The Poli Chapel in the Basilica of San Crisogono in Trastevere represents an example of the way B... more The Poli Chapel in the Basilica of San Crisogono in Trastevere represents an example of the way Bernini availed himself of collaborators even in his last architectural project. Starting from a re-interpretation of the literary and archival sources, which previously led to a case of "switched identities" between it (a cornu Epistulae) and the Chapel of the Madonna del Carmine on the opposite side of the apse (a cornu Evangelii), the essay takes into consideration the iconographic meaning Bernini orchestrated for the Poli Chapel and investigates the ways in which the restorations that have occurred since the Second World War have changed its original aspect. Finally, with the documented removal of the current altarpiece in July 2018, the article testifies to the disappearance of Ludovico Gimignani's original altarpiece depicting the Guardian Angel that was still believed to lie behind the current nineteenth-century painting.
In his analysis of Pietro Cavallini's mosaic cycle in Santa Maria in Trastevere, with six sce... more In his analysis of Pietro Cavallini's mosaic cycle in Santa Maria in Trastevere, with six scenes from the Life of the Virgin and a donor mosaic all dated to the 1290s, Paul Hetherington makes a most startling obser vation about an iconographic detail in the Annunciation to the Virgin (Fig. I).1 After having explained that the vase of lilies on Mary's throne "is a direct reference to the phrase 'O inviolabile castitatis lilium!' used
noticed, rating the public as a more obser vant critic than himself."1 It so happened that o... more noticed, rating the public as a more obser vant critic than himself."1 It so happened that one day a shoemaker found fault with the sandals the painter had represented because they had one loop too few. Recog nizing his mistake, Apelles corrected his painting and then placed it in public view once again. When the next day the shoe maker proudly noticed the correction, he became so bold as also to express his criti cism of the leg the artist had painted. At this point, Apelles "indignantly looked out from behind the picture and rebuked him, saying that a shoemaker in his criticism must not
The attentive viewer standing in the Bran cacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, will... more The attentive viewer standing in the Bran cacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, will notice that in Masaccio's famous work The Tribute Money all of the apostles as well as Christ have been depict ed barefoot (Figs. 1 and 2).1 In this scene, in keeping with the chapel's emphasis on an accurate historical interpretation of Petrine supremacy as derived from the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles,2 the artist also painted what by the fifteenth century had become a historically correct representation of the early Christians' "dress code." Although in the New Testament Christ and his followers
clearly recorded in Pliny's claim that Apelles and Polyclitus did so by employing the imperfe... more clearly recorded in Pliny's claim that Apelles and Polyclitus did so by employing the imperfect tense 'faciebat" after their name: "Apelles faciebat aut Polycleitus." The implication, Pliny elucidates, was that the work could have been perfected even more had the artists not been prevented by fate.1 Modern studies have shown that anonymity in medieval art is an erroneous construct, a îiction or myth already present in Vasan, but especially propagated by authors such as Burckhardt in the nineteenth century.2 Recent scholarship has further shown that even geographic areas in which artists were traditionally considered self-effacing were equally characterized by strong artistic presences, such as the eleventh-century Georgian monk Ioannes Tohabi in the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, who not only signed six icons but also included his self-portrait in one of them.3 It is debatable how much medieval and Renaissance
... 30 – Leonardo, Trattato della Pittura, Cod. Urb., ed. P. McMahon (Princeton, 1956), f. 33v, n... more ... 30 – Leonardo, Trattato della Pittura, Cod. Urb., ed. P. McMahon (Princeton, 1956), f. 33v, no. ... 437–8, on Cosimo dei Medici exchange of views with Cellini about the completion of the Perseus: ' “Benvenuto, this figure cannot succeed in bronze; the laws of art do not admit of it”. ...
The Children's Bacchanal is not only the most consummate but also the most baffling of the dr... more The Children's Bacchanal is not only the most consummate but also the most baffling of the drawings Michelangelo executed for Tommaso de' Cavalieri. This article provides a new reading of the work by undertaking a thorough analysis of the compositional elements. In the process, the significance of some previously misunderstood details are clarified and the allegory made more pertinent to the artist's life and work. The article posits that the drawing was a visual exemplum of what Ficino considered the threats posed to the human soul by the excess of love for the elemental body. While in the upper half of the sheet Michelangelo may have alluded to the ‘incontinent man’, an individual in whom the ‘tumultuous corporeal passion prevails’, in the sleeping youth depicted in the lower portion he may have referred to ‘the intemperate man’. For such a person ‘reason slept entirely or completely succumbed to desire’ during his lifetime while ‘after death it is weighed down by an even deeper slumber and troubled by even more frightening dreams’. If the interpretation here adduced is closer to the artist's intentions, it may be more appropriate to define the drawing an Allegory of the Intemperate Soul.
