1.
Sistine Chapel
–
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, since that time, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected, the fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, and most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo. In a different climate after the Sack of Rome, he returned, the fame of Michelangelos paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel ever since they were revealed five hundred years ago. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV in the late 15th century, there were 50 occasions during the year on which it was prescribed by the Papal Calendar that the whole Papal Chapel should meet. Of these 50 occasions,35 were masses, of which 8 were held in Basilicas, in general St. Peters and these included the Christmas Day and Easter masses, at which the Pope himself was the celebrant. The other 27 masses could be held in a smaller, less public space, the Cappella Maggiore derived its name, the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel also in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of Pope Nicholas V, the Cappella Maggiore is recorded as existing in 1368. The proportions of the present chapel appear to follow those of the original. The first mass in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on 15 August 1483, the Sistine Chapel has maintained its function to the present day, and continues to host the important services of the Papal Calendar, unless the Pope is travelling. There is a permanent choir, the Sistine Chapel Choir, for whom much original music has been written, one of the functions of the Sistine Chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals. On the occasion of a conclave, a chimney is installed in the roof of the chapel, if white smoke appears, created by burning the ballots of the election, a new Pope has been elected. The conclave also provided for the cardinals a space in which they can hear mass, and in which they can eat, sleep, and pass time attended by servants. From 1455, conclaves have been held in the Vatican, until the Great Schism, canopies for each cardinal-elector were once used during conclaves—a sign of equal dignity. After the new Pope accepts his election, he would give his new name, at this time, until reforms instituted by Saint Pius X, the canopies were of different colours to designate which Cardinals had been appointed by which Pope. Its exterior is unadorned by architectural or decorative details, as is common in many Italian churches of the Medieval, subsidence and cracking of masonry such as must also have affected the Cappella Maggiore has necessitated the building of very large buttresses to brace the exterior walls. The accretion of other buildings has further altered the appearance of the Chapel. The building is divided into three stories of which the lowest is a tall basement level with several utilitarian windows
Sistine Chapel
–
View of the interior of the Sistine Chapel.
Sistine Chapel
–
The Sistine Chapel as it may have appeared in the 15th century (19th-century drawing)
Sistine Chapel
–
Exterior of the Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
–
A reconstruction of the appearance of the chapel in the 1480s, prior to the painting of the ceiling.
2.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
3.
Quattrocento
–
Quattrocento encompasses the artistic styles of the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. After the decline of the Western Roman Empire in 476, economic disorder and this was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages, which lasted roughly until the 11th century, when trade picked up, population began to expand and the papacy regained its authority. In Italy, urban centers arose that were populated by merchant and trade classes, money replaced land as the medium of exchange, and increasing numbers of serfs became freedmen. The changes in Medieval Italy and the decline of feudalism paved the way for social, cultural, the Quattrocento is viewed as the transition from the Medieval period to the age of the Renaissance, principally in the cities of Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice and Naples. Instead, Quattrocento artists and sculptors incorporated the more classic forms developed by Roman, since the Quattrocento overlaps with part of the Renaissance movement, it would be inaccurate to say that a particular artist was Quattrocento or Renaissance. Artists of the time probably would not have identified themselves as members of a movement, also see the list of 27 prominent 15th century painters made contemporaneously by Giovanni Santi, Raphael Sanzios father as part of a poem for the Duke of Urbino. The Robert Lehman Collection I, Italian Paintings, new York, Princeton, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in association with Princeton University Press. CS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list
Quattrocento
–
Sandro Botticelli 's
Annunciation, painted from 1489-1490, is an example of Quattrocento art.
Quattrocento
–
Tommaso Masaccio 's fresco,
The Tribute Money
4.
Florence
–
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
Florence
–
A collage of Florence showing the
Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the
Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the
Fountain of Neptune in the
Piazza della Signoria
Florence
–
A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence
–
The façade of the Cathedral
Florence
–
Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery.
5.
Lucca
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Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio, in a fertile plain near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital of the Province of Lucca and it is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls. Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and became a Roman colony in 180 BC, the rectangular grid of its historical centre preserves the Roman street plan, and the Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the ancient forum. Traces of the amphitheatre still may be seen in the Piazza dellAnfiteatro, at the Lucca Conference, in 56 BC, Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus reaffirmed their political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. Frediano, an Irish monk, was bishop of Lucca in the sixth century. At one point, Lucca was plundered by Odoacer, the first Germanic King of Italy, Lucca was an important city and fortress even in the sixth century, when Narses besieged it for several months in 553. Under the Lombards, it was the seat of a duke who minted his own coins, the Holy Face of Lucca, a major relic supposedly carved by Nicodemus, arrived in 742. During the eighth-tenth centuries Lucca was a center of Jewish life, Lucca became prosperous through the silk trade that began in the eleventh century, and came to rival the silks of Byzantium. During the tenth–eleventh centuries Lucca was the capital of the margraviate of Tuscany, more or less independent. After the death of Matilda of Tuscany, the city began to constitute itself an independent commune, for almost 500 years, Lucca remained an independent republic. There were many minor provinces in the region between southern Liguria and northern Tuscany dominated by the Malaspina, Tuscany in this time was a part of feudal Europe, dante’s Divine Comedy includes many references to the great feudal families who had huge jurisdictions with administrative and judicial rights. Dante spent some of his exile in Lucca, in 1273 and again in 1277, Lucca was ruled by a Guelph capitano del popolo named Luchetto Gattilusio. In 1314, internal discord allowed Uguccione della Faggiuola of Pisa to make himself lord of Lucca, the Lucchesi expelled him two years later, and handed over the city to another condottiero, Castruccio Castracani, under whose rule it became a leading state in central Italy. Lucca rivalled Florence until Castracanis death in 1328, on 22 and 23 September 1325, in the battle of Altopascio, Castracani defeated Florences Guelphs. For this he was nominated by Louis IV the Bavarian to become duke of Lucca, Castracanis tomb is in the church of San Francesco. His biography is Machiavellis third famous book on political rule, in 1408, Lucca hosted the convocation intended to end the schism in the papacy. Occupied by the troops of Louis of Bavaria, the city was sold to a rich Genoese, Gherardino Spinola, then seized by John, Lucca had been the second largest Italian city state with a republican constitution to remain independent over the centuries. In 1805, Lucca was conquered by Napoleon, who installed his sister Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi as Princess of Lucca, from 1815 to 1847 it was a Bourbon-Parma duchy
Lucca
–
View of Lucca from the
Torre Guinigi
Lucca
–
Coat of arms
Lucca
–
Duomo di San Martino (the Cathedral).
Lucca
–
Palazzo Pfanner, garden view.
6.
Fresco
–
Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
Fresco
–
Fresco in the church Mariä Verkündigung in Fuchstal,
Bavaria, Germany from Thomas Springer
Fresco
–
Fresco
Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican, Rome, Italy.
Fresco
–
Etruscan fresco of Velia Velcha from the
Tomb of Orcus,
Tarquinia.
Fresco
–
Fresco of "
Sappho " from
Pompeii, c. 50 CE.
7.
