Loading...
“Alatiel” Cassoni Nuziali: An Investigation of Artistic Agency, Reception, and Materiality in Fifteenth-Century Florence
Dattolo, Martina Emanuela
Dattolo, Martina Emanuela
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
In fifteenth-century Florentine society, the commission of furniture for wealthy households was closely associated with the celebration of major life events. In Tuscany, numerous botteghe, or workshops, were involved in the crafting of luxury household items that commemorated occasions such as weddings and births. Apollonio di Giovanni and Marco del Buono owned one of the most prolific workshops in quattrocento Florence. The bottega produced different types of luxury goods such as deschi da parto, spalliere, and cassoni nuziali. The objects were richly decorated with visual narratives derived from myths and both ancient and contemporary literature. These luxury objects were strongly connected to the community life of Florentine society. This thesis examines two panels once belonging to a pair of wedding chests produced in the workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni. Currently in the collection of the Museo Correr in Venice, they depict the novella of Alatiel, from Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron. At first, the storyline of the novella does not seem an appropriate narrative for the commemoration of a wedding; the protagonist eventually feigns her chastity despite her relationships with several men over four years. Furthermore, the pictorial rendition of the story on the panels derives from the novella. However, the panels do not depict the entire story, but rather a selection of episodes. In this thesis, I investigate the choices and motives behind the selective visual retelling of the novella. Through the critical framework of intermediality, I address the ways in which the highly sophisticated visual programs of the panels play with the textual source. The panels show interest in troubling characters’ identification, rejecting the novella’s original chronology, reflecting the object’s function, and recalling contemporary literature themes, such as memory. This thesis argues for the recognition of an intellectually committed artist and audience by analyzing the visual reaction to the novella, focusing on the quattrocento Florence reception and engagement with the cassone.
Description
Thesis (B.A. in Art History)--John Cabot University, Fall 2025.
Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Painted cassoni, Wooden boxes, Ornamental boxes, Marriage customs and rites, Renaissance Decoration and ornament
Citation
Dattolo, Martina Emanuela. "Alatiel Cassoni Nuziali: An Investigation of Artistic Agency, Reception, and Materiality in Fifteenth-Century Florence". BA Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2025.