Seeing Renaissance Glass: Art, Optics, and Glass of Early Modern Italy, 1250–1425 / Sarah M
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Dillon With the invention of eyeglasses around 1280 near Pisa, the mundane medium of glass transformed early modern optical technology and visuality. It also significantly influenced contemporaneous art, religion, and science. References to glass are Seeing Renaissance Glass found throughout the Bible and in medieval hagiography and poetry. For instance, glass is mentioned in descriptions of Heavenly Jerusalem, the Beatific Vision, and Art, Optics, and Glass of the Incarnation. At the same time, a well-known Islamic scientific treatise, which Early Modern Italy, 1250–1425 likened a portion of the eye’s anatomy to glass, entered the scientific circles of the Latin West. Amidst this complex web of glass-related phenomena early modern Italian artists used glass in some of their most important artworks but, until now, Seeing Renaissance Glass no study has offered a comprehensive consideration of the important role glass played in shaping the art of the Italian Renaissance. Seeing Renaissance Glass explores how artists such as Giotto, Duccio, Nicola Pisano, Simone Martini, and others employed the medium of glass—whether it be depictions of glass or actual glass in the form of stained glass, gilded glass, and transparent glass—to resonate with the period’s complex visuality and achieve their artistic goals. Such an interdisciplinary approach to the visual culture of early modern Italy is particularly well-suited to an introductory humanities course as well as classes on media studies and late medieval and early Renaissance art history. It is also ideal for a general reader interested in art history or issues of materiality. Sarah M. Dillon is Assistant Professor of Art History at Kingsborough Community College, CUNY, specializing in early modern art. She received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center, CUNY, and her work has been published in Comitatus, the Chicago Art Journal, and Burlington Magazine. SARAH M. DILLON Cover image: Illusionistic Niche with Liturgical Vessels by Taddeo Gaddi www.peterlang.com Dillon With the invention of eyeglasses around 1280 near Pisa, the mundane medium of glass transformed early modern optical technology and visuality. It also significantly influenced contemporaneous art, religion, and science. References to glass are Seeing Renaissance Glass found throughout the Bible and in medieval hagiography and poetry. For instance, glass is mentioned in descriptions of Heavenly Jerusalem, the Beatific Vision, and Art, Optics, and Glass of the Incarnation. At the same time, a well-known Islamic scientific treatise, which Early Modern Italy, 1250–1425 likened a portion of the eye’s anatomy to glass, entered the scientific circles of the Latin West. Amidst this complex web of glass-related phenomena early modern Italian artists used glass in some of their most important artworks but, until now, Seeing Renaissance Glass no study has offered a comprehensive consideration of the important role glass played in shaping the art of the Italian Renaissance. Seeing Renaissance Glass explores how artists such as Giotto, Duccio, Nicola Pisano, Simone Martini, and others employed the medium of glass—whether it be depictions of glass or actual glass in the form of stained glass, gilded glass, and transparent glass—to resonate with the period’s complex visuality and achieve their artistic goals. Such an interdisciplinary approach to the visual culture of early modern Italy is particularly well-suited to an introductory humanities course as well as classes on media studies and late medieval and early Renaissance art history. It is also ideal for a general reader interested in art history or issues of materiality. Sarah M. Dillon is Assistant Professor of Art History at Kingsborough Community College, CUNY, specializing in early modern art. She received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center, CUNY, and her work has been published in Comitatus, the Chicago Art Journal, and Burlington Magazine. SARAH M. DILLON Cover image: Illusionistic Niche with Liturgical Vessels by Taddeo Gaddi Seeing Renaissance Glass This book is part of the Peter Lang Humanities list. Every volume is peer reviewed and meets the highest quality standards for content and production. PETER LANG New York Bern Berlin Brussels Vienna Oxford Warsaw Sarah M. Dillon Seeing Renaissance Glass Art, Optics, and Glass of Early Modern Italy, 1250–1425 PETER LANG New York Bern Berlin Brussels Vienna Oxford Warsaw Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Dillon, Sarah M., author. Title: Seeing Renaissance glass: art, optics, and glass of early modern Italy, 1250–1425 / Sarah M. Dillon. Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2018. Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018027569 | ISBN 978-1-4331-4834-7 (hardback: alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4331-4835-4 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 978-1-4331-4836-1 (epub) ISBN 978-1-4331-4837-8 (mobi) Subjects: LCSH: Optics and art—Italy—History—To 1500. Glass. | Glass art—History. | Italy—Civilization—476-1268. Italy—Civilization—1268–1559. Classification: LCC N72.O68 D55 2018 | DDC 748.0945—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018027569 DOI 10.3726/b14280 Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/. An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. More information about the initiative and links to the Open Access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org Cover image: Illusionistic Niche with Liturgical Vessels, ca. 1330, by Taddeo Gaddi. Baroncelli Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence. Source: Raffaello Bencini/Alinari Archives, Florence. Open Access: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 unported license. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ © Sarah M. Dillon, 2018 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York 29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006 www.peterlang.com For Henry, may you never tire of learning new things by seeing things through the eyes of others. Contents Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xvii 1 Introduction to Seeing Renaissance Glass: Art, Optics, and Glass of Early Modern Italy, 1250–1425 1 Chapter Summaries 9 Brief History of Glass 11 2 Stained Glass: Duccio, Simone Martini, and Taddeo Gaddi 17 Brief History of Colorful Glass 19 Duccio’s Window for the Cathedral of Siena 23 Simone Martini’s Windows in the Chapel of Saint Martin 28 Taddeo Gaddi’s Stained Glass in the Baroncelli Chapel 32 Conclusions on Trecento Stained Glass: A Network of Glass 35 3 Gilded Glass: Nicola Pisano, Simone Martini, Orcagna, and Paolo di Giovanni Fei 43 e Glittering Gold of Mosaics and Cosmati 48 e Revival of Verre Églomisé 51 Nicola Pisano’s Arca of San Domenico and Sienese Pulpit 55 Simone Martini’s Maestà and Saint Louis of Toulouse 62 viii | Seeing Renaissance Glass Orcagna’s Tabernacle for Orsanmichele 65 Paolo di Giovanni Fei and Lorenzo Monaco 67 Conclusions on Gilded Glass: Harnessing Divine Light and Fiery Rays 70 4 Transparent Glass from the East: Beruni, Hunain, and Alhazen 81 Glass Reliquaries from the Holy Land 84 Revealing and Concealing 88 Rock Crystal Reliquaries from the East 91 Beruni on Glass vs. Crystal 94 Hunain, Visual eory, and Transparent Glass 96 Conclusions on Transparent Glass from the East: Shaping Renaissance Visuality 102 5 Transparent Glass in the West: Pietro Lorenzetti, Naddo Ceccarelli, and Others 113 Reliquaries with Glass: e Case Studies 115 Reliquaries by Naddo Ceccarelli and Bartolo di Fredi in Context 121 Relic Windows: Precedents and Influences 124 Relic Windows in “An Age of Vision” 127 Pietro Lorenzetti’s Reliquary Tabernacle in Context 131 Relic Windows, Mirrors, and Eyeglasses 133 e Black Death and Windows to Another World 137 Conclusions on Transparent Glass in the West: Seeing Glass through a Renaissance Lens 145 6 Verre Églomisé Reliquaries: Pietro Teutonico and Tommaso da Modena 159 Verre Églomisé Reliquaries 160 e Franciscan Connection 162 Windows to Relics and a Mirror for the Divine 166 e Beatific Vision and Viewing God rough a Glass Darkly 171 Tommaso da Modena’s Reliquary and Ugo da Panciera’s Treatise on Perfection 176 Conclusions on Verre Églomisé Reliquaries: Reflections of God 180 Contents | ix 7 Conclusion: Giotto, Brunelleschi, Alberti, and the Network of Glass 191 rough Giotto’s Eyes 192 Illusionistic Architecture and Glass Vessels: Pietro Lorenzetti and Taddeo Gaddi 196 Trecento Glass, Brunelleschi’s Mirror, and Alberti’s Window 199 Conclusion: Mapping the Trecento Network of Glass 200 Index 205 Illustrations Chapter 1 Figure 1.1: Arnolfo di Cambio, Madonna and Child, ca. 1296–1302, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence. Source: Francesco Bini via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). 3 Figure 1.2: Simone Martini, Detail of Maestà showing diamond-shaped panels of glass, ca. 1315, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. Source: Alinari Archives, Firenze. 6 Chapter 2 Figure 2.1: Duccio, Rose Window with Scenes of the Dormition, Assumption, and Coronation of the Virgin, ca. 1288, Cathedral, Siena. Source: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). 24 Figure 2.2: Duccio, Maestà, Detail of central panel showing Madonna, Child, and Saints, ca. 1308−1311, Cathedral, Siena. Source: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. 25 xii | Seeing Renaissance Glass Figure 2.3: Duccio, Maestà, Detail with Last Supper, ca. 1308−1311, Cathedral, Siena. Source: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. 28 Figure 2.4: Simone Martini, Stained Glass Windows in Saint Martin Chapel, ca. 1317, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi. Source: Franco Cosimo Panini Editore © Management Fratelli Alinari. 29 Figure 2.5: Ceiling of Lower Church with light reflecting off silver-backed glass insets, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi. Source: Author.