Renaissance Woman

By Gaia Servadio

Book Overview

The Renaissance created a new vision of womanhood and indeed a "New Woman," proposes Gaia Servadio in this rich feast of a book. She dates the birth of this revolutionary movement to the invention of the printing press in 1456, which made books-and hence education-available to women. Central to her story are the lives of such as Vittoria Colonna, whose extraordinary mutual love with Michelangelo is told here; Tullia d'Aragona, poet and the best known courtesan of her age; and French poet Louise Labe, who fought in battle in male clothes. They are placed center stage to the Renaissance's power plays, paintings and architecture, courtesans and popes, music and manners, fashion, food, cosmetics, changing societies and the language of poetry and symbols.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1784532967
• ISBN13: 9781784532963
• Release Date: January 2016
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A compelling, well-researched book

I came across this book during my research on Renaissance women in Italy, and absolutely loved it. The author did a wonderful job in presenting real and highly interesting women in a compelling and touching way. I haven't (yet) read the chapters on other countries (which make for less than a third of the book), since they exceed the scope of my research, but I found the section on Italian women very well researched, providing the reader with many interesting details on some truly remarkable women. The sources at the end of the book were also very useful.