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JOURNAL OF THE FRIENDS OF THE UFFIZI GALLERY No. 77 - April 2020 A Pope and His Cousins

The Portrait of Leo X and Its Most Hidden Meanings

uch has been written on Mthe Portrait of Leo X in the past, and most recently, for the exhibit on “Raffaello (1520- 1483)” organized by the Scude- rie del Quirinale and the Uffizi Galleries. There is not enough space here to enter into a thor- ough description of the paint- ing’s richness of narrative de- tail or an in-depth discussion of the complexity of its content. Better then to focus on certain details useful in unveiling its most hidden meanings. In his famous commen- Raffaello, The Portrait of Leo X, on display at exhibit at the Scuderie del Quirinale, . tary, Vasari (1550, 1568) con- centrates exclusively on the naturalism of the image and and elected to the papacy in the bloody war of Urbino in not followed an ecclesiastic vo- the diligence of its execution. 1513: his refined and human- 1517. cation but rather entered into He thus lingers on the mate- ist culture, his taste for the an- In fact, as soon as the triple the Pope’s political strategy of rial and tactile aspects of the tique, his love of luxury, and portrait was finished in Sep- marital alliances. velvets, the damasks, the lin- his will to reconcile all of the tember 1518, it was sent to Flor- Investigations undertaken ings, the gold, the silks, the above with the renewal of the ence to celebrate Lorenzo’s during the recent restoration illuminated manuscript (the Church. Then again, Leo X, marriage to Maddelena de la confirm that the preparatory Biblia Hamilton now in Berlin), hailed as a great peacemaker Tour d’Auvergne, a relative of drawings of the figure of Leo and the finely carved silver after the tumultuous reign of Francis I of France. A strange X differ from those of the car- bell with its gold decorations, Julius II, escaped a conspiracy wedding gift, one might say. dinals, even though all were not forgetting to comment on organized against him by Car- But not really, considering how completed before the back- the reflections of light in the dinal Petrucci in the spring the Pope conveys through the ground. Perhaps at the outset, pummel of the seat. But in of 1517. But by 1518, just one painting his reliance on the the portrait was intended to fact, Raffaello intended to go year after the conclusion of support of his two cardinal be the charismatic image of far beyond the threshold of an the Fifth Lateran Council, he cousins, Giulio de’ Medici, the the Pope alone. Subsequently admittedly stupefying natural- had already deluded the ex- future Pope Clement VII, and transformed into the repre- ism. Those details were meant pectations of those awaiting Luigi de’ Rossi, who Leo him- sentation of familial politics, it to encapsulate salient personal universal peace by sending his self had appointed cardinal. traits of the Pope, the second nephew Lorenzo de’ Medici, While the wedding gift intend- son of Lorenzo il Magnifico, a figure intimately tied to the ed to reaffirm his closeness to Marzia Faietti baptized Giovanni de’ Medici creation of this painting, to his nephew, Lorenzo, who had (continued on page 2)

IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI 1 nonetheless continued to be through indulgences a church France that de’ Rossi faithfully ures, in the suspended atmo- an eloquent expression of the as grand as the temple of Jeru- supported). Raffaello knew how sphere of the scene and the un- refined culture and religious salem (the new Saint Peter’s to mix and balance the private quiet gaze of Cardinal de’ Rossi, sentiment of Leo X, unveiling whose architect from 1514 was and dynastic-familial spheres looking directly at us, that we as well his fear of a possible Raffaello himself). with the celebration of the per- perceive the fragility of this his- rupture within Christianity fol- Thus within the portrait, the fect union between spiritual torical moment destined to van- lowing the revolt of Luther. In celebration of papal power – and temporal power without ne- quish even the most carefully this sense, the cross-reading where politics and religion inex- glecting the attentive portrayal pondered strategies. Raffaello, of the first page of the Gospel tricably combine – converges of the individual and psycholog- in 1518, fully understood the of John and the last page of with the representation of the ical makeup of the various per- frailty of the Roman Church in the Gospel of Luke, on which underlying dynamics of private, sonages. And it is precisely face of the times to come. the manuscript opens, alludes familial relations and diplomat- through the psychological to the necessity of building ic strategies (the alliance with depth apparent in the three fig- Marzia Faietti Art Detectives Active in Rome since 1969, the Cultural Heritage Simona Pasquinucci, and Sonia ed initial and a figure, universal Protection Unit of the Carabinieri is renowned Chiodo, curator of the exhibit. I history has been written; the worldwide for its excellence consider it really good news, not minium that gives its name to the because of my role as command- objects on display is the color red er of the investigative unit be- of creative energy in continuous he Uffizi Galleries is show- (Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale ing honored, but because these movement”. Tcasing a display of Painted - TPC), an initiative for which admirable pearls of art – that Of equal importance is the Pages recovered by the Carabinieri I would like to thank Director warranted Oderisi da Gubbio a exhibit’s recognition of the op- Protection of Cultural Heritage Unit Eike Schmidt, his collaborator mention in Dante’s Purgatory – erative role of my collaborators. deserve wider public attention. At the time of its foundation Paintings that embellish in Piazza S. Ignazio in Rome in manuscripts and ancient texts 1969, the Command numbered have accompanied the path seventeen Carabinieri. Today, of civilization. As I wrote in my it counts three hundred spread introduction to the exhibition across the entire peninsula – is- catalog: “Between an ornament- lands included – who have re- Painted Pages Tell the Tale was a farming civilization for centuries and, from Constantine to the Popes, the center of Ca- tholicism. These conditions gave rise to a hundred thousand cult The first important challenge for the TPC:La Muta by Raffaello, stolen in 1975 from the sanctuaries, many in the urban Ducal Palace of Urbino and recovered the following year. countryside and in isolated local- ities. The abandonment of rural life put all of this to risk and in- numerable thefts called for tar- geted countermeasures. The ex- hibit “Stories of Painted Pages”, on display in the Sala delle Nic- chie (Hall of Niches) in , showcases the investigations of the TPC with a selection of Choir Books returned to con- vents, archives and museums in Umbria and Tuscany. The ac- knowledgment of these restitu- Antiphonary with Saint Stephen and tions on a local level is the Uffizi’s Episodes of His Life, tempera and way of endorsing TPC’s funda- gold on parchment, circa 1330-1340. mental role in the worldwide Crociani Civic Museum and Art Gallery, protection of art. R.R. Montepulciano (Siena, Italy). Fighting clandestine excavations in Iraq, where the Carabinieri have been active since 2003.

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TPC and religious art: a masterpiece of Trecento goldsmithing, the famous Processional Cross returned to the village of Trequanda (Siena, Italy) in 2009. covered nearly three million The Italian method for the and Restitution of Cultural Pat- ing, assistance, and aid wher- artworks, created a database of protection of cultural heritage rimony. ever needed. After all, no less lost works that currently serves enjoys worldwide recognition. We also set the precedent for should be expected from the as a universal reference point, Based on Article 9 of the Con- UNESCO which, a year after the ‘Bel Paese’ (Beautiful Coun- activated investigations and legal stitution, the model is deployed foundation of the TPC, invited try), the age-old repository of proceedings in the four corners through the central and periph- all country members to adopt a archeological treasures and of the world that have made it eral channels of the Ministry of similar organizational structure. monuments of every age, the more difficult for museums and Fine Arts and Cultural Activities We export “Cultural Peacemak- historical destination along the international auction houses to (Mibact), the Carabinieri, and ers” to areas devastated by con- Grand Tour that inspired the accept artifacts of uncertified other organizations, such as the flicts and natural calamities ecstasy of Stendhal, the genius provenance on the art market. Committee for the Recovery and offer consultation, train- of Goethe, and the canvases of Turner, among others. In an apartment overlook- ing Palazzo Pitti, right here in , Dostoyevsky worked on the completion of “The Idi- ot”, rightfully considered one of his greatest masterpieces. He was immersed in the splendor of a grand living space open to the sky, willed by the Medici and furnished by artists of the cali- ber of Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Michelangelo. In a similar setting, it is not by chance then that, in the pages of his novel bestowed on posterity in 1869, the great writer had Prince Myškin, pose the timeless ques- tion: “Will beauty save the world?”

