchess of Tuscany” second, offering insight into the self-image she wished to project. 

As Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1609-1631), Maria Maddalena initiated several significant commissions that focused on exemplary women. The last two slides on this post are examples of these works: A frescoed lunette of Jael by Matteo Roselli, located in Maria Maddalena’s apartments at Poggio Imperiale, and a painting of Mary Magdalen by Artemisia Gentileschi, currently housed in the Palazzo Pitti.

#history #arthistory #women #womenshistory #renaissance #earlymodern #bronzini #cristofanobronzini #digitization #digitalhumanities #humanities #regent #duchess #grandduchess #habsburg #tuscany #florence #toscana #firenze #artemisiagentileschi #womenartists
MASTERPIECES FROM THE SHANGHAI EXHIBITION – 1 Flav MASTERPIECES FROM THE SHANGHAI EXHIBITION - 1
Flavius Josephus
Works (Antiquitates Iudaicae, Contra Apionem, De bello judaico)
Parchment 
Florence, c. 1450

Produced around 1450, this magnificent manuscript of Flavius Josephus is an extraordinary testament to the Renaissance rediscovery of the classical world and to the cultural patronage of the Medici family. Its opening page is illuminated with a splendid historiated initial portraying the author, while the lower margin bears the Medici coat of arms—a striking reminder that the volume once formed part of one of the most celebrated collections of the Italian Renaissance.

After centuries in private hands, this remarkable codex is finally on public display once again.

The exhibition READING THE RENAISSANCE: WESTERN BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE 10th to the 17th CENTURY formally opened at the Shanghai Library East, scheduled for public viewing from June 27 through October 11, 2026. This landmark exhibition represents a highly coordinated international collaboration. It is organized jointly by the Medici Center Shanghai (MeCS) and Yunmiao Culture, in institutional partnership with the Medici Archive Project (MAP) and Zaiyi. The initiative also operates under the institutional patronage of the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai.

#FlaviusJosephus #Manuscript #Medici #Renaissance #IlluminatedManuscript #RareBooks #History #Codicology #Palaeography #BookHistory #Bibliophilia #ItalianRenaissance
A note on the first page of ON THE DIGNITY AND NOB A note on the first page of ON THE DIGNITY AND NOBILITY OF WOMEN clarifies the women who the manuscript is written for, and women who are not part of Cristofano Bronzini’s universe:
“Here we are speaking of those who are truly Women, and not of those who, for a wretched price, have made themselves servants—and wretched servants—of the public; and True Women, for whom there is no other reward but Honor”

Bronzini's note illustrates his intention to write exclusively about women who embodied the honorable characteristics that his treatise defends, as opposed to discussing all women."

#history #arthistory #women #womenshistory #renaissance #earlymodern #bronzini #cristofanobronzini #digitization #digitalhumanities #humanities
Take a look inside the exhibition READING THE RENA Take a look inside the exhibition READING THE RENAISSANCE: WESTERN BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE 10th to the 17th CENTURY, on view until 11 October at the Shanghai Library East.

This landmark exhibition represents a highly coordinated international collaboration. It is organized jointly by the Medici Center Shanghai (MeCS) and Yunmiao Culture, in institutional partnership with the Medici Archive Project (MAP) and Zaiyi. The initiative also operates under the institutional patronage of the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai.

Co-curated by Dr. Alessio Assonitis, Director of the Medici Archive Project, and Professor Fan Jingzhong, the exhibition constitutes a unprecedented milestone in Chinese curatorial and book history. The display synthesizes eight centuries of Western intellectual development through a rigorous selection of 119 rare items, including medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, incunabula, and early printed texts.

The exhibition catalogue was co-authored by MAP Fellow Davide Baldi Bellini and MeCS Fellow Liu Baoyun, both of whom served as assistant curators for the exhibition. Operational synergy and logistical diplomacy between the scholarly hubs of Florence and Shanghai were coordinated by Henry Fong.

#exhibit #exhibition #shanghai #globalrenaissance #illuminatedmanuscript #manuscript #book #oldbook #oldbooks #library
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