<I>Doni Tondo</I>

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

<I>Doni Tondo</I> 5-Franceschini:JWCI 7/3/11 10:32 Page 137 THE NUDES IN LIMBO: MICHELANGELO’S DONI TONDO RECONSIDERED* Chiara Franceschini he round painting known as the Doni tondo (Fig. 1), now in the Uffizi Gallery, Tis the only existing panel painting completed by Michelangelo, whose authorship has never been questioned. There is also a general consensus that Michelangelo painted it for a friend, Agnolo Doni. The tondo is, nevertheless, controversial in many other respects. Michelangelo is thought to have painted it when he was in Florence in either 1504 or 1506,1 but the dates of both the commission and the execution of the work are, so far, undocumented. Furthermore, its iconography presents some decided novelties, namely the unusual pose of the Virgin and the even stranger presence of five nude figures in the background. These and other details have been subjected to many interpretations.2 The painting, however, still lacks an explanation which brings all its elements together and which is fully consistent with both its genre and its function. This article is based on the assumption that a closer investigation of the personal and devotional context in which the painting was produced, and of Doni family history, might shed new light on the making of the tondo, and perhaps also on its controversial date. Several scholars have indeed already insisted on both the private character and the devotional function of this work.3 Nevertheless, they have not really questioned the traditional reading of the painting, which (as we shall see) is not entirely consistent with the function of a painting of this kind—that is, a Marian tondo. Following this line of enquiry, I propose that the study of other pictures which are possibly related to the Doni tondo, in genre or iconography, may prove fruitful. Some other tondi of the Virgin, produced in Florence and in Tuscany at the end of the fifteenth and in the * A first version of this paper was delivered in Florentine archive abbreviations: 2004 to the History of Art and Classical Archaeology ASF = Archivio di Stato; ASMF = Archivio di S. Seminar in the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa; a Maria del Fiore; BNCF = Biblioteca Nazionale revised one was presented to the Director’s Seminar Centrale; Carte Poggi = Istituto Nazionale del at the Warburg Institute in 2009. I am most grateful Rinascimento, Carte Poggi. for all the comments offered on both those occasions. 1. M. Hirst and J. Dunkerton, The Young Michel - For suggestions and criticism over time, and for help angelo: The Artist in Rome 1496–1501, London 1994, p. in the writing of the article in its present form, I 10 (and see further below). am especially indebted to Jenny Boyle, Francesco 2. See e.g. R. Stefaniak, Mysterium Magnum: Caglioti, Gian Mario Cao, Peter Faune-Saunders, Michelangelo’s Tondo Doni, Leiden and Boston 2008, Carlo Ginzburg, Richard Goldthwaite, Michael with references to most of the previous literature. Hirst, Charles Hope, Jill Kraye, Christopher Ligota, The commentary by P. Barocchi to her edition of G. Elizabeth McGrath, Francesco Mores, Alessandro Vasari, La vita di Michelangelo nelle redazioni del 1550 e Nova, Adriano Prosperi, Salvatore Settis, Paul Taylor del 1568, 5 vols, Milan and Naples 1962, ii, pp. 239–44, and Tabitha Tuckett. For help with the images I would remains a fundamental guide to the critical history of like to thank in particular Ian Jones and Antonio Quat- the painting. trone, as well as Giuseppe Marcocci, Alice Tavoni, and 3. Among them R. J. M. Olson, The Florentine the staff of the Berenson Photograph Archive. Tondo, Oxford and New York 2000, pp. 219–26; A. Hayum, ‘Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo: Holy Family and Family Myth’, Studies in Iconography, vii/viii, 1981/82, pp. 209–25. 