Iconography of Renaissance Ceremonials in the Early Modern World

Abstract

This article explores the iconography of Renaissance court ceremonials in the 16th century – how the East influenced the West – before the Orientalist trend and its impact on European visual culture during the latter part of the 17th and 18th centuries. From similar practices of using ceremonials and pageantries as representations of power and dynastic propaganda, to forging imperial and dynastic identities through myths, the Ottoman sultans and the dukes and princes of Florence and the Republic of Venice contributed to cross-cultural connections during the Renaissance period. As a result of this inextricable cultural connection between the Ottoman Empire and Renaissance Italy, this article argues the Ottomans deserve a place in Renaissance discourse.