{"id":71360,"date":"2014-05-16T15:30:42","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T19:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=71360"},"modified":"2014-05-16T20:23:42","modified_gmt":"2014-05-17T00:23:42","slug":"from-her-palace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/","title":{"rendered":"From Her Palace"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"La<\/a>

Parmigianino, Schiava Turca<\/i>, c. 1531\u201334<\/p><\/div>\n

The Schiava Turca<\/em> (Turkish Slave) is one of the many mysteries of art history. The painting, a 1530s Mannerist masterpiece by Parmigianino, is considered an icon of the artist\u2019s hometown, but no one is sure of the sitter\u2019s identity. Was it a noblewoman? A courtesan? Or just an ideal of feminine beauty? One thing is more or less certain: nickname aside, the woman pictured was almost certainly not Turkish. The painting acquired its commonly used moniker in 1704, when a cataloguer assumed its subject\u2019s dress spoke of the East. Rather, her sumptuous costume and turban-like balzo<\/em> headdress would have been characteristic of court dress of the Northern Italian Renaissance.<\/p>\n

Aimee Ng, guest curator of the Frick\u2019s current exhibition, \u201cThe Poetry of Parmigianino\u2019s \u2018Schiava Turca\u2019,\u201d has another theory altogether. As the show\u2019s title indicates, she feels the portrait may have had everything to do with the literary culture of the era. She explains,<\/p>\n

\n

In the Renaissance, beautiful women and their portraits were often seen as poetic muses who inspired male poets and painters. This sitter is directly linked to poetry through the ornament on her headdress, which depicts a winged horse, the symbol of poetic inspiration. Perhaps, however, rather than a muse, the sitter is herself a poet. Seen in this light, her twisting pose \u2026 and forthright gaze would convey her creative force. She may even be identified with a specific female poet active in the area around Parma in the 1530s, such as Veronica Gambara, whom Parmigianino had many opportunities to meet.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Gambara\u2014herself the descendent of a number of prominent female writers and poets\u2014was a well-educated noblewoman known both for her poetry and her famed Parma salons. Although largely ignored by modern scholars, she is survived by some eighty poems and a vast body of correspondence; throughout her life, she maintained lively exchanges with many of the intellectuals of her day.<\/p>\n

Historians have also wondered whether the portrait may portray Giulia Gonzaga, another salonniere, famed for her beauty. (She\u2019s also famed for her scandalous dalliance with a cardinal, an abortive kidnapping plot designed to bring her to a sultan\u2019s harem, and her Inquisition-era correspondences, one of which led to someone\u2019s being burned at the stake for heresy.) Needless to say, she was a popular contemporary subject.<\/p>\n

\"TFC_Bronzino_19151019_2000_cropped\"<\/a>

Agnolo Bronzino, Lodovico Capponi<\/i>, c. 1550\u201355<\/p><\/div> Short of a Basil E. Frankweiler<\/em>\u2013style revelation, it seems unlikely that the definite identity of Parmigianino\u2019s subject will come to light any time soon. But Ng makes a strong case for the literary overtones of the portrait\u2014as she points out, the artist moved in these circles, and well-educated female intellectuals were by no means unusual in the milieu. (If you get the chance, check out Ng\u2019s talk<\/a> on the subject.) In sum, whoever they portray, the portraits in the show manage to capture not just a subject, but a moment\u2014and an artist at the height of his powers; not long after, Parmigianino would descend into madness, become obsessed with alchemy, and die in penury at thirty-seven. Sic transit gloria<\/em>mundi. <\/em>
\nAs Gambara wrote near the end of her life,<\/p>\n

