On BeautifulWomen, Parmigianino,Petrarchismo, and the VernacularStyle ElizabethCropper

Among PietroTesta's notes on painting,which were unsys- Finallyon this side of the sheet Testa shows the back of tematicallycollected after his deathin 1650, is one foliodedi- the neck, which mustbe rosyand white and not too deeply catedto "Particolariperfetioni che fannola donnabellissima" furrowedby the line of the spine. (Figs. 1 and 2).1 It is devoted, as the heading indicates, The diagrammaticnature of the marginalsketches makes it to the artist'sdefinitions of thosefeatures that render a woman quiteclear that theywere not intendedto be perfectacademic mostbeautiful. The notes areunusually clear and precise, and models,nor were they drawnfrom life. They werebrief aids in the marginnext to the writtendescription of eachparticular to Testa'sunderstanding, to help him visualizethe contents featureTesta drew a smallillustrative sketch. The rectoof the of the noteshe wastaking-notes thatwere not hisown formu- sheet (Fig. 1) is concernedwith qualitiesof the head and lationof the idealfemale beauty, but that he madeas he read shoulders.Testa required that the hairbe long, fine, blonde, Agnolo Firenzuola'sDialogo delle bellezze delle donne.2 This and knottedsimply. For the browhe madea diagramof two book, completedin 1542, a centurybefore Testa readit, it- squares,representing its correctwide proportions.In the left self drawsupon the visionsof manyearlier writers, and it is squarehe showshow the browshould curve in an arctowards probablythe most completeexposition of the beautyof the the top. The eyebrowsare to be dark,and they too should ideal woman among the multitude of sixteenth-century curve in perfectarches that tapergently towardsthe ends. treatmentsof the theme, beingconcerned not only with her Beautifuleyes are largeand prominent,oval in shape, and perfectfeatures, but also with her colors, proportions,and blue or dark chestnut in color. The ear is soft and rosy, such elusivequalities as her vaghezza,leggiadria, and grazia.3 while the cheeks are gleamingwhite and vermilion,softly The two-partdialogue was elegantlydedicated to the noble curving.The mouthshould be on the smallside, neithertoo and beautifulwomen of Pratoin 1541. angularnor too flat, and here Testa is referringto the angle Love, beauty, and style lay very much at the heart of of the meeting of the lips, which he illustratesin profile Agnolo Firenzuola'sexistence. He had withdrawnto the in an extradiagram. When the mouthopens, only five or six peacefulquiet of Pratoto recoverfrom a diseasethat seems of the upperteeth shouldbe revealed.The teeth are to be to have been causedby his own amorousexcesses, but his even and gleamingwhite, joined to the gumsby a reddish literarycareer had alreadybeen firmlyestablished at the court band, and Testadrew six of these regularteeth grimacingin of Clement VII, by whose authorityhe was freed from his the marginto the left. The chin, whichhe showsin profile, monasticvows in 1526.4In the introductionto his mostfamous shouldnot be pointedbut round,tinged with vermilionand work, the translationor, moreaccurately, transformation of with a little depressionin the middle.The neck, for which The GoldenAss of Apuleius,Firenzuola traced the close re- Testa gives both a plan and an elevation, must be round, lationsbetween his ancestorsand the Medicifamily, culminat- slender,and pure, gleamingwhite; at its base there should ing in Clement'sappointment of Agnolo'sfather Bastiano as be a small snowy hollow, and as the neck bends little chancellorto the magistratesof Alessandro,first Duke of the circlesshould form around it that mustbe veryslightly tinged Florentinerepublic.5 Firenzuola shared the passionof many with red. The shouldersshould be squarish,but softly so. of his contemporariesfor linkingpolitical commitment to the

' The notes are now preservedin the StidtischenKunstsammlungen in (witha summaryof the description).The bibliographyof Renaissanceworks Diisseldorf;for a discussionof theircharacter and provenance, see E. Cropper, devotedto idealbeauty in a womanis verylong, especiallyas it is so closely "BoundTheory and Blind Practice:Pietro Testa's Notes on Paintingand bound up with the literatureof courtlylove and discussionsof the re- the Liceodella Pittura,"Journal of the Warburgand CourtauldInstitutes, lationshipbetween love and beauty.For a good introductionto the litera- xxIv, 1971, 262-292. The sheet of notes discussedhere appearsin the tureof beautyin the Renaissance,see J. Houdoy,La beaute des femmes dans la boundvolume as fols. 6r and 6v. litte&atureet dans l'art du XIIeau XVIesiecle, Paris, 1876; G. Zonta,Trattati 2 del sulla T. F. ItalianSocial Customs This two-partdialogue, subtitled Celso, was edited and first published after cinquecento donna,Bari, 1913; Crane, of Firenzuola'sdeath L. Scala, in Prosedi M. the SixteenthCentury and TheirInfluence on the Literatureof Europe,New by AgnoloFirenzuola, Florence, e 1548. Referencesbelow are to the editionof B. Bianchi,Le Haven, 1920, 138- 141 (with bibliography);P. Lorenzetti,La bellezza generally opere nei del dellaR. Scuolanormale di AgnoloFirenzuola, Florence, 1848, 1, 239-305. The proseworks were l'amore trattati cinquecento(Estratto degli Annali alsoedited by G. Guasti,Le di Florence,1892; some superioredi Pisa, xxviii), Pisa, 1920;E. Rodocanachi,La femmeitalienne prose AgnoloFirenzuola, 89- H. M. referencesare madeto the introduction.The most recentedition is by A. avant,pendant, et aprisla Renaissance,Paris, 1922, 113; Klein, Seroni, Florence,1971. For a of Das weibliche'Portrait' in derVersdichtung der englischen Renaissance: Analyse AgnoloFirenzuola: Opere, bibliography einer 1969.The medievaltradition is treated Firenzuola'sworks, see A. Seroni,"Bibliografia essenziale delle opere del Firen- literarischenKonvention, Munich, zuola,"Amor di libro,v, 1957, fasc. i, 3-9, and fasc. ii, 97- 103. by R. Renier,II tipoestetico della donna nel medioevo, Ancona, 1885. 3 The importanceof Firenzuola'stext wasbriefly discussed by J. Burckhardt, 4 Firenzuola,I, xv-xviii. The Civilizationof the Renaissancein Italy, New York, 1959, nI, 340-43 5 Dell'asinod'oro, in Firenzuola,In, 5. ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 375

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1 FromPietro Testa, notes on painting.Dilsseldorf, Kunstmuseum, 2 FromPietro Testa, notes on painting.Diisseldorf, Kunstmuseum, BuddeNr. 132, fol. 6r, "Particolariperfetioni che fannola donna BuddeNr. 132, fol. 6v, "Particolariperfetioni che fannola bellissima"(photo: Landesbildstelle Rheinland) donnabellissima" (photo: Landesbildstelle Rheinland)

question of language, and he accordinglytranslated the traditionof Petrarchand Boccaccio,was closely connected extravagantLatin of Apuleiusinto Tuscan.The storyis intro- to the interestsof the Florentinecourt of Clement, and ducedas una Toscafavola; Lucius becomes Agnolo, Thessaly to the workof such otherwriters as Bembo,Della Casa,and the Kingdomof Naples, and the PaintedPorch in Athens Caro, all of whom prosperedduring the doomedresurgence the Campoin Siena. In the episodeof Cupidand Psyche, of Medici influence in Rome during the 1520's.7 Pietro Apollo, accordingto Apuleiusan IonianGreek who choseto Bemboplayed an importantpart in Firenzuola'sinitial suc- addressPsyche's father in Latinverse, insteadspeaks to him cess, for Bembointroduced him to Clementand encouraged in Tuscan.6 Firenzuola'sown preoccupationwith literary him to read to the Pope the first day of his Ragionamenti style, and in particularthe classical Tuscan vernacular d'amore,a work deeply indebtedto his study of Petrarch

6 The Asinod'oro, like the dialogueon beautifulwomen, was also published readat the AccademiaRomana dei Vignaiuoli,among the membersof which afterFirenzuola's death by L. Scala,whose first edition in Venicebears a dedi- were Berni, Molza,Mauro, Caro, and della Casa, each one of them con- cation to LorenzoPucci dated 25 May 1549. Guasti,Le prosedi Agnolo cernedwith conventions of stylisticintricacy, whether in satire,eulogy, or the Firenzuola,xv- xviii, datedthe workto ca. 1539, but it seemsmuch likelier descriptionof beauty.Firenzuola trained himself to be a stylistthrough the that it was completedduring Firenzuola's years in Rome and A. Seroni, masteryof modelsthat he could makehis own withoutbeing bound by AgnoloFirenzuola: Opere, accordingly dates the completionof the workto ca. them. In additionto his contemporarytreatment of the GoldenAss, he also 1526.J. Shearman,Mannerism, London, 1967, 38-39, alsosuggests a date wrotea comedy,I Lucidi,which is a personaladaptation of the Menaechmi in the 1520's;his discussionof the workis brief,but placesit in a highly of Plautus,and in the introductionto the Dialogohe stateshis intention significantcontext as far as the implicationsof this paperare concerned. to issuea translationof Horace'sPoetics, but only "quasi in formadi parafrasi." Partof the text is also publishedin Novellieridel cinquecento(Letteratura See Firenzuola,I, xxi and 244. On Firenzuolasee also G. Fattini,Agnolo italiana:storia e testi, xxiv, 1), ed. M. Guglielminetti,Verona, 1972, in Firenzuolae la borghesialetterata del rinascimento,Cortona, 1907; E. whichan earlydate is also advocated(p. 67). Ciafardini,"Agnolo Firenzuola,"Rivistad'ltalia, xv, 2, 1912,3-46, and881- and 7 AlthoughFirenzuola's works were as so often 946; G. Toffanin,II Cinquecento(Storia letteraria d'Italia, vi), Milan, publishedposthumously, 233. happensin the Renaissancethey were certainlywell known in literary 1929, 224- circles duringhis lifetime. Several of his discourses,for example, were 376 THE ART BULLETIN

and of Boccaccio's discussions of love and beauty in the most completeportrayal of his ideal of femininebeauty, but Filocoloand the Decameron." there are otherworks that also realizeit: the Madonnaof the It is in the painting that also developed in the context of Rose, the maidensin S. Mariadella Steccata,and the Antea, this self-consciously stylish vernacularliterary ambience that for example. The same ideal is also recognizablein other we find the most complete realizationof the vision of female figuresin the Madonnaof theLong Neck, theseboth maleand beauty recordedby Firenzuolain the Dialogodelle bellezze delle female,which suggests an androgynousnature to this kindof donne. And no painting is more closely related to this vision beautythat Firenzuolaalso perceivedand that he relatedto than Parmigianino'sMadonna of the Long Neck (Fig. 3), the his understandingof Platoniclove. 12 work of an artist who in his early career was also favored by An analysisof Parmigianino'svision of perfectionmust be- Clement, and one whose style was particularlypraised by Vasari gin with the Virginherself. The aspectsof her beautythat for the same qualities of venustii,leggiadria, and grazia to which are most familiarare her elongatedproportions, the curving Firenzuola devoted so much attention in his consideration arcs of her body, and her long slender neck, this last of the maniera of a beautiful woman.9 Parmigianino was having alreadybecome by the late seventeenthcentury the commissioned to paint it by Elena Tagliaferrifor her family identifyingfeature that gave the paintingits name.13 Two chapel in the Servite church in Parmaafter he had returned importantformal analogies within the paintingwill, however, from Rome to his native city.'o In analyzing the beauty of be consideredfirst-the analogybetween the form of the the Madonna and her companions in the Madonna of the Virgin and the slender-neckedoval vase held by the angel Long Neck through the eyes of Agnolo Firenzuolamy inten- to the left, and that betweenthe Virginand the unfinished tion is not to suggest that the painter provided a model for column to the right. The analogybetween the form of a the writer or vice versa. Both Firenzuolaand Parmigianino beautifulantique vase and the shapeof an ideallybeautiful instead drew upon the same vernaculartradition and created woman is one that also fascinatedFirenzuola, and that he ideal types, beautiful monsters composed of every individual discussedat length in the discorsosecondo of his dialogue. perfection. In his dedicatoryepistle to the dialogue, addressed WhenTesta read this section of the texta centurylater he made Alle nobili e belle donne pratesi, Firenzuolo wryly asserts two drawingsof an amphorain the marginof his notes (Fig. that he is writing in the languageof common currencyrather 2), and wrote that these representbeautiful vases and show than following the usage of Petrarch and Boccaccio. Never- how the neck growsout of the chest, and how the chest theless, both he and Parmigianinowere inspired by a spirit rises up from the hips. Firenzuola'soriginal explanation of Petrarchismothat had become passionatebefore either work was much more complete, and in the edition of 1548 his was created." Furthermore,Parmigianino's Madonna is the views were even illustrated,though crudely (Fig. 4).14 From