137 JOURNAL OF THE WARBURG AND COURTAULD INSTITUTES, LXXIII, 2010 5-Franceschini:JWCI 7/3/11 10:32 Page 138 138 MICHELANGELO’S DONI TONDO sixteenth centuries, show elements which are apparently unrelated to the devotional theme. Moreover, the backgrounds of a few Florentine Renaissance paintings of the Virgin share with Michelangelo’s the image of nude or seminude bodies in a bright landscape. Similar figures are found not only in two round paintings by Luca Signorelli and in particular in his so-called Medici Madonna, which has been considered a prece- dent of the Doni tondo since Burckhardt, but also in the Carondelet altarpiece by Fra Bartolomeo and Mariotto Albertinelli—a painting which is not usually associated with the Doni tondo, but which may deserve a closer investigation from our perspective.4 I. A ‘tondo di Nostra Donna’ Let us start with a few familiar points of reference. We have no unquestionably reliable source on the painting until the late 1530s,5 when the so-called anonimo Magliabechiano (who wrote between c. 1537 and c. 1542) mentions a ‘tondo di Nostra Donna’ by Michelangelo ‘in casa Agnolo Doni’—a rich producer, dyer and merchant of woollen cloths who died in 1539.6 Ten years after his death, Anton Francesco Doni (a Doni from a different branch of the family) recommended viewing the same masterpiece, ‘un tondo d’una nostra donna in casa d’Agnol Doni’ to his friend Alberto Lollio who was going to Florence.7 Not until the first edition of Vasari’s Lives (1550) do we find a lengthy description of the painting. Vasari describes the pose of the Virgin, who is acknowledged as the main figure of the composition (‘un tondo di pittura che dentrovi una Nostra Donna etc.’). In the 1568 edition, the description is unchanged.8 By this time, however, Vasari 4. I am grateful to Carlo Ginzburg for having A Study of Four Families, Princeton 1968, pp. 180–81; drawn my attention to this painting. J.-F. Dubost, La France italienne, XVIe–XVIIIe siècle, 5. There is an earlier mention of the tondo in a Mayenne 1997, pp. 202–03, 246, 250–51, 402. letter from Antonio Mini to Michelangelo, of 2 Jan. 6. Anonimo Fiorentino, Il codice Magliabechiano cl. 1531/32. Mini reported a rumour that Michelangelo’s XVII, 17 contenente notizie d’arte sopra l’arte degli antichi Doni tondo had been sold for a huge sum to a merchant e quella de’ Fiorentini da Cimabue a Michel angelo Buonar- and banker, who planned to resell it for a profit. This roti, ed. C. Frey, Berlin 1892 (repr. 1969), p. 114, with has always been considered a fausse nouvelle but none regard to Michelangelo Buonarroti: ‘Nella pittura uno the less attests to the esteem attached to the tondo tondo di Nostra Donna in casa Agnolo Doni’. On already by this time. Mini, from Lyon, to Michel- Agnolo see the information provided by A. Cecchi, angelo in Florence: ‘Michelangniolo charis simo … . E’ ‘Agnolo e Maddalena Doni committenti di Raffaello’, vostro tondo 〈c〉he voi faciesti p〈er〉 Angniolo Doni in Studi su Raffaello, ed. M. Sambucco Hamoud and l’à n〈c〉hompero Anttonio Gondi più di schundi M. L. Strocchi, Urbino 1987, pp. 429–39 (430–33). dungientto 200, e pensa di 〈c〉hanvarne asai tesoro, in 7. Anton Francesco Doni to Alberto Lollio, 17 modo credo a ongni modo farmi [sic] qual〈c〉he pro’ di Aug. 1549, from Venice: ‘Post scritta: sopra tutto fatevi chapitale’ (Il carteggio di Michel angelo: edizione postuma mostrare un tondo d’una nostra Donna in casa di G. Poggi, ed. P. Barocchi and R. Ristori, 5 vols, d’Agnol Doni, et vi basti solo che io dica gl’è di mano Florence 1965–83, iii, pp. 365–66, no. 844). It is known del maestro de’ maestri’. In Anton Francesco Doni, that Michelangelo gave his pupil Antonio Mini a few Disegno del Doni, partito in più ragionamenti, ne’ quali si drawings and cartoni before Mini left for France: could tratta della scoltura et pittura, Venice 1549, p. 49 (quoted he be referring in this letter to a preparatory cartoon? from the facs. edn, ed. and comm. M. Pepe, Milan The possible existence of a cartoon for the Doni tondo 1970); also in G. Bottari and S. Ticozzi, Raccolta di is mentioned by Hirst, Michelangelo and his Drawings lettere sulla pittura, scultura ed architettura, 8 vols, Milan (as in n. 5), pp. 72, 75–76. On Antonio Gondi (1486– 1822–25, iii, p. 347. 