1.
Bernard of Clairvaux
–
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist was a French abbot and the primary reformer of the Cistercian order. After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order, three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val dAbsinthe, about 15 kilometres southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. According to tradition, Bernard founded the monastery on 25 June 1115, naming it Claire Vallée, there Bernard would preach an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the Virgin Mary. In the year 1128, Bernard attended the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, on the death of Pope Honorius II on 13 February 1130, a schism broke out in the Church. King Louis VI of France convened a council of the French bishops at Étampes in 1130. After the council of Étampes, Bernard spoke with King Henry I of England, also known as Henry Beauclerc, Henry I was sceptical because most of the bishops of England supported Antipope Anacletus II, Bernard persuaded him to support Innocent. Germany had decided to support Innocent through Norbert of Xanten, who was a friend of Bernards, however, Innocent insisted on Bernards company when he met with Lothair II, Holy Roman Emperor. Lothair III became Innocents strongest ally among the nobility, although the councils of Étampes, Wurzburg, Clermont, and Rheims all supported Innocent, large portions of the Christian world still supported Anacletus. Bernard set out to convince these other regions to rally behind Innocent, the first person he went to was Gerard of Angoulême. He proceeded to write a letter, known as Letter 126, Bernard would later comment that Gerard was his most formidable opponent during the whole schism. After persuading Gerard, Bernard traveled to visit William X, Duke of Aquitaine and he was the hardest for Bernard to convince. He did not pledge allegiance to Innocent until 1135, after that, Bernard spent most of his time in Italy persuading the Italians to pledge allegiance to Innocent. He traveled to Sicily in 1137 to convince the king of Sicily to follow Innocent, the whole conflict ended when Anacletus died on 25 January 1138. In 1139, Bernard assisted at the Second Council of the Lateran, Bernard denounced the teachings of Peter Abelard to the pope, who called a council at Sens in 1141 to settle the matter. Bernard soon saw one of his disciples elected Pope Eugene III, having previously helped end the schism within the church, Bernard was now called upon to combat heresy. In June 1145, Bernard traveled in southern France and his preaching there helped strengthen support against heresy, after the Christian defeat at the Siege of Edessa, the pope commissioned Bernard to preach the Second Crusade. The last years of Bernards life were saddened by the failure of the crusaders, Bernard died at the age of 63, after 40 years as a monk. He was the first Cistercian placed on the calendar of saints, in 1830 Pope Pius VIII bestowed upon Bernard the title Doctor of the Church
Bernard of Clairvaux
–
St Bernard in "A Short History of Monks and Monasteries" by Alfred Wesley Wishart (1900).
Bernard of Clairvaux
–
The Vision of St Bernard, by
Fra Bartolommeo, c. 1504 (
Uffizi).
Bernard of Clairvaux
–
Bernard exorcising a possession, altarpiece by
Jörg Breu the Elder, c. 1500.
2.
Uffizi
–
The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. The building of Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de Medici so as to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates, hence the name uffizi, the construction was later continued by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti and completed in 1581. The niches in the piers that alternate with columns filled with sculptures of artists in the 19th century. The Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices, the Tribunal and the Archivio di Stato, the state archive. He commissioned from the architect Buontalenti the design of the Tribuna degli Uffizi that collected a series of masterpieces in one room, over the years, more sections of the palace were recruited to exhibit paintings and sculpture collected or commissioned by the Medici. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence—for example, some famous statues to the Bargello. A project was finished in 2006 to expand the exhibition space some 6,000 metres² to almost 13,000 metres². On 27 May 1993, a car exploded in Via dei Georgofili and damaged parts of the palace. The most severe damage was to the Niobe room and classical sculptures and neoclassical interior, the identity of the bomber or bombers are unknown, although it was almost certainly attributable to the Sicilian Mafia who were engaged in a period of terrorism at that time. Today, the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence, in high season, waiting times can be up to five hours. In early August 2007, Florence experienced a heavy rainstorm, the Gallery was partially flooded, with water leaking through the ceiling, and the visitors had to be evacuated. There was a more significant flood in 1966 which damaged most of the art collections in Florence severely. Here is a selection from the collection, The collection also contains some ancient sculptures, such as the Arrotino. Collections of the Uffizi Official website Uffizi – Google Art Project
Uffizi
–
Narrow courtyard between palace's two wings with view toward the
Arno.
Uffizi
–
Restored Niobe room represents Roman copies of late
Hellenistic art. View of daughter of
Niobe bent by terror.
Uffizi
–
Niobide rises on a rock
Uffizi
–
View of hallway. The walls were originally covered with tapestries.
3.
Dominican Order
–
Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally carry the letters O. P. after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning of the Order of Preachers. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, the order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. The Dominican Order is headed by the Master of the Order, in the year 2000, there were 5,171 Dominican friars in solemn vows,917 student brothers, and 237 novices. By the year 2013 there were 6,058 Dominican friars, a number of other names have been used to refer to both the order and its members. In England and other countries the Dominican friars are referred to as Black Friars because of the black cappa or cloak they wear over their white habits, Dominicans were Blackfriars, as opposed to Whitefriars or Greyfriars. They are also distinct from the Augustinian Friars who wear a similar habit and their identification as Dominicans gave rise to the pun that they were the Domini canes, or Hounds of the Lord. The Dominican Order came into being in the Middle Ages at a time when religion began to be contemplated in a new way, men of God were no longer expected to stay behind the walls of a cloister. Instead, they travelled among the people, taking as their examples the apostles of the primitive Church. Out of this emerged two orders of mendicant friars, one, the Friars Minor, was led by Francis of Assisi, the other. Dominics new order was to be an order, trained to preach in the vernacular languages. Rather than earning their living on vast farms as the monasteries had done, at the same time, Dominic inspired the members of his order to develop a mixed spirituality. They were both active in preaching, and contemplative in study, prayer and meditation, the brethren of the Dominican Order were urban and learned, as well as contemplative and mystical in their spirituality. While these traits affected the women of the order, the nuns especially absorbed the latter characteristics, in England, the Dominican nuns blended these elements with the defining characteristics of English Dominican spirituality and created a spirituality and collective personality that set them apart. The orders origins in battling heterodoxy influenced its development and reputation. Many later Dominicans battled heresy as part of their apostolate, indeed, many years after St. Dominic reacted to the Cathars, the first Grand Inquistor of Spain, Tomás de Torquemada, would be drawn from the Dominican Order. As an adolescent, he had a love of theology. During his studies in Palencia, Spain, he experienced a famine, prompting Dominic to sell all of his beloved books. At the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, he was ordained to the priesthood, at that time the south of France was the stronghold of the Cathar or Albigensian heresy, named after the Duke of Albi, a Cathar sympathiser and opponent to the subsequent Albigensian Crusade
Dominican Order
Dominican Order
–
Order of Preachers
Dominican Order
–
Saint Dominic on the front cover of
Doctrina Christiana catechism with an eight-pointed star (a symbol of the
Blessed Virgin Mary) over his head. Woodcut cover, circa 1590.