A comparison of the two versions of Diana and Actaeon by Paolo de Matteis illustrates how in the ... more A comparison of the two versions of Diana and Actaeon by Paolo de Matteis illustrates how in the second version the painter abandoned his "poetic" interpretation of the myth for a "dramatic" one in conformity with Lord Shaftesbury's theoretical views. Shaftesbury believed that the history painter should follow a "rule of consistency" precluding the temporal metalepsis exhibited, for example, in the many paintings of the Diana and Actaeon story showing the latter's "horns already sprouted" even before "the goddess ... has thrown her cast." The article provides external evidence for dating the paintings, and shows that, in attempting to adapt literary theory to painting, Shaftesbury failed to heed his own advice knowing, as one learns from his notes, that ut pictura non poesis.
A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning... more A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning of the eighteenth century when the sculptural project for the twelve apostles in the nave of St. John Lateran was being finalized, is contradicted by a number of factors. By analyzing some literary sources (Charles Poerson, Charles De Brosses, Winckelmann) and visual evidence from a conservative artistic milieu (Accademia di San Luca), the article suggests that, contrary to common belief, Bernini cast a “long shadow” well beyond the beginning of the eighteenth century. Indeed, it was only in the 1770s that his fame was finally obfuscated by the growing appreciation for the “noble simplicity and quiet grandeur” of Neoclassical art represented by works such as Canova’s first Roman commission, the tomb of Clement XIV (1787).
This article focuses on two features of Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi made more readable after... more This article focuses on two features of Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi made more readable after its restoration: the old man behind the Virgin and the object painted in front of him. In contrast to previous interpretations, it is argued that the old man does not represent St. Joseph. Rather, it is St. Donatus, patron saint of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine who commissioned the altarpiece for their church of San Donato a Scopeto. If, as argued, the garment he wears is a chasuble, the object in front of him a wine vat and the vessel he holds a pyx, then the painting referenced both the theme of the Adoration of the Magi and the patron saint’s miracle of the mass while telescoping in a visual prolepsis the beginning and the end of the Christ Child’s redeeming mission.
A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning... more A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning of the eighteenth century when the sculptural project for the twelve apostles in the nave of St. John Lateran was being finalized, is contradicted by a number of factors. By analyzing some literary sources (Charles Poerson, Charles De Brosses, Winckelmann) and visual evidence from a conservative artistic milieu (Accademia di San Luca), the article suggests that, contrary to common belief, Bernini cast a “long shadow” well beyond the beginning of the eighteenth century. Indeed, it was only in the 1770s that his fame was finally obfuscated by the growing appreciation for the “noble simplicity and quiet grandeur” of Neoclassical art represented by works such as Canova’s first Roman commission, the tomb of Clement XIV (1787).
The Poli Chapel in the Basilica of San Crisogono in Trastevere represents an example of the way B... more The Poli Chapel in the Basilica of San Crisogono in Trastevere represents an example of the way Bernini availed himself of collaborators even in his last architectural project. Starting from a re-interpretation of the literary and archival sources, which previously led to a case of "switched identities" between it (a cornu Epistulae) and the Chapel of the Madonna del Carmine on the opposite side of the apse (a cornu Evangelii), the essay takes into consideration the iconographic meaning Bernini orchestrated for the Poli Chapel and investigates the ways in which the restorations that have occurred since the Second World War have changed its original aspect. Finally, with the documented removal of the current altarpiece in July 2018, the article testifies to the disappearance of Ludovico Gimignani's original altarpiece depicting the Guardian Angel that was still believed to lie behind the current nineteenth-century painting.
In his analysis of Pietro Cavallini's mosaic cycle in Santa Maria in Trastevere, with six sce... more In his analysis of Pietro Cavallini's mosaic cycle in Santa Maria in Trastevere, with six scenes from the Life of the Virgin and a donor mosaic all dated to the 1290s, Paul Hetherington makes a most startling obser vation about an iconographic detail in the Annunciation to the Virgin (Fig. I).1 After having explained that the vase of lilies on Mary's throne "is a direct reference to the phrase 'O inviolabile castitatis lilium!' used
noticed, rating the public as a more obser vant critic than himself."1 It so happened that o... more noticed, rating the public as a more obser vant critic than himself."1 It so happened that one day a shoemaker found fault with the sandals the painter had represented because they had one loop too few. Recog nizing his mistake, Apelles corrected his painting and then placed it in public view once again. When the next day the shoe maker proudly noticed the correction, he became so bold as also to express his criti cism of the leg the artist had painted. At this point, Apelles "indignantly looked out from behind the picture and rebuked him, saying that a shoemaker in his criticism must not
The attentive viewer standing in the Bran cacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, will... more The attentive viewer standing in the Bran cacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, will notice that in Masaccio's famous work The Tribute Money all of the apostles as well as Christ have been depict ed barefoot (Figs. 1 and 2).1 In this scene, in keeping with the chapel's emphasis on an accurate historical interpretation of Petrine supremacy as derived from the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles,2 the artist also painted what by the fifteenth century had become a historically correct representation of the early Christians' "dress code." Although in the New Testament Christ and his followers
clearly recorded in Pliny's claim that Apelles and Polyclitus did so by employing the imperfe... more clearly recorded in Pliny's claim that Apelles and Polyclitus did so by employing the imperfect tense 'faciebat" after their name: "Apelles faciebat aut Polycleitus." The implication, Pliny elucidates, was that the work could have been perfected even more had the artists not been prevented by fate.1 Modern studies have shown that anonymity in medieval art is an erroneous construct, a îiction or myth already present in Vasan, but especially propagated by authors such as Burckhardt in the nineteenth century.2 Recent scholarship has further shown that even geographic areas in which artists were traditionally considered self-effacing were equally characterized by strong artistic presences, such as the eleventh-century Georgian monk Ioannes Tohabi in the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, who not only signed six icons but also included his self-portrait in one of them.3 It is debatable how much medieval and Renaissance
... 30 – Leonardo, Trattato della Pittura, Cod. Urb., ed. P. McMahon (Princeton, 1956), f. 33v, n... more ... 30 – Leonardo, Trattato della Pittura, Cod. Urb., ed. P. McMahon (Princeton, 1956), f. 33v, no. ... 437–8, on Cosimo dei Medici exchange of views with Cellini about the completion of the Perseus: ' “Benvenuto, this figure cannot succeed in bronze; the laws of art do not admit of it”. ...
