OI!
Those who search (long and hard and in the strangest places) will find.... I found, I found!
I found colour photos of some of Moretto's garden murals!
And pics of surviving Renaissance clothes I didn't even know about!
And... so much! But let's concentrate on the stuff I mentioned above.
I usually type out much of the accompanying text to the photos I find, but this time you'll get the highlight info. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I find them... hi-hi. I've been to the University library all day, browsing through "all" of their Italian Renaissance art books. They have an amazing selection here, and I almost bounced of joy when finding the Moretto murals in colour.
MORETTO DA BRESCIA GARDEN FRESCOES:
Female portraits in front of landscapes, Palazzo Martinengo-Salvadego, Brescia, 1543-46
As far as we know, the murals that Moretto da Brescia (1498-1554) and his workshop painted in the Palazzo Martinengo-Salvadego, in Brescia, combining fresco, tempera and oils were unique. They were largely finished in 1543, for that was the year a visitor described a room in the palace with portraits of six beautiful women from Brescia (the last two of the eight figures were evidently painted years later). It is probable that these are portraits of wives and daughters from the many branches of the Martinego family.
Even if it's no longer possible to identify the sitters precisely, it is clear that the patron was primarily seeking to create a kind of "gallery of beauties" avant la lettre. In this context it is worth noting that in a list of beautiful women in the various cities of Italy, which Girolamo Ruscelli published in 1552, Brescia had the largest number of female beauties, with more than sixty names, and the women of the Martinego family occupy first place: in addition to the family's two daughters, there were eight ladies married to members of this house"
("Italian frescoes, high renaissance and mannerism 1510-1600", by Julian Kliemann and Michael Rohlmann, Abbeville press publishers, New York and London 2004)
Beauty pageants a la Renaissance!
I'm so in love with these. It must be an amazing view to stand in the middle of this room, being surrounded by these illusionistic landscapes, with ladies in pretty dresses. Aaaah. They come from a 3-volume thing called "Italian frescoes" (each volume with an additional subtitle); the one with the Moroni muralss can be seen here: http://www.amazon.com/Italian-Frescoes-Renaissance-Mannerism-1510-1600/dp/0789208318 (the other two are there as well). Amazing books, truly amazing. Grand photos, close-ups of every little part, charts showing how the pictorial programme is laid out and where it is in the building etc. I want 'em! Only $90 a piece...
Now, if I can just get my hand on those other Moroni garden frescoes... (well, not the actual frescoes, but colour photos of them).
VARIOUS SURVIVING CLOTHES FROM THE DELLA ROVERE FAMILY
Abiti funebri di Francesco Maria I della Rovere
(Funeral outfit of Francesco Maria I della Rovere - buried 1538)
Giubbone e braghe di Francesco Maria I prima del restauro
(Doublet and breeches of Francesco Maria I before the restauration/conservation)
I don't know why the breechess are in the "before" photo and not the after one. I've double-checked, so it's not me mixing them up. The doublet is consistent in both photos at well. I assume the breeches either disappeared or is not fully conservated.
Abiti funebri di Giulia da Varano della Rovere
(Funeral dress of Giulia da Varano of Rovere - buried 1547)
Corpetto e gonna di Giulia da Varano prima del restauro
(Bodice and skirt of Giulia da Varano before restauration/conservation)
This is... unusual. Isn't it? Such a wide dress for the 1540's. I don't know much Italian, but I understand enough to sort out that this dress needed ca. 5 metres of fabric, and that a separate chemise was worn underneath. What do you think? A sort of overgarb? The actual dress? I don't think I've seen anything similar in period portraits.
Abiti funebri del Cardinale Giulio Feltrio della Rovere
(funeral outfit of cardinal Giulio Feltrio della Rovere - buried 1578)
This is a rather complete outfit, judging by the photo (and the fact that it's over 400 years old). I wish I could more Italian... The description sais "Giubbone, braghe alla sivigliana, calze e veste talare. Giubbone e braghe alla sivigliana in tessuto di seta; calze in maglia di seta; veste talare in "Gros de tours" di seta, h cm 160 ca. Urbino, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, in deposito da Santa Chiara, Urbino". So... Doublet, breeches a la Sevilla (?), stockings and waistcoat/vest (?)... talare? Made of silk (I think "gros de tours" equals tabby silk?).
Armatura "alla romana" (1546)
("Roman" armor/uniform)
The della Rovere outfit comes from a book called "I della Rovere. Piero della Francesca, Rafaello, Tiziano", edited by Paolo Dal Poggetto, Electa publishers in Milano, 2004 ( http://www.electaweb.it ). It's in Italian, but deals with most aspects of the della Roveres and Urbino, seen in an art perspective.