Dominican Order
–
Saint Dominic (1170–1221), portrait by
El Greco, about 1600.
4.
Italian people
–
Italians are a nation and ethnic group native to Italy who share a common culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a native tongue. The majority of Italian nationals are speakers of Standard Italian. Italians have greatly influenced and contributed to the arts and music, science, technology, cuisine, sports, fashion, jurisprudence, banking, Italian people are generally known for their localism and their attention to clothing and family values. The term Italian is at least 3,000 years old and has a history that goes back to pre-Roman Italy. According to one of the common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú. 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 Etruscan civilization reached its peak about the 7th century BC, but by 509 BC, when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan monarchs, its control in Italy was on the wane. By 350 BC, after a series of wars between Greeks and Etruscans, the Latins, with Rome as their capital, gained the ascendancy by 272 BC, and they managed to unite the entire Italian peninsula. This period of unification was followed by one of conquest in the Mediterranean, in the course of the century-long struggle against Carthage, the Romans conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Finally, in 146 BC, at the conclusion of the Third Punic War, with Carthage completely destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, octavian, the final victor, was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate and thereby became the first Roman emperor. After two centuries of rule, in the 3rd century AD, Rome was threatened by internal discord and menaced by Germanic and Asian invaders. Emperor Diocletians administrative division of the empire into two parts in 285 provided only temporary relief, it became permanent in 395, in 313, Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity, and churches thereafter rose throughout the empire. However, he moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople. The last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476 by a Germanic foederati general in Italy and his defeat marked the end of the western part of the Roman Empire. During most of the period from the fall of Rome until the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1861, Odoacer ruled well for 13 years after gaining control of Italy in 476. Then he was attacked and defeated by Theodoric, the king of another Germanic tribe, Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until 493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian, after the death of Theodoric in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak
Italian people
–
Amerigo Vespucci, the notable geographer and traveller from whose name the word
America is derived.
Italian people
Italian people
–
Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of the
New World.
Italian people
–
Laura Bassi, the first chairwoman of a university in a scientific field of studies.
5.
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
6.
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.
7.
Cosimo Roselli
–
He painted almost entirely religious subjects, with a few portraits. He did other large frescos with his workship, from which Fra Bartolomeo and Piero di Cosimo and these include a chapel in SantAmbrogio, Florence and one of the large spaces in the cloister of Santissima Annunziata, Florence. In 1460, at the age of fourteen, he became a pupil of Neri di Bicci, a first youthful work of Cosimo mentioned by Giorgio Vasari is the Assumption of the Virgin altarpiece in the third chapel on the left of the nave in SantAmbrogio in Florence. In the same church, on the wall of one of the chapels, is a fresco by Cosimo which Vasari praises highly, especially for a portrait of the young scholar Pico of Mirandola. The scene, a bearing a miracle-working chalice, is painted with vigor. A picture painted by Rosselli for the church of the Annunziata, barbara, Matthew and the Baptist, is in the Academy of Florence. Rosselli also spent some time in Lucca, where he painted altarpieces for various churches. A picture attributed to him, taken from the church of St. Girolamo at Fiesole, is now in the National Gallery of London, though dry and hard in treatment, the figures are designed with much dignity. Rosselli and his collaborators executed two or three frescoes, the Descent from Mount Sinai, the Last Supper and, perhaps, the Sermon of the Mount, the Passage of the Red Sea is variously attributed to him, to Ghirlandaio or to Biagio dAntonio. The Gemäldegalerie, Berlin has three pictures by Rosselli, The Virgin in Glory, The Entombment of Christ and The Massacre of the Innocents. In 1480 Rosselli, together with the painters of Florence, was invited by Pope Sixtus IV to Rome to assist in the painting of the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Three of these were executed by him The Destruction of Pharaohs Army in the Red Sea, Christ Preaching by the Lake of Tiberias and his chief pupil was Fra Bartolomeo. Among Rosellis other pupils were Angelo di Donino and Giovanni Battista Vanni, according to Vasari, Rosselli died in 1484, but this is a mistake, as he was known to have been living on 25 November 1506. Sources This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Pope-Hennessy, John & Kanter, Laurence B, 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
Cosimo Roselli
–
Adoration of the Child, tempera on wood,
National Museum in
Wrocław
Cosimo Roselli
–
Handing over the Tablets of the Law,
Sistine Chapel
8.
Savonarola
–
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of art and culture. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor and he prophesied the coming of a biblical flood and a new Cyrus from the north who would reform the Church. In September 1494, when Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, while Savonarola intervened with the French king, the Florentines expelled the ruling Medici and, at the friars urging, established a popular republic. In 1495 when Florence refused to join Pope Alexander VIs Holy League against the French and he disobeyed and further defied the pope by preaching under a ban, highlighting his campaign for reform with processions, bonfires of the vanities, and pious theatricals. In retaliation, the Pope excommunicated him in May 1497, a trial by fire proposed by a rival Florentine preacher in April 1498 to test Savonarolas divine mandate turned into a fiasco, and popular opinion turned against him. Savonarola and two of his supporting friars were imprisoned, under torture, Savonarola confessed that he had invented his visions and prophecies. On 23 May 1498, Church and civil authorities condemned, hanged, Savonarola was born on 21 September 1452, in Ferrara. His grandfather, Michele Savonarola, was a physician and polymath. Savonarolas mother Elena claimed a lineage from the Bonacossi family of Mantua and she and her husband Niccolo had seven children, of whom Girolamo was third. His grandfather was a successful physician who oversaw his education. His family had amassed in his grandfathers footsteps, at some point, however, he abandoned his career intentions. In his early poems, he expresses his preoccupation with the state of the Church and of the world. He began to write poetry of a bent, notably On the Ruin of the World and On the Ruin of the Church. About the same time, he seems to have been thinking about a life in religion, as he later told his biographer, a sermon he heard by a preacher in Faenza persuaded him to abandon the world. True or not, in a letter he wrote to his father when he left home to join the Dominican Order he hints at being troubled by desires of the flesh. There is also a story that on the eve of his departure he dreamed that he was cleansed of such thoughts by a shower of icy water which prepared him for the ascetic life. In the unfinished treatise he left behind, later called De contemptu mundi, or On Contempt for the World, he calls upon readers to fly from this world of adultery, sodomy, murder and envy
Savonarola
–
Girolamo Savonarola by
Fra Bartolomeo, c. 1498,
Museo di San Marco,
Florence.
