1.
Giovanni II Bentivoglio
–
Giovanni II Bentivoglio was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1463 until 1506. He had no position, but held power as the citys first citizen. The Bentivoglio family ruled over Bologna from 1443, and repeatedly attempted to consolidate their hold of the Signoria of the city, born in Bologna, Giovanni II was the son of Annibale I Bentivoglio, then chief magistrate of the commune, and Donnina Visconti. He was a child when his father was murdered by his rival Battista Canneschi in June 1445, Annibale I was succeeded in Bologna by Sante I, of uncertain paternity and origin, but alleged to be a son of Ercole Bentivoglio, a cousin of Annibale I. Originally an apprentice of the guild of Florence, Sante ruled as signore of Bologna from 1443. When Sante died in 1463, Giovanni II Bentivoglio successfully made himself lord of the commune, on May 2,1464, he married Santes widow Ginevra Sforza. In 1446 he obtained by Pope Paul II the privilege to be considered perpetual head of the citys Senate, in order to secure the support of the other powerful families of Italy, Giovanni fought personally as condottiero. In 1482, during the War of Ferrara, he helped Ercole dEste against Pope Sixtus IV and he later fought in small struggles for the Kingdom of Naples, but his personal interventions were always limited by the Bolognese institutions. In 1488, his daughter Francesca poisoned her own husband, Galeotto Manfredi, the latters citizens considered the feat as an occult move to conquer the city, and rebelled. When Giovanni reached the city to suppress the revolt, he was captured and he was freed only through the intercession of Lorenzo de Medici. In the same year he was made Capitano Generale of the Milanese army, in 1488 Giovanni had also to crush a plot against him, led by the Malvezzi family, whose members were almost all hanged or exiled. In 1501, the same fate struck the Marescottis, when the papal troops, along with a contingent sent by Louis XII of France, marched against Bologna, Bentivoglio and his family fled. Julius II entered the city triumphantly on November 10, Giovanni moved first to Busseto, host of the Pallavicino family. An attempt led by his sons Annibale II and Ermes to reconquer Bologna in 1507 failed, the Bolognese subsequently rioted against his possessions in the city, destroying the palace. Excommunicated, Giovanni ended his days as prisoner of Louis XII in Milan and he died in 1508 in the Castello Sforzesco of that city. Giovanni Bentivoglio is said to have consulted in 1504 the famous astrologer Luca Gaurico about his and his sons destiny, displeased with Gauricos negative prophecy, Bentivoglio subjected him to the torture of mancuerda, and exiled him from Bologna. Giovanni II Bentivoglio ruled with a stern sway for nearly half a century, maintaining a splendid court and beautifying Bologna, the misery of the citys poor, however, stood in stark contrast to the splendor of the city and its festivities. Among the projects he commissioned were the frescoes depicting the life of Saint Cecilia in the Oratorio di Santa Cecilia through the archway of San Giacomo and these frescoes were painted by artists living in the city at the time, Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Costa the Elder and Amico Aspertini
Giovanni II Bentivoglio
–
Portrait of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, c. 1480, by Ercole de' Roberti.
Giovanni II Bentivoglio
–
Bentivoglio family by
Lorenzo Costa
2.
Renaissance
–
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word also occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance, money and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money. Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
Renaissance
–
David, by
Michelangelo (
Accademia di Belle Arti,
Florence) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.
Renaissance
–
Renaissance
Renaissance
–
Leonardo da Vinci 's
Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) shows clearly the effect writers of Antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in
Vitruvius '
De architectura (1st century BC), Leonardo tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man.
Renaissance
–
Portrait of a young woman (c. 1480-85) (
Simonetta Vespucci) by
Sandro Botticelli
3.
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
Vasari
–
Vasari's self-portrait
Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, Italian humanists, Tuscan Poets: Dante, Petrarch, Guido Cavalcanti, Boccaccio, Cino da Pistoia and Guittone d'Arezzo
Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, The Garden of Gethsemane
Vasari
–
The Uffizi Loggia.
4.
House of Este
–
The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. The elder branch of the House of Este included the dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg and produced Britains Hanoverian monarchs, the younger branch of the House of Este included rulers of Ferrara, and of Modena and Reggio. According to Edward Gibbon the family originated from the Roman Attii family, however, there is little evidence to support this hypothesis. The names of the members of the family indicate that a Frankish origin is much more likely. The first known member of the house was Margrave Adalbert of Mainz, known only as the father of Oberto I, Count palatine of Italy, who died around 975. Obertos grandson, Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan built a castle at Este, near Padua, and named himself after the location. He had three sons from two marriages, two of whom became the ancestors of the two branches of the family, Welf IV, the eldest, was the son of Kunigunde, the last of the Elder Welfs. He inherited the property of his uncle, Welf, Duke of Carinthia, became duke of Bavaria in 1070, and is the ancestor of the elder branch. Hugh, issue of Azzos second marriage to Garsend of Maine, inherited the French County of Maine, a legacy of his mothers dowry, Fulco I, Margrave of Milan, the third son, is the ancestor of the younger Italian line of Este. Este itself was taken over in 1275 by Padua and in 1405, after the peace ending the Napoleonic wars reshaped Europe, ushering in the Modern era, the Electorate of Hanover, was dissolved by treaty. Its lands were enlarged and the state was promoted to a kingdom, the House of Este gave Great Britain and the United Kingdom the Hanoverian monarchs. All later generations of the Italian branch are descendants of Fulco dEste, from 1171 on, his descendants were titled Margraves of Este. Obizzo I, the first margrave, battled against Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and his nephew Azzo dEste VI became podestà of Mantua and Verona. As the dowry of his niece the Marchesella, Ferrara passed to Azzo VI dEste In 1146, in 1242 Azzo VII Novello was nominated podestà for his lifetime. The lordship of Ferrara was made hereditary by Obizzo II, who was proclaimed Lord of Ferrara in 1264, Lord of Modena in 1288, Ferrara was a papal fief and the Este family were given the position of hereditary papal vicars in 1332. Ferrara became a significant center of culture under Niccolò dEste III and he held a Council in Ferrara in 1438, later known as the Council of Florence. His successors were his brothers Leonello and Borso, who was elevated to Duke of Modena and Reggio by Emperor Frederick III in 1452, receiving these duchies as imperial fiefs. In 1471, he received the duchy of Ferrara as papal fief from Pope Paul II, Borso was succeded by a half-brother, Ercole, who was one of the most significant patrons of the arts in late 15th and early 16th century Italy
House of Este
–
George, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, Prince-Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick. Portrait c. 1714, the year of his succession, by
Sir Godfrey Kneller.
