DRESS AND NUDITY IN THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE FLORENTINE RENAISSANCE WOMAN

This study identifies and interprets the female iconographies of the Florentine Renaissance. Through the art of the Florentine Renaissance, this study shows the relationship of the female iconographies to the changing appearance of the Florentine Woman from about l300 to l550. The female form, nude and clothed, was used to personify man's changing interpretations of his universe.;The iconographies of woman during the Florentine Renaissance perpetuate the universal ideas of man. The paintings selected show a chronological progression from the impersonal iconography of the Queen of Heaven to the iconography of a warm and personal mother and from a teacher who shows man how to become civilized through the awakening of the senses, to a teacher who instructs man in the ways of sacred love so that he can arrive at a union with God. The changes in the iconographies were from abstract idealism to humanistic idealism. The iconographies can be divided into the two categories of teacher-Eve-Venus and mother-Virgin-Venus. There is some overlapping, but the iconographies remain fairly distinct until the end of the Florentine Renaissance. The mother iconography is very clear and strong throughout the entire period culminating in the merger of human idealism and spiritual idealism in the Madonna del Granduca by Raphael.;The influence of the humanistic movement is pervasive, reaching its greatest acceleration during the neo-Platonic period under the guidance of Ficino. Botticelli's paintings express the philosophy of the Platonic Academy best. After l500, there is a downward turn when the humanistic iconography of woman begins to lose its spiritual value and becomes plainly erotic. The message that the iconographies convey to us is that at the beginning of the Florentine Renaissance, the universe was beyond man's reach, and toward the end of the Florentine Renaissance, the universe was within man's reach.;Extensive research was done in the social history, philosophy, religion and fashions of the Florentine Renaissance. Over 800 photographs were taken of paintings and drawings of women of the Florentine Renaissance. Of these, ll3 photograhs were incorporated into this study. It became apparent that the inconographies depended not only upon the socio-psychological attitudes of Renaissance man, but also upon the techniques, media, insights and the genius of the artists who were communicating the messages.