Florence 2012 Journal: The Uffizi

The Uffizi

The Uffizi is one of the worlds oldest galleries, built in 1560 under Cosimo I de’ Medici; and the architect responsible was Giorgio Vasari. Although there would have been a construction team executing what Vasari had designed, Vasari himself did much decoration and the most exquisite example of this would be the ceilings running along the main hallway of the gallery (See Below). The frescoes were influenced by the discovery of the Grotesques in Rome. The Grotesques are frescoes that were found by archaeologists in the ‘Golden House‘ in Nero. Their name derives from having being found in a basement - a grotto. The structure that stands today was built on top of an earlier site that housed a church, therefore much of the basement (where the toilets now are!) contain ruins.

ŸSala di Giotto: e del duecento

Giotto’s Room: and the 13th Century.

As you enter the Room of Giotto, you are immediately struck by three 10 ft high paintings. The one placed in the middle is by Giotto himself while the other two are by Cimabue and Duccio.

The 3 paintings alike portray the Madonna Enthroned. Cimabue’s was the first to be painted (1275), next came Duccio’s (1285) and then lastly, Giotto’s (1305).

Giotto’s Madonna was painted for and originally placed in the Ognissanti church in Florence. He, as the creator of chiaroscuro, has used this technique and it is clear to see that the use of shade is more advanced than the earlier two, most notably in that you can tell how the drapery falls over Mary’s chest. Furthermore, Giotto‘s gives in to the illusion of space and with the use of the reverse one point perspective, the viewer is drawn into the picture and guided up the stairs to the throne. Also, underneath the throne lies a vase with flowers inside; their iconographical meaning are as follows: Red flower: Passion of Christ, Lily: the flower that archangel Gabriel gave to Mary in the Annunciation and white: Virginity.

Another interesting piece from Giotto in this room is his altarpiece. The saints are only depicted from the waist upwards and this is reference to how the rest of the church would see a priest during service. The priest parts bread and drinks wine behind a table - you only see him from the waist upwards. Thus, Giotto is likening the priest to the saints depicted behind him.

Cimabue’s version recalls the Romanesque churches of Medieval Florence in his depiction of a crypt like structure underneath Mary’s throne. Here, there are two saints underneath looking up towards the ’Queen of Paradise’. Although Cimabue’s painting technique is considered not as true to ‘proto-renaissance’ as Giotto‘s, there is still even in the 1280’s evidence of development in technique. Here we see it in the colour toning on the wings of the angels and a vague attempt at offering perspective - he did not let any of his figures ‘float’ in the same way as Duccio did, they are arranged (albeit simply) one behind another. As with most paintings of this century, there is a lot of gilded gold and even some glass and mirror in the halo of the Christ child and Mary (so that it would reflect light and seemingly glimmer).

Lastly, Duccio’s Madonna (Pictured Right) is clearly the least advanced, however he was from

a Sienese school of painters and studied the French gothic style. Henceforth, it could be argued that his depiction (of the Christ child in particular) is the ‘sweetest‘. As I previously touched upon, the angel figures here are not standing on ground, they seem to be floating (but do note, it is not because they are ‘divine’ and can fly. It is because Duccio could not extend the floor into the background).This painting is a prime example of the so called ‘sea sick Madonna’s’. This name derives from the fact that her face is slightly green. The reason for this is pre 20th century restoration and preservation techniques. The technique in particular that is responsible for this is Lime Soda cleaning. At first, the results were a success, until they had realised that even when the Soda is washed away, the residue still bites at the egg tempera; therefore the green undercoat of painting is revealed.

ŸSala del Trecento Senese

14th century Sienese painters

Here we saw the works of Ambrogio Lorenzetti (Presentation in Temple) and Simone Martini (Annunciation).

Lorenzetti’s piece is known to have been ’new’ Gothic art because of its use of both rounded and pointed arches, which in iconography represents both the old and new testament. The perspective of this painting isn’t particularly skilful but Lorenzetti has knowingly painted such bold, big characters in the foreground that it goes without notice.

Simone Martini’s Annunciation (1333) depicts the archangel Gabriel saying ‘Hail Mary, God is with you’. He holds an olive branch to signify peace, as upon arrival her expression is visibly frightened. Martini’s painting technique has been influenced by French art hence the pink cheeks and soft faces.

ŸSala del Gotico Internazionale

International Gothic room.

Gentile de Fabriano‘s 1423 Adoration of the Kings (Pictured Left) was painted alongside early Renaissance art. While the likes of Brunelleschi were researching mathematics in order to produce perfect art, Fabriano remained old fashioned. However, while it is old fashioned and covered in gold leaf, he offers a lot of movement in the background, and landscape. Therefore we say that this style, international gothic, was simply to boast the commissioners wealth and status - it doesn’t necessarily lack skill. 

ŸSala di Primo Rinascimento

Early Renaissance room.

