1.
Donatello
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Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance sculptor from Florence. He worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco and wax, and had several assistants, with four perhaps being a typical number. Though his best-known works were mostly statues in the round, he developed a new, very shallow, type of bas-relief for small works, and a good deal of his output was larger architectural reliefs. Donatello was the son of Niccolò di Betto Bardi, who was a member of the Florentine Arte della Lana, Donatello was educated in the house of the Martelli family. He apparently received his artistic training in a goldsmiths workshop. While undertaking study and excavations with Filippo Brunelleschi in Rome, work that gained the two men the reputation of treasure seekers, Donatello made a living by working at goldsmiths shops. In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist, which until 1588 occupied a niche of the old cathedral façade and this work marks a decisive step forward from late Gothic Mannerism in the search for naturalism and the rendering of human feelings. The face, the shoulders and the bust are still idealized, while the hands, in 1411–13, Donatello worked on a statue of St. Mark for the guild church of Orsanmichele. In 1417 he completed the Saint George for the Confraternity of the Cuirass-makers, the elegant St. George and the Dragon relief on the statues base, executed in schiacciato is one of the first examples of central-point perspective in sculpture. From 1423 is the Saint Louis of Toulouse for the Orsanmichele, Donatello had also sculpted the classical frame for this work, which remains, while the statue was moved in 1460 and replaced by Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Verrocchio. Between 1415 and 1426, Donatello created five statues for the campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, also known as the Duomo. These works are the Beardless Prophet, Bearded Prophet, the Sacrifice of Isaac, Habbakuk, and Jeremiah, from the late teens is the Pazzi Madonna relief in Berlin. In 1425, he executed the notable Crucifix for Santa Croce, this work portrays Christ in a moment of the agony, eyes and mouth partially opened, the body contracted in an ungraceful posture. From 1425 to 1427, Donatello collaborated with Michelozzo on the monument of the Antipope John XXIII for the Battistero in Florence. Donatello made the recumbent bronze figure of the deceased, under a shell, in 1427, he completed in Pisa a marble relief for the funerary monument of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci at the church of SantAngelo a Nilo in Naples. In the same period, he executed the relief of the Feast of Herod, the relief is mostly in stiacciato, with the foreground figures are done in bas-relief. Around 1430, Cosimo de Medici, the foremost art patron of his era and this is now Donatellos most famous work, and the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity. Also from this period is the disquietingly small Love-Atys, housed in the Bargello, some have perceived the David as having homo-erotic qualities, and have argued that this reflected the artists own orientation
2.
Michelangelo
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Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Considered to be the greatest living artist during his lifetime, he has since described as one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of Michelangelos works of painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence and he sculpted two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, before the age of thirty. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library, at the age of 74, he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peters Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan so that the end was finished to his design, as was the dome, with some modification. Michelangelo was unique as the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive, in his lifetime he was often called Il Divino. One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, the attempts by subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelos impassioned and highly personal style resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance. Michelangelo was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese near Arezzo, at the time of Michelangelos birth, his father was the Judicial administrator of the small town of Caprese and local administrator of Chiusi. Michelangelos mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, the Buonarrotis claimed to descend from the Countess Mathilde of Canossa, this claim remains unproven, but Michelangelo himself believed it. Several months after Michelangelos birth, the returned to Florence. There Michelangelo gained his love for marble, as Giorgio Vasari quotes him, If there is good in me. Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, as a young boy, Michelangelo was sent to Florence to study grammar under the Humanist Francesco da Urbino. The young artist, however, showed no interest in his schooling, preferring to copy paintings from churches, the city of Florence was at that time the greatest centre of the arts and learning in Italy. Art was sponsored by the Signoria, by the merchant guilds and by patrons such as the Medici. The Renaissance, a renewal of Classical scholarship and the arts, had its first flowering in Florence, the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti had laboured for fifty years to create the bronze doors of the Baptistry, which Michelangelo was to describe as The Gates of Paradise. The exterior niches of the Church of Orsanmichele contained a gallery of works by the most acclaimed sculptors of Florence – Donatello, Ghiberti, Andrea del Verrocchio, and Nanni di Banco. The interiors of the churches were covered with frescos, begun by Giotto. During Michelangelos childhood, a team of painters had been called from Florence to the Vatican, among them was Domenico Ghirlandaio, a master in fresco painting, perspective, figure drawing, and portraiture who had the largest workshop in Florence at that period
3.
Florence
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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
4.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
5.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
Palazzo Vecchio
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The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelos David statue as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, the building acquired its current name when the Medici dukes residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. The cubical building is made of rusticated stonework, with two rows of two-lighted Gothic windows, each with a trefoil arch. In the 15th century, Michelozzo Michelozzi added decorative bas-reliefs of the cross, the building is crowned with projecting crenellated battlement, supported by small arches and corbels. Under the arches are a series of nine painted coats of arms of the Florentine republic. Some of these arches can be used as embrasures for dropping heated liquids or rocks on invaders, the solid, massive building is enhanced by the simple tower with its clock. This tower contains two cells, that, at different times, imprisoned Cosimo de Medici and Girolamo Savonarola. The tower is named after its designer Torre dArnolfo, Duke Cosimo I de Medici moved his official seat from the Medici palazzo in via Larga to the Palazzo della Signoria in May 1540, signalling the security of Medici power in Florence. Cosimo commissioned Giorgio Vasari to build a walkway, the Vasari corridor, from the Palazzo Vecchio, through the Uffizi. Cosimo I also moved the seat of government to the Uffizi, the palace gained new importance as the seat of united Italys provisional government from 1865–71, at a moment when Florence had become the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The tower currently has three bells, the oldest was cast in the 13th century, above the front entrance door, there is a notable ornamental marble frontispiece, dating from 1528. In the middle, flanked by two gilded lions, is the Monogram of Christ, surrounded by a glory, above the text, Rex Regum et Dominus Dominantium (translation, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This text dates from 1851 and does not replace an earlier text by Savonarola as mentioned in guidebooks, between 1529 and 1851 they were concealed behind a large shield with the grand-ducal coat of arms. Michelangelos David also stood at the entrance from its completion in 1504 to 1873, a replica erected in 1910 now stands in its place, flanked by Baccio Bandinellis Hercules and Cacus. The first courtyard was designed in 1453 by Michelozzo, in the lunettes, high around the courtyard, are crests of the church and city guilds. In the center, the fountain is by Battista del Tadda. The Putto with Dolphin on top of the basin is a copy of the original by Andrea del Verrocchio and this small statue was originally placed in the garden of the Villa Medici at Careggi. The water, flowing through the nose of the dolphin, is brought here by pipes from the Boboli Gardens, in the niche, in front of the fountain, stands Samson and Philistine by Pierino da Vinci
7.
Republic of Florence
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The Republic of Florence, also known as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda, the Florentines formed a commune in her successors place. The republic was ruled by a council, known as the signoria, the signoria was chosen by the gonfaloniere, who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members. The republic had a history of coups and counter-coups against various factions. The Medici faction gained governance of the city in 1434, upon Cosimo de Medicis counter-coup against the faction that had sent him into exile the previous year, the Medici kept control of Florence until 1494. Giovanni de Medici re-conquered the republic in 1512, Florence repudiated Medici authority for a second time in 1527, during the War of the League of Cognac. The Medici re-assumed their rule in 1531, after an 11-month siege of the city, the republican government was disestablished in 1532, when Pope Clement VII appointed Alessandro de Medici Duke of the Florentine Republic, making the republic a hereditary monarchy. The city of Florence was established in 59 B. C. by Julius Caesar, the city had been part of the Marquisate of Tuscany before the death of Margravine Matilda in 1115. The city did not submit readily to her successor, Rabodo, the first official mention of the republic was in 1138 when several cities around Tuscany formed a league against Henry X of Bavaria. The country was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Florence prospered in the 12th century, trading extensively with foreign countries and this, in turn, provided a platform for demographic growth of the city. The growth of Florences population mirrored the rate of construction, many churches and this prosperity was shattered when Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa invaded the Italian peninsula in 1185. The Margraves of Tuscany re-acquired Florence and its townlands, the Florentines re-asserted their independence when Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI died in 1197. Florences population continued to grow into the 13th century, reaching 30,000 inhabitants, as has been said, the extra inhabitants supported the citys trade and vice versa. Several new bridges and churches were built, most prominently the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the buildings from the era serve as Florences best example of Gothic Architecture. Politically, Florence was barely able to maintain peace between factions, the precarious peace that existed at the beginning of the century was destroyed in 1216 when two factions known as the Guelphs and the Ghibellines began to war. The Ghibellines were the rulers of Florence. The Ghibellines, who under Frederick of Antioch had ruled the city since 1244, were deposed in 1250 by the Guelphs, the Guelphs led Florence to prosper further
8.
