Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2002 Alberto Aringhieri and the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist: Patronage, Politics, and the Cult of Relics in Renaissance Siena Timothy B. Smith Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS AND DANCE ALBERTO ARINGHIERI AND THE CHAPEL OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST: PATRONAGE, POLITICS, AND THE CULT OF RELICS IN RENAISSANCE SIENA By TIMOTHY BRYAN SMITH A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2002 Copyright © 2002 Timothy Bryan Smith All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Timothy Bryan Smith defended on November 1 2002. Jack Freiberg Professor Directing Dissertation Mark Pietralunga Outside Committee Member Nancy de Grummond Committee Member Robert Neuman Committee Member Approved: Paula Gerson, Chair, Department of Art History Sally McRorie, Dean, School of Visual Arts and Dance The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the abovenamed committee members. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First I must thank the faculty and staff of the Department of Art History, Florida State University, for unfailing support from my first day in the doctoral program. In particular, two departmental chairs, Patricia Rose and Paula Gerson, always came to my aid when needed and helped facilitate the completion of the degree. I am especially indebted to those who have served on the dissertation committee: Nancy de Grummond, Robert Neuman, and Mark Pietralunga. For crucial financial support, without which the dissertation would not have been completed, I extend my deepest appreciation. Two Travel Fellowships in the History of Art from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation enabled extended research trips to Florence and Siena in 1998 and 2000 respectively. The Hill Monastic Manuscript Library provided a Heckman Research Grant in 1999 that allowed me to consult microfilm of the archives of the Knights of Rhodes. The Office of Graduate Studies at Florida State University awarded me a Research Grant in 1998 and a Dissertation Fellowship in 2000. Teaching Assistantships at the Florida State University London Study Center in 1996 and 1999 offered invaluable research opportunities as well. I wish to extend my appreciation to the staffs of many libraries, archives, and museums for help in accessing research materials and artworks, and for their warm hospitality: in Siena, the Biblioteca Comunale, Archivio di Stato, Archivo dell' Opera del Duomo (particularly Susan Scott), and the Archivio Arcivescovado; in Florence, the Kunsthistorisches Institut, Archvio di Stato, and Biblioteca Nazionale; in Casole d' Elsa, the Museo archeologico e della Collegiata iii (particularly Charlie Rumley); in London, the Libraries of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, the British Library, National Art Library, and the Museum and Library of the Order of St. John (particularly Piers de Sallis); in Chicago, the Newberry Library, the Ryerson Library at the Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University Libraries, and Richardson Library at DePaul University; and in Minnesota, the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library (particularly Teressa Vann). Many colleagues generously shared their scholarship and expertise and offered encouragement, most notably: Monica Butzek, Bruce Cole, Sally Cornelison, Philippa Jackson, Tom Lowman, Anthony Luttrell, Charles Mack, Scott Montgomery, Fabrizio Nevola, John Paoletti, and Gary Radke. A special note of thanks is due Shelley Zuraw, for it was her suggestion to investigate the house of the Knights of Rhodes in Rome that led me ultimately to the chapel of the Baptist in Siena and thus the subject of this dissertation. I am equally grateful for the advice and support of dear friends during the duration of this process, including Steve Frendreis, Anne Heath, and Joanna Gardner-Huggett. David Areford graciously endured the task of reading the manuscript and his comments have improved the dissertation immensely. I have been fortunate to be surrounded at the end by sympathetic colleagues at DePaul University, especially Paul Jaskot. Finally to my advisor, Jack Freiberg, I owe the greatest debt for his model of rigorous scholarship, critical thinking, and clear writing; for his constant interest in, support of, and specific contributions to the dissertation; and for his limitless patience during those times when I struggled with the challenges of this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures……………………………………………………………………..………..……..vi List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………...…..…...xvii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….….….xviii INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….……….…...1 1. THE CHAPEL OF THE BAPTIST: FORM, FUNCTION AND MEANING………….…........15 2. THE CHAPEL OF THE BAPTIST AND ALBERTO ARINGHIERI…………………..…..…..71 3. THE CHAPEL OF THE BAPTIST AND THE CITY OF SIENA………………………....…..103 4. THE CHAPEL OF THE BAPTIST AND THE KNIGHTS OF RHODES…………….…........166 5. EPILOGUE: THE CHAPEL OF THE BAPTIST IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY….....203 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………......227 APPENDIX A……………………………………………………………………………..……. 231 APPENDIX B…………………………………………………………………………………... 245 FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………………..….256 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………...…………..…….…434 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH……………………………………………………………………..448 v LIST OF FIGURES 1. Francesco d’ Antonio, Reliquary for the Arm of the Baptist, Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo, Siena (from Cesaritti, Merlini, and Tavolari, page 47)…………………………...257 2. Plan of Siena Cathedral From 1658, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome (photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)………………………………………………………258 3. Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)……………………………………..259 4. Façade Column and Pedestal, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)……..260 5. Façade Detail of Column Capital, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………………………………………………………………………………261 6. Façade Detail of Pilasters, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: Kunsthistorisches Institut, Florence)…………………………………………………..262 7. Façade Detail of Pilasters, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)………..263 8. Façade Detail of Pilaster, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)………....264 9. Detail of Right Pedestal, Façade, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)………………………………………………………………………………...265 10. Detail of Right Pedestal, Façade, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)………………………………………………………………………………...266 11. Detail of Right Pedestal, Façade, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………………………………………………………………………………267 12. Detail of Left Pedestal, Façade, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………………………………………………………………………………268 13. Detail of Left Pedestal, Façade, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………………………………………………………………………………269 14. Detail of Left Pedestal, Façade, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………………………………………………………………………………270 vi 15. Upper Façade, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)….…………….…. 271 16. Façade Detail of Pier, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………....272 17. Façade Detail of Frieze (Putti with Garlands), Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………………………………………………………….….273 18. Façade Detail of Putti with Garlands, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)……………………………………………………………….274 19. Façade Detail of Winged Victory Figure (Right), Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: Grassi)……………………………………………………………….275 20. Façade Detail of Winged Victory Figure (Left), Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: Grassi)……………………………………………………………….276 21. Façade Detail of Frieze (Putti with Winged Lions), Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: Kunsthistorisches Institut, Florence)………………………………..277 22. Marble Revetment Under Barrel Vault, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)………………………………………………………………………………..278 23. Barrel Vault, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)……………………279 24. Dome, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: author)…………………………..280 25. Interior With Statue of Saint John the Baptist, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)………………………..281 26. Donatello, Saint John the Baptist, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art)…………………………………………282 27. Interior With Statue of Saint Ansanus, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)…………………………………….……283 28. Giovanni di Stefano, Saint Ansanus Baptizing, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (from Kuhlenthal, figure 4)………………………………………………….284 29. Interior With Statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (photo: Scala)……………………………………………………………….285 30. Neroccio di Bartolomeo, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (from Coor, figure 26)…………………………………………………….…286 vii 31. Pinturicchio, Birth of Saint John the Baptist, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (from Lusini, 2, page 132)……………………………………………….….. 287 32. Pinturicchio, Saint John the Baptist In the Wilderness, Chapel of the Baptist, Siena Cathedral (from Carli, 1979,