Abstracts
Abstract
In the third part of his Dialogus de viris et foeminis aetate nostra florentibus, Paolo Giovio lists over one hundred illustrious women of his time and paints an unusual picture of Italian society. The catalogue is not a review of the virtues or superiority of women but rather an account of the political use of female representations. Women are associated with the political status of a city, and all references to the physicality of women illustrate the paradox of politics itself. The female body is used as a test case to examine the exercise of power and to demonstrate the reasons for different political strategies in different courts before the dramatic Sack of Rome in 1527. Through an analysis of the Dialogus and comparison with other contemporary treatises on female figures, this article highlights the political use of the female shape, described and paradoxically modified, according to government strategy. A salient example is the ambiguous representation of Vittoria Colonna, seen by Paolo Giovio as the model for women in the Renaissance.
Keywords:
- Paolo Giovio,
- Vittoria Colonna,
- Female Body,
- Virility/Femininity,
- Paradox
Résumé
Dans la troisième partie de son Dialogus de viris et foeminis ætate nostra florentibus, Paolo Giovio dresse une liste de plus de 100 femmes illustres de son temps et brosse un tableau insolite de la société italienne. Ce catalogue ne passe pas en revue les vertus ou de la supériorité des femmes mais il rend compte de l’usage politique des représentations féminines. Les femmes sont associées au statut politique d’une ville et toutes les références à la dimension physique des femmes illustrent le paradoxe de la politique elle-même. Le corps féminin est utilisé comme terrain d’exploration pour examiner l’exercice du pouvoir et pour démontrer les raisons de diverses stratégies politiques dans différentes cours avant le dramatique sac de Rome en 1527. À travers une analyse du Dialogus et une comparaison avec d’autres traités contemporains portant sur des figures féminines, cet article met en évidence l’usage politique de la forme féminine, décrite et paradoxalement modifiée, en fonction d’une stratégie gouvernementale. En témoigne l’exemple frappant de la représentation ambiguë de Vittoria Colonna, en qui Paolo Giovio voyait le modèle de la femme à la Renaissance.
Appendices
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