Sandro Botticelli
–
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, known as Sandro Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticellis posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, since then, among Botticellis best-known works are The Birth of Venus and Primavera. Botticelli was born in the city of Florence in a house in the Via Nuova, BorgOgnissanti, Vasari reported that Botticelli was initially trained as a goldsmith by his brother Antonio. By 1462 he was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi, many of his works have been attributed to the elder master. Influenced also by the monumentality of Masaccios painting, it was from Lippi that Botticelli learned a more intimate, by 1470, Botticelli had his own workshop. The Adoration of the Magi for Santa Maria Novella, contains the portraits of Cosimo de Medici, his sons Piero and Giovanni, the quality of the scene was hailed by Vasari as one of Botticellis pinnacles. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned Botticelli and other prominent Florentine, the iconological program was the supremacy of the Papacy. Sandros contribution included the Temptations of Christ, the Punishment of the Rebels, thus Vasari characterized the first printed Dante with Botticellis decorations, he could not imagine that the new art of printing might occupy an artist. Recent scholarship suggests otherwise, the Primavera was painted for Lorenzos townhouse in Florence, by 1499, both had been installed at Castello. In these works, the influence of Gothic realism is tempered by Botticellis study of the antique, but if the painterly means may be understood, the subjects themselves remain fascinating for their ambiguity. The complex meanings of these continue to receive widespread scholarly attention, mainly focusing on the poetry. The works do not illustrate particular texts, rather, each relies upon several texts for its significance, of their beauty, characterized by Vasari as exemplifying grace and by John Ruskin as possessing linear rhythm, there can be no doubt. The pictures feature Botticellis linear style emphasized by the soft continual contours, in 1491 he served on a committee to decide upon a façade for the Cathedral of Florence. For this reason, persisting in his attachment to that party, Botticelli biographer Ernst Steinmann searched for the artists psychological development through his Madonnas. In the deepening of insight and expression in the rendering of Marys physiognomy, Botticelli was already little employed in 1502. In 1504 he was a member of the appointed to decide where Michelangelos David would be placed. After his death, his reputation was eclipsed longer and more thoroughly than that of any other major European artist and his paintings remained in the churches and villas for which they had been created and his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel were upstaged by those of Michelangelo. The English collector William Young Ottley, however, had brought Botticellis The Mystical Nativity to London with him in 1799 after buying it in Italy, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood incorporated elements of his work into their own
Sandro Botticelli
–
Probable
self-portrait of Botticelli, in his
Adoration of the Magi (1475)
Sandro Botticelli
–
Primavera (c. 1482), icon of the springtime renewal of the Florentine Renaissance, also at the summer palazzo of Pierfrancesco de' Medici, as a companion piece to the
Birth of Venus and
Pallas and the Centaur. Left to right:
Mercury, the
Three Graces,
Venus,
Flora,
Chloris,
Zephyrus
Sandro Botticelli
–
Madonna of the Book (c.1480-3)
Sandro Botticelli
–
The Mystical Nativity
8.
Pietro Perugino
–
Pietro Perugino, born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil, Pietro Perugino was born Pietro Vannucci in Città della Pieve, Umbria, the son of Cristoforo Marie Vannucci. Pietros nickname characterizes him as from Perugia, the city of Umbria. Scholars continue to dispute the status of the Vannucci family. While certain academics maintain that Vannucci worked his way out of poverty and his exact date of birth is not known, although, based on his age at the death mentioned by Vasari and Giovanni Santi, he is suspected to be born between 1446 and 1452. Pietro most likely began studying painting in local workshops in Perugia such as those of Bartolomeo Caporali or Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, the date of this first Florentine sojourn is unknown, some make it as early as 1466/1470, others push the date to 1479. According to Vasari, he apprenticed in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio alongside Leonardo da Vinci, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Lorenzo di Credi, Filippino Lippi, piero della Francesca is thought to have taught him perspective form. In 1472 he must have completed his apprenticeship, for he was enrolled as a master in the Confraternity of St Luke, Pietro, although very talented was not extremely enthusiastic about his work. Perugino was one of the earliest Italian practitioners of oil painting, a good specimen of his early style in tempera is the tondo in the Musée du Louvre of the Virgin and Child Enthroned between Saints. Perugino returned from Florence to Perugia, where his Florentine training showed in the Adoration of the Magi for the church of Santa Maria dei Servi of Perugia, in about 1480, he was called to Rome by Sixtus IV to paint fresco panels for the Sistine Chapel walls. The frescoes he executed there included Moses and Zipporah, the Baptism of Christ, pinturicchio accompanied Perugino to Rome, and was made his partner, receiving a third of the profits. He may have some of the Zipporah subject. The Sistine frescoes were the major high Renaissance commission in Rome, the altar wall was also painted with the Assumption, the Nativity, and Moses in the Bulrushes. He had a studio in Florence, and received a great number of commissions. His Pietà in the Uffizi is an uncharacteristically stark work that avoids Peruginos sometimes too easy sentimental piety, in 1499 the guild of the cambio of Perugia asked him to decorate their audience-hall, the Sala delle Udienze del Collegio del Cambio. The humanist Francesco Maturanzio acted as his consultant, on the mid-pilaster of the hall Perugino placed his own portrait in bust-form. It is probable that Raphael, who in boyhood, towards 1496, had been placed by his uncles under the tuition of Perugino, Perugino was made one of the priors of Perugia in 1501. On one occasion Michelangelo told Perugino to his face that he was a bungler in art, Vannucci brought an action for defamation of character, unsuccessfully
Pietro Perugino
–
Self-portrait, 1497–1500
Pietro Perugino
–
The Delivery of the Keys fresco, 1481–1482,
Sistine Chapel, Rome.
Pietro Perugino
–
God the Father and angels by Pietro Perugino on the ceiling of
Stanza dell'Incendio del Borgo
Pietro Perugino
–
Pietà, c. 1490.
9.
Domenico Ghirlandaio
–
Domenico Ghirlandaio was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the third generation of the Florentine Renaissance, along with Verrocchio. Many apprentices passed through Ghirlandaios workshop, including the famous Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio was born Domenico di Tommaso di Currado di Doffo Bigordi. Tommaso had two children by his second wife, also named Antonia, whom he married in 1464. Domenicos half-sister Alessandra married the painter Bastiano Mainardi in 1494, both Ghirlandaios father and his uncle, Antonio, were setaiuolo a minuto. Giorgio Vasari reported that Domenico was at first apprenticed to his father, the nickname Il Ghirlandaio came to Domenico from his father, who was famed for creating the metallic garland-like headdresses worn by Florentine women. He was eventually apprenticed to Alesso Baldovinetti to study painting and mosaic, according to the art historian Günter Passavent, he was apprenticed in Florence to Andrea del Verrocchio. He maintained an association with other Florentine painters including Botticelli. Ghirlandaio excelled in the painting of frescos and it is for his fresco cycles that he is best known, an early commission came to him in the 1470s from the Commune of San Gimignano to decorate the Chapel of Santa Fina in the Collegiate Church of that city. The frescos, executed from 1477 to 1478, depict two miraculous events associated with the death of Saint Fina, in 1480, Ghirlandaio painted St. Jerome in His Study as a companion piece to Saint Augustine in His Study by Botticelli in the Church of Ognissanti, Florence. He also painted a life-sized Last Supper in its refectory, from 1481 to 1485, he was employed on frescoes at the Palazzo Vecchio, painting among other works an Apotheosis of St. Ghirlandaio painted the Vocation of the Apostles. He also painted the now lost Resurrection of Christ, the Crossing of the Red Sea has also been attributed to him, but is consistent with the style of Cosimo Roselli who was also part of the commission. Ghirlandaio is known to have created works in Rome, now lost. The first of these paintings contains portraits of Lorenzo de Medici, Sassetti and Lorenzos children with their tutor, the Resuscitation shows the painters own likeness. In 1483, there arrived in Florence a masterpiece of the Flemish painter Hugo van der Goes, now known as the Portinari Altarpiece, it was an Adoration of the Shepherds, commissioned by Tommaso Portinari, an employee of the Medici Bank. The painting was in oil paint, not the tempera employed in Florence, the aspect of the painting that had a profound effect on Ghirlandaio was the naturalism with which the shepherds were depicted. Ghirlandaio painted the altarpiece of the Sassetti chapel, an Adoration of the Shepherds and it is in this painting that he particularly shows his indebtedness to the Portinari Altarpiece. The shepherds, among whom is a portrait of the artist himself, are portrayed with a realism that was an advance in Florentine painting at that time, the altarpiece is still in position in Santa Trinita, surrounded by the frescos of which it was the centrepiece
Domenico Ghirlandaio
–
Supposed
self-portrait, from
Adoration of the Magi, 1488
Domenico Ghirlandaio
–
Pope Gregory announces the death of Santa Fina, in the Collegiate Church of San Gimignano (about 1477)
Domenico Ghirlandaio
–
The Adoration of the Shepherds,
Sassetti Chapel, contains a portrait of Ghirlandaio as one of the Shepherds.
