A Certain Type of Woman: Part II of V
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| Titian, Detail from Venus of Urbino, 1538 |
Even more puzzling: what’s this little pooch doing curled up at the feet of our dear Venus. For you see, dogs in paintings generally serve as a nod to fidelity. So just who is this unconventional woman, this Venus? She’s one Angela del Moro. Also known as Angela Zaffetta.
Angela del Moro was a high-priced Venetian courtesan, not a street walker. She was strong-minded, independent, a businesswoman. This didn’t always sit well with men, and one in particular - bad boy scribbler Pietro Aretino ridiculed her in vulgar verse called La Zaffetta and the 31. Strangely, he also later praised her as one who “embraced virtue and honored virtuous men.” He also said “Angela put a mask of decency on the face of lust.”
Angela del Moro was a high-priced Venetian courtesan, not a street walker. She was strong-minded, independent, a businesswoman. This didn’t always sit well with men, and one in particular - bad boy scribbler Pietro Aretino ridiculed her in vulgar verse called La Zaffetta and the 31. Strangely, he also later praised her as one who “embraced virtue and honored virtuous men.” He also said “Angela put a mask of decency on the face of lust.”
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| Titian, Ippolito de Medici, 1533 |
Of course, he was a good friend with our cad poet Aretino, who then persuaded Ippolito to sit for Titian when Ippolito visited Venice on October 16, 1532.
One could also safely assume that it was Aretino who arranged for an assignation between La Zaffetta and Ippolito on October 20, 1532.
Editor's Note: This week's posts are an adaptation of a lecture given in January. Enjoy.
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