Fra Lippo Lippi

“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning (1842)

“My Last Duchess,” like “Fra Lippo Lippi,” is one of Browning’s most famous and anthologized dramatic monologues. Ekphrastic in nature, it too is loosely based on historical events. Here, the wealthy Duke of Ferrara reveals art objects to show off his status, including a portrait of his late wife, whom he reveals he’s had killed for her infidelity. He keeps the image of her as a trophy and a reminder. Art, like women, are only objects to be collected and there is a similarity to the Duke’s views and the Prior’s, although the Duke is far more sinister. Sexuality is considered sinful here as well.

“Andrea del Sarto” by Robert Browning (1855)

Also in Men and Women, “Andrea del Sarto” is a dramatic monologue about another Renaissance painter who lived in Florence. Again, Browning used the work of Giorgio Vasari as source material. In this poem, the aging Andrea addresses his poor life choices to his wife, Lucrezia, a conceit reminiscent of “Fra Lippo Lippi.” Andrea and Lucrezia’s marital connection is waning and she seems to have a lover. Like Fra Lippo Lippi, Andrea feels like a failure and compares himself to other artists—in this case, Michelangelo and Raphael.