Caterina Sforza and the Art of Appearances

In the first major book in four decades on Caterina Sforza, Joyce de Vries presents a comprehensive study of the famous Italian noblewoman's cultural endeavors. De Vries explores Sforza's patronage, collecting, and participation in ritual practices, the complex connections between prescriptive literature and women's actions, and the mutability of Early Modern gender roles. The book also shows how Sforza's status as an exceptional woman developed in the centuries after her death.