![MEDICI, Bianca de' (1543-1587), wife of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Two letters signed ('La gran Duchessa di T[osca]na') to the Florentine ambassador at Ferrara [Raffaello de' Medici], Florence and Pratolino, 8 and 14 August 1587, 2½ pages, folio, integral address leaves, remnants of seal (a few small holes from ink erosion, slight off-setting); [and] Cristina de' MEDICI (1565-1636), wife of Ferdinand I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Letter signed ('Crest[i]na G[ran] D[uchessa] de Tosc[a]na') to the same, 25 July 1589, one page, folio, integral addres leaf (seal-cuts and tear, paper seal-tag detached, a few light spots); all three letters annotated in a late 16th-century hand; old catalogue descriptions tipped on to blank margins.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2005/CKS/2005_CKS_07088_0011_000(110223).jpg?w=1)
细节
MEDICI, Bianca de' (1543-1587), wife of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Two letters signed ('La gran Duchessa di T[osca]na') to the Florentine ambassador at Ferrara [Raffaello de' Medici], Florence and Pratolino, 8 and 14 August 1587, 2½ pages, folio, integral address leaves, remnants of seal (a few small holes from ink erosion, slight off-setting); [and] Cristina de' MEDICI (1565-1636), wife of Ferdinand I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Letter signed ('Crest[i]na G[ran] D[uchessa] de Tosc[a]na') to the same, 25 July 1589, one page, folio, integral addres leaf (seal-cuts and tear, paper seal-tag detached, a few light spots); all three letters annotated in a late 16th-century hand; old catalogue descriptions tipped on to blank margins.
Expressions of regret by Bianca de' Medici at the abandonment of the visit of Marfisa d'Este [daughter of Francesco d'Este and granddaughter of Lucrezia Borgia] and the impossibility of saying when it may now take place because she and the Duke are leaving for Pratolino the next day, and having been deprived of country pursuits for over a year he will not wish to return for some time. Her second letter refers again to Donna Marfisa, now in Bologna, and conveys her satisfaction at the recipient's visit on her behalf to the Duchess of Urbino. Cristina de' Medici thanks Raffaello for carrying out a commission, and asks him to convey to the Duke of Ferrara her thanks for granting her request on behalf of Count Galeazzo.
The Venetian-born Bianca Capello was the mistress of Francesco de' Medici from 1563 and his wife from 1579. They died within a few hours of each other, at Poggio di Caiano, only eight weeks after the present letters were written. Suspected of witchcraft, Bianca was vilified by Ferdinand, her brother-in-law, who suggested that she had murdered Francesco and denied her the right of burial in the Medici vault in the Church of San Lorenzo; her extravagantly painted house in the Via Maggio survives as a reminder of her celebrated beauty and charms. Cristina de' Medici (Christine de Lorraine), favourite grand-daughter of Catherine de Medicis, was known for her piety, although Galileo addressed to her his bold essay, in the form of a letter, on the distinction between Scripture and scientific knowledge. (3)
Expressions of regret by Bianca de' Medici at the abandonment of the visit of Marfisa d'Este [daughter of Francesco d'Este and granddaughter of Lucrezia Borgia] and the impossibility of saying when it may now take place because she and the Duke are leaving for Pratolino the next day, and having been deprived of country pursuits for over a year he will not wish to return for some time. Her second letter refers again to Donna Marfisa, now in Bologna, and conveys her satisfaction at the recipient's visit on her behalf to the Duchess of Urbino. Cristina de' Medici thanks Raffaello for carrying out a commission, and asks him to convey to the Duke of Ferrara her thanks for granting her request on behalf of Count Galeazzo.
The Venetian-born Bianca Capello was the mistress of Francesco de' Medici from 1563 and his wife from 1579. They died within a few hours of each other, at Poggio di Caiano, only eight weeks after the present letters were written. Suspected of witchcraft, Bianca was vilified by Ferdinand, her brother-in-law, who suggested that she had murdered Francesco and denied her the right of burial in the Medici vault in the Church of San Lorenzo; her extravagantly painted house in the Via Maggio survives as a reminder of her celebrated beauty and charms. Cristina de' Medici (Christine de Lorraine), favourite grand-daughter of Catherine de Medicis, was known for her piety, although Galileo addressed to her his bold essay, in the form of a letter, on the distinction between Scripture and scientific knowledge. (3)
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