Four Steps to a Happier Life

Marriage was an extremely significant factor during the time of the Italian Renaissance.  Rather than a true profession of love between a man and a woman, it was more of a negotiation that resulted in a transfer of property and a possible change in social status.  According to Brucker’s primary source the father would arrange the marriage and almost “haggle” with the other on the subject of dowry money.  The ceremony itself was a highly public affair, celebrated lavishly so as to insure that neither family would end up indebted to the other, through dowry dues or otherwise.  In class we didn’t really go over the marriage process in great detail, and after some research I found that there are four specific steps a couple must take in order for their marriage to be considered secure:  the impalamamento, the sponsalia, the matrimonium, and the nozze.  All had to be carried out or the bond was not considered undoubtedly true. 

The impalmamento was the initial meeting of couple’s fathers and a few other select family members.  They basically discussed the basics of the future union and if they were successful in their negotiations, a marriage contract was officially sealed with the help of a marriage broker.  The next stage was the sponsalia, which was a meeting of all the male members of the two families.  They discussed things like dowry money and other payment arrangements.  Because one family could become indebted to the other, a marriage hardly ever made a large jump in social status.  One interesting aspect about the sponsalia is that the father had to gain consent from the bride or the marriage wouldn’t be able to happen.  I think it’s great that the woman at least had some say in her marriage, even though it was already arranged for her.

Ceremonial marriage belt

Matrimonium was the third step.  The future bride and groom had to be asked multiple questions that were required by the Church so as to be truly verified in their union.  After this medieval game of twenty questions the vows would finally be exchanged and the groom would then place the ring on his bride’s finger.  A unique custom for this marriage process was the giving of a bridal belt on the wedding day.  Pictured above, it was given as an ode to the god Vulcan giving such an item to the goddess Venus, and was meant to inspire love.  The final step of marriage was the nozze, which basically publicized the now-official marriage.  A procession was held in which the bride, beautifully clothed and adorned with a wedding crown, was led to her new husband’s house.  It’s so amazing that the Italians back then took so much pride and care when planning a wedding, right down to the smallest detail.  This flamboyant and ritualistic four-step idea truly embodies the life of the Renaissance period.

Sources:

The Society of Renaissance Florence, Brucker

http://insanehobby.150m.com/clare/weddings.html

The Seal of Nero

In class, we briefly discussed the "Seal of Nero" in regards to Botticelli's "Portrait of a Young Woman" and the gem's place among the Medici family's impressive collection of artifacts. This gem is probably the oldest artifact that has been mentioned in our class- dating all the way back to the Hellenistic period c. 30 BC - 20 AD. However, it's relevance to the history of the Italian Renaissance is great because it was one of the most valued pieces of antiquity in the Medici collection and because it was frequently copied and used in various cameos for jewelry and other art forms. 

Lorenzo Medici acquired this artifact from Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan, and he from Cosimo Il Vecchio, and so on and so forth- passed down from generation to generation of important, wealthy families- It's last owner being the Farnese family 1583. The gem now makes it's home in the Museo Nazionale in Naples. 

The specific tie in to our class is that relating to the depiction of the young women wearing what some believe is the seal. However, scholars have concluded that this in fact is not the original "Seal of Nero", but is a cameo of the original. This would be plausible for many reasons. One, being that this gem was valued at thousands of florins (at least double the price of Michelangelo's "Pièta"), and therefore would have not been strung daintily around a neck in pendant form. Also, the coloring is all wrong. The original seal was a reddish color due to it's material being carnelian. The seal depicted is either bronze or stone, and therefore was probably a cameo.  Another myth associated with this painting is that it was paying homage and alluring to the Medici. However, this cannot be due to the timeline of the painting. Botticelli painted this portrait in the early 1480s, yet the Medici did not acquire the seal until roughly 1847, therefore the Medici family would have no tie to this particular depiction of the gem. 