Savonarola
–
Fantasy portrait of Girolamo Savonarola by
Moretto da Brescia, c. 1524.
Savonarola
–
Illustration from Compendio di revelatione, 1496, by Savonarola
Savonarola
–
Painting of Savonarola's execution in the
Piazza della Signoria
9.
Friar
–
The most significant orders of friars are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians and Carmelites. Friars are different from monks in that they are called to live the evangelical counsels in service to society, rather than through cloistered asceticism, whereas monks live in a self-sufficient community, friars work among laypeople and are supported by donations or other charitable support. A monk or nun makes their vows and commits to a community in a particular place. The English term Friar is derived from the Norman French word frere, from the Latin frater, Fray is sometimes used in former Spanish colonies such as the Philippines or the American Southwest as a title, such as in Fray Juan de Torquemada. In the Roman Catholic Church, there are two classes of orders known as friars, or mendicant orders, the four great orders, the four great orders were mentioned by the Second Council of Lyons, and are, The Carmelites, founded c. They are also known as the White Friars because of the cloak which covers their brown habit. They received papal approval from Honorius III in 1226 and later by Innocent IV in 1247, the Carmelites were founded as a purely contemplative order, but became mendicants in 1245. There are two types of Carmelites, those of the Ancient Observance and those of the Discalced Carmelites and they are also known as the Friars Minor. The Franciscans were founded by St. Francis of Assisi and received papal approval by Innocent III in 1209. Today the Friars Minor is composed of three branches, the Order of Friars Minor, Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and the Order of Friars Minor Conventual wearing grey or black habits. They are also known as the Friar Preachers, or the Black Friars, the Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic and received papal approval from Honorius III in 1216 as the Ordo Praedicatorum under the Rule of St. Augustine. They became a mendicant order in 1221, the Augustinians, founded in 1244 and enlarged in 1256. They are also known as the Hermits of St. Augustine and their rule is based on the writings of Augustine of Hippo. The Augustinians were assembled from various groups of hermits as a mendicant order by Pope Innocent IV in 1244, additional groups were added by Alexander IV in 1256. Francis, a branch of the Third Order of St, in the Anglican Communion there are also a number of mendicant groups such as the Anglican Friars Preachers and The Society of St. Francis. Several high schools, as well as Providence College, use friars as their school mascot, the Major League Baseball team San Diego Padres have the Swinging Friar. The University of Michigans oldest a cappella group is a male known as The Friars. The University of Pennsylvania has an honor society known as Friars
Friar
–
A group of friars; novices of the Order of
Augustinian Recollects at the Monastery of Marcilla,
Navarre
Friar
–
Conventual Franciscans in their variant grey habits
10.
High Renaissance
–
In art history, High Renaissance is the period denoting the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance. This term was first used in German in the nineteenth century. High Renaissance style in architecture conventionally begins with Donato Bramante, whose Tempietto at S. Pietro in Montorio at Rome was begun in 1510, the Tempietto, signifies a full-scale revival of ancient Roman commemorative architecture. David Watkin writes that the Tempietto, like Raphaels works in the Vatican, is an attempt at reconciling Christian, the High Renaissance was traditionally viewed as a great explosion of creative genius, following a model of art history first proposed by the Florentine Giorgio Vasari. Even relatively minor painters of the period, such as Fra Bartolomeo and Mariotto Albertinelli, produced works that are still lauded for the harmony of their design, the serene mood and luminous colours of paintings by Giorgione and early Titian exemplify High Renaissance style as practiced in Venice. Other recognizable pieces of this period include Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa, Raphaels fresco, set beneath an arch, is a virtuoso work of perspective, composition and disegno. High Renaissance sculpture, as exemplified by Michelangelos Pietà and the iconic David, is characterized by a balance between stillness and movement. High Renaissance sculpture was commissioned by the public and the state. Sculpture was often used to decorate or embellish architecture, normally within courtyards where others were able to study, wealthy individuals like cardinals, rulers and bankers were the more likely private patrons along with very wealthy families, Pope Julius II also patronized many artists. During the High Renaissance there was the development of small scale statuettes for private patrons, the subject matter related to sculpture was mostly religious but also with a significant strand of classical individuals in the form of tomb sculpture and paintings as well as ceilings of cathedrals. Toward The High Renaissance at Smarthistory
High Renaissance
–
Giorgione 's
Tempest, c. 1507-8.
High Renaissance
–
Bramante's
Tempietto, designed 1502, San Pietro in Montorio, Rome.
High Renaissance
–
Michelangelo 's
Pietà, 1498–99.
11.
Raphael
–
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. Raphael was enormously productive, running a large workshop and, despite his death at 37. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, the best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings and he was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. Raphael was born in the small but artistically significant central Italian city of Urbino in the Marche region and his poem to Federico shows him as keen to show awareness of the most advanced North Italian painters, and Early Netherlandish artists as well. In the very court of Urbino he was probably more integrated into the central circle of the ruling family than most court painters. Under them, the court continued as a centre for literary culture, growing up in the circle of this small court gave Raphael the excellent manners and social skills stressed by Vasari. Castiglione moved to Urbino in 1504, when Raphael was no longer based there but frequently visited, Raphael mixed easily in the highest circles throughout his life, one of the factors that tended to give a misleading impression of effortlessness to his career. He did not receive a humanistic education however, it is unclear how easily he read Latin. His mother Màgia died in 1491 when Raphael was eight, followed on August 1,1494 by his father, Raphael was thus orphaned at eleven, his formal guardian became his only paternal uncle Bartolomeo, a priest, who subsequently engaged in litigation with his stepmother. He probably continued to live with his stepmother when not staying as an apprentice with a master and he had already shown talent, according to Vasari, who says that Raphael had been a great help to his father. A self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocity and his fathers workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter, and Luca Signorelli, according to Vasari, his father placed him in the workshop of the Umbrian master Pietro Perugino as an apprentice despite the tears of his mother. The evidence of an apprenticeship comes only from Vasari and another source, an alternative theory is that he received at least some training from Timoteo Viti, who acted as court painter in Urbino from 1495. An excess of resin in the varnish often causes cracking of areas of paint in the works of both masters, the Perugino workshop was active in both Perugia and Florence, perhaps maintaining two permanent branches. Raphael is described as a master, that is to say fully trained and his first documented work was the Baronci altarpiece for the church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Città di Castello, a town halfway between Perugia and Urbino. Evangelista da Pian di Meleto, who had worked for his father, was named in the commission
Raphael
–
Presumed Portrait of Raphael
Raphael
–
Self-portrait with a friend (1518 circa),
Louvre,
Paris
Raphael
–
Giovanni Santi, Raphael's father; Christ supported by two angels, c.1490
Raphael
–
The
Mond Crucifixion, 1502–3, very much in the style of
Perugino
12.