House of Este
–
Motto: "Not safe from the tireless Devil" (
Latin: Ab insomni non custodita dracone)
House of Este
–
Ercole I d'Este was one of the most important patrons of arts in the
Italian Renaissance.
House of Este
–
Leonello d'Este (by
Pisanello).
5.
Ferrara
–
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 kilometres north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, the town has broad streets and numerous palaces dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, when it hosted the court of the House of Este. For its beauty and cultural importance it has qualified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Modern times have brought a renewal of industrial activity, Ferrara is on the main rail line from Bologna to Padua and Venice, and has branches to Ravenna, Poggio Rusco and Codigoro. Ferrara appears first in a document of the Lombard king Desiderius of 753 AD, Desiderius pledged a Lombard ducatus ferrariae in 757 to Pope Stephen II. Obizzo II dEste was proclaimed ruler of Ferrara five hundred years later. He also became seignior of nearby Modena in 1288 and of Reggio in 1289, in 1452 the Este rulers were created Dukes of Modena and Reggio, and in 1471 Ferrara also became a duchy. In 1597, when Alfonso II died without heirs, the House of Este lost Ferrara to the Papal States. Ferrara remained a part of the Papal States from 1598 to 1859, with an interruption during the Napoleonic period, in 1859 it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. A fortress was constructed by Pope Paul V on the site of the castle called Castel Tedaldo, at the south-west angle of the town, all of the fortress was dismantled following the birth of the Kingdom of Italy and the bricks used for new constructions all over the town. On August 23,1944, the Ferrara synthetic rubber plant was a target of Strategic bombing during World War II, the town is still surrounded by more than 9 kilometres of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th-centuries. Along with those of Lucca, they are the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy, the imposing brick Castello Estense sited in the very centre of the town is iconic of Ferrara. The castle, erected in 1385, is surrounded by a moat, the pavilions on the top of the towers date from the 16th-century refurbishment. The City Hall, renovated in the 18th century, was the residence of the Este family. Close by it is the former Cathedral of San Giorgio, The Romanesque lower part of the main façade, according to a now lost inscription the church had been commissioned by Guglielmo I of Adelardi. The sculpture of the portal was signed by a Nicholaus. The upper part of the main façade, with arcades of pointed arches, dates from the 13th century, the recumbent lions guarding the entrance are copies of the originals, now in the narthex of the church. An elaborate 13th-century relief depicting the Last Judgement is found in the story of the porch
Ferrara
–
The Castle Estense
Ferrara
–
Ferrara City Hall.
Ferrara
–
The Renaissance walls.
Ferrara
–
The
Castle Estense.
6.
Bologna
–
Bologna is the largest city of the Emilia-Romagna Region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, located in the heart of an area of about one million. The first settlements back to at least 1000 BC. The city has been a centre, first under the Etruscans. Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna is also an important transportation crossroad for the roads and trains of Northern Italy, where many important mechanical, electronic and nutritional industries have their headquarters. According to the most recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city, Bologna is home to numerous prestigious cultural, economic and political institutions as well as one of the most impressive trade fair districts in Europe. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, the city of Bologna was selected to participate in the Universal Exposition of Shanghai 2010 together with 45 other cities from around the world. Bologna is also one of the wealthiest cities in Italy, often ranking as one of the top cities in terms of quality of life in the country, after a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under Bishop Petronius. According to legend, St. Petronius built the church of S. Stefano. After the fall of Rome, Bologna was a stronghold of the Exarchate of Ravenna in the Po plain. In 728, the city was captured by the Lombard king Liutprand, the Germanic conquerors formed a district called addizione longobarda near the complex of S. Stefano. Charlemagne stayed in this district in 786, traditionally said to be founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered to be the first university. The university originated as a centre of study of medieval Roman law under major glossators. It numbered Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca among its students, the medical school is especially famous. In the 12th century, the families engaged in continual internecine fighting. Troops of Pope Julius II besieged Bologna and sacked the artistic treasures of his palace, in 1530, in front of Saint Petronio Church, Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII. Then a plague at the end of the 16th century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, the population later recovered to a stable 60, 000–65,000. However, there was also great progress during this era, in 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the centre of the University
Bologna
–
A collage of the city, showing
Fountain of Neptune,
Piazza Maggiore,
Basilica of San Petronio,
Two towers (Due Torri),
Tagliatelle al
ragù bolognese (dish of Bologna origin), and endless city arcades typical for Bologna
Bologna
–
Porta Maggiore, one of the twelve medieval city gates of Bologna.
