Ambrogio Lorenzetti: "Presentation of Jesus"

What, you don't have a painting of your circumcision?

Ambrogio Lorenzetti's "Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" is one of his more well known and influential pieces. For biographical information on the Lorenzetti brothers, please refer to Mitch's post, "The Lorenzetti Brothers."

In my previous blog post I discussed the painting structure for the various "Madonna Enthroned." Similarly, the "Presentation" is a painting archetype whose origins can be soundly traced to the 11th century. I say soundly because the depiction of the Presentation had a spotty or, as Wolbrink would say "sketchy", reputation until the 11th century. The reason for this being that the Greek Orthodox church did not recognize the "Presentation" as one of the major festivals of Christ until this point (Shorr, 19). However, the origins of the festival itself, know as Hypapante (see "History" section), can be traced all the way back to the 4th century. There was a discrepancy between the western and eastern traditions of Hypapante, which also contributed to the latency of the depiction of this sacred presentation. Now, to the scene its self.

As you can see, this is obviously a sacred scene, noted by the aureola (minds out of the gutter) around the heads of religious figures. This scene is actually a depiction of an event in the Gospel of Luke-the presentation  (aka circumcision) of Christ.  You will find five people steadfastly in the "Presentation" scene- Mary, Jesus, Simon, Joseph and the prophet/seer Anna. These figures are found in even the earliest depictions of the "Presentation." As time went on however, we find that secular figures were added to the depiction. 

For a closer hands-on look, click here

Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

c.1342

This brings us to the significance of Lorenzetti's specific "Presentation". First of all, Ambrogio's is the first "Presentation" dated that introduce the High Priest (aka the guy in the middle) into the mix (Shorr, 27-28). Why would this make such a significant difference? As we have learned in class, the naturalistic approach to art was becoming popular. So, it would be appropriate to add a high priest into a depiction of a scene in a temple, rather than just focus on the sacred figure. What also sets this depiction apart from previous pieces is the naturalistic characteristics in general. Ambrogio does away with hierarchal scaling, and really plays up the architecture of the scene and sizes the people appropriately. Another breakthrough aspect of naturalism that can be found in this depiction is the behavior of Christ. He looks like an actual dumbfounded new born (ex: finger in mouth), as opposed to the all-knowing genius baby found in Byzantine paintings. Lastly, Ambrogio plays up the gothic architecture. Originally this panel was intended for the Duomo in Sienna, and you can tell similarities in style (Zucker & Harris, Smarthistory). 

Sources: 

Shorr, Dorothy C. f. "The Iconographic Development of the Presentation in the Temple ." Art                     Bulletin . Vol. 28.No. 1 (1946): 17-32. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3047041>.  

"Lorenzetti's Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" (video). Smarthistory.org. Speakers: Dr. Beth                   Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker (2 min 27 sec). Accessed September 12, 2013.                                             <http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/lorenzetti-presentation-in-the-temple.html> 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation_at_the_Temple_(Ambrogio_Lorenzetti)>

JRC

A New Take on a Renaissance Woman

V E R O N I C A   F R A N C O  (1546 - 1591)

           

Veronica Franco was one of very few women in the renaissance who was able to capitalize on both her academic ability and her sexual prowess. Similar to Christine de Pizan her talents weren’t discovered until she was forced to make a living to support herself and her child after separating from her husbands (It very typical of that time for women to walk away from a marriage with nothing). With limited options for money, she followed in her mom’s footsteps and became a courtesan, because it was the only thing she knew what to do. A courtesan is basically a classy prostitute who only sleeps with rich powerful men, some of her more famous clients where King Henry III of France and Domenico Venier who was a wealthy poet and literary advisor who’s salon Veronica eventually joined. (McNeill)

As a child her mother took advantage of her brothers private tutor and made Veronica take the lessons as well. She was an above average student. This allowed her to participate and contribute into discussion and also edit analogies at the Salon.  (McNeill)  She later published her first collection of poems called Terze Rime. What made Veronica popular was talking explicitly and openly about sex and her experiences as a courtesan.  “Franco is erotic, even sexually explicit. From her first poem, she celebrates her sexual expertise as a courtesan and promises to satisfy her interlocutor’s desires.” (Rosenthal) She also portrays women in a different light going against their traditional roles but portraying them as more powerful, and encourages them to take advantage of their sexuality. However he fame and success was cut short due to a plague that hit Venice for two years. She was forced to leave the city. When she returned however, she had nothing, the plague took her brother and mother along with in my opinion her biggest loss her Library, which was said to have been one of the best private collections in Europe.  However she got back on her feet and in 1850 published a collection of letters to her clients called Lettere Famillari.  These letters demonstrate great value because they discuss the daily routine of courtesans along with Veronica’s philosophical and moral views. (McNeill)