"Portrait of a Young Woman"
Botticelli, c. 1480-1485

"The Seal of Nero"
Dioskourides, c. 30 BC- 20AD

The gem depicts a mythological story of Apollo, Marsyas and Olympus. The scene shown is the outcome of a musical challenge between the god Apollo and the satyr Marsyas. Olympus is the student of Marsyas, and is seen knelling before the victorious god, begging for his master's life. 

Many of the famous Italian Renaissance artists that we've discussed can be related to the gem. Prior to the Medici acquiring the gem, it had actually been inlaid into a golden ring. And who designed said golden inlay? Why none other than Lorenzo Ghiberti (aka golden door guy?). As I mentioned previously, this depiction of mythology was copied countless Renaissance artists- search for the classical past much? It is said to have effected the art top dogs such as Michelangelo and Raphael(same posing of Apollo can be seen in "The School of Athens").  

As you can see, this gem deserves it's own blog post. Check out the scholarly source by Rambach listed below to see examples of the various cameos/copies of the gem. 

-JRC

Sources: 

Rambach, Hadrien. "Apollo and Marsyas on engraved gems and medals." Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte. 61. (2011): 131-146. Print. http://www.academia.edu/1132277/Apollo_and_Marsyas_on_engraved_gems_and_medals 

  http://eragem.com/news/the-ancient-seal-of-nero-carnelian-is-featured-prominently-in-hmnss-gems-of-the-medici-exhibition/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_a_Young_Woman_of_Frankfurt_(Botticelli)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_a_Young_Woman_of_Frankfurt_(Botticelli)

Heretics one and all

Herecy was a common thing during the renaissance. Plenty of people were accused of this and the majority of the accused were fined. A couple of these heretics were burnt at the stake for their actions. One of the reasons for this was the chaos of the Catholic Church. At one point in time during the renaissance, the Catholic Church had three popes showing how easy it was to be a heretic to one and a perfect Christian to another. Also the amount of Christians in a city-state contributed to the number of heretics.

The reason I am blogging about heretics and the catholic church is because the majority of the laws and regualtions were based on Christianity. The laws reguarding the Jews were all because they were not christian. The people were allowed to have slaves is the slaves were not christian. They were also allowed to use their slaves however they wanted. Brothels were made to try and regualte the sin of adultery and make some money for the Commune. The Christians were attempting to clean up the city.

http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/renaissance/heresy.html

Newly widowed

  This painting is called "Portrait of a Young Woman" and painted by Lorenzo di Credi in between the years of 1490 and 1500. In this paining is depicted a young woman, what a surprise, dressed in black. As well as her black clothing she is surrounded by a dark cloud and a bleak backdrop containing a sparse tree and almost rainy sky. While all of this darkness is in the painting, she is also holding a ring in her hand.
  From this painting I see a widow facing a long road ahead of her. As we learned in class if a woman is widowed her husband usually makes an effort to have her taken care of after his death by giving her money. But in this painting I see a widow that seems not only sad, but in a bad place scared and not knowing what to do. All of the dark around her and lack of fruitfulness usually depicted in Renaissance art, to me, represents despair. I wonder what kind of hardships this woman is about to face. Did her husband leave her any support for the long years ahead of her?

Image and information: http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/436910

Simonetta Vespucci: Renaissance muse?

           Simonetta Vespucci was born in Republic of Genoa in around 1453. At age fifteen or sixteen she married her husband Marco Vespucci, whom she met in Church with her parents in April of 1469. The two married in Florence, Italy where she instantly because very popular and well-liked. Not long after arriving in Florence every nobleman in town was infatuated and interested in her beauty.  Some of the Medici family, including brothers , Lorenzo and Giuliano took an instant liking towards her. Lorenzo even permitted the Vespucci wedding to be held at the palazzo in Via Larga, and held the wedding reception at their lavish Villa di Careggi. The Medici family painter, Sandro Botticeli also took a liking to the beautiful young woman. At a jousting tournament in 1475, Guiliano Medici entered the lists bearing a picture by Botticeli of Simonetta as Pallas Athene. From then on she became known as the most beautiful woman in Florence, and then later on the most beautiful woman of the Renaissance. Guiliano won the tournament and the affection of Simonetta, but he wasn't the only one. Artist Sandro Botticeli too had an obsession with her beauty. The pictures above are portraits the artist did of Simonetta. Does her face look familiar to you? Botticeli over the years has been accused of putting Simonetta's portrait in many of his other paintings. Those paintings include Mars and Venus, and The Birth of Venus. While there is no solid proof that the woman depicted as Venus in those paintings is indeed Simonetta Vespucci, there is no denying the uncanny resemblance.  

