The Production Methods of Neri Di Bicci and the Prevalence of Cartoon Usage in Fifteenth-Century Florence
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The Production Methods of Neri di Bicci and the Prevalence of Cartoon Usage in Fifteenth-Century Florence Jennifer Adrienne Diorio A thesis submitted to the Graduate Program in the Department of Art in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada August 2013 Copyright © Jennifer Adrienne Diorio 2013 ABSTRACT Florentine artist Neri di Bicci (1418-1492) was one of the most prolific and financially successful artists of the fifteenth century. The hundreds of extant paintings from his workshop are a testament to his industry, which is further underlined by a close examination of the 798 entries he wrote between 1453 and 1475 in his account book, his Ricordanze. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the monetary and social history in Neri’s Ricordanze in order to provide a framework for an exploration of the way that paintings were constructed in Neri’s workshop, and a close examination of the evidence concerning collaboration between Neri and his contemporaries. This thesis determined that the repeated use of full-size paper patterns, known as cartoons, was a key aspect of Neri’s painting procedure. Cartoon usage was established by overlaying scaled images of paintings in Photoshop, which demonstrated that the outlines of many of Neri’s figures and architectural designs were identical. Analysing the price of Neri’s paintings also revealed trends which suggested that he used cartoons. Half of the 224 objects described in the Ricordanze cost 30 lire or less, and the average of the 40 paintings between two and four square meters was 151 lire, less than half the regional average for paintings of comparable size. Neri likely increased his profits by working faster than his contemporaries, since 15 of the 36 paintings with available completion times were finished in less than four months, and the overall average was seven and a half months. Cartoons were also shared between Neri, his contemporaries (including Fra Filippo Lippi and Pesellino), and former assistants such as Cosimo Rosselli, Giusto d’Andrea, and Francesco Botticini, since similarities in figure size were discovered using Photoshop. ii As a result of this study, we are left with a better understanding of fifteenth-century production methods and the movement of designs between workshops. Furthermore, we know that Neri ran his business in a highly organized manner, and that cartoons were used extensively in order to produce a large volume of affordable paintings in order to meet the growing quattrocento demand for devotional objects. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Before diving into the world of Neri di Bicci, I would like to thank the many people who have helped me produce this thesis. Of primary importance were my family, and especially my parents, Bill and Adrienne, whose support ranged from loaning me a new camera to breaking speed limits while dashing through the Italian countryside. Thanks to Guy for keeping me on an even keel, and to Terry and Naomi, for being extremely empathetic, and for many excellent Sunday dinners. Finally, thank you Grampa Tony, for your love and perspective. The staff and professors in the Art History Department at Queen’s University were also instrumental in the completion of this project. Thank you especially to Dr. Cathleen Hoeniger, for taking me on when my topic shifted towards technical art history, and for excellent feedback and support. Thank you also to Dr. David McTavish for his guidance and advice in the early stages of my degree. I am also extremely appreciative of Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader, whose financial assistance was instrumental at the research stage of my work. Several of my colleagues within the department were also extremely helpful. Special thanks to Chantelle Lepine-Cercone, for being an excellent friend through both the Museum Studies and Art History process. Thank you also to Ana- Joel Falcon and Janina Brannan, who were roped into visiting many Neri di Bicci paintings, and assisted greatly with navigating, measuring, and phoning people in Spain. I am also very grateful for the help given to me by numerous curators and librarians. Particular thanks to Grazia Badino, Dr. Christopher Etheridge, Stephen Gritt, Dr. Frederick Ilchman, Figure 1: Examining and measuring Neri di Bicci’s Father Leonardo, Giovanni Pagliarulo, Dr. Almut Annunciation (see Figure 85) with two priests in the Pollmer-Schmidt, Dr. Dóra Sallay, Peter Hans Church of Santa Lucia al Borghetto in Barberino Stiberc, Dr. Jacqueline Thalmann, and the many Valdelsa, Italy. nameless clergy and caretakers I encountered in Italy who were kind enough to open the doors and turn on the lights for me. With best wishes, Jennifer [email protected] iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements.. .................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ...........................................................................................................................v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 - Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 1.1 Biography of Neri and his family ........................................................................................2 1.2 Previous scholarship ............................................................................................................5 1.2.1 Account books of artists and merchants......................................... ..............................8 1.2.2 Workshop practice and studies of economic history ...................................................12 1.2.3 Technical Art History and cartoons ..........................................................................14 Chapter 2 - An Analysis of the Information Found in Neri di Bicci’s Ricordanze.................17 2.1 A description and explanation of Neri’s Ricordanze ........................................................18 2.2 Monetary units and accounting methods ...........................................................................20 2.3 Commission prices ............................................................................................................24 2.4 Woodwork .........................................................................................................................39 2.5 Gesso .................................................................................................................................46 2.6 Metals ................................................................................................................................47 2.7 Pigments ............................................................................................................................50 2.8 Dealers and standardized products ....................................................................................51 2.9 Neri’s assistants .................................................................................................................54 2.10 Neri’s clients .....................................................................................................................59 2.11 Examples of female patronage ..........................................................................................72 2.12 The purpose of objects purchased from Neri ....................................................................73 Chapter 3 - The Production of Paintings in Neri’s Workshop ................................................77 3.1 The survival rate of works on paper ...................................................................................78 3.2 The availability of paper ....................................................................................................81 3.3 Types of drawings ..............................................................................................................86 3.4 The introduction of figural cartoons ...................................................................................91 3.5 Making and using cartoons ................................................................................................93 3.6 Methods used for analysing paintings ..............................................................................103 3.7 The quantity of paintings from Neri’s workshop .............................................................107 3.8 The subject matter of Neri’s paintings .............................................................................112 3.9 The use of cartoons in Neri’s workshop 3.9.1 Spolveri.......................................... .......................................................................119 3.9.2 Architectural cartoons ..........................................................................................150 3.9.3 Outline cartoons....................................................................................................160 Chapter 4 - The Evidence for Collaboration between Artists ...............................................175 4.1 The