8 For the importance of the Filocolo to the development of the literature (Vasari-Milanesi, v, 218). Lomazzoalso describesParmigianino as "inventor of love in the 16th century, see T. F. Crane, 53-97. Firenzuolaalso won di leggadrie," and Dolce adds, "Diede costui certa vaghezza alle cose sue favor with Clement VII for his part in mounting a Tuscan defense against che fanno innamorarechiunque le riguarda,"providing an important defini- Giangiorgio Trissino's Epistolaa ClementeVII, in which the language was tion of vaghezza for what follows in this paper. For these quotations and defined as Italian and courtly ratherthan Tuscan or Florentine, and in which other critical assessments, see Quintavalle, 11. For Parmigianino'sintro- Trissino sought to introduce the omega and epsilon into the alphabet. In duction to Clement VII, see Vasari-Milanesi,v, 222. his introduction to the Discacciamentodelle nuove lettereinutilmente 10 aggiunte The contract is dated 23 December 1534; it is republishedby Quintavalle, nella toscana Firenzuolaattacks Trissino's "Sotto Tos- lingua wish, principe 183, n. 86. The painting was left unfinished. cano, di spogliare l'antica Toscana del nome di quella lingua, la quale il 243f. Petrarca nostra e 'I Boccaccio hanno messa in tanto pregio" (Firenzuola, " Firenzuola,i, 12 I, 309). For a summaryof this dispute with references to Rajna's dating of Ibid., I, 253-59. In reply to a question from one of his female listeners the Epistolaand Firenzuola'sreply to 1524, see V. Vivaldi, Storiadelle con- about whether he is discussing the beauty of men or women, Firen- troversielinguistiche in Italiada Dante ai nostrigiorni, Catanzaro, 1925, I, 23- zuola recounts the story from the Symposiumof the division of the sexes, 27. For Trissino's part in the argument, see also B. Morsolin, Giangiorgio and suggests that she look further at some of Pietro Bembo's early poems. Trissino:Monografia di un letteratonel secolo XVI, Vicenza, 1878, 163- 185. But, though he definesbeauty in generalas both male and female, he goes on to Firenzuola himself records that he read both the Discacciamentoand the praise in a courtly manner the greater delicacy and sweetness of women. first day of the Ragionamentito Clement VII for several hours (see Firen- Thus, the ClassicalCiceronian opposition and complementarynature of male zuola, I, 243). Aretino, whom he had befriended as a law student in dignity and female beauty is maintained even by Firenzuola(e.g., ibid., 276), Perugia, also helped introduce him to Clement VII, for which see V. Cian, although it does seem that the "feminine" aesthetic discussedbelow was so Un decenniodella vita di M. PietroBembo, 1521-1531, Rome and Florence, dominant in fashionable circles in the 1520's and 1530's that it requiredno 1885, 32, n. 2. In the RagionamentiFirenzuola follows the convention of contrast and became universally admired, whether in representations of placing a group of beautiful young men and women in the countryside,ques- women or of men. tioning each other about love, to examine further the nature of literary 13 The first known reference to this title is in a letter of 1674, for which in relation to tradition and the of modern to find invention right poets see U. Davitt-Asmus, "Zur Deutung von ParmigianinosMadonna dal collo both new modes of not new and new words that are writing, just subjects, lungo," ZeitschriftfiirKunstgeschichte, 1968, 305-313 (cf. 305, n. 10). A even if not hallowed tradition. The basic of the xxxI, sweet, by principles Dialogo perceptive formal analysis of the figure of the Virgin is presented by S. and are established in this concerning beauty, love, style already firmly Freedberg, 9-11, who relates it to what he defines as the "pictorial earlier work. matriarchy"in Parmigianino's work; his description is remarkable, espe- in the of the and 9 A. O. Quintavalle, II Parmigianino,Milan, 1948, 182f., n. 75; S. Freed- cially discussing relationship waist, breasts, shoulders, in that he was on the evidence of his at the same berg, Parmigianino:His Works in Painting, Cambridge, Mass., 1950, relying entirely eyes, time indifferent to the it itself 89- 93 and 186- 89. Vasari writes of his treatment of figures,"Poiche diede being descriptive tradition to which belongs. alle sue figure, oltre quello che si e detto di molti altri, una certa venust6i, 14 The Testa drawing is bound as fol. 6v in the DuisseldorfMS. For the dolcezza, e leggiadrianell'attitudini, che fu sua propriae particolare. Nelle woodcut, see Prose di M. Agnolo Firenzuolafiorentino, Florence, 1548, 105. teste parimente si vede che da infiniti pittori imitata ed osservata, per aver For a discussion of Testa's interest in this part of the text, see E. Cropper, egli dato all'arte un lume di grazia tanto piacevole, che saranno sempre le "Disegnoas the Foundation of Art: Some Drawingsby Pietro Testa," Burling- sue cose tenute in pregio, ed egli da tutti gli studiosi del disegno onorato" ton Magazine,cxvI, 1974, 382- 85. ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 377

DELLE DONNL ,te ct ftna cworn,cm os cdor cOasd6infouWo- cuMo lefalt# wdt drmr k.m)smhofrdi•t,doIf dflhfuinxt ml uwgbkdijbrf)ixo, , pre fettr trtttak mojtr dodi oppr,~noer fcire di g one,s'dlzino wfwlt•ant,c- rU acr UkZar conWarmgorl sjere a grocchia dirWapornfi ff,percbe It nonfiggano. vd da tredo.e dite,cc k uogliono dfern ;in attcdCa te,r piodoneEaqnich fonpiedoltets, ma no tato cb WcoNmdil giao nMAico UnoIroM. SC'S uwggia,kepd kroidcdJC CdetcrDit tt pop' tm c~dfrfl di Sn Felicein piad bor PoI f ipdffand obo compnpcidutoaiS&luaggisencorb•. / cbe & i mi noncompeff mei d'ufn folofgur do,io comeai promifuogliomofrare ani ce o& do, conunuwfo ntico,rafrca a perfond,b arO if &4o d'imf ui Mbib4dgold fin fail pcttOA d'iO fdeat bor nome adunque. 3 Parmigianino, Madonnadal Collo Lungo.Florence, I Pitti Palace(photo: Alinari) Vedtetome qw colo del uo primfo tieud ina fiadle, or qnto gr~auir crddd dc O s kfb i lin tigv deicdo ricompenfadit &a &rlc i 4 Prosedi M. Agnolo FirenzuolaFiorentino, Florence,1548, p. 105 rightto left areshown two beautifuland two gracelessforms. nor was it limitedin the seventeenthcentury toTesta, who Accordingto Firenzuolathe vase on the far right, with its felt driven to master the intellectual structureof High long neck risingdelicately from its shoulders,is like a woman Renaissanceart. He must have been studyingFirenzuola's with a long slenderneck and wide, gracefulshoulders. The dialogue in the late 1640's, and it was just at this time next vase has sides that swell out aroundthe sturdyneck, that his friendNicolas Poussinwas surelydrawn to consider makingit appearmore slender, and this resemblesthe ideal, the same problemsof female beauty.16 In 1648 Pointel fleshy-hippedwoman, who needsno belt to set off herslender commissioneda workfrom Poussin, the Rebeccaand Eliezer midriff.In contrast to the first, the third vase is like a now in the Louvre(Fig. 5).17 F61ibiensingled this painting out skinnyangular woman, whereas the fourth,unlike the second, as one the truebeauty of which,considered in termsof grace, recallsthose over-endowed women who are simply blocked out composition,color, decorum,and the realizationof ideal by a mallet without being finishedby the chisel and the forms, could only be appreciatedby the unprejudiced rasp.'15 spectatorwho considersnot only the executionbut also the Interestin this aspectof sixteenth-centuryaesthetics was intentionbehind it.1' In this case the intentionwas of more not limitedto contemporariesof Firenzuolalike Parmigianino, than usual importancein the invention of the work, and

15 Firenzuola,I, 300-01. 18 A. F1libien,Entretiens sur les vies et sur les ouvragesdes plus excellens 16 Forthe connection between Testa's readingof Firenzuola'stext and his own peintresanciens et modernesavec la vie des architectes,Trevoux, 1725, repr. drawingsof ca. 1644, see E. Cropper, "Disegno,"385. Farnborough,1967, Iv, 90- 101. "7 See A. Blunt, The Paintings of Nicolas Poussin: A Critical Catalogue, London, 1966, 10f. 378 THE ART BULLETIN

5 Poussin,Rebecca and Eliezer at theWell. Paris,Louvre (photo: Cliches des MuseesNationaux)

Fdlibienwas well qualifiedto give an accountof it, for he strivento createa simple, pleasantAlbanata, and in which writesthat he was in Romeat the time of the commission.19 the beautiesare presentedfor their own sake.22Instead, The Abbe Gavot had sent to CardinalMazarin a painting Poussin,the painterof classicalhistories confronting the grace- by GuidoReni that depictedthe Virginsurrounded by young ful and sweet style of Reni, made a direct criticismof the maidensengaged in varioustasks.20 This painting of the SewingSchool. He chose as his subjectthe dramaticmoment late 1630's,the so-calledSewing School now in the Hermitage, when Eliezerreveals to Rebeccathat, by offeringhim drink epitomizedfor Felibienthe characteristicgrace and sweetness and wateringhis camels, she has fulfilledGod's sign and is of Guido'sstyle and richlydemonstrated the idealof variety destinedto becomethe wifeof Isaac.23According to Felibien, in the airsof the headsand in the draperiesof the maidens. the choiceof this dramaticmoment allowed Poussin to invest It was this that promptedPointel to ask Poussinto make a the originallypurely formal requirements of the commission similarpainting for him, which could only have encouraged with new content, specificallythrough the focusprovided by the painter'scritical fascination with the workof Reni. Pointel the mainevent, the dispositionof suitablegroups around it, specifiedno subject,only that the workshould be filledwith the study of the reactionsof the other women (and here younggirls who shouldbe beautifulin differentways.21 Fdlibien draws attention to the disapproval,or perhaps Poussinwas not satisfiedwith the straightforwardinterior melancholicjealousy of the womanleaning on her vase to scenewhereby the Bologneseartist, according to Malvasia,had the right, and to the negligenceof the distractedgirl to the

19Ibid., 99. Painting by Poussin in the NationalmuseumStockholm (Nationalmuseum 20 C. Gnudiand G. C. Cavalli,Guido Reni, Florence, 1955, 89-90 andfig. Skriftserie,v), Stockholm, 1960, 29-35. 150;L'Opera completa di Guido Reni (Classici dell'arte, XLVIII), ed. C. Garboli 22 C. C. Malvasia, Felsinapittrice: Vite de' pittoribolognese, Bologna, 1841, and E. Baccheschi,Milan, 1971,No. 169. II, 41f. "Le due scuole di femmine, minori del naturale, che radunate assieme in varii chi chi del e chi de' 21 Fdlibien,iv, 100:"Ce tableauest consid6rablepar la diversitedes airsde s'impiegavano lavori, dell'ago, fuso, pizzi, non so se una un con le sue tete nobleset gracieux,et parles vetementsagreables, peints de cette belle per rappresentare Lucrezia,o Artemisia, damigelle; maniere le Guide Le Sieur Pointel vui 6crivit au pensiero vago assai, e nel quale disse di voler fare anch'egli un Albanata." que possedoit. l'ayant the of one of these as the and a dis- Poussin,lui s'il vouloitlui faireun tableaurempli For identification Leningrad picture temoignaqu'il l'obligeroit cussion of this see Gnudi and 89. commecelui-lk, de plusieursfilles, dans lesquelles on puitremarquer differentes comment, Cavalli, beautez."On Poussin'sfascination with Reni, see E. Panofsky,A Mythological 23 Genesis 24: 1- 28. ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 379 left who fails to notice that the vase she is fillingoverflows), of Rubens.29Her counterparton the farleft-hand side of the and finally,the diminutionof light and color underthe late paintingdisplays a delicatelyand perfectlyproportioned pro- afternoonsun.24 file, with her hair ribbonspassing under her chin, and she These qualities,which arefundamental to Poussin'smeans approximatesa Raphaelesqueideal of beauty,specifically de- for enhancinga noble theme drawnfrom history, are orna- rived from the figure of St. Catherine in the Madonna ments to the centralintention of this painting,which arose dell'Impannata.30In contrast,one of the two womenseated from the competitionwith Guido in the presentationof fartherin the backgroundwears her hair hanging down in ring- beautifulwomen. AlthoughF6libien describes the reactions lets from the crown of her head, in a mannerthat Bellori of the variousmaidens whose virtuedoes not approachthe recognizedas Poussin'sdepiction of the Egyptianstyle.31 modestyand reserveof the chosen Rebecca,he pointsat the Poussin'sfulfillment of this commissionto paint variously sametime to the just proportionsof each of theirbodies and beautifulmaidens by presentingthem accordingto the ideals to the differentairs of their heads, each with its own grace, of differentartists, carefully assimilating these into a single unadornedand natural.25Even thoughthe expressionof the work, is fully consonantwith his understandingof the in- woman leaning upon her vase to the right of Rebeccabe- dividualperfections of individualstyles.32 This is also some- trays her chagrin, she is as beautifulas the most perfect thing for which he wouldhave foundsupport in Firenzuola, antiquestatue, and indeed, with the clothof herpeploshanging for, although a large part of the Dialogois devoted to a in gracefulfolds like the fluting of a column, she recalls detaileddefinition of ideallyperfected features, it also implies one of those beautifulwomen of Nimes whom Poussincom- the possibleexistence of differingmanners of perfection. paredto the statelycolumns of the MaisonCarrie.26 But to In forminghis ideal woman Firenzuolarecognized that he see in this figure,or in any other of the maidenspresented wasexercising judgment, which when appliedto the discern- in the paintingas exemplaof beauty, a simple imitationof ment of beauty he places in the eye, the instrumentof the antiqueis to limit Poussin'svision.27 For, in seekingout nature, and not in the more reasonableinstrument of the his beautifulwomen, Poussinlooked to a widerrange of per- ingegno."Like the beautyof art, beautyin womenis formed fections.The jealouswoman, for example,is a close relation from a certainharmony and orderamong parts, Firenzuola to Reni'sown idealwoman, especially as expressedin his late writes;this harmonycreates delight in the beholder,and has worksof the 1640's, such as the Girl witha Crown.28The the powerto drawthe mind to a desirefor heavenlythings. girl on the right who restsher arm on the shouldersof her Butthis harmonycannot be adducedin a purelyrational man- companion,on the other hand, with her golden hair, pink ner; a womancan be beautifulbecause of her just propor- cheeks,rosy smiling lips, and fleshyjawline underscored with tions andher perfectindividual features (and even in the ab- an arc of light reflectedfrom her shoulder,mirrors the ideal sence of these), but also becauseof such all but indefinable