Bologna
–
Depiction of a 14th-century fight between the militias of the Guelf and Ghibelline factions in Bologna, from the Croniche of Giovanni Sercambi of Lucca.
Bologna
–
Bologna in 1640.
7.
Francesco del Cossa
–
Francesco del Cossa was an Italian Renaissance painter of the School of Ferrara. The son of a stonemason in Ferrara, little is known about his early works, Cossa is best known for his frescoes. One of his followers was Leonardo Scaletti of Faenza, in conjunction with Cosimo Tura, Cossa is now known for fresco decoration of the summer pleasure villa/palazzo known as the Palazzo Schifanoia, located just outside the city gates. Together, they painted a series of the elaborate allegories around the themes of zodiacal signs and these were only partially restored in the 20th century, and there are three that are reasonably assigned to Cossa. Of these, one of the most remarkable images is the horde of naked toddlers in the Allegory of May – Triumph of Apollo, apparently a sign of springtimes prolific blossoming, the crowded rows of babies mass like a phalanx of infantile Rockettes. The Allegory of April has a depiction of the trio of Graces, sandro Botticellis version in Primavera dates from 1482. See the 1501 version of the Three Graces, assuming the date of death of Cossa is correct, this one must have been completed prior to the others. Unhappy that he had paid by the square foot for his work for Duke Borso and complaining he was being paid the same as the worst dauber in Ferrara. In Bologna he obtained many commissions under the patronage of the Bentivoglio family and he executed stained glass windows in Bologna, the best of which is a circular window, in the church of San Giovanni in Monte, representing St. John in Patmos. In the National Gallery of London there is a picture by him representing St. Vincent Ferrer, there is a fine profile portrait at Locko Park near Derby, said to represent Duke Ercole I of Ferrara. In the Dresden collection there is also an Annunciation that has, however, del Cossa features as one of the two protagonists in Ali Smiths novel How to Be Both, short-listed for the 2014 Man Booker Prize. Encyclopedia of Artists, volume 2, edited by William H. T. Vaughan, ISBN 0-19-521572-9,2000 Web Gallery of Art
Francesco del Cossa
–
Allegory of April, fresco
Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara.
Francesco del Cossa
–
Detail showing The Three Graces.
Francesco del Cossa
–
St. John of Patmos. Stained glass window in entrance of San Giovanni in Monte, Bologna 44°29′27″N 11°20′54″E / 44.49077°N 11.34836°E / 44.49077; 11.34836, ca. 1480.
Francesco del Cossa
–
Detail.
8.
Lorenzo Costa
–
Lorenzo Costa was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He was born at Ferrara, but moved to Bologna by his early twenties, however, many artists worked in both cities, and thus some consider him a product of the School of Ferrara. It is possible that he trained with Cosimo Tura, in 1483 he painted the famous Bentivoglio Altarpiece and other frescoes on the walls of the Bentivoglio chapel in San Giacomo Maggiore. He was a friend of Francesco Francia, who was much influenced by him. In 1509 he moved to Mantua to become the painter of Marquis Francesco Gonzaga. For the latters studiolo in the Ducal Palace, he painted the Allegory of Isabella dEstes Coronation and he died at Mantua in 1535. His sons Ippolito and Girolamo were also painters, as was Girolamos son, contemporaries who worked with or under him include Cosimo Tura, Dosso Dossi, Ludovico Mazzolino, Lorenzo Leonbruno, and Niccolò Pisano. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Costa
Lorenzo Costa
–
Holy Family by Lorenzo Costa, at the
Musée des Beaux-Arts,
Lyon
9.
San Petronio Basilica
–
The Basilica of San Petronio is the main church of Bologna, Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. It is the tenth-largest church in the world by volume,132 metres long and 66 metres wide, with its volume of 258,000 m³, it is the largest church built of bricks of the world. The basilica is dedicated to the saint of the city, Saint Petronius. It has been the seat of the relics of Bolognas patron saint only since 2000, following a council decree of 1388, the first stone of construction was laid June 7,1390, when the town council entrusted Antonio di Vincenzo with raising a Gothic cathedral. Works lasted for centuries, after the completion of the first version of the facade. The series were completed only in 1479, according to tradition, Pope Pius IV halted such a majestic project. The facing of the facade remains unfinished, many architects were commissioned to propose solutions for it. The heroic nudes of Adam and other figures in the rectangular panels were an inspiration to artists of the Renaissance. The 65-metre-tall campanile was built at the end of the 1400s, the interior houses a Madonna with Saints by Lorenzo Costa the Younger and a Pietà by Amico Aspertini. Also the colours of the walls and the glass windows are noteworthy. The choir was made in the 15th century by Agostino de Marchi, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola was chief architect of the fabbrica, his is the design of the ciborium over the altar. The vaulting and decoration of the nave is by Girolamo Rainaldi. The twenty-two chapels are the following, I, Chapel of St. Abbondio, formerly of the Dieci di Balia - restored in neo-Gothic style in 1865. In this chapel, in the year 1530, Emperor Charles V was crowned by Pope Clement VII, Chapel of St. Petronio, once of the Cospi and Aldrovandi families, designed by Alfonso Torreggiani, designed to contain the relic of the head of San Petronio. On the pillar, two clocks, one of the first made in Italy with the correction of the pendulum. Chapel of the Magi, once of Bolognini family, its marble Gothic balustrade designed by Antonio di Vincenzo, Chapel of St. Sebastian, once of Vaselli family. Chapel of St. Vincent Ferrer, formerly of the Griffoni, Chapel of St. James, formerly of the Rossi and Baciocchi families, the Madonna Enthroned on the altar was painted by Lorenzo Costa, to the same author attributed the designs of the stain glass. Funeral monument containing the remains of Prince Felix Baciocchi and his wife Elisa Bonaparte, Chapel of St. Rocco, formerly of the Ranuzzi family, it contains a ‘’San Rocco’’ by Parmigianino
San Petronio Basilica
–
The unfinished facade of the San Petronio Basilica.