Savignano di Prato
–
Prato is a city and comune in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city is at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation 768 metres, the lowest elevation in the comune is 32 metres, near the Cascine di Tavola, and the highest is the peak of Monte Cantagrillo at 818 metres. The Bisenzio, a tributary of the Arno, flows through it, historically, Pratos economy has been based on the textile industry. The renowned Datini archives are a significant collection of medieval documents concerning economic and trade history. Prato is also a centre of the food movement, with many local specialities, including cantucci. With more than 191,000 inhabitants, Prato is Tuscanys second largest city, archaeological findings have proved that Pratos surrounding hills were inhabited since Paleolithic times. The plain was later colonized by the Etruscans, according to some scholars, it could be the mythical Camars. In the early Middle Ages, the Byzantine and Lombard dominations prevailed in the region, the history of Prato itself begins from the 10th century, when two distinct villages, Borgo al Cornio and Castrum Prati, are known. In the following century the two settlements were united under the lords of the castle, the Alberti family, who received the title of Counts of Prato. In the same period the plain was dried and a hydraulic system regulating and exploiting the waters of the Bisenzio River was created to feed the gualchierae. After a siege in 1107 by the troops of Matilde of Canossa, within two centuries it reached 15,000 inhabitants, spurred in by the flourishing textile industry and by the presence of the Holy Belt relic. Two new lines of walls had to be built in the mid-12th century, in 1326, in order to counter the expansionism of Republic of Florence, Prato submitted voluntarily under the seigniory of Robert of Anjou, King of Naples. However, on 23 February 1351 Joanna I of Naples sold the city to the Republic of Florence in exchange for 17,500 golden florins, Pratos history therefore followed that of Florence in the following centuries. The severity of the sack of Prato led to the surrender of the Florentine Republic, historians debate the actual number of people killed during the sack, but contemporary chroniclers asserted between 2000 and 6000 people were slaughtered in the streets. In 1653 Prato obtained the status of city and became seat of a Catholic diocese, the city was embellished in particular during the 18th century. After the unification of Italy in the 19th century, Prato became an industrial centre, especially in the textile sector. The town experienced a significant internal immigration, previously part of the province of Florence, in 1992 Prato became the capital of the eponymous province. Prato has a subtropical climate which has sunny hot summers
Savignano di Prato
–
The Cathedral of Prato
Savignano di Prato
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Santa Maria delle Carceri church.
Savignano di Prato
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Emperor's Castle.
Savignano di Prato
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Palazzo Pretorio.
13.
Tuscany
–
Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy, Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is considered a nation within a nation. Tuscany is traditionally a popular destination in Italy, and the main tourist destinations by number of tourist arrivals are Florence, Pisa, Montecatini Terme, Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto. The village of Castiglione della Pescaia is also the most visited destination in the region. Additionally, Siena, Lucca, the Chianti region, Versilia and Val dOrcia are also internationally renowned, Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. In 2012, the city of Florence was the worlds 89th most visited city, roughly triangular in shape, Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria to the northwest, Emilia-Romagna to the north and east, Umbria to the east and Lazio to the southeast. The comune of Badia Tedalda, in the Tuscan Province of Arezzo, has an exclave named Ca Raffaello within Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany has a western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, containing the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the largest island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres, surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for agriculture. Hills make up nearly two-thirds of the total area, covering 15,292 square kilometres, and mountains. Plains occupy 8. 4% of the total area—1,930 square kilometres —mostly around the valley of the River Arno, many of Tuscanys largest cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital Florence, Empoli and Pisa. The pre-Etruscan history of the area in the late Bronze and Iron Ages parallels that of the early Greeks, following this, the Villanovan culture saw Tuscany, and the rest of Etruria, taken over by chiefdoms. City-states developed in the late Villanovan before Orientalization occurred and the Etruscan civilization rose, the Etruscans created the first major civilization in this region, large enough to establish a transport infrastructure, to implement agriculture and mining and to produce vibrant art. The Etruscans lived in Etruria well into prehistory, throughout their existence, they lost territory to Magna Graecia, Carthage and Celts. Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks, the cultures of Greece, one reason for its eventual demise was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans. Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of Lucca, Pisa, Siena, and Florence, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace. These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, however, many of these structures have been destroyed by erosion due to weather. The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the 5th century AD, in the years following 572, the Longobards arrived and designated Lucca the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia
Tuscany
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Hilly landscape in
Val d'Orcia
Tuscany
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Tuscany Toscana
Tuscany
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Tuscan landscape near
Siena
Tuscany
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Cinerary urns of the
Villanovan culture
14.
Benedetto da Maiano
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Benedetto da Maiano was an Italian sculptor of the early Renaissance. Born in the village of Maiano, he started his career as companion of his brother, when he reached the age of thirty he started training under the sculptor Antonio Rossellino. There he learned to work with marble and eventually became more famous than Rossellino, during his early life he specialised in wood-mosaic. His early attributed works include a dedicated to San Savino for the cathedral of Faenza. Although he was prolific in sculpting religious subjects, he also carved some portraits of important Florentines, for instance, in 1474. In 1475, he worked with his brother Giuliano on the Collegiata church in San Gimignano, benedettos most important contribution was the carved altar in the chapel of Santa Fina. In 1480, he made the framework of the doorway of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, the marble pulpit in the Santa Croce in Florence is considered his masterpiece. On the pulpit are scenes from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, also in 1480, with his brother Giuliano, he built and made the sculptures for the little oratory of the Madonna dellOlivo, outside Prato. The adolescent St. John of the Bargello is ascribed to the year 1481, in 1489 Benedetto designed the Strozzi Palace in Florence which still stands. It is believed he went to Naples in 1490, and there finished the works begun by Rossellino in the SantAnna church and he also executed various sculptures in Naples, among them an Annunciation at the church of Monte Oliveto. He died in Florence at the age of 55, master of the Marble Madonnas This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles, ed. Benedetto da Majano
Benedetto da Maiano
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St. John the Baptist, polychrome terra cotta of c. 1480, in the
National Gallery of Art.
Benedetto da Maiano
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Pulpit of
Santa Croce in Florence
15.
Cosimo Rosselli
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He painted almost entirely religious subjects, with a few portraits. He did other large frescos with his workship, from which Fra Bartolomeo and Piero di Cosimo and these include a chapel in SantAmbrogio, Florence and one of the large spaces in the cloister of Santissima Annunziata, Florence. In 1460, at the age of fourteen, he became a pupil of Neri di Bicci, a first youthful work of Cosimo mentioned by Giorgio Vasari is the Assumption of the Virgin altarpiece in the third chapel on the left of the nave in SantAmbrogio in Florence. In the same church, on the wall of one of the chapels, is a fresco by Cosimo which Vasari praises highly, especially for a portrait of the young scholar Pico of Mirandola. The scene, a bearing a miracle-working chalice, is painted with vigor. A picture painted by Rosselli for the church of the Annunziata, barbara, Matthew and the Baptist, is in the Academy of Florence. Rosselli also spent some time in Lucca, where he painted altarpieces for various churches. A picture attributed to him, taken from the church of St. Girolamo at Fiesole, is now in the National Gallery of London, though dry and hard in treatment, the figures are designed with much dignity. Rosselli and his collaborators executed two or three frescoes, the Descent from Mount Sinai, the Last Supper and, perhaps, the Sermon of the Mount, the Passage of the Red Sea is variously attributed to him, to Ghirlandaio or to Biagio dAntonio. The Gemäldegalerie, Berlin has three pictures by Rosselli, The Virgin in Glory, The Entombment of Christ and The Massacre of the Innocents. In 1480 Rosselli, together with the painters of Florence, was invited by Pope Sixtus IV to Rome to assist in the painting of the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Three of these were executed by him The Destruction of Pharaohs Army in the Red Sea, Christ Preaching by the Lake of Tiberias and his chief pupil was Fra Bartolomeo. Among Rosellis other pupils were Angelo di Donino and Giovanni Battista Vanni, according to Vasari, Rosselli died in 1484, but this is a mistake, as he was known to have been living on 25 November 1506. Sources This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Pope-Hennessy, John & Kanter, Laurence B, 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
Cosimo Rosselli
–
Adoration of the Child, tempera on wood,
National Museum in
Wrocław
Cosimo Rosselli
–
Handing over the Tablets of the Law,
Sistine Chapel
16.
Mariotto Albertinelli
–
Mariotto Albertinelli, in full Mariotto di Bigio di Bindo Albertinelli was an Italian High Renaissance painter of the Florentine school. He was a friend and collaborator of Fra Bartolomeo and their joint works appear as if they have been painted by one hand. His work shows the influence of Perugino, Piero di Cosimo, some of Albertinellis works reveal an eccentrically archaic tendency while others show a return to conventions of the early Renaissance. Mariotto Albertinelli was born in Florence as the son of a gold beater and he was an only child and his mother died when he was just five years old. He was himself trained as a gold beater until the age of 12 when he became a pupil of Cosimo Rosselli, the two pupils formed such a close friendship that in 1494 they started a joint studio in Florence. After a while Albertinelli had mastered Fra Bartolommeo’s technique to such extent that he could paint in a style that blended with that of his partner, the closeness in style was such that for many years some doubts remained over who had painted certain works. For example, the Kress tondo now in the Columbia Museum of Art was given to Fra Bartolommeo but is now thought to be the work of Albertinelli using the formers cartoon and his early works were small paintings destined for the homes of sophisticated patrons. He produced these works independently of Fra Bartolommeo and as a result they are stylistically distinguishable, Piero di Cosimo who worked in Cosimo Rosselli’s workshop introduced Albertinelli to Flemish techniques. From around 1500 Fra Bartolommeo renounced painting for a few years in the wake of Savonarolas morality campaign, Fra Bartolommeo joined the Dominican order as Fra Bartolomeo. Albertinelli then worked as an independent painter and he received various commissions including in 1503 for the high altarpiece for the Chapel of Congregazione di San Martino in Florence. The central panel depicts the Visitation and the predella the Circumcision, the Adoration of the Child, the subject depicts the story in the Gospel of Luke when Elizabeth, the cousin of the Virgin Mary visits Mary, who is like herself also pregnant. Elizabeth features prominently in episode and this subject was therefore chosen for a church dedicated to her. The work also shows the influence of Perugino in its use of highlights and its inclusion of a classical arcade. In 1509 Albertinelli and Fra Bartolommeo, who had resumed painting and their partnership was on an equal footing and entitled each to half the profit of a shared commission. The partnership was dissolved in January 1513, as is evidenced by a surviving document, according to Vasari Albertinelli lived as a libertine and was fond of good living and women. He experienced financial problems and was unable to repay some of his loans, including one to Raphael, albertinelli’s wife Antonia whom he had married in 1506 repaid both loans. Among his many students were Jacopo da Pontormo, Innocenzo di Pietro Francucci da Imola and his chief paintings are in Florence, notably his masterpiece, the Visitation, which is in the collection of the Uffizi
Mariotto Albertinelli
–
The Visitation, painted for the Congregazione di San Martino 1503, Mariotto Alberti's masterpiece (
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence)
Mariotto Albertinelli
–
Virgin and Child
17.
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of art and culture. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor and he prophesied the coming of a biblical flood and a new Cyrus from the north who would reform the Church. In September 1494, when Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, while Savonarola intervened with the French king, the Florentines expelled the ruling Medici and, at the friars urging, established a popular republic. In 1495 when Florence refused to join Pope Alexander VIs Holy League against the French and he disobeyed and further defied the pope by preaching under a ban, highlighting his campaign for reform with processions, bonfires of the vanities, and pious theatricals. In retaliation, the Pope excommunicated him in May 1497, a trial by fire proposed by a rival Florentine preacher in April 1498 to test Savonarolas divine mandate turned into a fiasco, and popular opinion turned against him. Savonarola and two of his supporting friars were imprisoned, under torture, Savonarola confessed that he had invented his visions and prophecies. On 23 May 1498, Church and civil authorities condemned, hanged, Savonarola was born on 21 September 1452, in Ferrara. His grandfather, Michele Savonarola, was a physician and polymath. Savonarolas mother Elena claimed a lineage from the Bonacossi family of Mantua and she and her husband Niccolo had seven children, of whom Girolamo was third. His grandfather was a successful physician who oversaw his education. His family had amassed in his grandfathers footsteps, at some point, however, he abandoned his career intentions. In his early poems, he expresses his preoccupation with the state of the Church and of the world. He began to write poetry of a bent, notably On the Ruin of the World and On the Ruin of the Church. About the same time, he seems to have been thinking about a life in religion, as he later told his biographer, a sermon he heard by a preacher in Faenza persuaded him to abandon the world. True or not, in a letter he wrote to his father when he left home to join the Dominican Order he hints at being troubled by desires of the flesh. There is also a story that on the eve of his departure he dreamed that he was cleansed of such thoughts by a shower of icy water which prepared him for the ascetic life. In the unfinished treatise he left behind, later called De contemptu mundi, or On Contempt for the World, he calls upon readers to fly from this world of adultery, sodomy, murder and envy
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Girolamo Savonarola by
Fra Bartolomeo, c. 1498,
Museo di San Marco,
Florence.
