THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR ITALIAN RENAISSANCE STUDIES VILLA I TATTI Via di Vincigliata 26, 50135 Florence, Italy VOLUME 26 E-mail: [email protected] / Web: http://www.itatti.it D D D Tel: +39 055 603 251 / Fax: +39 055 603 383 AUTUMN 2006 Letter from Florence he I Tatti family seemed larger than the meeting in Florence. Directors and Tever this year, with fifteen Fellows, other representatives came from the six Visiting Professors, two Mellon Getty, Frick, Metropolitan Museum, Fellows, three Craig Hugh Smyth Fellows CASVA, Clark, Smithsonian, Wolfsonian, from the museum world, and two Dumbarton Oaks, American Academy in Harvard Readers in the Renaissance, for Rome, Huntington, Mellon Centers for a total of twenty-eight in all. This does British Art in both London and New not count returning Fellows who, this Haven, and Instituto de Investigaciones year more than ever, contributed to the Estéticas in Mexico City. On the agenda vitality of the community. With the were visits to the Pitti, to hear a history spring influx of returning Fellows lunches of the historic hang from the director, often became buffets spreading out over Serena Padovani, and to the National the garden terraces. The community also in the company of curator Alessandro Institute of Restoration, the so-called seems larger because more Fellows are Cecchi and Nicola MacGregor, who had Opificio delle Pietre Dure, to look at living on I Tatti property, with two new just restored the painting. Back at I Tatti recent work. Gerhard Wolf, director of apartments already restored (in addition there was a magic moment when we took the Kunsthistorisches Institut, spoke on to the four at San Martino) and a third in Berenson’s delicate, tragic fragment of a the challenge of setting new missions for the planning stages. The lunch table was Gentile Madonna off the wall and looked a venerable research institute with its as multilingual as ever, with pockets of at it lovingly in the sunlight. strong traditions. Our guests were French and German and the occasional Music cast its spell over the year, introduced to Roman Florentia over the whisper in Hungarian or Polish amidst beginning with the orientation concert amazing model of the ancient city in the the dominant English hubbub and Italian by Ella Sevskaya on a replica of a Museo di Firenze Com’Era, and there mormorio. Cristofori fortepiano, then later in the were visits to the Medici villas at Castello, Over the past few years the custom year with a recital by Giulia Nuti on the Artimino and Poggio a Caiano with lively has developed of a fall and a spring trip. harpsichord recently donated by and learned commentary from current In early October we visited Assisi, just Frederick Hammond (VIT’72). There Fellows Andrea Gáldy and Louis before the feast of St. Francis. Visiting were two superb concerts in the series Waldman. Our colleagues left with a Professor Julian Gardner, whose time at Early Music at I Tatti. Mala Punica, the sense of Florence as an international I Tatti was dedicated to completing a group directed by former Fellow Pedro center of research at the highest level. book on Giotto, lent his expert guidance Memelsdorff (VIT’04), performed music Early in the autumn the Curator of for a day in the lower church and a day in of c.1400 in the limoniaia, and Singer Pur, Chinese Art at Harvard University Art the upper church. The pink stone of the a vocal group from Germany, sang music Museums, Robert Mowry, stayed at city of St. Francis glowed beautifully in for the Virgin Mary by medieval, I Tatti for two weeks, the first beneficiary the golden autumn light and sunset over Renaissance and contemporary of a program formed together with that mystic valley of santi and santoni was composers in the church of San Martino, Thomas Lentz, Director of HUAM, to unforgettable. In the spring we went to with composers Joanne Metcalf and have Harvard curators get to know the the Marche for the great, once-in-a- Christopher Lyndon-Gee in attendance. I Tatti collections better and give us their lifetime exhibition on Gentile da Three years ago I Tatti joined the advice. A warm friendship, plus new Fabriano in his home town, the center Association of Research Institutes in Art insights into the Asian art, were some of paper making in the Middle Ages, with History (ARIAH). We have duly fruits of this visit. We look forward to side trips to Tolentino and Foligno. The attended annual meetings in Oaxaca and more. trip was preceded by a visit to Gentile’s Washington, but in October we hosted Continued on back page. Magi in the Uffizi on a closed Monday CAMBRIDGE OFFICE: Villa I Tatti, Harvard University, 124 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-5762 Tel: +1 617 496 8724 or +1 617 495 8042 / Fax: +1 617 495 8041 / Web: http://www.itatti.it VILLA I TATTI COMMUNITY 2005-2006 Fellows “Renaissance Humanists as Authors of STEFANIE W ALKER (2nd sem), Craig Hugh MONICA AZZOLINI, Ahmanson Fellow, vitae sanctorium.” Smyth Visiting Fellow, The Bard Graduate University of New South Wales, History. ANDREA GÁLDY, Melville J. Kahn Fellow, Center for Studies in Decorative Arts, Art “Learned Medicine and Astrology at the Institute of Historical Research, History. “A Catalogue of the ‘Jewelry Sforza Court, 1450-1499.” University of London, Art History Portraits’ by the Renaissance Painter Hans SANDOR BENE (1st sem), Andrew W. “Florence – a 16th-Century Centre of Mielich.” Mellon Research Fellow, Hungarian Antiquarian Studies.” Academy of Sciences, Literature. “Two SARA GALLETTI, Jean François Malle Readers in Renaissance Studies Mirrors for Princes by Andreas Fellow, Eastern Mediterranean JOHN GAGNÉ (2nd sem), Harvard Pannonius, Dedicated to Matthias University, Art History. “Da Firenze a University, History. 