San Petronio Basilica
–
The Porta Magna with sculpture by
Jacopo della Quercia
San Petronio Basilica
–
San Petronio Basilica and
Piazza Maggiore.
San Petronio Basilica
–
The nave, with Vignola's
ciborium
10.
Pinacoteca Vaticana
–
The Vatican Museums are the museums of the Vatican City and are located within the citys boundaries. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employ 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, Pope Julius II founded the museums in the early 16th century. The Sistine Chapel, with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo and the Stanze di Raffaello decorated by Raphael, are on the route through the Vatican Museums. In 2013, they were visited by 6 million people, which combined makes it the 6th most visited art museum in the world, there are 54 galleries, or sale, in total, with the Sistine Chapel, notably, being the very last sala within the Museum. It is one of the largest museums in the world, in 2017, the Museums official website and social media presence was completely redone, in accord with current standards and appearances for modern websites. Pope Julius II sent Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo Buonarroti, who were working at the Vatican, on their recommendation, the pope immediately purchased the sculpture from the vineyard owner. The pope put the sculpture of Laocoön and his sons on public display at the Vatican exactly one month after its discovery, the Museum Christianum was founded by Benedict XIV, and some of the Vatican collections formed the Lateran Museum, which Pius IX founded by decree in 1854. The Museums celebrated their 500th anniversary in October 2006 by permanently opening the excavations of a Vatican Hill necropolis to the public, on 1 January 2017 Barbara Jatta became the Director of the Vatican Museums, replacing Antonio Paolucci who had been director since 2007. The art gallery was housed in the Borgia Apartment until Pope Pius XI ordered construction of a proper building, the new building, designed by Luca Beltrami, was inaugurated on 27 October 1932. The museum has paintings including, Giottos Stefaneschi Triptych Olivuccio di Ciccarello, Opere di Misericordia Raphaels Madonna of Foligno, Oddi Altarpiece, the group of museums includes several sculpture museums surrounding the Cortile del Belvedere. The museum takes its name from two popes, Clement XIV and Pius VI, the pope who brought the museum to completion, Clement XIV came up with the idea of creating a new museum in Innocent VIIIs Belvedere palace and started the refurbishment work. Pope Clement XIV founded the Pio-Clementino museum in 1771, and originally it contained the Renaissance, the museum and collection were enlarged by Clements successor Pius VI. Today, the museum works of Greek and Roman sculpture. Some notable galleries are, Greek Cross Gallery, with the porphyri sarcophagi of Constance and Saint Helen, daughter and mother of Constantine the Great. Sala Rotonda, shaped like a miniature Pantheon, the room has impressive ancient mosaics on the floors, Gallery of the Statues, as its name implies, holds various important statues, including Sleeping Ariadne and the bust of Menander. It also contains the Barberini Candelabra, Gallery of the Busts, Many ancient busts are displayed. Cabinet of the Masks, The name comes from the mosaic on the floor of the gallery, found in Villa Adriana, along the walls, several famous statues are shown including the Three Graces. One wove the thread of life, second nurtured it, third cut it. The center piece is Belvedere Torso, revered by Michelangelo and other Renaissance men, sala degli Animali, So named because of the many ancient statues of animals
Pinacoteca Vaticana
–
Sculptures above the entrance of museums
Pinacoteca Vaticana
–
Spiral stairs of the Vatican Museums, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932.
Pinacoteca Vaticana
–
The New Wing, Braccio Nuovo built by Raphael Stern
Pinacoteca Vaticana
–
The
Prima Porta Augustus
11.
