The studiolo (“study-room”) is a manifestation of the compartmentalized domestic architecture of the Italian Renaissance. Originally used by learned clerics, it can be considered a descendant of the monk’s cell. The studiolo generally consisted of a small room featuring a built-in desk, seat, and cupboard, but the typology varies and evolves across space and time. In the painting Saint Jerome and His Study by Antonello da Messina, the studiolo is “positioned inside a monumental but undefined space.”In contrast, the painting Saint Augustine in His Study by Vittore Carpaccio depicts the studiolo as situated within a domestic suite.
These paintings depict two contradictory notions attached to the history of the studiolo: the studiolo as a humanist space for private contemplation, religious devotion and intellectual pursuit, and the studiolo as a place for social exchange, and conspicuous display. Primary sources have often led scholars to identify the studiolo as a patriarchal space in which the male owner displayed his individuality, wealth, intellect and sovereignty over the household. The boudoir has been interpreted as the female version of the studiolo, but these definitions deserve further examination. These conceptions overlook differences in rulership in which under some sovereigns women could hold political positions, receive a humanist education and maintain studioli, such as Eleonora d’Aragona and Isabella d’Este. The history of the studiolo requires a reexamination in its relationship to gendered division of labor, differing political systems, primitive accumulation and the rise of capitalism.
This paper will use several case studies to explore the location and evolution of the studiolo within the domestic architecture of the Renaissance. Floor plans will be used to analyze the studiolo’s role in reinforcing, reflecting, and perpetuating the division of labor manifested in political and economic systems. If the studiolo is a paradox in which public and private intersect, it’s history will be explored not only as a space of solitude and intellectual pursuit, but also as a space representing the power and sovereignty of its owner.
These paintings depict two contradictory notions attached to the history of the studiolo: the studiolo as a humanist space for private contemplation, religious devotion and intellectual pursuit, and the studiolo as a place for social exchange, and conspicuous display. Primary sources have often led scholars to identify the studiolo as a patriarchal space in which the male owner displayed his individuality, wealth, intellect and sovereignty over the household. The boudoir has been interpreted as the female version of the studiolo, but these definitions deserve further examination. These conceptions overlook differences in rulership in which under some sovereigns women could hold political positions, receive a humanist education and maintain studioli, such as Eleonora d’Aragona and Isabella d’Este. The history of the studiolo requires a reexamination in its relationship to gendered division of labor, differing political systems, primitive accumulation and the rise of capitalism.
This paper will use several case studies to explore the location and evolution of the studiolo within the domestic architecture of the Renaissance. Floor plans will be used to analyze the studiolo’s role in reinforcing, reflecting, and perpetuating the division of labor manifested in political and economic systems. If the studiolo is a paradox in which public and private intersect, it’s history will be explored not only as a space of solitude and intellectual pursuit, but also as a space representing the power and sovereignty of its owner.
The iconography in the studiolo of Isabella d’Este reflects and reinforces her role as a bourgeoisie woman in the age of the enlightenment. She must maintain imagery that bolsters her allowed role as a bourgeoisie woman of virtue who exists to raise male heirs in order to appease male visitors and diplomats perhaps uncomfortable with her position of power. The iconography, function and role of the bourgeoisie female studiolo must differ from that of the male studiolo in order to reify the division of labor necessary to the functioning of agrarian capitalism.