Gen. B. Roberto Riccardi, Commander Protection The cataloging of artifacts in the vault in via Anicia in Rome, the seat of TPC operations. of Cultural Heritage Unit

IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI 3 Most Illustrious and Most Excellent The Andito degli Italy and Europe. We can imag- ine them together in a carriage Angiolini in Palazzo Pitti will stacked with chests, boxes of soon host a monographic exhibit colors and paintbrushes on on Giovanna Garzoni, a refined their Grand Tour to the court of miniaturist and “renowned Charles I of England in 1637, painter” and then again in Paris…. But let’s return to Flor- ence where Giovanna Gar- zoni lived between 1642 and ighlighting feminine ge- 1651. The Uffizi Galleries have Hnius, two of the world’s chosen this highly skilled cal- greatest cultural capitals are ligrapher, refined miniaturist, celebrating almost simultane- “renowned painter”, musi- ously two women artists who cian, and singer as one of the have long been unjustifiably protagonists in a series of ini- undervalued. The London tiatives dedicated to the redis- National Gallery will show- covery of lesser-known artists. case Artemisia Gentileschi However, due to the Corona- and, in Florence, the Palazzo virus emergency, the inaugura- Pitti will hold the first mono- tion and opening to the public graphic exhibition ever dedi- of “The ‘Greatness of the Universe’ cated to Giovanna Garzoni. in the Art of Giovanna Garzoni”, Both women were active in curated by Sheila Barker and the seventeenth century and, ready for view in Palazzo Pitti, though different in tempera- has been postponed. ment and expressive force, While hoping very soon to likened to one another for be able to admire her works in their distinctive personalities person and penetrate the soul that contrasted the gendered of this multi-talented artist, we stereotypes of women of their Carlo Maratti, Portrait of Giovanna Garzoni, circa 1665, oil on canvas. Ascoli Piceno, Civic can meanwhile share reflec- time. Artemisia and Giovanna Picture Gallery. tions on portraits of the artist. are today considered feminist In particular, Carlo Maratti icons (especially the former) creative determination. These to have shared a friendship depicts her at a mature age: for having conducted their two women artists, creators of and travels between one com- a nun-like figure, austere and lives with independence and their own destinies, seem also mission and another across not very beautiful, but gifted

Giovanna Garzoni, Little Dog with Biscuits and a Chinese Cup, circa 1648, Giovanna Garzoni, Chinese Plate with Artichokes, a Rose and Strawberries, circa 1655- tempera on parchment. Florence, Uffizi Galleries, Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery. 1662, tempera on parchment. Florence, Uffizi Galleries, Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery.