The Dying Slave 

Slavery during the Italian Renaissance was much different than the slavery did in the United States. Slavery in the Italian Renaissance was not based off of race. As the Italian city-states grew in size the demands for slaves also grew. The most of the wealthy citizens had at least one slave. The owner had full rights to their slaves, they had the legal right to sell and “enjoy” the slave.  Unlike, in the United States if the slave gave birth, the slave’s children were born free. The slaves and their child were both incorporated into the household. Many times if the slave and owner produced a child together the slave owner would raise the child as a legitimate child.

However, things were not all good for the slaves; a more insidious side of slavery was being to develop. The ideal of a “plantation slave” began to emerge among the Venetian sugar cane plantations. This type of slavery grew in popularity, because the labor was so cheap.  

Just like everything else that was happening during this time period, slavery also made its way into art. Artists, such as Michelangelo, began to make sculptures of slaves. These sculptures are known as the “Dying Slave.” Originally, created for the tomb of Pope Julius II, but he ended up donating it to Robert Strozzi, who later took them to France.

And here is a little bit more about the sculptures......

Antonio Possevino

As we have learned from Rudolph M. Bell's book How to do it,  the idea of a step by step guide to living, working, loving, or any other aspect of life was not founded recently.  In fact, these "how to do it" manuals have been popular for many years, including during the Renaissance.  According to Bell, over 1,000 "how to" guides had been published by the year 1600 (Bell 6).  Of these publishing's, guides to moral, spiritual, and sexual life had been popular among readers.  In particular, the writing of Antonio Possevino addressed the ideological perspectives faced by society during the Renaissance and also compiled information into a successfully published book.

Possevino's  Bibliotheca Selecta is a guide of sorts that challenged orthodoxy and the ideological background of Rome (online source).  It also covers, in detail, ideas of theology and scholastic advice, along with other controversial subjects (online source).  Possevino uses interpretations from his own beliefs along with the works of other Jesuit missionaries to complete his work, and give a comprehensive assessment to all subjects covered by his writings (online source).  By viewing this image of the Bibliotheca Selecta, we can see that it was printed using a printing press.  According to Bell, this article was first published in 1593, and was mass produced for readers many years after that (bell 6).  Indeed, this is an image that provides a look at the birth of some of the first "how to" manuals, and presents a question as to how readers might have used such reading for their own lives.


Sources:

Rudolph M. Bell, How to do it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliotheca_selecta

Death in Childbirth

It was not until the Renaissance that childbirth was depicted in art. With one in ten pregnancies ending in death for the mother, the art is overly optimistic: the mother is shown sitting up cradling her new child smiling, the midwife in the background. Only two pieces show the risks that come with childbirth- both tombs.

 

The first Tomb belongs to Ilaria del Carretto, the wife of the wealthy Lucchese merchant Paolo Guinigi. It was created around 1405 in Lucca Cathedral by sculptor Jacopo della Quercia. It shows her in fine gowns, hands on her rounded stomach- emphases on the cause of her death. It joins many pieces commissioned by husbands after their wives deaths, though the only to show the wife dead.

