Monday, December 2, 2013
Salome
This is a favorite of Professor Hamburgh. It is Fra Filippo Lippi's Feast of Herod in the Prato cathedral (1452-1460). It is a three-story painting showing the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Salome dancing, and presenting of Saint John the Baptist's head to King Herod.
Smyth: Mannerism and Maniera
In the mid 1500s, an anti-classical style in art, aimed at countering the Renaissance, was developing in Italy. It was called Mannerism and was based on practica (practice) and not on the imitation of nature. According to Bellori, painting reached its height with Rafael and, therefore, an inevitable decline began.
At this time, artists began to depart from the norms of their studios and from their masters. Malvasia stated these artists "became addicted to weak, not to say incorrect, disegno, to feeble, washed-out color, in short to a certain maniera" which led the artist far from the truth.
In the 19th century, Mannerism can to mean a decline that began in Florence and Rome after the mid 16th century with "excessive adherence to a manner full of unjustified, habitual peculiarities remote from nature, and due above all to three causes." (Smyth) The three causes that Smyth cites in his writings are: 1. Imitation of a previous style; 2. Routine dexterity through practive; 3. Admixture of extravagance and caprice. Gustiniani's view states that la maniera "depended on imagination working without regard for truth to nature or the example of previous masters and antiquity." The artists Pontormo, Beccafumi, Parmigianino, and El Greco caused the emergence date of Mannerism to be moved up to the 1520s. Later works of Michelangelo can be added to the list. This anti-classical approach had a "disquieting expressiveness", like surrealism. Vasari and Bronzino were said to have "mannered Mannerism". (Smyth)
In the 1550s, the term Mannerism was used in a derogatory way. It was felt that the figures depicted were too similar, unlike Rafael where one figure did not look like another. The artists were creating figures that were "monotonously uniform" in relation to other figures. (Smyth) Vasari felt that one should copy the beautiful elements of the figure. He wrote in his Lives that Michelangelo defined the "road to paintings facility in its principle object, the human body. On the other hand, Dolce felt the monotonous reliance on the same form did not refer back to nature or reality.
Manneristic conventions include the consistent application of principles that govern form and movement. The approach was said to lack a focal point, have flat light, elongation, angularity, flattened figures parallel to the picture plane turning in two to three directions, and monotonous.
Mannerism is a recurring phenomenon in art. It is subjective art expressing the spiritual "through anti-classic forms, deformation, and abstraction." (Smyth) It is rebellious and expressionistic.
At this time, artists began to depart from the norms of their studios and from their masters. Malvasia stated these artists "became addicted to weak, not to say incorrect, disegno, to feeble, washed-out color, in short to a certain maniera" which led the artist far from the truth.
In the 19th century, Mannerism can to mean a decline that began in Florence and Rome after the mid 16th century with "excessive adherence to a manner full of unjustified, habitual peculiarities remote from nature, and due above all to three causes." (Smyth) The three causes that Smyth cites in his writings are: 1. Imitation of a previous style; 2. Routine dexterity through practive; 3. Admixture of extravagance and caprice. Gustiniani's view states that la maniera "depended on imagination working without regard for truth to nature or the example of previous masters and antiquity." The artists Pontormo, Beccafumi, Parmigianino, and El Greco caused the emergence date of Mannerism to be moved up to the 1520s. Later works of Michelangelo can be added to the list. This anti-classical approach had a "disquieting expressiveness", like surrealism. Vasari and Bronzino were said to have "mannered Mannerism". (Smyth)
In the 1550s, the term Mannerism was used in a derogatory way. It was felt that the figures depicted were too similar, unlike Rafael where one figure did not look like another. The artists were creating figures that were "monotonously uniform" in relation to other figures. (Smyth) Vasari felt that one should copy the beautiful elements of the figure. He wrote in his Lives that Michelangelo defined the "road to paintings facility in its principle object, the human body. On the other hand, Dolce felt the monotonous reliance on the same form did not refer back to nature or reality.
Manneristic conventions include the consistent application of principles that govern form and movement. The approach was said to lack a focal point, have flat light, elongation, angularity, flattened figures parallel to the picture plane turning in two to three directions, and monotonous.
