Introduction. Placing the gods
pt. 1. The studiolo and its histories. The study, the collection, and the Renaissance self
Myth and the articulation of gender and space
Isabella's "cupidity" : collecting and literary production
pt. 2. The paintings. Mantegna's Mars and Venus : poetry, natural history, and the origins of art
Mantegna's mythic signatures : Pallas and the vices
Tanta amorosa impresa : Isabella, Perugino, and Paride da Ceresara
Lorenzo Costa's coronation of a woman poet and the Renaissance of Sappho
"Sweet counterfeiting and blandishments" : courtiership, urbanitas, and Costa's Comus
"Dominate the stars" Correggio, the Gonzaga, and the sack of Rome
Conclusion. The rise of mythological painting in sixteenth-century Italy.