The Triumph of Marriage:
Painted Cassoni of the Renaissance
October 16, 2008 – January 18, 2009

In Renaissance Italy, cassoni –Italian for “large chests” – were an essential part of the rituals of elite marriages. Made in pairs and often painted with historical and allegorical scenes, these chests were paraded through the streets, like trophies, when the bride moved into the house of her new husband.  The narrative paintings with which they were decorated linked marriage to history and the roles appropriate to husband and wife. Cassoni offered artists an opportunity to develop new subjects in new formats, fusing space and time in consecutive scenes; dramatizing conflicts between love and duty; and almost always concluding with a vision of triumphant harmony.

The exhibition and its programs are supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The Triumph of Marriage will travel to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, where it will be on view beginning February 2009. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

Exhibition Programs

Gallery Talks
Weekends, October 18 - January 18 @ Noon
FREE with museum admission

Exhibition Preview: The Triumph
of Marriage
Wednesday, October 15 @ 6:30 pm
For members and patrons.

Vieni Imeneo: Music and Marriage
in Renaissance Italy
Sunday, October 19 @ 1:30 pm

Tickets: $23 General Public; $18 Seniors;
$15 Members; $10 Students;
$5 Children, ages 5-17
A musical tour of nuptial mores in Florence, Rome, Venice, and other centers of Italian splendor, circa 1450-1600.  Music of Dufay, Josquin, Marenzio, Andrea Gabrieli, Monteverdi, and others for varied consorts of voices and Renaissance instruments. Featured artists: The Boston Camerata, Anne Azéma, artistic director. Program conceived and directed by Joel Cohen.

Imagining Love in Dante’s Divine Comedy
Thursday, October 23 @ 6:30 pm
Tickets: $7 General Public; $5 Members,
Seniors; FREE Students
Dante scholar Rachel Jacoff reveals the varieties of love portrayed in the Divine Comedy – from lust to divine love – themes also present in Renaissance marriage art. The poetic landscape of Dante stood in counterpoint to the practical and political functions of Renaissance marriage.  During the Renaissance, how and where did love (in all its forms) find expression?

The Triumph of Marriage: A Closer Look
Wednesday, October 29 @ 1:30-5 pm
Program repeats Saturday, December 6 @ 1:30-5 pm
Limited Ticketing: $65 General Public; $45 Members, Seniors; $25 Students. Please note: Attendance limited to 30.
The afternoon includes a series of in-depth talks on Renaissance art, society, and culture, along with active looking sessions and small group discussions throughout the museum. Join guest curator, Professor Cristelle Baskins; Curator of the Collection, Alan Chong; and museum staff for an afternoon of learning and discovery. A reception in the Museum Café follows.

Discovery Saturday
Saturday, November 1 @ 11 am-4:45 pm
FREE with museum admission
Celebrate the art and culture of Renaissance Italy! Participate in art-making and looking activities, and enjoy dance and music performances and demonstrations by Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company and by La Donna Musicale.

The Triumph of Marriage: A Symposium on Renaissance Cassoni
Lectures and Reception: Friday, November 7 @ 6:30 pm
Symposium: Saturday, November 8 @ 10 am-5 pm
Tickets: $15 General Public; $10 Members, Seniors; FREE Students
This exhibition symposium considers issues surrounding Renaissance cassoni, marriage, and the motif of triumph. Revived and transformed in the Renaissance, images of ancient military triumph offered a model for public celebration with parade floats and processions. Triumph was also a poetic motif used as allegory in works such as Petrarch’s famous poem, The Triumphs, which itself became a popular subject in art celebrating marriage. The speakers will approach Renaissance marriage and triumphal imagery from a variety of disciplines, including history, art history, and literature. Chaired by exhibition curator Cristelle Baskins of Tufts University. Speakers include: Lilian Armstrong, Wellesley College; Roberta Bartoli, Kunsthistorisches Institut, Florence; Caroline Campbell, Courtauld Gallery; Philine Helas, Biblioteca Hertziana; Philip Jacks, George Washington University; Jacqueline Marie Musacchio, Wellesley College; Sharon Strocchia, Emory University. For more, download a pdf of This Season at the Gardner

Joan Jonas: Reading Dante
Thursday, November 20 @ 7 pm
Tickets: A Gardner After Hours PLUS
program
Legendary performance artist Joan Jonas invites friends to read selected text from Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Experiencing Contemporary Art
Thursday, December 4, 6:30pm
Tickets: $7 General Public; $5 Members, Seniors; FREE Students
How are love, lust, and marriage portrayed in art today? Dabney Hailey, Davis Museum of Art, guides an experience with contemporary art through images that build on themes central to The Triumph of Marriage.

The Triumph of Marriage: A Closer Look
Saturday, December 6, 1:30-5:00pm
(program also runs Wednesday, October 29)
Limited ticketing: $65 General Public; $45 Members, Seniors; $25 Students
The afternoon features focused talks on Renaissance art, society, and culture along with active looking and small group discussions in the exhibition gallery and throughout the museum.

Keynote Lectures and Reception (Friday)

Cristelle Baskins, Tufts University
"The Triumph of Cassoni”

Nerida Newbigin, University of Sydney
"No Imperial Majesty: Frederick III in Florence and Rome”

Symposium Speakers (Saturday)

Lilian Armstrong, Wellesley College
“Triumphs and Love in North Italian Renaissance Books”

Roberta Bartoli, Kunsthistorisches Institut, Florence
“Sacred Feasts and Social Rituals: Images of Banquets in ‘Cassone’ and ‘Spalliera’ Painting”

Caroline Campbell, Courtauld Gallery
“The Transformation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses on Florentine Cassoni”

Philine Helas, Biblioteca Hertziana
“The Triumph of Alfonso d’Aragona in Naples 1443: From Living Images to Pictorial Representations”

Philip Jacks, George Washington University
“La Giostra in Piazza: Courtly Pageantry on Florentine Cassoni”

Jacqueline Marie Musacchio, Wellesley College
“Beauty, Fertility, Piety, and Duty: Marriage Chests and Their Contents in Renaissance Florence”

Sharon Strocchia, Emory University
“A Marriage Made in Heaven: Ritual Unions of Bishops and Abbesses in Renaissance Italy”