Juno vraagt Aeolus een storm op te wekken 1501 - 1580

Giulio Bonasone made this print, "Juno asks Aeolus to Raise a Storm," in Italy, sometime in the mid-16th century. It's a depiction of a scene from Virgil's Aeneid, where Juno asks Aeolus, the god of the winds, to unleash a storm on the Trojan fleet. What’s interesting here is the way Bonasone uses classical imagery to reinforce the social hierarchies of his own time. Juno, a powerful goddess, is shown appealing to Aeolus, who occupies a lower position in the divine hierarchy. You can see that in the way Bonasone positions Juno higher in the frame. This reflects the rigid social structures of Renaissance Italy, where power and status were determined by birth and patronage. Prints like this were often commissioned by wealthy patrons to demonstrate their knowledge of classical literature and their social standing. By understanding the historical context, we can appreciate how art like this served to reinforce the prevailing social order. To learn more, look into the patronage system of the Italian Renaissance.