24 Felibien,Iv, 106- 115. Chiesa Nuova; for this see H. Vlieghe, Saints II (Corpus RubenianumLud- 25Ibid., iv, 115. wig Burchard,viii), London and New York, 1973, 43-50, and fig. 109. 26 New ForPoussin's remarks, addressed to Chantelouin a letterdated 20 March 30 The CompletePaintings of Raphael, ed. P. de Vecchi, York, 1966, 1642, see CorrespondancedeNicolas Poussin, ed. C. Jouanny,Archives de l'art pl. L and fig. 106, p. 110. Raphael's authorship of this painting has of course been New frangais,v, Paris, 1911, 122. On Poussin'streatment of the Greekpeplos, questioned (e.g., by J. Pope-Hennessy,Raphael, York, 1970, see A. Blunt,Nicolas Poussin, Washington, 1967, 233- 35. 218- 220), but this in no way affect's Poussin's (rightly) taking it as an ex- ample of Raphael's invention. 27 LeBrunargued this issuein the Academydebate on the paintingin 1668, a discussionrecorded by Guillet de Saint-Georges,the historianof the 31 See Bellori's identification of a similar hairstyle in his description of the Moses the Rock in vite scultori et architetti Academy,and publishedin Confirencesde l'AcademieRoyale de Peintureet Striking Leningrad (Le de'pittori, de Sculpture,ed. H. Jouin, Paris, 1883, 87- 99. For LeBrun'sdefense of moderni,Rome, 1672, 505). The painting is reproducedby Blunt, 1967, pl. Poussin'srelationship to the antiquein replyto the chargeof Philippede 198, and dated by him to 1649 (the year after the Rebeccaand Eliezer), Champaigne,"Qu'il s'en etoit toujoursfait uneetude servile et particuliere," Cat. No. 23, p. 20f. see 91f. 32 Poussin'sdefinition of style is reprinted by A. Blunt, 1967, 363f. See also 28 Gnudiand Cavalli,fig. 196 and Cat. No. 112, p. 100. A. Blunt, 1967, E. Cropper, "Virtue'sWintry Reward:Pietro Testa's Etchings of the Seasons," 230, relatesthis figureto the AldobrandiniWedding and to figureson ancient Journalof the Warburgand CourtauldInstitutes, xxxvii, 1974, 276f. sarcophagi,but this genericrelationship does not excludea connectionwith 33Firenzuola, 251 f., "Questonon puo venire d'altroche da uno occulto ordine Guido'sfigures of women. della natura;dove, secondo il mio giudizio, non arrivasaetta d'arcod'ingegno 29 Forexample, the figureof St. Domitillain Rubens'sSt. Gregorythe Great umano; ma l'occhio che da essa natura & stato constituito giudice di questa Surroundedby OtherSaints, now in Grenoble,originally painted for the causa, giudicando ch'egli sia cosi, ci sforza senza appello a starne alla sua sentenza." 380 THE ART BULLETIN

qualities as leggiadria,grazia, vaghezza,venusta, aria, and leaningon hervase in theRebecca and Eliezer has, forexample, maesta.34By the seventeenthcentury such termshad become the honey-blondehair, the darkeyes underperfectly arched, criticalcommonplaces to describenot only the beautyof a dark brows,the small mouth, and the breaststhat struggle womanbut also that of individualartistic styles. Despitethe againstthe confinesof her dressthat Firenzuolarequired.38 fact that theyare terms as muchevocative as descriptive,they The element in the discoursethat seems to have attracted arevital to an understandingof the perfectionsexpressed in the Poussinmost, however,lies betweenthese qualitative features style of Poussinor Reni, who was as famousfor his graziaas and the quantitativebeauty of harmoniousproportions: it is Correggioand Barocciwere for the aria with which they Firenzuola'sanalogy between the form of a beautifulwoman and endowedtheir women. They areterms that cannotbe appre- that of an antiquevase. Given the requirementsof the com- ciated withouta studyof their significancein the sixteenth mission, Poussincould choose from manypossible subjects. century,both in relationto the directperception of natural His choice of the themeof Rebeccaand Eliezersuggests that beautyand to the mannerin whichthis beautyis represented he wasinterested not only in showingdifferent types of beauty, by artistslike Parmigianino,even thoughsuch study is clouded butalso in relatingthe shapesof the womento beautifulantique by the fact that the termsall contain, and criticallydepend vases. His maidensare decorouslydraped, the lines of their upon, a certainelement of nonso che.35 bodies concealed, but the vases that are given particular Becauseof the ultimateelusiveness of beautyLessing praised significancein the painting,both throughtheir own antique Homerfor refusing to describethe particularbeauty of Helen, designsand throughtheir direct relationshipto the various whereashe lamentedthe detaileddescription of her in the women,illustrate Firenzuola's principles most accurately. The chronicleof ConstantinusManasses, and found fault with slendergreen vase that the woman in the left background Ariosto'sfar more elevated account of the beautiesof the carrieson her head recalls the analogybetween the long, bewitchingAlcina.36 For the same reasonFirenzuola found slenderneck and the full shouldersof a beautifulwoman (see himselfon muchfirmer ground when he movedon to the more Fig. 4). Rebecca'sown hydria,on the otherhand, represents specificdefinition of the prescriptiveperfection of individual the relationshipbetween full, swellinghips and a strong,nar- features,for if the whole was elusive, yet the partslay clear rowertorso. The thirdsignificant vase, which the Raphael- beforehis eyes.37It wasthis partof the discoursethat appealed esque womanon the far left holds on her head, relatesto to Testa, andfrom which he tookhis notes, andthis partalso anotheranalogy made by Firenzuola;this vase has elaborate, clearlyinterested Poussin. The jealous,Reni-esque maiden curvinghandles, which Firenzuola had comparedto the man-

34 These definitions appear in the first part of the Dialogo (Firenzuola, however, as elaborated and specific definitions written in the vernacular, an I, 272-79). Leggiadriasprings from a certain carriage of the body that is advance in lexicographic precision, and as such are thoroughly cited in graceful, modest, and elegant, which makes every movement measuredand the Vocabolario of the Accademia della Crusca. Though careful, the ordered without being affected. It is governed by a silent law that can be definitions remain lighthearted in spirit if compared, for example, to studied in no book, understood only through natural judgment. Grazia is Dante's definition of leggiadriain Rime, LXXXIII,"Poscia che l'Amor del particularlyassociated with Aglaia, one of the Graces (the companions of tutto m'ha lasciato," which is much more suitable in connection with the Venus) who represents Splendore,for it is a splendor fired by proportions beauty of the Virgin here. that are also in no but which can bestow a hidden, defined text, upon 35 A quality attributed specificallyto Grazia by Firenzuola,for which see the woman who even lack the of the benefits may accepted proportions beauty preceding footnote. of grace and render her desirable. Grazia must remain "un non so che" and 36 G. E. Lessing, Laocoon:An the and Firenzuolarecommends that those who still have no comprehension of it Essay upon Limitsof Painting Poetry, trans. E. New should look "negli occhi di quella chiara luce che rischiara co'bellissimi Frothingham, York-,1957, 126- 133. occhi suoi ogni peregrino ingegno che dello splendor della grazia va cer- 37 An explanation of why these normative details must supplement the cando," ibid., 275. The introduction of the concept of the "peregrino qualities of indefinable harmonious proportion and individual perfection is ingegno" is significant here in terms of the relationship between beauty and not provided by Firenzuola, except in terms of "uno occulto ordine della divine love; see R. Klein, "Pens&eet symbole a la Renaissance: Spirito natura" that renders a hairy woman ugly, but a bald horse deformed peregrino,"in La forme et l'intelligible,ed. A. Chastel, Paris, 1970, 31-64. (Firenzuola, I, 251). It is, however, justified by N. Franco in his Dialogo Vaghezza,to continue, is closely related to this concept, for it turns the mind dove si ragionadelle bellezze, Venice, 1542, a work closely related to Firen- of the spectator into a wanderer desiring to enjoy the beauty that in- zuola's Dialogo and dedicated to Maria d'Avalos, the sister of Giovanna spires it. In a beauty of this world vaghezza, then, depends on a certain d'Aragona. After pursuingmany definitions of beauty, he concludes with the extra spice, an allure tempered by modesty that attracts love. Venustai,the conventional judgment of "quegli che chiamata l'hanno convenienza di feminine counterpartof male dignity, is noble, chaste, and virtuous, spring- parti ben colorate, piena di grataconcordia, e di proportioneche tira ad amare ing from celestial rather than terrestrial love. Aria implies only a good ogniuno." When challenged that there are many ugly things proportioned quality, for "la mal'ariae non avere aria." It springs from an inner virtue, perfectly, according to their own manners, he is forced to lay down specific based upon a healthy spirit, and a clear conscience, free from the dis- proportionsand features for female beauty, which are the same, though less turbances of humor that stain the complexion and cloud the eyes. Finally, detailed, as those enumeratedby Firenzuola. is a of of and that excites 38 maestai quality regal gravity body, carriage, speech For the hair, see Firenzuola,I, 283f.; the eyes, 288f.; the mouth, 294f.; the reverence and admiration. breastshe describedon 299f. as follows:"Movendosi all'in su, come mal vaghe Firenzuola'sdefinitions much that is traditional from writers incorporate di star sempre oppressee ristrette tra le'vestimenta, mostrandodi voler uscire such as Petrarch, Boccaccio, and and derive from Dante, they ultimately di prigione, s'alzino con una acerbezzae con una rigorosita, che sforza gli Classical sourcessuch as Cicero and Catullus, whose isolation for ofvenustas, occhi altrui a porvisi su, perch'elle non fuggano." example, and its qualities (Poem LXXXVI)was notably influential. They are, ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 381 ner in which the arms of a woman should spring from her of the artist in the 1530's, and not limited to a single shoulders, curving in a lively way rather than simply jutting iconographicfunction as in the caseof theMadonna of theLong out from her body.39 Neck. The preciseorigin of this ideal of the womanas vase, Looking again at Parmigianino'sMadonna of the Long Neck both in the visuallanguage of Parmigianinoand in Firenzuola's with these formal principles to hand, we can see that even text, is not entirelyclear, but it is most certainlybased in though the vase carriedby the angel has no handles, yet the the formalvocabulary of Renaissanceclassicism. Its most con- arms of the Virgin do swell in a curve from her shoulders, spicuousexample is, of course, the famous water-carrierin the forming handles to her amphora-like body.40 The amphora Firein theBorgo.42 itself relates to Firenzuola'sfirst analogy, the concave arc of Raphael, whose study of the forms of antique vases is ex- the neck complementing the convex oval body, just as the plicitlymentioned by Vasari,was workingon the Firein the slender neck of the Virgin curves upwards out of the oval Borgoat the time of his increasinginvolvement in the study form of her body. of Vitruvius.43Vitruvius is the sourceof the secondanalogy What is specificallyimportant in this context is the aesthetic made in the Madonnaof the LongNeck, that between the content of the analogy between the ideal female form and Virginand the column.A discussionof this problemfirst may the beautiful antique vase, rather than the symbolic inference help us to perceive more fully the connection that may have of the Virgin as vase. In the end the two may well be recon- been understoodto exist between the woman and the vase. In ciled, however, in view of the theological interpretationof the this case, the analogy is clearly related to the question of pro- Virgin and the vase in the Song of Songs and its commen- portion.Vitruvius associated the proportionsof columnsand taries. The vase of balsam in the Song of Songs is the vessel their formationswith humanproportions, dividing them into for Grace; when the vase is broken, that is through Christ's male and female canons-an association followed by Poussin, Passion foretold by the cross within it, the souls of men will as notedbefore, in his comparisonof the Corinthiancolumns be drawnto love him through the dispensationof Grace. Not of the Maison Carrie to the beautiful women of Nimes.44 only is the vase full of Grace, but so also is the Virgin, who Parmigianinonever drew the analogy as explicitly as this, and in her immaculate beauty is a worthy bride of Christ.41 the question is left even more open in the instance of the The formal analogy of the vase is one aspect of Firenzuola's Madonnaof the Long Neck since the row of columns was left description that does not appearto derive directly from Clas- unfinished by the artist. The incomplete foregroundcolumn sical or vernacular traditions for expressing the beauties of has neither fluting nor capital, though it does have a base, and women, but at the same time it is an analogy to which Parmi- it is left ambiguous which of the appropriatefemale orders gianino returnedagain and again. The maidens in the frescoes Parmigianino wished to suggest. Both the Ionic and the in S. Mariadella Steccata, commissioned in 1531 and the one Corinthian orders are characterizedby their slenderness and part of this disastrousproject for which Parmigianino seems grace, the Corinthian, according to Vitruvius, being even to have had any appetite, are directly related to the amphorae more slender than the Ionic and particularlyassociated with that they carryon their heads, and the many drawingsmade virgins.45In his preparatorydrawings for the painting Parmi- in connection with the project show even more clearly that gianino experimented with many different inventions for the the ideal form of woman as vase was a major preoccupation column, both Ionic and Corinthian, but in the finished work

42 39Firenzuola, I, 297f., "Al modo delle quali ritornando,diremo, che dal posa- For documents related to the Steccata project, see Quintavalle, mento della gola partendosi per gettar fuori le braccia, come lor principio, 162- 181. Forrelated drawings, see A. E. Popham,Catalogue of theDraw- e come fa un vaso antico, ma di mano di buon maestro, i suoi manichi, ingsof Parmigianino,New Havenand London,1971, I, 23- 26, and 101- 04; debbono alzarsiun poco; dipoi, con una declinazione non repentina, fermare III, pls. 309- 344. There is, of course, a close relationshipbetween the le braccia, e fare un mezzo ritegno allo imbusto delle vesti che non cas- iconographyof the Steccatafrescoes and that of the Madonnaof the Long chino .. " Neck. For the connectionbetween the Steccatamaidens and the water- in 40 Compare also here, Freedberg, 10: "The shoulders are molded within the carrierof the Firein theBorgo, see also Popham,I, 24. Thesefigures are steeply sloping oval outline which confines the of the so that the tradition of form and flowing movement that so preoccupied upperpart body, andthat him to their smooth, sharply taperingcurve offers no resistance to the fluid progress Warburg, led formulatehis famoustheory of thepathosformel of the rhythmic contour around the form. The arms continue the shoulder in Renaissanceart. line almost without modificationor interruption;their shape is an attenuated 43 Vasari-Milanesi,Iv, 376. ForRaphael's study of Vitruvius,see his letters repetition of the shape of the legs. The hands suggest the pattern of a of 1514 to MarcoFabio Calvo and Castiglione(V. Golzio, Raffaellenei slender urn, from which the fingers break into small elongated serpen- documenti,nelle testimonianzedei contemporaneee nella letteraturadel suo tines. " secolo,Vatican City, 1936,30f. and34f). 41 Forthe most useful, though not conclusive, discussionof the iconographyof 44 Vitruvius,De architecturaIv. 1. the see U. cited in n. connection be- painting Davitt-Asmus, 13 above. The 45Ibid., 8. It is worth rememberingthat the elongatedproportions in tween the formal analogy of the Virgin and the column, and the concept of Manneristworks of art were not consideredto be anti- the as necessarily Virgin the Columna novae legis that is only briefly discussed there Classicalin the 15th and 16th centuries.For example, D. Barbaro,in his must be understood in the same context as the connection between the on VitruviusIII. 1 (ed. Venice, 1567), writes,"Gli antichi formal commentary and iconographicalimplications of the analogybetween the Virgin and oltrala proportioneattendevano alla gratia per satisfareallo aspetto,et pero the vase. This problem lies outside the immediate limits of the present dis- facevanoi le teste la coscia nel che but will be the of a corpialquanto grandi, picciole, lunga; cussion, subject future study. era postola sveltezza:parlo hora de i corpiperfetti . 382 THE ART BULLETIN