Domenico Ghirlandaio
–
The Confirmation of the Franciscan Rule from the
Sassetti Chapel, with portraits of
Lorenzo de' Medici and his family occupying prominent positions as spectators to the event.
10.
Fra Bartolomeo
–
Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo OP, also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di S. Marco, and his original name Baccio della Porta, was an Italian Renaissance painter of religious subjects. He spent all his career in Florence until his mid-forties, when he travelled to work in various cities, as far south as Rome. He trained with Cosimo Roselli and in the 1490s fell under the influence of Savonarola and he remained friends with Raphael, and they both influenced the other. His portrait of Savonarola remains the most famous image of the reformer, Fra Bartolomeo painted both in oils and fresco, and some of his drawings are pure landscape sketches that are the earliest of this type from Italy. He was born in Savignano di Prato, Tuscany and he received the nickname of Baccio della Porta for his house was near the Gate of San Pier Gattolini. Starting from 1483 or 1484, by recommendation of Benedetto da Maiano and he was one of the greatest painters of his time. In 1490 or 1491 he began a collaboration with Mariotto Albertinelli, in the late 1490s Baccio was drawn to the teachings of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, who denounced what he viewed as vain and corrupt contemporary art. Savonarola argued for art serving as a visual illustration of the Bible to educate those unable to read the book. From 1498 is his famous portrait of Savonarola, now in the Museo Nazionale di San Marco in Florence, the following year he entered the convent of San Marco. He renounced painting for several years, not resuming until 1504 when he became the head of the workshop in obedience to his superior. In that year he began a Vision of St. Bernard for Bernardo Biancos family chapel in the Badia Fiorentina, soon thereafter, Raphael visited Florence and befriended the friar. Bartolomeo learned perspective from the younger artist, while Raphael added skills in coloring and handling of drapery, with Raphael, he remained on the friendliest terms, and when he departed from Rome, left in his hands two unfinished pictures which Raphael completed. As the Dominicans did not pay for the work, he took it back to Lucca, also in Lucca, in the October 1509, he painted by Albertinelli an altarpiece with Madonna and Child with Saints for the local cathedral. On November 26,1510 Pier Soderini commissioned him an altarpiece for the Sala del Consiglio of Florence, two years later he finished another altarpiece for the cathedral of Besançon. After a promised Feast of Venus for Duke Alfonso I dEste of Ferrara, of only drawings remain. He died in Florence in 1517, initially, his works showed the influence of Rossellis assistant, Piero di Cosimo, and those of Domenico Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi. After his hiatus from 1500 to 1503, he seemed to change vision, taking from Raphael the representation of light, Fra Bartolomeos figures are generally small and draped. Among his pupils were Cecchino del Frate, Benedetto Ciamfanini, Gabriel Rustici, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Fra Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. Vol. III, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,1911, p.124
Fra Bartolomeo
–
Fra Bartolomeo: Christ with the Four Evangelists
Fra Bartolomeo
–
Holy Family with the Infant St John.
Fra Bartolomeo
–
Scene with Christ in the Temple (1516).
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Fra Bartolomeo
–
The Adoration of the Christ Child (detail)
11.
Piero di Cosimo
–
Piero di Cosimo, also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was a Florentine painter of the Italian Renaissance. Vasari has many stories of his eccentricity, and the subjects have an individual. He trained under Cosimo Roselli, whose daughter he married, and he was also influenced by Early Netherlandish painting, and busy landscapes feature in many works, often forests seen close at hand. Several of his most striking secular works are in the landscape format used for paintings inset into cassone wedding chests or spalliera headboards or panelling. He was apparently famous for designing the temporary decorations for Carnival, from him, most probably, Cosimo acquired the love of landscape and the intimate knowledge of the growth of flowers and of animal life. The manner of Hugo van der Goes is especially apparent in the Adoration of the Shepherds and he journeyed to Rome in 1482 with his master, Rosselli. Inspired to the Vitruvius account of the evolution of man, Pieros mythical compositions show the presence of hybrid forms of men and animals, or the man learning to use fire. The multitudes of nudes in these shows the influence of Luca Signorelli on Pieros art. He also resisted any cleaning of his studio, or trimming of the trees of his orchard, he lived, wrote Vasari. The death of his master Roselli may also have affected Pieros morose elder years, the Immaculate Conception with Saints, at the Uffizi, and the Holy Family, at Dresden, illustrate the religious fervour to which he was stimulated by Savonarola. With the exception of the background in Rossellis fresco of the Sermon on the Mount, in the Sistine Chapel. Piero di Cosimo exercised considerable influence upon his fellow pupils Albertinelli and Bartolomeo della Porta, Vasari gave Pieros date of death as 1521, and this date is still repeated by many sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica. However, contemporary documents reveal that he died of plague on 12 April 1522, madonna and Child Enthroned with Sts. Peter, John the Baptist, Dominic, and Nicholas of Bari tempera and oil on panel, St. Louis Art Museum, media related to Piero di Cosimo at Wikimedia Commons Italian Paintings, Florentine School, a collection catalog containing information about di Cosimo and his works
Piero di Cosimo
–
Perseus Rescuing Andromeda, oil on canvas, 1510 or 1513,
Uffizi
Piero di Cosimo
–
Tritons and Nereids (1500), oil on panel, 37 x158 cm, Milano, Altomani collection
Piero di Cosimo
–
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
Piero di Cosimo
–
Portrait of
Simonetta Vespucci, oil on panel painting, c. 1480, 57 x 42 cm,
Musée Condé, Chantilly, France
12.