1560), merchant and banker in Lyons for Cardinal 8. ‘Venne volontà ad Agnolo Doni, cittadino Ippolito d’Este, see J. Corbinelli, Histoire généalogique fiorentino, amico suo, sì come quello che molto si dilet - de la maison de Gondi, 2 vols, Paris 1705, ii, pp. 1–9; R. tava aver cose belle, così d’antichi come di moderni A. Goldthwaite, Private Wealth in Renaissance Florence: artefici, d’avere alcuna cosa di mano di Michele 5-Franceschini:JWCI 7/3/11 10:32 Page 139 CHIARA FRANCESCHINI 139 © ANTONIO QUATTRONE 1. Michelangelo, Virgin and Child with St Joseph, St John the Baptist and Five Nude Youths (the Doni tondo), panel (diam. 120 cms) in its original frame (diam. 172 cms). Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi Agnolo; per che gli cominciò un tondo di pittura, ch’è pitture in tavola, ancora che poche siano, è tenuta la dentrovi una Nostra Donna, la quale, inginocchiata più finita e la più bella che si truovi. Finita che ella fu, con amendua le gambe, alza in su le braccia un putto la mandò a casa Agnolo coperta; e per un mandato e porgelo a Giuseppo, che lo riceve; dove Michele con essa, con una polizza chiedeva settanta ducati per Agnolo fa conoscere, nello svoltare della testa della suo pagamento. Parve strano ad Agnolo, che era asseg- madre di Cristo e nel tenere gli occhi fissi nella somma nata persona, spendere tanto in una pittura, se bene bellezza del figliuolo, la maravigliosa sua contentezza e’ conosceva che più valesse: e disse al mandato che e lo affetto del farne parte a quel santissimo vecchio, bastavano XL, e gliene diede; onde Michele Agnolo il quale con pari amore, tenerezza e reverenzia lo piglia, gli rimandò indietro, mandan dogli a dire che cento come benissimo si scorge nel volto suo senza molto ducati o la pittura gli riman dasse indietro.
Recommended publications
  • The Italian High Renaissance (Florence and Rome, 1495-1520)
    The Italian High Renaissance (Florence and Rome, 1495-1520) The Artist as Universal Man and Individual Genius By Susan Behrends Frank, Ph.D. Associate Curator for Research The Phillips Collection What are the new ideas behind the Italian High Renaissance? • Commitment to monumental interpretation of form with the human figure at center stage • Integration of form and space; figures actually occupy space • New medium of oil allows for new concept of luminosity as light and shadow (chiaroscuro) in a manner that allows form to be constructed in space in a new way • Physiological aspect of man developed • Psychological aspect of man explored • Forms in action • Dynamic interrelationship of the parts to the whole • New conception of the artist as the universal man and individual genius who is creative in multiple disciplines Michelangelo The Artists of the Italian High Renaissance Considered Universal Men and Individual Geniuses Raphael- Self-Portrait Leonardo da Vinci- Self-Portrait Michelangelo- Pietà- 1498-1500 St. Peter’s, Rome Leonardo da Vinci- Mona Lisa (Lisa Gherardinidi Franceso del Giacondo) Raphael- Sistine Madonna- 1513 begun c. 1503 Gemäldegalerie, Dresden Louvre, Paris Leonardo’s Notebooks Sketches of Plants Sketches of Cats Leonardo’s Notebooks Bird’s Eye View of Chiana Valley, showing Arezzo, Cortona, Perugia, and Siena- c. 1502-1503 Storm Breaking Over a Valley- c. 1500 Sketch over the Arno Valley (Landscape with River/Paesaggio con fiume)- 1473 Leonardo’s Notebooks Studies of Water Drawing of a Man’s Head Deluge- c. 1511-12 Leonardo’s Notebooks Detail of Tank Sketches of Tanks and Chariots Leonardo’s Notebooks Flying Machine/Helicopter Miscellaneous studies of different gears and mechanisms Bat wing with proportions Leonardo’s Notebooks Vitruvian Man- c.