The only depiction of childbirth that exists that ends in tragedy is a scene shown on the tomb of Francesca Pitti Tornabuoni and her stillborn child, wife of Giovanni Tornabuoni. Created by Andrea del Verrocchio in 1477 in Florence, the scene has two parts. On the left side it shows seven men and three women, an elderly woman presenting the stillborn child to the father. On the right eight women are surrounding the barely alive mother; one holding her up, one checking for a pulse, and one crouched on the floor over the lifeless body of the baby.

Jews in Renaissance Italy

 Though certain  Italian Cities States, such as Florence and Sienna, were relatively tolerant of their Jewish populations. Renaissance era Jews faced social as well as economic obstacles that were not necessarily felt by their Christian neighbors. For example, in 1557 Cosimo de'Medici allowed Jews from the Papal States to take refugee in Florence and refused to return the Jews to face unjust punishment during the Inquisition. But by 1567, he chose to enforce the wearing of the yellow badge, which signified a person as being of Jewish decent. Additionally, in 1553, previous to granting Jews asylum in Florence, Cosimo ordered the mass burning of the Talmud. Below is a painting of the Jewish Ghetto of Renaissance Florence, if you look closely you can see the traditional hats worn by Jews during the time period.



Jews tended to be "little people" or smaller, middle class businessmen, "they worked for the most part as butchers, bookbinders, domestic workers, notaries, scribes, itinerant peddlers, moneylenders, and physicians" (Zophy 22). However most Jews where excluded from economic success due to harsh segregation laws that restricted them to Ghettos, and coudl not own property, vote, or have certain occupations. The term Ghetto itself is of Italian origin, "from Venetian dialect ghèto island where Jews were forced to live, literally, foundry (located on the island), fromghetàr to cast, from Latin jactare to throw".

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0020_0_20118.html

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghetto

Renaissance People of Color

 Perhaps it is just another example of how flawed  our educational system is, or the media's fault for portraying everyone living before 1850 as having a British accent, but there is a definite problem with how people of color are often represented when talking about renaissance Europe.  All too often the word "slave" is immediately associated with people of African decent, but I think this is just an example of how our modern conceptions of racism have altered our perceptions of past.

As we learned in class today, the majority of slaves in renaissance Europe before the 15th century were non African natives hailing from the black sea area. What we also know is that during renaissance times, there were many well renowned historical figures that earned titles as respectable as "Saint" despite being of African descent. One such individual was Saint Maurice as portrayed by  in this painting "Saint Maurice and his companions."

Maurice was born and raised near Egypt in a city called Thebes. At a young age he joined the Roman army and was gradually promoted until he became the leader of the Thebian legion. His legion, which was reported to be composed of all Christian men, was ordered by Maximian to march to Gaul in order to quell a revolt. While there, Maximian ordered Maurice and his legion to harass some of the local Christians. They refused, and as a result all 6,600 soldiers in the union were eventually killed. 

Saint Maurice's veneration took place way back in 926. But since he is known as the patron saint of swords, sword makers, weavers, armies, and cramps, it's no wonder he was quite the popular saint during renaissance times. Thus motivating Nicklaus Glockenden I to make this painting of him in 1524.

"Saint Maurice." Wikipedia. N.p., 5 Oct. 2011. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.

"People of Color in European Art History." Tumblr. N.p., 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.

The Silver System

We have been discussing a lot in class about the use of florins and the Italian currency. For example in Brucker's primary source book, we covered the marriages of Gregorio Dati that talked about the dowries of his wives. His first wife gave him a dowry of 900 florins, his second wife's dowry was 1000 florins, and his third wife's dowry was around 600 florins. Also, the handout we recieved in class had salaries and wages of different occupations in Italy. Some of these salaries ran up to 440 florins per year. This got me thinking more about a florin and the other types of money used at this time.

The Italian florin was used from 1252-1523. As we know, Italy was pretty much the international banking capital of the world with the Monte de' Paschi di Siena. In Florence they began to use a gold coin for their currency and this began to replace the use of silver bars as the currency for trade throughout Western Europe. The florin was pure gold and was said to weigh roughly 3.5g. A florin is approximately equal to 200 US dollars.

