Staging Bianca Capello: Painting and Theatricality in Sixteenth‐Century Venice

Abstract

Theatricality in sixteenth-century Venetian painting has long been understood as a characteristic of the paintings themselves. This article aims to give the concept a wider meaning by exploring its connection to the theatrical character of Venetian society and Venetian ritual. A portrait of the Venetian-born grand duchess of Tuscany, Bianca Capello (1548–87), painted by the Roman artist Scipione Pulzone (c. 1550–98) serves as an example. On the basis of a series of letters written by the owner, the Venetian nobleman Francesco Bembo, to Bianca Capello, the ways in which the Venetian audience approached this portrait can be reconstructed and the striking similarities between the manner in which people treated paintings and ritual behaviour in Venetian society are explored.