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Power Under Duke Cosimo I De' Medici Felicia M Vasari, the River God and the Expression of Territorial Power under Duke Cosimo I de' Medici Felicia M. Else he rise of the river god image in the sixteenth century had a profound effect on centuries of art to come, from the work of T Bernini to Manet. This prototype of an aged bearded reclining nude derived from ancient statues displayed in the Vatican and elsewhere in Rome, including the Tigris/Arno, Tiber and the Nile (Fig. 1). Scholars have written much on this subject, tracing its genesis and proliferation from the ancient river god statues in Rome to the work of Michelangelo and Raphael to that of their followers such as Giulio Romano, Niccolo Tribolo, and Bartolomeo Ammannati (Rubinstein, "Renaissance"; idem, "Statue"; Lazzaro, "River gods"). The cultural, political and artistic context of this ancient figure is an important one for the study of Giorgio Vasari, for he, too, played a key role in the promulgation of this image type. Ruth Rubinstein observed how Vasari's figures of "every river of Tuscany ... in the foregrounds of his countless frescoes celebrating the Medici in the Palazzo Vecchio" showed how this river god image could be "exploited in creative ways" to serve as "topographical and political symbols" (Rubinstein, "River" 283, 285). Despite their variety and abundance, Vasari's river gods have not been given much attention by scholars. This study provides an in-depth look at Vasari's use of river gods in the Palazzo Vecchio, examining where and why he employed such figures and investigating what sources inspired him and what innovations he introduced. In Vasari's time, this figural type was known primarily from ephemeral decorations, small­ scale representations, and works of sculpture, many of which, like the fountain statues of Tribolo for the Villa Castello and Ammannati's Fountain ojJuno, remained in an unfinished state. As part of a grand cycle of permanent, monumental paintings in the most important civic structure in the city, the Palazzo Vecchio, Vasari's river gods appear with great frequency and variety, allowing us to trace greater subtleties, variations and explorations in form, content and meaning. Their role in the idealized scheme of Medici history and geographic influence is enriched by the artist's descriptions in the Ragionamenti. River gods are strategically placed: this study focuses on some outstanding examples, both visually and iconographically, from the Rooms of Leo X, Clement VII, Cosimo I, and the Salone dei Cinquecento. The context of Va sari's water deities emphasizes the acquisition ofterritorial power, aggrandizing Medici ties to prominent political regimes and geographic domains and appropriating an age-old language of antiquity and nature. Vasari began his decorations of the rooms of the Palazzo Vecchio for Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1555, calling on a vast repertoire of ancient, historical and contemporary subjects intended to glorifY the EIRe 39.1 (Summer 2013): 71-84 72 accomplishments ofFlorence and the Medici family. This paper examines how the artist evolved his use of river god imagery in two chronological phases of this project-the earlier set of rooms dedicated to members of the Medici family (c. 1555-62) and a later stage of the project involving the planning and execution of Salone dei Cinquecento ceiling (1563-65) (Allegri and Cecchi; Muccini and Cecchi; Muccini). In the works for the earlier phase, river gods appear most frequently in the Rooms of Pope Leo X and Clement VII, reinforcing the political dominance of these Medici fore bearers and perhaps even alluding to the fact that the motif experienced its Renaissance revival in Papal Rome. The paintings in the Room ofLeoXshow important battles, victories and ceremonies in the life of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, described by Vasari as the first of "the terrestrial gods of the house of Medici" (Muccini and Cecchi 108-17). Eight scenes adorning this Room bear river gods or mountain deities, including the Arno, Mugnone, Tiber, Vatican Hill, Po, Ronco, and the Apennines (Allegri and Cecchi 114-27; Muccini and Cecchi 98-117). Many aggrandize the historical event, further marking its geographic place-for example, the Ronco River overlooking the scene of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici at the Battle of Ravenna. Some, however, convey a greater political message, such as the Triumplwl Entry of Leo X into Florence, 1515, which has a particularly prominent set of such deities represented in an unusual way (Fig. 2). The scene shows Leo X carried in procession across the Piazza della Signoria, part of his celebrated entry into Florence following his election to the Papacy. Scholars have noted its profuse detail, such as the individual portraits featured in the dense crowd at the left, and for its recreation of the Piazza and its statuary, including Bandinelli's ephemeral Hercules in the Loggia dei Lanzi (Matteini 336; Bush 171-72). In the right foreground, Vasari has provided ample space for two massive figures of the Arno and the Apennines, symbolizing the prosperity and glory of Florence and the Medici, as explained by the artist in the Ragionamenti: "The silver one represents Mount Apennine, the father of the Tiber ... To honor Leo he has come to embrace his son the Arno, born of him, and turned to gold because of the Golden Age which Leo brought to this city while he lived" (Vasari, Ragionamenti 289-90). Vasari has given the traditional elements of the ancient river god an unusual twist, literally tinting the Arno gold and the Apennines silver. He has echoed the muscular curved back of the Arno with that of the putto climbing up from below-itself a subtle inversion of one of Michelangelo's bathers in the Battle ofCascina cartoon. The pair are set on a pedestal, not unlike statues disp layed in temporary decorations for processions. An important but often overlooked context for Vasari is the spread of river god imagery from Papal Rome to Medici Florence in festival decorations. For the entry of Charles V into Florence in 1536, artists such as Tribolo and Montorsoli created ephemeral statues of river gods to convey political allegiance as well as to acknowledge the geographic scope of the Emperor's domain. As described by Vasari, the Arno River "appeared to be rejoicing with" the Rhine, the Danube, the Ebro in Spain, and the Bagrada in North Mrica. Like their ancient .
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