Piazza del Duomo, Florence
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Piazza del Duomo is located in the heart of the historic center of Florence. The west zone of this square is called San Giovanni square, santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, Is the largest building in medieval Europe, and is the fourth church of Europe by size, its length is 153 m and its height is 116 m. Baptistery of St. John, The octagonal Baptistery stands across from the Duomo cathedral and it is one of the oldest buildings in the city, built between 1059 and 1128. The architecture is in Florentine Romanesque style, museo dellOpera del Duomo, in front of the Florence Cathedral, it commit to the conservation of the Dome and other art works. It store great masterpiece of Michelangelo, Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, Arnolfo di Cambio and many others
9.
Uffizi
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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
10.
Crenellation
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These gaps are termed crenels, and the act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. The solid widths between the crenels are called merlons, a wall with battlements is said to be crenelated or embattled. Battlements on walls have protected walkways behind them, on tower or building tops, the roof is used as the protected fighting platform. The term originated in about the 14th century from the Old French word batailler, the word crenel derives from the ancient French cren, Latin crena, meaning a notch, mortice or other gap cut out often to receive another element or fixing, see also crenation. In medieval England a licence to crenellate granted the permission to fortify their property. The castles in England vastly outnumber the licences to crenellate, royal pardons were obtainable, on the payment of an arbitrarily determined fine, by a person who had fortified without licence. The surviving records of such licences, generally issued by letters patent, there has been academic debate over the purpose of licensing. The view of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number of fortifications that could be used against a royal army and they indicated to the observer that the grantee had obtained royal recognition, acknowledgment and compliment. The crown usually did not charge for the granting of such licences, battlements have been used for thousands of years, the earliest known example is in the fortress at Buhen in Egypt. Battlements were used in the walls surrounding Assyrian towns, as shown on bas reliefs from Nimrud, traces of them remain at Mycenae in Greece, and some ancient Greek vases suggest the existence of battlements. The Great Wall of China has battlements, late merlons permitted fire from the first firearms. From the 13th century, the merlons could be connected with wooden shutters that provided added protection when closed, the shutters were designed to be opened to allow shooters to fire against the attackers, and closed during reloading. The Romans used low wooden pinnacles for their first aggeres, in the battlements of Pompeii, additional protection derived from small internal buttresses or spur walls, against which the defender might stand so as to gain complete protection on one side. Loop-holes were frequent in Italian battlements, where the merlon has much greater height, Italian military architects used the so-called Ghibelline or swallowtail battlement, with V-shaped notches in the tops of the merlon, giving a horn-like effect. This would allow the defender to be protected whilst shooting standing fully upright, the normal rectangular merlons were later nicknamed Guelph. In Muslim and African fortifications, the merlons often were rounded, the battlements of the Arabs had a more decorative and varied character, and were continued from the 13th century onwards not so much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to the walls. They serve a similar to the cresting found in the Spanish Renaissance. European architects persistently used battlements as a decorative feature throughout the Decorated
11.
Loggia dei Lanzi
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The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals, the wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines that Michelangelo proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza della Signoria. Simone Talenti is also well-known from his contributions to the churches Orsanmichele, the vivacious construction of the Loggia is in stark contrast with the severe architecture of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is effectively an open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art, the name Loggia dei Lanzi dates back to the reign of Grand Duke Cosimo I, when it was used to house his formidable landsknechts, or German mercenary pikemen. On the façade of the Loggia, below the parapet, are trefoils with allegorical figures of the four virtues by Agnolo Gaddi. Their blue enamelled background is the work of Leonardo, a monk, the vault, composed of semicircles, was done by the Florentine Antonio de Pucci. It was originally placed in the Villa Medici in Rome, on the side of the Loggia, there is a Latin inscription from 1750 commemorating the change of the Florentine calendar in 1749 to bring it into line with the Roman calendar. The Florentine calendar began on 25 March instead of 1 January, the other inscription from 1893 records the Florentines who distinguished themselves during the annexation of Milan, Venice and Rome to the kingdom of Italy. Underneath the bay on the far left is the statue of Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini. It shows the mythical Greek hero holding his sword in his right hand, the well-proportioned muscular body of Perseus stands poised on the right leg. Perseus is reflecting and he seems to be frightened by his same action, blood is gushing from the head and the neck of the dead Medusa. The richly decorated pedestal, also by Cellini, shows four graceful bronze statuettes of Jupiter, Mercurius, Minerva. The bas-relief on the pedestal, representing Perseus freeing Andromeda, is a copy of the one in Bargello, Benvenuto Cellini worked almost ten years on this bronze. His wax design was approved by Cosimo I de Medici. He met numerous difficulties which, according to his autobiography, almost brought him to the brink of death, the casting of this bronze statue was several times unsuccessful. When attempting again, the melting furnace got overheated, spoiling the casting of the bronze, Cellini gave orders to feed the furnace with his household furniture and finally with about 200 pewter dishes and plates, and his pots and pans. This caused the bronze to flow again, after the bronze had cooled, the statue was finished, except for three toes on the right foot
12.
Palazzo Uguccioni
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Palazzo Uguccioni is a Renaissance palace on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, central Italy. The palace was built, for Giovanni Uguccioni starting from 1550 and it is the only building in Florence with columns on its façade. The lower floors has three arcades with rustication in pietraforte, the used for the whole façade. The upper floors have two orders of Ionic and Corithian columns, the latters pedestals have sculpted coat of arms of the family. Above the entrance is a bust of Francesco I de Medici, page from Florences municipality official website
13.
Raphael
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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
14.
Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, Florence
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The Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali is a building in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. It was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1871, and is one of the very few purpose built buildings in the centre of the city. There are other Palazzi delle Assicurazioni Generali in other Italian cities most notably Rome, during the latter half of the 19th century the Assicurazioni Generali were expanding not only in Italy but also throughout Europe. The Florence Palazzo delle Assicurazioni unsuccessfully vies for dominance in the piazza with the historical and architecturally important Palazzo Signoria. In spite of its height and size the architecture of the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali harmonises with that of the surrounding buildings, Florence Monuments, Piazza della Signoria Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, Milano The Generali Group Lord, Maria
15.
Seat of local government
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In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, a guildhall, a Rathaus, or a municipal building, is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and it also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, borough, or county / shire. By convention, until the mid 19th-century, a large open chamber formed an integral part of the building housing the council. The hall may be used for meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the hall, has become synonymous with the whole building. The terms council chambers, municipal building or variants may be used locally in preference to town hall if no such large hall is present within the building, the local government may endeavor to use the town hall building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, town halls serve not only as buildings for government functions and these may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits and festivals. Modern town halls or civic centres are designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind. As symbols of government, city and town halls have distinctive architecture. City hall buildings may also serve as icons that symbolize their cities. The term town hall may be a one, often applied without regard to whether the building serves or served a town or a city. This is generally the case in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, english-speakers in some regions use the term city hall to designate the council offices of a municipality of city status. This is the case in North America, where a distinction is made between city halls and town halls, and is also the case with Brisbane City Hall in Australia. The great hall of the town-house or municipal building, now commonly applied to the whole building city hall. Conversely, cities that have subdivisions with their own councils may have borough halls, in Scotland, local government in larger cities operates from the City Chambers, otherwise the Town House. Elsewhere in English-speaking countries, other names are occasionally used, in London, the official headquarters of administration of the City of London retains its Anglo-Saxon name, the Guildhall, signifying a place where taxes were paid. In a small number of English cities the preferred term is Council House, this was also the case in Bristol until 2012, when the building was renamed City Hall. In Birmingham, there is a distinction between the Council House, the seat of government, and the Town Hall, a concert
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Romanesque architecture
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Romanesque Architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the late 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches, examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture, each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan, the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics, Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France, northern Spain and rural Italy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Romanesque means descended from Roman and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages, Romance language is not degenerated Latin language. Latin language is degenerated Romance language, Romanesque architecture is not debased Roman architecture. Roman architecture is debased Romanesque architecture, the first use in a published work is in William Gunns An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries, Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches, the scope of Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. In the more northern countries Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders, the largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque St. Michaels Church, Hildesheim, 1001–1030, the style, sometimes called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band
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Tuscany
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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
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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
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Bay (architecture)
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In architecture, a bay is the space between architectural elements, or a recess or compartment. Bay comes from Old French baee, meaning an opening or hole, the spaces between posts, columns, or buttresses in the length of a building, the division in the widths being called aisles. This meaning also applies to overhead vaults, in a building using a vaulted structural system, for example, the Gothic architecture periods Chartres Cathedral has a nave that is seven bays long. Similarly in timber framing a bay is the space between posts in the direction of the building and aisles run longitudinally. The openings for windows in a wall, for example, in Georgian style, at Mulberry Fields, the building is described as a 5 bay by 2 bay facade, meaning a 5 windows by 2 windows exterior. A recess in a wall, such as a bay window, a division of space such as an animal stall, sick bay, or bay platform. The space between joists or rafters, a joist bay or rafter bay
20.