2 Corvinus (1467) and Ercole d’Este (1471) Parigi: Influenze medicee sulla ADA PALMER (1st sem), Harvard University, – Critical Edition.” progettazione e l’uso degli spazi della vita History. DOROTHEA BURNS (2nd sem), Craig Hugh privata e di corte nella Francia di Maria Smyth Visiting Fellow, Weissman de’ Medici.” Visiting Professors Preservation Center, Harvard University, MARCO GENTILE, Francesco De KAROL BERGER, Robert Lehman Visiting Art History. “The Invention of the Italian Dombrowski Fellow, Università Statale di Professor, Stanford University, Renaissance Metal Point Drawing.” Milano, History. “Parte, fazione e ‘secta’ Musicology. “The Transition from Time’s PHILIPPE CANGUILHEM, Florence J. Gould nel linguaggio del Quattrocento.” Cycle to Time’s Arrow and the Origins Fellow, Université de Toulouse - Le ILDIKO FEHÉR GERICSNÉ (2nd sem), of Musical Modernity.” Mirail, Music. “Music and Patronage at Andrew W. Mellon Research Fellow, ANNA MARIA BUSSE BERGER, Robert the Court of Cosimo I.” Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Art Lehman Visiting Professor, University of JANIE COLE, Deborah Loeb Brice Fellow, History. “Moral Allegories of Virtues and California, Davis, Musicology. “Music The Medici Archive Project, Florence, Vices in Late Gothic Italian Painting.” Theory in the Middle Ages.” Music. “Music, Poetry, and Cultural MIGUEL GOTOR, Lila Wallace-Reader’s JULIAN GARDNER, University of Warwick, Brokerage in Early Modern Italy: Digest Fellow, Università di Torino, Art History. “Giotto and his Publics.” Michelangelo Buonarroti il Giovane.” History. “La vita e le opere di Bernardino CHRISTA GARDNER VON TEUFFEL, ALISON CORNISH, Andrew W. Mellon Ochino, uomo del Rinascimento tra University of Warwick, Art History. Fellow, University of Michigan, l’Italia e l’Europa (1487-1563).” “High Altarpieces and Church Organs Literature. “Vernacular Translation from DAVID LINES, Deborah Loeb Brice Fellow, c.1440-1600: A Forgotten Partnership?” Brunetto Latini to Boccaccio.” Warwick University, History. “Curriculum DAVID GENTILCORE (2nd sem), University BRIAN CURRAN, Committee to Rescue Controversies and Reforms at the University of Leicester, History. “Reception of New Italian Art Fellow, Pennsylvania State of Bologna.” World Plants as Medicines and Foodstuffs University, Art History. “Past, Present, and MARIA AGATA PINCELLI, Francesco De in Renaissance Italy.” Place in Italian Renaissance Art.” Dombrowski Fellow, Istituto Storico MARC LAUREYS (1st sem), Universität STEFANO DALL’AGLIO, Francesco De Italiano per il Medio Evo, Literature. Bonn, Literature, “Edition and Study of Dombrowski Fellow, Università di Roma, “Edizione e studio della Roma Biondo Flavio’s Roma instaurata.” “La Sapienza”, History. “Tra Firenze e Triumphans di Biondo Flavio.” la Francia: religione, politica e cultura tra H. DARREL RUTKIN, Hanna Kiel Fellow, Senior Research Associates conformità e dissenso nell’Europa del Stanford University, History. “Galileo, EVE BORSOOK, Villa I Tatti, Art History. rinascimento.” Renaissance Astrology and the Scientific “Medieval Mosaic Technology.” ALISON FRAZIER, Robert Lehman Fellow, Revolution: A Reappraisal.” ALLEN GRIECO, Villa I Tatti, History. “A University of Texas at Austin, History. LUKE SYSON, (2nd sem), Craig Hugh Social and Cultural History of Alimentary Smyth Visiting Fellow, Habits in Renaissance Italy.” National Gallery, London, Art MARGARET HAINES, Opera di Santa Maria History. “Renaissance Siena: del Fiore, Art History. “Online Digital Art for a City.” Edition of the Sources of the Archive of LOUIS A. WALDMAN, Rush H. Santa Maria del Fiore in the Cupola Kress Fellow, University of Period.” Texas at Austin, Art History. MICHAEL ROCKE, Villa I Tatti, History. “Bandinelli and the Art of “Edition and Translation of Italian Texts Drawing.” related to Homoeroticism (14th-17th centuries).” Julian Gardner with the other Fellows and Visiting Professors in Assisi last September (© Waldman) F VILLA I TATTI The Scholars’ Court Project groundbreaking ceremony to garages have been demolished, revealing A celebrate the opening of the the beautiful valley beyond. This will be building site for the new Deborah Loeb the view from the studies in the new Brice Loggiato took place last October building; a view we hope will inspire (see the Extra Issue of the Autumn 2005 many generations of I Tatti Fellows to Giorgio Piazzini, Margrit Freivogel, Newsletter at http://www.itatti.it/ come.