Samantha Thompson
Humanities 8b
Ms.Nickel
8 March 2010
Question/Topic
Who was Isabella d’Este?
What was her family like?
What was she interested in?
Information
“Isabella was born on May 18, 1474 to the
Duke Ercole and Duchess Leonora of Ferrara.
She was received with great joy. June 1475 her sister Beatrice d'Este was born. Then in
1476 and 1477 two brothers were born. The first was Alfonso and second Ippolitto. In
1479 and 1480 two more brothers were born,
Ferrante and Sigismondo. Of all the children
Isabella reigned as the favorite.
How did she impact the people around her? In 1479 Isabella traveled to Naples with her mother. When her mother returned to Ferrara,
Isabella went with her, while the other children stayed with their grandfather for eight years. As Isabella traveled with her mother she learned politics. When it came time to study, Isabella mastered the required subjects quickly.
Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is abella_d'Este
Isabella was quite intelligent and became masterful in many languages. Isabella's favorite language was Greek. She was also a talented musician. She was taught to play the lute by Giovanni Angelo Testagrossa.”
“Isabella d'Este was born in 1474 into the ruling family of Ferra. At the age of sixteen
Isabella married Francesco Gonzaga. She then became the Marchioness of Mantua because Francesco was the Prince. http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schoo ls/projects/renaissance/renaissa ncewomen.html
After the death of her husband, Isabella ruled
Mantua alone. Isabella's father believed in the equality of men and women and so Isabella and her siblings were very well-educated.
Isabella died at the age of sixty-four in 1539.”
“She brought energy, intelligence and judgment to her patronage of literature, music and the visual arts, as to her pursuit of statecraft. Her wealth and taste, and her imperious manner, enabled her to compete - not always successfully - for the services of some of the most eminent artists of the age.
Leonardo, Francia and Titian, among others, painted portraits of her.”
“At the time of her marriage at the age of 16 to Francesco Gonzaga {15 February 1490),
Isabella was already recognized as an http://www.gicas.net/machiave lli/isabella.html

Samantha Thompson
Humanities 8b
Ms.Nickel
8 March 2010 exceptionally astute and cultivated woman, clearly the equal of her husband both intellectually and socially. Francesco's predilections for military life, combined with
Isabella's manifest skills and interests in diplomacy, meant that they spent little time together.”
“As a woman, a wife, a mother, a diplomat, and a creative soul, IDE served as inspiration to those around her. We hope that all women can recognize their own grace, light, and strength as did Isabella d’Este to bring powerful transformation in the world.” http://www.davincismuse.com/ about-da-vincis-muse-forwomen/isabella-deste
What are her accomplishments?
Why is she a well known Renaissance woman?
How important was her role in the Renaissance era?
“At the age of sixteen, Isabella d'Este was able to speak Greek and Latin as well as play the lute, sing, dance and debate with people much older than her. She was very welleducated and her political talent benefited
Mantua while she was ruling. When her husband left, Isabella governed the city on her own, and after he died she took over his whole job. She showed great leadership skills in 1509 when she became Chief of State in
Mantua. http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schoo ls/projects/renaissance/renaissa ncewomen.html
How did she involve herself in the
Renaissance?
Why was she a
Renaissance supporter?
Who inspired her?
At this time she also founded a school for young women where they had to observe a strict code of morals. She was a patron of the
Arts and she also set artistic fashions and standards. Isabella collected many paintings and statues. She also wrote over two thousand letters and in these she commented on everything from politics to war. That was the closest that any woman at that time ever got to writing history.”
“Isabella d'Este was very well educated in her youth, as her voluminous correspondence from Mantua reveals. The Este sisters were exposed to many of the new Renaissance ideas: later Isabella became a passionate, even greedy collector of Roman sculpture and commissioned modern sculptures in the antique style.”
“Among her teachers was Battista Guarini,
Guarino da Verona's son and his successor in the chair of rhetoric at Ferrara. Her later concerns for classical learning and astrology also suggest the influence of the ducal librarian, Pellegrino Prisciano, and other http://www.spiritustemporis.com/isabella-d-este/ http://www.gicas.net/machiave lli/isabella.html

Samantha Thompson
Humanities 8b
Ms.Nickel
8 March 2010
What did she do then to affect our lives humanists in the ducal circle.”
“Isabella patronized and promoted the arts.
She allowed writers, artists and poets to now? exchange their ideas in her home. While she was ruling, she set an example for women to break away from the traditional role of what women were supposed to be like. By doing this and many other things she was known as the "First Lady of the Renaissance".”
Bibliography
“Isabella d'Este (1474-1539)”. Gicas.net. 10 October 2009. http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schoo ls/projects/renaissance/renaissa ncewomen.html
<http://www.gicas.net/machiavelli/isabella.html>
“Isabella d’Este”. davincismuse.com. 2008-09.
<http://www.davincismuse.com/about-da-vincis-muse-for-women/isabella-deste>
“Isabella d’Este”. Spiritus-Temporis.com. 2005.
<http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/isabella-d-este/>
“Isabella d’Este”. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 24 February 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_d'Este>
“Renaissance Women”. Renaissance Personalities. 13 May 1997.
<http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/renaissance/renaissancewomen.html>