Lynne Lawner
American art historian, writer, poet, and translator known for studies of Italian Renaissance culture and the commedia dell'arte; her books include Lives of the Courtesans: Portraits of the Renaissance and Harlequin on the Moon.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. Lives Of The Courtesans
Portraits of the Renaissance
An illustrated social and cultural history of Renaissance Italy's courtesans, it reconstructs their daily lives, reputations, and influence through archival documents, poetry, and artworks. Profiling figures such as Veronica Franco, Tullia d'Aragona, and Imperia, it shows how these women navigated patronage, sexuality, and power as writers, performers, and cultural brokers in cities like Venice and Rome. It also examines how their images were crafted by painters and moralists, separating lived experience from myth.