Mannerism is a recurring phenomenon in art. It is subjective art expressing the spiritual "through anti-classic forms, deformation, and abstraction." (Smyth) It is rebellious and expressionistic.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Heaven Sent: The Strozzi Chapel Vault
We begin our journey into Fillipino Lippi's frescoes in the Strozzi Chapel by entering the beautiful, pietro serena Santa Maria Novella in Florence.
Santa Maria Novella, Leon Battista Alberti, 1470
We respectfully work our way up to the altar where, just to it's right, we are drawn to the vibrant, animated frescoes of the Strozzi Chapel.
Here, boldly painted, are four Old Testament patriarchs: Adam, the most visible over the altar, Noah, reclining to the West above Saint John the Evangelist, Abraham, opposite and above Saint Phillip, and, finally, Jacob, hidden from the outside and above the chapel entrance. Patriarch is Greek for leader or first among fathers. We will see why these four were chosen as a part of the decoration theme of the chapel. The boarders that separate the four, as J. Russell Sale describes in his dissertation, Lippi's Strozzi Chapel, are a framework of interlocked, stylized volutes containing a series of repeated palmettes, leaf-masked male heads, and the three-Strozzi crescents."
Adam, Noah, and Abraham are illuminated from a stained-glass window below. Jacob received light from above and to the left. Three of the four prophets are in contapposto position and fit the triangular frame in which they are painted. Prior to this time, prophets were mostly painted in a frontal position. Filippino's father, Fra Filippo Lippi, may have been a precursor to Fillipino's break from tradition in his frescoes of the prophets Mark and Matthew in the main chapel at the Prato cathedral. Below, is a short, yet awe-inspiring, video of the fresco program in that duomo:
Filippino Lippi surpassed his father in this new approach with a more intense and dramatic depiction of prophets. He has, now, seated contrapposto poses to enhance the drama of a scene. We saw this with his Carafa sibyls in Rome, especially the Tiburtine and Cumean sibyls. The choice of Adam, Abraham, Noah, and Jacob was unusual but we will see that they have a woven thread of consistency in the fresco program with the theme of death and resurrection in Filippo Strozzi's final, mortal resting place - his burial chapel.
Noah and Abraham are painted above the narrative scenes on the side walls and are inclined towards the altar. Adam is upright and ties in with the vertical expressions in the decoration below. Between Noah and Abraham, and out of chronological order, is Jacob. He, also, is painted upright. These Old Testament prophets represent the first saved souls in heaven as we see described in the New Testament:
I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11)
The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:22-23)
The energetic Noah represents divine intervention as he was saved from the flood by God.
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." (Genesis 9:1)
This begins our theme that ultimately honors Filippo Strozzi as head of the family. Another depiction of God's intervention is in the fresco directly across from Noah, and above the depiction of the life of Saint Phillip. This is Abraham, whose son, Isaac, was delivered from death by Abraham. Like God the Father, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son as an instrument of faith.
Through Isaac, we have a prefiguration of the passion of Christ and Abraham reminds us of this as he glances down at the altar in the chapel where the Eucharist is celebrated. We see a sacrificial lamb representing the Lamb of God. Filippo Strozzi's impresa includes a recumbent lamb which is painted in the window below and on the keystone in the arch above, again connecting him to the decorative theme.
Jacob, who is not depicted in chronological order, is above the entry portal. He has a book in his left hand and a vessel in his right hand. We can read, "Hec est domus dei et porta (cae)le" translated as "This is the house of God and the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17).
Like Noah (grapes) and Abraham (lamb), Jacob also represents the figure of Christ with the vessel. The vessel in his right hand holds oil to anoint the stone (altar). Jacob has a vision of a ladder extending to heaven and representing the ascent to heaven and the quest for divine wisdom. The gates of heaven theme coincide with the portal entrance to the chapel and, therefore, are the reason that Jacob is not in chronological order.
Adam is the first patriarch and the first divinely-created man. He can easily be seen above the altar wall and above the Strozzi tomb. He is frontally depicted with his legs turned slightly to the left.