    [Show full text]
  • Michelangelo's Locations
    1 3 4 He also adds the central balcony and the pope’s Michelangelo modifies the facades of Palazzo dei The project was completed by Tiberio Calcagni Cupola and Basilica di San Pietro Cappella Sistina Cappella Paolina crest, surmounted by the keys and tiara, on the Conservatori by adding a portico, and Palazzo and Giacomo Della Porta. The brothers Piazza San Pietro Musei Vaticani, Città del Vaticano Musei Vaticani, Città del Vaticano facade. Michelangelo also plans a bridge across Senatorio with a staircase leading straight to the Guido Ascanio and Alessandro Sforza, who the Tiber that connects the Palace with villa Chigi first floor. He then builds Palazzo Nuovo giving commissioned the work, are buried in the two The long lasting works to build Saint Peter’s Basilica The chapel, dedicated to the Assumption, was Few steps from the Sistine Chapel, in the heart of (Farnesina). The work was never completed due a slightly trapezoidal shape to the square and big side niches of the chapel. Its elliptical-shaped as we know it today, started at the beginning of built on the upper floor of a fortified area of the Apostolic Palaces, is the Chapel of Saints Peter to the high costs, only a first part remains, known plans the marble basement in the middle of it, space with its sail vaults and its domes supported the XVI century, at the behest of Julius II, whose Vatican Apostolic Palace, under pope Sixtus and Paul also known as Pauline Chapel, which is as Arco dei Farnesi, along the beautiful Via Giulia.
    [Show full text]
  • 75. Sistine Chapel Ceiling and Altar Wall Frescoes Vatican City, Italy
    75. Sistine Chapel ceiling and altar wall frescoes Vatican City, Italy. Michelangelo. Ceiling frescoes: c. 1508-1510 C.E Altar frescoes: c. 1536-1541 C.E., Fresco (4 images) Video on Khan Academy Cornerstone of High Renaissance art Named for Pope Sixtus IV, commissioned by Pope Julius II Purpose: papal conclaves an many important services The Last Judgment, ceiling: Book of Genesis scenes Other art by Botticelli, others and tapestries by Raphael allowed Michelangelo to fully demonstrate his skill in creating a huge variety of poses for the human figure, and have provided an enormously influential pattern book of models for other artists ever since. Coincided with the rebuilding of St. Peters Basilica – potent symbol of papal power Original ceiling was much like the Arena Chapel – blue with stars The pope insisted that Michelangelo (primarily a sculpture) take on the commission Michelangelo negotiated to ‘do what he liked’ (debateable) 343 figures, 4 years to complete inspired by the reading of scriptures – not established traditions of sacred art designed his own scaffolding myth: painted while lying on his back. Truth: he painted standing up method: fresco . had to be restarted because of a problem with mold o a new formula created by one of his assistants resisted mold and created a new Italian building tradition o new plaster laid down every day – edges called giornate o confident – he drew directly onto the plaster or from a ‘grid’ o he drew on all the “finest workshop methods and best innovations” his assistant/biographer: the ceiling is "unfinished", that its unveiling occurred before it could be reworked with gold leaf and vivid blue lapis lazuli as was customary with frescoes and in order to better link the ceiling with the walls below it which were highlighted with a great deal of gold’ symbolism: Christian ideals, Renaissance humanism, classical literature, and philosophies of Plato, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Michelangelo's Sistine Frescoes and Blake's 1795 Color-Printed Drawings: a Study in Structural Relationships
    ARTICLE Michelangelo’s Sistine Frescoes and Blake’s 1795 Color-printed Drawings: A Study in Structural Relationships Jenijoy La Belle Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, Volume 14, Issue 2, Fall 1980, pp. 66-84 66 MICHELANGELO'S SISTINE FRESCOES AND BLAKE'S 1795 COLOR-PRINTED DRAWINGS: A STUDY IN STRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIPS JENIJOY LA BELLE illiam Blake's large color-printed drawings only through engraved reproductions, many of which of 1795 have often been recognized as among were probably known to him from his earliest years. W his greatest achievements in the visual arts. Blake's very first signed engraving, Joseph of While some of the individual prints have received Arimathea among the Rooks of Albion, is based on a detailed attention, the interrelationships among all figure from Michelangelo's "fresco of the Crucifixion twelve designs have never been satisfactorily of St. Peter in the Cappella Paolina at the Vatican, explained. The subjects of the prints range through and in the 1780s Blake meticulously copied seven of both Biblical and secular literature: the Old and Michelangelo's figures from the Sistine Chapel-- New Testaments, Shakespeare, Milton, and, perhaps, following the engravings in a small book by Adam Blake's own writings. The fact that the designs Ghisi.3 These careful studies from Michelangelo, were all executed in the same technique in the same as well as many other borrowings from his work, year, are of about the same size (approximately 45 indicate that Blake knew the Sistine frescoes by 58 cm.), and would seem to express similar intimately. There were a number of engravings of emotions and basic concepts suggests that the prints the Ceiling available in Blake's day, including may form a series.
    [Show full text]
  • Michelangelo Buonarroti Artstart – 3 Dr
    Michelangelo Buonarroti ArtStart – 3 Dr. Hyacinth Paul https://www.hyacinthpaulart.com/ The genius of Michelangelo • Renaissance era painter, sculptor, poet & architect • Best documented artist of the 16th century • He learned to work with marble, a chisel & a hammer as a young child in the stone quarry’s of his father • Born 6th March, 1475 in Caprese, Florence, Italy • Spent time in Florence, Bologna & Rome • Died in Rome 18th Feb 1564, Age 88 Painting education • Did not like school • 1488, age 13 he apprenticed for Domenico Ghirlandaio • 1490-92 attended humanist academy • Worked for Bertoldo di Giovanni Famous paintings of Michelangelo The Sistine Chapel Ceiling – (1508-12) Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo Doni Tondo (Holy Family) (1506) – Uffizi, Florence Famous paintings of Michelangelo The Creation of Adam (1508-12) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo The Last Judgement - (1508-12) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo Ignudo (1509) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo The Drunkenness of Noah - (1508-12) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo The Deluge - (1508-12) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo The First day of creation - - (1508-12) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo The Prophet Jeremiah - (1508-12) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo The last Judgement - (1508-12) – Vatican, Rome Famous paintings of Michelangelo The Crucifixion of St. Peter - (1546-50) – Vatican, Rome Only known Self Portrait Famous paintings of Michelangelo
    [Show full text]
  • Michelangelo's David-Apollo
    Michelangelo’s David-Apollo , – , 106284_Brochure.indd 2 11/30/12 12:51 PM Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo Michelangelo, David, – Buonarroti, woodcut, from Le vite , marble, h. cm (including de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori e base). Galleria dell’Accademia, architettori (Florence, ). Florence National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, Gift of E. J. Rousuck The loan of Michelangelo’s David-Apollo () from a sling over his shoulder. The National Gallery of Art the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, to the owns a fteenth-century marble David, with the head of National Gallery of Art opens the Year of Italian Culture, Goliath at his feet, made for the Martelli family of Flor- . This rare marble statue visited the Gallery once ence (. ). before, more than sixty years ago, to reafrm the friend- In the David-Apollo, the undened form below the ship and cultural ties that link the peoples of Italy and right foot plays a key role in the composition. It raises the United States. Its installation here in coincided the foot, so that the knee bends and the hips and shoul- with Harry Truman’s inaugural reception. ders shift into a twisting movement, with the left arm The ideal of the multitalented Renaissance man reaching across the chest and the face turning in the came to life in Michelangelo Buonarroti ( – ), opposite direction. This graceful spiraling pose, called whose achievements in sculpture, painting, architecture, serpentinata (serpentine), invites viewers to move and poetry are legendary (. ). The subject of this around the gure and admire it from every angle. Such statue, like its form, is unresolved.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson 09: Michelangelo- from High Renaissance to Mannerism
