1.
Raphael
–
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. Raphael was enormously productive, running a large workshop and, despite his death at 37. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, the best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings and he was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. Raphael was born in the small but artistically significant central Italian city of Urbino in the Marche region and his poem to Federico shows him as keen to show awareness of the most advanced North Italian painters, and Early Netherlandish artists as well. In the very court of Urbino he was probably more integrated into the central circle of the ruling family than most court painters. Under them, the court continued as a centre for literary culture, growing up in the circle of this small court gave Raphael the excellent manners and social skills stressed by Vasari. Castiglione moved to Urbino in 1504, when Raphael was no longer based there but frequently visited, Raphael mixed easily in the highest circles throughout his life, one of the factors that tended to give a misleading impression of effortlessness to his career. He did not receive a humanistic education however, it is unclear how easily he read Latin. His mother Màgia died in 1491 when Raphael was eight, followed on August 1,1494 by his father, Raphael was thus orphaned at eleven, his formal guardian became his only paternal uncle Bartolomeo, a priest, who subsequently engaged in litigation with his stepmother. He probably continued to live with his stepmother when not staying as an apprentice with a master and he had already shown talent, according to Vasari, who says that Raphael had been a great help to his father. A self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocity and his fathers workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter, and Luca Signorelli, according to Vasari, his father placed him in the workshop of the Umbrian master Pietro Perugino as an apprentice despite the tears of his mother. The evidence of an apprenticeship comes only from Vasari and another source, an alternative theory is that he received at least some training from Timoteo Viti, who acted as court painter in Urbino from 1495. An excess of resin in the varnish often causes cracking of areas of paint in the works of both masters, the Perugino workshop was active in both Perugia and Florence, perhaps maintaining two permanent branches. Raphael is described as a master, that is to say fully trained and his first documented work was the Baronci altarpiece for the church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Città di Castello, a town halfway between Perugia and Urbino. Evangelista da Pian di Meleto, who had worked for his father, was named in the commission
Raphael
–
Presumed Portrait of Raphael
Raphael
–
Self-portrait with a friend (1518 circa),
Louvre,
Paris
Raphael
–
Giovanni Santi, Raphael's father; Christ supported by two angels, c.1490
Raphael
–
The
Mond Crucifixion, 1502–3, very much in the style of
Perugino
2.
Fresco
–
Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
Fresco
–
Fresco in the church Mariä Verkündigung in Fuchstal,
Bavaria, Germany from Thomas Springer
Fresco
–
Fresco
Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican, Rome, Italy.
Fresco
–
Etruscan fresco of Velia Velcha from the
Tomb of Orcus,
Tarquinia.
Fresco
–
Fresco of "
Sappho " from
Pompeii, c. 50 CE.
3.
Apostolic Palace
–
The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, Palace of the Vatican and Vatican Palace, the Vatican itself refers to the building as the Palace of Sixtus V in honor of Pope Sixtus V. The modern tourist can see these last and other parts of the palace, the Scala Regia can be seen into from one end but not entered. In the fifth century, Pope Symmachus built a palace close to the Old St. Peters Basilica which served an alternative residence to the Lateran Palace. The construction of a fortified palace was sponsored by Pope Eugene III. The Vatican Palace had fallen into disrepair from lack of upkeep, in 1447, Pope Nicholas V razed the ancient fortified palace of Eugene III to erect a new building, the current Apostolic Palace. In the 15th century, the Palace was placed under the authority of a prefect and this position of Apostolic Prefect lasted from the 15th century till the 1800s, when the Papal States fell into economic difficulties. In 1884, when this post was reviewed in light of saving money, the major additions and decorations of the palace are the work of the following popes for 150 years. In the 20th century, Pope Pius XI built an art gallery. Construction of the Papal Palace at the Vatican in Vatican City, covering 162, 000m squared, it contains the Papal Apartments, offices of the Roman Catholic Church and Holy See, chapels, Vatican Library, museums and art galleries. The Apostolic Palace is run by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, the palace is more accurately a series of self-contained buildings within the well-recognized outer structure which is arranged around the Courtyard of Sixtus V. It is located northeast of St Peters Basilica and adjacent to the Bastion of Nicholas V, the Apostolic Palace houses both residential and support offices of various functions as well as administrative offices not focused on the life and functions of the Pope himself. Perhaps the best known of the Palace chapels is the Sistine Chapel named in honor of Sixtus IV and it is famous for its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and others. One of the functions of the chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive Pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals. In this closed-door election, the cardinals choose a successor to the first pope, St. Peter and this suite of rooms is famous for its frescos by a large team of artists working under Raphael. They were originally intended as a suite of apartments for Pope Julius II and he commissioned Raphael, then a relatively young artist from Urbino, and his studio in 1508 or 1509 to redecorate the existing interiors of the rooms entirely. It was possibly Julius intent to outshine the apartments of his predecessor Pope Alexander VI and they are on the third floor, overlooking the south side of the Belvedere Courtyard. After the death of Julius in 1513, with two rooms frescoed, Pope Leo X continued the program, following Raphaels death in 1520, his assistants Gianfrancesco Penni, Giulio Romano and Raffaellino del Colle finished the project with the frescoes in the Sala di Costantino
Apostolic Palace
–
A view of the
Papal Apartments from
Saint Peter's Square
Apostolic Palace
–
The Portone di Bronzo at the Vatican Apostolic Palace entrance.
Apostolic Palace
–
A model of the palace in the
Vatican Museums. The buildings are arranged around a central courtyard.
Apostolic Palace
–
Under the patronage of
Julius II, Michelangelo painted the
chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512.
4.
Vatican City
–
Vatican City, officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City, is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares, and a population of 842, however, formally it is not sovereign, with sovereignty being held by the Holy See, the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world. It is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Bishop of Rome – the Pope, the highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. Vatican City is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin. According to the terms of the treaty, the Holy See has full ownership, exclusive dominion, within Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures, the unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, the name is taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. Vatican is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum meaning garden, located in the area the Romans called vaticanus ager. The official Italian name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, although the Holy See and the Catholic Church use Ecclesiastical Latin in official documents, the Vatican City officially uses Italian. The Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanæ, this is used in documents by not just the Holy See. The name Vatican was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for an area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD40, her son, Emperor Caligula built in her gardens a circus for charioteers that was completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis, usually called, simply. Even before the arrival of Christianity, it is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome had long considered sacred. A shrine dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis remained active long after the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby, the particularly low quality of Vatican water, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial. The Vatican Obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis in Egypt to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant and this area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down, opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Peters in the first half of the 4th century, the Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in that cemetery
Vatican City
–
View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome
Vatican City
–
Flag
Vatican City
–
The Vatican
obelisk was originally taken from Egypt by
Caligula.
Vatican City
–
Bands of the British army's 38th Brigade playing in front of St Peter's Basilica, June 1944
5.
Bramante
–
Donato Bramante, born as Donato di Pascuccio dAntonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome and his Tempietto marked the beginning of the High Renaissance in Rome when Pope Julius II appointed him to build a sanctuary over the spot where Peter was allegedly crucified. Bramante was born under the name Donato dAugnolo, Donato di Pascuccio dAntonio, here, in 1467, Luciano Laurana was adding to the Palazzo Ducale an arcaded courtyard and other Renaissance features to Federico da Montefeltros ducal palace. Around 1474, Bramante moved to Milan, a city with a deep Gothic architectural tradition, and built several churches in the new Antique style. The Duke, Ludovico Sforza, made him virtually his court architect, beginning in 1476, space was limited, and Bramante made a theatrical apse in bas-relief, combining the painterly arts of perspective with Roman details. There is a sacristy, surmounted by a dome. In Milan, Bramante also built the tribune of Santa Maria delle Grazie, other works include the Cloisters of SantAmbrogio, Milan. However, in 1499, with his Sforza patron driven from Milan by an invading French army, Bramante made his way to Rome, in Rome, he was soon recognized by Cardinal Della Rovere, shortly to become Pope Julius II. Despite its small scale, the construction has all the proportions and symmetry of Classical structures, surrounded by slender Doric columns. According to an engraving by Sebastiano Serlio, Bramante planned to set it within a colonnaded courtyard. In November 1503, Julius engaged Bramante for the construction of the grandest European architectural commission of the 16th century, the cornerstone of the first of the great piers of the crossing was laid with ceremony on 17 April 1506. Very few drawings by Bramante survive, though some by his assistants do, Bramantes plan envisaged four great chapels filling the corner spaces between the equal transepts, each one capped with a smaller dome surrounding the great dome over the crossing. So Bramantes original plan was much more Romano-Byzantine in its forms than the basilica that was actually built. Bramante also worked on other commissions. Among his earliest works in Rome, before the Basilicas construction was under way, is the cloister of Santa Maria della Pace near Piazza Navona, Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan, ca. Palazzo Caprini, Rome, started around 1510 Leon Battista Alberti Giorgio Vasari Davies, Paul, Bramante, Donato, The Dictionary of Art, Vol. IV, New York, Grove, pp. 642–653, ISBN9781884446009. Bramante, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed. Vol. IV, New York, Charles Scribners Sons,1878, Bramante, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. Vol. IV, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,1911, p.418. Donato Bramante Source Information, Pictures & Documentaries about Donato
Bramante
–
Donato Bramante
Bramante
–
A draft for St Peter's superimposed over a plan of the ancient basilica
Bramante
–
The dome, as planned by Bramante
6.
Euclid
–
Euclid, sometimes called Euclid of Alexandria to distinguish him from Euclides of Megara, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the father of geometry. He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I, in the Elements, Euclid deduced the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, Euclid is the anglicized version of the Greek name Εὐκλείδης, which means renowned, glorious. Very few original references to Euclid survive, so little is known about his life, the date, place and circumstances of both his birth and death are unknown and may only be estimated roughly relative to other people mentioned with him. He is rarely mentioned by name by other Greek mathematicians from Archimedes onward, the few historical references to Euclid were written centuries after he lived by Proclus c.450 AD and Pappus of Alexandria c.320 AD. Proclus introduces Euclid only briefly in his Commentary on the Elements, Proclus later retells a story that, when Ptolemy I asked if there was a shorter path to learning geometry than Euclids Elements, Euclid replied there is no royal road to geometry. This anecdote is questionable since it is similar to a story told about Menaechmus, a detailed biography of Euclid is given by Arabian authors, mentioning, for example, a birth town of Tyre. This biography is generally believed to be completely fictitious, however, this hypothesis is not well accepted by scholars and there is little evidence in its favor. The only reference that historians rely on of Euclid having written the Elements was from Proclus, although best known for its geometric results, the Elements also includes number theory. The geometrical system described in the Elements was long known simply as geometry, today, however, that system is often referred to as Euclidean geometry to distinguish it from other so-called non-Euclidean geometries that mathematicians discovered in the 19th century. In addition to the Elements, at least five works of Euclid have survived to the present day and they follow the same logical structure as Elements, with definitions and proved propositions. Data deals with the nature and implications of information in geometrical problems. On Divisions of Figures, which only partially in Arabic translation. It is similar to a first-century AD work by Heron of Alexandria, catoptrics, which concerns the mathematical theory of mirrors, particularly the images formed in plane and spherical concave mirrors. The attribution is held to be anachronistic however by J J OConnor, phaenomena, a treatise on spherical astronomy, survives in Greek, it is quite similar to On the Moving Sphere by Autolycus of Pitane, who flourished around 310 BC. Optics is the earliest surviving Greek treatise on perspective, in its definitions Euclid follows the Platonic tradition that vision is caused by discrete rays which emanate from the eye. One important definition is the fourth, Things seen under a greater angle appear greater, proposition 45 is interesting, proving that for any two unequal magnitudes, there is a point from which the two appear equal. Other works are attributed to Euclid, but have been lost
Euclid
–
Euclid by
Justus van Gent, 15th century
Euclid
–
One of the oldest surviving fragments of Euclid's Elements, found at
Oxyrhynchus and dated to circa AD 100 (
P. Oxy. 29). The diagram accompanies Book II, Proposition 5.
Euclid
–
Statue in honor of Euclid in the
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
7.
Archimedes
–
Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the scientists in classical antiquity. He was also one of the first to apply mathematics to physical phenomena, founding hydrostatics and statics and he is credited with designing innovative machines, such as his screw pump, compound pulleys, and defensive war machines to protect his native Syracuse from invasion. Archimedes died during the Siege of Syracuse when he was killed by a Roman soldier despite orders that he should not be harmed. Cicero describes visiting the tomb of Archimedes, which was surmounted by a sphere and a cylinder, unlike his inventions, the mathematical writings of Archimedes were little known in antiquity. Archimedes was born c.287 BC in the city of Syracuse, Sicily, at that time a self-governing colony in Magna Graecia. The date of birth is based on a statement by the Byzantine Greek historian John Tzetzes that Archimedes lived for 75 years, in The Sand Reckoner, Archimedes gives his fathers name as Phidias, an astronomer about whom nothing is known. Plutarch wrote in his Parallel Lives that Archimedes was related to King Hiero II, a biography of Archimedes was written by his friend Heracleides but this work has been lost, leaving the details of his life obscure. It is unknown, for instance, whether he married or had children. During his youth, Archimedes may have studied in Alexandria, Egypt and he referred to Conon of Samos as his friend, while two of his works have introductions addressed to Eratosthenes. Archimedes died c.212 BC during the Second Punic War, according to the popular account given by Plutarch, Archimedes was contemplating a mathematical diagram when the city was captured. A Roman soldier commanded him to come and meet General Marcellus but he declined, the soldier was enraged by this, and killed Archimedes with his sword. Plutarch also gives an account of the death of Archimedes which suggests that he may have been killed while attempting to surrender to a Roman soldier. According to this story, Archimedes was carrying mathematical instruments, and was killed because the thought that they were valuable items. General Marcellus was reportedly angered by the death of Archimedes, as he considered him a valuable asset and had ordered that he not be harmed. Marcellus called Archimedes a geometrical Briareus, the last words attributed to Archimedes are Do not disturb my circles, a reference to the circles in the mathematical drawing that he was supposedly studying when disturbed by the Roman soldier. This quote is given in Latin as Noli turbare circulos meos. The phrase is given in Katharevousa Greek as μὴ μου τοὺς κύκλους τάραττε
Archimedes
–
Archimedes Thoughtful by
Fetti (1620)
Archimedes
–
Cicero Discovering the Tomb of Archimedes by
Benjamin West (1805)
Archimedes
–
Artistic interpretation of Archimedes' mirror used to burn Roman ships. Painting by
Giulio Parigi.
Archimedes
–
A sphere has 2/3 the volume and surface area of its circumscribing cylinder including its bases. A
sphere and
cylinder were placed on the tomb of Archimedes at his request. (see also:
Equiareal map)
8.
Italian language
–
By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
Italian language
–
Dante Alighieri (above) and
Petrarch (below) were influential in establishing their
Tuscan dialect as the most prominent literary language in all of
Italy in the
Late Middle Ages
Italian language
–
The geographic distribution of the Italian language in the world: large Italian-speaking communities are shown in green; light blue indicates areas where the Italian language was used officially during the Italian colonial period.
Italian language
Italian language
–
Pietro Bembo was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language from the Tuscan dialect, as a literary medium, codifying the language for standard modern usage
9.
Frescoes
–
Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
Frescoes
–
Fresco in the church Mariä Verkündigung in Fuchstal,
Bavaria, Germany from Thomas Springer
Frescoes
–
Fresco
Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican, Rome, Italy.
Frescoes
–
Etruscan fresco of Velia Velcha from the
Tomb of Orcus,
Tarquinia.
Frescoes
–
Fresco of "
Sappho " from
Pompeii, c. 50 CE.
10.
Italian Renaissance
–
The term Renaissance is in essence a modern one that came into currency in the 19th century, in the work of historians such as Jules Michelet and Jacob Burckhardt. The French word renaissance means Rebirth, and the era is best known for the renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity after the period that Renaissance humanists labeled the Dark Ages. Though today perhaps best known for Italian Renaissance art and architecture, the period saw major achievements in literature, music, philosophy, Italy became the recognized European leader in all these areas by the late 15th century, and to varying degrees retained this lead until about 1600. This was despite a turbulent and generally disastrous period in Italian politics, the European Renaissance began in Tuscany, and centred in the city of Florence. It later spread to Venice, where the remains of ancient Greek culture were brought together, the Renaissance later had a significant effect on Rome, which was ornamented with some structures in the new allantico mode, then was largely rebuilt by humanist sixteenth-century popes. The Italian Renaissance peaked in the century as foreign invasions plunged the region into the turmoil of the Italian Wars. However, the ideas and ideals of the Renaissance endured and spread into the rest of Europe, setting off the Northern Renaissance, the Italian Renaissance is best known for its cultural achievements. Accounts of Renaissance literature usually begin with Petrarch and his friend, famous vernacular poets of the 15th century include the renaissance epic authors Luigi Pulci, Matteo Maria Boiardo, and Ludovico Ariosto. 15th century writers such as the poet Poliziano and the Platonist philosopher Marsilio Ficino made extensive translations from both Latin and Greek, the same is true for architecture, as practiced by Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, Andrea Palladio, and Bramante. Their works include Florence Cathedral, St. Peters Basilica in Rome, yet cultural contributions notwithstanding, some present-day historians also see the era as one of the beginning of economic regression for Italy. By the Late Middle Ages, Latium, the heartland of the Roman Empire. Rome was a city of ancient ruins, and the Papal States were loosely administered, and vulnerable to external interference such as that of France, and later Spain. The Papacy was affronted when the Avignon Papacy was created in southern France as a consequence of pressure from King Philip the Fair of France, in the south, Sicily had for some time been under foreign domination, by the Arabs and then the Normans. Sicily had prospered for 150 years during the Emirate of Sicily, in contrast Northern and Central Italy had become far more prosperous, and it has been calculated that the region was among the richest of Europe. The Crusades had built lasting trade links to the Levant, the main trade routes from the east passed through the Byzantine Empire or the Arab lands and onwards to the ports of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. Luxury goods bought in the Levant, such as spices, dyes, moreover, the inland city-states profited from the rich agricultural land of the Po valley. From France, Germany, and the Low Countries, through the medium of the Champagne fairs, land and river trade routes brought goods such as wool, wheat, and precious metals into the region. The extensive trade that stretched from Egypt to the Baltic generated substantial surpluses that allowed significant investment in mining, thus, while northern Italy was not richer in resources than many other parts of Europe, the level of development, stimulated by trade, allowed it to prosper
Italian Renaissance
–
Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
–
Pandolfo Malatesta (1417–1468), lord of
Rimini, by
Piero della Francesca. Malatesta was a capable
condottiere, following the tradition of his family. He was hired by the
Venetians to fight against the
Turks (unsuccessfully) in 1465, and was patron of
Leone Battista Alberti, whose
Tempio Malatestiano at Rimini is one of the first entirely classical buildings of the Renaissance.
Italian Renaissance
–
Leonardo da Vinci, Italian
Renaissance Man
Italian Renaissance
–
Giulio Clovio,
Adoration of the Magi and
Solomon Adored by the
Queen of Sheba from the Farnese Hours, 1546.
11.
Raphael Rooms
–
The four Raphael Rooms form a suite of reception rooms in the palace, the public part of the papal apartments in the Palace of the Vatican. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop, together with Michelangelos ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, they are the grand fresco sequences that mark the High Renaissance in Rome. The Stanze, as they are called, were originally intended as a suite of apartments for Pope Julius II. He commissioned Raphael, then a young artist from Urbino. It was possibly Julius intent to outshine the apartments of his predecessor Pope Alexander VI and they are on the third floor, overlooking the south side of the Belvedere Courtyard. After the death of Julius in 1513, with two rooms frescoed, Pope Leo X continued the program, following Raphaels death in 1520, his assistants Gianfrancesco Penni, Giulio Romano and Raffaellino del Colle finished the project with the frescoes in the Sala di Costantino. The scheme of the works is as follows, The largest of the rooms is the Sala di Costantino. Its paintings were not begun until Pope Julius and, indeed Raphael himself, had died, the room is dedicated to the victory of Christianity over paganism. Its frescoes represent this struggle from the life of the Roman Emperor Constantine, because they are not by the master himself, the frescos are less famous than works in the neighboring rooms. Continuing a long tradition of flattery, Raphaels assistants gave the features of the current pontiff, Clement VII, the fresco of The Vision of the Cross depicts the legendary story of a great cross appearing to Constantine as he marched to confront his rival Maxentius. The vision in the sky is painted with the words in Greek Εν τούτω νίκα written next to it, the Battle of Milvian Bridge shows the battle that took place on October 28,312, following Constantines vision. The next room, going from East to West, is the Stanza di Eliodoro, painted between 1511 and 1514, it takes its name from one of the paintings. The theme of this private chamber – probably an audience room – was the protection granted by Christ to the Church. The four paintings are, The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, The Mass at Bolsena, The Meeting of Pope Leo I and Attila, Raphaels style changed here from the Stanza della Segnatura. Instead of the images of the Popes library, he had dramatic narratives to portray. The composition is more dramatic than Raphaels earlier frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura. Although the focal point is the figure of the priest at prayer, Heliodorus. At the left Julius II, carried by the Swiss Guard in a chair and his inclusion here refers to his battles to prevent secular leaders from usurping papal territories
Raphael Rooms
–
Adam and Eve, ceiling fresco from the Stanza della Segnatura.
Raphael Rooms
–
Room of the Segnatura: 1.
The School of Athens, 2.
Cardinal and Theological Virtues, 3.
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, 4.
The Parnassus and 5. Ceiling.
Raphael Rooms
Raphael Rooms
12.
Stanza della Segnatura
–
The four Raphael Rooms form a suite of reception rooms in the palace, the public part of the papal apartments in the Palace of the Vatican. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop, together with Michelangelos ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, they are the grand fresco sequences that mark the High Renaissance in Rome. The Stanze, as they are called, were originally intended as a suite of apartments for Pope Julius II. He commissioned Raphael, then a young artist from Urbino. It was possibly Julius intent to outshine the apartments of his predecessor Pope Alexander VI and they are on the third floor, overlooking the south side of the Belvedere Courtyard. After the death of Julius in 1513, with two rooms frescoed, Pope Leo X continued the program, following Raphaels death in 1520, his assistants Gianfrancesco Penni, Giulio Romano and Raffaellino del Colle finished the project with the frescoes in the Sala di Costantino. The scheme of the works is as follows, The largest of the rooms is the Sala di Costantino. Its paintings were not begun until Pope Julius and, indeed Raphael himself, had died, the room is dedicated to the victory of Christianity over paganism. Its frescoes represent this struggle from the life of the Roman Emperor Constantine, because they are not by the master himself, the frescos are less famous than works in the neighboring rooms. Continuing a long tradition of flattery, Raphaels assistants gave the features of the current pontiff, Clement VII, the fresco of The Vision of the Cross depicts the legendary story of a great cross appearing to Constantine as he marched to confront his rival Maxentius. The vision in the sky is painted with the words in Greek Εν τούτω νίκα written next to it, the Battle of Milvian Bridge shows the battle that took place on October 28,312, following Constantines vision. The next room, going from East to West, is the Stanza di Eliodoro, painted between 1511 and 1514, it takes its name from one of the paintings. The theme of this private chamber – probably an audience room – was the protection granted by Christ to the Church. The four paintings are, The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, The Mass at Bolsena, The Meeting of Pope Leo I and Attila, Raphaels style changed here from the Stanza della Segnatura. Instead of the images of the Popes library, he had dramatic narratives to portray. The composition is more dramatic than Raphaels earlier frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura. Although the focal point is the figure of the priest at prayer, Heliodorus. At the left Julius II, carried by the Swiss Guard in a chair and his inclusion here refers to his battles to prevent secular leaders from usurping papal territories
Stanza della Segnatura
–
Adam and Eve, ceiling fresco from the Stanza della Segnatura.
Stanza della Segnatura
–
Room of the Segnatura: 1.
The School of Athens, 2.
Cardinal and Theological Virtues, 3.
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, 4.
The Parnassus and 5. Ceiling.
Stanza della Segnatura
Stanza della Segnatura
13.
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament
–
The Disputation of the Sacrament, or Disputa, is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. At the time, this room was known as the Stanza della Segnatura, in the painting, Raphael has created a scene spanning both heaven and earth. Above, Christ is surrounded by a halo, with the Blessed Virgin Mary, John the Baptist at his right, other various biblical figures such as Adam, Jacob and Moses are to the sides. God the Father sits above Jesus, depicted reigning over the light of heaven. On opposite sides of the Holy Spirit are the four gospels, below, on the altar sits the monstrance. The altar is flanked by theologians who are depicted debating Transubstantiation, pope Sixtus IV is the gold dressed pope in the bottom of the painting. Directly behind Sixtus is Dante, wearing red and sporting a laurel wreath, the bald figure reading a book and leaning over a railing in the left hand corner is Raphaels mentor and Renaissance architect Bramante
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament
–
Disputation of the Sacrament
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament
–
Dante Alighieri.
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament
–
Early works
14.
The Parnassus
–
The Parnassus is a fresco painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael in the Raphael Rooms, in the Palace of the Vatican in Rome, painted at the commission of Pope Julius II. It was probably the second wall of the Stanza della segnatura to be painted, in about 1511, after La disputa and before The School of Athens, which occupy other walls of the room. The whole room shows the four areas of knowledge, philosophy, religion, poetry and law. The fresco shows the mythological Mount Parnassus where Apollo dwells, he is in the playing a instrument, surrounded by the nine muses, nine poets from antiquity. Apollo, along with Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, Raphael used the face of Laocoön from the classical sculpture Laocoön and His Sons, excavated in 1506 and also in the Vatican for his Homer, expressing blindness rather than pain. Two of the figures in the fresco have been said to be reminiscent of Michaelangelos Creation of Adam, Euterpe and Sappho. The window below the fresco Parnassus frames the view of Mons Vaticanus, humanists, such as Biondo, Vegio, and Albertini, refer to the ancient-sun god of the Vatican
The Parnassus
–
The Parnassus
The Parnassus
–
Statius,
Thalia,
Clio,
Euterpe and
Calliope
15.
Masterpiece
–
Historically, a masterpiece was a work of a very high standard produced in order to obtain membership of a guild or academy in various areas of the visual arts and crafts. The word masterpiece probably derives from the Dutch meesterstuk or German meisterstück via loan translation, masterprize was another early variant in English. In English, the term became used in a variety of contexts for an exceptionally good piece of creative work. Originally, the term referred to a piece of work produced by an apprentice or journeyman aspiring to become a master craftsman in the old European guild system. His fitness to qualify for membership was judged partly by the masterpiece, and if he was successful. Great care was taken to produce a fine piece in whatever the craft was, whether confectionery, painting, goldsmithing, knifemaking. In the 17th century, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, for instance, the workhouse had been set up as part of a tightening of standards after the company became concerned that the level of skill of goldsmithing was being diluted. The same goldsmithing organization still requires the production of a masterpiece, if they failed to be admitted, then they could continue to work for other goldsmiths but not as a master themselves. In some guilds, apprentices were not allowed to marry until they had obtained full membership, the practice of producing a masterpiece has continued in some modern academies of art, where the general term for such works is now reception piece. The Royal Academy in London uses the term work and it has acquired a fine collection of diploma works received as a condition of membership. Painting the Century,101 Portrait Masterpieces 1900–2000 Virtual Collection of Masterpieces Masterpieces at the Louvre
Masterpiece
–
In painting, the
Mona Lisa by
Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503–1506, is the archetypal masterpiece, though it was not produced for admission to a guild or academy.
Masterpiece
–
Rinaldo and Armida by
François Boucher. A masterpiece produced for admission to the
Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris, 1734.
16.
Zoroaster
–
Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, Zarathushtra Spitama or Ashu Zarathushtra, was an ancient Iranian prophet whose teachings developed into Zoroastrianism. He inaugurated a movement that became the dominant religion in Ancient Persia. He was a speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian Plateau. Zoroastrianism was already an old religion when first recorded, and it was the religion of Persian Empires. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, most of his life is known from the Zoroastrian texts. Zoroasters name in his language, Avestan, was probably Zaraϑuštra. His English name, Zoroaster, derives from a later Greek transcription, Zōroastrēs, as used in Xanthuss Lydiaca and this form appears subsequently in the Latin Zōroastrēs and, in later Greek orthographies, as Zōroastris. The Greek form of the name appears to be based on a phonetic transliteration or semantic substitution of Avestan zaraϑ- with the Greek zōros, subject then to whether Zaraϑuštra derives from *Zarantuštra- or from *Zaratuštra-, several interpretations have been proposed. If Zarantuštra is the form, it may mean with old/aging camels. With angry/furious camels, from Avestan *zarant-, angry, furious, who is driving camels or who is fostering/cherishing camels, related to Avestan zarš-, to drag. Why this is not so for zaraϑuštra has not yet been determined, notwithstanding the phonetic irregularity, that Avestan zaraϑuštra with its -ϑ- was linguistically an actual form is shown by later attestations reflecting the same basis. All present-day, Iranian-language variants of his name derive from the Middle Iranian variants of Zarϑošt, there is no consensus on the dating of Zoroaster, the Avesta gives no direct information about it, while historical sources are conflicting. Many scholars like Mary Boyce used linguistic and socio-cultural evidence to place Zoroaster between 1500 and 1000 BCE, both texts are considered to have a common archaic Indo-Iranian origin. These scholars suggest that Zoroaster lived in a tribe or composed the Gathas before the 1200–1000 BCE migration by the Iranians from the steppe to the Iranian Plateau. The shortfall of the argument is the comparison, and the archaic language of Gathas does not necessarily indicate time difference. Other scholars propose a period between 7th and 6th century, for example, c, the latest possible date is the mid 6th century, at the time of Achaemenid Empires Darius I, or his predecessor Cyrus the Great. However, in the Avesta it should not be ignored that Vishtaspas son became the ruler of the Persian Empire, the most likely conclusion is that Darius Is father was named in honor of the Zoroastrian patron, indicating probable Zoroastrian faith by Arsames. e. This belief is recorded by Diogenes Laërtius, and variant readings could place it six hundred years before Xerxes I, however, Diogenes also mentions Hermodorus belief that Zoroaster lived five thousand years before the Trojan War, which would mean he lived around 6200 BCE
Zoroaster
–
By the 3rd century, Zoroastrianism and Zoroaster's ideas had spread throughout the Middle East. Zoroaster pointing to the sky.
Zoroaster
–
Zoroaster holds the
celestial sphere in
Raphael 's
School of Athens
Zoroaster
–
Detail of
The School of Athens by
Raphael, 1509, showing Zoroaster (left, with star-studded globe).
Zoroaster
–
Zoroastrian devotional art depicts the religion's founder with white clothing and a long beard
17.
Ptolemy
–
Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek writer, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Koine Greek, beyond that, few reliable details of his life are known. His birthplace has been given as Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid in a statement by the 14th-century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes. This is a very late attestation, however, and there is no reason to suppose that he ever lived elsewhere than Alexandria. Ptolemy wrote several treatises, three of which were of importance to later Byzantine, Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest, although it was entitled the Mathematical Treatise. The second is the Geography, which is a discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika but more known as the Tetrabiblos from the Greek meaning Four Books or by the Latin Quadripartitum. The name Claudius is a Roman nomen, the fact that Ptolemy bore it indicates he lived under the Roman rule of Egypt with the privileges and political rights of Roman citizenship. It would have suited custom if the first of Ptolemys family to become a citizen took the nomen from a Roman called Claudius who was responsible for granting citizenship, if, as was common, this was the emperor, citizenship would have been granted between AD41 and 68. The astronomer would also have had a praenomen, which remains unknown and it occurs once in Greek mythology, and is of Homeric form. All the kings after him, until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, were also Ptolemies, abu Mashar recorded a belief that a different member of this royal line composed the book on astrology and attributed it to Ptolemy. The correct answer is not known”, Ptolemy wrote in Greek and can be shown to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data. He was a Roman citizen, but most scholars conclude that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek and he was often known in later Arabic sources as the Upper Egyptian, suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt. Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his name in Arabic, Ptolemys Almagest is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Ptolemy presented his models in convenient tables, which could be used to compute the future or past position of the planets. The Almagest also contains a catalogue, which is a version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus
Ptolemy
–
Engraving of a crowned Ptolemy being guided by the muse Astronomy, from Margarita Philosophica by
Gregor Reisch, 1508. Although
Abu Ma'shar believed Ptolemy to be one of the
Ptolemies who ruled Egypt after the conquest of
Alexander the title ‘King Ptolemy’ is generally viewed as a mark of respect for Ptolemy's elevated standing in science.
Ptolemy
–
Early
Baroque artist's rendition
Ptolemy
–
A 15th-century manuscript copy of the
Ptolemy world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy's Geography (circa 150), indicating the countries of "
Serica " and "Sinae" (
China) at the extreme east, beyond the island of "Taprobane" (
Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (
Malay Peninsula).
Ptolemy
–
Prima Europe tabula. A C15th copy of Ptolemy's map of Britain
18.
Apelles
–
Apelles of Kos was a renowned painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom we owe much of our knowledge of this artist, rated him superior to preceding and he dated Apelles to the 112th Olympiad, possibly because he had produced a portrait of Alexander the Great. Much of what we know of Apelles is derived from Pliny the Elder and his skill at drawing the human face is the point of a story connecting him with Ptolemy I Soter. Ptolemys jester was suborned by Apelles rivals to convey to the artist a spurious invitation to dine with Ptolemy, apelless unexpected arrival enraged the king. Apelles was a contemporary of Protogenes, whose reputation he advocated, arriving at Protogenes studio, he encountered an old woman who told him that Protogenes was out and asked for his name so she could report who had enquired after him. On seeing this, Protogenes admitted defeat, and went out to seek Apelles, Pliny claims that this very painting had been part of the collection of Julius Caesar, but was destroyed when Caesars mansion on the Palatine Hill burned down. While sketching one of Alexander the Greats concubines, Campaspe, Apelles fell in love with her, as a mark of appreciation for the great painters work, Alexander presented her to him. Apelles is said to have been working on a painting of Aphrodite of Kos when he died, the story occasioning the painting was alleged to have been false accusations by a rival artist that Apelles took part in a conspiracy against Ptolemy. This almost led to the artists execution, in the Renaissance the exemplar of the poetic painting which was invariably cited whenever the art-poetry question was discussed was the Calumny of Apelles, known through Lucians description. Sandro Botticellis panel of Calumny of Apelles was painted in conscious striving to equal the painting in Lucians ekphrasis, the physician and philosopher Sextus Empiricus used Apelles in an analogy for Ataraxia. The skeptical acquisition of ataraxia was likened to the process where Apelles was trying to paint a horse and he wished to represent its foam. He was so unsuccessful that, in a rage, he gave up and threw the sponge he was using to clean his brushes with at the medium, the portraits of Clitus the Black and Archelaus I of Macedon. The procession of the high priest of Artemis at Ephesus, few things are more hopeless than the attempt to realize the style of a painter whose works have vanished. But a great wealth of stories, true or invented, clung to Apelles in antiquity and we are told, for example, that he attached great value to the drawing of outlines, practising every day. The tale is known of his visit to Protogenes. The power of drawing such lines is conspicuous in the decoration of red-figured vases of Athens. Apelles is said to have treated his rival with generosity, for he increased the value of his pictures by spreading a report that he meant to buy them and it was especially in that undefinable quality grace that Apelles excelled. He probably used but a variety of colours, and avoided elaborate perspective, simplicity of design, beauty of line
Apelles
–
Reconstruction of a mosaic depiction of the Battle of Issus after a painting supposed to be by Apelles or
Philoxenus of Eretria found in the
House of the Faun at
Pompeii.
Apelles
–
This mural from
Pompeii is believed to be based on Apelles'
Venus Anadyomene, brought to Rome by
Augustus.
Apelles
–
Alexander the Great and
Campaspe in the studio of Apelles, by
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Apelles
–
In this replica painting by artist Charles Béranger, Appelles is depicted in the center of the auditorium. The Walters Art Museum.
19.
Perugino
–
Pietro Perugino, born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil, Pietro Perugino was born Pietro Vannucci in Città della Pieve, Umbria, the son of Cristoforo Marie Vannucci. Pietros nickname characterizes him as from Perugia, the city of Umbria. Scholars continue to dispute the status of the Vannucci family. While certain academics maintain that Vannucci worked his way out of poverty and his exact date of birth is not known, although, based on his age at the death mentioned by Vasari and Giovanni Santi, he is suspected to be born between 1446 and 1452. Pietro most likely began studying painting in local workshops in Perugia such as those of Bartolomeo Caporali or Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, the date of this first Florentine sojourn is unknown, some make it as early as 1466/1470, others push the date to 1479. According to Vasari, he apprenticed in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio alongside Leonardo da Vinci, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Lorenzo di Credi, Filippino Lippi, piero della Francesca is thought to have taught him perspective form. In 1472 he must have completed his apprenticeship, for he was enrolled as a master in the Confraternity of St Luke, Pietro, although very talented was not extremely enthusiastic about his work. Perugino was one of the earliest Italian practitioners of oil painting, a good specimen of his early style in tempera is the tondo in the Musée du Louvre of the Virgin and Child Enthroned between Saints. Perugino returned from Florence to Perugia, where his Florentine training showed in the Adoration of the Magi for the church of Santa Maria dei Servi of Perugia, in about 1480, he was called to Rome by Sixtus IV to paint fresco panels for the Sistine Chapel walls. The frescoes he executed there included Moses and Zipporah, the Baptism of Christ, pinturicchio accompanied Perugino to Rome, and was made his partner, receiving a third of the profits. He may have some of the Zipporah subject. The Sistine frescoes were the major high Renaissance commission in Rome, the altar wall was also painted with the Assumption, the Nativity, and Moses in the Bulrushes. He had a studio in Florence, and received a great number of commissions. His Pietà in the Uffizi is an uncharacteristically stark work that avoids Peruginos sometimes too easy sentimental piety, in 1499 the guild of the cambio of Perugia asked him to decorate their audience-hall, the Sala delle Udienze del Collegio del Cambio. The humanist Francesco Maturanzio acted as his consultant, on the mid-pilaster of the hall Perugino placed his own portrait in bust-form. It is probable that Raphael, who in boyhood, towards 1496, had been placed by his uncles under the tuition of Perugino, Perugino was made one of the priors of Perugia in 1501. On one occasion Michelangelo told Perugino to his face that he was a bungler in art, Vannucci brought an action for defamation of character, unsuccessfully
Perugino
–
Self-portrait, 1497–1500
Perugino
–
The Delivery of the Keys fresco, 1481–1482,
Sistine Chapel, Rome.
Perugino
–
God the Father and angels by Pietro Perugino on the ceiling of
Stanza dell'Incendio del Borgo
Perugino
–
Pietà, c. 1490.
20.
Timoteo Viti
–
Timoteo Viti, sometimes called Timoteo della Viti or Timoteo da Urbino, was an Italian Renaissance painter, who was closely associated with Raphael, who was fourteen years his junior. Born in Urbino, Viti was the grandson of the painter Antonio Alberti, according to Vasari and Malvasia, Viti was apprenticed to Francesco Francia in Bologna between 1490 and 1495, aspects of Vitis style would seem to confirm an apprenticeship in Bologna. In 1495 he returned to Urbino and replaced Giovanni Santi, the deceased father of Raphael, as painter to the small. He completed paintings of the Muses in the Ducal Palace that Santi had left unfinished, the precocious Raphael, who was eleven at his fathers death, continued to run his fathers workshop with help from his family. It has often speculated that Viti contributed to Raphaels training. In any case they remained friends, and Viti obtained or inherited the most important group of Raphaels studio drawings, drawings have often been disputed between the two artists in the past, and Viti has also been accused of forging some Raphael drawings. In 1503 Viti was painting banners for Cesare Borgia, who had expelled Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro as lord of the city, Guidobaldo regained Urbino in 1504 and Viti, along with Girolamo Genga, was commissioned by Bishop Arrivabene to decorate the chapel of S Martino in the cathedral. He continued to work successfully in the Marches for the rest of the decade, and as far south as Siena, where he and Genga collaborated on paintings in the Palazzo Petrucci in about 1508. Around 1514, Viti formed part of the team assembled by Raphael. It has been suggested that he is depicted in The School of Athens, Raphaels most famous work, standing next to Raphaels self-portrait, in later works he rejected Raphaels influence and looked back to the art of the late 15th century. In his last paintings his style became heavier, possibly as a result of the intervention of pupils. According to Vasari, Timoteo was an artist, a poet, and he was also politically active in Urbino. He served as magistrate in 1508 and chief magistrate in 1513, media related to Timoteo Viti at Wikimedia Commons
Timoteo Viti
–
St. Thomas Becket and
St. Martin of Tours with Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Arrivabene
Timoteo Viti
–
A possible portrait of Viti at the far right of this detail from Raphael's
The School of Athens:
Strabo or
Zoroaster,
Ptolemy, Raphael as
Apelles and
Perugino or Timoteo Viti as
Protogenes
21.
Tondo (art)
–
A tondo is a Renaissance term for a circular work of art, either a painting or a sculpture. The word derives from the Italian rotondo, round, artists have created tondi since Greek antiquity. The circular paintings in the centre of painted vases of that period are known as tondi, the style was revived in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, particularly in Italy, where it may have developed from the smaller desco da parto or birthing tray. Since then it has been less common, in Ford Madox Browns painting The Last of England, the ships wire railing curving round the figures helps enclose the composition within its tondo shape. The background scene is consolidated or omitted, and to an extent, unimportant. While the background may be visible in paintings, in tondo relief carvings the background is not seen. Andrea della Robbia and other members of his family created glazed terracotta tondi that were framed in a wreath of fruit and leaves. In the sixteenth century the style of istoriato decoration for maiolica wares was applied to large circular dishes. The infrequently-encountered synonym rondo much more usually refers to a musical form, adoration of the Magi Taddei Tondo Doni Tondo Pitti Tondo Severan Tondo, Roman painting of c.200 AD Roberta J. M. Olson, The Florentine Tondo, Oxford 2000. Moritz Hauptmann, Der Tondo, Ursprung, Bedeutung und Geschichte des italienischen Rundbildes in Relief und Malerei, six tondi from the National Gallery, London
Tondo (art)
–
Tondo by
Andrea della Robbia
Tondo (art)
–
Madonna of the Pomegranate c. 1487 by
Sandro Botticelli. Tempera on panel. 143.5 cm diameter (
Uffizi)
Tondo (art)
–
Taddei Tondo, a
relief sculpture by
Michelangelo in the
Royal Academy, London.
22.
Aristotle
–
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, at seventeen or eighteen years of age, he joined Platos Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many of his hundreds of books and he believed all peoples concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotles views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works, Aristotles views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, some of Aristotles zoological observations, such as on the hectocotyl arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic. Aristotle was well known among medieval Muslim intellectuals and revered as The First Teacher and his ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotles philosophy continue to be the object of academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues – Cicero described his style as a river of gold – it is thought that only around a third of his original output has survived. Aristotle, whose means the best purpose, was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice. His father Nicomachus was the physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Aristotle was orphaned at a young age, although there is little information on Aristotles childhood, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Platos Academy and he remained there for nearly twenty years before leaving Athens in 348/47 BC. Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor, there, he traveled with Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island. Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermiass adoptive daughter or niece and she bore him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias. Soon after Hermias death, Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343 BC, Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave not only to Alexander
Aristotle
–
Roman copy in marble of a Greek bronze bust of Aristotle by
Lysippus,
c. 330 BC. The
alabaster mantle is modern.
Aristotle
–
Aristotelianism
Aristotle
–
School of Aristotle in
Mieza,
Macedonia, Greece
Aristotle
–
"Aristotle" by
Francesco Hayez (1791–1882)
23.
Timaeus (dialogue)
–
Timaeus is one of Platos dialogues, mostly in the form of a long monologue given by the title character Timaeus of Locri, written c.360 BC. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world, participants in the dialogue include Socrates, Timaeus, Hermocrates, and Critias. Some scholars believe that it is not the Critias of the Thirty Tyrants who is appearing in this dialogue, but his grandfather and it has been suggested that Timaeus influenced a book about Pythagoras, written by Philolaus. The dialogue takes place the day after Socrates described his ideal state, in Platos works such a discussion occurs in the Republic. Hermocrates wishes to oblige Socrates and mentions that Critias knows just the account to do so, Critias proceeds to tell the story of Solons journey to Egypt where he hears the story of Atlantis, and how Athens used to be an ideal state that subsequently waged war against Atlantis. Critias believes that he is getting ahead of himself, and mentions that Timaeus will tell part of the account from the origin of the universe to man, the history of Atlantis is postponed to Critias. The main content of the dialogue, the exposition by Timaeus, Timaeus begins with a distinction between the physical world, and the eternal world. The physical one is the world changes and perishes, therefore it is the object of opinion. The eternal one never changes, therefore it is apprehended by reason, the speeches about the two worlds are conditioned by the different nature of their objects. Indeed, a description of what is changeless, fixed and clearly intelligible will be changeless and fixed, while a description of changes and is likely, will also change. As being is to becoming, so is truth to belief, therefore, in a description of the physical world, one should not look for anything more than a likely story. Timaeus suggests that since nothing becomes or changes without cause, then the cause of the universe must be a demiurge or a god, and since the universe is fair, the demiurge must have looked to the eternal model to make it, and not to the perishable one. Hence, using the eternal and perfect world of forms or ideals as a template, he set about creating our world, Timaeus continues with an explanation of the creation of the universe, which he ascribes to the handiwork of a divine craftsman. The demiurge, being good, wanted there to be as good as was the world. The demiurge is said to bring out of substance by imitating an unchanging. The ananke, often translated as necessity, was the only other co-existent element or presence in Platos cosmogony, later Platonists clarified that the eternal model existed in the mind of the Demiurge. Timaeus describes the substance as a lack of homogeneity or balance, in which the four elements were shapeless, mixed, considering that order is favourable over disorder, the essential act of the creator was to bring order and clarity to this substance. Therefore, all the properties of the world are to be explained by the choice of what is fair and good, or
Timaeus (dialogue)
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Plato from
The School of Athens by
Raphael, 1509
Timaeus (dialogue)
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Plato 's
Atlantis described in Timaeus and
Critias
Timaeus (dialogue)
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Medieval manuscript of Calcidius' Latin Timaeus translation.
24.
Pope Julius II
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Pope Julius II, nicknamed The Fearsome Pope and The Warrior Pope, born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1 November 1503 to his death in 1513. In addition to a military policy, he personally led troops into battle on at least two occasions. There is disagreement about Juliuss year of birth, for some sources put it as late as 1453, Giuliano della Rovere was the son of Rafaello della Rovere. Francesco della Rovere was his uncle and he was educated among the Franciscans by his uncle, who took him under his special charge and later sent him to a Franciscan friary in Perugia with the purpose of obtaining knowledge of the sciences. After his uncle was elected Pope Sixtus IV, della Rovere was promoted to be cardinal, taking the title as that formerly held by his uncle. With his uncle he obtained great influence, and in addition to the archbishopric of Avignon he held no fewer than eight bishoprics, including Lausanne from 1472. In June 1474, della Rovere led an army to Todi and Spoleto, around this time, in 1483, an illegitimate daughter was born, Felice della Rovere. Della Rovere, jealous and angry, accused Borgia of being elected over him, in 1494 he joined Charles VIII of France who was undertaking a military expedition into Italy. This was, in Andrew Greeleys view, almost certainly by means of bribery with money, but also, per Ott, Ullman, and Hughes, with promises. Giuliano Della Rovere thenceforth took the name of his fourth century predecessor, Julius I, indeed, on the day of his election, he declared I will not live in the same rooms as the Borgias lived. He desecrated the Holy Church as none before and he usurped the papal power by the devils aid, and I forbid under the pain of excommunication anyone to speak or think of Borgia again. His name and memory must be forgotten and it must be crossed out of every document and memorial. All paintings made of the Borgias or for them must be covered over with black crepe, all the tombs of the Borgias must be opened and their bodies sent back to where they belong—to Spain. The Borgias apartments remained sealed until the 19th Century, the combination was, however, at first little more than nominal, and was not immediately effective in compelling the Venetians to deliver up more than a few unimportant places in the Romagna. With a campaign in 1506, he led an army to Perugia and Bologna. The refusal of Pope Clement VII to grant the annulment led to the English Reformation, the same year, he founded the Swiss Guard to provide a constant corps of soldiers to protect the Pope. On Palm Sunday,1507, Julius II entered Rome, both as a second Julius Caesar, heir to the majesty of Romes imperial glory, and in the likeness of Christ, whose vicar the pope was, and who in that capacity governed the universal Roman Church. Julius, who modelled himself after his namesake Caesar, would lead his army across the Italian peninsula under the imperial war-cry
Pope Julius II
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Portrait of Pope Julius II by
Raphael
Pope Julius II
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Giuliano della Rovere (left, future Julius II), and Julius II's future
cardinal-nephew,
Clemente della Rovere (right), who safeguarded Giuliano's affairs while he fled to France following a dispute with Alexander VI.
Pope Julius II
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Giulliano della Rovere, as cardinal (left), with uncle and patron Francesco della Rovere, Pope Sixtus IV (right).
Pope Julius II
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Leonardo Grosso della Rovere, the fourth
cardinal-nephew of Julius II accompanied him on his military campaigns in
Bologna and
Perugia, and served as his ambassador to France
25.
