Roma 1565-1578: Intorno a Cornelis Cort

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Roma 1565-1578: Intorno a Cornelis Cort ©Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo-Bollettino d'Arte EVELI NA BOREA ROMA 1565-1578: INTORNO A CORNELIS CORT Notoriament6 nel suo soggiorno italiano Cornelis la composizione gigantesca di misurarsi con difficoltà Con operò a Venezia, Firenze, Roma, fra il 1565 e il assai diverse da quelle sino ad allora affrontate dai va­ 1578, anno di morte. Non ci sono ombre sulle sue at­ ri Vico, Fagiuoli, Bonasone, Beatrizet, dediti a ripro­ tività in quel periodo, le stampe da lui prodotte in durre i piccoli disegni cJi Perin del Vaga e Francesco quel tempo sono quasi tutte datate e il benemerito Salviati, o, in ogni caso, a tradurre in forma grafi ca, Bierens de Haan che le ha catalogate ne ha indicato come base per le incisioni, dipinti di dimensioni nor­ tlllte le connessioni con i modelli pittorici e grafi ci da mali. Fu allora che ne lle stamperie nacque l'idea di far cui derivano, con gli stampatori, nonché Le ristampe e comporre delle suites di stampe non assimilabili alle le copie che se ne trassero, a dimostrazione della for­ pagine di un libro, ciò che si faceva comunemente - a tu na ottenuta dal Cort stesso nel suo paese, in Italia e cominciare da Durer - , bensì come tasselli di forma in generale.'> irregolare rispecchianti singole parti della composizio­ ella recente mostra di Rotterdam il Sellink ha rag­ ne, numerati, da montarsi su tavole di legno per rico­ gruppato a parte un'antologia delle stampe italiane stituire l'immagine intera del 'Giudizio Universale' ed del Con , e pur mantenendo il criterio del raggruppa­ eventualmente di tutta la volta della Cappella Sistina. mento per soggetti, ha reso più evidente rispetto al ca­ A ciò si adeguarono Giorgio Ghisi Mantovano e Nic­ talogo del Bierens, nel quale le stampe sono cataloga­ colò della Casa lorenese, con esiti diversi, ma egual­ Le mischiandosi indifferentemente quelle del periodo mente apprezzabili per il 'Giudizio Universale'. Alla fia mmingo e quell e de l ~pe ri odo italiano, la capacità volta invece si dedicarono in molti, ma trascrivendo straordin aria del Cort di aderire allo stile dei diversi solo dei particolari della complessa decorazione: lo piltari italiani di cui si incarica di trascrivere nel rame stesso Ghisi, Enea Vico, Bonasone, Beatrizet, Adamo le invenzioni.2l Scultori, Bonasone e Beatrizet, e inoltre Michele Luc­ È ben nota la situazione della pittul·a in Italia in quel chese, riprodussero in formato piccolissimo anche il periodo, con Tiziano ancora vivo e Paolo Veronese e 'Giudizio Universale', compiendo prodigi di miniatu­ f inooretro già all'opera da tempo a Venezia, e Jacopo rizzazione. 3) Bassano nell'area veneta, mentre in quella lombarda si I.: effeno Cappella Sistina comportò un in teressa­ di tinguevano i Campi; Giorgio Vasari licenziava le sue mento generale degli incisori per tutta l'opera miche­ Vile nel 1568, seguitando a operare come pittore tra langiol esca, comprese le sculture, un interessamento Fi renze e Roma; Federico Barocci dal suo ritiro m·bina­ che perdurò dopo la morte del Buonarroti. Fra il 1565 te inviava quadri in vari luoghi dell'Italia centrale e e il 1570 Dominique Lampson inviò da Liegi tre lette­ anche a Roma; il bresciano Girolamo Muziano emer­ re ad amici italiani, Vasari, Tiziano, Clovio, ben note gente nella Roma di Gregorio XIII dava ombra a Fe­ agli studiosi di quegli artisti, ma che meriterebbero derico Zuccari marchigiano, che dopo la morte del un'edizione unitaria commentata in quanto documen­ fratello Taddeo, avvenuta nel 1566, stentava ad attri­ ti fondamentali per la storia dell'incisione riprodutti­ buirsi a Roma un ruolo di primo piano; mentre nel Vi­ va, non solo in relazione a Cornelis Con, che in due di tcreame di Napoli spiccava come protagonista il senese esse, quella a Tiziano e quella a Giulio Clovio, è parti­ ~ !a rco Pino. colarmente menzionato.~ > 1 on è invece chiaro, se non per episodi singoli non Quell'uomo coltissimo conosceva e apprezzava Le correlati tra loro, quale fosse lo stato dell'incisione ri­ stampe riproduttive come forse nessuno all'epoca sua, produttiva in quello stesso periodo in cui il Cort disce­ neanche Vasari, che pure ne tratta con grande impe­ -;o d'oltralpe decise di vivere tra Venezia e Roma. Si gno nel capitolo del suo libro dedicato a Marcantonio hanno notizie a riguardo di chi operava a Venezia, a e agli altri intagliatori; ma egli nutriva dei pregiudizi \erona, a Bologna, e soprattutto, a Roma- altri cen­ al riguardo, come mi sono provata a sottolineare in al­ u·i consistenti per quella attività particolare non ve n'e­ tra occasione.5l I due però erano d'accordo nel ricono­ rano -, ma resta vaga la conoscenza dello svolgimen­ scere il malcostume che si era prodotto in Italia intor­ to