| In the sixteenth-century, commemorative medals served as some of the most popular objects depicting the ideas and ideals of men and, as I contend, women from Italy. This dissertation considers the personal, cultural, and social significance and function of a select group of medals depicting women in Italy from approximately 1550 to 1620. My examination of this sample group of medals of women can be used to construct a general understanding of the meaning and functions of medals of women in mid to late sixteenth-century Italy which signify the themes and subjects of beauty and chastity, power and propaganda, and the celebration of women as vital members of the Renaissance family as well as individuals in their own right. I further assert that the text and images depicted on the medals both reinforces and contradicts the prescribed behaviors expected of women during this period. All of the medals examined in this dissertation were commissioned by men, but as I explain, many of the women who appear on them most likely took an active role in their own self-fashioning which is reflected in the meaning of the medals. |