he surely intended an Ionic order.46 First, this order was vase or a bell (Fig. 6), was thinkingin termsof quitesimple associatedwith Diana, worshippednot only for her beauty and proportion,as the smalldiagram in his illustrationof the types chastity, but also for her support in childbirth and of all life of columnsand capitalsindicates. But this typeof proportion in nature.47Second, and more to the point here, this capital or symmetryis also relatedto an idea in musicalharmony, would have provideda formalanalogy to the head of the of sound,an ideathat appears most clearly in Cesariano'scom- Virgin.According to Vitruvius,just as the proportionsof the mentaryto Bookv, wherehe relatesthe soundingjars in the Ionic orderwere derivedfrom the perfectproportions of a Vitruviantheater to bells.51These mysteriousmetallic vases beautifulwoman, so the designof the capitalwas derived from werequite different from the typesof earthenwarevases intro- her equallybeautiful head. The volutesof the Ionic capital ducedby Raphaeland Poussin into theirpaintings, or from the shouldcurve round like the delicatecurls that framethe brow crystalamphora carried by the angel in the Madonnaof the of a woman;thus Parmigianinoarranged the curlson either LongNeck. They surely,however, all representdevelopments side of the Madonna'sforehead in a style that can only be of an idea alreadyfirmly established in the quattrocento,and calledIonic, and with a suggestivenessthat may have rendered one deservingmuch greaterstudy, that a vase in its propor- the completionof the capitalitself unwelcome.48 tions, in the relationsof its curvesand the waysthese are The questionof the analogybetween architectural propor- generatedone from the other, like a bell, like a Classical tionsand those of the humanfigure, either in termsof number order, like a column, and like the humanfigure itself, is a or surface,with whichParmigianino and all studentsof Vitru- perfect,harmonious, symmetrical form that, in its attunement vius werethoroughly versed, leads back to the formalimpli- to the principlesof sound, of cosmic harmony,therefore cationsof the vase. Cesariano,in his commentaryto Vitru- rendersperfect beauty visible.52 vius of 1521, comparesthe capitalsof columnsto the forms But let us now turnaway from the questionof quantitative of both vasesand bells with respectto their symmetry(Fig. beauty to the problemof particularqualitative perfection, 6).49 Bysymmetry he didnot meana simplebilateral identity, from the harmoniousstructure of the whole to the presen- but proportion,a qualityof eurythmy.50Vitruvius' explana- tationof individualfeatures, from order and modeto species, tions of the qualitiesof harmony,eurythmy, and symmetry and, as I hope to show, from a Classicalto a vernacular areby no meanseasy to understandor to carryinto practice- vision. It is here that the originalityof Parmigianino'spre- indeed,in his Rebeccaand Eliezer Poussin was still struggling sentationof exquisitebeauty is trulyfounded, and that Firen- to realizethe indefinablequalities of beautythrough an analytic zuola'sanatomy of beautyis most illuminating.We shallnow comparisonof nature and art in the forms, curves, and look more closely at the Madonnaof the LongNeck, seeing silhouettesof both the vasesand the women,no less than in her beautythrough the eyes of Agnolo Firenzuola,relating the perfectsphere that rests on the rectangularcolumn behind her appearanceto that of his ideal woman, followinghis them. Cesariano,in relatingthe formof a capitalto eithera descriptionsof each of her perfectfeatures in turn.

46 For the drawings,see Popham,I, 51-52, III, pls. 345-360. Louvre No. 363, where Francis and Jerome also appear. Even if, ultimately, the drawingInv. No. RF577(ibid., pl. 349, No. 509), forexample, clearly shows drawing has to be dated earlier it would not be surprisingto find Parmi- Corinthiancolumns, whereas the Ottawadrawing (pl. 347, No. 327) andthe gianino returning to an earlier idea from which he could develop a new copiesin the Albertinaand Louvre (pl. 346, O.C. 33, andpl. 347, O.C. 25) composition. show orders.In his with differentorders Ionic experiments Parmigianino 47 The order was supposedto have originally been invented for a temple of also seemsto have been intriguedby the twistedcolumns of the Templeof Diana (Vitruvius 1, 7). whichhe have intendedto use as a referenceto the textual Iv. Solomon, may 48 sourcefor the iconographyin the Songof Songs(for which, see U. Davitt- Loc. cit. Asmus,cited in note 13 above).These drawings are illustratedby Popham, 49 De L. VitruvioPollione de architecturalibri dece, traductide latinoin vulgare, pl. 345, No. 661v and pl. 354, No. 454. I wouldalso like to suggestthat affigurati,commentati da C. Caesariano,Como, 1521, 63. the Venice No. which describesas "The drawing(pl. 3, 598), Popham 50 Ibid., 1 48). and Child with St. St. and other and III, (p. Virgin Jerome, Francis, figures," 51 tentativelyrelates to the BardiMystic Marriage of St. Catherine,probably Ibid., 79. shouldbe seen as an earlyidea for the Madonnaof the LongNeck. In his 52 The analogy between the curves of the vase and those of a capital was discussionof the drawing(I, p. 58), Pophamexpresses his uncertaintyabout also drawn by Giuliano da Sangallo, for example; see Bibl. Vaticana Cod. the relationshipof the drawingto the painting,and in his introduction barb. lat. 4424, fol. 11 (9), reproducedin B. Degenhart, "Dante, Leonardo (I, p. 1), he writes:"Though we have driftedfar fromthe Bardipicture und Sangallo; Dante-IllustrationenGiuliano da Sangallos in ihrem Verhiltnis as faras subjectis concerned,there still remainpoints of resemblance.There zu Leonardo da Vinci und zu den Figurenzeichnungen der Sangallo," is somethingsimilar in the statuesquefrontal figure of the Virgin,curiously RimischesJahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte,vii, 1955, fig. 255. My thanks go holdingthe child on top of a flutedcolumn with a Corinthiancapital." to Catherine Soussloff for bringing this to my attention. A. Nifo, De The capitalis in fact Ionic, and there is nothingin the iconographythat pulchroet amore, Rome, 1531, also treated the form of the chest as a series is inconsistentwith the Madonnaof theLong Neck. I am not reallysure that of generated curves: "Thorace pyri eversi formam subeunte sed pressa, cujus if the connectionwith the MysticMarriage of St. Catherineis removedthe videlicet conus ad sectum transversumparvus atque sphericus, basis ad colli drawinghas to be datedas earlyas ca. 1522. It seemsthat it couldfit quite radicem longitudine ac planitie excellenti proportioneformatis collocantur" well with studiesfor the laterwork, e.g., pl. 346, No. 359, and pl. 345, (quoted in Houdoy, 137). oN BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 383

s. Oq.VARTVs uan. Firenzuoladebates the ancientpreference for black eyes, states his own for blue, then settles for darkchestnut irises with C OIMMNA IM MCex SWC S M GRM~~CPsn7VXOVSI'B.- IK SC - SMBLWAIJ & Wo QX GIOCAPrrvlOU Q~rAWQAVrMVVrvOSXICR3MS;B MLSVTAm"6aRAVM-.s whitesthat are largeand curving,following Homer's descrip- tion of Juno.The eyesshould be fringedby a modestnumber of lashes, which shouldnot be too long and neitherblack nor white. All of these featurescan be clearlyseen in Par- migianino'sVirgin and in the younggirl to her left, who so closelyresembles the Antea.The earsshould be soft, but not flabby,and colored more like pale pink roses or likebalas rubies thanlike true red rubies, except for the channelthat runs round the edge, whichshould be redderand moretransparent, like the seed of a pomegranate.54Again, this is true of the Vir- gin'sears, though seen more easily perhaps in the profileof the angelicbeing who holds the vase.A beautifulwoman's cheeks shouldrise as if to protecther eyes, and they shouldbecome flushedwith vermilionas they swell, being otherwiseivory- white, thoughless gleamingthan the brow.The nose, apart frombeing perfectly proportioned, is to be slightlypointed but not turnedup, becausethis wouldsuggest pride, and the car- tilagearound the nostrilsshould be similarin colorto the ears, though slightly less No artist ever renderedthe 0 fiery.55 t0 harmoniesof ivoryflushed with vermilions thus described more delicatelythan Parmigianino,and his treatmentof the in- dividualforms of the featuresis equallyclose to Firenzuola's itemizeddescriptions. The mouth must be smallish, and neitherangular nor flat. The vermilionlips shouldbe fairly equal,neither one projectingover the other,and when seen in 6 De L. VitruvioPollione de architecturalibri dece, traducti de profilethey should meet at an obtuseangle, more obtuse than latinoin vulgare. . . da C. Caesariano,Como, 1521, p. 63 the anglewhere the lowerlip meetsthe curveof the chin.56 When the face is seen fully thereshould be a little swelling arounda smalldivision in the centerof the lowerlip, and a furrowbetween the upperlip and the nose. A woman'ssmile, Accordingto Firenzuola,one of the mostessential parts of which shouldbe rareand modest,is the crowningperfection a woman'sbeauty is herhair. 5 The hairmust be thick,though of her mouth,a divineeffulgence that makesof it a Paradise. fine, long and curly,and it -shouldbe blonde, rangingfrom HereFirenzuola adds that if the teeth arerevealed, something gold and honeyto the color of brightsunshine. The browof that is rarelyrepresented in Renaissanceart and is not seen a perfectbeauty must be twice as wide as it is high (see, in the Madonna'ssmile here, only five or six of hereven, ivory, besidesParmigianino's Madonna of theLong Neck, Testa'sdia- upperteeth should be visible-a detailTesta recorded naively gramin Fig. 1); it shouldbe gleamingwhite, gently,curving in his notes.Parmigianino's Madonna, however, does have the andserene, unmarked by any line. The eyebrowsmust be dark roundchin, flushedwith vermilionand with a very small and fine as silk, perfectarches that tapertowards the ends. hollow at its center, specifiedby Firenzuola,and she also

-' For Firenzuola's lengthy description, see I, 283-304, of which what in the rosy-tippednoses of the angelicfigures to the left. Firenzuolafol- follows is a summary. lowed the traditionalVitruvian rules for the proportionsof the nose, the ' Firenzuola'spalette is extremely precise, in the lengthof the nose constitutingone-third of the perfectlyproportioned face, particularly describing with the other many kinds of red that he perceived in different parts of a woman's body. two-thirdsbeing the distancefrom the hairlineto the space At the beginning of the description (ibid., 282- 83) he takes the time to betweenthe eyebrowsand the distance from the baseof thenose to the bottom mix his colors beforepainting his woman in words. He mixes from "il biondo, of the chin. Firenzuolaspecifically related this question to the profile,because he felt that il lionato, il nero, il rosso, il candido, il vermiglio, e lo incarnato." withouta beautifullyproportioned profile a womancould never Biondo is not very bright, tending rather to a burnishedcolor, but nonethe- achieve perfection(ibid., 262- 64). Parmigianinoalways observed the rule less similar to gold. It is particularlyassociated with hair, and here Firen- that the nose equals one-thirdof the face, and here this is clearly zuola refers his listener to Petrarch. Lionato has two characteristics, one demonstratedin the face of the Virgin and those of the beautifulgirls yellow, with which he is not concerned, and the other darker, tans, and at her shoulderand the vase-bearingangel. This last figurealso demon- this he chooses for his palette. Nero must be as dark as possible. Rosso is the strateshis fascinationwith the perfectionof beautyin a profile.In the fierycolor of coral, rubies, and pomegranates.Vermiglio is also a kind of red, Madonnaand Childwith St. Zachary,the Magdaleneand theInfant St. John but less aperto, and is the color of cheeks or wine. Incarnato,or imbalconato, in the Uffizi(Freedberg, figs. 74- 78), the proportionsof the Madonna'sface is either a rosy white or a whitish rose, like the color of rose imbalconate, arerestated in the perfectlyproportioned profile of the Magdalene,who is also which are so precious that they are displayed on balconies. The difference directlyrelated formally to the vasethat she holds. between candida, which unites whiteness with luminosity like ivory, and 56 This was also alwaysobserved by Parmigianino.See, for example,the bianca, which, like snow, does not gleam, is defined on p. 252. profileof St. Margaretin the Madonnawith St. Margaretin Bologna(Freed- 71 and 72). 55 Again, this is not only apparent in the tip of the Virgin's nose, but also berg,figs. 384 THE ART BULLETIN accordswith his observationthat the chin and neck of a woman The most beautifulfemale leg is long and slender;the shins will appear even more beautiful if there is a little swelling should not be bony, but oval and fleshy. Finally, the foot of extra flesh below the chin itself, a soggiogaia,a feature that is as importantas the face, for we turnour eyes fromone to the more amply endowed women of Rubens possess more the other in awe.58The most perfect foot is slenderand extravagantly, and that Poussin imitates in the Rubensian smallish,but not thin, as white as alabaster,and, like the beauty to the right of his Rebeccaand Eliezer.As for the neck, it Virgin's,with a highly archedinstep. Firenzuolaends his must be long and slender, round, and ivory-white. If a woman descriptionby suggestingthat, afterhe had paintedsuch a lowers her head, as the Madonna does, fine lines like little picture, even his female listeners were transformedinto necklaces form in the flesh, all of which is delicately portrayed Pygmalion.59 by Parmigianino.The Virgin also has, as she should, a small These are some of the particularfeatures that Firenzuola's hollow at the base of her neck, with no pronounced Adam's beautifulchimera and Parmigianino's exquisite Madonna have apple, and the tendons that support the column of her neck in common,and they are many. Firenzuola, not withoutirony, are visible as she turns her head. According to Firenzuola, professedto find each partin one or anotherof the women the shouldersof a beautiful woman are to be soft and ample, of Pratowho encouragedhim to fashionhis goddess.But they her arms springingout and then curving back to restrainher musthave knownin their minds,if not in their hearts,that drapery,resembling, as noted earlier,the handlesof a vase. The he was indulgingin elegant flattery,for there is little in arms themselves are to be fleshy and strong, but soft and Firenzuola'sdescription that they wouldnot have knownal- resilient too, the hands white and full with curving palms. ready,and the simplelineaments of beautyobserved by both The fingers should be long and slender by contrast, tapering Firenzuolaand Parmigianinoare by no meansremarkable in gently, and with a pronouncedspace between the index-finger themselves.They had, for example,been definedat length the and the thumb; they should be pinkish at the ends.57 The by AgostinoNifo in his De pulchroet amore,a hymn to fingernailsmust be clear, neither round nor square, but gently renownedbeauty of Giovanna d'Aragona,whose features curving, and they must extend beyond the flesh like the blade Raphaelhad also immortalizedaccording to this convention, of a tiny knife. The whole hand of Parmigianino'sVirgin at once renderingthe questionof whetherhe drewher from as it rests upon her breast is, as Firenzuolawould have it, life irrelevantand providingan importantmodel for Parmi- the essence of morbidezza,as soft to the touch as fine silk gianino.60These features were common enough to be described or a wisp of new cotton. Firenzuolagives much attention to by a Venetianprostitute, suffering from the malfrancese, as the breasts,and requiresthat they swell outwardsand upwards, those of her lost beauty.61They were summarizedby Paolo without a hint of bone beneath, and they should pressagainst Pino in the Dialogodi pittura,by Niccolo Franco in his a woman'sgown, as Parmigianinoshowed them, as if to escape. Dialogodove si ragionadelle bellezze, and by FederigoLuigini

