A Material World | Making Masculinity in Roman Villa Gardens: terraces, frescoes, and fountains, c.1550-1600
In this recorded talk, Ellen Sharman (University of Oxford) frames cardinals' gardens in Renaissance Rome as spaces where masculine identities were expressed and negotiated during the Counter-Reformation. She explores how the sculpting of earth and the organisation of water were used by uniquely positioned men to convey masculine power and dominion. The talk also considers how frescoes of finished or idealised gardens entwined both of these ideas, memorialising the time and labour involved in sculpting a garden. Through monumental earthworks, terracing, and the concept of water as a substitute for virility for celibate cardinals, Sharman highlights the relationship between masculine ideals of power and the function of cardinals' gardens.
This event was part of the series A Material World: Gender, which brings together academics and heritage professionals from a wide range of disciplines to discuss issues concerning historical objects, their materials, forms, and functions, as well as their conservation, presentation, display, and reconstruction.
This talk took place on 19 June 2024.
