In the context of Portrait of Laura Dianti, explain the Marriage Authentication Controversy of the History.
The portrait was used as evidence to the courts in the 1640s by Francesco I d’Este, the great-great grandchild of Alfonso I d’Este and Laura Dianti through their son, also named Alfonso. Although it would have been allowed by the Church, there was no written record at the time that Duke of Ferrara took Laura as his third wife after the death of his second, Lucrezia Borgia. This painting was used as a point of contention by the Este House who argued against the legitimacy of their relationship. Their argument was based on Issues pertaining to her manner of dress and the treatment of the portrait. The estate argued that Laura’s clothes suggested lustful implications that were not compatible with other portraits of wives within the family. They also argued that the two were not wed because Laura’s portrait was not displayed among the other portraits of wives of the family which were kept in Ferrara. Francesco’s counter-argument was that because the painting was done before their marriage, it should not be counted as evidence against the event occurring and that it was the family’s refusal to recognize the marriage that caused the portrait to be displayed elsewhere, not Alfonso I.
Lucrezia Borgia Francesco I d’Este Laura Dianti