            

Sadly, Veronica Franco’s life ended in tragedy. Due to her sons tutor becoming obscenely jealous of her success he turned her into the Inquisition charging her with witchcraft.  On this charge she lost several clients had her reputation destroyed and furthermore lost all of her wealth. She was forced to live in poverty amongst “lower – class whores.” (McNeill)  Veronica died to years later at the very young age of 45 in 1591. I think she was the Renaissance version of Anna Nicole Smith, except less trashy and with a very admirable intellect. She lived a roller coaster of a life with several high and lows, cherishing every moment of her 15 minutes of fame.

Sources:

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/IWW/BIOS/A0017.html - Rosenthall 

http://maggiemcneill.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/veronica-franco/ - McNeill 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/VeronicaFranco.jpg/220px-VeronicaFranco.jpg (photo)

Dante’s Living Hell

Dante Alighieri was born into a low-aristocracy family of the guelfo party in Florence, in 1265, to begin his career in politics. Dante joined a Medical Corporation where he studied to be a pharmacist. He had no intention to practice as a pharmacist; he only studied to be one because of a law that required nobles aspiring to be in public office to enroll in Corporazioni Delle. In the next five years, Dante’s career grew quickly. He took office as a Priore, a form of governor, in 1300 (Furia, 2008). Dante became a white guelfo.

However, in Florence the differences between white and black guelfi became greater and more serious which caused Dante to make some difficult political decisions. He decided to oppose pope Bonifacio VIII’s expansion policy, which was supported by the black guelfi. Unfortunately for Dante, the black guelfi teamed up with the prince of France Carlo di Valois and defeated the white guelfi. When the new Black Guelph government came into effect Dante was sentenced to exile for two years and was ordered to pay an enormous fine. He was unable to return to Florence without paying the fine or he would be burned at the stake (Furia, 2008). However, he refused to pay the fine, because he did not believe that he did anything wrong. Since, he was unable to return to Florence he roamed from city-state to city-state. During his exile he wrote “The Divine Comedy.” He died in 1321 and was buried in the San Peir Maggiore’s Church.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DanteDetail.jpg

http://www.greatdante.net/life.html

Dante's Inferno

Dante in front of the circles of hell, in Florence. Painted by Domenico di Michelino

        Dante Alighieri was a major Italian poet in the Renaissance era. One of his most famous and greatest works is his epic poem Divine Comedy (originally called La Comedia) written between c.1308 and his death in 1321. Divine Comedy describes Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, guided first by the Roman poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and of another of his works, La Vita Nuova. Dante's Inferno, which is the first part of his poem, has been described as the most vivid descriptions of hell by many modern readers. Inferno is about Dante's "journey" through hell, which ultimately symbolizes recognition and rejection of sin. Hell is described to be in 9 circles. The circles of hell as Dante describes them are; Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery.

        As I was reading on the circles of hell, a thought crosses my mind - What circle of hell would end up in if I knew I was going too? While I was baptized as a Lutheran and grew up in a Southern Baptist family, I'm very open to all religions and understanding. I really thought about what I would fall in and I think under the standards of what the society and religion said back then, I would fall into the first circle, Limbo.

        What circle of hell do you think you would fall into, if you knew you were going to hell?

The Decameron

Giovanni Boccaccio was born in Tuscany. He started by writing stories in verse and prose. He was one of the first men to write in the Italian language. Then he fell in love with the girl he named Fiammetta. He wrote Teseide, about a medieval romance. He completed his greatest work, The Decameron, in 1358.

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The Decameron is a combination of one hundred tales. For ten days, ten people, three men and seven ladies, each tell one story. These ten people were trying to escape the effects of the plague. Boccaccio spends an expense of time in the introduction. He does a great job of depicting human behavior and the choices people made during the plague. 

://www.historyguide.org/ancient/boccaccio.html

http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1407

Marmoreal Pride

The statue of St. Mark was built in 1413 by Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, also known as Donatello. It was commissioned by the linen drapers’ guild to decorate the guild's niche of Orsanmichele in Florence. Built as a grain market in 1337, Orsanmichele was converted into a church in 1404 for Florence’s trade and craft guilds. St. Mark was one of Jesus disciples who dedicated his life to spread the message of Christianity throughout the world. It is not really clear why Donatello chose St. Mark as a representative figure for the guild but this post is about the statue itself, not St. Mark as a person.