Santissima Annunziata, Florence
–
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic minor basilica in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. This is considered the church of the Servite Order. It is located at the side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata near the city center. The church was founded in 1250 by the seven members of the Servite Order. This painting was placed in the church and became so venerated that in 1444 the Gonzaga family from Mantua financed a special tribune, albertis designs were constricted by the pre-existing foundations. Construction was completed in 1481, after Alberti’s death, though the structure was refurbished in Baroque-style in the seventeenth century, the basic scheme of a domed circular space flanked by altar niches is still evident. The building across from the Foundling Hospital, designed by Sangallo the Elder, was given a Brunelleschian facade in the 1520s. Pilgrims who came to the church to venerate the miraculous painting often left wax votive offerings, in 1516, a special atrium was built to house these figures, the Chiostrino dei Voti. By the late 18th century there were six hundred of these images. In 1786, however, they were all melted down to make candles, pope Alexander VI, in appreciation for the survival of Rome after French occupation, paid homage and gifted a silver effigy to the church. The Florentine brides traditionally visit the shrine to leave their bouquets and this church is entered from the Chiostrino dei Voti. The Baroque decoration of the interior was begun in 1644. The 1st chapel to right contains a Madonna in Glory by Jacopo da Empoli, the 5th chapel on the right contains a Monument to Orlando de Medici by Bernardo Rossellino. The right transept has a side chapel has a Pietà by Baccio Bandinelli. The chapel-surrounded tribune or choir, known as the Rotonda, was designed in turn by Michelozzo, the next chapel has a Resurrection by Bronzino with a statue of St Roch attributed to Veit Stoss. The next chapel has a Madonna with Saints by a follower of Perugino and this chapel was elaborately decorated in a baroque fashion by Gianbattista Foggini in 1692. The first chapel just to the left of the entrance has a tabernacle of the Annunciation by Michelozzo, the organ is the oldest in Florence and the second oldest in Italy. The church contains the tomb of the Italian writer Maria Valtorta, the Chiostrino dei Voti was designed by Michelozzo
Santissima Annunziata, Florence
–
Santa Annunziata.
Santissima Annunziata, Florence
–
Pietà by Baccio Bandinelli
13.
Neri di Bicci
–
Neri di Bicci was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. A prolific painter of religious themes, he was active mainly in Florence. His father was Bicci di Lorenzo and his grandfather, Lorenzo di Bicci was also a painter in Florence, a pupil of Spinello Aretino. Neri di Biccis main works include a St and he also painter numerous works in the area of Volterra. His journals from the years 1453–1475, including the rates of remuneration for his work, are preserved in the library of the Uffizi Gallery. Ralph Nicholson Wornum, ed. Biographical catalogue of the principal Italian painters, woodfall & Kinder, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London, Digitized by Googlebooks from Oxford University copy on Jun 27,2006. Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical, York St. #4, Covent Garden, London, Original from Fogg Library, Digitized May 18,2007, George Bell and Sons. The Robert Lehman Collection I, Italian Paintings, new York, Princeton, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in association with Princeton University Press
Neri di Bicci
–
Madonna and Saints, San Sisto,
Viterbo,
Italy.
14.
Giorgio Vasari
–
Vasari was born in Arezzo, Tuscany. Recommended at an age by his cousin Luca Signorelli, he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia. He was befriended by Michelangelo whose painting style would influence his own, in 1529, he visited Rome where he studied the works of Raphael and other artists of the Roman High Renaissance. Vasaris own Mannerist paintings were admired in his lifetime than afterwards. In 1547 he completed the hall of the chancery in Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome with frescoes that received the name Sala dei Cento Giorni and he was consistently employed by members of the Medici family in Florence and Rome, and worked in Naples, Arezzo and other places. He also helped to organize the decoration of the Studiolo, now reassembled in the Palazzo Vecchio, aside from his career as a painter, Vasari was also successful as an architect. In Florence, Vasari also built the long passage, now called Vasari Corridor, the enclosed corridor passes alongside the River Arno on an arcade, crosses the Ponte Vecchio and winds around the exterior of several buildings. He also renovated the medieval churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, at both he removed the original rood screen and loft, and remodelled the retro-choirs in the Mannerist taste of his time. In Santa Croce, he was responsible for the painting of The Adoration of the Magi which was commissioned by Pope Pius V in 1566 and it was recently restored, before being put on exhibition in 2011 in Rome and in Naples. Eventually it is planned to return it to the church of Santa Croce in Bosco Marengo, in 1562 Vasari built the octagonal dome on the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia, an important example of high Renaissance architecture. In Rome, Vasari worked with Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and Bartolomeo Ammanati at Pope Julius IIIs Villa Giulia, the Lives also included a novel treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. The book was rewritten and enlarged in 1568, with the addition of woodcut portraits of artists. The work has a consistent and notorious bias in favour of Florentines, and tends to attribute to them all the developments in Renaissance art – for example, Venetian art in particular, is systematically ignored in the first edition. Between the first and second editions, Vasari visited Venice and while the edition gave more attention to Venetian art. Vasaris biographies are interspersed with amusing gossip, with a few exceptions, however, Vasaris aesthetic judgement was acute and unbiased. He did not research archives for exact dates, as art historians do, and naturally his biographies are most dependable for the painters of his own generation. Modern criticism – with new materials opened up by research – has corrected many of his traditional dates and attributions. Vasari includes a sketch of his own biography at the end of the Lives, according to the historian Richard Goldthwaite, Vasari was one of the earliest authors to use the term competition in its economic sense
Giorgio Vasari
–
Vasari's self-portrait
Giorgio Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, Italian humanists, Tuscan Poets: Dante, Petrarch, Guido Cavalcanti, Boccaccio, Cino da Pistoia and Guittone d'Arezzo
Giorgio Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, The Garden of Gethsemane
Giorgio Vasari
–
The Uffizi Loggia.
15.
Altarpiece
–
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing behind the altar of a Christian church. Altarpieces were one of the most important products of Christian art especially from the late Middle Ages to the era of the Counter-Reformation. Large number of altarpieces are now removed from their settings, and often their elaborate sculpted frameworks. Altarpieces seem to have begun to be used during the 11th century, the reasons and forces that led to the development of altarpieces are not generally agreed upon. The habit of placing decorated reliquaries of saints on or behind the altar, as well as the tradition of decorating the front of the altar with sculptures or textiles, an elaborate example of such an early altarpiece is the Pala dOro in Venice. The appearance and development of these first altarpieces marked an important turning point both in the history of Christian art and Christian religious practice, the autonomous image now assumed a legitimate position at the centre of Christian worship. Painted panel altars emerged in Italy during the 13th century, in the 13th century, it is not uncommon to find frescoed or mural altarpieces in Italy, mural paintings behind the altar function as visual complements for the liturgy. These altarpieces were influenced by Byzantine art, notably icons, which reached Western Europe in greater numbers following the conquest of Constantinople in 1204. During this time, altarpieces began to be decorated with an outer. Vigoroso da Sienas altarpiece from 1291 display such an altarpiece and this treatment of the altarpiece would eventually pave the way for the emergence, in the 14th century, of the polyptych. The sculpted elements in the emerging polyptychs often took inspiration from contemporary Gothic architecture, in Italy, they were still typically executed in wood and painted, while in northern Europe altarpieces were often made of stone. The early 14th century saw the emergence, in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the Baltic region, by hinging the outer panels to the central panel and painting them on both sides, the motif could be regulated by opening or closing the wings. The pictures could thus be changed depending on liturgical demands, the earliest often displayed sculptures on the inner panels, i. e. displayed when open, and paintings on the back of the wings, displayed when closed. With the advent of winged altarpieces, a shift in imagery also occurred, instead of being centred on a single holy figure, altarpieces began to portray more complex narratives linked to the Christian concept of salvation. As the Middle Ages progressed, altarpieces began to be commissioned more frequently, in Northern Europe, initially Lübeck and later Antwerp would develop into veritable export centres for the production of altarpieces, exporting to Scandinavia, Spain and northern France. By the 15th century, altarpieces were often commissioned not only by churches but also by individuals, families, guilds, the 15th century saw the birth of Early Netherlandish painting in the Low Countries, henceforth panel painting would dominate altarpiece production in the area. In Germany, sculpted wooden altarpieces were instead generally preferred, while in England alabaster was used to a large extent, in England, as well as in France, stone retables enjoyed general popularity. In Italy both stone retables and wooden polyptychs were common, with painted panels and often with complex framing in the form of architectural compositions
Altarpiece
–
The
Ghent Altarpiece (1432) by
Hubert and
Jan van Eyck. Considered one of the masterpieces of
Northern Renaissance art, it is an example of a complex polyptych panel painting
Altarpiece
–
Vigoroso da Siena 's altarpiece from 1291, an example of an early painted panel altarpiece, with the individual parts framed by gables and sculptured elements
Altarpiece
–
The Altarpiece of the Holy Blood, by
Tilman Riemenschneider (1501–1505). An example of an altarpiece with a central, sculpted section and relief wings.
