City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works School of Arts & Sciences Theses Hunter College Spring 5-5-2019 Disruption and Recovery in the Work of Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo Ellen G. Birger CUNY Hunter College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/472 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Disruption and Recovery in the Work of Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo by Ellen Glass Birger, MD Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Art History Hunter College of the City of New York 2019 Thesis sponsor: 7 May 2019______________________________ Maria Loh_______________________ Date First Reader 7 May 2019______________________________ Kim de Beaumont_________________ Date Second Reader Table of Contents i Acknowledgements ii List of Illustrations iii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The Florence of Savonarola, Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo 4 Girolamo Savonarola: His Life and Impact 4 Political and Social History of the Period 17 Lorenzo the Magnificent and the Medici before Savonarola 27 Chapter 2 Botticelli and Savonarola 36 Chapter 3 Piero di Cosimo 61 Chapter 4 Execution, Liberation and Return 94 Conclusion 116 Bibliography 117 Illustrations 122 i Acknowledgements I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Professor Maria Loh, first as a classroom teacher and then as my thesis advisor. Her sparkling intellect and inviting manner towards students made the classroom experience very satisfying. The working process on the thesis was mutually stimulating: what I wrote evoked responses in her which she communicated to me along with sage editorial advice; the communication “circle” greatly enriched my knowledge and contributed immeasurably to whatever is of interest or value in this thesis. Thank you, Maria! Thanks are also due to Dr. Kim de Beaumont, with whom I studied Baroque art several years ago. Kim graciously agreed to be my second reader despite her many other obligations and duties. Thank you as well to my friend Emily Sachar, a fellow student and an inspiring art historian who encouraged and advised me and offered technical assistance throughout the thesis process. My family has been a continuing source of support for which I am eternally grateful. My husband Dan provided insightful helpful comments and suggestions, and my daughter Ruthie often provided much-needed technical support with the mysteries of the computer. Many thanks to you both. ii List of Illustrations Figure I-1 Sandro Botticelli and workshop, Venus, 1484-90, Galleria Sabauda, Turin Figure 1-1 Francesco Rosselli, Execution of Savonarola, 1498, Museo di SanMarco, Figure 1-1a Francesco Rosselli, Detail of Execution of Savonarola Figure 1-2 Fra Barolomeo, Portrait of Savonarola, c. 1498, Museo di San Marco Figure 1-3 Cristofano dell'Altissimo, Portrait of Pope Alexander VI, between 1492 and 1503, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 1-4 Niccolo Fiorentino, Portrait Medal of Savonarola, c. 1492-94/98, Munzkabinett, Staatliche Muzeen zu Berlin Figure 1-5 Pedro Berruguete, Saint Dominic and the Albigensians, 1493-99, Museo del Prado Figure 1-6 Benozzo Gozzoli, The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, 1559-61, Detail of Cosimo de' Medici, Chapel of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi Figure 1-7 Benozzo Gozzoli, The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, Detail of partial overview Figure 1-8 Benozzo Gozzoli, The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, Detail of the young Magus Caspar Figure 1-9 Filippo Lippi, Madonna of the Forest, 1459, Gemaldegalerie, Berlin Figure 1-10 Benozzo Gozzoli, The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, Detail of angels Figure 1-11 Benozzi Gozzoli, The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, Detail of self-portrait Figure 1-12 Benozzo Gozzoli, The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, Detail of Piero Figure 1-13 Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici, c. 1560, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 1-14 Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, c. 1480, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 1-15 Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1484-86, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 2-1 Sandro Botticelli, Coronation of the Virgin with Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, and Saint Eligius,(San Marco Altarpiece,) c. 1490-93, Galleria degli Uffizi iii Figure 2-2 Sandro Botticelli, Mystic Nativity, c. 1501, The National Gallery, London Figure 2-3, Sandro Botticelli, Virgin and Child with Eight Angels (Raczynski Tondo), c. 1481- 83, Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen Preussicher Kulturbesitz, West Berlin Figure 2-4, Sandro Botticelli, Lamentation over the Dead Christ with Saint Jerome, Saint Paul and Saint Peter, c. 1490-92, Alte Pinakotek, Munich Figure 2-5, Sandro Botticelli, Lamentatiaon over the Dead Christ, c. 1495, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan Figure 2-6, Sandro Botticelli, Trinity with Saint Mary Magdalen, Saint John the Baptist, and Tobias and the Angel (Pala della Convertite) , c. 1491-93, Cortauld