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Bibliography1. Dunn, Marilyn. Spiritual Philanthropist: Women As Convent Patrons In Seicento Rome. This book gives a good overview of four patrons of convents in seventeenth century Rome. Good examples of what my character can bring to the convent. 2. Evangelista, Sylvia. “Wives, Widows, and Brides of Christ: Marriage and the Convent In Historiography of Early Modern Italy”. The Historical Journal. March,2000. Vol. 23, No 3. Pg 233-247. Cambridge University Press.This article studies the interaction between convent and society and how the Church and state law dictated behavior. My character has a land grab by the state and Giovanni helps to have it given to the convent.4.Ffolliott, Sheila. “Italian Women Artists from Renaissance to Baroque”. This article talks about gender differences and the freedoms given or not to both. Convent as family identity and portraits as treasures for females. This will help me shape my portrait and the identity I want to show.5. McCall, Timothy. “Visual Imagery and Historical Invisibility : Antonia Torelli, Her Husband,and His Mistress in fifteenth Century Parma”. Vol. 23, No.7. DOI: 10./j.1477-4658. 2009. 00572.xThis is the life of Antonia Torelli. Explains the way a wife can be invisible and the mistress is seen as equal if not more important in society. This article gives me information to make my story. And shows the patronage of Torelli to the convent.6.Strocchia, Sharon. “Abbess Piera de’ Medici and Her Kin, Gender, Gifts, and Patronage in Renaissance Florence Studies. Vol 28, No.5. DOI 10. 1111/rest12043. This is the history of Abbess Piera de’ Medici. It is the story I use to connect Alba Camelli to the Medici family. 7.Vaccaro, Mary.  Dutiful Widows:Female Patronage and Two Marion AltarpiecesI used this article for information on St Gerome and the timeline of my Alba Camelli”s birth, marriage and when she became a widow.   

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Bibliography1. Dunn, Marilyn. Spiritual Philanthropist: Women As Convent Patrons In Seicento Rome. This book gives a good overview of four patrons of convents in seventeenth century Rome. Good examples of what my character can bring to the convent. 2. Evangelista, Sylvia. “Wives, Widows, and Brides of Christ: Marriage and the Convent In Historiography of Early Modern Italy”. The Historical Journal. March,2000. Vol. 23, No 3. Pg 233-247. Cambridge University Press.This article studies the interaction between convent and society and how the Church and state law dictated behavior. My character has a land grab by the state and Giovanni helps to have it given to the convent.4.Ffolliott, Sheila. “Italian Women Artists from Renaissance to Baroque”. This article talks about gender differences and the freedoms given or not to both. Convent as family identity and portraits as treasures for females. This will help me shape my portrait and the identity I want to show.5. McCall, Timothy. “Visual Imagery and Historical Invisibility : Antonia Torelli, Her Husband,and His Mistress in fifteenth Century Parma”. Vol. 23, No.7. DOI: 10./j.1477-4658. 2009. 00572.xThis is the life of Antonia Torelli. Explains the way a wife can be invisible and the mistress is seen as equal if not more important in society. This article gives me information to make my story. And shows the patronage of Torelli to the convent.6.Strocchia, Sharon. “Abbess Piera de’ Medici and Her Kin, Gender, Gifts, and Patronage in Renaissance Florence Studies. Vol 28, No.5. DOI 10. 1111/rest12043. This is the history of Abbess Piera de’ Medici. It is the story I use to connect Alba Camelli to the Medici family. 7.Vaccaro, Mary.  Dutiful Widows:Female Patronage and Two Marion AltarpiecesI used this article for information on St Gerome and the timeline of my Alba Camelli”s birth, marriage and when she became a widow.   

