Pietro Bembo and the Intellectual Pleasures of a Renaissance Writer and Art Collector

One of the most influential scholars of the Renaissance, Pietro Bembo (1470–1547) gained fame not only for his literary theory and poetry, but for his incredible collection of art and antiquities. Drawing on anecdotes from Bembo’s letters and unpublished archival material, Susan Nalezyty analyzes how Bembo’s collection functioned as a source of inspiration for artists like Titian and writers like Giovanni della Casa. As visitors to the collection marveled at the quality and variety of the d...