Isabella of Naples

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Isabella of Aragon, princess of Naples

Isabella of Naples (2 October 1470 – February 11, 1524) was the daughter of King Alphonse II of Naples by his wife, Ippolita Maria Sforza. From 1489 to 1494, she was the Duchess consort of Milan, and from 1499 to 1524 the Duchess of Bari and Princess of Rossano. After her brother Ferdinand II's death, she was the heir of the Brienne claim to the title King of Jerusalem.

She married her first cousin, Gian Galeazzo Sforza, who at the time was the Duke of Milan. However, his uncle Ludovico Sforza was the de facto ruler.

With Gian Galeazzo Sforza she had one son and two daughters:[1]

Isabella also outlived Francesco, who was killed in 1512 by falling from his horse. Of her three children, only Bona survived her.

In the 1970s Robert Payne[2] was the first to suggest that Isabella was the subject of the Mona Lisa, the portrait by Leonardo da Vinci whose subject was traditionally thought to be Lisa Gherardini or Lisa del Giocondo. In 2003 historian Maike Vogt-Lüerssen concurred with Payne and argued that the subject was a member of the House of Sforza because of the pattern on the subject's dark green dress.[3] The 2005 discovery of a note by Agostino Vespucci is commonly used to diminish this theory.[4] However, since Vespucci does not provide any description of the painting, it could refer to any of Leonardo's female portrait paintings of that time.[5]

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] References

  1. ^ Maike Vogt-Lüerssen: Isabella von Aragon und ihr Hofmaler Leonardo da Vinci, Norderstedt 2010, ISBN 978-3-8391-7110-3, pp. 111-141
  2. ^ Payne, Robert (1979). Leonardo. London, United Kingdom: Robert Hale Ltd.. pp. 137–149. ISBN 0 7091 7547 7. 
  3. ^ Vogt-Luerssen, Maike (2003) (in German). Wer ist Mona Lisa?. Norderstedt, Germany: Books on Demand. ISBN 3-8330-0647-1. 
  4. ^ "Mona Lisa – Heidelberger Fund klärt Identität (English: Mona Lisa – Heidelberger find clarifies identity)" (in German). University of Heidelberg. http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/news/monalisa.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
  5. ^ Delieuvin, Vincent (21 January 2008). "Achtbare Gattin" (in German). Der Spiegel. p. 127. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-55508060.html?name=Achtbare+Gattin. Retrieved 26 January 2009. 

[edit] External links

Isabella of Naples
Born: 2 October 1470 Died: 11 February 1524
Italian nobility
Preceded by
Bona of Savoy
Duchess consort of Milan
1489–1494
Succeeded by
Beatrice d'Este
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Ferdinand II of Naples
Brienne claim
1496–1524
Succeeded by
Bona Sforza


Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages