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ANDREA DEL CASTAGNO's LAST SUPPER by Eva Maria Lundin

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ANDREA DEL CASTAGNO's LAST SUPPER by Eva Maria Lundin ANDREA DEL CASTAGNO’S LAST SUPPER by Eva Maria Lundin Under the Direction of Shelley Zuraw ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes Andrea del Castagno’s fresco of the Last Supper in the refectory of Sant’Apollonia, Florence. This study investigates the details of the commission, Castagno’s fresco in the iconographic tradition of representations of the Last Supper, the aspects which separate this Last Supper from previous examples in Florentine refectories, the fresco’s purpose in relation to its conventual setting, and also the artist’s use of both classicizing and contemporary elements and techniques. The central focus of my work is the significance of this fresco in terms of both the imagery Castagno employs and his possible sources. The purpose of this thesis is to recognize the innovative aspects of the fresco, as well as the role that Castagno played in the development of Florentine Renaissance art. INDEX WORDS: Andrea del Castagno, Castagno, Last Supper, Sant’Apollonia, Florentine refectories, Italian Renaissance painting, Fresco, Fictive marble ANDREA DEL CASTAGNO’S LAST SUPPER by Eva Maria Lundin B.A., University of Alabama, 2000 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ART ATHENS, GEORGIA 2006 © 2006 Eva Maria Lundin All Rights Reserved. ANDREA DEL CASTAGNO’S LAST SUPPER by Eva Maria Lundin Major Professor: Shelley Zuraw Committee: Andrew Ladis Asen Kirin Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2006 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the numerous people who have helped me throughout the past two and a half years, most importantly, the faculty, staff, and my fellow graduate students at the University of Georgia. My major professor, Shelley Zuraw, continually provided guidance, reassurance, important criticism and a wealth of knowledge during the writing process. Also thanks to my committee members, Drs. Andrew Ladis and Asen Kirin for their time, commitment, and insightful comments. Finally, to my family and friends, thank you for your love, support, and understanding, without which I could not have completed this project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER I HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION ........................................................................... 1 II THE HISTORY OF THE REPRESENTATION OF THE LAST SUPPER ............. 10 III VISUAL AND TEXTUAL SOURCES FOR CASTAGNO’S LAST SUPPER ........ 18 IV ANALYSIS OF CASTAGNO’S LAST SUPPER ...................................................... 33 V THE PURPOSE OF CASTAGNO’S REFECTORY IMAGERY ............................. 50 VI THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CASTAGNO’S LAST SUPPER ..................................... 65 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 76 FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... 86 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Andrea del Castagno, God the Father and six saints; two seraphim. On the arch: Prophets, Saints and Putti. Frescoes. Chapel of San Tarasio, San Zaccaria, Venice, 1442. Marita Horster, Andrea del Castagno, Pl. 2. .........................................86 2. Castagno, Last Supper; Resurrection, Crucifixion, Deposition. Frescoes. Sant’Apollonia, Florence, ca. 1447. Cristina Acidini Luchinat and Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, ed. La tradizione fiorentina dei cenacoli, 128. ..........................86 3. Painting of banquet scene. Hypogaeum of Crispia Salvia, Lilybaeum. Second century. Katherine M.D. Dunbabin, The Roman Banquet: Images of Conviviality, Plate VII. ........................................................................................................................87 4. The Holy Supper. Mural mosaic from S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna. Sixth century. Klaus Wessel, The Last Supper, 10. ...............................................................87 5. Fra Angelico, Communion of the Apostles (Cell 35). Fresco. Museo di San Marco, Florence, 1438/42. The University of Georgia Digital Media Library, media number 6483. http://www.ciids.org/arthistory. ...................................................87 6. Sassetta, Institution of the Eucharist. Tempera on wood. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena, 1423. Last Supper (Phaidon), 60. ........................................................................88 7. Old St. Peter’s, Rome. View of nave, with New Testament scenes. Begun 319-22. Drawing by Giacomo Grimaldi, 1620. The University of Georgia Digital Media Library, media number 8736. http://www.ciids.org/arthistory. .....................................88 8. Duccio, back of Maestà altarpiece. Tempera and gold leaf on panel. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena, 1308-1311. Web Gallery of Art, http://www.wga.hu/framese.html?/html/d/duccio/buoninse/maesta/. ............................88 9. Duccio, Last Supper, Maestà altarpiece. Tempera and gold leaf on panel. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena, 1308-1311. Web Gallery of Art, ibid. ...........................89 10. Giotto, south wall frescoes, The Arena Chapel (The Scrovegni Chapel), Padua, 1305. The University of Georgia Digital Media Library, media number 909. http://www.ciids.org/arthistory. .....................................................................................89 11. Giotto, Last Supper. Fresco. The Arena Chapel, Padua, 1305. The University of Georgia Digital Media Library, media number 2356. http://www.ciids.org/arthistory. .....................................................................................89 vii 12. Pietro Lorenzetti, Last Supper. Fresco. Lower Church of the Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, 1310-1315. Gianfranco Malafarina, ed. The Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, 91........................................................................................................90 13. Taddeo Gaddi, Last Supper; Crucifixion; Stigmatization of St. Francis, St. Louis of Toulouse Feeds the Poor, An Angel Ordains the Priest Who Brings Food to St. Benedict in the Desert, and The Meal in the House of the Pharisee. Fresco. Santa Croce, Florence, 1345-60. Luchinat and Pisani, 117. ...................................................90 14. Andrea and Nardo di Cione, Last Supper; Crucifixion. Fresco. Santo Spirito, 1367-68. Luchinat and Pisani, 120. ...............................................................................91 15. Castagno, Resurrection, Crucifixion, Entombment. Detail of Fig. 2. ............................91 16. Cenacolo of Sant’Apollonia with the Famous Men and Women by Andrea del Castagno, photograph from the beginning of the nineteenth century. Luchinat and Pisani, 107. .....................................................................................................................92 17. Ghirlandaio, Last Supper; Expulsion of Adam and Eve; Murder of Abel. Frescoes. Badia a Passignano, Florence, 1476-77. Luchinat and Pisani, 135. ...............................92 18. Castagno, detail, Last Supper, Peter, Judas, Christ and John. The University of Georgia Digital Media Library, media number 14272. http://www.ciids.org/arthistory. .....................................................................................93 19. Gaddi, detail, Last Supper, Judas with hand in dish. Detail of Fig. 13. .........................93 20. Last Supper. Mosaic, south vault of central dome. San Marco, Venice. Late twelfth-century. Luisa Vertova, I cenacoli fiorentini, 18, Fig. 5. ..................................93 21. Castagno, Last Supper. Detail of Fig. 2. ........................................................................94 22. Masaccio and Filippino Lippi, The Raising of the Son of Theophilus and Saint Peter in the Chair. Fresco. Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, 1424-28, 1481-81. The University of Georgia Digital Media Library, media number 2393. http://www.ciids.org/arthistory. ..............................................................94 23. Fra Angelico, The Judgment of St. Lawrence before the Emperor Decius. Fresco. Chapel of Nicholas V, the Vatican, Rome, 1448. Innocenzo Venchi, Fra Angelico and the Chapel of Nicholas V, 167, Fig. 99. ..................................................................94 24. Fra Angelico, Madonna of the Shadows, east corridor San Marco, Florence, 1450. William Hood, Fra Angelico at San Marco, 21. ............................................................95 25. Fior di pesco (Marmor chalcidicum). Gabriele Borghini, ed. Marmi antichi, 212, Fig. 63. ...........................................................................................................................95 26. Cipollino rosso (Marmor carium o iassense). Borghini, 207, Fig. 59. ..........................95 viii 27. Africano (Marmor luculleum). Borghini, 133, Fig. 1. ...................................................95 28. Castagno, Resurrection. The University of Georgia Digital Media Library, media number 14278. http://www.ciids.org/arthistory. ............................................................96 29. Castagno, Entombment. Pisani, Luce e disegno, 23........................................................96 30. Castagno,
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