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Fantasy portrait of Girolamo Savonarola by
Moretto da Brescia, c. 1524.
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Illustration from Compendio di revelatione, 1496, by Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Painting of Savonarola's execution in the
Piazza della Signoria
18.
Bible
–
The Bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures that Jews and Christians consider to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans. Many different authors contributed to the Bible, what is regarded as canonical text differs depending on traditions and groups, a number of Bible canons have evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents. The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint, the New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, believed to be mostly Jewish disciples of Christ, written in first-century Koine Greek. These early Christian Greek writings consist of narratives, letters, among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about the contents of the canon, primarily the Apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect. Attitudes towards the Bible also differ amongst Christian groups and this concept arose during the Protestant Reformation, and many denominations today support the use of the Bible as the only source of Christian teaching. With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, the Bible is widely considered to be the book of all time. It has estimated sales of 100 million copies, and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West. The English word Bible is from the Latin biblia, from the word in Medieval Latin and Late Latin. Medieval Latin biblia is short for biblia sacra holy book, while biblia in Greek and it gradually came to be regarded as a feminine singular noun in medieval Latin, and so the word was loaned as a singular into the vernaculars of Western Europe. Latin biblia sacra holy books translates Greek τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια ta biblia ta hagia, the word βιβλίον itself had the literal meaning of paper or scroll and came to be used as the ordinary word for book. It is the diminutive of βύβλος byblos, Egyptian papyrus, possibly so called from the name of the Phoenician sea port Byblos from whence Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece, the Greek ta biblia was an expression Hellenistic Jews used to describe their sacred books. Christian use of the term can be traced to c.223 CE, bruce notes that Chrysostom appears to be the first writer to use the Greek phrase ta biblia to describe both the Old and New Testaments together. The division of the Hebrew Bible into verses is based on the sof passuk cantillation mark used by the 10th-century Masoretes to record the verse divisions used in oral traditions. The oldest extant copy of a complete Bible is an early 4th-century parchment book preserved in the Vatican Library, the oldest copy of the Tanakh in Hebrew and Aramaic dates from the 10th century CE. The oldest copy of a complete Latin Bible is the Codex Amiatinus and he states that it is not a magical book, nor was it literally written by God and passed to mankind. In Christian Bibles, the New Testament Gospels were derived from traditions in the second half of the first century CE. Riches says that, Scholars have attempted to reconstruct something of the history of the oral traditions behind the Gospels, the period of transmission is short, less than 40 years passed between the death of Jesus and the writing of Marks Gospel. This means that there was time for oral traditions to assume fixed form
Bible
–
The
Gutenberg Bible, the first printed Bible
Bible
–
The Kennicott Bible, by
Benjamin Kennicott, with illustration, Jonah being swallowed by the fish, 1476
Bible
–
Tanakh
19.
Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova
–
The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova is the oldest hospital still active in Florence, Italy. The hospital was founded in 1288 by Folco Portinari, the father of Beatrice beloved by Dante. Folco was convinced to build the hospital by Monna Tessa, matriarch of the family and this is one of the oldest and most important Florentine welfare institutions which became over the centuries very rich and powerful, thanks to the many legacies and donations. Besides the historical perspective, the hospital has an artistic legacy due to the profusion of decorations by some of the best Florentine artists over the centuries. Unfortunately, hospital needs have in many instances come into conflict with the need for conservation of artistic works, as such, there are many masterpieces in museums located nearby, such as Spedale degli Innocenti and San Marco Museum. The hospital was divided into two areas, female and male, and can accommodate two hundred patients. In the fifteenth century, the hospital enjoyed remarkable economic prosperity, in 1420 the addition of the cloister of the medical center by Bicci di Lorenzo marked a major transformation and expansion of the original building. The addition still has a lunette depicting the Pietà by Giovanni della Robbia and clay sculpture with the Madonna with Child. In the Cloister of the Bones was a fresco representing Last Judgment by Fra Bartolomeo. Bernardo Buontalenti designed the porch that is the main entrance to the hospital. Construction of the porch was begun in 1611 by Giulio Parigi, in 1660 the old lanes of the womens ward were replaced by Giovanni Battista Pieratti with a new more spacious environment. In the administrative hall, which are accessed by a staircase in the Cloister of Bones, there are frescos and other works from the facade of the Church of SantEgidio and from other monasteries. The works in this hall are/have been, The Crucifixion with Saints Romuald and John the Baptist by Andrea del Castagno, the Coronation of the Virgin, a terracotta sculpture attributed to Dello Delli, now in the portal of the Church of SantEgidio. Consecration of the new church of SantEgidio by Pope Martin V, the Cloister of Bones, a temple and formerly a burial site, was built in the nineteenth century by Costoli in pietra serena. The temple has columns and pillars and on the center is the statue of the Marquis Angiolo Galli Tassi, the statue has the inscription in the back, From the benefactor to the beneficiaries - Year 1863. On the front the statue has the inscription, Count Angiolo Galli - that emulating the love of the ancients - the ancestral heritage linked - to hospitals in Tuscany. There is also an inscription with the sculpture of Monna Tessa, first Aid Clinical Observation General Surgery Dermatology Medicine Psychiatry Intensive Care U. T. I. C
Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova
–
The portico of Buontalenti
Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova
–
The monument to the legendary Monna Tessa
Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova
–
The
lunette of
Giovanni della Robbia in the Cloister
Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova
–
Old
facade of the hospital before the completion of the porch (painting by
Fabio Borbottoni, 1820-1902)
20.
Giuliano Bugiardini
–
Giuliano Bugiardini was an Italian painter and draughtsman working in the late-Renaissance style known as Mannerism. He was born and was active in Florence. Also known as Giuliano di Piero di Simone, Giuliano Bugiardini may have apprenticed with a sculptor Bertoldo. In Ghirlandaios workshop he came to know Michelangelo, Bugiardini was well regarded, and in 1503 he joined the Compagnia di San Luca, the painter’s guild, where he met Albertinelli. He began an association with Mariotto Albertinelli that continued until 1509 and he completed certain works left unfinished by Fra Bartolomeo when he died. Some years later in Rome, while at work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo sought Giuliano Bugiardinis services, vasari mentioned Bugiardini assisted Michelangelo very briefly in 1508 with the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He painted a Martyrdom of St Catherine for Santa Maria Novella in Florence and he also painted in Bologna in 1526–1530. His earliest known works of between 1495 and 1500 show the influence of his master Ghirlandaio, other early influences were Fra Bartolomeo and Mariotto Albertinelli. The major artists of the Italian High Renaissance also shaped the style of the early 16th century in Florence, including Raphael, Perugino, Leonardo and they regard his paintings as often awkward translations of High Renaissance motives into archaic, outdated terms. They alsos deem his style as thin and dry and relying too much on outline drawing, other historians regard his use of lucid and dense colours as an adequate processing of influences from Michelangelo and Agnolo Bronzino. His work, Portrait of a Woman, called The Nun shows the artist also had a talent as portraitist. Many drawings once given to Bugiardini are now attributed to others, freedberg, Sydney J. Pelican History of Art, ed. Explorations in Renaissance Culture 31,1, 1–18, Bugiardinis Holy Family with the Young St. John the Baptist. Media related to Giuliano Bugiardini at Wikimedia Commons
Giuliano Bugiardini
–
Portrait of a Woman, 1506-1510.