Corinthian order
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The Corinthian order is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order which was the earliest, followed by the Ionic order, when classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order. The Corinthian, with its offshoot the Composite, is the most ornate of the orders, characterized by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves and it was employed in southern Gaul at the Maison Carrée, Nîmes and at the comparable podium temple at Vienne. Other prime examples noted by Mark Wilson Jones are the order of the Basilica Ulpia and the arch at Ancona the column of Phocas. The Corinthian order is named for the Greek city-state of Corinth, however, according to the architectural historian Vitruvius, the column was created by the sculptor Callimachus, probably an Athenian, who drew acanthus leaves growing around a votive basket. Its earliest use can be traced back to the Late Classical Period, the earliest Corinthian capital was found in Bassae, dated at 427 BC. In its proportions, the Corinthian column is similar to the Ionic column, though it is more slender, the abacus upon the capital has concave sides to conform to the outscrolling corners of the capital, and it may have a rosette at the center of each side. Corinthian columns were erected on the top level of the Roman Colosseum, holding up the least weight and their height to width ratio is about 10,1. One variant is the Tivoli Order, found at the Temple of Vesta, the Tivoli Orders Corintinan Capital has two rows of Acanthus and its abacus is decorated with oversize fleuron in the form of hibiscus flowers with pronounced spiral pistils. The column flutes have flat tops, the frieze exhibits fruit swag suspended between bucrania. Above each swag is a rosette, the cornice does not have modillions. Indo-Corinthian capitals are capitals crowning columns or pilasters, which can be found in the northwestern Indian subcontinent and these capitals are typically dated to the 1st centuries of our era, and constitute important elements of Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara. The classical design was adapted, usually taking a more elongated form. Indo-Corinthian capitals also incorporated figures of the Buddha or Bodhisattvas, usually as central figures surrounded, the Corinthian architrave is divided in two or three sections, which may be equal, or they may bear interesting proportional relationships, one with another. Above the plain, unadorned architrave lies the frieze, which may be carved with a continuous design or left plain. At the Capitol the proportions of architrave to frieze are exactly 1,1, above that, the profiles of the cornice moldings are like those of the Ionic order. If the cornice is deep, it may be supported by brackets or modillions. The Corinthian column is almost always fluted, if it is not, it is often worth pausing to unravel the reason why
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Renaissance art
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Renaissance art, with Renaissance Humanist philosophy, spread throughout Europe, affecting both artists and their patrons with the development of new techniques and new artistic sensibilities. Renaissance art marks the transition of Europe from the period to the Early Modern age. In many parts of Europe, Early Renaissance art was created in parallel with Late Medieval art, the following list presents a summary, dealt with more fully in the main articles that are cited above. Classical texts, lost to European scholars for centuries, became available and these included Philosophy, Prose, Poetry, Drama, Science, a thesis on the Arts and Early Christian Theology. Simultaneously, Europe gained access to advanced mathematics which had its provenance in the works of Islamic scholars, the advent of movable type printing in the 15th century meant that ideas could be disseminated easily, and an increasing number of books were written for a broad public. The establishment of the Medici Bank and the subsequent trade it generated brought unprecedented wealth to a single Italian city, cosimo de Medici set a new standard for patronage of the arts, not associated with the church or monarchy. Humanist philosophy meant that mans relationship with humanity, the universe, a revived interest in the Classics brought about the first archaeological study of Roman remains by the architect Brunelleschi and sculptor Donatello. A similar heritage of artistic achievement occurred in Venice through the talented Bellini family, their influential inlaw Mantegna, Giorgione, Titian, the publication of two treatises by Leone Battista Alberti, De Pitura,1435, and De re aedificatoria,1452. Their masterpieces are the pulpits of the Baptistery and Cathedral of Pisa, the painters of the Low Countries at this period included Jan van Eyck, his brother Hubert van Eyck, Robert Campin, Hans Memling, Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes. Their painting developed independently of Early Italian Renaissance painting, and without the influence of a deliberate, the style of painting grew directly out of the Medieval arts of tempera painting, stained glass and book illumination. The media used was oil paint, which had long been utilised for painting leather ceremonial shields and accoutrements, because it was flexible, the earliest Netherlandish oil paintings are meticulous and detailed like tempera paintings. The material lent itself to the depiction of variations and texture. The Netherlandish painters did not approach the creation of a picture through a framework of linear perspective and they maintained a Medieval view of hierarchical proportion and religious symbolism, while delighting in a realistic treatment of material elements, both natural and man-made. Jan van Eyck, with his brother Hubert painted The Altarpiece of the Mystical Lamb and it is probable that Antonello da Messina became familiar with Van Eycks work, while in Naples or Sicily. His studies of perspective are thought to have influenced the painter Masaccio, the contemporary of Donatello, Masaccio, was the painterly descendant of Giotto, furthering the trend towards solidity of form and naturalism of face and gesture that he had begun a century earlier. Masaccios developments were carried forward in the paintings of Fra Angelico, the treatment of the elements of perspective and light in painting was of particular concern to 15th-century Florentine painters. Uccello was so obsessed with trying to achieve an appearance of perspective that, according to Vasari and his solutions can be seen in his masterpiece, the Battle of San Romano. In Naples, the painter Antonello da Messina began using oil paints for portraits and religious paintings at a date that preceded other Italian painters and he carried this technique north and influenced the painters of Venice
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Medici lions
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The sculptures depict standing male lions with a sphere or ball under one paw, looking to the side. The Medici lions have been copied, directly or with variations, according to Vacca, the lion had been a relief, which was carved free of its background and reworked by Giovanni Sciarano or Giovanni di Scherano Fancelli, of whom little is now known. The second was made and signed by Vacca, also in marble, the pair were in place at the Loggia dei Leoni in 1598 The pendant was made from a capital that had come from the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The sculptures were replaced by copies at the Villa Medici when Napoleon relocated the French Academy in Rome to the villa in 1803 and these copies were made by the French sculptor Augustin Pajou. The original Medici lions are since 1789 standing at the Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, there is smaller bronze left-looking sculpture attributed to Italian sculptor Pietro da Barga and the same period. Eight sculptures are now in the Museo del Prado, of which four support the tabletop of Rodrigo Calderón, Sculptures in Colmenar marble at the Montforte Gardens, Valencia by José Bellver. Sculptures in marble at the Canalejas Park, Alicante, sculpture in bronze in the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts building, Stockholm. Sculpture in bronze at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, sculpture in bronze in Nacka, Stockholm. Sculptures in lead at Stowe House attributed to John Cheere, formerly placed at Stanley Park, Blackpool. Sculpture in the park of Kedleston Hall, carved by Joseph Wilton, two artificial stone versions are found in the garden of the Osborne House, Isle of Wight. Sculptures at the Stanley Park, Blackpool and these were produced, by Rupert Harris Conservation, using casts from the former sculptures which were returned, on loan, to Stowe house in 2013. Versions in Saint Petersburg, Russia include, The Lion Cascade in bronze at Peterhof Palace, Sculptures in marble at the Lobanov-Rostovsky Residence. Sculptures in bronze at the staircase of the old Mikhailovsky Palace, Sculptures at the entrance of Yelagin Palace. The Lions at the Dvortsovaya pier in bronze at the Admiralty embankment, versions in southern Russia and later Ukraine include, Sculptures in marble at the Vorontsov Palace, Odessa. Six pairs of lion sculptures at the Voronstov Palace, Crimea. Pair of lion sculptures at Starosinnyi Garden, Odessa, Sculptures in marble by Augustin Pajou at the Villa Medici. Four miniature versions surrounding the Akademie- or Löwenbrunnen in the palace garden, two gilded versions as part of the Lion Fountain in front of Glienicke Palace, Berlin. Statues at the entrance of Schloss Monrepos, Ludwigsburg, two versions outside the Cathedral de la Purisma Concepción in Cienfuegos, Cuba
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Taddeo Gaddi
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Taddeo Gaddi was a medieval Italian painter and architect. He was the son of Gaddo di Zanobi, called Gaddo Gaddi and he was a member of Giottos workshop from 1313 to 1337, when his master died. According to Giorgio Vasari, he was considered Giottos most talented pupil and his main work is the cycle of Stories of the Virgin in the Baroncelli Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. Later he perhaps painted the tiles in the sacristy of the same church, now divided among the Galleria dellAccademia of Florence and museums in Munich. According to some scholars, he collaborated in the Stefaneschi Polyptych in Rome, Vasari credited him also of the design and reconstruction of the Ponte Vecchio, which is however disputed by modern scholars. He was the father of Agnolo Gaddi, the Angelic Announcement to the Shepherds. Italian Paintings, Florentine School, a catalog containing information about Gaddi
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Antonio del Pollaiolo
