Download Visual Evidence Study Guide History 4, Unit 4 Visual Evidence A Art

Visual Evidence Study Guide
History 4, Unit 4
Visual Evidence A
Art and Politics in Renaissance Florence
4.4-A1
Palazzo Medici, Florence, exterior
The immense palace built by Cosimo de’Medici represents the beginnings of the
Florentine Renaissance palazzo: rational, monumental, and rigorously disciplined.
Cosimo first asked Brunelleschi to design his palazzo, but Brunelleschi's proposal
seemed too grandiose to a man careful to maintain the appearance of being first
among equals. Cosimo turned it down. The architect was reputedly enraged, but
there was little he could do. Cosimo hired Michelozzo di Bartolornmeo instead.
The most impressive and trend-setting urban palazzi were, of course, put up by the
richest bankers and merchants: the Medici, Pitti, Ruccellai, and Strozzi. Seeing the
remains of Roman buildings, they realized that architecture could assure their fame
for centuries. Giovanni Ruccellai noted in his diary that he viewed his palazzo,
designed by Alberti, as his major achievement. Building such palaces typically
consumed one-half to two-thirds of a man's financial worth. To justify this
extravagance, Florentines cited ancient sources, such as Aristotle, who advocated
lavish expenditure as a virtue befitting a patrician, especially one actively involved
in civic life, Leon Battista Alberti argued in his treatise On Architecture that the
wealth of magnates was the sign of God's favor, This was a great excuse for
ostentatious display.
For the Palazzo Medici, Michelozzo proposed a structure that combined traditional
Florentine architecture with features derived from ancient Roman buildings. The
heavily rusticated walls were based on those of surviving Roman ruins. The heavy
cornice capping Michelozzo's palazzo was also influenced by Roman examples,
but it had a practical function: to shield both the building and the passers-by from
rain. The Medici insigna of balls on a shield can be seen on the external corner of
the palazzo and above the arches in the interior courtyard (see #4.4.7). The elegant
proportions and classical vocabulary of the Medici residence made it a prototype
for patrician dwellings for the next few centuries, not only in Florence, but
throughout Tuscany, Italy, and beyond.
4.4-A2
Palazzo Medici, Florence, interior
The inner courtyard of the Palazzo Medici is in sharp contrast with the powerful
modeling of the exterior facade. This is a refined, private environment, where
cultural life prevails over the external world of trade and finance. The revival of
classical styles of architectural design is evident.
4.4-A3
Chapel of the Magi. Palazzo Medici
The Magi Chapel is a chapel in Palazzo Medici. It includes a famous cycle of
frescoes by the Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli, painted in 1459-1461 (next
image).
4.4-A4
Procession of the Magi, by Benozzo Gozzoli, Palazzo Medici Chapel
The fresco of the Procession of the Magi extends across the east, south and west
walls of the main room above the encircling benches. The religious subject acts as
a pretext for depicting the procession of important people in Florence.
Amidst a rich landscape probably influenced by Flemish artists (perhaps through
tapestries), Gozzoli portrayed the members of the Medici family riding in the
foreground of the fresco just behind one of the three kings. Cosimo and his son
Pietro ride next to each other (see detail) while Cosimo's grandson Lorenzo rides
further back in the procession of illustrious Florentines, including the humanists
Marsilio Ficino, the Pulci brothers and members of the Art Guilds.
4.4-A5
Church of San Lorenzo, re-designed by Brunelleschi
Brunelleschi was commissioned by the Medici family, one of the leading merchants and bankers of Florence, to add a sacristy to the Romanesque church of San
Lorenzo. His plans for this sacristy (which was to serve also as a burial chapel for
the Medici) so impressed his patron that he was immediately asked to develop a
new design for the entire church. The construction, begun in 1421, was often
interrupted, so that the interior was not completed until 1469, more than twenty
years after the architect's death (the exterior remains unfinished to this day).
What distinguishes Brunelleschi’s new version of the church is an emphasis on
symmetry and regularity. The entire design consists of square units: four large
squares form the choir, the crossing, and the arms of the transept; four more are
combined into the nave; other squares, one-fourth the size of the large units, make
up the aisles and the chapels attached to the transept.
The interior bears out Brunelleschi’s intentions. Cool, static order has replaced the
emotional warmth, the flowing spatial movement of Gothic church interiors. S.
