The Marchesa
On an unspecified day in the present, Isabella D’Este waits in the shadows of the Mantua Reading Room for her newest scholar to access the archive. A chill runs down the scholar’s neck as a puff of wind sends a paper spiraling to the floor. Isabella has successfully manipulated another discovery about herself. Thus, Dunant sets the stage: her protagonist, here in modern times, acts as first-hand guide to 1500s Italy. This ingenious narrative trope steers us unerringly through the novel. As Dunant has mused, what was it like to be an intelligent, educated Renaissance woman? Why is every known Renaissance artistic genius male? Did some higher power assign a gender to creative talent?
Isabella’s marriage to Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, who is always away fighting, proves the perfect landscape upon which to showcase her skills. She shrewdly directs her husband, her marriage, disagreeable bedchamber duties, and the provision of an heir. A renowned art collector in her own right, Isabella’s relationship with the brusque Mantegna and the sensual Guilio Romano are expertly drawn. Regent during Francesco’s absences, and during the minority of the heir, Federico, Isabella is a distinguished aristocrat with a foot in many worlds. Turbulent politics, skittish artists, magnificent art and influential people: Isabella deals with it all with flair, and a determination to preserve beauty for posterity.
Our one-on-one journey with Isabella, from her Ferrara childhood to her status as Marchesa of Mantua, through her sister’s tragedies, Italy’s warring states, and the 1527 sack of Rome, reveals a remarkable breadth of personality and ability. She revels in the sublime (Romano’s recreation of her studiolo) and laughs at the ridiculous (pox-riddled Francesco’s demands for his conjugal rights) with equal fervour. An intellectually brilliant woman who avails herself of every opportunity—yet the sense at the denouement is that there is still more to discover about the remarkable Isabella D’Este.