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Antonio del Pollaiuolo, also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiuolo, was an Italian painter, sculptor, engraver and goldsmith during the Italian Renaissance. His brother, Piero, was also an artist, and the two worked together. Their work shows both influences and an interest in human anatomy, reportedly, the brothers carried out dissections to improve their knowledge of the subject. They took their nickname from the trade of their father, who in fact sold poultry, antonios first studies of goldsmithing and metalworking were under either his father or Andrea del Castagno, the latter probably taught him also in painting. Other sources relate that he worked in the Florence workshop of Bartoluccio di Michele, during this time, he also took an interest in engraving. Some of Pollaiuolos painting exhibits strong brutality, of which the characteristics can be studied in the his portrayal of Saint Sebastian, painted in 1473-1475 for the Pucci Chapel of the SS. However, in contrast, his female portraits exhibit a calmness and he achieved his greatest successes as a sculptor and metal-worker. The exact ascription of his works is doubtful, as his brother Piero did much in collaboration with him, the fifteenth-century addition of the infant twins Romulus and Remus to an existing bronze sculpture of the Ancient Roman mythological she-wolf who nursed them has been attributed by some to him. In 1496 he went to Florence in order to put the finishing touches to the work begun in the sacristy of Santo Spirito. His main contribution to Florentine painting lay in his analysis of the body in movement or under conditions of strain. Giorgio Vasari includes a biography of Pollaiuolo in his Lives of the Artists
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Sandro Botticelli
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Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, known as Sandro Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticellis posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, since then, among Botticellis best-known works are The Birth of Venus and Primavera. Botticelli was born in the city of Florence in a house in the Via Nuova, BorgOgnissanti, Vasari reported that Botticelli was initially trained as a goldsmith by his brother Antonio. By 1462 he was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi, many of his works have been attributed to the elder master. Influenced also by the monumentality of Masaccios painting, it was from Lippi that Botticelli learned a more intimate, by 1470, Botticelli had his own workshop. The Adoration of the Magi for Santa Maria Novella, contains the portraits of Cosimo de Medici, his sons Piero and Giovanni, the quality of the scene was hailed by Vasari as one of Botticellis pinnacles. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned Botticelli and other prominent Florentine, the iconological program was the supremacy of the Papacy. Sandros contribution included the Temptations of Christ, the Punishment of the Rebels, thus Vasari characterized the first printed Dante with Botticellis decorations, he could not imagine that the new art of printing might occupy an artist. Recent scholarship suggests otherwise, the Primavera was painted for Lorenzos townhouse in Florence, by 1499, both had been installed at Castello. In these works, the influence of Gothic realism is tempered by Botticellis study of the antique, but if the painterly means may be understood, the subjects themselves remain fascinating for their ambiguity. The complex meanings of these continue to receive widespread scholarly attention, mainly focusing on the poetry. The works do not illustrate particular texts, rather, each relies upon several texts for its significance, of their beauty, characterized by Vasari as exemplifying grace and by John Ruskin as possessing linear rhythm, there can be no doubt. The pictures feature Botticellis linear style emphasized by the soft continual contours, in 1491 he served on a committee to decide upon a façade for the Cathedral of Florence. For this reason, persisting in his attachment to that party, Botticelli biographer Ernst Steinmann searched for the artists psychological development through his Madonnas. In the deepening of insight and expression in the rendering of Marys physiognomy, Botticelli was already little employed in 1502. In 1504 he was a member of the appointed to decide where Michelangelos David would be placed. After his death, his reputation was eclipsed longer and more thoroughly than that of any other major European artist and his paintings remained in the churches and villas for which they had been created and his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel were upstaged by those of Michelangelo. The English collector William Young Ottley, however, had brought Botticellis The Mystical Nativity to London with him in 1799 after buying it in Italy, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood incorporated elements of his work into their own
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Bartolomeo Ammannati
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Bartolomeo Ammannati was an Italian architect and sculptor, born at Settignano, near Florence. He studied under Baccio Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino and closely imitated the style of Michelangelo and he was more distinguished in architecture than in sculpture. He worked in Rome in collaboration with Vignola and Vasari), including designs for the Villa Giulia and his design mirrored the appearance of the main external façade of Pitti. He was also named Consul of Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, in 1569, Ammanati was commissioned to build the Ponte Santa Trinita, a bridge over the Arno River. The three arches are elliptic, and though very light and elegant, has survived, when floods had damaged other Arno bridges at different times, Santa Trinita was destroyed in 1944, during World War II, and rebuilt in 1957. Ammannati designed what is considered a prototypic mannerist sculptural ensemble in the Fountain of Neptune, from 1563 and 1565, Ammannati and his assistants, among them Giambologna, sculpted the block of marble that had been chosen by Bandinelli. He took Grand Duke Cosimo I as model for Neptunes face, the statue was meant to highlight Cosimos goal of establishing a Florentine Naval force. In 1550 Ammannati married Laura Battiferri, an elegant poet and an accomplished woman, later in his life he had a religious crisis, influenced by Counter-Reformation piety, which resulted in condemning his own works depicting nudity, and he left all his possessions to the Jesuits. He died in Florence in 1592, victory, marble, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. Leda with the Swan, marble, also in Bargello, Florence, parnassus, marble, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence Allegory of Winter, stone, Villa Medici, Castello Goddess Opi, bronze, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence Bartolomeo Ammannati in the History of Art
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Raffaello da Montelupo
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Raffaello da Montelupo, born Raffaele Sinibaldi, was a sculptor and architect of the Italian Renaissance, and an apprentice of Michelangelo. He was the son of another Italian sculptor, Baccio da Montelupo, both father and son are profiled in Vasaris Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori. Raffaello was born in Montelupo Fiorentino, near Florence, as a young artist in his twenties, he assisted Lorenzetto in Rome with the execution of statues of Elijah and Jonah for the Chigi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo. He is also attributed a marble relief of the marriage of St. Catherine. Raffaello then went to Loreto, where the Visitazione and Adorazione dei Magi at the Basilica of the Holy House are attributed to him. Shortly thereafter, according to Vasari, Raffaello began work in Florence with Michelangelo, at the Medici Chapel of the Basilica di San Lorenzo, St. Cosmas is also attributed to him, together with Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, another assistant to Michelangelo. He returned to Rome, continuing to work as a sculptor under the direction of Michelangelo, there he contributed to work on the tomb of Julius II at San Pietro in Vincoli, and contributed to the tomb of Pope Leo X at Santa Maria sopra Minerva. For the chapel constructed by Leo X at the fortress of Castel SantAngelo, Raffaello created a Madonna, in addition, he sculpted a marble statue of Saint Michael holding his sword, designed to stand atop the Castel. Raffaellos St. Michael was later replaced by a statue of the same subject. His version may still be seen in a court in the interior of the fortress. Under Pope Paul III, Raffaello was commissioned to create fourteen angels to adorn Ponte SantAngelo and those sculptures were later replaced under a commission by Pope Clement IX in 1669 for new angels by Bernini. Vasari summed up Raffaello da Montelupo as follows, I believe that Raffaello, if he had undertaken great works, as he might have done, would have executed more things in art, and better, than he did. Raffaello was a very masterly draughtsman, and he had a better knowledge of all matters of art that had been shown by his father Baccio. I have therefore used the left hand, be it for writing, be it for drawing some designs from the Morgante. From the moment that I held the sheet lengthwise, in order to write with the hand, many were astonished, thinking that I wrote allebraica. As I have already said, I draw better with the left hand and it should be prefaced that both of them, though naturally left-handed, did everything with their right hand, except actions requiring force. So they stayed a long time to me with great wonder, because, as far as is known. Link to on-line biography of Baccio and Raffaello da Montelupo from Vasaris Vite
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Renaissance Revival architecture
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The divergent forms of Renaissance architecture in different parts of Europe, particularly in France and Italy, has added to the difficulty of defining and recognizing Neo-Renaissance architecture. The movement grew from scientific observations of nature, in human anatomy. Neo-Renaissance architecture is formed by not only the original Italian architecture, in England the Renaissance tended to manifest itself in large square tall houses such as Longleat House. Often these buildings had symmetrical towers which hint at the evolution from medieval fortified architecture and this is particularly evident at Hatfield House built between 1607 and 1611, where medieval towers jostle with a large Italian cupola. If this were not confusing enough, the new Neo-Renaissance then frequently borrowed architectural elements from the succeeding Mannerist period, mannerism and Baroque being two very opposing styles of architecture. Mannerism was exemplified by the Palazzo del Te and Baroque by the Wurzburg Residenz, as a consequence a self-consciously Neo-Renaissance manner first began to appear circa 1840. By 1890 this movement was already in decline, the Hagues Peace Palace completed in 1913, in a heavy French Neo-Renaissance manner was one of the last notable buildings in this style. Charles Barry introduced the Neo-Renaissance to England with his design of the Travellers Club, the style is characterized by original Renaissance motifs, taken from such Quattrocento architects as Alberti. These motifs included rusticated masonry and quoins, windows framed by architraves and doors crowned by pediments, if a building were of several floors the uppermost floor usually had small square windows representing the minor mezzanine floor of the original Renaissance designs. However, the Neo-renaissance style later came to incorporate Romanesque and Baroque features not found in the original Renaissance architecture which was more severe in its design. Like all architectural styles the Neo-Renaissance did not appear overnight fully formed but evolved slowly, one of the very first signs of its emergence was the Würzburg Womens Prison, which was erected in 1809 designed by Peter Speeth. This building foreshadows similar effects in the work of the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson whose work in the Neo-Renaissance style was popular in the USA during the 1880s, richardsons style at the end or the revival era was a severe mix of both Romanesque and Renaissance features. This was exemplified by his Marshall Field Warehouse in Chicago, however, while the beginning of Neo-Renaissance period can be defined by its simplicity and severity, what came between was far more ornate in its design. This period can be defined by some of the opera houses of the Europe, such as Gottfried Sempers Burgtheater in Vienna. This ornate form of the Neo-Renaissance, originating from France, is known as the Second Empire style. By 1875 it had become the style in Europe for all public and bureaucratic buildings. In England, where Sir George Gilbert Scott designed the London Foreign Office in this style between 1860 and 1875, it also incorporated certain Palladian features. In Austria, it was pioneered by such names as Rudolf Eitelberger
