Lucrezia Tornabuoni's Biblical Narratives

The chapter studies the five poems of Lucrezia Tornabuoni (mother of Lorenzo Magnifico) composed around 1479, rewriting the deuterocanonical stories of Esther, Judith, Susanna, and Tobit, and the story of John the Baptist (the patron saint of Florence). The poems prove Tornabuoni’s dedication to educating women to empower them with greater agency, a fitting approach for her time. The choice of these deuterocanonical texts is connected with the decision made at the Council of Florence (1442) to include them in the Catholic Bible. Tornabuoni’s work is discussed with reference to the civil, cultural, and literary contexts in Florence, alongside the religious context, and is related to women’s role in the family, showing how she promotes women’s self-awareness and agency through biblical examples.