The face of Orsanmichele

Donatello presents us St. Mark in a standing completely naturally. With his weight on the right leg and the slight bend in the left knee this pose reminds us of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures and is also known as “contrapposto”. St. Mark looks alive, as if he could walk away any second. This can be seen not only in the way he stands but in the whole realistic composition of the statue. It is the way the clothing allows us to get an idea of the body underneath, the detailed hands and feet, and above all the individual and specific face Donatello shows us of St. Mark. It seems as if he is seeing further and seeing past us. He expresses an internal focus, an awareness of himself and his surroundings. In creating this 7 feet and 9 inches tall marble statue, Donatello revived the classical ideas of ancient Rome and Greece and joined them with the tenets of the Renaissance. In class we spoke about the pride and the strong beliefs the residents of the Italian City States felt. With his statue of St. Mark, Donatello built a figure that shows the Florentines a sense of their own dignity for their city. St. Mark was kind of a mirror, who ennobles them to rise to their own ideas and by that to individuality and self-reflect.

Donatello who also was in favor of the Medici family, did not only mirror the emerging individualism in that time period, but determined a change in artistic taste. The highly stylized and unnaturally perfect and sometimes lifeless Gothic style was replaced by a more natural and realistic movement. We also saw that development in the works of Giotto.

Donatello, by the way, didn’t just showed us the civic pride in terms of St. Mark, he also demonstrated his own confidence in ignoring the demand of the guild members to change the proportions of the statue. They wouldn’t believe Donatello that he had to shorten St. Mark’s legs and to enlarge his hands to make it seem proportionate from the proper angle. Donatello just pretended to work on the adjustments but did nothing for two weeks. Once the statue was properly situated in the niche, the guild members were pleased.

Sources:

http://www.helium.com/items/2392311-artwork-analysis-st-mark-by-donatello

http://www.artble.com/artists/donatello/sculpture/st_mark

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/donatello-saint-mark.html (It is another really good video from the Khan Academy. It’s worth watching it!)

The lovely "Laura"

Portrait of Laura, celebrated in his poetry by Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), he was known as quote," Father of Humanists". I chose this portrait of Laura because not only did Petrarch was madly in love with her or as we would say almost obsessed, but their mysterious relationship is quite interesting.  As Zophy stated," Petrarch immortalized her charms in his increasingly popular Italian sonnets. he called her the candid rose, thorn compassed and shy, and yet our age's glory and despair." (Zophy, 72) And according to Wikipedia," In his "Secretum", she refused him for the very proper reason that she was already married to another man. He channeled his feelings into love poems that were exclamatory rather than persuasive, and wrote prose that showed his contempt for men who pursue women." Although Petrarch did not win over the fair lady he did make a name for himself as Zophy explains," Petrarch developed many of the fundamental ideas of Renaissance humanism and influenced generations of thinkers, both men and women." (Zophy, 73)

 

sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dante_Luca.jpg

Niccolo Machiavelli

  Even though we did not have time to cover Niccolo Machiavelli in class he played a very key role in the study of humanities during the Renaissance. He lived in Florence and was highly educated, he studied Roman law, Latin, and Italian Literature. He used his education to better his community. He volunteered in his community, worked as a clerk in the government, was appointed chancellor of the Second Chancery, and was a secretary to the Council of Ten. Eventually Machiavelli retires in the year of 1513 after a change in power in Florence to the Medici. Machiavelli lost his job, and as Jonathan W. Zophy casually states in our textbook, "After a period of torture and imprisonment, he was allowed to retire to a small farm outside Florence as a gesture of good will..." This doesn't sound like a retirement party I would want.

  Although the life of Machiavelli is interesting, the most intriguing thing about him to me is his philosophy on politics. Machiavelli wrote more than one book but in his The Prince he writes a "how to" guide for a how a prince should behave in all aspects of his life. This is where Machiavelli's lions and foxes comes from, he states that a prince should be like a lion in order to be strong and scare his enemies as well as smart like a fox to elude his enemies traps (Zophy. 81). This a very different thought on political theory compared to previous philosophers. But Machiavelli's new thoughts on power and the control of a states subjects are what make him such an interesting thinker/humanist of the Renaissance. 

The Decameron

Translated as "ten days" The Decameron is widely accepted as the most popular and historically important of Boccaccio's works. Perhaps the most interesting aspects of the novel is the way it was written. While most books were written in Greek or Latin, Boccaccio decided to write The Decameron in Italian, the current vernacular of the town in which he lived. This, as you can imagine, made the novel quite accessible to a large number of people.

The tale goes as follow, a group of young people (seven women and three men) spend 14 days away from Florence to escape the Black Death. During 10 of the 14 days they exchange stories together. The end result is a total of 100 stories of love, loss, and virtue and a plethora of quick witty dialogue. Essentially The Decameron was an early renaissance version of How I Met Your Mother.