16.
Fiesole
–
Fiesole is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence,8 kilometres northeast of that city. Both the Harvard University and Georgetown University maintain centers for Renaissance studies in Fiesole, the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is set in the slopes of Fiesole. Since the 14th century the city has always considered a getaway for the upper class of Florence. Fiesole was probably founded in the 9th-8th century BC, as it was an important member of the Etruscan confederacy, the first recorded mention on the town dates to 283 BC, when the town, then known as Faesulae, was conquered by the Romans. In pagan antiquity it was the seat of a school of augurs. Sulla colonized it with veterans, who afterwards, under the leadership of Gaius Mallius, Fiesole was the scene of Stilichos great victory over the Germanic hordes of the Vandals and Suebi under Radagaisus in 406. During the Gothic War the town was several times besieged, in 539 Justinus, the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications. Dante reflects this rivalry in his Divine Comedy by referring to the beasts of Fiesole, by the 14th century, rich Florentines had countryside villas in Fiesole, and one of them is the setting of the frame narrative of the Decameron. Boccaccios poem Il Ninfale fiesolano is an account of the origins of the community. Robert Browning mentions “sober pleasant Fiesole” several times in his poem Andrea Del Sarto, palazzo Comunale of the 14th century. The cathedral of Fiesole, containing the shrine of St. Romulus, martyr, according to legend the first Bishop of Fiesole, the old cathedral became a Benedictine abbey, which passed into the hands of the Canons Regular of the Lateran. It once possessed a library, long since dispersed. The abbey was closed in 1778, the room in the bishops palace where Carmelite bishop St. Andrew Corsini lived and died. The little church of the Primerana in the square, where the same saint was warned by Our Lady of his approaching death. Built in 996 and further expanded in medieval times, has maintained the Gothic presbytery from that period and it received a new façade in the late 16th century, with graffito decoration by Ludovico Buti. The interior, on a hall, has a 13th-century panel portraying Madonna with Child. In the transept are two marble bas-reliefs by Francesco da Sangallo, and a terracotta from Andrea della Robbias workshop, the church of S. Alessandro, with the shrine of St. Alexander, bishop and martyr. The Monastery of San Francesco on the crest of the hill, with the cells of St. Bernardine of Siena, San Girolamo, the home of Venerable Carlo dei Conti Guidi, founder of the Hieronymites of Fiesole
Fiesole
–
The
Roman theatre of Fiesole is still used.
Fiesole
–
The cathedral of Fiesole.
Fiesole
–
Arches near the Roman theatre.
Fiesole
–
San Francesco monastery
17.
National Gallery of London
–
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, after that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two-thirds of the collection. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, the present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, wilkinss building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space, the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi, the current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The late 18th century saw the nationalisation of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe, great Britain, however, did not emulate the continental model, and the British Royal Collection remains in the sovereigns possession today. In 1777 the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, the MP John Wilkes argued for the government to buy this invaluable treasure and suggested that it be housed in a noble gallery. The twenty-five paintings from that now in the Gallery, including NG1, have arrived by a variety of routes. This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, Dulwich College, the collection opened in Britains first purpose-built public gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in 1814. The British Institution, founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, the members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre, some resented the Institution. One of the Institutions founding members, Sir George Beaumont, Bt, in 1823 another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased John Julius Angerstein. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London, his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by Raphael, on 1 July 1823 George Agar Ellis, a Whig politician, proposed to the House of Commons that it purchase the collection. The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumonts offer, which came with two conditions, that the government buy Angersteins collection, and that a building was to be found
National Gallery of London
National Gallery of London
–
Location within Central London
National Gallery of London
–
The Raising of Lazarus by
Sebastiano del Piombo, from the collection of
John Julius Angerstein. This became the founding collection of the National Gallery in 1824. The painting has the
accession number NG1, making it officially the first painting to enter the Gallery.
National Gallery of London
–
100
Pall Mall, the home of the National Gallery from 1824 to 1834.
18.
St. Jerome
–
Jerome was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian. He was the son of Eusebius, born at Stridon, a village near Emona on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia and he is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin, and his commentaries on the Gospels. His list of writings is extensive, the protégé of Pope Damasus I, who died in December of 384, Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention to the lives of women and this focus stemmed from his close patron relationships with several prominent female ascetics who were members of affluent senatorial families. He is recognised as a Saint and Doctor of the Church by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and his feast day is 30 September. Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus was born at Stridon around 347 A. D and he was of Illyrian ancestry and his native tongue was the Illyrian dialect. He was not baptized until about 360–366 A. D. when he had gone to Rome with his friend Bonosus to pursue rhetorical and philosophical studies and he studied under the grammarian Aelius Donatus. There Jerome learned Latin and at least some Greek, though not the familiarity with Greek literature he would later claim to have acquired as a schoolboy. As a student in Rome, he engaged in the superficial escapades and wanton behaviour of students there, to appease his conscience, he would visit on Sundays the sepulchres of the martyrs and the Apostles in the catacombs. Here and there the light, not entering in through windows, but again, as soon as you found yourself cautiously moving forward, the black night closed around and there came to my mind the line of Vergil, Horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent. Jerome used a quote from Virgil—On all sides round horror spread wide, although initially skeptical of Christianity, he was eventually converted. Next came a stay of at least several months, or possibly years, with Rufinus at Aquileia, some of these accompanied him when he set out about 373 on a journey through Thrace and Asia Minor into northern Syria. At Antioch, where he stayed the longest, two of his companions died and he himself was seriously ill more than once, during one of these illnesses, he had a vision that led him to lay aside his secular studies and devote himself to God. Seized with a desire for a life of penance, he went for a time to the desert of Chalcis, to the southeast of Antioch, known as the Syrian Thebaid. During this period, he seems to have time for studying and writing. He made his first attempt to learn Hebrew under the guidance of a converted Jew, Jerome translated parts of this Hebrew Gospel into Greek. Returning to Antioch in 378 or 379, he was ordained by Bishop Paulinus, apparently unwillingly, soon afterward, he went to Constantinople to pursue a study of Scripture under Gregory Nazianzen. He seems to have spent two years there, then left, and the three he was in Rome again, as secretary to Pope Damasus I and the leading Roman Christians
St. Jerome
–
Saint Jerome in the Wilderness by
Bernardino Pinturicchio
St. Jerome
–
St. Jerome in His Study (1480), by
Domenico Ghirlandaio.