57 Forthis see also the fingersof the angelwho holdsthe vase. memoryof the sitter.For a discussionof the relationshipbetween Raphael's and Nifo's see Passavant, d'Urbinet son 58 Firenzuola,I, pp. 271-72, describeshow the eyes of the viewer are portrait description, J.-D. Raphael 265- 69. Fora discussioinof Nifo'stext, lowered,as if fear, after in the beautyof other partsof pre GiovanniSanti, Paris, 1860, 11, through drinking 93-98 and R. de Mauldele Claviere,The the and he his listenersto revealtheir feet fromtime to see J. Houdoy, 141-182; body, encourages Women theRenaissance: A Study of Feminism,trans. G. H. Ely,New York time, learningfrom the Romanswho gave them as muchattention as the of face. and London,1900, 152, 331-333, andpassim. For the beautyof Giovanna d'Aragona,see p. 407, wherethe authorbriefly refers to her deificationby 59 As expressedby Mona Selvaggioat the end of the Dialogo(Firenzuola, the Accademiadegli Dubbiosiand the temple of poems createdin her I, 304): "Orsi mi pareche questavostra dipintura stia comequelle che son honor. This was edited by G. Ruscelli,Tempio alla divinasignora donna di mano di buon maestro;e per dime il vero, ella e riuscitauna cosa Giovannad'Aragona fabbricato da tuttii pii~gentili spiriti et in tuttole lingue bellissima,e tale, che se io fussiuom, com'io son donna,e' sarebbeforza che principalidel mondo,Venice, 1558. Giovanna'ssister, Mariad'Avalos, was comeun nuovoPigmalione io me ne innamorassi." consideredto be equallybeautiful and wasoriginally to have been included 60 AgostinoNifo (1473- 1538/45)was also a protegeof Bemboand a favorite in the temple, but an argumentwas found againstthis based upon the of Leo X, for whom he wrote Tractatusde immortalitateanimae contra oppositionto Marcellus'splan to build a temple to both Virtue and Pomponatium,Venice, 1518,which helped him out of the dangerinto which Honor.Niccolo Franco's Dialogo dove si ragiona delle bellezze, heavily dependent his Averroismhad led him. For Nifo, see G. Tiraboschi,Storia della on Nifo and closely related to Firenzuola'stext, is, as noted before, letteraturaitaliana, Modena, 1741, viI, ii, 432-36, whereit is rightlystated dedicatedto Mariad'Avalos, and Francoincludes the two sisters,together that the De pulchroet amoreand De re aulica,"Non sono le piuihoneste with Giulia Gonzaga,Maria Loredan,and Bianca Galerataamong the cose del mondo;perciochi in esse il Nifo si scuoprepazzamente perduto manycontemporary women who arethe equalsof Laura,Beatrice, Faustina, nell'amordelle donne."The De pulchroet amore,Rome, 1531, dedicatedto Lesbia,Corinna, and all the celebratedbeauties of the past. Giovannad'Aragona, 3 November1529, indeedprovides a veryoutspoken 61 See El vantodella cortegiana ferrarese qual narrala bellezzasua. Con il appreciationof the beautyof the princess.Guided by his Averroistdistaste lamentoper esser redutta in la carrettaper el malfranzese et l'ammonitorioche for the Platonicview that earthlybeauty is merelya shadow,Nifo wrote fa alle altredonne. Seguita l'epigramma con el purgatoriodelle cortigiane, ed. here an aesthetictheory compoundedof a strangemixture of Aristotle, G. B. Verini, Venice, 1532. The descriptionappears in Il vanto,which is eroticism,and courtly love. The justificationfor his insistencethat true,ob- republishedby A. Graf,Attraverso il cinquecento,Turin, 1916, 351-354, jective beautydoes exist in this worldwas basedon his memoryof Gio- esp. p. 352. Grafattributed Il vantoand 11 lamento to GiambattistaVerini vanna, the daughterof Ferdinandof Aragon,the pearlof all Italy, a per- himself,though with some hesitation. It shouldbe noted, in relationto what fect beautywho couldhave providedZeuxis with a singlemodel for all the followsbelow, that the prostituteis led to describeher smilethus: "La mia conventionalattributes of beautythat are gathered together in his description bocchinadolce e unachiave/Ch'apre le borsee fa chiamarmercede,/E rallegra of her. The famousportrait by Raphaeland Giulio Romanois, like Nifo's chi fussiin dogliaprave." description,a set piece that requiredneither the presencenor even the ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 385 in II librodella bella donna.62 They becameso popularthat of those who never went abroadwithout her Petrarchinoin they formedthe basisfor a simpleparlor game published by hand, inspiredby the same fashion, thoughwith much less Ringhieriin 1551.63 seriousnessof purposeas that which led the poetessLaura In short, the ideal womancreated by Firenzuolawas not Battiferrito have Bronzinoportray her holdingjust such a only beautifulin his judgment,but also a universallyac- book.64Even the parlorgame was played by the simple ceptedbeauty and well bred,from an old family.Some of her rote learningof parts of the body, describedwith an ac- carefullydefined features can be related to descriptionsof companyingline fromPetrarch. Classicalbeauties: Luigini, for example, (who cites many more We too mightplay this game,and, with Petrarchin hand, authoritiesthan Firenzuola,while the five speakersin his trackdown the qualitiesof the imageof the beautifulwoman polylogue create yet another version of Zeuxis' goddess) as did Luigini.But this wouldbe to indulgein the kind of finds sourcesfor her individualfeatures in Virgil, Horace, plagiarizingPetrarchismo that wasparodied by Berni,Aretino, and Ovid. But this type of detailedpresentation of the in- and even Firenzuolahimself, and to ignorethe truemastery of dividualperfections of women does not derive immediately the poet's style and meaningthat was achievedby Parmi- fromClassical sources--in Lessing'seyes Homerand Virgil gianino and, though less profoundly,by Firenzuola.65To were virtuousin not attemptingto describethe respective characterizethe hand of the Madonnathrough the wordsof beautiesof Helen and Dido, leaving these to the reader's Firenzuola,for example, is a formulaicgame compared to what imagination- althoughit does depend indirectlyupon the Petrarchsaid of the hand of his ideallove in the sonnet, "O ekphrastictradition of ByzantineGreek rhetoric. Most directly, bella man, che mi distringi'lcore."66 The single adjectives it stemsfrom the vernacularpoetic tradition,which had be- candida,vermiglia, bianco, sprinkled everywhere throughout the come the object of intense studyby 1530; the focus of this sonnets, can indeed be isolated,but when consideringthe studywas Petrarch. Federigo Luigini traces as muchand more colorsof this beautifulpainted woman it is betterto ask: of his ideal beautyto Petrarch,Bembo, Ariosto, Equicola, Onde tolse Amor l'oroe di qualvena and the like as to the Latinwriters, even thoughhe is often per fardue trecciebionde? e 'n qualispine reducedto extractingonly a singleword from Petrarch's hymns colse le rose, e 'n qualpiaggia le brine to Laura.The courtesanwho lost her beautywas surelyone teneree fresche,e die lor polsoe lena?

62 Paolo Pino, Dialogodi pittura, Venice, 1548 (ed. P. Barocchi in Trattati Servi d'Amor, palese fo che queste d'artedel cinquecento,Bari, 1960, I, 102-03); F. Luigini, II librodella donna, Son le bellezze della donna mia. Venice, 1554 (ed. G. Zonta, in Trattatidel cinquecentosulla donna, Bari, 1913, 229- 253). For similar earlier examples in Catalan and Provengal, see Renier, 53, n. 1. In Aretino's opinion the preciousness of Petrarchismowas associated with 63 Cento liberaliet ritrovatoda M. Innocentio giuochi d'ingegno Ringhieri,Bologna, an obsession with fiddling delicacy and excessive ornamentation in art. He ed. 1580, 127ff. For a discussion of this and other similar humorlessgames, attacked this fashion for stylishness in a letter to Ludovico Dolce, writing, see T. F. Crane, 284- 291. "Che onor si fanno i colori vaghi che si consumano in dipingere frascariuole 64 A. Graf, 29, records that in Venice LucreziaSquarcia particularly wished senza disegno?La lor gloria sta ne i tratti con che gli distende Michelagnolo, to be seen thus. Graf's important essay evokes the fashion for Petrarchwith il quale ha messo in tanto travaglio la natura e l'arte che non sanno se gli great vividness, and is essential for an understandingof this sophisticated sono maestreo discepole. Altro ci vole, per esserbuon dipintore, che contrafar phenomenon. He also drawsattention to the fact that the Petrarchino,a small, bene un velluto e una fibbia da cintura!-II fatto sta ne i bambocci- elegant volume of the Canzoniere, was carried by men as well as women disse Giovanni da Udine ad alcuni che stupivano de le grottesche mirabili (p. 13). This habit was mocked by Aretino, Sei giornate: Ragionamento di sua mano ne la loggia di Leone e ne la vigna di Clemente. E per dirvelo, della Nanna e della Antonia, Venice, 1534, ed. G. Aquilecchia, Bari, 1962, il Petrarca e il Boccaccio sono imitati da chi esprime i concetti suoi Terza giornata, 94-95. See also G. Toffanin, 11cinquecento (Storia letteraria con la dolcezzae con la leggiadriacon cui dolcemente e leggiadramenteessi di Italia, vi), Milan, 1929, 122- 148, "Petrarchismoe trattati d'amore."For andaranoesprimendo i loro, e non da chi gli sacheggia, non pur dei 'quinci' Bronzino'sportrait of Laura Battiferri, see A. Emiliani, Il Bronzino, Milan, dei 'quindi' e dei 'soventi' e degli 'snelli,' ma dei versi intieri. ... 0 1950, pl. 91. There are many other portraits of this type, for example, turba errante, io ti dico e ridico che la poesia e un ghiribizzo de la Andrea del Sarto's portrait of Maria del Berrettaio, subtitled La fanciullacol natura ne le sue allegrezze, il qual si sta nel furor proprio, e mancandone, Petrarchino. il cantar poetico diventa un cimbalo senza sonagli e un campanil senza 6 This is cited from Texte To an An excellent, brief anthology of anti-Petrarchismofrom English, Spanish, campane." zum Antipetrarkismus,7. admirer of the heroic of often associated with that French, German, and Italian literature, with a good introductory bibliog- style Michelangelo, of Dante, the kind of ornamented raphy, has been edited by J. (Texte zum in the style discussed here in relation to Parmigianino Hisle Antipetrarkismus, and Petrarchismowould be series Sammlungromanischer Obungstexte, Lv, Tiibingen, 1970). Francesco clearly unsympathetic. Berni's Sonnettoalla sua donna is the most direct satirical treatment of the For a stylist like Firenzuola it was natural both to adopt a style and to mock for "Nella morte d'una tradition discussed here and will stand as a paradigm: it, example, Canzone, Iv, civetta," 11, 422- 25. In "Soprale bellezzedella sua innamorata"(pp. 398- 401) he takes up the Chiome d'argento fino, irte e attorte theme of the beautiful woman in order to parody it: Senz'arte intorno ad un bel viso d'oro; La testa sua un di Fronte crespa, u'mirandoio mi scoloro, pare pan sapone, E suo'occhiolin Dove spunta i suoi strali Amor e Morte; quei due fusaiuoli, a e tinti col Occhi di perle vaghi, luci torte Dipinti olio, carbone. Manichi son le Da ogni obietto diseguale a loro; ciglia di paiuoli: naso e come del mio Ciglie di neve, e quelle, ond'io m'accoro, Il quel mortaio: La bocca ha come i Dita e man dolcemente grosse e corte; popon cotignuoli. Labradi latte, bocca ampia celeste; Niccolo Franco also mocked the tradition of which he was a master. The Denti e d'ebeno rari pellegrini; Dialogo is prefaced with famous "Difficile est non Inaudita ineffabile Juvenal's line, satyrem armonia; scribere."See also RobertBurton's in The e a witty parody Anatomyof Melancholy, Costumi alteri gravi: voi, divini ed. London, 1932, iii, 79-85. 66 Le rime, cxcix. 386 THE ART BULLETIN

Onde le perle in ch'ei frange, et affrena the lyricproper, and beyondthat in the rhetoricalamplifica- dolci parole, oneste e pellegrine? tion of descriptio,particularly the effictio,which is to say, the onde tante bellezze, e si divine descriptionof physicalqualities in the ornatestyle.69 This di quella fronte piu.che '1 ciel serena? type of panegyricwas developedin late antiqueepideictic, a good examplebeing SidoniusApollinaris' letter describing Da e di quali angeli mosse, qual spera the EmperorTheodoric.70 Here, afterthe requiredstatement celeste cantar che mi disface quel that God and Naturehad joined togetherto makehim per- che n'avanzaomai da disfar si poco? fect, each featureof the Emperoris describedfrom the head Di qual sol nacque l'alma luce altera downwards,in an orderthat came laterto be interpretedas di que' belli occhi, ond'io 6 guerra, e pace followingthe orderof Creation.71 This form of descriptionwas che mi cuocono il cor in ghiaccio e 'n foco?67 laterused by Alain de Lilleto describeNature herself in the Complaintof Nature,and also to describethe beautyof Pru- Petrarch in fact never addressedhimself to the simple enu- dence in the Anticlaudianus;the imageof womanso carefully meration of Laura'sfeatures, even though the experts of the describedby Parmigianino,and reducedto a platitudeby the sixteenth century succeeded in finding most of them in his poorprostitute and in the parlorgame, is a lovelysurvivor of poems, with the exception of her nose, which, to their great the panegyricto these beautifulwomen.72 dismay, Petrarch seems to have ignored.68 Even those fea- The ornate,decorated style, to which the effictiobelongs, tures that he did worshiphad been worshippedbefore his day. wasespecially popular in late medievalpoetics, notably in the It was rather his style that made him the authority to be work of writerslike Matthewof Vend6me,who considered acknowledged in sixteenth-century recipes for beauty, which descriptionto be the first object of poetry.73Both he and often found their true ingredients elsewhere. Similarly, Geoffreyof Vinsaufgave examples of thistype of amplification, Firenzuola and Parmigianino did not simply extract details not only explaininghow to describepeople and places, but from Petrarchto form mechanical dolls, but were more con- also givingexamples that areparticularly concerned with the cerned with the largerquestion of his style and purpose.They descriptionof beautifulwomen.7" No literarygenre had a were both, furthermore,aware that this tradition of beauty greaterneed forbeautiful women than did the Romance,and was based on more than a single poet. To understand this, the same womanwho was the subjectof the panegyricof and to understandhow Madonna Lauracould be transformed late medieval Latin poetics becomes the donzellasvelta, into the Madonna herself, we must consider the tradition of gracile,ridente, decked out in all her colors, who unerringly Petrarch, of Petrarch and his sources, and the fascinating makesher way into Italy throughdescriptions in vernacular problem of how the conventional description of the beautiful romancesby writerslike Adam de la Halle, a trouverewho woman became so closely identifiedwith a lyricpoet who never flourishedboth in Flandersand in Italy. She might be the painted her complete portrait. Queen of Ireland,Florence, or Blancheflore,but she appears The immediate source for this kind of description in the alwaysin the same blonde, ivoryand vermilion,succulent Renaissancelies in the traditionof vernacularepic ratherthan form.75