\n

Sono qui al casino, vivendo al solito, e stimando poco la fortuna, poich\u00e8 per lungo uso ho fatto il callo alle sue molte percosse. Dal mio Casino. <\/em>Here am I in my villa, all alone, valuing fortune very little because after long usage I have become inured to her many blows. From my palace.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Schiava Turca (Turkish Slave) is one of the many mysteries of art history. The painting, a 1530s Mannerist masterpiece by Parmigianino, is considered an icon of the artist\u2019s hometown, but no one is sure of the sitter\u2019s identity. Was it a noblewoman? A courtesan? Or just an ideal of feminine beauty? One thing is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13115],"tags":[4489,13942,67,13940,13939,13941],"class_list":["post-71360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-daily-correspondent","tag-frick","tag-italian-renaissance","tag-painting","tag-parmigianino","tag-schiava-turca","tag-veronica-gambara"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Mystery of the \u201cSchiava Turca\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sadie Stein on the Frick\u2019s current exhibition, \u201cThe Poetry of Parmigianino\u2019s \u2018Schiava Turca.\u2019\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Her Palace by Sadie Stein\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May 16, 2014 \u2013 The Schiava Turca (Turkish Slave) is one of the many mysteries of art history. The painting, a 1530s Mannerist masterpiece by Parmigianino, is considered\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Paris Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-05-16T19:30:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-05-17T00:23:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1522\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1952\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sadie Stein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@parisreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@parisreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sadie Stein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sadie Stein\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a1aef49f81bfc540a37e03590f3bb4d9\"},\"headline\":\"From Her Palace\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-16T19:30:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-17T00:23:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/\"},\"wordCount\":600,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb-798x1024.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Frick\",\"Italian Renaissance\",\"painting\",\"Parmigianino\",\"Schiava Turca\",\"Veronica Gambara\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Our Daily Correspondent\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/\",\"name\":\"The Mystery of the \u201cSchiava Turca\u201d\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb-798x1024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-16T19:30:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-17T00:23:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Sadie Stein on the Frick\u2019s current exhibition, \u201cThe Poetry of Parmigianino\u2019s \u2018Schiava Turca.\u2019\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb.jpg\",\"width\":1522,\"height\":1952},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From Her Palace\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Paris Review\",\"description\":\"The best prose, interviews, poetry, and art. Since 1953.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Paris Review\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"The Paris Review\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/parisreview\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/parisreview\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a1aef49f81bfc540a37e03590f3bb4d9\",\"name\":\"Sadie Stein\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/147299ffa10db51f1ff44a626a9211650a1c11f8fc07d102ab48e63ab3be037b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/147299ffa10db51f1ff44a626a9211650a1c11f8fc07d102ab48e63ab3be037b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sadie Stein\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/author\/sstein\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Mystery of the \u201cSchiava Turca\u201d","description":"Sadie Stein on the Frick\u2019s current exhibition, \u201cThe Poetry of Parmigianino\u2019s \u2018Schiava Turca.\u2019\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From Her Palace by Sadie Stein","og_description":"May 16, 2014 \u2013 The Schiava Turca (Turkish Slave) is one of the many mysteries of art history. The painting, a 1530s Mannerist masterpiece by Parmigianino, is considered","og_url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/","og_site_name":"The Paris Review","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/","article_published_time":"2014-05-16T19:30:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-05-17T00:23:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1522,"height":1952,"url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sadie Stein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@parisreview","twitter_site":"@parisreview","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sadie Stein","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/"},"author":{"name":"Sadie Stein","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a1aef49f81bfc540a37e03590f3bb4d9"},"headline":"From Her Palace","datePublished":"2014-05-16T19:30:42+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-17T00:23:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/"},"wordCount":600,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb-798x1024.jpg","keywords":["Frick","Italian Renaissance","painting","Parmigianino","Schiava Turca","Veronica Gambara"],"articleSection":["Our Daily Correspondent"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/","name":"The Mystery of the \u201cSchiava Turca\u201d","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb-798x1024.jpg","datePublished":"2014-05-16T19:30:42+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-17T00:23:42+00:00","description":"Sadie Stein on the Frick\u2019s current exhibition, \u201cThe Poetry of Parmigianino\u2019s \u2018Schiava Turca.\u2019\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/la_schiava_turca_2000_croppedcb.jpg","width":1522,"height":1952},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/16\/from-her-palace\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From Her Palace"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/","name":"The Paris Review","description":"The best prose, interviews, poetry, and art. Since 1953.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization","name":"The Paris Review","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"The Paris Review"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/","https:\/\/x.com\/parisreview","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/parisreview"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a1aef49f81bfc540a37e03590f3bb4d9","name":"Sadie Stein","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/147299ffa10db51f1ff44a626a9211650a1c11f8fc07d102ab48e63ab3be037b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/147299ffa10db51f1ff44a626a9211650a1c11f8fc07d102ab48e63ab3be037b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sadie Stein"},"url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/author\/sstein\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71360"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71404,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71360\/revisions\/71404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}