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Commerce
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Commerce is the activity of buying and selling of goods and services, especially on a large scale. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural and technological systems that are in operation in any country or internationally, commerce is derived from the Latin commercium, from cum, together, and merx, merchandise. Some commentators trace the origins of commerce to the start of transaction in prehistoric times. Apart from traditional self-sufficiency, trading became a facility of prehistoric people. Historian Peter Watson and Ramesh Manickam dates the history of commerce from circa 150,000 years ago. In historic times, the introduction of currency as a money, facilitated a wider exchange of goods. Numismatists have collections of these tokens, which include coins from some Ancient World large-scale societies. For example, if a man who makes pots for a living needs a new house, he/she may wish to hire someone to build it for him/her. But he/she cannot make an equivalent number of pots to equal this service done for him/her, because if the builder could build the house. During the Middle Ages, commerce developed in Europe by trading luxury goods at trade fairs, wealth became converted into movable wealth or capital. Banking systems developed where money on account was transferred across national boundaries, hand to hand markets became a feature of town life, and were regulated by town authorities. Today commerce includes as a subset a complex system of companies which try to maximize their profits by offering products and services to the market at the lowest production cost
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David (Michelangelo)
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David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo. It is a 5. 17-metre marble statue of a male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a subject in the art of Florence. The eyes of David, with a glare, were turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Galleria dellAccademia, Florence, in 1873, the history of the statue begins before Michelangelos work on it from 1501 to 1504. In 1410 Donatello made the first of the statues, a figure of Joshua in terracotta, a figure of Hercules, also in terracotta, was commissioned from the Florentine sculptor Agostino di Duccio in 1463 and was made perhaps under Donatellos direction. Eager to continue their project, in 1464, the Operai contracted Agostino to create a sculpture of David, a block of marble was provided from a quarry in Carrara, a town in the Apuan Alps in northern Tuscany. Agostino only got as far as beginning to shape the legs, feet and his association with the project ceased, for reasons unknown, with the death of Donatello in 1466, and ten years later Antonio Rossellino was commissioned to take up where Agostino had left off. Rossellinos contract was terminated soon thereafter, and the block of marble remained neglected for 25 years, all the while exposed to the elements in the yard of the cathedral workshop. This was of concern to the Opera authorities, as such a large piece of marble not only was costly but represented a large amount of labour. In 1500, an inventory of the cathedral workshops described the piece as a figure of marble called David, badly blocked out. A year later, documents showed that the Operai were determined to find an artist who could take this piece of marble. They ordered the block of stone, which they called The Giant, raised on its feet so that an experienced in this kind of work might examine it. Though Leonardo da Vinci and others were consulted, it was Michelangelo, only 26 years old, on 16 August 1501, Michelangelo was given the official contract to undertake this challenging new task. He began carving the statue early in the morning on 13 September and he would work on the massive statue for more than two years. They convened a committee of 30 Florentine citizens that comprised many artists, including Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, while nine different locations for the statue were discussed, the majority of members seem to have been closely split between two sites. Another opinion, supported by Botticelli, was that the sculpture should be situated on or near the cathedral. In June 1504, David was installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, replacing Donatellos bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes and it took four days to move the statue the half mile from Michelangelos workshop into the Piazza della Signoria
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Galleria dell'Accademia
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The Galleria dellAccademia di Firenze, or Gallery of the Academy of Florence, is an art museum in Florence, Italy. It is the home of Michelangelos sculpture David and it also has other sculptures by Michelangelo and a collection of Renaissance paintings. It adjoins the Accademia di Belle Arti or academy of arts of Florence. The Galleria dellAccademia was founded in 1784 by Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Galleria dellAccademia has housed the original David by Michelangelo since 1873. The sculpture was brought to the Accademia for reasons of conservation. The original intention was to create a Michelangelo museum, with sculptures and drawings. Today, the small collection of Michelangelos work includes his four unfinished Prisoners, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II. In 1939, these were joined by a Pietà discovered in the Barberini chapel in Palestrina, the David in the Accademia is the original. There is a replica in the Piazza della Signoria, as well as a number of Florentine Gothic paintings, the gallery houses the idiosyncratic collection of Russian icons assembled by the Grand Dukes of the House of Lorraine, of which Leopoldo was one. Media related to Galleria dellAccademia at Wikimedia Commons
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Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze
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The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Benvenuto Cellini and other significant artists have been associated with it. The adjacent Galleria dellAccademia houses the original David by Michelangelo, the Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno, or academy and company of the arts of drawing, was founded on 13 January 1563 by Cosimo I de Medici, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. At first, the Academy met in the cloisters of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, artists including Michelangelo Buonarroti, Lazzaro Donati, Francesco da Sangallo, Agnolo Bronzino, Benvenuto Cellini, Giorgio Vasari, Bartolomeo Ammannati, and Giambologna were members. Most members of the Accademia were male and it was housed in a former convent in via Ricasoli, premises which it still occupies. The Galleria dellAccademia was founded in 1784, it adjoins the Accademia di Belle Arti in via Ricasoli and it has housed the original David by Michelangelo since 1873. List of academies of art in Italy
33.
Giambologna
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Giambologna — born Jean Boulogne — was a Flemish sculptor based in Italy, celebrated for his marble and bronze statuary in a late Renaissance or Mannerist style. Giambologna was born in Douai, Flanders, in 1529, after youthful studies in Antwerp with the architect-sculptor Jacques du Broeucq, he moved to Italy in 1550, and studied in Rome. Giambologna made detailed study of the sculpture of classical antiquity and he was also much influenced by Michelangelo, but developed his own Mannerist style, with perhaps less emphasis on emotion and more emphasis on refined surfaces, cool elegance and beauty. Pope Pius IV gave Giambologna his first major commission, the colossal bronze Neptune, Giambologna spent his most productive years in Florence, where he had settled in 1553. He was interred in a chapel he designed himself in the Santissima Annunziata, Giambologna became well known for a fine sense of action and movement, and a refined, differentiated surface finish. Among his most famous works are the Mercury, poised on one foot, the god raises one arm to point heavenwards, in a gesture borrowed from the repertory of classical rhetoric that is characteristic of Giambolognas maniera. His other most famous work is the Rape of the Sabine Women a marble sculpture which is featured prominently in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florences Piazza della Signoria and this impressive sculpture which includes three full figures was carved from a single piece of marble. Giambologna carved it without a subject in mind, and the name Rape of the Sabine Women was given after it was in place in the Loggia, the sculpture was produced for Francesco Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Another of his marbles, Hercules Slaying a Centaur was also placed in the Loggia dei Lanzi in 1599 and he created allegories strongly promoting Medicean political propaganda, such as Florence defeating Pisa and, less overtly, Samson Slaying a Philistine, for Francesco de Medici. The equestrian statue of Cosimo I de Medici also in Florence, was completed by his studio assistant Pietro Tacca. Giambologna provided as well as sculptures for garden grottos and fountains in the Boboli Gardens of Florence and at Pratolino. For the grotto of the Villa Medicea of Castello he sculpted a series of studies of animals, from life. Small bronze reductions of many of his sculptures were prized by connoisseurs at the time and ever since, italian Art, Florence, Giunti Gruppo Editoriale,2000, ISBN 88-09-01771-4. Giambologna, 1529-1608, sculptor to the Medici, an exhibition organised by the Arts Council of Great Britain etc. catalogue edited by Charles Avery, london, Arts Council of Great Britain,1978, ISBN 0-7287-0180-4. Biography with a portrait on kfki. hu Giambologna on mega. it Model of a River God, archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Archived from the original on 2011-03-12, a Tour of the location of Giambolognas major works in Florence