He supports a hoe and wears a pelt, showing us his humanity. He is gazing towards the female-headed serpent. There is a dried out fig tree and a small, frightened child. This is not a biblical narrative but shows life after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. As we know, Adam disobeyed God and was punished, as were all man, through original sin. In Adam's face we see the sadness of his tragic fate. The glare over his shoulder is the symbol of temptation. The twists and turns of his body remind us of his internal unrest. We are all attracted to the serpent who represents Eve and "man's seduction away from God and the spirit by sensual pleasure." (Ambrose-Sale p.197) As with our other patriarchs, Adam is a direct prototype for Christ. It is believed that the small child is Adam's son, Seth.
All of our prophets are without halos but, rather, have rays of light on their faces. This ties us back to the Strozzi three crescent moons which represent family unity, strength, and concern for one another. They represent the goddess Luna and covey her heavenly fertility.
Jacob, who is not depicted in chronological order, is above the entry portal. He has a book in his left hand and a vessel in his right hand. We can read, "Hec est domus dei et porta (cae)le" translated as "This is the house of God and the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17).
Adam is the first patriarch and the first divinely-created man. He can easily be seen above the altar wall and above the Strozzi tomb. He is frontally depicted with his legs turned slightly to the left.
He supports a hoe and wears a pelt, showing us his humanity. He is gazing towards the female-headed serpent. There is a dried out fig tree and a small, frightened child. This is not a biblical narrative but shows life after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. As we know, Adam disobeyed God and was punished, as were all man, through original sin. In Adam's face we see the sadness of his tragic fate. The glare over his shoulder is the symbol of temptation. The twists and turns of his body remind us of his internal unrest. We are all attracted to the serpent who represents Eve and "man's seduction away from God and the spirit by sensual pleasure." (Ambrose-Sale p.197) As with our other patriarchs, Adam is a direct prototype for Christ. It is believed that the small child is Adam's son, Seth.
All of our prophets are without halos but, rather, have rays of light on their faces. This ties us back to the Strozzi three crescent moons which represent family unity, strength, and concern for one another. They represent the goddess Luna and covey her heavenly fertility.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Filippino Lippi Moves Forward (slowly) on Strozzi Chapel
In his dissertation, Lippi's Strozzi Chapel, J. Russell Sale describes Filippino Lippi's fresco program in the Strozzi Chapel in Florence as "one of the most striking and important Florentine sepulchral projects of the end of the Quattrocento." This program of frescoes was laid out in the late 1480s.
Filippo Strozzi was obsessed with his family fame and notoriety. As we learned, he had re-established his family wealth and was on a campaign of building, including a palace and a chapel. His family coat of arms was three crescent moons (arme delle tre luna). This is thought to represent the celestial body ruling the night sky and Diana, goddess of the moon.
In 1486, 'Filippo Strozzi purchased the chapel immediately to the right of the altar at Santa Maria Novella in Florence. There is another Strozzi Chapel in Santa Maria Novella that belonged to Filippo's ancestors. The previous owners of his new chapel, the Bardi family, no longer had the resources for the chapel's upkeep and could not maintain it properly. This provided the opportunity for Filippo Strozzi to purchase it. He was 58 years old.
Filippo Strozzi wanted an elaborate decorative program for his chapel that was extensive in scope, highly visible to the public, and intimate to his aspirations for a future life through religion. Filippo Strozzi's patron saint was Saint Phillip. He was also given the new patron saint of Saint John the Evangelist (San Giovanni Evangelista). This was to be the theme of his chapel.
Filippo Strozzi's did not seem to be in too much of a rush for the adornment of the chapel. He had other projects to which he was attending, including that of a family palace. On April 21, 1487, he signed a contract with Filippino Lippi for the fresco program. It appears they had a prior relationship as evidenced in Filippino Lippi's 1485 Madonna and Child, now in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting shows the arme della tre luna in the simulated architecture.