21.
Venice
–
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Venice
–
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice
–
Photography of Venice at dusk
Venice
–
The Grand Canal seen from the bridge at
Ponte di Rialto
22.
San Pietro Martire, Murano
–
San Pietro Martire is a Roman catholic parish church in Murano, near Venice, northern Italy. The church was edificated in 1348 along with a Dominican convent, in 1474 a fire razed it to the ground and in 1511 it was rebuilt to the current appearance. It was closed on 1806, a few years after the fall of the Republic of Venice and it is currently one of the two main parish churches in the island of Murano. The façade is in naked brickwork, divided in three sections and with a 16th-century portal, which is surmounted by a rose window. On the left façade is a portico with Renaissance arcades and columns, on the same side is the bell tower, dating to 1498-1502. The interior is on the plan, with three naves divided by two series of large columns, and a wooden ceiling. The presbytery is quite large, with vaults and two small side chapels. Aside from the altar, there other minor altars, three for each nave. In the right wing is the Ballarin Chapel, built in 1506 after the death of the eponymous glassmaker from Murano. Other paintings include a St. Jerome in the Desert by Paolo Veronese, the Barcaioli Altarpiece by Giovanni Agostino da Lodi, a Deposition from the Cross by Giuseppe Porta, la chiesa di San Pietro Martire. San Pietro Martire - Murano -1511
San Pietro Martire, Murano
–
Façade of San Pietro Martire.
23.
Murano
–
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 kilometres north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km across with a population of just over 5,000 and it is famous for its glass making. It was once an independent comune, but is now a frazione of the comune of Venice, Murano is composed of seven islands, linked by bridges, separated by eight channels. Murano was initially settled by the Romans and from the century by people from Altinum. At first, the island prospered as a port and through its production of salt. It was also a centre for trade through the port it controlled on SantErasmo, from the eleventh century, it began to decline as islanders moved to Dorsoduro. It had a Grand Council, like that of Venice, but from the thirteenth century, unlike the other islands in the Lagoon, Murano minted its own coins. Early in the second millennium hermits of the Camaldolese Order occupied one of the islands, there they founded the Monastery of St. Michael. This monastery became a center of learning and printing. The famous cartographer, Fra Mauro, whose maps were crucial to the European exploration of the world, was a monk of this community. The monastery was suppressed in 1810 by French forces under Napoleon, in the course of their conquest of the Italian peninsula, the grounds then became Venices major cemetery. In 1291, all the glassmakers in Venice were forced to move to Murano due to the risk of fires, in the following century, exports began, and the island became famous, initially for glass beads and mirrors. Aventurine glass was invented on the island, and for a while Murano was the producer of glass in Europe. The island later known for chandeliers. Although decline set in during the century, glassmaking is still the islands main industry. In the fifteenth century, the island became popular as a resort for Venetians, and palaces were built, the countryside of the island was known for its orchards and vegetable gardens until the nineteenth century, when more housing was built. Glass-related attractions include the many glassworks, some Mediaeval and most open to the public, Murano glass is still associated with Venetian glass. Muranos glassmakers were soon numbered among the island’s most prominent citizens, by the fourteenth century, glassmakers were allowed to wear swords, enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venetian state and found their daughters married into Venice’s most affluent families
Murano
–
Rio dei Vetrai, Murano (2015)
Murano
–
View from a bridge on Murano, overlooking the Canal Grande di Murano.
Murano
–
Church of Santa Maria e San Donato, Murano.
Murano
–
Glass making in Murano.
24.
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
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View of Lucca from the
Torre Guinigi
Lucca
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Coat of arms
Lucca
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Duomo di San Martino (the Cathedral).
Lucca
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Palazzo Pfanner, garden view.
25.
Cathedral of Lucca
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Lucca Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Martin in Lucca, Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Lucca, construction was begun in 1063 by Bishop Anselm. Of the original structure, the apse with its tall columnar arcades. In the nave a small temple or chapel shrine contains the most precious relic in Lucca. This cedar-wood crucifix and image of Christ, according to the legend, was carved by his contemporary Nicodemus, Christ is clothed in the colobium, a long sleeveless garment. The chapel was built in 1484 by Matteo Civitali, the most famous Luccan sculptor of the early Renaissance. The tomb of Ilaria del Carretto by Jacopo della Quercia of Siena, the earliest of his extant works was commissioned by her husband, there is a legend to explain why all the columns of the façade are different. According to the tale, when they were going to decorate it, every artist made a column, but then the inhabitants of Lucca decided to take them all, without paying the artists and used all the columns. The labyrinth or maze is embedded in the pier of the portico and is believed to date from the 12th or 13th century. Its importance is that it may well pre-date the famous Chartres maze, the rustic incised Latin inscription refers to ancient pagan mythology, This is the labyrinth built by Dedalus of Crete, all who entered therein were lost, save Theseus, thanks to Ariadnes thread
Cathedral of Lucca
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Façade and bell tower of Lucca Cathedral
Cathedral of Lucca
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Shrine of the Sacred Face of Lucca
Cathedral of Lucca
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Labyrinth on the portico of the cathedral
26.
Pier Soderini
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Piero di Tommaso Soderini also known as Pier Soderini, was an Italian statesman of the Republic of Florence. Soderini was born in Florence to an old family who had become famous in medicine and his brother was the statesman and supporter of Savonarola, Paolo Antonio Soderini. Their third brother was Cardinal Francesco Soderini, bishop of Volterra, in 1481 he was Prior of the city, and later became a favourite of Piero di Lorenzo de Medici, receiving from him, in 1493, the honour of being the Ambassador to the Kingdom of France. Soderinis rule proved moderate and wise, although he did not possess the qualities of a great statesman and he introduced a system of national militia in the place of foreign mercenaries. During his government the long war with Pisa was brought to a close with the capture of that city by the Florentines in 1509. Niccolò Machiavelli, author of The Prince and Discourses on Livy, served him as second chancellor and as ambassador to Cesare Borgia, Rome. Although Machiavelli initially had much respect for Soderini, his attitude was changed by the events led to Soderinis fall. Grateful to France, which had assisted him, Soderini always took the French side in Italian politics, but in 1512 the Medici returned to Florence with the help of a Spanish army, deposed Soderini, and drove him into exile. He took refuge at Orašac in Dalmatia, where he remained until the election of Pope Leo X, Soderini lived in Rome for the rest of his life and worked for the good of Florence, to which he was never allowed to return. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Soderini. This work in turn cites, Silvano Razzi, Vita di Pier Soderini
Pier Soderini
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Piero Soderini (1450-1522) (
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio)
27.