Following the common humanistic themes of the time, the novel's vernacular and focus on central characters combine to make a literary masterpiece.

Sources: TuscanyVillas.com  Wikipedia.com

Pietro Aretino - "Scourge of Princes"

                                                                       
                           (This oil painting by Titian, a close friend of Pietro Aretino, shows his portrait in the year 1512.)

     Pietro Aretino wrote many different poems, satires, and plays during his lifetime. I was going to link to an example of Aretino’s work, but the only one I found online turned out to be very sexual in nature, borderline pornographic, and I decided it was not appropriate for this blog. Anyone who is that interested to read his work can search for it individually. The reason we remember him today comes from his choice of topics. Aretino did not mind causing a stir, he wrote very controversial things, as well as very satirical things about people in high positions of power. Notably he wrote about Pope Leo X in rather unflattering terms (Zophy 83). He also had Charles V and Francis I of France paying him to slander the other (Burckhardt 116). So although the public declared him to be a scourge, Aretino recognized his power in his infamy (Zophy 83).

     The reason Pietro creates such an interesting topic rests in the emergence of Italian literature. Many scholars of the time wrote to connect with old Roman and Greek traditions, even if they used the vernacular. Pietro broke away from the pack and wrote original material from current ideas and people he interacted with daily. He even openly admits his different style, “I am a free man. I do not need to copy Petrarca or Boccaccio. My own genius is enough. Let others worry themselves about style, and so cease to be themselves. Without a master, without a model, without a guide, I go to work and earn my living, my well-being and my fame,” (Pietro). Granted his writing style certainly made his name known throughout Italy, and without it, well things would certainly be duller. Although personally I will admit I did not need to read that poem by him, yet it definitely makes me understand more what Zophy meant by saying Aretino wrote pornography.

Sources:

Burckhardt, James and Peter Murray. The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

Brainy Quote. “Pietro Aretino Quotes.” Brainy Quote. Accessed September 11, 2013. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/pietro_aretino.html.

Girolamo Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar, born in Ferrara but preached in Florence. During 1498 he controlled Florence briefly up until his prosecution from the church. His teachings were based on the fact that he wanted the people of Florence to return to the ways of God. He took this to extraordinary measures by ordering the people to burn books, paintings, and etc. Savonarola viewed this paintings as immoral and ordered them to be thrown in a bonfire at the Piazza del Signoria. Friar Girolamo was of the Roman Catholic decent and was said to be very close to God, so close that he had visions from God himself. He, however, did not like the clergy of the church. In fact he spoken wrongfully about the Popes, in particular Pope Alexander VI saying, "He is no longer a Christian." Savonarola saw the clergy as morally corrupted (Kreis). Finally in 1497, the Dominicans, Franciscans, and the church in Rome had enough of Savonarola and his preachings and had him put to trial for heresy claiming that he has had false visions from God. A council of eight ruled him guilty and was sentenced to be executed. 

Girolamo Savonarola and two of his accomplices were to be burned to death. They were executed in the Piazza del Signoria, which is ironic knowing that is where Savonarola held to burning of the immoral artifacts. As described in the course packet on page 73 and 74, it says that there is a ringhiera (stage or raised platform in the Piazza) with three solid pieces of wood that stood roughly twenty-three inches high. All three of them were burned to death. The course packet goes into detail about how the legs and arms gradually burnt off and onlookers would throw stones in order to make them fall off. The executioners then cut down the post and lit that on fire also in an attempt to get rid of everything, leaving no trace (CP, 73).  

Sources:

Course Packet, pp. 73-74

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture5a.html#savonarola

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola

Petrarch's sonnet

Francesco Petrarch's writings paved the way for other "humanist" authors and philosophers.  As explained by Jonathan Zophy, Petrarch was a celebrated writer that "recognized and restored to light the ancient elegance of style which was lost and dead by recovering the works of Cicero"(73).  This image is a product of one of Petrarch's "anti-Babylon" sonnets provided by yale.edu. According to this site, this particular image was published on this paper in 1476 in Florence.  Though this is not directly written onto this paper by Petrarch, it is still relevant for study because of its popularity among citizens even after his death over one hundred years before in 1374. Because Petrarch made such a profound impact on humanistic studies, his work has stood the test of time and continues to provide a foundation for humanistic research.

As we can see by looking at this document, it is most likely written in either Latin or Greek, because this seemed to be Petrarch's signature when composing a written work.  The document is hand written and contains two separated columns of writing.  The paper in which it is written on may well have been from the hide of sheep as we had discussed in class (the link did not say).  However, by the looks of it, the author or scribe would have probably spent much time tediously copying the work of Petrarch onto this document. It is a very interesting piece, and can show us how ancient writings can withstand years of life.