Lorenzo does not sweep us off our feet. It does not even draw us forward after we
have entered it - we are quite content to remain near the door, for our view seems
to take in the entire structure almost as if, from that vantage point, we were
confronted with a particularly clear and convincing demonstration of scientific
perspective.
Architectural Proportions.
At this point we may well ask: if the new architecture consists essentially of
separate elements added together, be they spaces, columns, or vaults, how did
Brunelleschi relate these elements to each other? What makes the interior of S.
Lorenzo seem so beautifully integrated? There is indeed a controlling principle that
accounts for the harmonious, balanced character of his design. The secret of good
architecture, Brunelleschi was convinced, lay in giving the "right" proportions - that
is, proportional ratios expressed in simple whole numbers - to all the significant
measurements of a building. The ancient Romans had possessed this secret, he
believed, and he tried to rediscover it by painstakingly surveying the remains of
their monuments.
In the revival of classical forms, Renaissance architecture found a standard
vocabulary; the theory of harmonious proportions provided it with the kind of
syntax that had been mostly absent in medieval architecture.
4.4-A6
Old Sacristy, Church of San Lorenzo, by Brunelleschi
The Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy, was constructed during the
years 1419-1428 and is considered one of the most influential buildings of the
early Italian Renaissance. Brunelleschi's Old Sacristy, in its original design, was
pristine and void of the architectural ornamentation that had come to characterize
so many gothic-style buildings that preceded it. One of Brunelleschi's most
influential contributions to the evolution of Renaissance architectural style was the
expression of geometric patterns formed by the dark gray stone, known as pietra
serena, against the light stucco walls.
4.4-A7
Sassatti Chapel, Church of Santa Trinita
For the Florentines, chapel frescoes were less about the accomplishments of
painters than about the saints whose lives they narrated and the owners who
commissioned these spaces. Francesco Sassetti, a manager of the Geneva branch of
the Medici bank, commissioned Domenico Ghirlandaio to create one of the more
personalized fresco cycles. No one in contemporary Florence could paint more
accurate portraits than Ghirlandaio, or depict with such precision the daily world
of Florentine elites. Sassetti's chapel in the church of Santa Trinità served to fulfill a
vow of thanksgiving. Francesco had lost his young son Theodoro, but was soon
blessed with another boy.
4.4-A8
Miracle of St Francis (middle fresco)
The middle fresco depicts Francesco's reversal of fortune. Ostensibly it shows an
episode from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, Francesco's patron saint: the saint
appears from the sky to miraculously resurrect the son of a Roman notary who had
been killed when he fell out of a window (seen in the background of the painting).
But the event that took place in Rome is staged in Florence, in the Piazza Santa
Trinità, before the very church that contained Francesco's chapel. The resurrected
boy is Francesco's new son, and the onlookers, members of the Sassati family.
4.4-A9
Confirmation of the Order of St. Francis (upper fresco)
The upper fresco depicts the confirmation of the Order of St. Francis (see detail). In
the center, St. Francis is kneeling with his brothers in faith before Pope Honorius III,
who is handing St. Francis a scroll confirming the Rule of the newly-founded Order
of St. Francis. In the foreground, important Florentine personalities are taking part
the historical events. On the right we can see Sassetti, who commissioned the
paintings, with his young son Federigo. At his side is his employer, Lorenzo the
Magnificent, followed by Antonio Pucci, a powerful and loyal friend of the Medici
family. On the other side are three more of Sassetti's sons, and in the foreground
Lorenzo the Magnificent's two young sons, his nephew and their teachers are
climbing up the steps.
The extravagant architecture in the background is visible through a large arched
hall which opens onto the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. The Loggia dei Lanzi
with its three wide rounded arches, and the left side of the Palazzo Vecchio, are
clearly recognizable in the distance.
Setting the events in Florence serves to celebrate this city as the new Rome, as the
new center of the world. St. Francis once demonstrated his submission to the Pope
as the head of the Church; a comparable action is now taking place with regard to
Lorenzo the Magnificent, the ruler of Florence, on whom the attention of all those
standing in the foreground is focused.
Visual Evidence B
The Spiritual and the Material in Renaissance Venice
4.4-B1
Procession in Piazza San Marco, Venice, 1496
Gentile Bellini painted this view of a procession of holy relics in piazza San Marco
in 1496. In the incomparable wide angle view, the spectacle of St Mark's Square
and the ceremony taking place unfold. At the far end of the square the Basilica of St
Mark's still glows with the gold of the marble decorations and the VenetoByzantine mosaics. The Porta della Carta too stands splendid in its original gilded
marble decorations, a brilliant caesura between the Basilica and the Palace of
Doges. On the right, grouped around the base of the campanile stands the cluster
of buildings including the Orseolo Hospice.