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Fountain of Neptune, Florence
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The Fountain of Neptune is a fountain in Florence, Italy, situated on the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The fountain was commissioned in 1565 and is the work of the sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati, Ammannati and his assistants, such as Giambologna, were commissioned to design and complete the work on the occasion of the wedding of Francesco I de Medici with Joanna of Austria in 1565. The assignment had first been given to Baccio Bandinelli, who designed the model, the Neptune figure, whose face resembles that of Cosimo I de Medici, was meant to be an allusion to the dominion of the Florentines over the sea. The figure stands on a pedestal in the middle of an octagonal fountain. The pedestal is decorated with the figures of Scylla and Charybdis. The statue of Neptune is a made in the nineteenth century. However, when the work was finished, it was not appreciated in particular by the Florentines, work continued on this fountain during the next ten years. The monumental marble and the dynamic bronzes give nevertheless a coherent impression, the fountain served as an example for future fountain-makers. The fountain has suffered a great deal of damage during the centuries and it was used as a washbasin for laundry at the end of the 16th century. It was vandalized on January 25,1580, a satyr was stolen during the carnival in 1830. It was damaged again by the Bourbon bombardments of 1848, consequently, it has been the object of several restorations and substitutions. On August 4,2005, the statue was the target of three vandals who climbed it, damaging one of the hands and the trident of Neptune, the act was recorded by security cameras. The statue was restored by 2007, since then, security on the fountain has been taken very seriously. In late 2007, the statue was the target of attempted vandalism by four teens, the security cameras and nearby police ensured that no damage came to the fountain again and the four were arrested. As would be expected, the Sea-God, Neptune is a frequent theme for fountains, in Florence, there is another fountain of Neptune is found in the Boboli Gardens, behind the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Giambologna sculpted a statue for the similar fountain in Bologna in the 1560s. Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli created a nearly contemporary fountain in Messina, Sicily
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Marzocco
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The Marzocco is the heraldic lion that is a symbol of Florence, and was apparently the first piece of public secular sculpture commissioned by the Republic of Florence, in the late 14th century. It stood at the heart of the city in the Piazza della Signoria at the end of the attached to the Palazzo Vecchio called the ringhiera. This is now lost, having weathered with time to a mass of stone. The best known rendition is by Donatello, made in 1418–20, donatello’s Marzocco was placed in the Piazza della Signoria in 1812, but in 1885 it was moved to the Bargello, having been replaced by the copy we see to this day. It can be seen in the background of paintings and prints, though by the time it was replaced it was so worn that it was not considered worth keeping. About 1460 it was given a richly sculptural socle with double baluster-like motifs at the corners, the lion is seated and with one paw supports the coat-of-arms of Florence, the fleur de lys called il giglio, the lily. Prisoners of war from Pisa were forced to kiss it in 1364, in the subjected territory of Pisa, when Charles VIII of France entered Sarzana in 1494, the Pisans took the Marzocco, emblem of their subjugation to Florence, and cast it into the Arno. Live lions were kept at the expense from the Middle Ages until they were banished in 1771. At times the Marzocco would be crowned according to a motto by the writer of novelle Franco Sacchetti, Corona porto, per la patria degna and it is sculpted in the fine-grained gray sandstone of Tuscany called pietra serena. The Pope lingered at Florence after leaving the Council of Constance during the Western Schism and this staircase was demolished, perhaps by 1515. The Donatello Marzocco was moved to the Piazza della Signoria in 1812, A crowned Marzocco, emphasizing the independence of Tuscany. Il Marzocco was adopted for the name of a weekly literary review in broadsheet format published in Florence in 1896–1932
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Judith and Holofernes (Donatello)
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The bronze sculpture Judith and Holofernes, created by Donatello at the end of his career, can be seen in the Hall of Lilies, in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. A copy stands in one of the original positions on the Piazza della Signoria. Judith Beheading Holofernes, depicting the climax of the story in the biblical Book of Judith was a subject in art. The statue was commissioned by Cosimo de Medici as a decoration for the fountain in the garden of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. This statue, along with Donatellos David, were positioned together in front of the palace around 1457, although the exact place where these two were displayed is unknown, both of these statues became a symbol for the power Florence possessed. To facilitate the gilding the bronze was cast in 11 parts, the base of the sculpture resembles a cushion, a naturalistic device first used by Donatello for his St. Mark in the Orsanmichele. Intended to function as a fountain, this statue sits on a pedestal with holes for water to flow through. Both Judith and David are underdogs from Old Testament stories, and are seen placed in close proximity in the fresco of Santa Maria Antiqua as well as on Lorenzo Ghibertis East Baptistry Doors. Judith is considered the symbol of liberty, virtue and victory of the weak over the strong in a just cause and she stands powerfully with a raised sword, holding the head of Holofernes by his hair. The statue was gilded, some gilding remains on the sword. Christian symbolism of Judith reveals her actions over Holofernes to be a victory of virtue, particularly concerning self-control, chastity and humility, as opposed to promiscuity and her story in the Power of Women topos depicts the weak overcoming the assumed victor in an effort to protect her home. This is symbolic of the city of Florence, who fought to protect their Republic of Florence from foreign powers, in addition, carved into Holofernes back, is a medallion structured to appear hanging from his neck has been historically known as a symbol of pride. Many scholars believe that in this instance the necklace is direct symbolism of pride evidenced by Psalms 73,6, which states and it is also argued that the statue is meant to be viewed from the side rather than straight on. By viewing from an angle, the emphasis is on Holofernes neck and this would render the inscription Behold the neck of pride served by the hand of humility the most accurately depicted. It is believed that an inscription on the granite pedestal originally read, Kingdoms fall through luxury, Behold the neck of pride severed by the hand of humility. This dramatic and detailed statue is thus a metaphor of the Medici rule, as the defenders of Florentine liberty, akin to Judith, slayer of the tyrant Holofernes and defender of the people. This view is supported by accounts that mention an inscription on the pedestal which read. Piero de Medici son of Cosimo dedicated this statue of a both to liberty and to fortitude, whereby the citizens with unvanquished and constant heart might return to the republic
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Hercules and Cacus
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Hercules and Cacus is a white sculpture to the right of the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy. Although descriptions of its unveiling in 1534 provided verbal and written criticisms of the marble, a few of the writers of these hypercritical verses were imprisoned by Alessandro deMedici, further suggesting a political commentary. The two harshest critics were Giorgio Vasari and Benvenuto Cellini, both of whom were champions of Michelangelo and rivals of Bandinelli for Medici patronage, Vasari lamented the change of hands from Michelangelo to Bandinelli, and the change of design. Cellini referred to the musculature as a sack full of melons. Neither Vasari, nor Cellini can be viewed as unbiased resources due to their rivalries and this marble group shows the basic theme of the victor and the vanquished. The pause suggests the leniency of the Medici to those who would concede to their rule, the commission for the Hercules and Cacus, as mentioned, was appropriated by the pope Clement VII, some time during or before 1523. He was shown a wax bozzetto by Bandinelli, who received the commission, the quarried block of white Carrara marble arrived in Florence in 1525. It has been suggested that the block of marble was not large enough for Bandinellis design and he was to make a new one, however, the reason for the change may have been purely for symbolic reasons. His first design was extremely active and violent, and it is likely that the Medici did not want such a reminder of their brutal return to power. Meanwhile, in Florence, the enemies of the Medici took advantage of the chaos to expel Ippolito de Medici from the city. Vasari stated a change in subject, which is substantiated by a terracotta bozzetto and this was probably to separate the project from the Medici and was allowed due to Bandinelli, as a supporter of the Medici, having to leave the city. In 1530, Emperor Charles V assisted the Medici in retaking possession of Florence after a long siege, pope Clement VII subsequently installed his illegitimate son Alessandro de Medici as duke of Florence. Bandinelli then returned and continued his work on the statue, finally in 1534 the work on the statue was finished transported from his studio to the Piazza della Signoria and placed on its marble pedestal as part of the ringiera. The statue was restored between February 1994 and April 1994 and it was then discovered that the club in the hand of Hercules was not the original club, but was made of aluminum instead of the original bronze
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Bandinelli
