Newborn Baby in a Crib

Lavinia Fontana, Newborn Baby in a Crib, c. 1583, oil on canvas, 44 7/8 x 49 5/8 in. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna

Selected Works

Newborn Baby in a Crib Low-Footed Bowl with Bust of a Woman Two-Handled Vase with an Amorous Inscription Woman's Cap Childbirth Tray (Desco da Parto) with The Triumph of Fame (recto) and Medici and Tornabuoni Arms and Devices (verso) Childbirth Bowl (Scodella) with a Confinement-Chamber Scene (interior) and Landscape (exterior); Childbirth Tray (Tagliere) with a Confinement-Chamber Scene (top) and a Cupid (bottom)

Celebrating
Betrothal, Marriage, and Childbirth

rule

For wealthy families in cities such as Florence, Venice, and Milan, the ideal marriage depended on a sizable dowry provided by the bride’s family—not only money and property, but a variety of goods for the bride’s new home. The lavish wedding celebrations of the period were marked by extravagant gifts, such as maiolica decorated with narratives or portraits; rare Venetian glassware; rings (including one of the earliest known diamond wedding rings) and other jewelry; delicate gilded boxes; and vividly painted cassoni, or bridal chests, which would be filled with costly linens and clothing. Likewise, the safe birth of a child was celebrated and commemorated with the production of finely painted deschi da parto (wooden childbirth trays) and maiolica childbirth bowls known as scodelle da parto. Trays and bowls were often painted with encouraging images of a mother resting in her confinement room, with charming representations of Renaissance interiors. Marked with heraldic devices, these objects were prized possessions handed down from generation to generation.

From Cassone to Poesia: Paintings of Love and Marriage

Profane Love