    East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Art Appreciation Open Educational Resource 2020 Lesson 09: Michelangelo- From High Renaissance to Mannerism Marie Porterfield Barry East Tennessee State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/art-appreciation-oer Part of the Art and Design Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Editable versions are available for this document and other Art Appreciation lessons at https://dc.etsu.edu/art-appreciation-oer. Recommended Citation Barry, Marie Porterfield, "Lesson 09: Michelangelo- rF om High Renaissance to Mannerism" (2020). Art Appreciation Open Educational Resource. East Tennessee State University: Johnson City. https://dc.etsu.edu/art-appreciation-oer/10 This Book Contribution is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art Appreciation Open Educational Resource by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Michelangelo from High Renaissance to Mannerism” is part of the ART APPRECIATION Open Educational Resource by Marie Porterfield Barry East Tennessee State University, 2020 Introduction This course explores the world’s visual arts, focusing on the development of visual awareness, assessment, and appreciation by examining a variety of styles from various periods and cultures while emphasizing the development of a common visual language. The materials are meant to foster a broader understanding of the role of visual art in human culture and experience from the prehistoric through the contemporary. This is an Open Educational Resource (OER), an openly licensed educational material designed to replace a traditional textbook.
    [Show full text]
  • Michelangelo Buonarotti
    MICHELANGELO BUONAROTTI Portrait of Michelangelo by Daniele da Volterra COMPILED BY HOWIE BAUM Portrait of Michelangelo at the time when he was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. by Marcello Venusti Hi, my name is Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, but you can call me Michelangelo for short. MICHAELANGO’S BIRTH AND YOUTH Michelangelo was born to Leonardo di Buonarrota and Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, a middle- class family of bankers in the small village of Caprese, in Tuscany, Italy. He was the 2nd of five brothers. For several generations, his Father’s family had been small-scale bankers in Florence, Italy but the bank failed, and his father, Ludovico di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni, briefly took a government post in Caprese. Michelangelo was born in this beautiful stone home, in March 6,1475 (546 years ago) and it is now a museum about him. Once Michelangelo became famous because of his beautiful sculptures, paintings, and poetry, the town of Caprese was named Caprese Michelangelo, which it is still named today. HIS GROWING UP YEARS BETWEEN 6 AND 13 His mother's unfortunate and prolonged illness forced his father to place his son in the care of his nanny. The nanny's husband was a stonecutter, working in his own father's marble quarry. In 1481, when Michelangelo was six years old, his mother died yet he continued to live with the pair until he was 13 years old. As a child, he was always surrounded by chisels and stone. He joked that this was why he loved to sculpt in marble.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Architecture
    ART 21000: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE Course Description: An introduction to the history of architecture of the Western World from the Stone Age to skyscrapers based on lectures, readings from the required texts, completion of the Architectural Vocabulary Project, and the study visit to Italy. Lectures and readings cover the historical development of architecture in the following topics: Stone Age, Egyptian & Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, Early Christian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and the Modern Era to the present. Class Meetings: Tuesday & Thursday, 4-8pm Texts: Watkin & XanEdu Course Schedule: Mtg # Date Topics Readings 1 T 5/12 Stone Age, Egypt, Mesopotamia & Greece TBD 2 R 5/14 Rome TBD 3 T 5/19 Exam #1; Early Christian & Romanesque TBD 4 R 5/21 Romanesque & Gothic TBD 5 T 5/26 Exam #2 Renaissance TBD 6 R 5/28 Baroque TBD 7 T 6/2 Exam #3; 18th century & 19th century TBD 8 R 6/4 19th century TBD 9 T 6/9 20th century TBD 10 R 6/11 Exam #4; AVP.1 DUE; Walking Tour TBD 11 M-S 6/21- Study abroad to Italy 6/29 12 R 7/3 AVP.2 Due Homework Schedule: 10% of final grade. Homework will consist of writing 20 questions, answers, and citations on each topic based on the readings from Watkin and/or XanEdu. 5/19 HW 1 Stone Age, Egypt & Mesopotamia, Greek, and Roman 5/26 HW 2 Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic 6/2 HW 3 Renaissance & Baroque 6/11 HW 4 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries Grading: Homework (4) 10% Attendance (10) 10% Exams (4) 40% AVP.