Bellini devotes much attention to the details of the procession. While the members
of the government with the Doge at their head preceded by the standard-bearers,
the trumpeters and the symbols of power, pass by the campanile on the right, the
members of the Confraternity who commissioned the painting stand out in the
foreground, dressed in the white of the Scuola. In the middle of the group escorted
by candle-bearers a canopy covers a golden 'soler' on which is carried the precious
relic of the Holy Cross. Reality in the scene is treated faithfully and in minute detail
and to encompass the whole event the perspective is widened artificially. In this
'mediaeval' canvas Gentile Bellini achieves a choral grandeur within which he
fixes his portrait of men and buildings.
4.4-B2
Miracle at San Lio, by Giovanni Mansueti
This is one of a cycle of paintings commissioned by the Scuola Grande di San
Giovanni Evangelista. Mansueti depicts a location still identifiable today, with
typical Venetian roof-terraces and windows overlooking the public spaces of the
city. This presentation of religious rituals in recognizable urban settings merged
faith and piety into the everyday life of the city. Note the presence of important
public figures, with the members of the Venetian Senate in their red robes and the
city magistrates in black robes.
4.4-B3
Senate Chamber in the Palazzo Ducale, Venice
The Venetian Senate was the oldest institution of government in the city. The
number of Senators was fixed at 60 in the 14th century, but increased in size so by
the 16th Century there were 300. The Venetian Senate's function was not exactly
like that in a modern secular government. It was made up of members of the
aristocracy. The Senate nominated magistrates, ambassadors, bishops, and the
patriarch of the church. It could also declare war.
4.4-B4
The Dead Christ Adored by Doges Pietro Lando and Marcantonio Trevisan
Senate Room
Tintoretto's dramatic painting is on wall above the throne in the Hall of the Senate.
Note how this painting links the government of the city (the Doges) to the religious
impulses of the Church. This vast painting dominates the room where the Senate
deliberations took place.
4.4-B5
The Sala del Maggior Consiglio (Great Council Room)
Palazzo Ducale, Venice
The "Maggior Consiglio" - the great council room was one of the most important
rooms in the Doges Palace. Within the immense hall the members of the greater
council (‘Maggior Consiglio') met to proclaim laws and elect members of the
Venetian state. Originally a popular assembly, it was eventually made up almost
entirely of aristocrats. There were nine rows of seats and in the center of the room
two platforms where speakers could address the gathering.
4.4-B6
Coronation of the Virgin, Sala del Maggior Consiglio
This enormous canvas by Tintoretto, the largest painted canvas in the world, fills
the wall behind the dais on which the Doge and leading patricians sat during
meetings of the Great Council. The seething crowds of saints and angels
purposefully suggest a Last Judgment, reminding Great Council members of the
gravity and enduring significance of their deliberations and actions.
4.4-B7
Scoula Levantina, Jewish Synagogue in the Venice Ghetto
The existence of a Jewish population in the region around Venice can be
documented as early as the first century of the Common Era, a time when many
Jews moved around the Mediterranean. After Venice's defeat in the League of
Cambrai, in which the city fought every power in Europe, many refugees poured in,
and the Jewish population became a valuable asset for its medical, banking and
commerce skills. The creation of the Ghetto in 1516 required Jewish families to live
and worship in a precisely defined area, in the parish of San Geremia. It was an
area where the Republic's iron and brass foundries were located. Venice imposed a
curfew on the Jewish community, and required residents to wear identifying badges.
They were permitted to rent but not to own real estate. Although restrictive, the
Ghetto also provided a safe haven for Jews from the violence and aggression
against non-Christians in the economically and politically strained Venice of the
early sixteenth century. Despite these severe limitations, the Jewish community
prospered in Venice, and they received better treatment there than in many other
European cities at this time.
At the spiritual heart of the Ghetto were the synagogues, which were known in
Venice as scole, partly because their function in some ways resembled that of the
Christian confraternities (scuole) as places of devotion, learning and charity.
Originally there were three scole invisible from the street since the Republic
forbade the public expression of non-Christian worship. Because space in the
Ghetto was limited, buildings there rose as high as nine stories. Over the years the
number of scole in the Ghetto increased to nine, of which five survive today, three
in the Ghetto Nuovo and two in the Ghetto Vecchio.