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Giovanna Garzoni, Chinese Vase with Tulips, Anemones, Narcissus, a Hyacinth and a Giovanna Garzoni, Double Striated Buttercup with Two Almonds and a Hymenoptera, Marigold with Two Prunes and Two Pea Pods, circa 1650–1655, tempera and traces of circa 1648, tempera and traces of black pencil on parchment. Florence, Uffizi Galleries, black pencil on parchment. Florence, Uffizi Galleries, Department of Prints and Drawings. Department of Prints and Drawings. with an expression rich in the prediction of her death by dog whose yelping we can al- desired, permitting her a intelligence and acuity filled childbirth. They say, however, most hear. One can only imag- comfortable life, travels and with curiosity and determina- that she remained faithful as a ine her pointed gesturing and freedom normally unreach- tion. It is precisely with these widow to her husband, despite brushstrokes and the prayer- able at the time. Giovanna qualities that Garzoni nur- her independence as a painter. like patience she adopted in Garzoni died in Rome at 70. tured her vocation, creating In 1630, she moved to Naples capturing lenticular details She was buried with great cer- an astonishing poetic universe with her brother, and then later seen in her watercolor and tem- emony in the church of the as a miniaturist and painter. to Rome, as her fame as a por- pera masterpieces on parch- Academy of Saint Luke that With foresight and resolve, traitist grew. Summoned to the ment. Her paintings – little en- had already honored her as a she constructed her fame as court of the Savoy in Turin, we chanted Edens, universes gen- “most illustrious and most ex- an artist, likewise assuring find her later in England, then erating delight, curiosity and a cellent” artist. her immortality through do- in Paris and from 1642 to 1651 multiplicity of marvels – were nations (for 431 masses to be in Florence, at the Medici court sold for whatever sum the artist Mara Amorevoli celebrated post mortem in all of where her miniatures came to the churches of Rome) and by enrich their still-life collections. providing precise instructions She filled this decade with natu- for the building of her tomb. ralistic images of incomparable The ‘Greatness of the Universe’ So documents reveal. delicacy, meticulous represen- Giovanna was born in Ascoli Pi- tations of microcosms filled in the Art of Giovanna Garzoni ceno in 1600 into a family origi- with plants, fruits, flowers, ani- nally from Venice, the city mals, and exotic objects found where she learned the art of oil along her journeys. It is easy to Curated by Sheila Barker painting from her uncle paint- abandon oneself in the nuanc- er, Pietro Gaia. Acquainted es of color, in the luminous veil- Uffizi Galleries, Palazzo Pitti, Andito degli with masters like Palma il ing of form in the blossoming Angiolini Giovane, at age 22, Giovanna flowers and ripened fruits, in married Tiberio Tinelli, a Vene- the finely detailed decorations tian portraitist. It seems this was of oriental vases, in the trans- an unhappy union due to a vow parent wings of insects and the Date to be announced once the museum reopens of chastity she took to escape vibrant countenance of a little

IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI 5 Giuseppe Bezzuoli at the Uffizi

A monographic exhibit rediscovers one of the foremost painters of the early Nineteenth Century

n the summer of 2018, the Idirector of the Uffizi Galler- ies, Eike Schmidt, purchased Giuseppe Bezzuoli’s Eve Tempted by the Serpent. This was a first step towards the reawakening of interest in this major pro- tagonist of Italian art of the first half of the nineteenth-century through a grand monographic exhibit. Unfortunately, circum- stances related to the Covid-19 pandemic have forced the Gal- leries to postpone the event to a date still to be determined. The first objective, pursued during the exhibit’s preliminary stages of research and design, was to represent the artist in all of his complexity by gathering together a large selection of his works, many thought to have been dispersed on the art mar- Giuseppe Bezzuoli, Love Triumphs over Force, circa 1843, private collection, Florence. ket. Concurrently, the study of documentary resources, in part widening perspective that lead works by the main protagonists tive in Florence during the early conserved by his heirs and in to further investigation of other of European Neo-classicism. XIX century in the phase of part within the public archives, salient areas of his production These were artists tied to Bez- transition between the Lorraine proved fundamental to the sys- as well as the international rela- zuoli’s formative years and ac- Grand Duchy and the brief pa- tematic reconstruction of his tions he entertained from early personality and artistic career. in his career. This allowed for a broader criti- With these goals in mind, cal analysis of Bezzuoli, former- the exhibit will be divided into ly limited to the genre of his- chronological and thematic sec- tory painting, and stimulated a tions that open with a series of

Giuseppe Bezzuoli (1784-1855). A Master Painter of the Romantic Era

Curated by Vanessa Gavioli, Elena Marconi, Ettore Spalletti

Uffizi Galleries, Aula Magliabechiana Sala Detti and Sala del Camino

Dates to be announced once the museum reopens Giuseppe Bezzuoli, Lorenzino de’ Medici Stabbed to Death in Piazza San Giovanni and Paolo in Venice, 1840, Civic Museum, Pistoia.

