Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
History
Date of Award
5-2025
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Brian J. Maxson
Committee Members
Stephen Fritz , Joshua Reid
Abstract
Isabella d’Este is traditionally viewed as the most notable female art patron of Renaissance Italy, primarily studied for her excellent taste. This positive interpretation has left her out of the reputational rehabilitation that modern historians have applied to many of her contemporaries, and what recent work has been done focuses on her marriage. However, Isabella outlived her husband by nearly twenty years, and contrary to writers who view that widowhood as an afterthought, she remained a dominant political and cultural figure in her own right. This thesis reassesses Isabella’s letters to argue that the traditional segmentation of her life does not allow adequate nuance to describe her activities and that the habits and fascinations she developed as a young wife were still relevant and powerful after her formal status changed.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Murphy, Alyssa, "“With Neither Hope nor Fear”: Continuity in the Life of Isabella d’Este" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4531. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4531
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.