Tanner's question

In reference to Tanner's question: who are those people? Those are "prophets and patriarchs," according to the site I will list below. Thus the togas.

In reference to another question: yes, those are original stained glass. Some by Duccio, and the earliest stained class still remaining in Italy. Thanks for asking, I didn't know about this. They can be seen at the link below.

For an amazing look at Siena Cathedral, inside and out, as well as all the 172 pope heads which I missed this past summer when I was there: http://www.digital-images.net/Gallery/Scenic/Siena/Cathdrl_Int/cathdrl_int.html     Well, will have to go back.

The Cathedral of Siena

Unlike construction projects today, undertaking such an enormous architectural feet during the 13th and 14th century left workers and architects susceptible to weather. As a result, construction projects took decades to fully complete. Construction of the Cathedral of Siena began in 1215, and lasted until 1216. The original architect was Nicole Piscano, who designed the cathedral in the Gothic style of architecture. His son, Giovanni Di Agostino, worked on the lower facade of the building in 1285, a picture of which is featured bellow. By 1348 the Black death wiped out 4/5 of the population of Siena, rendering the project unfinished.

The upper facade was completed in the 1700's, and a golden mosaic was tacked onto the upper facade, and is featured below. The facade featured the coronation of the virgin Mary, an important religious icon to the Sienese.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/9427/Agostino-Di-Giovanni
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/siena-duomo

The Lorenzetti Brothers

           The city of Siena, as noted in Public buildings in fourteenth-century Siena,  often hired artist to create beautiful paintings in their newly constructed buildings.  One very popular artist of choice was Ambrogio Lorenzetti.  He painted many pieces such as Roman history scenes outside the Signori rooms, and the allegory of Good and Bad government in the Plazzo Pubblico (CP 59).  Ambrogio and his brother, Pietro Lorenzetti, studied under another artist mentioned in class, Duccio. Both brothers were revered artist, but each had his own style.  Ambrogio took aspects of Byzantine art and naturalism and channeled them in to many secular and religious paintings.  Pietro, who is most famous for his religious artwork, was more influenced by Gothic artwork than his brother.  

                The Madonna and Saints altarpiece, shown on the left, dates back to 1320 and is Pietro Lorenzetti's first known work.  The other piece of art, also Ambrogio Lorenzetti's first known work titled the Madonna and Child, dates back to 1319.  Although Pietro's painting contains much more, both brothers have depicted the Virgin Mary and Jesus in their artwork.  One key difference amongst the photos is the attention to depth and three dimensions in Ambrogio's work.  This is very noticeable in the face of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and the throne.  There is also a very noticeable difference in the way Jesus is depicted.  In Pietro's painting he is shown in a typical fashion which is very all knowing and mature, but in Ambrogio's he is depicted as a baby with very little knowledge and almost helpless.  It interesting how each brother had very similar instruction yet took two different approaches on the same scene. 

All of my sources can be found here.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/348172/Pietro-Lorenzetti

http://www.yourdictionary.com/pietro-and-ambrogio-lorenzetti

Dr. W's Artifact: The words of the Pope in Modern Politics

Popes seem somewhat arcane, and have been hyper-sensationalized by some actual historical popes, especially during the Renaissance, as well as negative primary sources written by the next pope's family which has led to a lot of sex, murder, and a-religion on Starz, HBO, and any other TV show featuring a pope. But what is the role of the pope, and where does he fit into today's world? Today the pope is both a spiritual leader and a political leader. He is, after all, a head of state: Vatican city. However, listening and thinking about the words of Pope Francis gives us insight into the role of papacy, ever-developing since its origins in the first century with St. Peter, and the later martyr popes of the second and third centuries. The derivation for pope simply comes from "papa" or "father" so its meaning was different in the early centuries. In this link, the report is from Vatican city and the global Catholic prayer vigil against the show of force in Syria [This post does not confirm or deny my own sentiment, the issue is very complex; I am only using this as an example of how papal sentiment in the modern world can galvanize and shape political ideas, just like it may have in the historical past.]

Click here for the image of over 100,000 gathered in the piazza at St. Peter's Basilica; we will later be studying this massive piece of architecture: http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-100-000-attend-syria-peace-vigil-192800844.html

Click here for an article that Jacob sent me that includes reference to Assisi, of St. Francis of Assisi:
http://swampland.time.com/2013/09/07/pope-francis-leads-global-prayer-vigil-for-syria/