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Giuseppe Bezzuoli, The Repudiation of Hagar, 1844. Uffizi Galleries, Palazzo Pitti, Gallery of Modern Art. The work was purchased by the Uffizi Galleries in 2019.

at the Florentine Academy of whom Bezzuoli much admired Fine Arts, his devotion to past and assiduously copied in many masters, and his profession as a of his surviving drawings. connoisseur and antique dealer. Bezzuoli’s modernity will be Once again, these activities are the focus of the exhibit’s final complementary to his painting section. It centers on his aban- Giuseppe Bezzuoli, Portrait of Elisabetta Ricasoli (mother of Bettino Ricasoli), 1825, and are fundamental to a deep- donment of the language of Ro- Ricasoli Family Collection. The work was recently restored in preparation for the exhibit. er understanding of his artistic manticism in favor of new for- personality. mal solutions: from the incipi- renthesis of the Napoleonic historical novels, and literature. During the recent restora- ent realism underway in Tusca- government. Following this Naturally inclined towards these tion campaign undertaken in ny, practiced at the time by the requisite introduction, the ex- disciplines, he drew liberally preparation for the exhibit, young pupils of the Academy, to hibit will enter into the core of from them, enriching his pic- works such as the portraits of the aestheticism he embraced, Bezzuoli’s production, recount- torial language with constantly Elisabetta Ricasoli and Luigi de albeit episodically, in several ing his evolution towards a ro- original and current themes tak- Cambray Digny have confirmed surprising masterpieces of his mantic sensibility and his capac- en from the various repertoires the artist’s extraordinary tech- maturity, such as Love Triumphs ity to vary among the most di- of tragedy, melodrama, and his- nical ability and executive com- over Force. verse artistic genres. These will torical prose. Other aspects ex- petence. These were skills in- be illustrated in the subsequent plored in the exhibition regard spired by Renaissance and sev- Vanessa Gavioli, Elena Marconi sections of the exhibit respec- Bezzuoli’s activity as a teacher enteenth-century old masters Ettore Spalletti tively dedicated to history paint- ing, literary themes, landscapes, portraits, decorative cycles, reli- gious art, and a copious assem- bly of his graphics. Of particular interest is the reconstruction of the cultural milieu surrounding the artist that fostered his full participation in the dominant contemporary issues under de- bate, disseminated by the artis- tic-literary Gabinetto (Literary Association) of Giovan Battista Vieusseux and the intellectual circle of his collaborators who contributed to the periodical he founded, “Antologia”. Bezzuoli’s innate intellec- tual curiosity – confirmed by his biographers and evident exam- ining his papers and drawing notebooks – induced him to sur- pass the limits of his profession as a painter to cultivate wider Giuseppe Bezzuoli, Eve Tempted by the Serpent, 1853, Uffizi Galleries, Palazzo Pitti, Gallery of Modern Art. interests in the fields of theater, The work was purchased by the Uffizi Galleries in 2018.

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Life at the Uffizi ASSOCIAZIONE

n Dante Day Trecento, a time when Dante President Board of Directors Contessa Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti Alighieri was a member of the President In commemoration of the Council of the People that Vice-President - Emanuele Guerra Contessa Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti ‘Great Poet’, last March 25 – met in those very same cham- Executive Directors - Patrizia Asproni, Vice-Presidents - Michael J. Bracci, the day scholars identify as bers. Ginevra Cerrina Feroni, Andrea Del Re, Emanuele Guerra the start of the voyage to the Fabrizio Guidi Bruscoli, Mario Marinesi (Treasurer), Executive Director - Lisa Marie Browne n  afterworld in the Divine Com- “Imagines” on line Elisabetta Puccioni (Secretary), Legal Counsel - Howard J. Freedman edy - the Uffizi celebrated the Oliva Scaramuzzi, Eike D. Schmidt, first “Dantedì”, showcasing The Uffizi magazine “Imag- Catterina Seia Treasurer - Bruce Crawford the purchase of the impor- ines”, now available for consul- Auditors- Francesco Corsi, Secretary - Barbara Chamberlain tant painting “Francesca da tation on line at https://www. Enrico Fazzini, Corrado Galli Rimini in Dante’s Inferno” uffizi.it/pagine/archivio-dei- Directors - Diana M. Bell, Susan D. McGregor, Alternate Auditors - Alberto Conti, Madeleine Parker, Diann G. Scaravilli (1810). The work is by Nicola numeri-di-imagines, has re- Valerio Pandolfi