Palazzo Schifanoia
–
Palazzo Schifanoia is a Renaissance palace in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna built for the Este family. The highlights of its decorations are the frescoes with details in tempera by or after Francesco del Cossa and Cosmè Tura, executed ca 1469–70. As the equivalent of a Roman villa suburbana, the Palazzo Schifanoia long predated the first such pleasure villa built in Renaissance Rome, in 1452 Borso dEste received the title of Duke for the imperial fiefs of Modena and Reggio Emilia that he held from Emperor Frederick III. The occasion for the cycle of frescoes was the expected investiture of Borso dEste as Duke of Ferrara in 1471 by Pope Paul II, the palace was often used by Marfisa dEste, a great patron of the arts. Above the arched door, flanked by pilasters, the Este arms are displayed and the unicorn, a symbol of ducal benevolence, in 1493 the terracotta cornice was added to designs by Biagio Rossetti, who was also commissioned by Ercole I dEste to extend the palace. From the Salone dei Mesi the visitor once passed directly into the gardens reached by a stair from the summer loggia. After the Este left Ferrara in 1598, the palazzo was inherited through successive heirs, eventually by the Tassoni family, eventually, during administration of the duchy as part of the Papal States, with a Habsburg garrison, it became a tobacco warehouse and manufactory. When Palazzo Schifanoia came into the possession of the comune of Ferrara in the aftermath of World War I, Palazzo Schifanoia forms part of the heritage of Ferrara conserved under the umbrella of the Musei Civici dArte Antica di Ferrara. The 14th and 15th century rooms contain collections of antiquities, a collection and medals cast by Pisanello. Palazzo Schifanoia Gallery, details of the frescoes after Cossas designs
Palazzo Schifanoia
–
Main entrance (1470)
Palazzo Schifanoia
–
Palazzo Schifanoia in 1838
Palazzo Schifanoia
–
Allegory of June: Triumph of Mercury, fresco by
Cosimo Tura (1476-84).
12.
Ravenna
–
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. It then served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Eastern Roman Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the invasion of the Lombards in 751, although an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, the origin of the name Ravenna is unclear, although it is believed the name is Etruscan. Some have speculated that ravenna is related to Rasenna, the term that the Etruscans used for themselves, the origins of Ravenna are uncertain. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar to Venice several centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of the Po River Delta, in 49 BC, it was the location where Julius Caesar gathered his forces before crossing the Rubicon. Later, after his battle against Mark Antony in 31 BC and this harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the Roman Imperial Fleet. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important seaport on the Adriatic until the early Middle Ages, during the German campaigns, Thusnelda, widow of Arminius, and Marbod, King of the Marcomanni, were confined at Ravenna. Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule, Emperor Trajan built a 70 km long aqueduct at the beginning of the 2nd century. During the Marcomannic Wars, Germanic settlers in Ravenna revolted and managed to seize possession of the city, for this reason, Marcus Aurelius decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there. In AD402, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Milan to Ravenna, at that time it was home to 50,000 people. However, in 409, King Alaric I of the Visigoths simply bypassed Ravenna, after many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor Valentinian III and the support of her nephew Theodosius II. The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern Emperor Zeno sent the Ostrogoth King Theoderic the Great to re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing the Battle of Verona, Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, Theoderic took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. Both Odoacer and Theoderic and their followers were Arian Christians, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins, Ravennas Orthodox bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the Capella Arcivescovile. Theoderic allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law, the Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs
Ravenna
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Collage of Ravenna
Ravenna
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Mosaic of the Emperor Justinian from the Basilica of San Vitale.
Ravenna
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The Mausoleum of Theoderic.
Ravenna
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Basilica of San Vitale - triumphal arch mosaics.
13.
Pinacoteca di Brera
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The Pinacoteca di Brera is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings, an outgrowth of the program of the Brera Academy. The Palazzo Brera owes its name to the Germanic braida, indicating a grassy opening in the city structure, compare the Bra of Verona, the convent on the site passed to the Jesuits, then underwent a radical rebuilding by Francesco Maria Richini. When the Jesuits were disbanded in 1773, the remained the seat of the astronomical Observatory. In 1774 were added the herbarium of the new botanical garden, the buildings were extended to designs by Giuseppe Piermarini, who was appointed professor in the Academy when it was formally founded in 1776, with Giuseppe Parini as dean. Piermarini taught at the Academy for 20 years, while he was controller of the citys urbanistic projects, like the public gardens, the Academys artistic committee, the Commissione di Ornato exercised a controlling influence on public monuments, a precursor of todays Sopraintendenze delle Belle Arti. Thus in 1882 the Paintings Gallery was separated from the Academy, from 1891 the exhibitions were reduced to triennial events, and architectural projects developed their autonomous course. The Brera Observatory hosted the astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli for four decades, collections of Pinacoteca di Brera Aldo Carpi Brera Gallery official website Accademia di Brera official website
Pinacoteca di Brera
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Pinacoteca di Brera
Pinacoteca di Brera
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Madonna della Candeletta,
Carlo Crivelli. c. 1490
Pinacoteca di Brera
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Madonna of the Cherubim by
Andrea Mantegna c. 1485
Pinacoteca di Brera
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Lamentation of Christ (Mantegna) by
Andrea Mantegna. c. 1480
14.
Milan
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Milan is a city in Italy, capital of the Lombardy region, and the most populous metropolitan area and the second most populous comune in Italy. The population of the city proper is 1,351,000, Milan has a population of about 8,500,000 people. It is the industrial and financial centre of Italy and one of global significance. In terms of GDP, it has the largest economy among European non-capital cities, Milan is considered part of the Blue Banana and lies at the heart of one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is an Alpha leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts Italys Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks, the city is a major world fashion and design capital, well known for several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair. The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total enrolled students, Milans museums, theatres and landmarks attract over 9 million visitors annually. Milan – after Naples – is the second Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, the city hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. Milan is home to two of Europes major football teams, A. C. Milan and F. C. Internazionale, the etymology of Milan is uncertain. One theory holds that the Latin name Mediolanum comes from the Latin words medio, however, some scholars believe lanum comes from the Celtic root lan, meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence, Mediolanum could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe, indeed, the name Mediolanum is borne by about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France, e. g. Saintes and Évreux. Alciato credits Ambrose for his account, around 400 BC, the Celtic Insubres settled Milan and the surrounding region. In 222 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement, renaming it Mediolanum, Milan was eventually declared the capital of the Western Roman Empire by Emperor Diocletian in 286 AD. Diocletian chose to stay in the Eastern Roman Empire and his colleague Maximianus ruled the Western one, immediately Maximian built several monuments, such as a large circus 470 m ×85 m, the Thermae Herculeae, a large complex of imperial palaces and several other buildings. With the Edict of Milan of 313, Emperor Constantine I guaranteed freedom of religion for Christians, after the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. In 452, the Huns overran the city, in 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Teutonic tribe, the Lombards, conquered Milan, some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to the Franks in 774 when Charlemagne took the title of King of the Lombards, the Iron Crown of Lombardy dates from this period
Milan
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Milan Cathedral,
La Scala opera house and
Porta Nuova business district
Milan
Milan
Milan
15.