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Bartolommeo Bandinelli, actually Bartolommeo Brandini, was a Renaissance Italian sculptor, draughtsman and painter. Bandinelli was the son of a prominent Florentine goldsmith, and first apprenticed in his shop, as a boy, he was apprenticed under Giovanni Francesco Rustici, a sculptor friend of Leonardo da Vinci. Among his earliest works was a Saint Jerome in wax, made for Giuliano de Medici, having counterfeited the key of the chamber. 1512, Piero Soderini was deposed and the, in the tumult, therefore, Baccio, being by himself, secretly cut the cartoon into several pieces. The loss anyhow to the city was no one. Bandinellis lifelong obsession with Michelangelo is a theme in assessments of his career. A brilliant draughtsman and excellent small-scale sculptor, he had a fascination for colossi which he was ill-equipped to execute. His failure as a sculptor on a scale was accentuated by his desire to imitate Michelangelo. Hercules and Cacus was commissioned by the Medici pope Clement VII, the supplied block of Carrara marble was not big enough to execute Bandinellis wax model. He had to make new wax models, one of which was chosen by the pope as the final draft, Bandinelli had already carved the sculpture as far as the abdomen of Hercules, when during the 1527 Sack of Rome, the pope was taken prisoner. Meanwhile, in Florence, republican enemies of the Medici took advantage of the chaos to exile Ippolito de Medici, Bandinelli, a supporter of the Medici, was also exiled. In 1530 Emperor Charles V retook Florence after a long siege, Pope Clement VII subsequently installed his illegitimate son Alessandro de Medici as duke of Tuscany. Bandinelli then returned to Florence and continue work on the statue completed in 1534. But from the moment it was unveiled, it faced ridicule, afterwards, the Bandinelli tried to sabotage Cellinis career. The statue was restored between February and April 1994, Bandinellis drawings, which have in the past masqueraded as Michelangelos in connoisseurs collections, have come into their own in the later twentieth century. Among Bandinellis pupils were Vasari and Francesco de Rossi and his sons Clemente, a collaborator in his studio, and Michelangelo Bandinelli were also sculptors. Baccio Bandinellis works include, copy of Laocoon, at the time in the Cortile del Belvedere, tombs of the Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII in Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Bust of Cosimo I de Medici This had been locked away in a vault in a Swiss bank until a tip led the curator Olga Raggio to its rediscovery
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The Rape of the Sabine Women
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The rape of the Sabine Women is the common name of an incident from Roman mythology, in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of artists, particularly during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras, use of the word rape comes from the conventional translation of the Latin word used in the ancient accounts of the incident, raptio. Modern scholars tend to interpret the word as abduction as opposed to violation, controversy remains, however, as to how the acts committed against the women should be judged. The Rape occurred in the history of Rome, shortly after its founding by Romulus. Seeking wives in order to establish families, the Romans negotiated unsuccessfully with the Sabines, the Sabines feared the emergence of a rival society and refused to allow their women to marry the Romans. Consequently, the Romans planned to abduct Sabine women during a festival of Neptune Equester and they planned and announced a marvelous festival to attract people from all nearby towns. According to Livy, many people from Romes neighboring towns attended, including folk from the Caeninenses, Crustumini, and Antemnates, at the festival, Romulus gave a signal, at which the Romans grabbed the Sabine women and fought off the Sabine men. The indignant abductees were implored by Romulus to accept Roman husbands. Livy says that Romulus offered them free choice and promised civic and this did not include the men being responsible for meeting the needs of the children. Outraged at the occurrence, the king of the Caeninenses entered upon Roman territory with his army, Romulus and the Romans met the Caeninenses in battle, killed their king, and routed their army. Romulus later attacked Caenina and took it upon the first assault, returning to Rome, he dedicated a temple to Jupiter Feretrius and offered the spoils of the enemy king as spolia opima. According to the Fasti Triumphales, Romulus celebrated a triumph over the Caeninenses on 1 March 752 BC, at the same time, the army of the Antemnates invaded Roman territory. The Romans retaliated, and the Antemnates were defeated in battle, according to the Fasti Triumphales, Romulus celebrated a second triumph in 752 BC over the Antemnates. The Crustumini also started a war, but they too were defeated, Roman colonists subsequently were sent to Antemnae and Crustumerium by Romulus, and many citizens of those towns also migrated to Rome. The Sabines themselves finally declared war, led into battle by their king, Tatius almost succeeded in capturing Rome, thanks to the treason of Tarpeia, daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, governor of the citadel on the Capitoline Hill. She opened the city gates for the Sabines in return for what they bore on their arms, instead, the Sabines crushed her to death with their shields, and her body was thrown from a rock known ever since by her name, the Tarpeian Rock. The Romans attacked the Sabines, who now held the citadel, the Roman advance was led by Hostus Hostilius, the Sabine defence by Mettus Curtius. Hostus fell in battle, and the Roman line gave way and they retreated to the gate of the Palatium
40.
Perseus with the Head of Medusa
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Perseus with the Head of Medusa is a bronze sculpture made by Benvenuto Cellini in 1545. The sculpture stands upon on a base with bronze relief panels depicting the story of Perseus and Andromeda. It is located in the Loggia dei Lanzi of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, the second Florentine duke, Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, commissioned the work with specific political connections to the other sculptural works in the piazza. When the piece was revealed to the public on 27 April 1554, Michelangelo’s David, Bandinelli’s Hercules and Cacus, and Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes were already erected in the piazza. The subject matter of the work is the story of Perseus beheading Medusa. Perseus stands naked except for a sash and winged sandals, triumphant on top of the body of Medusa with her head in his raised hand. The body of Medusa spews blood from her severed neck, the bronze sculpture and Medusa’s head turns men to stone and is appropriately surrounded by three huge marble statues of men, Hercules, David and later Neptune. Cellini breathed new life into the visitor through his new use of bronze in Perseus and the head of Medusa. If one examines the sculpture from the back, you can see the self-image of the sculptor Cellini on the backside of Perseus helmet. The sculpture is thought to be the first statue since the age where the base included a figurative sculpture forming an integral part of the work. Cellini was the first to integrate narrative relief into the sculpture of the piazza, as the Perseus was installed in the Loggia, it dominated the dimensions of later pedestals of other sculptural works within the Loggia, like Giambologna’s The Rape of the Sabine. Perseus added to the cast of Olympian gods protecting the Medici, weil-Garris also focuses on the pedestal beneath the sculpture in the round. However, it may not have been Cellini’s original intent, as the relief was still being worked on, the Medici still dominated the theme of the pedestal as Perseus in the pedestal acts as an allegory to Duke Francesco Medici. The politics of the Medici and Florence dominate the Piazza della Signoria, Duke Alessandro I was the first Florentine duke and Hercules and Cacus was revealed during his time and met with terrible reception by the public in 1534. The next sculpture to be revealed was Cellini’s Perseus and Cosimo I was very cautious about the reaction to the piece. Thankfully, the received the sculpture well as Cosimo watched the reception from a window in the Palazzo Vecchio. The third duke is directly related to the relief panel on the base as the Perseus can be seen as an allegory to Duke Francesco and Andromeda as his Habsburg bride. Similarly, Andromeda acts as an allegory to Florence, while Perseus is the collective Medici swooping down to save Florence, Cellini chose to represent the sad side of the story of Andromeda, however he drew focus to the Medici as Perseus saving the somber Andromeda
41.
Benvenuto Cellini
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Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, soldier, musician, and artist who also wrote a famous autobiography and poetry. He was one of the most important artists of Mannerism, Benvenuto Cellini was born in Florence, in present-day Italy. His parents were Giovanni Cellini and Maria Lisabetta Granacci and they were married for eighteen years before the birth of their first child. Benvenuto was the child of the family. At the age of sixteen, Benvenuto had already attracted attention in Florence by taking part in an affray with youthful companions and he was banished for six months and lived in Siena, where he worked for a goldsmith named Fracastoro. From Siena he moved to Bologna, where he became an accomplished flute player. After a visit to Pisa and two periods of living in Florence, he moved to Rome, at the age of nineteen. His first works in Rome were a silver casket, silver candlesticks, and a vase for the bishop of Salamanca, which won him the approval of Pope Clement VII. Another celebrated work from Rome is the medallion of Leda and the Swan executed for the Gonfaloniere Gabbriello Cesarino. He also took up the flute again, and was appointed one of the court musicians. In the attack on Rome by Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, according to his own accounts, he himself shot and injured Philibert of Châlon, prince of Orange. His bravery led to a reconciliation with the Florentine magistrates, from Florence he went to the court of the duke of Mantua, and then back to Florence. On returning to Rome, he was employed in the working of jewellery and in the execution of dies for private medals, in 1529 his brother Cecchino killed a Corporal of the Roman Watch and in turn was wounded by an arquebusier, later dying of his wound. Soon afterward Benvenuto killed his brothers killer – an act of blood revenge, Cellini fled to Naples to shelter from the consequences of an affray with a notary, Ser Benedetto, whom he had wounded. Through the influence of cardinals, Cellini obtained a pardon. He found favor with the new pope, Paul III, notwithstanding a fresh homicide during the three days after the death of Pope Clement VII in September 1534. The fourth victim was a goldsmith, Pompeo of Milan. The plots of Pier Luigi Farnese led to Cellinis retreat from Rome to Florence and Venice, at the age of 37, upon returning from a visit to the French court, he was imprisoned on a charge of having embezzled the gems of the popes tiara during the war
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Flaminio Vacca
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Flaminio Vacca or Vacchi was an Italian sculptor. His self-portrait is conserved in the Protomoteca Capitolina on the Campidoglio, at the Villa Medici the two marble Medici lions flank the staircase, one is Roman, its pendant, made to match it in 1600, was by Flaminio Vacca. In Santa Susanna, the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel have been attributed to him and his pithy numbered anecdotal notes consistently begin Mi ricordo. A modern account of his career is Sergio Lombardi, Flaminio Vacca, in Roma di Sisto V, Le arti e la cultura, Maria Luisa Madonna, ed
43.