67 Ibid.,ccxx. example of amplificationthrough the descriptiopulchritudinis (Faral, 27 If.). For 68 L. Gandini, Lettione . . . sopraun dubbio,come il Petrarcanon lodasseLaura Geoffrey of Vinsauf, see Documentumde modo et arte dictandiet versificandi, espressamentedal naso, ed. Venice, 1581. This kind of obsession was mocked trans. and intro. R. P. Parr, Milwaukee, 1968, and the translation of the by A. F. Doni in La Zucca, for which see A. Graf, 27. Poetria nova by J. J. Murphy, Three Medieval RhetoricalArts, Berkeley, 1971, 54f. On the descriptiopulchritudinis, see also P. Dronke, "Tradition 69 Ad Herrenium,Iv, 63. "Effictioest cum xlix, exprimituratque effingitur and Innovation in Mediaeval Western Colour Eranos Yearbook, verbis forma satis sit ad . Imagery," corporis cuiuspiam quoad intelligendum . XLI, 1972, 58. Notatio est cum alicuius natura certis describitur signis quae, sicuti notae quae, naturae sunt adtributa."This kind of description became increasingly 75 For the use of the panegyric in the writings of the trouv&res,see R. importantamong the techniques of the New Sophistic for purely panegyrical Dragonetti, La techniquepodtique des trouveresdans la chanson courtoise: purposes, for which see E. R. Curtius, EuropeanLiterature and the Latin Contributiona l'etude de la rhitorique me'diivale, Bruges, 1960, 248-72. MiddleAges, ed. New York, 1953, 68f. For a discussionofdescriptio as a form Dragonetti stresses here the importance of style as a means of conveying of amplification in the Middle Ages, see E. Faral, Les arts poetiquesdu emotion in the description of the beloved. If the beauty of Parmigianino's XIIe et du XIIIe si~cle, Paris, 1924, 75- 81. Madonna is seen in this context, the sense of abstraction in the work that has perplexed critics disappears(see, e.g., Freedberg,85). Dragonetti writes 70Sidonius, Letters, I, 2. Sidonius also provided the model for the opposite (p. 271), "L'objetcle1bre par le porte courtois est donc autre ordre que sort of description, the vituperatio,in his description of Gnatho (Letters, d'un celui de I'abstraction, ou de l'exp&ience amoureuse comme telle. s'agit InI, 13). I1 d'un thbme poetique dont la beaute est tout entibre dans le style et dont 71 For the combination of God and Nature, see E. Curtius, 181f. For the order le pouvoir de suggestions depend par consequent, de l'art avec lequel le of the description, which is not ancient but which became highly systematized trouvbrecombine, harmonise, et fait chanterles hyperboles. Et que chantent in medieval poetics based on the evidence of texts thought to be ancient, ces hyperboles?sinon que la femme peut devenir songe de paradischaque fois see E. 79- 81. Faral, qu'elle apparaitau pobte charg6e de cette id6alit6 allusive qui exalte l'ime et 72 transfigurele monde." On Adam de la Halle ca. see P. L., CCX,Liber de planctunaturae, 282A-87; Anticlaudianus,I, vii. (d. 1288), Dragonetti, 338-47 and 653; J. Houdoy, 51-56 (a translation of his description of his 73 E. Faral, 75f. The text of the Ars is on 106- 93. versificatoria published pp. mistress into French), and 125-28 (for the original Latin). For the very Faralestimates that the work was before 1175 completed (p. 3). close relationship between the descriptions of beautiful women in the 74 Ars versificatoria,56- 57. Geoffreyof Vinsauf'sPoetria nova is also published romancesof Provence, Flanders,Germany, and Portugal,see Renier, 1- 142. by Faral, who dates it ca. 1208- 1213. The very full description of a For references to descriptions of women in Ogier, Durmart le Galois, woman appears there as an example of amplification (Faral, 214- 16). A Florencede Rome,Erec et Enide, the Romansde Troie, and the Romansde Cesar, shorter description appears in the Documentumde arte versificandias an see P. Rajna, Le fonti dell'Orlandofurioso, Florence, 1900, 183. ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 387

The particularorder of the panegyricis, of course, one anzi erandilicate e graziose, thing, the content and the colorschosen another.In terms bianchee vermiglie,non d'altramistura both of the formand chosencontent that wereto becomeal- che intra'gigli le vermiglierose; mostcanonical, the mostinfluential and complete assimilation e questanon dipinta,ma natura of this type of descriptioninto Italianepic wasaccomplished gliel'aveadata, il cui color mostrava in the poetry of Petrarch'scontemporary, Boccaccio. He perci6che 'n ci6 piuinon le bisognava. it to the of Emiliain the as employed sing praises Teseida, Ellaaveva la bocca she to her in the of and it de- piccioletta, goes wedding Temple Venus, tuttaridente e bella da basciare, servesto be quotedin full: e era piiache granavermiglietta Erala giovinettadi persona con le labbrasottili, e nel parlare grandee ischiettaconvenevolmente, a chi l'udiaparea un angioletta; e se il ver I'antichitaragiona, e' denti suoi si poteansomigliare ella era candidissimae piacente; a biancheperle, spessie ordinati e i suoi crin sotto ad una corona e piccolini,ben proporzionati. e e d'oroveramente lunghi assai, E oltre a questo,il mentopiccolino si sarian suo detti, e'l aspettoumile, e tondo qualeal viso si chiedea; e il suo moto onesto e signorile. nel mezzoad esso avevaun forellino Dico che i suoi crini pareand'oro, che piuivezzosa assai ne la facea; non con trecciaristretti, ma soluti e era vermigliettoun pocolino, e pettinatisi, che infraloro di che assaipiui bella ne parea; non n'eraun torto, e cadeansostenuti quincila gola candidae cerchiata soprali candidiomeri, ne f6ro non di soperchioe bella e dilicata. ne be' prima poi si giammaiveduti; Pieno era il collo e lungoe ben sedente ne altro ella sopraquelli portava sovragli omericandidi e ritondi, ch'unacorona ch'assai si stimava. non sottil troppoe pianoe ben possente La frontesua era ampiae spaziosa, a sosteneregli abbracciargiocondi; e biancae pianae molto dilicata e 'I petto poi un pochettoeminente sotto la qualein volta tortuosa, de' pomi vaghiper mostranzatondi, quasidi mezzocerchio terminata, che per durezzaavean combattimento, erandue ciglia, piuiche altracosa semprepontando in fuorcol vestimento. nerissimee tra le lata sottil, qua' Eranle bracciasue grossee distese, bianchezzasi vedea, lor dividendo, lunghele mani, e le dita sottili, n) 'I debito se stendendo. passavan, articulatebene a tutte prese, Di sotto a questeeran gli occhi lucenti ancord'anella vote signorili; e piji che stellascintillanti assai; e, brievemente,in tutto quel paese egli erangravi e lunghie ben sedenti, altranon fu che cotantogentili e brunquant'altri che ne fossermai; I'avessecome lei, ch'erain cintura e oltre a questoegli eransi potenti sotile e schiettacon degnamisura. d'ascosa che alcun forza, giammai Nell'anche e tuttaben formata, n6 fu grossa non gli miro da lor mirato, e il si fosse ch'amorein s6 non sentisse pie piccolin';qual poi svegliato. la parteagli occhi del corpocelata, Io ritraggodi lor poveramente, colui sel seppepoi cui ella cosse dico a rispetto della lor bellezza, avanti con amor lunga fiata; e lasciogli a chiunque d'amorsente imagino io ch'a dirlo le mie posse che immaginandovegga lor chiarezza; non basterieno avendol' io veduta: ma sotto ad essi non troppo eminente tal d'ogni ben doveva esser compiuta!76 nd poco ancora e di bella lunghezza il naso si vedea affilatetto This particularpanegyric became an indispensabletool for the description of feminine perfection in the epics that followed. qual si voleva a l'angelico aspetto. Emilia became Antea-an importantname for Parmigianino Le guance sue non eran tumerose the Morganteof Pulci. Ariosto transformedher into the -rin n6 magre fuor di debita misura, enchanting Alcina.77

76 Teseida,xii, 53-63, quotedfrom G. Boccaccio,Opere in versi,ed. P. G. used by Ariosto, though less suggestively, to describe the beauty of Olimpia Ricci (La letteraturaitaliana, storia e testi,ix), Milan, 1965, 412-15. (Orlandofurioso, xI, 65- 71). Rajna, 183, rightly suggests that Ariosto was immediatelyupon the Teseida,Morgante, and particularlythe descrip- 77 Morgante,xv, 98- 104.Orlando furioso, vII, 9- 16. The conventionis also drawing tion of Simonetta in the Giostra, rather than upon the French tradition. 388 THE ART BULLETIN

It is fitting that so perfect an example of the panegyric to sent very considerableachievements in the developmentof the beautifulwoman should be found within an epic romance ornatevernacular styles of epic and lyricpoetry. They do not that, for all Boccaccio's appeal to the judgment of antiquity, yet reveal,however, the carefularchaeological investigation of owes so much to the tradition of the trouv&resand cantari, these stylesand their vocabularythat was to be undertaken rather than in the lyric poems of Petrarch, Dante, or the in the early sixteenth centuryby writerslike Ariosto and Stil Novo.78 But the two genres are nonetheless closely related Bembo, and that had become a thoroughlyself-conscious through their subject matter, specificallythe question of love fashionby the time of Parmigianinoand Firenzuola.If we and its source in beauty that is the legacy of the Platonic look at the figure of Flora in Botticelli'sPrimavera, for tradition. The most importantcenter for the development of example(whom Warburgsought to identifyboth with the this Platonic tradition, and for its humanistelaboration within natural beauty Simonetta Vespucci and with the nymph the context both of the classics and the vernacular, was of Simonettaof the Stanze),with this kind of rhetoricalorna- course the court of Lorenzode' Medici, himself deeply affected ment andthe Madonnaof theLong Neck in mind,her appear- not only by the Platonic idealism of Ficino, but also by the ance is surelymore closely relatedto the evocativestyle of lighthearted romance of Luigi Pulci, and by the Petrarchan Politian than it is to the detailedanatomy of beautythat lyricism of Politian.79Again the allusive lyric style contrasts Parmigianinoand Firenzuolawere to attempt(Fig. 7).82 She with the more detailed panegyric of the epic. The belt&i, is indeedas Politiandescribed Simonetta, gleaming white, and leggiadria,and gentilezza of the lovelynymph Simonetta in the her hairis curlyand golden."8 Botticelli observed several other Stanzeare presentedthrough suggestion rather than through details of the tradition,for he was not, of course,entirely definition, and it is her mannerthat is emphasized,her humble dependentupon one poet for guidancein imagininghis ideal pride, delicate and graceful step, her serenity, and especially of beauty. Her cheeks are pink and white, her neck long, her joyfulsmile. If she carriedattributes she mightbe Thalia, white, and graceful,her browwide, with dark,arched eye- Minerva,or Diana,but as she sits, surroundedby all the gifts brows,and there is a little cleft in her chin; her armsare of Nature,she is a visionof all the qualitiesof beautyimagin- gracefullycurving. There is, in short, enough that is con- able.soOn the other hand, Politian'sfriend, Luigi Pulci, in ventionalabout her beauty,as there is also in portraitsthat his good-humoredepic Morgante,not only stressesthe enchant- havebeen considered to representSimonetta Vespucci herself, ing mannerof his lovely Antea, includingher smile, but to removeher fromthe worldof individualperfection. At the also adds a complete enumeration of her beautiful features, sametime, we arenot led to concentrateon the perfectquality in conformity with the romance epic tradition (and indeed of each individualfeature, its correctform and subtlyvaried this part of the Morgante is a nostalgic recreation of the color, or to see her as a workof art ratherthan of nature, popularcantorino Orlando). 81 as we do the ornateand beautifulwomen of Parmigianino. Boththe Stanzeof Politianand the Morganteof Pulcirepre- It is, rather,Flpra's manner that impresses,as does that of

78 For the relationship between Boccaccio and the cantari, see V. Branca, undAbhandlungen aus dem Gebieteder romanischen Philologie, LX, 1886, 1- 262. 11 cantare trecentescaet il Boccaccio del Filostratoe del Teseida (Studi di G. Getto, Studiosul Morgante(Biblioteca di "LettereItaliane," vii), Florence, lettere, storia, e filosofia publicati dalla R. Scuole Normale Superiore di 1967, 71, points to the nature of this description as a set piece and its Pisa, Ix), Florence, 1936. For the descriptionof Emilia, see p. 57. Boccaccio connection with Ariosto and Firenzuola.But it is not really just to argue, as could also employ the basic convention in a more allusive, lyrical style, this critic does, that it is the reference to Classical goddesses that renders as, e.g., in Sonnet iii, "Candide, perle orientali, e amore." See V. Crescini, Antea doll-like. This particularpart of the descriptioncan indeed be related Contributiagli studi sul Boccaccio,Turin, 1887, esp. 169f. and If.,11 for other directly to Classical models, particularlyto Lucian'sEssays in Portraiture,it- examples; the book has an excellent discussionof the significanceof love and self a model of late antique rhetoric. As we have seen, however, the whole beauty in Boccaccio's works. portrait of Antea is conventional, rather than being a foreign intrusion in Pulci's text, and the in the which does not have the 79 For a good general summaryof relations between Lorenzo, Politian, and description Orlando, references to is as draws attention to Pulci and Ficino, see the essay by D. de Robertis in II quattrocentoe goddesses, just complete. Pulci wittily his own off the of Antea with an Ariosto (Storia della letteraturaitaliana, ed. E. Cecchi and N. Sapegno), learning by setting description equally III, one of her horse in the verses that follow. Milan, 1966, 459-566 (with full bibliography); and see V. Rossi, thorough Il 82 quattrocento(Storia letteraria d'talia, v), Milan, 1933, 310-407. See A. Warburg, Sandro Botticellis 'Geburt der Venus' und 'Friihling,' 1893, with additionsin Gesammelte 80 A. Poliziano, L'Elegantissimestanze incominciate per la Giostradi Giulianodi Leipzig, reprinted Schriften,Leipzig, 1932, Pierode'Medici, I, 43-55 (ed. P. Serassi, Bassano, 1824, 12-15). i, 5-68 and 307-28. Needless to say, I am not here advocating the old theory that sought to identify the figures in the Primaveraliterally with 98- 104. For the of the in at the 8" Morgante,xv, history work, begun 1461 various membersof the Medici court, and in particularwith Simonetta and of Lorenzo's Lucrezia and its to the request mother, Tornabuoni, relationship Giuliano; quite the contrary, I mean rather to describe the model of ideal see the edition of F. Orlando, Ageno (La letteraturaitaliana, storia e testi, beauty against which the women of both nature and art were measured. xvii, Milan, 1955, xv-xxviii and 1117- 19). The text of Orlando is pub- 83 Poliziano, I, 43 (p. 12). lished by J. Hiibscher, "Orlando:Die Vorlage zu Pulcis Morgante,"Ausgaben ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 389