Mantua
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Mantua is a city and commune in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua became Italian Capital of Culture, as chosen by the Italian Government on 27 October 2015, in 2017, Mantua will also be European Capital of Gastronomy, included in the Eastern Lombardy District. In 2007, Mantuas centro storico and Sabbioneta were declared by UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. Mantuas historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family has made it one of the artistic, cultural, and especially musical hubs of Northern Italy. Mantua is noted for its significant role in the history of opera, the city is known for its architectural treasures and artifacts, elegant palaces. It is the place where the composer Monteverdi premiered his opera LOrfeo and it is the nearest town to the birthplace of the Roman poet Virgil, who was commemorated by a statue at the lakeside park Piazza Virgiliana. Mantua is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes, created during the 12th century, as the defence system. These lakes receive water from the Mincio River, a tributary of the Po River which descends from Lake Garda, the three lakes are called Lago Superiore, Lago di Mezzo, and Lago Inferiore. A fourth lake, Lake Pajolo, which served as a defensive water ring around the city. These dated, without interruption, from Neolithic times to the Bronze Age and the Gallic phases, and ended with Roman residential settlements, which could be traced to the 3rd century AD. Mantua was a settlement which was first established about the year 2000 BC on the banks of River Mincio. In the 6th century BC, Mantua was an Etruscan village which, the name may derive from the Etruscan god Mantus. This new Roman territory was populated by soldiers of Augustus. Mantuas most famous ancient citizen is the poet Virgil, or Publius Vergilius Maro, after the fall of the western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Mantua was invaded in turn by Goths, Byzantines, Longobards, and Franks. In the 11th century, Mantua became a possession of Boniface of Canossa, the last ruler of that family was the countess Matilda of Canossa, who, according to legend, ordered the construction of the precious Rotonda di San Lorenzo in 1082. The Rotonda still exists today and was renovated in 2013, free Imperial City of Mantua After the death of Matilda of Canossa, Mantua became a free commune and strenuously defended itself from the Holy Roman Empire during the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1198, Alberto Pitentino altered the course of River Mincio, three of these lakes still remains today and the fourth one, which ran through the centre of town, was reclaimed in the 18th century. Podesteria Rule From 1215, the city was ruled under the podesteria of the Gallic-Guelph Rambertino Buvalelli, during the struggle between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the chaotic situation to seize power of the podesteria in 1273
Mantua
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Panorama of Mantua
Mantua
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Expulsion of the Bonacolsi in 1328, scene of Piazza Sordello, canvas of
Domenico Morone
Mantua
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Ludovico Gonzaga receiving the news of his son
Francesco being elected cardinal, fresco by
Andrea Mantegna in the Stanza degli Sposi of
Palazzo Ducale.
Mantua
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Palazzo Te.
16.
Eleanor of Naples, Duchess of Ferrara
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Eleanor of Naples, she was to become the first duchess of Ferrara, and was herself, and also the mother to many extremely influential children, most notably her daughters, during the Renaissance. She would gain merit as being a political figure, while governing Ferrara as Duchess. Born to King Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabella of Clermont, born into wealth, she was the first daughter, and second child, born into her family of six brothers and sisters. Not much is known of her childhood or early life growing up as the first princess of Naples, when she was passed through Rome in June of 1473, on her way to marry Ercole d’Este, duke of Ferrara, she was received grandly. Two nephews of Rodrigo Borgia, who was a cardinals at the time, were there to greet her and they wanted to make a good and lasting impression on the Neapolitan Princess. She wrote to her father that she was given a lavish apartment, in her correspondence with her father, she spoke of the banquet thrown for her, which lasted six hours, and it was an endless succession of food, accompanied by music, dancing and poetry. “The treasures of the Church, is being put to such uses and this has been suspected to be a political power play by the Borgias, in attempt of gaining favor with royalty and gaining more political power. King Ferdinand I of Naples, father Isabella of Clermont, mother Ercole d’Este, Eleanor would go on to marry Ercole d’Este in July of 1473, her supposed second husband. It is claimed that marriage was met with much celebration. Ercole was said to be, “…an unscrupulous and devious ruler. ”He came to be Duke of Ferrara in 1471, taking the title upon the death of his half-brother, Borso, and would rule until his death in 1503. Ercole I dEste and Duchess Eleanor had six children, Isabella, married Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua and her style of dress made her a fashion icon, and she would soon be copied by numerous French women. When her brother, Alfonso, married Lucrezia Borgia, Isabella viewed her as a rival and it was in 1502 that Lucrezia, her brother’s wife, would start an intense and passionate affair, said to be more sexual then loving, with Isabella’s husband. It is stated, and heavily assumed, that Isabella was the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting, Beatrice, who married Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. She, along with her sister was stated to be one of the most influential women of the Renaissance and they were known particularly for their fashionable state of dress. It is said that during her marriage with Ludovico, that Leonardo da Vinci conducted the orchestra at the wedding, Alfonso, who married as his second wife, Lucrezia Borgia. He was to be her husband, and bore him ten children. It was during this marriage that Lucrezia greatly supported her husband and stood up in her role of Duchess of Ferrara and it was during the pregnancy of her tenth child, a daughter born prematurely, that Lucrezia fell ill and would soon pass away. Alfonso was said to grieve her death so heavily, that he fainted at her funeral and he wrote that he found it hard not to weep, when he thought of himself being separated from such a dear wife
Eleanor of Naples, Duchess of Ferrara
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Portrait of Eleonora d'Aragona, from a manuscript "Il modo di regere e di regnare" by
Antonio Cornazzano.
