Contrary to general belief, the history of the Florentine patriciate did not end with the establishment of the State of Tuscany under de’ Medici in 1532. Proud and self-confident patricians did not become subservient courtiers overnight, but remained significantly influential for a long period. They retained their urban identity and longstanding family traditions, while acquiring noble titles, estates, and villas at the same time. The mark that these patricians continued to leave on the cit...

Male bonds were omnipresent in nineteenth-century European artistic scenes, impacting the creation, presentation, and reception of art in decisive ways. Men’s lives and careers bore the marks of their relations with other men. Yet, such male bonds are seldom acknowledged for what they are: gendered and historically determined social constructs. This volume shines a critical light on male homosociality in the arts of the long nineteenth century by combining art history with the insights of g...