The Children's Bacchanal is not only the most consummate but also the most baffling of the dr... more The Children's Bacchanal is not only the most consummate but also the most baffling of the drawings Michelangelo executed for Tommaso de' Cavalieri. This article provides a new reading of the work by undertaking a thorough analysis of the compositional elements. In the process, the significance of some previously misunderstood details are clarified and the allegory made more pertinent to the artist's life and work. The article posits that the drawing was a visual exemplum of what Ficino considered the threats posed to the human soul by the excess of love for the elemental body. While in the upper half of the sheet Michelangelo may have alluded to the ‘incontinent man’, an individual in whom the ‘tumultuous corporeal passion prevails’, in the sleeping youth depicted in the lower portion he may have referred to ‘the intemperate man’. For such a person ‘reason slept entirely or completely succumbed to desire’ during his lifetime while ‘after death it is weighed down by an even deeper slumber and troubled by even more frightening dreams’. If the interpretation here adduced is closer to the artist's intentions, it may be more appropriate to define the drawing an Allegory of the Intemperate Soul.
A comparison of the two versions of Diana and Actaeon by Paolo de Matteis illustrates how in the ... more A comparison of the two versions of Diana and Actaeon by Paolo de Matteis illustrates how in the second version the painter abandoned his "poetic" interpretation of the myth for a "dramatic" one in conformity with Lord Shaftesbury's theoretical views. Shaftesbury believed that the history painter should follow a "rule of consistency" precluding the temporal metalepsis exhibited, for example, in the many paintings of the Diana and Actaeon story showing the latter's "horns already sprouted" even before "the goddess ... has thrown her cast." The article provides external evidence for dating the paintings, and shows that, in attempting to adapt literary theory to painting, Shaftesbury failed to heed his own advice knowing, as one learns from his notes, that ut pictura non poesis.
A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning... more A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning of the eighteenth century when the sculptural project for the twelve apostles in the nave of St. John Lateran was being finalized, is contradicted by a number of factors. By analyzing some literary sources (Charles Poerson, Charles De Brosses, Winckelmann) and visual evidence from a conservative artistic milieu (Accademia di San Luca), the article suggests that, contrary to common belief, Bernini cast a “long shadow” well beyond the beginning of the eighteenth century. Indeed, it was only in the 1770s that his fame was finally obfuscated by the growing appreciation for the “noble simplicity and quiet grandeur” of Neoclassical art represented by works such as Canova’s first Roman commission, the tomb of Clement XIV (1787).
This article focuses on two features of Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi made more readable after... more This article focuses on two features of Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi made more readable after its restoration: the old man behind the Virgin and the object painted in front of him. In contrast to previous interpretations, it is argued that the old man does not represent St. Joseph. Rather, it is St. Donatus, patron saint of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine who commissioned the altarpiece for their church of San Donato a Scopeto. If, as argued, the garment he wears is a chasuble, the object in front of him a wine vat and the vessel he holds a pyx, then the painting referenced both the theme of the Adoration of the Magi and the patron saint’s miracle of the mass while telescoping in a visual prolepsis the beginning and the end of the Christ Child’s redeeming mission.
A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning... more A well-rooted tradition, that claims Bernini’s unpopularity was well established by the beginning of the eighteenth century when the sculptural project for the twelve apostles in the nave of St. John Lateran was being finalized, is contradicted by a number of factors. By analyzing some literary sources (Charles Poerson, Charles De Brosses, Winckelmann) and visual evidence from a conservative artistic milieu (Accademia di San Luca), the article suggests that, contrary to common belief, Bernini cast a “long shadow” well beyond the beginning of the eighteenth century. Indeed, it was only in the 1770s that his fame was finally obfuscated by the growing appreciation for the “noble simplicity and quiet grandeur” of Neoclassical art represented by works such as Canova’s first Roman commission, the tomb of Clement XIV (1787).
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