The commission for the Strozzi Chapel was not a sure thing for Filippino Lippi. It is said that Ghirlandaio was in competition for the work. The commission included the vault, two walls, a window wall, and a dado area. In 1487, agreement was reached between Filippo Strozzi and Filippino Lippi which laid out a general program but no specifics. It mentioned use of the finest blues (lapis lazuli), paint in "true fresco", a trip to Venice, and a completion date of March 1490. Filippino Lippi did not meet that deadline and, as we learned earlier, he went to Rome to complete the Carafa commission. Vasari states that the Magnificient (Lorenzo di Medici) "sent" Filippino to Rome to paint a chapel for the Cardinal. Filippino returned to Florence in 1492, well past the completion date laid out in his contract. Prior to his death in 1491, Filippo Strozzi did not see fit to invoke the delay clause in the contract allowing to hire another artist at Lippi's expense.
Filippo Strozzi's Last Will ensured the completion of the program at San Giovanni Evangelista in Santa Maria Novella. Benedetto da Maiano worked on the marbles for the chapel and completed them in 1495.
With the exception of Adoration of the Magi,
from 1495 to 1502, off and on, Filippino Lippi worked on the frescoes in the Strozzi Chapel. We will look at them in three segments: the vault, the narrative frescoes on the side walls, and the altar wall.
Filippo Strozzi was obsessed with his family fame and notoriety. As we learned, he had re-established his family wealth and was on a campaign of building, including a palace and a chapel. His family coat of arms was three crescent moons (arme delle tre luna). This is thought to represent the celestial body ruling the night sky and Diana, goddess of the moon.
In 1486, 'Filippo Strozzi purchased the chapel immediately to the right of the altar at Santa Maria Novella in Florence. There is another Strozzi Chapel in Santa Maria Novella that belonged to Filippo's ancestors. The previous owners of his new chapel, the Bardi family, no longer had the resources for the chapel's upkeep and could not maintain it properly. This provided the opportunity for Filippo Strozzi to purchase it. He was 58 years old.
Filippo Strozzi wanted an elaborate decorative program for his chapel that was extensive in scope, highly visible to the public, and intimate to his aspirations for a future life through religion. Filippo Strozzi's patron saint was Saint Phillip. He was also given the new patron saint of Saint John the Evangelist (San Giovanni Evangelista). This was to be the theme of his chapel.
Filippo Strozzi's did not seem to be in too much of a rush for the adornment of the chapel. He had other projects to which he was attending, including that of a family palace. On April 21, 1487, he signed a contract with Filippino Lippi for the fresco program. It appears they had a prior relationship as evidenced in Filippino Lippi's 1485 Madonna and Child, now in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting shows the arme della tre luna in the simulated architecture.
Filippo Strozzi's Last Will ensured the completion of the program at San Giovanni Evangelista in Santa Maria Novella. Benedetto da Maiano worked on the marbles for the chapel and completed them in 1495.
Strozzi Tomb at Santa Maria Novella
from 1495 to 1502, off and on, Filippino Lippi worked on the frescoes in the Strozzi Chapel. We will look at them in three segments: the vault, the narrative frescoes on the side walls, and the altar wall.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Filippino Lippi Leaves Rome to Complete Strozzi Chapel
In 1487, Filippino Lippi was commissioned by Filippo di Matteo Strozzi to decorate his chapel in Florence. The project was completed in 1502, fifteen years later. As we know, Filippino Lippi went to Rome in 1488 to work on the Carafa Chapel. This, in part, explains the gap.
Filippino Lippi's patron, Filippo di Matteo Strozzi, was born 4 July 1428 to a prominent family in Florence. In 1434, his father was banished from the city and, one year later, died from the plague. The family fell on hard times and, at a early age, Filippo was determined to rebuild their wealth. In 1441, he left Florence for Palermo. In 1446, he was in Spain. And, in 1447, he settled in Naples to work for his cousin in the finance business. By 1455, he was one of the correspondents of the Medici bank.