    [Show full text]
  • The Laurentian Staircase
    University at Albany, State University of New York Scholars Archive Art & Art History Honors College 5-2016 The Materiality of Wood in Michelangelo’s Biblioteca Laurenziana: The Laurentian Staircase Kaitlin Arbusto University at Albany, State University of New York Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_finearts Part of the Fine Arts Commons Recommended Citation Arbusto, Kaitlin, "The Materiality of Wood in Michelangelo’s Biblioteca Laurenziana: The Laurentian Staircase" (2016). Art & Art History. 3. https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_finearts/3 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College at Scholars Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art & Art History by an authorized administrator of Scholars Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Materiality of Wood in Michelangelo’s Biblioteca Laurenziana The Laurentian Staircase Florence, Italy Kaitlin Arbusto Department of Art and Art History Advisor: Professor Amy Bloch Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 History and Patronage ..................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2 A Chronology of Construction ......................................................................... 14 Chapter 3 A Walk Through of the Laurentian Library ....................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Annibale Carracci and the Palazzo Farnese
    ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Art 360 Final Term Paper at the start of the Renaissance. Neo-Platonic thought reigned in art and literature. During an age of Annibale Carracci and break-through science and technology, artists of the succeeding Baroque age became ever more interested the Palazzo Farnese in the macroscopic spaces of the celestial world. The Julianna Ziegler ceiling of the Palazzo Farnese is the perfect example of the Baroque period,with its dramatically curving, There are two basic challenges which are ever- Michelangelo-inspired Þgures, and expertly crafted present to the artist. The Þrst is to transform a blank three-dimensional illusions. Neo-Platonic ideals seem empty ground into an illusionistic representation of to resonate from within the frescos throughout the reality by incorporating light and space. The second vault. challenge is to maintain a unique signature style while From the Bolognese academy, the Þrst combining former artistic discoveries with the artistÕs signiÞcant academy of its kind in the history of own imagination and ingenuity. western art, arose some of the earliest of Baroque Beginning around the turn of the 17th century, masters: the Carracci.1 The premise of this academy the world of art began to change dramatically. was that the basis of any academic philosophy of art Weary of the once innovative ideals of the Early could be taught. The materials of instruction must Renaissance, artists had already reached the pinnacle be the traditions, the antique and the Renaissance, in of their experimental ideas in the High Renaissance. addition to the study of anatomy and drawing from Mannerism, with its stretched proportions and life.2 The academy taught a style which combined neglect of the laws of space, was discarded by Venetian color with Florentine attention to drawing forward-thinking artists with the exception of and design.
    [Show full text]
  • Telling Stories “When They Saw the Star, They Were Overjoyed
    Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi, The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1440 / 1460, tempera on panel, National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection A Long Journey 1 As told in the Gospels of the New Testament, the life of Florence, Italy, in the fifteenth century. The journey of Jesus began with his extraordinary yet humble birth in the three wise men was often depicted in Florentine art Bethlehem. Shepherds and three Magi (wise men from and reenacted in Epiphany processions through the city. the East) visited the manger where Jesus was born to In Renaissance Italy, religious images, from large altar- pay their respects. The Adoration of the Magi depicts the pieces for churches to small paintings for private devo- moment when the three wise men, bringing gifts of tion in homes, were the mainstay of artists’ workshops. gold, frankincense, and myhrr, kneel before the infant. At the time, not all common people could read. Stories The story of the Magi was particularly popular in from the Bible were reproduced in paintings filled with symbols that viewers could easily understand. 70 Telling Stories “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” Matthew 2:10 – 11 Look Around 2 The Adoration of the Magi is one of the first examples of a tondo (Italian for “round painting”), a popular form for religious paintings in the 1400s.
    [Show full text]