St. Jerome
–
St. Jerome reading in the countryside, by
Giovanni Bellini
St. Jerome
–
This painting by Antonio da Fabriano II, depicts St. Jerome in study. The writing implements, scrolls, and manuscripts testify to Jerome's scholarly pursuits. The Walters Art Museum.
19.
Crucifix
–
A crucifix is an image of Jesus on the cross, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the corpus, the crucifix is a principal symbol for many groups of Christians, and one of the most common forms of the Crucifixion in the arts. The symbol is less common in churches of other Protestant denominations, the crucifix emphasizes Jesus sacrifice — his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind. Most crucifixes portray Jesus on a Latin cross, rather than any other shape, Western crucifixes usually have a three-dimensional corpus, but in Eastern Orthodoxy Jesus body is normally painted on the cross, or in low relief. Strictly speaking, to be a crucifix, the cross must be three-dimensional, an entire painting of the Crucifixion of Jesus including a landscape background and other figures is not a crucifix either. Large crucifixes high across the axis of a church are known by the Old English term rood. By the late Middle Ages these were a feature of Western churches. The standard, four-pointed Latin crucifix consists of an upright post or stipes, there may also be a short projecting nameplate, showing the letters INRI. The corpus of Eastern crucifixes is normally a two-dimensional or low relief icon that shows Jesus as already dead, his face peaceful, more sculptural small crucifixes in metal relief are also used in Orthodoxy, including as pectoral crosses and blessing crosses. Western crucifixes may show Christ dead or alive, the presence of the wound in his ribs traditionally indicating that he is dead. In either case his face very often shows his suffering, in Orthodoxy he has normally been shown as dead since around the end of the period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Eastern crucifixes have Jesus two feet nailed side by side, rather than crossed one above the other, as Western crucifixes have shown them since around the 13th century. The crown of thorns is also absent in Eastern crucifixes, since the emphasis is not on Christs suffering. The S-shaped position of Jesus body on the cross is a Byzantine innovation of the late 10th century, probably more from Byzantine influence, it spread elsewhere in the West, especially to Italy, by the Romanesque period, though it was more usual in painting than sculpted crucifixes. Its in Italy that the emphasis was put on Jesus suffering and realistic details, during the 13th century the suffering Italian model triumphed over the traditional Byzantine one anywhere in Europe also due to the works of artists such as Giunta Pisano and Cimabue. Since the Renaissance the S-shape is generally less pronounced. He may be robed as a prophet, crowned as a king, on some crucifixes a skull and crossbones are shown below the corpus, referring to Golgotha, the site at which Jesus was crucified, which the Gospels say means in Hebrew the place of the skull. Very large crucifixes have been built, the largest being the Cross in the Woods in Michigan, prayer in front of a crucifix, which is seen as a sacramental, is often part of devotion for Christians, especially those worshipping in a church, and also privately
Crucifix
–
The Crucifix, a cross with the corpus (
Body of Christ), is an ancient symbol used within the
Catholic,
Eastern Orthodox,
Anglican, and
Lutheran churches, in contrast with some Protestant groups, which use only a simple cross.
Crucifix
–
Cimabue's
Crucifix, 1287-1288, Panel, 448 cm × 390 cm (176.4 in × 153.5 in)
Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence.
Crucifix
–
Unlike many other Protestants, Lutherans retained the use of the crucifix, Martin Luther church in
Oberwiesenthal, Germany
Crucifix
–
Detail from a carved portal, 6th century,
Basilica of
Santa Sabina all'Aventino, Rome.
20.
St. Damasus
–
Pope St. Damasus I was Pope of the Catholic Church from October 366 to his death in 384. He spoke out against major heresies in the church and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible and he has been made a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, and his feast day is December 11. Pope St. Damasus I was born around 305, around or inside the city of Rome, following the death of Pope Liberius, he succeeded to the Papacy amidst factional violence. Damasus faced accusations of murder and adultery with a woman in his early years as Pope. The neutrality of these claims has come into question with some suggesting that the accusations were motivated by the conflict with the supporters of Arianism. As well as various letters and other pieces Damasus was the author of Latin verse which modern scholars find lame. Alan Cameron describes his epitaph for a girl called Projecta as a tissue of tags and clichés shakily strung together. Damasus has been described as the first society Pope, and was apparently a member of a group of Iberian Christians, largely related to each other, Damasus parents were Antonius, who became a priest at the Church of St. Lawrence in Rome, and Laurentia. He began his career as a deacon in his father’s church. This later became the basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls in Rome, during Damasus early years, Constantine I rose to rule the Western Roman Empire. As emperor, he issued the Edict of Milan, which granted freedom to Christians in all parts of the Roman Empire. This led to the establishment of Christian religious supremacy in Constantinople, Damasus was most likely in his twenties at the time. When Pope Liberius was banished by Emperor Constantius II to Berea in 354, Damasus was archdeacon of the Roman church and followed Liberius into exile, during the period before Liberius return, Damasus had a great share in the government of the church. At the same time, 4th-century emperors expected each new pope-elect to be presented to them for approval, which sometimes led to state domination of the Churchs internal affairs. On the death of Liberius on 24 September 366, one faction supported Ursinus, the upper-class partisans of Felix supported the election of Damasus, but the opposing supporters of Liberius, the deacons and laity, supported Ursinus. The two were elected simultaneously in an atmosphere of rioting, J. N. D. Kelly states that Damasus hired a gang of thugs that stormed the Julian Basilica, carrying out a three-day massacre of the Ursinians. Supporters already clashed at the beginning of October, there was further violence when he returned, which continued after Ursinus was exiled again. Church historians such as St. Jerome and Rufinus, championed Damasus, at a synod in 378, Ursinus was condemned and Damasus exonerated and declared the true pope
St. Damasus
–
19th-century imagined portrait
St. Damasus
–
Virgin Mary
21.