In 1458, a decree in Florence was enacted that banished for twenty-five years the sons and descendents of those that had been exiled in 1434. This devastated Filippo di Matteo Strozzi as he was determined to make his was back to Florence and re-establish the family's name and wealth. He remained in Naples and was joined by his younger brother, Lorenzo, in 1461. The brothers achieved financial power and personal influence. In an attempt to gain favor and to influence a retraction of the decree, the brothers began to lavish the king and his court with gifts and loans. In 1466, amnesty was granted to a number of banished citizens, including Filippo and Lorenzo.
\
Filippo di Matteo Strozzi returned to Florence within two weeks of the amnesty. He married Fiametto Adimari who was from a prominent family there. A son was born the following year, in 1467. The Strozzi business and wealth was growing only to be augmented by Filippo's inheritance from his cousin.
In 1475, Filippo commissioned a life-sized bust from Benedetto da Maiano.
With his family status restored, Filippo di Matteo Strozzi became earnest in his religious beliefs and joined the confraternity of San Benedetto Bianco. Thee group met regularly at Santa Maria Novella, the future home of the Strozzi Chapel. At this time, Filippo used his wealth to restore many churches. He also purchased properties to enhance the family name.
In my next post, we will begin our discussion and tour the Strozzi Chapel.
Filippino Lippi's patron, Filippo di Matteo Strozzi, was born 4 July 1428 to a prominent family in Florence. In 1434, his father was banished from the city and, one year later, died from the plague. The family fell on hard times and, at a early age, Filippo was determined to rebuild their wealth. In 1441, he left Florence for Palermo. In 1446, he was in Spain. And, in 1447, he settled in Naples to work for his cousin in the finance business. By 1455, he was one of the correspondents of the Medici bank.
In 1458, a decree in Florence was enacted that banished for twenty-five years the sons and descendents of those that had been exiled in 1434. This devastated Filippo di Matteo Strozzi as he was determined to make his was back to Florence and re-establish the family's name and wealth. He remained in Naples and was joined by his younger brother, Lorenzo, in 1461. The brothers achieved financial power and personal influence. In an attempt to gain favor and to influence a retraction of the decree, the brothers began to lavish the king and his court with gifts and loans. In 1466, amnesty was granted to a number of banished citizens, including Filippo and Lorenzo.
\
Filippo di Matteo Strozzi returned to Florence within two weeks of the amnesty. He married Fiametto Adimari who was from a prominent family there. A son was born the following year, in 1467. The Strozzi business and wealth was growing only to be augmented by Filippo's inheritance from his cousin.
In 1475, Filippo commissioned a life-sized bust from Benedetto da Maiano.
With his family status restored, Filippo di Matteo Strozzi became earnest in his religious beliefs and joined the confraternity of San Benedetto Bianco. Thee group met regularly at Santa Maria Novella, the future home of the Strozzi Chapel. At this time, Filippo used his wealth to restore many churches. He also purchased properties to enhance the family name.
In my next post, we will begin our discussion and tour the Strozzi Chapel.
Fiorentino's Descent from the Cross
Tonight with get to discuss a very emotional painting, the Descent from the Cross. Rosso Fiorentino completed this vibrant-colored, emotionally-charged, Manneristic altarpiece in 1521.
Set against a stark, grey background, the Descent from the Cross (or, Deposition) shows the anguished Joseph of Aramathia, Nicodemus, and Saint John the Evangelist taking down the lifeless, green-hued body of Christ from the cross.
Beneath, in a separate grouping, we find the Virgin and Mary Magdelene grieving over the horrific event that has taken place, the crucifixion.
The Descent from the Cross, originally painted for the Duomo, remains in it's original location in the Pinocoteca Comunale di Volterra.
Set against a stark, grey background, the Descent from the Cross (or, Deposition) shows the anguished Joseph of Aramathia, Nicodemus, and Saint John the Evangelist taking down the lifeless, green-hued body of Christ from the cross.
Beneath, in a separate grouping, we find the Virgin and Mary Magdelene grieving over the horrific event that has taken place, the crucifixion.
The Descent from the Cross, originally painted for the Duomo, remains in it's original location in the Pinocoteca Comunale di Volterra.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Marcia Hall: Michelangelo's Last Judgement.