17.
J. Paul Getty Museum
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The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in California housed on two campuses, the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and is the location of the museum. The collection features Western art from the Middle Ages to the present and its estimated 1.3 million visitors annually make it one of the most visited museums in the United States. The museums second location, the Getty Villa, is in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and displays art from ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. In 1974, J. Paul Getty opened a museum in a re-creation of the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum on his property in Pacific Palisades, in 1982, the museum became the richest in the world when it inherited US$1.2 billion. In 1997, the moved to its current location in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Detailed information about the J. Paul Getty Museum’s collections is provided on GettyGuide, at the GettyGuide stations in the Museum, visitors can get information about exhibitions, interact with a timeline, watch videos on art-making techniques, and more. Also available at the Museum, the GettyGuide multimedia player features commentary from curators and conservators on many works of art, with GettyGuide on the Web, one may browse the Museum’s collection and bookmark works of art to create a customized tour and printable map. In 1984, Frel was demoted, and in 1986, he resigned, the Getty is involved in a controversy regarding proper title to some of the artwork in its collection. The museums previous curator of antiquities, Marion True, was indicted in Italy in 2005 on criminal charges relating to trafficking in stolen antiquities, similar charges have been addressed by the Greek authorities. The primary evidence in the case came from the 1995 raid of a Geneva, Switzerland, in 2005 True was forced to tender her resignation by the Board of Trustees, which announced her early retirement. Italy allowed the statute of limitations of the charges filed against her to expire in October 2010, True is currently under investigation by Greek authorities over the acquisition of a 2, 500-year-old funerary wreath. The wreath, along with a 6th-century BC statue of a woman, have returned to Greece and are exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. The Getty Museum resisted the requests of the Italian government for two decades, only to admit later that there might be problems attached to the acquisition. In 2006, Italian senior cultural official Giuseppe Proietti said, The negotiations havent made a step forward. Only after he suggested the Italian government to take cultural sanctions against the Getty, suspending all cultural cooperation, in another unrelated case in 1999, the Getty Museum had to hand over three antiquities to Italy after determining they were stolen. A Summary Catalogue of European Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum was published in 2001, indeed, some discrete works are provided with annotations, e. g. In 2016, the head of the Greek god Hades was returned to Sicily
J. Paul Getty Museum
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J. Paul Getty Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
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The Getty attracts approximately 1.8 million visitors a year.
J. Paul Getty Museum
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Architect
Richard Meier chose beige-colored Italian
travertine panels to cover the retaining walls and to serve as paving stones for the arrival plaza and Museum courtyard.
J. Paul Getty Museum
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Fra Bartolommeo, The Rest on the Flight Into Egypt with St. John the Baptist, about 1509
18.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
Virtual International Authority File
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Screenshot 2012
19.
Integrated Authority File
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The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format
Integrated Authority File
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GND screenshot
20.
Union List of Artist Names
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The Union List of Artist Names is an online database using a controlled vocabulary currently containing around 293,000 names and other information about artists. Names in ULAN may include names, pseudonyms, variant spellings, names in multiple languages. Among these names, one is flagged as the preferred name, the focus of each ULAN record is an artist. Currently there are around 120,000 artists in the ULAN, in the database, each artist record is identified by a unique numeric ID. Linked to each artist record are names, related artists, sources for the data, the temporal coverage of the ULAN ranges from Antiquity to the present and the scope is global. The ULAN includes proper names and associated information about artists, artists may be either individuals or groups of individuals working together. Artists in the ULAN generally represent creators involved in the conception or production of visual arts, repositories and some donors are included as well. Work on the ULAN began in 1984, when the Getty decided to merge, in 1987 the Getty created a department dedicated to compiling and distributing terminology. The ULAN grows and changes via contributions from the user community, although originally intended only for use by Getty projects, the broader art information community outside the Getty expressed a need to use ULAN for cataloging and retrieval. Its scope was broadened to include corporate bodies such as firms and repositories of art. The ULAN was founded under the management of Eleanor Fink, the ULAN has been constructed over the years by numerous members of the user community and an army of dedicated editors, under the supervision of several managers. The ULAN was published in 1994 in hardcopy and machine-readable files, given the growing size and frequency of changes and additions to the ULAN, by 1997 it had become evident that hard-copy publication was impractical. It is now published in automated formats only, in both a searchable online Web interface and in data files available for licensing, final editorial control of the ULAN is maintained by the Getty Vocabulary Program, using well-established editorial rules. The current managers of the ULAN are Patricia Harpring, Managing Editor, entities in the Person facet typically have no children. Entities in the Corporate Body facet may branch into trees, there may be multiple broader contexts, making the ULAN structure polyhierarchical. In addition to the relationships, the ULAN also has equivalent. Contributors to the Getty Vocabularies and implementers of the licensed vocabulary data may consult these guidelines as well
Union List of Artist Names
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Contents
21.