Florence's banks had various silver coins (e.g., denari & soldo) and one single gold coin, the florin. Soldo and lira did not exists as coins and the soldo was used to express 12 denari. As we can see in the handout from class denari are the smallest form of currency and 12 denari would be equal to 1 soldo. The next highest form of currency was the soldo, which 20 of these would equal one lire. This currency system stayed all the way into the 18th century.

http://books.google.com/books?id=OM2ckx49QFYC&pg=PA609&lpg=PA609&dq=denari+renaissance&source=bl&ots=X6mJOzg9yb&sig=gPypSid1f0dF-ENVy-J65a4vCPE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yrlMUvK_KbPwyAHr0YDgCA&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=denari%20renaissance&f=false

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coins_in_Italy

Duke Alessandro de' Medici

Portrait of Duke Alessandro de' Medici d.1537

Son of Lorenzo de'Medici 

                We briefly discussed about Duke Alessandro de’Medici in class today, so I did a little research and found him quite intriguing. What makes him different from any other duke is that he was actually the first Duke of Florence in 1530 and was an illegitimate son of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (1492-1519) with a house Moorish slave. (VA)The article describes the Medici as an Italian family of merchants, bankers, rulers, patrons and collectors dominated the political and cultural life of Florence from the 15th century to the mid 18th century. (VA) Alessandro‘s reign ended in 1537 when he was assassinated by his cousin and rival Lorenzino de' Medici. (VA)

                If we focus on the self portrait of Alessandro, we can see that the painter Jacopo Pontormo portray Alessandro with black features such as the tight curly hair, darker complexion, big lips, and wide nose. (VP) It surprises me that he was painted because I did not expect to see an illegitimate son or less often a mixed child become powerful during this time period. As this article states,” As the first of the Medici to be installed as a hereditary ruler of Florence, Alessandro has received surprisingly little study. Historians have criticized his rule for its severity, but contemporaries were more favorable. They commented on his political skills, spontaneous generosity and concern for the poor, as well as his informal style of leadership. Like other members of the Medici dynasty, Alessandro was also a patron of the arts.” He was like any other Medici regardless of his race; it’s a shame that he was murdered at the age of 26. It would have been so cool to read what he could have done for Florence. 

FUN Fact: His nickname "The Moor" is actually the term used in Italy to describe Africans and also Europeans with dark complexions or hair. 

Source: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/africans-in-medieval-and-renaissance-art-duke-alessandro-de-medici/ 

The Unfinished Slaves

               Pope Julius's tomb in its present form is very elaborate and detailed, however this tomb is only a fraction of what the original design contained.  Michelangelo was commissioned to build this and his initial design had close to 40 sculptures in the tomb.  Although this design was never carried out there are still many sculptures, like the slaves seen in the Khan Academy video, that have been completed.  While researching I found that in addition to the two completed slaves by Michelangelo there are four unfinished slaves (done in the early 1500s) that can be found in the hallway leading up to his statue of David.  While not complete, these four figures give us great insight into the Michelangelo's sculpting process and still serve as beautiful pieces of art.  

                

               From left to right the sculptures are titled Awakening Slave, Young Slave, Atlas Slave, and Bearded Slave (these are not names given to them by Michelangelo.)  These sculptures, like many of his others, pay great attention to the human body and show all of the muscles and intricate parts of the human body.  As you can see each sculptures is twisting and turning allowing every muscle to be accented.  What I love about these sculptures is that we can see how Michelangelo sculpted.  The awakening slave best exemplifies, in my opinion, the process which Michelangelo took when sculpting.  You really feel, like he so famously put, that all he is doing is removing the excess stone and that the sculpture is already complete underneath it all.  The fact that four unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo still have a huge impact on how we see the Renaissance speaks to how great of an artist he really was. 

Source:

http://ahuskofmeaning.com/2011/08/michelangelo-at-the-accademia-part-2-the-unfinished-slaves/