Omero e il mito troiano nella pittura d’arredo tra Quattro e Cinquecento

Between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, especially in Florence, numerous
subjects depicted on wedding chests (cassoni) appear to reflect a growing diffusion
of Homeric poems—translated into Latin roughly a century earlier—even among
urban elites not directly involved in humanistic culture. This article examines the
actual degree of dependence of these paintings on Homer, while also taking into
account the contemporary circulation of the vibrant matière de Troie tradition derived
from Dictys and Dares. The findings highlight diverging trajectories for the Iliad and
the Odyssey: the former remains overshadowed by the dominant Late Antiquederived
matière de Troie, whereas the latter is swiftly codified in painting thanks to
the pivotal influence of Boccaccio’s Genealogie deorum gentilium. This preliminary
inquiry points to a promising direction for reassessing the concrete reception of the
Iliad and the Odyssey at a crucial juncture in the development of Italian Humanism.