Studiolos (Italian for study) are rooms, often in a far corner of the house and this positioning in the home represented the level of intimacy between the host/hostess and the guest.
- During the 15th and 16th Century familiarity was represented by where in a home you were allowed to be entertained, the bedroom was surprisingly less intimate than the studiolo.
- A studiolo is only seen be the inner circle of the owner and therefore a deep understanding of those people is apparent.
- The visitors would generally be those with specific academic understanding, for example poets and humanists, such people would have an understanding of academic subjects such as Greek mythology
- The study was also a way of inspiring creativity; guests would discuss the paintings and objects in the studiolo in detail and it would go on to inspire art, such as poetry.
- The possession of ancient virtues was thought to depend on the extent of knowledge of the ancient precedents, and so studying the Classical world became a virtue. The studiolo was where this form of virtuous scholarship was performed
To understand what would be within a studiolo:
1480 Duke Ercole d’Este Ferrara said of Palazzo Medici :
“There on a table he had brought his jewels… vases, cups, hard-stone coffers mounted with gold, of various stones, jasper and others. There was there a crystal beaker mounted with a lid and a silver foot, which was studded with pearls, rubies, diamonds and other stones. A dish carved inside with diverse figures, two large bowls full of ancients coins, one of gold coins and the other full of silver, then a little case with many jewels, rings and engraved stones”
Past Times 