Neolithic
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It ended when metal tools became widespread. The Neolithic is a progression of behavioral and cultural characteristics and changes, including the use of wild and domestic crops, the beginning of the Neolithic culture is considered to be in the Levant about 10, 200–8800 BC. It developed directly from the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the region, whose people pioneered the use of wild cereals, which then evolved into true farming. The Natufian period was between 12,000 and 10,200 BC, and the so-called proto-Neolithic is now included in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic between 10,200 and 8800 BC. By 10, 200–8800 BC, farming communities arose in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, not all of these cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic appeared everywhere in the same order, the earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. Early Japanese societies and other East Asian cultures used pottery before developing agriculture, unlike the Paleolithic, when more than one human species existed, only one human species reached the Neolithic. The term Neolithic derives from the Greek νέος néos, new and λίθος líthos, stone, the term was invented by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. In the Middle East, cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing in the 10th millennium BC, early development occurred in the Levant and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Neolithic cultures are attested in southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia by around 8000 BC. The total excavated area is more than 1,200 square yards, the Neolithic 1 period began roughly 10,000 years ago in the Levant. A temple area in southeastern Turkey at Göbekli Tepe dated around 9500 BC may be regarded as the beginning of the period. This site was developed by nomadic tribes, evidenced by the lack of permanent housing in the vicinity. At least seven stone circles, covering 25 acres, contain limestone pillars carved with animals, insects, Stone tools were used by perhaps as many as hundreds of people to create the pillars, which might have supported roofs. Other early PPNA sites dating to around 9500–9000 BC have been found in Jericho, Israel, Gilgal in the Jordan Valley, the start of Neolithic 1 overlaps the Tahunian and Heavy Neolithic periods to some degree. The major advance of Neolithic 1 was true farming, in the proto-Neolithic Natufian cultures, wild cereals were harvested, and perhaps early seed selection and re-seeding occurred. The grain was ground into flour, emmer wheat was domesticated, and animals were herded and domesticated
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Guelphs and Ghibellines
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The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalry between two parties formed a particularly important aspect of the internal politics of medieval Italy. The struggle for power between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire had arisen with the Investiture Controversy, which began in 1075, the division between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Italy, however, persisted until the 15th century. Guelph is an Italian form of the name of the House of Welf, the names were likely introduced to Italy during the reign of Frederick Barbarossa. When Frederick conducted military campaigns in Italy to expand imperial power there, the Lombard League and its allies were defending the liberties of the urban communes against the Emperors encroachments and became known as Guelphs. The Ghibellines were thus the party, while the Guelphs supported the Pope. Broadly speaking, Guelphs tended to come from wealthy mercantile families, the Lombard League defeated Frederick at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. Frederick recognized the autonomy of the cities of the Lombard league under his nominal suzerainty. The division developed its own dynamic in the politics of medieval Italy, smaller cities tended to be Ghibelline if the larger city nearby was Guelph, as Guelph Republic of Florence and Ghibelline Republic of Siena faced off at the Battle of Montaperti,1260. Pisa maintained a staunch Ghibelline stance against her fiercest rivals, the Guelph Republic of Genoa, adherence to one of the parties could therefore be motivated by local or regional political reasons. Within cities, party allegiances differed from guild to guild, rione to rione, moreover, sometimes traditionally Ghibelline cities allied with the Papacy, while Guelph cities were even punished with interdict. Contemporaries did not use the terms Guelph and Ghibellines much until about 1250, at the beginning of the 13th century, Philip of Swabia, a Hohenstaufen, and his son-in-law Otto of Brunswick, a Welf, were rivals for the imperial throne. Philip was supported by the Ghibellines as a relative of Frederick I, Frederick II also introduced this division to the Crusader states in the Levant during the Sixth Crusade. After the death of Frederick II in 1250 the Ghibellines were supported by Conrad IV of Germany and later Manfred, King of Sicily, the Sienese Ghibellines inflicted a noteworthy defeat on Florentine Guelphs at the Battle of Montaperti. In that period the stronghold of Italian Ghibellines was the city of Forlì and that city remained with the Ghibelline factions, partly as a means of preserving its independence, rather than out of loyalty to the temporal power, as Forlì was nominally in the Papal States. Over the centuries, the papacy tried several times to control of Forlì. Essentially the two sides were now fighting either against German influence, or against the power of the Pope. In Florence and elsewhere the Guelphs usually included merchants and burghers and they also adopted peculiar customs such as wearing a feather on a particular side of their hats, or cutting fruit a particular way, according to their affiliation
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Girolamo Savonarola
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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
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Bonfire of the vanities
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A Bonfire of the Vanities is a burning of objects condemned by authorities as occasions of sin. Such bonfires were not invented by Savonarola, but had been a common accompaniment to the sermons of San Bernardino di Siena in the first half of the century. The focus of this destruction was nominally on objects that might tempt one to sin, including vanity items such as mirrors, cosmetics, fine dresses, playing cards, and even musical instruments. Other targets included books that were deemed to be immoral, such as works by Boccaccio, Savonarola campaigned against what he considered to be the artistic and social excesses of Renaissance Italy, preaching with great vigor against any sort of luxury. His power and influence grew so that time he became the effective ruler of Florence. Starting in February 1495, during the time that would normally have hosted the festival known as Carnival and he destroyed the works of Ovid, Propertius, Dante, and Boccaccio. Anyone who tried to found their hands being forced by teams of ardent Savonarola supporters. These supporters called themselves Piagnoni after a nickname that was originally intended as an insult. Savonarola’s influence did not go unnoticed by the church officials, however. He was eventually excommunicated on May 13,1497, Savonarola was executed on May 23,1498, hung on a cross and burned to death. Anyone who failed to do so faced excommunication, writing several centuries later, Orestes Brownson, an apologist for Savonarola, mentions artwork only by Fra Bartolomeo, Lorenzo di Credi, and many other painters, along with several antique statues. Art historian Rab Hatfield argues that one of Botticellis paintings, The Mystical Nativity, is based on the sermon Savonarola delivered on Christmas Eve,1493. The event has been represented or mentioned in varying degrees of detail in a number of works of fiction, including George Eliots Romola. As a metaphor, Tom Wolfe used the event and ritual as the title for his 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities, margaret Atwoods works allude to the Bonfire, as in her dystopian novels The Handmaids Tale, and Oryx and Crake. It is also depicted in the video game Assassins Creed II, book burning The Birth of Venus Bonfire Night Martines, L. Fire in the City, Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence, new York, NY, Oxford University Press. Echoes of Botticelli in Early Modern Sources Explores primary sources related to Botticelli and Savonarola
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Bartolommeo Bandinelli
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Bartolommeo Bandinelli, actually Bartolommeo Brandini, was a Renaissance Italian sculptor, draughtsman and painter. Bandinelli was the son of a prominent Florentine goldsmith, and first apprenticed in his shop, as a boy, he was apprenticed under Giovanni Francesco Rustici, a sculptor friend of Leonardo da Vinci. Among his earliest works was a Saint Jerome in wax, made for Giuliano de Medici, having counterfeited the key of the chamber. 1512, Piero Soderini was deposed and the, in the tumult, therefore, Baccio, being by himself, secretly cut the cartoon into several pieces. The loss anyhow to the city was no one. Bandinellis lifelong obsession with Michelangelo is a theme in assessments of his career. A brilliant draughtsman and excellent small-scale sculptor, he had a fascination for colossi which he was ill-equipped to execute. His failure as a sculptor on a scale was accentuated by his desire to imitate Michelangelo. Hercules and Cacus was commissioned by the Medici pope Clement VII, the supplied block of Carrara marble was not big enough to execute Bandinellis wax model. He had to make new wax models, one of which was chosen by the pope as the final draft, Bandinelli had already carved the sculpture as far as the abdomen of Hercules, when during the 1527 Sack of Rome, the pope was taken prisoner. Meanwhile, in Florence, republican enemies of the Medici took advantage of the chaos to exile Ippolito de Medici, Bandinelli, a supporter of the Medici, was also exiled. In 1530 Emperor Charles V retook Florence after a long siege, Pope Clement VII subsequently installed his illegitimate son Alessandro de Medici as duke of Tuscany. Bandinelli then returned to Florence and continue work on the statue completed in 1534. But from the moment it was unveiled, it faced ridicule, afterwards, the Bandinelli tried to sabotage Cellinis career. The statue was restored between February and April 1994, Bandinellis drawings, which have in the past masqueraded as Michelangelos in connoisseurs collections, have come into their own in the later twentieth century. Among Bandinellis pupils were Vasari and Francesco de Rossi and his sons Clemente, a collaborator in his studio, and Michelangelo Bandinelli were also sculptors. Baccio Bandinellis works include, copy of Laocoon, at the time in the Cortile del Belvedere, tombs of the Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII in Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Bust of Cosimo I de Medici This had been locked away in a vault in a Swiss bank until a tip led the curator Olga Raggio to its rediscovery