Twenty years after he completed the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo returned to Rome in 1534 to paint the monumental altar scene of the Last Judgement. In preparation for this commission, significant changes had to be made to the chapel. Part of these changes included the destruction of his own lunettes, which were painted as part of the ceiling project. Also destructed was the large altarpiece of the Assumption of Mary (1481) by Perugino, along with the Finding of Moses, the Birth of Christ, and a series of popes painted across the wall and clerestory windows. The windows were bricked up. What remained was a large, uninterrupted wall in which Michelangelo had to conceive his work. This was quite different to the multi-partite ceiling of the Sistine chapel, which afforded Michelangelo architectural breaks in his thematic composition.
Michelangelo's layout of this scene of the Last Judgement departs from traditional renderings of the scene, which had registers with heaven above and hell below. Here, Michelangelo places Christ, Mary at his side, in the center with angels and mortal swirling around him in a cosmic fashion. The resurrection of the dead is in the lower left and hell is in the lower right. We feel as if Christ, with his illuminated mandorla, is the sun around which everything orbits.
With his movement coming towards us, Christ raises his right arm and glares down toward the damned, showing his power. "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." (Hall-Thess)
Just below Christ is the figure of Saint Bartholomew. He holds the knife that caused his demise in one hand and his skin in the other hand. His face does not match that of the face on the skin and it is believed that this is a self-portrait of Michelangelo. Common theology felt that when one is judged they will not enter heaven in their imperfect, mortal body but, rather, will take on the perfection of Christ at the age he sacrificed himself for mankind (age 33). As we learned earlier, Michelangelo had a fascination with the human body so his commission of this piece, and the nudes he painted, must have been intriguing to him.
All of the figures twist and turn in varying contrapposto poses. In 1586, Armenini, who wrote after Visari, suggested that Michelangelo used wax figurines to get these different poses. After creating one in a contrapposto pose, Michelangelo would sketch it and then melt the wax to create another pose. Here we see Saint Peter holding the keys to heaven. His pose is quite different from that of Saint Bartholomew above.
Reward and punishment was a marketing tool for the Church. The belief of redemption and immortality was a big attraction. With personal resurrection promised, Michelangelo's Last Judgement was a visual confirmation of this belief. Many engravings were created of the Last Judgement, making it accessible to more than those who had access to the chapel. With Counter-Reformation mandates, loin clothes were later painted on Michelangelo's nudes
Michelangelo's layout of this scene of the Last Judgement departs from traditional renderings of the scene, which had registers with heaven above and hell below. Here, Michelangelo places Christ, Mary at his side, in the center with angels and mortal swirling around him in a cosmic fashion. The resurrection of the dead is in the lower left and hell is in the lower right. We feel as if Christ, with his illuminated mandorla, is the sun around which everything orbits.
With his movement coming towards us, Christ raises his right arm and glares down toward the damned, showing his power. "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." (Hall-Thess)
Just below Christ is the figure of Saint Bartholomew. He holds the knife that caused his demise in one hand and his skin in the other hand. His face does not match that of the face on the skin and it is believed that this is a self-portrait of Michelangelo. Common theology felt that when one is judged they will not enter heaven in their imperfect, mortal body but, rather, will take on the perfection of Christ at the age he sacrificed himself for mankind (age 33). As we learned earlier, Michelangelo had a fascination with the human body so his commission of this piece, and the nudes he painted, must have been intriguing to him.
All of the figures twist and turn in varying contrapposto poses. In 1586, Armenini, who wrote after Visari, suggested that Michelangelo used wax figurines to get these different poses. After creating one in a contrapposto pose, Michelangelo would sketch it and then melt the wax to create another pose. Here we see Saint Peter holding the keys to heaven. His pose is quite different from that of Saint Bartholomew above.
Reward and punishment was a marketing tool for the Church. The belief of redemption and immortality was a big attraction. With personal resurrection promised, Michelangelo's Last Judgement was a visual confirmation of this belief. Many engravings were created of the Last Judgement, making it accessible to more than those who had access to the chapel. With Counter-Reformation mandates, loin clothes were later painted on Michelangelo's nudes
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)