7 Botticelli, Primavera (detail).Florence, Uffizi (photo:Alinari)

8 Leonardoda Vinci, Mona Lisa. Paris, Louvre (photo:Cliches des Mus6esNationaux)

Politian'sSimonetta in the Stanze,and not the delineation tions of the powerof beauty,and its smile, in the worldof of individuallyperfect features in the mannerof Pulci'streat- courtlylove. Pulci,in gentlymocking hyperbole, asserted that ment of Antea in the Morgante.Flora treads lightly on the Antea's smile could open not one but six Paradises,while grass,her dressfluttering in the breeze,and, above all, she Politian more simplyclaimed that the smile of Simonetta smiles.84Firenzuola was to followthe imageryof both Dante was so beautifuland sweet, "che ben parve s'aprisseun and Petrarchin his contentionthat the smile of a beautiful paradiso."86Flora's smile is a special one, for it is among womanis a revelationof grace,capable of transformingthis the veryfew in Renaissancepainting that is wide enoughto world,that makesof her mouth a Paradise.85Both Politian cause the lips to part and reveal the small, regular,pearly and Pulci expressedthe same idea in theirpoetic considera- white teeth of rhetoricaldescription. It is temptingto think

84 Ibid., 46 (p. 12), wherein her manner is described: polvere son, che nulla sente." Dante writes of the "mirabile riso" of his love (Vita nuova, For the definition of the smile as "una corruscazione Con lei sen'va Onestate umile e xxI). piana, de la dilettazione de lanima, cioe un lume apparente di fuori secondo' Che chiuso cor chiave: d'ogni volge la sta dentro ... ," see Convivio, 8, where Dante also writes of the need Con lei va Gentilezza in vista III, umana, for moderation and slight movement of the face in an E da lei il dolce andar smiling, providing impara soave, important model for Firenzuola. On the need for total unselfish surrender Non mirarle in viso alma pu6 villana, to the dolceriso, see the discussionof Cavalcanti's"lo non che lo cor Se di suo fallir non ave. pensava pria doglia giammai," in P. Dronke, MediaevalLatin and the Rise Love- Tanti cuori Amor fere e of European piglia, ancide, Lyric, Oxford, 1968, I, 151. Quanto ella o dolce parla, o dolce ride. 86Morgante, xv, 102: 85 Firenzuola(I, pp. 268-69) suggests that if a smile is used modestly, and not too often, "fa diventare la bocca un paradiso." The smile is "uno Avea certi atti dolci e certi risi, splendoredell'anima." The matter-of-factway in which he recommendssmil- certi soavi e leggiadricostumi ing and even a particularway in which to open and close the mouth and move da fare spalancarsei paradisi the eyes, "Un atto che apre anzi spalanca il paradisodelle delizie e allaga e correr su pe'monti all'erta i fiumi; d'una incomprensibiledolcezza il cuore di chi lo mira disiosamente" (ibid., da fare innamorarcento Narcisi, 295), represents a considerable secularization and degeneration of the non che Gioseppe per lei si consumi; courtly ideal, and is one example of how Firenzuola'sapproach truly belongs parea ne'passi e l'abito Rachele; to a less ideal world than that of Parmigianino and Petrarch. Compare, le sue parole eran zuccheroe mele. for example, Rime, 5-8: "Le crespe chiome d'or puro lucente/e'l ccxcII, For see 50. lampeggiar de l'angelico riso/che solean fare in terra un paradiso,/poca Politian, Stanze, 1, 390 THE ART BULLETIN that Firenzuolahad this very image of Flora in mind when i pori della came, non potevano essere piuinaturali. 11naso, he assembled his definitions, for the mouth he describes is con tutte quellebelle aperturerossette e tenere,si vedeva hers, revealing only five or six of the upper teeth, with a esserevivo. La bocca, con quella sua sfenditura,con le specificity not found elsewhere.87 If this were so, it would be sue fini unite dal rossodella bocca, con l'incarnazionedel only one of a number of examples of the way in which the viso, che non colori, ma came parevaveramente. Nella very thorough investigations of the problem of beauty in the fontanelladella gola chi intentissimamentela guardava, sixteenth century greatly depended on the development of vedevabattere i polsi . . . ed in questodi Lionardovi era theories of Platonic and courtly love at the Medici court.88 un ghigno tanto piacevole, che era cosa pini divina che Be that as it may, Flora'ssmile, which openly expresses the umanaa vederlo. . .90 state of inner denotive of a state of that joy, literally grace Two remain, however. the will lead the beholder to is most an importantproblems Despite loving Paradise, surely fact that the workof Ficino, his Platonic towards the of the especially Theology importantstep suggestive effulgence spirit on the Immortalityof Souls and his Commentaryon Plato's that marks the beautiful face of the Mona Lisa (Fig. 8), the Symposium,gave a new dignityto the literatureof love, it did work of an artist who was also indebted to the legacy deeply not make it popular,for the fashionof courtlylove in the of Petrarch,Luigi Pulci, and the Ficinianrevival of the theories sixteenth wasinstead associatedwith the ver- of Platonic love.89 The smile of the Mona Lisa makes her century closely nacular tradition, and most particularlywith Petrarch.91 divine, as Vasari says in his famous description of her, which In her the beautifulcreature art addition,despite epic origins, otherwise is an awed acknowledgmentof nature and jointly who lies at the heartof this fashionwas also associated Vasari's shows how much she lives firmly perfected. description very with the vernacularwork of the same The history in and it shows too how lyricpoet. the tradition of Renaissance beauty, of which is intertwinedwith that ideal of Petrarchismo, closely Provengal- Leonardo'srealization of evolving womanly per- is and and it mustsuffice here to men- the of art and the of nature ismo, long complicated, fection, whereby beauty beauty tion the name of Firenzuola's Pietro Bembo, who from a sponsor, are indistinguishableone the other, occupies mid-point establishedin his the that conciliation Floraand this con- earlywork, Asolani, between the gracefulmanner of Botticelli's of vernacularand humanisttraditions that is at the core of summate artificialityof Madonna: Parmigianino's speculationconcerning love and beauty in the sixteenth Nella qual testa chi voleva vedere quanto l'arte potesse century.92This conciliationwas largely achieved through the imitarla natura,agevolmente si poteva comprendere;perche elevationof Petrarch,both in the Asolaniand in the Prose quivi erano contraffatte tutte le minuzie che si possono dellalingua volgare, as the model for a classicalvernacular con sottigliezzadipignere. Avvengache gli occhi avevano style. que'lustri e quelle acquitrine che di continuo si veggono It is not that Bembowas unableto find other vernacular nel vivo, ed intorno a essi erano tutti que'rossignilividi e i poets to aid him in his courteouspraise of women, their peli, che non senza grandissima sottigliezza si possono beauty,and theirrole as sourcesof love. Thoughhe criticised fare. Le ciglia, per avervi fatto il modo del nascere i peli Dantehe admiredhim greatly,and it wasDante after all who nella carne, dove piuifolti, e dove pifi radi, e giraresecondo had assertedthat it wouldbe malagevoleto addressa lady in

87 Firenzuola (1, p. 294). According to Firenzuolathis rule is particularly 90Vasari-Milanesi, Iv, 39-40. important in a woman who is neither smiling nor speaking, but he 91See C. Dionisotti,Prose e rimedi PietroBembo, Turin, 1966, 17- 19, and implies that it is generally true whenever she opens her mouth. T. F. Crane,100-08. 88 Firenzuola, for example, cites La nencia da Barberinowhen discussing 92 Gli Asolani,inspired by LucreziaBorgia, was probably composed between the small depression in the chin (i, p. 297). This intriguing work, parodied 1497 and 1502 and was publishedin Venice in 1505 (Dionisotti,19). For by Pulci, is ascribed to Lorenzo himself, and Firenzuola treats it with an introductionto the subjectof Petrarchismo,see L. Baldacci, Petrarchismo suitable arch "Ecco che anche i che son II respect, adding contadini, ripieni italianonel cinquecento, Milan and Naples, 1957;G. Toffanin,II cinquecento, d'un buon giudizio naturale, conoscono anch'eglino la perfezione della bel- 122- 148. On Bembo, see the introductionand criticalbibliography by lezza." For La nencia, see D. de Robertis, II quattrocentoe l'Ariosto, Dionisotti;Toffanin's fundamental study, 84- 103;and V. Cian,Un decennio 493f. and V. Rossi, II quattrocento,338f. dellavita di M. PietroBembo: 1521-1531, Romeand Florence,1885. Forthe 89 For Leonardo'spossession of Ficino's PlatonicTheology on the Immortality significanceof Provence,see also S. Debenedetti,Gli studiprovencali in of Souls and Pulci's Morgante, see V. P. Zubov, Leonardoda Vinci, trans. Italianel cinquecento,Turin, 1911. Bembo'sown seriousstudy of Provengal D. H. Kraus, Cambridge, Mass., 1968, 5 and 42. For Leonardo'sown list literatureprobably began around 1512, though much of the spiritof the poetry of books, which includes these two works, see J. P. Richter, The Notebooks was thoroughlyfamiliar to him throughthe poetryof the DolceStil Novo. of Leonardoda Vinci, London, 1883, II, 442-45. Bembohimself uses the traditionaldescription of the beautifulwoman in Gli Asolani,Bk. ii. ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 391

Latin.93And amongthe poets of the StilNovo, for example which comprisesgrace, sweetness,delightfulness, vaghezza, in Guinizelli's"Al cor gentil riparasempre Amore," the ver- and levity. ForBembo Dante's wisdom cannot compensate for nacularexpression of the love inspiredby a beautifulwomen the fact that his style is often gravewithout giving pleasure, is fullyformed. Simply to espousethe vernacularor to write whereasCino da Pistoiais delightfulbut lackingin gravity. about love was not an easy step for Bemboto take and it Only Petrarchcombines both, and is equallya masterof was one for which he sufferedcriticism. But moresignificant decorum and the art of persuasion,which springsfrom was his effort to establishcriteria for a classical, literary judgmentrather than being learned.97 vernacularstyle that would enjoy the samerespect accorded the In makingof Petrarcha vernacularCicero, Bembogave a ancient styles in which he had servedhis apprenticeship.94 new authorityand fashionabilityto the courtlyideals and to This was the accomplishmentof a lifetimeof criticismand the power of love, of Platonic origin, that Petrarchcele- scholarship,but it was most fully expressedin the Prose brated,and to the role of the Petrarchanstyle in address- dellalingua volgare, a work begun at the court of Lucrezia ing beautifulcortegiane. Though he disagreedwith Casti- Borgiaand published in 1525, and that providesan important glione's preferencefor a linguacortegiana, Bembo himself link betweenthe courtlysociety of the earlycinquecento and appearsas a centralfigure in the Cortegiano,together with the worldof Parmigianinoand Firenzuola.95 his friend FederigoFregoso, who in turn representedthe The worktakes the formof a dialoguebetween Giuliano importanceof the Provengaltradition in Bembo'sown dia- de' Medici, who defendsa popularvernacular style, Ercole logue.98He was inspiredto the ideal of a purelove by the Strozza,champion of the traditionalsuperiority of Latin, beautyand honesty ofcortegiane like Elizabetta Gonzaga, whom FederigoFregoso, who stressesthe importanceof Provengal he encounteredin the courtsof Urbinoand Ferrara,which in the gradualevolution of vernacularlanguage and literature, has given rise to the sayingthat Bemboonly found love in and Bembo'sbrother Carlo, who takesthe positionof Pietro. orderto writeabout it. It is fortunatethat he did, for with- The dialoguereveals Bembo's own questionsand doubts,the out Bembo'saccomplishment in providingsuch a firmbasis for manyarguments through which he had to strugglein orderto the re-examinationof the vernaculartradition of beautyand arrive at a position acceptablefirst to himself. But one love minutelydescribed in all theirparts it is certainlyunthink- thingbecomes clear: once Bembohad decided upon the signifi- ablethat his friendRaphael would have depicted the Fornarina cance of vernacularliterature he had to find for it a model as he did (Fig. 9), givingher dark,arched eyebrows, promi- of style that could standbeside Cicero, and that modelwas nent eyes with darkirises, fine lines like necklacesforming Petrarch.His admirationfor Petrarchwas alreadyevident in ringsaround her neck, and delicatelyslender fingers grace- Gli Asolani and in the edition of Petrarch that Bembo fully parted,presenting his mistressto the worldas the true preparedfor Aldus Manutiusin 1501, but in the Prosedella mistressof his art, perfectbeauty itself. linguavolgare he fully justifiedthe adoptionof Petrarchas The passionfor courtly ideals expressed in a vernacularmode the masterof ornatestyle. Bembogives due praiseto the poets spreadfar beyond such refined aspirations, however, and also of the DolceStil Novo, to Dante as a greatand magnificent createda style in which those less honest cortegianewho poet, and his choice of vocabularyis heavilyindebted to his carriedtheir Petrarchino on theirdaily rounds found a mirrorof readingof Boccaccio;but it is Petrarchin whom "all the the beautythey hoped to sell. It is no wonderthat almost gracesof vernacularpoetry are gathered together."96 Bembo's two decadesafter Raphaelpainted his muse, Parmigianino, main criteriafor beautifulstyle aregravita, which comprises moreconcerned with art than nature,should have portrayed honesty,dignity, magnificence, and grandeur, andpiacevolezza, the professionalRoman courtesan Antea as the sisterof the