Eusebius
–
Eusebius of Caesarea, also known as Eusebius Pamphili, was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist. He became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about 314 AD, together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon and is regarded as an extremely well learned Christian of his time. He wrote Demonstrations of the Gospel, Preparations for the Gospel, as Father of Church History he produced the Ecclesiastical History, On the Life of Pamphilus, the Chronicle and On the Martyrs. Little is known about the life of Eusebius and his successor at the See of Caesarea, Acacius, wrote a Life of Eusebius, a work that has since been lost. Eusebius own surviving works probably only represent a portion of his total output. Beyond notices in his extant writings, the sources are the 5th-century ecclesiastical historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret. There are assorted notices of his activities in the writings of his contemporaries Athanasius, Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Eusebius pupil, Eusebius of Emesa, provides some incidental information. In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius writes of Dionysius of Alexandria as his contemporary, if this is true, Eusebius birth must have been before Dionysius death in autumn 264, most modern scholars date the birth to some point in the five years between 260 and 265. He was presumably born in the town in which he lived for most of his adult life and he was baptized and instructed in the city, and lived in Palestine in 296, when Diocletians army passed through the region. Eusebius was made presbyter by Agapius of Caesarea, S. Wallace-Hadrill, deem the phrase too ambiguous to support the contention. By the 3rd century, Caesarea had a population of about 100,000 and it had been a pagan city since Pompey had given control of the city to the gentiles during his command of the eastern provinces in the 60s BC. The gentiles retained control of the city for the three centuries to follow, despite Jewish petitions for joint governorship, gentile government was strengthened by the citys refoundation under Herod the Great, when it had taken on the name of Augustus Caesar. In addition to the settlers, Caesarea had large Jewish. Eusebius was probably born into the Christian contingent of the city.46 states that Zacchaeus was the first bishop, through the activities of the theologian Origen and the school of his follower Pamphilus, Caesarea became a center of Christian learning. Origen was largely responsible for the collection of information, or which churches were using which gospels. On his deathbed, Origen had made a bequest of his library to the Christian community in the city. Together with the books of his patron Ambrosius, Origens library formed the core of the collection that Pamphilus established, Pamphilus also managed a school that was similar to that of Origen. Pamphilus was compared to Demetrius of Phalerum and Pisistratus, for he had gathered Bibles from all parts of the world, like his model Origen, Pamphilus maintained close contact with his students
Eusebius
–
Eusebius in a modern imagining
Eusebius
–
Eusebius's
canon tables were often included in Early Medieval
Gospel books
Eusebius
–
Ministry of Jesus &
Apostolic Age
22.
St. Paula
–
Saint Paula of Rome, was an ancient Roman saint and early Desert Mother. A member of one of the richest senatorial families which claimed descent from Agamemnon, Paula was the daughter of Blesilla and Rogatus, from the great clan of the Furii Camilli. In her mid teens, Paula was married to the nobleman Toxotius, with whom she had four daughters, Blaesilla, Paulina, Eustochium and she also had a boy, also named Toxotius. Information about Paulas early life is recorded by Saint Jerome, in his Letter 108, he states that she had led a luxurious life and held a great status. She dressed in silks, and had carried about the city by her eunuch slaves. At the age of 32, Paula was widowed and she continued to dedicate herself to her family, but became more interested in religion as time went on. Through the influence of Saint Marcella and her group, Paula became a member of this semi-monastic group of women. In 382, she met Saint Jerome, who had come to Rome with Saint Epiphanius, born in Dalmatia, Jerome had studied in Rome as a youth and had traveled to Germany and Aquileia, and for some years had lived in the East as an ascetic and scholar. While on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt, she settled in Bethlehem and established a monastery for men, Paula married her daughter, Paulina, to the senator Saint Pammachius, Blesilla soon became a widow and died in 384. Of her two daughters, Rufina died in 386, and Eustochium accompanied her mother to the Orient where she died in 419. Her son, Toxotius, at first not a Christian, but baptized in 385, married in 389 Laeta, of this marriage was born Paula the Younger, who in 404 rejoined Eustochium in the Holy Land and in 420 closed the eyes of St. Jerome. These are the names which recur frequently in the letters of St. Jerome and it has been argued that Saint Eustochius of Tours was the brother of Paula the Younger and the son of Toxotius. Jeromes enemies found that his denunciations of clerical indulgence and advocacy of self-denial were odd when they considered his relationship with Paula. An amorous relationship between Jerome and Paula was suggested as having occurred, Paula helped Jerome in his translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. The work was done at her suggestion, and she provided the works necessary for the undertaking. Being versed in Hebrew, she edited Jeromes manuscripts and she and her daughter Eustochium copied the work for circulation. An anecdote told of Jerome, of origin, tells that Roman clergy hostile to Jerome planned to have him expelled from the city by planting a womans robe next to his bed. When Jerome awoke in the middle of the night to attend the service of matins and he was thus accused of having had a woman in his bed
St. Paula
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Saint Paula with her nuns - 17th century. Painting of André Reinoso in
Hieronymites Monastery,
Lisbon,
Portugal.
St. Paula
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Saint Jerome with Saint Paula and
Saint Eustochium (painting of
Francisco de Zurbarán at National Gallery of Art in Washington).
23.
St. Eustochium
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Born Eustochium Julia at Rome, she was the daughter of Saint Paula and is also venerated as a saint and was an early Desert Mother. She was the third of four daughters of the Roman Senator Toxotius, after the death of her husband Paula and her daughter Eustochium lived in Rome as austere a life as the Fathers of the desert. Eustochium has three sisters, St. Blaesilla, Paulina, and Rufina, and a brother, Toxotius, when Saint Jerome came to Rome from Palestine in 382, they put themselves under his spiritual guidance. About the year 384 she made a vow of perpetual virginity, a year later St. Jerome returned to Palestine and soon after was followed to the Orient by Paula and Eustochium. In 386 they accompanied Jerome on his journey to Egypt, where they visited the hermits of the Nitrian Desert in order to study, in the fall of the same year they returned to Palestine and settled permanently at Bethlehem. Paula and Eustochium at once began to erect four monasteries and a hospice near the spot where Christ was born, while the erection of the monasteries was in process they lived in a small building in the neighbourhood. One of the monasteries was occupied by monks and put under the direction of Saint Jerome, the three other monasteries were taken by Paula and Eustochium and the numerous virgins that flocked around them. The three convents, which were under the supervision of Paula, had only one oratory, where all the virgins met several times daily for prayer, Jerome testifies that Eustochium and Paula performed the most menial services. Much of their time spent in the study of Holy Scripture under the direction of Saint Jerome. Eustochium spoke Latin and Classical Greek with equal ease and was able to read the Holy Scriptures in the Hebrew text, many of Jeromes Biblical commentaries owe their existence to her influence and to her he dedicated his commentaries on the prophets Isaias and Ezekiel. The letters which Saint Jerome wrote for her instruction and spiritual advancement are, according to his own testimony, after the death of Paula in 404, Eustochium assumed the direction of the nunneries. Her task was a one on account of the impoverished condition of the temporal affairs which was brought about by the lavish almsgiving of Paula. Jerome was of assistance to her by his encouragement and prudent advice. In 417, a crowd of ruffians attacked and pillaged the monasteries of Bethlehem, destroyed one of them by fire and it is alleged that this was instigated by John II, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Pelagians against whom Jerome had written what were considered sharp polemics. Both St. Jerome and St. Eustochium informed Pope Innocent I by letter of the occurrence, Eustochium died shortly after and was succeeded in the supervision of the convents by her niece, the younger Paula. Saint Eustochius of Tour might have been her nephew, and further lateral descendants may include Saint Perpetuus, the Church celebrates her feast on 28 September. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles. Saint Eustochium at the Christian Iconography web site
St. Eustochium
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Saint Jerome, Saint Paula, and Saint Eustochium, at National Gallery of Art in Washington.
24.
