Resumen de Marie de Beaulieu and Isabella Andreini: cross-cultural patronage at the French court
In "La Première atteinte contre ceux qui accusent les comedies" (1603), the fille d'honneur Marie de Beaulieu praises and defends the commedia dell'arte troupe the Gelosi, directed by the celebrated actress and poet Isabella Andreini and her housband, Francesco. In her "Rime, parte seconda" (1605), Andreini includes seven poems in praise of Beaulieu, including one about her novel, "L'Histoire de la Chiaramonte" (1603). This study explores Beaulieu and Andreini's connections in the world of patronage at the French court. It considers their friendship and how their writing reflects the taste of the great "mécènes". Through examining their works, as well as their dedications, it illustrates how the rarified, largely female-centric world of literary aesthetics in which each auhtor sought patronage may be perceived and suggests that this milieu may be seen to foreshadow women's sociability and patronage in the seventeenth century.