Honorary Members Secretariat - Tania Dyer, Bruna Robbiani Veronica Atkins c/o UnipolSai, Eike D. Schmidt, Uffizi Galleries Director via L.Magnifico 1, 50129 Firenze. Tel. +39 055 4794422 - Fax +39 055 4792005 [email protected] Advisory Board Welcome Desk - Giuliana Dini Chairman - Diann G. Scaravilli Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture degli Uffizi,Entrance 2 - Tel. +39 055 285610 Vice Chairman - Daniela Di Lorenzo [email protected]

Advisors - Linda Civerchia Balent, Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig, triannual publication Susan Scholle Connor, of the Amici degli Uffizi Scott Diament, Bradley van Hoek, Gordon A. Lewis Jr., Irvin M. Lippman, Editor-in-chief Ellen Stirn Mavec, Meredith A. Townsend, Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti Linda J. Tufo Editorial board Honorary Members President H.R.H Princess Maria Pia di Savoia Eike D. Schmidt de Bourbon-Parma, Nicola Monti, Francesca da Rimini in Dante’s Inferno (1810). Contessa Chiara Miari Fulcis Ferragamo Uffizi Coordinator Andrea Acampa Friends of the Uffizi Gallery 205 Worth Avenue Suite 201 Monti, a prolific and versatile leased its third issue: studies, Managing Editor Palm Beach, Florida 33480 Tuscan painter held to be a services, essays dedicated to Maria Novella Batini Tel.: 561.289.4090 foremost proponent of proto- artistic themes and museum Fax: 561.391.1597 romantic painting. Because issues by authoritative schol- Contributors for this issue [email protected] Mara Amorevoli, Marzia Faietti, Vanessa of the current health emer- ars in the world of art, with Gavioli, Elena Marconi, Roberto Riccardi, gency, the museum has logi- particular attention given Ettore Spalletti HOW TO JOIN cally been closed, however, to scientific research. This THE FRIENDS OF THE an introductive essay and re- number contains an essay Translator Josephine Rogers Mariotti UFFIZI GALLERY lated initiatives (for example, by the archeologist Novella a thematic exhibit and a tour Lapini on the recently pur- Assistant Editor Membership dues are integral Bruna Robbiani of the medieval ‘Inferno’ chased Roman cinerary urn to the mission of Friends chambers of the Uffizi) are of Tito Aelius Proculus, a Graphic design and layout of the Uffizi Gallery and now posted on line. In fact, study by Annamaria Petrioli Edizioni Polistampa - Firenze because the organization Via Livorno 8/32 - 50142 Firenze, Italy. www.uffizi.it features several Tofani on the impressive Tel. +39 055 737871 is a 501(c)(3) they are tax virtual presentations dedicat- donation of drawings made Fax +39 055 7378760 deductible. ed to Dante and a selection of in 1699 by the Granducal For any questions about eleven works from the Galler- librarian Apollonio Bas- memberships, donations, ies' collections narrating the setti, an essay of Valeska von corporate sponsorships, Sponsor of the Association history of Dante’s popular- Rosen on the history of the Amici degli Uffizi with their planned giving or in-kind ity in the history of art. The collection of Self-portraits contribution: donations, please call at Uffizi Facebook page, www. begun by Leopoldo de’ 561-289-4090 facebook.com/uffizigaller- Medici in the Seicento, and UnipolSai or email ies, also offers a tour of the a study by Fabiana Cazzola Assicurazioni S.p.a. Bologna [email protected] medieval underground of Senkpiel specifically focused or visit the Uffizi, a virtual journey on the technique adopted by https://www.friendsoftheuffizi through the excavations of the great Florentine painter gallery.org/memberships/ the ancient building that Alessandro Allori for works takes visitors back to the early he painted in 1555.

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