dei fatti dell'incisione intrecciati con quelli della no alle opere michelangio lesche, e usano frasi assai piltura e de!Ja cultura artistica in generale. aspre, che si fanno l'eco a distanza, per giudicare le Farò il punto da quell'evento, la scoperta al pubblico stampe tratte da esse. I famosi innominati «intagliato­ del 'Giudizio Universale' di Michelangelo nella Cap­ ruzzi da tre quattrini», così menzionati da Lampson, pella Sistin a, che nel 1541 aveva segnato l'inizio di sono gli stessi personaggi che il Vasari sbriga con di­ una nuova epoca per la storia dell'incisione riprodutti­ sprezzo, dicendo, in relazione a Michelangelo, «ch'è va. giacché impose agli incisori risoltisi a ritrarre quel- meglio tacere il loro nome, _6l 21 5 ©Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo-Bollettino d'Arte venzioni, dava egli stesso propri disegni relativi ai pro­ pri dipinti perché fossero incisi, e non riconosceva per buone quelle fatte altrimenti.9l Devo accennare al rapporto Cort-T iziano perché anche se esso si svo lge lontano da Roma - e il tema di questo convegno è i Fiarnrninghi a Rorna - costituisce un episodio dell'attività del Cort che si intreccia crono­ logicamente con le vicende romane ed essendo ben documentato getta luce anche sul periodo successivo per quel che attiene il modo di lavorare del fiammin­ go. Il Cort incideva sempre da disegni e, poiché, se­ condo la ben nota testimonianza del Lampson, non era dotato della capacità di tradurre graficamente le pitture, doveva ricorrere a un mediatore, che poteva anche identificarsi con lo stesso autore delle pitture­ per esempio, Tiziano - oppure con altri, una terza persona, che possedesse quella dote. IO) Molti altri incisori in quel tempo si trovavano nella stessa difficoltà del Cort di fronte all a richiesta di stampe da pitture, che per altro stava allora sopravan­ zando quella di stampe da disegni originali . Dopo lo scoprimento del 'Giudizio Universale' e gli effetti di vario genere che la colossale pittura murale produsse, si creò in certe fasce di pubblico colto, incita­ to dagli editori di stampe che avevano fornito le prime immagini di quella e di altre opere di Michelangelo, un'attesa particolare per le stampe tratte dai dipinti, quelle che si vedevano nelle chiese e nei palazzi, alla portata d'occhio come i resti di Roma antica che face­ vano parte del paesaggio urbano e che da tempo costi­ tuivano materia per ottimi affari da parte dei vari Sala­ manca e Lafrery.ll) l -ROMA, ISTITUTO NAZIONALE PER LA GRAFICA Ma il compito di tradurre graficamente e in scala GABI ETTO DELLE STAMPE minore un dipinto non era affatto facile, ci si era pro­ G!AJ'\J BATTISTA CAVALIERI: DEPOSIZIO E, 1566 vato Giorgio Ghisi, presumibilmente da suoi propri di­ (DA DANIELE DA VO LTERRA) segni, non solo con il 'Giudizio Universale' nella Cap­ pella Sistina e molti particolari della volta della stessa, ma anche con la 'Scuola d'Atene' e la 'Disputa del Sa­ Ma il Vasari, sparito dalla scena italiana il Ghisi - cramento' nella stanza della Segnatura. Egli stesso, do­ trasferitosi oltralpe nel 1550 -, allontanatosi da Ro­ po tanta prova, preferì dedicarsi alla riproduzione di ma, e poi morto nel 1567, Enea Vico, morto nel 1561 disegni, quanti poté trovarne originali , di Giuli o Ro­ Gian Battista Franco, morto anche il Beatrizet, presu­ mano, che abbondavano, di Luca Penni, appena dece­ mibilmente nel 1566 all'incirca, di incisori dediti alla duto in Francia, del Bertano mantovano, di Teodoro riproduzione delle pitture in Italia non ne vedeva, fatta suo fratello. Solo occasionalmente, sul finir della vita, eccezione per Gian Battista Cavalieri, che gli sembrava riprodusse una pala d'altare, il 'Riposo durante la fuga promettente. E incisori validi scarseggiavano anche a in Egitto' di Giulio Campi, in una chiesa di Milano, e Venezia, quando raccomandato dal Lampson a liziano un quadretto con una 'Madonna col Bambino e Santa vi giunse il Cort. Intorno al grande maestro, oltre Nic­ Caterina' di Correggio.l2) colò Boldrini, uno degli ultimi silografi cresciuti nella A Roma, verso il 1565, cominciò a presentarsi come sua ombra, si aggiravano intagliatori in rame veneti di riproduttore di pitture il già ricordato Gian Battista buon mestiere, ma in fase di esaurimento, come Giulio Cavalieri, che avrebbe operato sino alla fine del seco­ Sanuto, Giulio Fontana e anche il dalmata Martino Ro­ lo. Le sue stampe dagli affreschi della Cappella Paoli­ ta, che prese il posto del Cort vicino a Tiziano, nel na e dai dipinti di Daniele appena deceduto (fig. 1), 1568-1569, imitandone la maniera e copiandone stam­ sono citate dal Vasari, ch'è avarissimo nelle sue men­ pe_?) Da Bologna si affacciava sulla laguna anche Giulio zioni di incisori viventi, e ciò sorprende perché il Ca­ Bonasone, che nel 1563 pubblicava quattro
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