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Italian Maiolica dish depicting "The pentinence of Saint Jerome"

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Italian Maiolica dish depicting "The pentinence of Saint Jerome"

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   The overall identity that I wanted in my portrait is one of a widow.  Her name is Alba Gazzi.  She is the daughter of Lorenzo and Francesca Gazzi.  She was born in 1468 and at the age of seventeen she married Primo Camelli.  He was 30 years old and was  a wealthy banker who worked for the Medici family.  Theirs was a marriage arranged by her father who was also a banker associated with the Medici’s.  Alba was a very devout Catholic who would have preferred to enter the convent, but her father was adamant that she marry.   Their son, Vincenzo, was born one year later in 1486.  Although she loved her son, her first love was and always would be her faith.  Because of her husband's wealth she was able to become a patron of Santa Maria Verdiana in the northern part of Florence, a convent that had large ties to the Medici,and was under state control.  Because her husband traveled frequently for the Medici’s, she was in charge of her husband's considerable landholdings.  In 1490 when her son was four years old her husband died and left her a widow.  Her husbands will repeatedly stated that any land he acquired while they were married would be left to his wife to use as she pleased.  The land in question was adjacent to the convent of Santa Maria Verdiana.  The rest of his many holdings would go to his son Vincenzo.  His wife realized that her husband was well aware of her desire to become a nun and that he left her this particular land because it was attached to the convent grounds.  After a year of struggle with the courts trying to enforce the will, the Medici family come to her aid and eventually the land becomes hers. Her son, with his fathers inheritance, is sent to live at the Medici court to be educated.  Alba enters the convent in 1491 and settles into life at the convent.  She chose not to take her final vows for reasons known only to her, but her son assumes it is out of respect for his father because he was so generous in making sure she and her son were well cared for after his death.       The original portrait I chose was done by Maroni.  It is thought to be a wealthy contessa, possibly Lucia Albani.  I chose this portrait to remix because although it depicted what appears to be a wealthy woman, by the fabric of her dress and her jewels, she seems to be somewhat humble looking to me. Her belongings that she would have taken with her when she entered the convent all speak to her status as a wealthy mother and widow.  The carpet was a gift to her husband by the Medici’s as a thank you for all his work for them. He helped create a more streamlined ledger system that is still used in banks today.   I also chose to add a portrait of her late husband, because although it was a marriage for financial purposes, she is thankful for their son and the land that she was able to give to the convent.  I also placed two maiolica plates in her cabinet.  One was gifted to her by her husband on the birth of their son and bears his name, Vincenzo, and the other is a portrait of St. Jerome.   Also included in the portrait is a plant that sits in the doorway of her two connecting rooms that she would have occupied because she was a wealthy widow.   The plant is a reference to the gardens that were created from the land that she gave to Saint Verdiana.  She is also holding a quill and paper in her hand.  This suggests that she has become adept at calligraphy while at the convent.  A skill taught to her by the Abbess Piera de Medici, who was the head scribe at the convent. Her cabinet in the background contains the epistles of St. Jerome that he wrote as a sort of spiritual mentor. Some of these writings were done specifically for widows.  Alba Camelli commissioned this portrait for her son.  She wanted him to know a little about her and that she was well settled and led a productive life at the convent. 