Institute Galleries, London, Lee Collection Figure 2-7, Sandro Botticelli, Crucifixion with Penitent Magdalen and an Angel (Mystic Crucifixion), c. 1487, The Harvard Art Museums (Fogg Museum) Figure 2-8, Josse Liefierinxe, Crucifixion with the Fall of Rebel Angels, uncertain date near that of Botticelli's Mystic Crucifixion, Musee du Louvre Figure 2-9, Cosimo Tura, Angels Holding the Dead Christ, 1450s to 1495, Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna Figure 3-1, Piero di Cosimo, Jason and Queen Hypsipyle with the Women of Lemnos, 1499, private collection Figure 3-2, Piero di Cosimo, Virgin and Child with Six Angels (Madonna della Melegrana), c. 1487, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 3-3, Piero di Cosimo, Virgin and Child with Three Angels (Madonna del Padiglione), c.1493, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan Figure 3-4, Piero di Cosimo, Madonna and Child with Saints Mary Magdalen, 1490, Musee des Beaux Arts, Strasbourg Figure 3-5, Piero di Cosimo, Holy Family with Saint Joseph, Young Saint John the Baptist and Angels, c. 1495-1500, Gemaldegalerie, Dresden Figure 3-6 Piero di Cosimo, Adoration of the Child, c. 1490-1500, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Figure 3-7, Piero di Cosimo, Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist and an Angel, 1500-10, Museo de Arte de Sao Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Sao Paulo Figure 3-8, Piero di Cosimo, The Visitation with Saints Nicholas of Bari and Anthony Abbot, 1489-90, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC iv Figure 3-9, Piero di Cosimo, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Alexandria, Peter and John the Evangelist with Angels (Pala degli Innocenti), c. 1493, Galleria dello Spedale degli Innocenti Figure 3-10, Piero di Cosimo, The Immaculate Conception (The Incarnation of Jesus), 1504, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 3-11, Piero di Cosimo, A Hunting Scene (The Hunt), 1485-1500, Metropolitan Museum of Art Figure 3-11a, Piero di Cosimo, A Hunting Scene, Detail of satyr raising his club Figure 3-12, Piero di Cosimo, The Return from the Hunt, 1485-1500, Metropolitan Museum of Art Figure 3-12a, Piero di Cosimo, The Return from the Hunt, Detail of women feeding an animal Figure 3-12b, Piero di Cosimo, The Return from the Hunt, Detail of woman riding a centaur Figure 3-13, Andrea Mantegna, The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, c. 1480, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan Figure 3-14, Piero di Cosimo, The Death of a Nymph (The Death of Procris), 1495-1500, National Gallery, London Figure 3-14a, Piero di Cosimo, The Death of a Nymph (The Death of Procris), Detail of mourning dog Figure 3-15, Piero di Cosimo, The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs, 1500-1510, National Gallery, London Figure 3-15a, Piero di Cosimo, The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs, Detail of figures on a white blanket Figure 3-15b, Piero di Cosimo, The Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapiths, Detail of entangled bodies Figure 3-15c, Piero di Cosimo, The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs, Detail of Eurytus attempting to abduct Hippodame Figure 3-15d, Piero di Cosimo, The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs, Detail of Hylonome cradling the dying Cyllarus Figure 3-16, Piero di Cosimo, The Liberation of Andromeda, 1510-1513, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 3-16a, Piero di Cosimo, The Liberation of Andromeda, Detail of Perseus takes flight v Figure 3-16b, Piero di Cosimo, The Liberation of Andromeda, Detail of Andomeda and her family avoiding looking Figure 3-16c, Piero di Cosimo, The Liberation of Andromeda, Detail Perseus strikes Figure 3-16d, Piero di Cosimo, The Liberation of Andromeda, Detail of denouement Figure 4-1, Francesco Rosselli, Map of Florence, c. 1489-95, English private collection Figure 4-1a, Francesco Rosselli, Map of Florence, Detail Figure 4-2, Lucantonio degli Alberti?, Carta de Catena, 1500-1510, Kuperferstuchkabinett, Staatliche Museen, Belin Figure 4-3, Sandro Botticelli, The History of Lucretia, 1500-1501, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston Figure 4-4, Sandro Botticelli, The History of Virginia, 1500-1504, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo Figure 4-5, Sandro Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi, 1475, Galleria degli Uffizi Figure 4-6, Sandro Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi, 1500, Galleria degli Uffizi vi Introduction The 1490s was an eventful decade for the citizens of Florence. Political, economic, social and religious instability, underscored by doomsday concerns about the approaching half-millennium, conspired to arouse fear and anxiety amongst the populace. The presence in Florence of the dynamic preaching friar, Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), augmented and played off these sentiments. The art produced by artists in the city reflected and expressed themes that preoccupied them and their fellow Florentines. This study will review those changes in life and art, with a specific focus on their impact on two contemporary artists: Alessandro Botticelli (1445-1510) and Piero di Cosimo (1462-1522).