Pinacoteca Vaticana
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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
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Sculptures above the entrance of museums
Pinacoteca Vaticana
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Spiral stairs of the Vatican Museums, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932.
Pinacoteca Vaticana
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The New Wing, Braccio Nuovo built by Raphael Stern
Pinacoteca Vaticana
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The
Prima Porta Augustus
28.
Mark the Evangelist
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Mark the Evangelist is the traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark. Mark is said to have founded the Church of Alexandria, one of the most important episcopal sees of Early Christianity and his feast day is celebrated on April 25, and his symbol is the winged lion. According to William Lane, an unbroken tradition identifies Mark the Evangelist with John Mark, however, Hippolytus of Rome in On the Seventy Apostles distinguishes Mark the Evangelist, John Mark, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas. According to Hippolytus, they all belonged to the Seventy Disciples who were sent out by Jesus to saturate Judea with the gospel. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, Herod Agrippa I, in his first year of reign over the whole of Judea, killed James, son of Zebedee and arrested Peter, Peter was saved miraculously by angels, and escaped out of the realm of Herod. Peter went to Antioch, then through Asia Minor, and arrived in Rome in the year of Emperor Claudius. Somewhere on the way, Peter encountered Mark and took him as travel companion, Mark the Evangelist wrote down the sermons of Peter, thus composing the Gospel according to Mark, before he left for Alexandria in the third year of Claudius. Aspects of the Coptic liturgy can be traced back to Mark himself and he became the first bishop of Alexandria and he is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa. According to Eusebius, Mark was succeeded by Annianus as the bishop of Alexandria in the year of Nero, probably. Later Coptic tradition says that he was martyred in 68, most modern scholars argue the Gospel of Mark was written by an anonymous author, rather than direct witnesses to the reported events. Evidence for Mark the Evangelists authorship of the Gospel that bears his name originates with Papias, scholars of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School are almost certain that Papias refers to John Mark. The Coptic Church accords with identifying Mark the Evangelist with John Mark, as well as that he was one of the Seventy Disciples sent out by Christ, as Hippolytus confirmed. Furthermore, Mark is also believed to have been among the servants at the Marriage at Cana who poured out the water that Jesus turned to wine, according to the Coptic tradition, Saint Mark was born in Cyrene, a city in the Pentapolis of North Africa. This tradition adds that Mark returned to Pentapolis later in life, after being sent by Paul to Colossae, when Mark returned to Alexandria, the pagans of the city resented his efforts to turn the Alexandrians away from the worship of their traditional gods. In AD68, they placed a rope around his neck, where Saint John Mark is distinguished from Saint Mark, the composer of the earliest Gospel that we have, Saint John Mark is celebrated on September 27 and the writer of the Gospel on April 25. In addition to Saint John Marks in Jerusalem, the Parish Church of Chester Hill with Sefton in the Diocese of Sydney is Saint John Marks and it celebrated its patronal festival on September 27. An icon of Saint John Mark on Cyprus, painted by a Russian Orthodox monk at Walsingham, was formerly in that church and is now in Christ Church Saint Laurence in Sydney. In 828, relics believed to be the body of Saint Mark were stolen from Alexandria by two Venetian merchants with the help of two Greek monks and taken to Venice, a mosaic in St Marks Basilica depicts sailors covering the relics with a layer of pork and cabbage leaves
Mark the Evangelist
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Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist
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Mark the Evangelist
symbol is the
winged lion, the
Lion of Saint Mark
Mark the Evangelist
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Icon, St. Mark the Evangelist, 1657.
Mark the Evangelist
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St. Mark by
Donatello (
Orsanmichele,
Florence)
29.
Palazzo Pitti
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The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the side of the River Arno. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the residence of Luca Pitti. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry. In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a base by Napoleon. The palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, the palazzo is now the largest museum complex in Florence. The principal palazzo block, often in a building of design known as the corps de logis, is 32,000 square metres. It is divided into several principal galleries or museums detailed below, the construction of this severe and forbidding building was commissioned in 1458 by the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, a principal supporter and friend of Cosimo de Medici. The early history of the Palazzo Pitti is a mixture of fact, Pitti is alleged to have instructed that the windows be larger than the entrance of the Palazzo Medici. Besides obvious differences from the architects style, Brunelleschi died 12 years before construction of the palazzo began. The design and fenestration suggest that the architect was more experienced in utilitarian domestic architecture than in the humanist rules defined by Alberti in his book De Re Aedificatoria. Though impressive, the original palazzo would have no rival to the Florentine Medici residences in terms of either size or content. Whoever the architect of the Palazzo Pitti was, he was moving against the flow of fashion. The rusticated stonework gives the palazzo a severe and powerful atmosphere, reinforced by the series of seven arch-headed apertures. The Roman-style architecture appealed to the Florentine love of the new style allantica, work stopped after Pitti suffered financial losses following the death of Cosimo de Medici in 1464. Luca Pitti died in 1472 with the building unfinished, the building was sold in 1549 by Buonaccorso Pitti, a descendant of Luca Pitti, to Eleonora di Toledo. Raised at the court of Naples, Eleonora was the wife of Cosimo I de Medici of Tuscany
Palazzo Pitti
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Early,
tinted 20th-century photograph of the Palazzo Pitti, then still known as La Residenza Reale following the residency of
King Victor Emmanuel II between 1865 and 1871, when Florence was the capital of Italy.
Palazzo Pitti
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Luca Pitti (1398–1472) began work on the palazzo in 1458.
Palazzo Pitti
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Eleonora di Toledo,
Duchess of Florence, bought the palazzo from the Pitti in 1549 for the Medici. Portrait after
Bronzino.
Palazzo Pitti
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A
lunette painted in 1599 by
Giusto Utens, depicts the palazzo before its extensions, with the
amphitheatre and the Boboli Gardens behind. The red stone excavated from the site was used in extensions to the palazzo.
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Baynes, T.S., ed. (1878), "Baccio della Porta", Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 194
Baynes, T.S., ed. (1878), "