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   The overall identity that I wanted in my portrait is one of a widow.  Her name is Alba Gazzi.  She is the daughter of Lorenzo and Francesca Gazzi.  She was born in 1468 and at the age of seventeen she married Primo Camelli.  He was 30 years old and was  a wealthy banker who worked for the Medici family.  Theirs was a marriage arranged by her father who was also a banker associated with the Medici’s.  Alba was a very devout Catholic who would have preferred to enter the convent, but her father was adamant that she marry.   Their son, Vincenzo, was born one year later in 1486.  Although she loved her son, her first love was and always would be her faith.  Because of her husband's wealth she was able to become a patron of Santa Maria Verdiana in the northern part of Florence, a convent that had large ties to the Medici,and was under state control.  Because her husband traveled frequently for the Medici’s, she was in charge of her husband's considerable landholdings.  In 1490 when her son was four years old her husband died and left her a widow.  Her husbands will repeatedly stated that any land he acquired while they were married would be left to his wife to use as she pleased.  The land in question was adjacent to the convent of Santa Maria Verdiana.  The rest of his many holdings would go to his son Vincenzo.  His wife realized that her husband was well aware of her desire to become a nun and that he left her this particular land because it was attached to the convent grounds.  After a year of struggle with the courts trying to enforce the will, the Medici family come to her aid and eventually the land becomes hers. Her son, with his fathers inheritance, is sent to live at the Medici court to be educated.  Alba enters the convent in 1491 and settles into life at the convent.  She chose not to take her final vows for reasons known only to her, but her son assumes it is out of respect for his father because he was so generous in making sure she and her son were well cared for after his death.       The original portrait I chose was done by Maroni.  It is thought to be a wealthy contessa, possibly Lucia Albani.  I chose this portrait to remix because although it depicted what appears to be a wealthy woman, by the fabric of her dress and her jewels, she seems to be somewhat humble looking to me. Her belongings that she would have taken with her when she entered the convent all speak to her status as a wealthy mother and widow.  The carpet was a gift to her husband by the Medici’s as a thank you for all his work for them. He helped create a more streamlined ledger system that is still used in banks today.   I also chose to add a portrait of her late husband, because although it was a marriage for financial purposes, she is thankful for their son and the land that she was able to give to the convent.  I also placed two maiolica plates in her cabinet.  One was gifted to her by her husband on the birth of their son and bears his name, Vincenzo, and the other is a portrait of St. Jerome.   Also included in the portrait is a plant that sits in the doorway of her two connecting rooms that she would have occupied because she was a wealthy widow.   The plant is a reference to the gardens that were created from the land that she gave to Saint Verdiana.  She is also holding a quill and paper in her hand.  This suggests that she has become adept at calligraphy while at the convent.  A skill taught to her by the Abbess Piera de Medici, who was the head scribe at the convent. Her cabinet in the background contains the epistles of St. Jerome that he wrote as a sort of spiritual mentor. Some of these writings were done specifically for widows.  Alba Camelli commissioned this portrait for her son.  She wanted him to know a little about her and that she was well settled and led a productive life at the convent. 

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Piece of calligraphy from Santa Verdiana

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Piece of calligraphy from Santa Verdiana

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Her name is Alba Camelli. She is married at the age of seventeen to Pietro Camelli. She is the daughter of Luigi and Francesca Gazzi. Although her marriage was a business arrangement made for the advancement of her family and she does not love her husband, she is content. He is a generous provider and allows her to be involved with Santa Verdiana, a convent in northern Florence. When she is twenty years of age her husband passes away. She does not want to remarry, instead choosing to enter the convent of Santa Verdania. She chooses to enter the convent in order to keep land that had been granted to her by her husband prior to his death. She has been a patron of the convent with her husband’s approval (before his death) and land that was left to her by her husband is going to be used to expand the convent.

While living here, she becomes well versed in calligraphy and makes quite the name for herself, eventually landing the job of chief scribe. She is given the task of writing a manuscript commissioned by Abbot Giovani de Benci. His family has ties to the Medici bank as did her family. Giovanni de Medici becomes aware of her work and is so impressed with her work that he wants to meet her. They become involved and she becomes pregnant. The convent passes her child off as an orphan as was the practice. He is named Vincenzo and is adopted by Giovanni who sends him to live with relatives.

Alba Camelli has this portrait commissioned for her son in the hopes he will have some insight to who she was.
I wanted this portrait to portray her as wealthy but not overly so because she would give a lot of her wealth to the convent. I wanted a connection to the Medici's as a way to  acknowledge Vincenzo's father. I put in the Holbein carpet and the pottery that would suggest she had wealth of her own. I added in the upper left hand corner a portrait of her deceased husband. And lastly she is holding a quill and a page from a manuscript to show what she does.