This room features the Battle of san Romano, by Paulo Uccello. Uccello was active under Cosimo de’ Medici in the 15th century. This painting had pride of place in the Palazzo Medici in the bedroom of Lorenzo the Magnificent. It portrays a fight with the Sienese people and its main function is to fuel patriotism.

Domenico Veneziano is also among the painters represented here. Veneziano was infamously believed to have been murdered by Andrea del Castagno - it was only proved recently that the latter died before him and thus that is not possible. The culprit for this misinformation is Giorgio Vasari and his sometimes not so reliable Lives. His Mary and Child (1447) depicts St. Francis, Madonna and Child, St Zanobi, St. John the Baptist and St. Lucy. 

Lastly to be discussed from this room is the Human Trinity which is St. Anna, Mary and Christ child. This was a collaboration between Masolino and Massacio. These names are their given nicknames, in fact they are both called Thomas and these names characterise their painting technique. Masolino’s nick name means little Tom, and makes reference to the soft, pretty faces he paints; Massacio on the other hand means ‘Big, Ugly Tom’ and the faces he draws are as implied. In the trinity, Masolino  paints the faces of the angels while the latter paints the trinity and controversially depicts St. Ana as old.

ŸSala Di Fillipo Lippi

Fillipo Lippi room

Duke and Duchess of Urbino, 1473 by Pierro della Francesca. The Man shown here is not drawn in three quarter profile (the norm) but in full profile. This is believed to be a subtle indication from the artist that he was disliked among the public - his allegiances during fighting were dependent on who paid him the most money and was therefore considered disloyal. The Duchess is painted very pale because she was dead when it was painted. The piece is painted recto en verso and therefore has two sides. The back side (verso) shows cardinal virtues being drawn by white horses (behind the Duke) while brown horses are pulling along the theological values at the back of the depiction of the Duchess.

Adoration of the Magi, 1496 by Fillipo Lippi recalls some elements from Leonardo Da Vinci’s Adoration such as horror vacui - the fear of space (usually used in mannerist paintings); and morti mentali or ‘state of mind’ that shows a variation of expression on faces and in the posture of figures.

Madonna and child with two angels (Pictured Right) also by Lippi shows an attractive Mary that is modelled on a nun he knew and fell in love with. Her gesture represents humility and is a typical pose of friars, monks and nuns.

ŸSala di Antonio e Piero del Pollaiuolo

Antonio and Piero del Pollaiolo room.

Antonio’s two actions of Hercules were part of a wider series of paintings commissioned by  the Medici. The Medici commissioned and owned a lot of art work with the subject matter being something other than Christianity. This is because they would have liked everybody else to identify them with beauty and intelligence .

ŸSala di Botticelli

Botticelli room.

Birth of Venus (1486): The Venus figure was based on a Roman statue in the house of Medici. At either side of Venus Botticelli has portrayed the following: Zephyr the God of Wind with the nymph he transformed into a Goddess (to the left) and a beautiful mistress from Portovenere (to the right). Zephyr is effectively ‘blowing’ Venus to the shore of Portovenere.

Pallas and the centaur (1482): Shows a centaur preparing his bow and arrow to attack while Pallas controls his violent passion and dissuades him from doing so. Her role as the ‘controller‘ echoes the power of the Medici as their symbol of intertwined rings are painted on her clothes.

Primavera (1482): Botticelli’s Primavera was the first in the trio of paintings that I have discussed. They were commissioned by Lorenzo the Magnificent in order to pass on to his cousin as a wedding gift. Primavera shows a beautiful Venus in the middle of the composition while her son, Cupid, is above and blindfolded while aiming for somewhere with a burning arrow (we can assume this was aimed at the couple to be married). To the right of Venus, you can also see Chloris and her transformation from nymph to Goddess, with Zephyr at her side. She is seen emerging from the woodlands with flowers erupting for her mouth and then almost falling into her Goddess form (See Left).

As a trio, the messages to the couple of whom would acquire them were: recreate, avoid infidelity and to get married in the Spring.

Florence 2012 Journal: Santa Croce

Santa Croce

Santa Croce began construction (possibly under the instruction of Anolfo di Cambio) on top of an earlier site  in the 13^th century alongside the arrival of Franciscan friars to Florence and became the biggest Franciscan church to exist. As is typical of Franciscan churches, it is ‘T’ shaped instead of being shaped like a cross. It wasn’t until the 19^th century that the facade that stands now was finished. It is Neo-Gothic in style. It has flying buttresses and pointed windows/arches.

Inside it has only one floor, with arcades; instead of boasting a number of floors like you would find in other European Gothic churches. This is mainly because the Florentines were renowned for being earthbound and merchant. Florence was an affluent centre of trade and invented the Gold Florin that was used as international currency throughout the Renaissance years. Therefore, Gothic never quite broke through and while their Gothic buildings are beautiful and in some cases overwhelming, they do not intimidate or frighten you with a sense of the sublime in the way a Gothic church would elsewhere. However, the impressive structure of the church did in fact survive bombing in the Second World War.

