Francesco Petrarch
Petrarch was a hugely important figure in the development of "triumphs" towards the end of the Middle Ages. Scholars today title him the "Father of Humanism" and even credit him with starting the Renaissance because he had been so devoted to studying classical literature.[1] This passion for the classics is exemplified through his poem I Trionfi, which tracks the allegorical representations of Love, Chastity, Death, Fame, Time, and Eternity through their successive triumphs. The poem is also framed by ancient rhetoric, in which "a principle was introduced and exemplified by historical figures."[2] Through Petrarch, the concept of triumph became a symbolic path through life, and ultimate attainment of redemption, rather than a celebration of a military victory.[3]
All of the allegorical figures from I Trionfi appear in the series from which this object comes, which was a group of tapestries made for King Louis XII of France after he had received an illuminated copy of the poem. The tapestry was given to the king around the start of the 16th century, approximately two hundred years after Petrarch's birth, and included French and Latin inscriptions even though the poem was originally written in Italian.[4] This object therefore demonstrates the spread of Petrarch's idea both through time and space. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that a king prized the depiction of mythical triumphs, since he himself would have been the one triumphing only centuries earlier. This speaks to the value placed in owning art during the Renaissance.
[1] "Petrarch Biography," The Biography.com Website, accessed 11 May 2016.
[2] Baskins, Cristelle Louise, The Triumph of Marriage: Painted Cassoni of the Renaissance, (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2008), 10.
[3] Alessandro Cane, "I 'Trionfi' di Petrarca: riassunto e commento,' OilProject, accessed 11 May 2016.
[4] "The Triumphs of Petrarch," Royal Collection Trust, accessed May 11, 2016.