93 Vita nuova, xxv. Bembo edited the Aldine edition of Dante, published in tatio: Theory and Practice, the Example of Bembo the Poet," Yearbookof 1502, and he possessed manuscriptsof his poetry (Cian, 89). His criticisms ItalianStudies, 1971, 119- 141. I am grateful to ProfessorNancy Dersofi for of Dante's style, however, had far-reaching effects. Giovanni della Casa, discussing this material with me. for another close to the court of Clement was to call 9 example, figure VII, The Prose della lingua volgarewas finished by 1512, but not dedicated to Petrarch whereas he said of Dante "e certo io non ti con- "'Tottimapoeta," Clement VII until 1524, and published in the following year. siglierei che tu lo volessi fare tuo maestro in questa arte dello esser grazioso, " Prose nelle si della in tre Venice, con cio sia cosa che egli stressi non fu." This is from 11galateo, xxII. quali ragiona volgar lingua divise libri, 1525, ii, xxv- xxir. 94 On the notion of belloscrivere and the restrictionof Latin style to the models 97 xxvii'- of Cicero and Virgil, with the consequent implications for the vernacular, Ibid., xxxviiiv. see Dionisotti, 37-39. Bembo established this concept in his confronta- 98 Dionisotti, 43, suggests that one of the reasons for Bembo's opposition to tion with G. F. Pico in 1512- 13. See C. Grayson, A RenaissanceContro- the lingua cortegianawas his familiarity with so many courts in Venice, versy:Latin or Italian, Oxford, 1960. For the relevant texts, see Le epistole'De Florence, Mantua, Ferrara,and Urbino, which led him to be aware of the imitatione,'ed. G. Santangelo, Florence, 1954. See also D. della Terza, "Imi- dangersof a heterogenous language. 392 THE ART BULLETIN

9 Raphael,La Fornarina.Rome, Gallerie Nazionale (photo: 10 Parmigianino,Antea. Naples, Capodimonte (photo: Alinari) Alinari).

beautifulgirl who attends the Virgin in the Madonnaof Butthe fashionabledemi-monde apart, if beautyis reallythe theLong Neck, andthat both youngwomen are closely related source of grace, and if the smile of a beautiful woman can to the Virginherself (Fig. 10)."9This successful woman created truly open the gates of Paradise, then the ultimate source of her style as did so many of her kind. She took an illustrious that grace, and the most efficacious of those smiles, is to be namefrom the Orlandoand fromPulci's Morgante, and with found in the Virgin, the Queen of Heaven, and the most per- all her artifice strove to acquire the graceful manners of her fect cortegianaof all. This is somethingthat both Petrarch more aristocraticsisters. 100 and Bembounderstood, and which was made explicit by some

91S. Freedberg,214- 16. For furtherreferences and identificationsof the sub- Leonardo,Veronese, and Annibale Carracci, among others. For the identifi- ject, see A. O. Quintavalle, 184, n. 91. For the life of Antea, see C. Ricci, cation of the fur over Antea's shoulder as a "flea-fur,"see M. von Boehm, "Cortegianedel Rinascimento:Antea," Illustrazione italiana, 23 February1930, Modes and Manners, trans. J. Joshua, London, 1932, 11, 107 and 190. 313- where the of as Antea is traced to 15, subject Parmigianino'spainting 100See A. Graf, Attraversoil cinquecento,239. Aretino, Sei giornate, 120, and thence to the Farnese of G. Barri, Viaggiopittoresco, 1671, inventory describes how courtesans take children from orphanagesto bring them up as 1680. to this on the that Freedberg'sobjections identification grounds daughterswhose beauty will blossom as theirs fades, and to name them Giulia, did not the in Rome do not take into account Parmigianino paint portrait Laura, Lucrezia,Cassandra, Portia, Virginia, Pantasilea, Prudenzia,or Cor- the fame of this beautiful nor the conventional of her woman, presentation nelia. The name Antea has a long and complicated history. was did not a sitter. The old of Antea as beauty, which require identification a cult name for Aphrodite, and was already associated with "AvOE•a"courtesans by Parmigianino'smistress is like so many similarstories that have arisen around Athenaeus (DeipnosophistaexlmI. 567 and 586). It was also consideredproper the most beautifulwomen painted by variousartists, the most famousexample for a courtesan to be familiarwith the stories of both Greece and the Round of which is Fornarina.In the case of it is Raphael's Parmigianino perhaps Table without distinction; see Graf, 236f., n. 1. Toffanin, 11 cinquecento, not true, but it is accurate nonetheless in the more literally important 142, makes a useful distinction between the small group that included sense that he his ideal which is to his art. The represented beauty, say topos Equicolaand Bembo that was concerned with lofty "PlatonismoPetrarchista" of course is familiar and often repeated that for Renaissance artists their and the world of the demi-mondedevoted to "Platonismo Petrarchesco." mistress was their art, and statements to this effect were attributed to ON BEAUTIFUL WOMEN 393 sixteenth-centurywriters on feminine beauty, for example by Niccolo Franco in his Dialogodove si ragionadelle bellezze.'0' Parmigianinoalso recognizedand explored it fully in his two most suggestiveand beautifullyornamented representations of the Virgin, the Madonnaof the Long Neck (Fig. 3) and the Madonnaof the Rose (Fig. 11).102 This last may be the most perfect example of all, even though the form of the beautiful woman is less completely presented. The Virgin is again the ideallyperfect figure of panegyricdescription and enumeration, with her fine golden hair, dark, arched eyebrows,her pink and ivory face, sweet smile, slender ringed neck, her thrusting breasts,and her long delicate fingers,gently tapering. Her son wears coral and presents her with a rose, familiar attributes both of the Virgin and of Venus herself, emblems of beauty and the love that springsfrom it, which span the distance be- tween earth and heaven. The work was intended for that Venetian connoisseurof beautifulwomen, Aretino, but Parmi- gianino gave it instead to Clement VII.103 Both painter and Pope were in Bologna, where artists, poets, and diplomats were foregatheredfor the coronation of Charles V. The poets assembled at the house of the poetess Veronica Gambara, where they took the occasion of the meeting between Pope and Emperorto hold their own spiriteddebate over the future of the language. Pietro Bembo presidedover that dispute, in which he upheld the classical vernacularornamental style of Petrarch.Agnolo Firenzuolawas urged to attend.104 The beauty of the Madonnaof the Rose and the Madonna of the Long Neck brought Parmigianino his reputation for 11 Parmigianino,Madonna della Rosa. Dresden, Staatliche GemrldegalerieAlte Meister grazia, vaghezza, and leggiadria,and they are the embodi- Kunstsammlungen, ments of that grace, charm, and desire whose virtue could excite a man's soul to love God. Guido Reni called Parmi- gianino "la leggiadria penna," and Malvasia in a famous passage identified the ideal of courtly ornamented beauty in are, the most perfect realizations of the ekphrastic descrip- his work that led Ludovico Carraccito seek "dal Parmigianino tions of beautiful women of the richly ornamentedpanegyric la grazia, osservando le teste delle sue Madonne con quel- transformedinto the lyric Petrarchanvernacular, Madonnas l'occhio socchiuso, piuttosto peccante in grandezza,e cari- whose smiles could unlock the very gates of Paradise. candovi il polso, donde posciaacquistassero quell'aria si nobile, They are the refined descendants of the lovely Flora of the e modesta; al che anche conferiva molto il naso piui tosto Primavera,and the fulfillment of the alluring modesty of the longo, e la bocca picciola."105Malvasia even goes so far as Mona Lisa. to identify particularprecedents for Parmigianino'sfeatures in Such a close affinity between the ornaments of poetry and Classical sources, the "occhio socchiuso" from Homer's "ox- painting could only exist in a situation where the concept of eyed Juno," for example, and the "bocca picciola" from the one, perfect ideal was upheld. Already, by the end of the panegyricverse of Sidonius Apollinaris.106But the important sixteenth century, the skeptic Montaigne denied that such point is that he recognizedParmigianino's women for what they beauty could be understood in terms of anything but taste,

101 Franco'sdialogue concludes with the praise of the Virgin as the most per- 103 Vasari-Milanesi,v, 227. fect beauty. It is also noteworthy here that Luigini in his dialogue (ed. 104 For the Congressin Bologna,see G. Giordani,Della venuta e dimorain Zonta, 232) writes that in the time of Petrarch maidens wore their hair Bolognadel S. Pontef.Clemente VII per la coronazionedi CarloV Imperatore, loose, but when marriedthey bound it up with pearls and jewels, referring celebratal'anno MDXXX, cronaca con note, documentied incisioni,Bologna, specifically to Rime, cxcvi, "L'Aura serena che fra verdi fronde." The 1842. See also Cian, Un decennio,141-54, and for Trissino'spart in the Virgin in the Madonnaof the LongNeck has her hair thus bound. Congresssee B. Morsolin,Giangiorgio Trissino, 187- 97. 102 Freedberg,181-82, and A. 0. n. 24. Furtherevidence, Quintavalle, 123f., 105 C. C. Malvasia,Felsina pittrice, ed. Bologna,1841, ii, 55-6. if it is needed, that was involved in the spirit of Petrarchismo Parmigianino 106 is his on a for S. Maria della Steccata, C. C. Malvasia,II claustrodi S. Michelein Boscodi Bologna,Bologna, provided by inscription drawing in which he the fromthe Felsina cited in published by Ragghianti, "Idee del Parmigianino per la Steccata," Critica 1694, 7, quotes passage pittrice 506-09. the precedingnote, andgoes on to footnotehis own descriptionin Classical d'arte, viII, 1949, sources. 394 THE ART BULLETIN

citing Propertius'statement that "the Belgic complexion of a Bibliographyof FrequentlyCited Sources German lass ill becomes a Roman face."107Poussin himself could define beauty in terms of order and mode, which is to Blunt, A., 1966, The Paintingsof NicolasPoussin: A CriticalCatalogue, say arrangementand proportion, but not in terms of species, London , 1967,Nicolas Poussin, which is adornment in line and color.l08 He recognized the Washington possibility that more than one style could exist, and in the Cian, V., Un decenniodella vita di M. PietroBembo, 1521-1531, Romeand Rebeccaand Eliezer,where he was specificallycommissioned Florence,1885 to show differingideals of beauty,he paid homageto those Crane, T. F., ItalianSocial Customs of the SixteenthCentury and Their differingideals and individualstyles that he admired.The Influenceon theLiterature of Europe,New Haven, 1920 specialcloseness between the rhetoricof ornamentalstyle in Curtius,E. R., EuropeanLiterature and the Latin Middle Ages, New York, 1953 and that characterizes of the poetry painting painting Davitt-Asmus,U., "ZurDeutung von ParmigianinosMadonna dal collo lungo," manierawas not long-lived. Though the beautiful woman of Zeitschriftfiir Kunstgeschichte,xxxI, 1968, 305-313 the panegyricleft her in centuries she was progeny succeeding Dionisotti,C., Prosee rimedi PietroBembo, Turin, 1966 never more perfectlyrealized than by Parmigianino.The gradualloss of understandingand appreciationof her history Faral,E., Lesarts poetiques du XIIeet du XIIIesi~cle, Paris, 1924 changed her appearance and function, until she was finally Firenzuola,A., Le operedi M. AgnoloFirenzuola, ed. B. Bianchi,Florence, attackedand dismissedby Lessingas the supremeexample 1848 of the fact that "Poetrystammers and eloquence grows Franco,N., Dialogodove si ragionadelle bellezze, Venice, 1542 unlessart serveas dumb, interpreter."'109 Freedberg,S., Parmigianino:His Worksin Painting,Cambridge, Mass., 1950 Attraversoil 1916 TempleUniversity, Tyler School of Art Graf,A., cinquecento,Turin, Houdoy,J., Labeautd des femmes dans la littiratureet dansl'art du XIIe au XVIe sitcle,Paris, 1876 Lessing,G. E., Laoco6n:An Essayupon the Limitations of Painting and Poetry, trans.E. Frothingham,New York,1957 Pino,P., Dialogodi pittura, Venice, 1548(ed. P. Barocchiin Trattatid'arte del Cinquecento,Bari, 1960, I) Poliziano,A., L'Elegantissimestanzeincominciateper laGiostradi Giuliano di Piero de' Medici,ed. P. Serassi,Bassano, 1824 Popham,A. E., Catalogueof theDrawings of Parmigianino,3 vols., NewHaven and London,1971 Quintavalle,A. O., Il Parmigianino,Milan, 1948 Rajna,P., Lefonti dell'Orlando furioso, Florence, 1900 Renier,R., 11tipo estetico della donna nel medioevo, Ancona, 1885 Rodocanachi,E., Lafemme italienne avant, pendant, et aprisla Renaissance, Paris,1922 Toffanin,G., II cinquecento(Storia letteraria d'Italia, vi), Milan, 1929 Vasari,G., Le vitede' pii~ eccellenti pittori scultori ed architettori ..., ed. G. Milanesi,9 vols., Florence,1878-85 Zonta,G., Trattatidel cinquecento sulla donna, Bari, 1913

107 Essays, I, lxiii, "Apologyfor Raimondede Sebonde," trans. C. Cotton and ed. W. C. Hazlitt, New York, 1894, 472: " 'Tis likely we do not well know what beauty is in nature and in general, since to human and our own beauty we give so many diverse forms, of which were there any natural rule and prescription we should know it in common, as we do the heat of the fire. . . . The Italiansfashion beautygross and massive;the Spaniards,gaunt and slender; and among us, one makes it white, another brown; one soft and delicate, another strong and vigorous; one will have his mistress soft and gentle, another haughty and majestic." 108A. Blunt, 1967, 364. For the meaning of arrangement,proportion, and adornment and their source in Bonaventure's De reductio artium ad theologiam,see Marsilio Ficino'sCommentary on Plato'sSymposium, University of MissouriStudies, xix), trans. S. R. Jane, I, Columbia, 1934, 173, n. 22. For Ficino these three categories were again only efficient in structuringthe matter of the body, whose beauty could only be completed by "activity, vivacity, and a certain grace shining in the body because of the infusion of its own idea." 109 Laoco6n, 135. Lessinghere is specificallytaking issuewith Ludovico Dolce's recommendation of Ariosto's Alcina and the poet's lengthy description of her particular beauties as a model for the painter to follow (Dialogo della pittura, Venice, 1557, ed. P. Barocchi, Trattatid'arte del cinquecento, Bari, 1960, 172- 74).