Florence although clearly religious in the centuries throughout the Renaissance did not wholly succumb to the trend of Gothic churches. The Florentine bankers and numerous trades and guilds asserted their dominance and therefore the churches were influenced as so. All churches in Florence will have the emblem/crest of their contributor somewhere, and often quite obviously. The church Orsanmichelle particularly epitomises the importance of trade when it was rebuilt in 1344 to be used to store grain.

Santa Croce translates into ‘the Holy Cross’. The reason for this name is the illustration of the story ‘Legend of the True Cross’ situated in the ‘cappella maggiore ‘of the church. The frescoes were done by Agnolo Gaddi, the son of Taddeo and collaborator of Giotto. Running along the walls also once stood another fresco cycle of the life of Jesus.

The story tells of the Roman Emperor Constantine who had a dream where an angel held out a cross and said he would be victorious in battle under ‘this sign’. As the battle ensued, Constantine instructed his soldiers to use no weaponry, only the cross and march towards the opposition. As the angel had promised, Constantine won the battle with no bloodshed whatsoever and as consequence became the first baptised Roman Emperor in 312 ad.

The mother of Constantine, Helena, wanted to find the ‘true cross’ that Jesus was crucified on and therefore tortured a Jewish man who she believed knew where the cross was. The Jewish man supposedly took her to the three crosses that were used the day of Jesus’ crucifixion and in order to find out which one was the ‘true cross’, she put each one in front of an ill man. The cross that cured him was the ‘true cross’.

At the left hand side of the altar above (of which was a later addition by Vasari), an unveiled part of a fresco cycle can be seen (the Passion scene). Note how the altars also cover up some of the original windows.

There are a total of 16 chapels; chapels were often sold to rich families thus each chapel is decorated in their preferences and will no doubt have their family crest present and a number of tombs where family members have been buried.

The most notable tomb in Santa Croce is that of Michelangelo Buonarroti (above). It has the crest of the Buonarroti family (See left, zoomed) covered in drapery.

Below the family crest is a bust of Michelangelo  himself. Further down, the three women sitting on the marble represent architecture, sculpture and painting – homage to his crafts. It is believed that Michelangelo had been making his ‘Pieta’ to be put on his tomb however it was left unfinished in his workshop and his tomb was therefore made by Vasari. Vasari encouraged Michelangelo’s nephew to hand over the unfinished Pieta to the Grand Duke Cosimo; it can now be found in the Basilica of St Peter in Rome.

Alongside the many notable pieces of artwork in the church are the crucifixes by Donatello and Cimabue. The wooden crucifix by Donatello dates back to the early 15^th century, the exact date remains disputed among art historians although it is estimated to have been made somewhere in between 1412-1425. The pieces are movable, therefore during mass and prayers the passion scene can be acted out. Cimabue’s crucifix was finished during the 1280’s and suffered water damage in the 1966 flood.

Florence 2012 Journal: Perception & Effects of Images

Perception & effects of images

The earliest fresco decorations date back to the 5^th century in the Basilica of St. Felix in Nola. However it wasn’t until under Gregory the Great (pope 540-602) that Frescoes had begun to be commissioned in order to educate ‘instructio & edificatio’ the ignorant ‘illeterati’.

Instruction: ‘Picture service to instruct the uneducated’                                                   

Edification: ‘To recall the mystery of the incarnation of Christ and the exemplary lives of saints’ remembrance to reinforce feeling of reverence’ (Aquinas)

Christian services were held in Latin and therefore the illiterate or the otherwise known as ‘ignorant’ could not understand or be involved in their religion. The policies pushed forward by Gregory the Great meant that they could begin to understand the stories from the bible and live their life accordingly. The ancient frescoes were naturalistic because nature was believed to have been as divine as the saints themselves and acknowledged as a product of God; the notion of ‘Visible Parlare’ by Dante further enhanced this in that the subjects in frescoes and art work would be visibly interacting – something that was lost under the ‘Greek manner’ or otherwise ‘byzantine style’.

Cimabue was the supposed master of Giotto and was said to have worked in the ‘Greek Style’, whereas Giotto began to employ aspects of a revived ‘Latin Style’. The Latin Style is clearly the beginnings of the Renaissance as it resorts back to the Aristotelian theory that ‘Ars imitator naturam’ – Art imitates nature. Unlike the Latin manner, the Greek manner was not conscious of proportion and perspective. Cimabue and his contemporaries were said to have used a compass to get the length of a nose in a painting and use multiples of the ‘nose length’ to determine where other features go. On the other hand, the Latin manner incorporated the ‘naturalism’ of classical art, however it hadn’t been perfected until the likes of Michelangelo and Leonardo as, for example, it was not acceptable to paint a commissioner or a ‘normal person’ to the scale of the saints until at least the 1420’s. This is where we see diminution; the sizes of subjects are not depicted in terms of reality but rather in terms of importance.