Pope Sixtus IV
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Pope Sixtus IV, born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 9 August 1471 to his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included building the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Archives, a patron of the arts, the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the citys new artistic age. Sixtus aided the Spanish Inquisition, though he fought to prevent abuses therein and he was famed for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy. Francesco was born to a family of modest means from Liguria, Italy and he was born in Celle Ligure, a town near Savona. He went on to lecture at Padua and many other Italian universities, in 1464, Della Rovere was elected Minister General of the Franciscan order at the age of 50. In 1467, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Paul II with the church being the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli. Before his papal election, Cardinal della Rovere was renowned for his unworldliness and had even written learned treatises entitled On the Blood of Christ and On the Power of God. His pious reputation was one of the factors that prompted the College of Cardinals to elect him pope upon the unexpected death of Paul II at the age of fifty-four. Upon being elected pope Della Rovere adopted the name Sixtus – a name that had not been used since the 5th century, one of his first acts was to declare a renewed crusade against the Ottoman Turks in Smyrna. However, after the conquest of Smyrna, the fleet disbanded, some fruitless attempts were made towards unification with the Greek Church. For the remainder of his pontificate, Sixtus turned to temporal issues, Sixtus IV sought to strengthen his position by surrounding himself with relatives and friends. His nephew Pietro Riario also benefited from his nepotism, Pietro became one of the richest men in Rome and was entrusted with Pope Sixtus foreign policy. However, Pietro died prematurely in 1474, and his role passed to Giuliano della Rovere, six of the thirty-four cardinals that he created were his nephews. Francesco Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa and an organizer of the plot, was hanged on the walls of the Florentine Palazzo della Signoria. To this, Sixtus IV replied with an interdict and two years of war with Florence, however, Infessura had partisan allegiances to the Colonna and so is not considered to be always reliable or impartial. However, such accusations are easily dismissed as propaganda, but did nevertheless prompt the noted historian of the Catholic Church, Ludwig von Pastor. Sixtus continued a dispute with King Louis XI of France, who upheld the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, according to which papal decrees needed royal assent before they could be promulgated in France. This was a cornerstone of the claimed for the Gallican Church
Pope Sixtus IV
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Pope Sixtus IV appoints Platina as Prefect of the Library, by Melozzo da Forlì, accompanied by his relatives
Pope Sixtus IV
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Posthumous portrait of Pope Sixtus IV by
Titian
Pope Sixtus IV
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Ponte Sisto, the first bridge built at Rome since the
Roman Empire
Pope Sixtus IV
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Tomb of Pope Sixtus IV by Antonio del Pollaiolo
25.
Descent from Mount Sinai (Rosselli)
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The Descent from Mount Sinai is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Cosimo Rosselli and his assistants, executed in 1481–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. The Florentines started to work in the Sistine Chapel as early as spring 1481, along with Pietro Perugino, Rosselli brought with him his son-in-law, Piero di Cosimo, who perhaps collaborated on this painting and at least one of the others assigned by his master. The painting, like others in the cycle, shows more episodes at the same time, the theme is described by the inscription on the frieze PROMULGATIO LEGIS SCRIPTE PER MOISEM. In the upper part is Moses kneeling on Mount Sinai, with a sleeping Joshua nearby, he receives the Tables of the Law from Yahweh, in the foreground, on the left, Moses brings the Tables to the Israelites. Once seeing that, Moses, in the center, gets angry, on the right background is the punishment of the idolatrous and the receiving of the new Tables. Joshua, in the blue and yellow, appears with Moses, blumenthal, Arthur R. Cosimo Rosselli Painter of the Sistine Chapel. Winter Park, Cornell Fine Arts Museum
Descent from Mount Sinai (Rosselli)
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Descent from Mount Sinai
26.
Last Supper (Sistine Chapel)
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The Last Supper is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painters Cosimo Rosselli and Biagio dAntonio, executed in 1481–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. The Florentines started to work in the Sistine Chapel as early as the Spring of 1481, along with Pietro Perugino, due to the commissions size, the artists brought with them numerous assistants. Rosselli brought his son-in-law Piero di Cosimo, however, his sheer adoption of brilliant colors granted him the appreciation of the pope, who apparently, was not considered an art expert. The scene is part of the Stories of Jesus cycle and, like the others, the frieze has the inscription REPLICATIO LEGIS EVANGELICAEA CHRISTO. The supper is set in an apse, with a horseshoe-shaped table at whose center sits Jesus. Judas, as usual, is depicted on the side, from behind, the scene shows the moment immediately after Jesus annunciation that one apostle would betray him. His hearers reactions include touching their own chests, or muttering to each other, at the sides, are two couples of figures dressing rich garments. Another dog is jumping on the left, within the three windows behind the table are three scenes of the Passion, the Prayer at Gethsmane, the Arrest of Jesus and the Crucifixion. These are attributed by some authorities to Biagio dAntonio, Perugino used the same panel-within-a-panel effect in his later Last Supper
Last Supper (Sistine Chapel)
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Last Supper
Last Supper (Sistine Chapel)
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The Arrest of Christ.
27.
Passage of the Red Sea (Sistine Chapel)
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The Crossing of the Red Sea is a fresco executed in 1481–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. Of uncertain attribution, it has been assigned to one between Domenico Ghirlandaio, Biagio dAntonio or Cosimo Rosselli, the Florentines started to work in the Sistine Chapel as early as the Spring of 1481, along with Pietro Perugino, who was already there. The theme of the decoration was a parallel between the Stories of Moses and those of Christ, as a sign of continuity between the Old and the New Testament. Among the several fresco in the cycle, that of the Passage of the Red Sea was the one with the most problematic attribution, although the name of Ghirlandaio was made by several authorities, the works style is more reminiscent of that of Cosimo Rosselli or Biagio dAntonio. The scene is part of the chapels Stories of Moses cycle, the sequence begins from the right background, where Moses and Aaron are begging the pharaoh to free the Israelites. The pharaoh is portrayed in a scream, while other figures try to return to the Egyptian shore by swimming. Before the army is a column hovering over the waters, this is a representation of the fire pillar sent by Yahweh to scare the Egyptians, in the upper central area is a hail storm, sent by God to punish the Egyptians. Also depicted are some sunrays and, more to the left, on the left are the Israelites, led by a young Moses with the typical green garment and yellow cloak, and a command baton, after they have just crossed the sea. Their safeness is testified by the presence of recreational activities, such as the prophetess Miriam playing a chordophone in the foreground and they continue their trip in procession, disappearing on the left, in a naturalistic landscape. Details include a pet dog in the foreground, reminiscent of Benozzo Gozzolis paintings in the Magi Chapel, blumenthal, Arthur R. Cosimo Rosselli Painter of the Sistine Chapel. Winter Park, Cornell Fine Arts Museum
Passage of the Red Sea (Sistine Chapel)
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The Crossing of the Red Sea
Passage of the Red Sea (Sistine Chapel)
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Detail of the storm.
28.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
29.
Giovanni Battista Vanni
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Giovanni Battista Vanni was an Italian painter and engraver of the Baroque period. He was born in either Pisa or Florence around 1599, he studied successively under Jacopo da Empoli, Aurelio Lomi, and Matteo Rosselli and he is better known as an engraver than as a painter. From 1624 to 1632, he lived in Rome, then returning to Florence after visiting Venice and he also engraved Paolo Veroneses Marriage at Cana. He frescoed a Meal in the house of the Pharisee for an attached to the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. He died at Florence in 1660, walter Armstrong & Robert Edmund Graves, ed. Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical,4, Covent Garden, London, Original from Fogg Library, Digitized May 18,2007, George Bell and Sons
Giovanni Battista Vanni
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Annunciazione (Annunciation) by Giovanni Battista Vanni, Church of
San Francesco di Paola at Florence.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rosselli, Cosimo". Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 745–746.
