The Italian Theater Prints of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles

The Special Collection of the Getty Research Institute Library in Los Angeles preserves a series of iconographic documents on Italian theater from the 16^th to the 20^th century. It includes materials on theater architecture, set design, and actors, from the commedia dell’arte to leading figures of the 19^th century stage. Although the series – part of the Italian Theater Collection – was assembled primarily for collecting purposes, it reflects a broad interest in such items, both from a museum perspective and as documents intended to preserve the memory of key episodes in the history of performance. Among the prints are depictions of the Medici spectacle and the work of prominent designers such as Giulio Parigi. This study focuses on the celebrations that took place in Florence in 1616 on the occasion of the visit of Federico Ubaldo della Rovere, betrothed to Claudia de’ Medici, and in particular on the performance of the equestrian ballet Guerra di bellezza. The analysis attempts to contextualize Jacques Callot’s engraving by going beyond a purely aesthetic approach in order to give the image historical and cultural depth, thus renewing critical engagement with this material and stimulating further archival research.