National Library of Australia
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In 2012–2013, the National Library collection comprised 6,496,772 items, and an additional 15,506 metres of manuscript material. In 1901, a Commonwealth Parliamentary Library was established to serve the newly formed Federal Parliament of Australia, from its inception the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library was driven to development of a truly national collection. The present library building was opened in 1968, the building was designed by the architectural firm of Bunning and Madden. The foyer is decorated in marble, with windows by Leonard French. In 2012–2013 the Library collection comprised 6,496,772 items, the Librarys collections of Australiana have developed into the nations single most important resource of materials recording the Australian cultural heritage. Australian writers, editors and illustrators are actively sought and well represented—whether published in Australia or overseas, approximately 92. 1% of the Librarys collection has been catalogued and is discoverable through the online catalogue. The Library has digitized over 174,000 items from its collection and, the Library is a world leader in digital preservation techniques, and maintains an Internet-accessible archive of selected Australian websites called the Pandora Archive. A core Australiana collection is that of John A. Ferguson, the Library has particular collection strengths in the performing arts, including dance. The Librarys considerable collections of general overseas and rare materials, as well as world-class Asian. The print collections are further supported by extensive microform holdings, the Library also maintains the National Reserve Braille Collection. The Library has acquired a number of important Western and Asian language scholarly collections from researchers, williams Collection The Asian Collections are searchable via the National Librarys catalogue. The National Library holds a collection of pictures and manuscripts. The manuscript collection contains about 26 million separate items, covering in excess of 10,492 meters of shelf space, the collection relates predominantly to Australia, but there are also important holdings relating to Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and the Pacific. The collection also holds a number of European and Asian manuscript collections or single items have received as part of formed book collections. Examples are the papers of Alfred Deakin, Sir John Latham, Sir Keith Murdoch, Sir Hans Heysen, Sir John Monash, Vance Palmer and Nettie Palmer, A. D. Hope, Manning Clark, David Williamson, W. M. The Library has also acquired the records of many national non-governmental organisations and they include the records of the Federal Secretariats of the Liberal party, the A. L. P, the Democrats, the R. S. L. Finally, the Library holds about 37,000 reels of microfilm of manuscripts and archival records, mostly acquired overseas and predominantly of Australian, the National Librarys Pictures collection focuses on Australian people, places and events, from European exploration of the South Pacific to contemporary events. Art works and photographs are acquired primarily for their informational value, media represented in the collection include photographs, drawings, watercolours, oils, lithographs, engravings, etchings and sculpture/busts
National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
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National Library of Australia as viewed from
Lake Burley Griffin,
Canberra
National Library of Australia
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The original National Library building on Kings Avenue, Canberra, was designed by Edward Henderson. Originally intended to be several wings, only one wing was completed and was demolished in 1968. Now the site of the Edmund Barton Building.
National Library of Australia
–
The library seen from Lake Burley Griffin in autumn.
22.
Netherlands Institute for Art History
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The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in documentation, archives, and books on Western art from the late Middle Ages until modern times, all of this is open to the public, and much of it has been digitized and is available on their website. The main goal of the bureau is to collect, categorize, via the available databases, the visitor can gain insight into archival evidence on the lives of many artists of past centuries. The library owns approximately 450,000 titles, of which ca.150,000 are auction catalogs, there are ca.3,000 magazines, of which 600 are currently running subscriptions. Though most of the text is in Dutch, the record format includes a link to library entries and images of known works. The RKD also manages the Dutch version of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus, the original version is an initiative of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, California. Their bequest formed the basis for both the art collection and the library, which is now housed in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Though not all of the holdings have been digitised, much of its metadata is accessible online. The website itself is available in both a Dutch and an English user interface, in the artist database RKDartists, each artist is assigned a record number. To reference an artist page directly, use the code listed at the bottom of the record, usually of the form, https, for example, the artist record number for Salvador Dalí is 19752, so his RKD artist page can be referenced. In the images database RKDimages, each artwork is assigned a record number, to reference an artwork page directly, use the code listed at the bottom of the record, usually of the form, https, //rkd. nl/en/explore/images/ followed by the artworks record number. For example, the record number for The Night Watch is 3063. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus also assigns a record for each term, rather, they are used in the databases and the databases can be searched for terms. For example, the painting called The Night Watch is a militia painting, the thesaurus is a set of general terms, but the RKD also contains a database for an alternate form of describing artworks, that today is mostly filled with biblical references. To see all images that depict Miriams dance, the associated iconclass code 71E1232 can be used as a search term. Official website Direct link to the databases The Dutch version of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus
Netherlands Institute for Art History
–
As the logos on the window show, the RKD shares the same building located at
Den Haag Centraal with the National Archives, the Nederlands Letterkundig Museum (nl) (LM), the
Huygens ING, the
Netherlands Music Institute (NMI) and the
Koninklijke Bibliotheek.