Duke of Mantua
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The Duke of Mantua was the ruler of the Lombard Duchy of Mantua, held by the Gonzaga family from 1328 to 1708. The Gonzaga family ruled initially as Captains General of the People until 1433, in 1530, Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the acquired the vacant Marquisate of Montferrat through marriage. Montferrats territories were ceded to the Duke of Savoy, the emperor compensated the Duke of Lorraine, heir in the female line of the Gonzaga, for the loss of Montferrat by ceding the Duchy of Teschen to the Lorraine. List of rulers of Mantua, 984-1708 A complete genealogical tree of the House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga, heirs to the sovereign marquessate of Mantua I Gonzaga di Mantova
Duke of Mantua
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Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Duke of Mantua
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Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
26.
Evangelism
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Evangelism is the preaching of the gospel or the practice of proselytizing a particular doctrine or set of beliefs to others with the intention of converting others to the Christian faith. Some Christian traditions consider evangelists to be in a leadership position, Christian groups who actively encourage evangelism are sometimes known as evangelistic or evangelist. The scriptures do not use the word evangelism, but evangelist is used in Acts 21,8, Ephesians 4,11, and 2 Timothy 4,5. The word evangelist comes from the Koine Greek word εὐαγγέλιον via Latinised evangelium as used in the titles of the Four Gospels, authored by Matthew, Mark, Luke. The Greek word εὐαγγέλιον originally meant a reward given to the messenger for good news, the verb form of euangelion, occurs rarely in older Greek literature outside the New Testament, making its meaning more difficult to ascertain. Parallel texts of the Gospels of Luke and Mark reveal a relationship between the verb euangelizo and a Greek verb kerusso, which means to proclaim. While evangelism is usually regarded as converting non-Christians to Christianity, this is not always the proper usage of the word, if converting to Christianity includes services or material benefits, evangelism is called proselytism. Different denominations follow different theological interpretations which reflect upon the point of who is doing the actual conversion, calvinists, for example, believe the soul is converted only if the Holy Spirit is effective in the act. Catholic missionary work in Russia is commonly seen as evangelism, not proselytism and it is entrance into the gift of communion with Christ. In recent history, certain Bible passages have been used to promote evangelism, breaking from tradition and going beyond television and radio a wide range of methods have been developed to reach people not inclined to attend traditional events in churches or revival meetings. Dramas such as Heavens Gates, Hells Flames have gained popularity since the 1980s. These dramas typically depict characters who die and learn whether they will go to heaven or hell. The child evangelism movement is a Christian evangelism movement that originated in the 20th century and it focuses on the 4/14 Window which centers on evangelizing children between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. Other entertainment-based Christian evangelism events include comedy, live theater and music, the Christian music industry has also played a significant role in modern evangelism. Evangelists such as Reinhard Bonnke conduct mass evangelistic crusades around the world, sometimes, the regular minister of a church is called a preacher in a way that other groups would typically use the term pastor. The evangelist in some churches is one that travels from town to town and from church to church, many Christians of various theological perspectives would call themselves evangelists because they are spreaders of the gospel. Many churches believe one of their functions is to function as evangelists to spread the evangelist belief that Jesus is savior of humanity. The title of evangelist is often associated with those who lead large meetings like those of Billy Graham, Luis Palau, pérez possibly in tents or existing church buildings, or those who address the public in street corner preaching, which targets listeners who happen to pass nearby
Evangelism
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The Four Evangelists
Evangelism
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Billy Graham in
Düsseldorf (1954)
27.
Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
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Not to be confused with his son Cardinal Federico Gonzaga. Federico II of Gonzaga was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1519 until his death and he was also Marquis of Montferrat from 1536. He was a son of his predecessor Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, Federico Gonzaga was crowned Marquis Mantua on 3 April 1519, initially under the regency of his mother and his uncles Sigismondo and Giovanni Gonzaga. He received the imperial investiture from emperor Charles V on April 7,1521, frederick therefore did not intervene when the Imperial troops passed through his lands in 1527, indirectly causing the subsequent Sack of Rome. But when Boniface seemed to recover, he set up a plot on the part of Maria against Fredericks mistress, Isabella Boschetti. Frederick then signed another contract with Charles Vs third cousin. In lieu of this move, in 1530 he was granted the ducal title, when Maria also died, he was able to marry her sister Margaret on November 16,1531. At the death of the last legitimate heir of the Palaiologos family, Giovanni Giorgio, the marquisate of Montferrat passed to the Gonzaga. Frederick commissioned the Palazzo Te, designed and decorated by Giulio Romano, having suffered long from syphilis, which he had inherited from his father, he died in 1540 at his villa at Marmirolo. His son Francesco briefly held the title of 2nd Duke of Mantua before dying in his teens, frederick and Margaret were parents to seven children, Eleonora Gonzaga. Francesco III Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, married Archduchess Eleanor of Austria Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers. Father of Charles I, Duke of Mantua, Sack of Rome Italian Wars Coniglio, Giuseppe. La Zecca di Mantova e Casale
Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
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Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga by
Titian
Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
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Federico II soon after becoming a hostage, by
Francesco Francia
28.
Zeno of Citium
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Zeno of Citium was a Hellenistic thinker from Citium, Cyprus, and probably of Phoenician descent. Zeno was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC, based on the moral ideas of the Cynics, Stoicism laid great emphasis on goodness and peace of mind gained from living a life of Virtue in accordance with Nature. It proved very successful, and flourished as the dominant philosophy from the Hellenistic period through to the Roman era, Zeno was born c.334 BC, in Citium in Cyprus. Most of the details known about his life come from the anecdotes preserved by Diogenes Laërtius in his Lives, Diogenes relates a legend that Zeno was a merchant, after surviving a shipwreck, Zeno wandered into a bookshop in Athens and was attracted to some writings about Socrates. He asked the librarian how to find such a man, in response, the librarian pointed to Crates of Thebes, the most famous Cynic living at that time in Greece. Zeno is described as a haggard, tanned person, living a spare and this coincides with the influences of Cynic teaching, and was, at least in part, continued in his Stoic philosophy. From the day Zeno became Crates’s pupil, he showed a bent for philosophy. As Zeno began to run off in embarrassment with the lentil-soup flowing down his legs, Crates chided Why run away, apart from Crates, Zeno studied under the philosophers of the Megarian school, including Stilpo, and the dialecticians Diodorus Cronus, and Philo. He is also said to have studied Platonist philosophy under the direction of Xenocrates, Zeno began teaching in the colonnade in the Agora of Athens known as the Stoa Poikile in 301 BC. His disciples were initially called Zenonians, but eventually came to be known as Stoics. Among the admirers of Zeno was king Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia, Zeno is said to have declined an invitation to visit Antigonus in Macedonia, although their supposed correspondence preserved by Laërtius is undoubtedly the invention of a later rhetorician. Zeno instead sent his friend and disciple Persaeus, who had lived with Zeno in his house, among Zenos other pupils there were Aristo of Chios, Sphaerus, and Cleanthes who succeeded Zeno as the head of the Stoic school in Athens. Zeno is said to have declined Athenian citizenship when it was offered to him, fearing that he would appear unfaithful to his native land, Diogenes Laërtius has preserved many clever and witty remarks by Zeno, the veracity of which cannot be ascertained. Laërtius reports about his death, As he was leaving the school he tripped and fell, striking the ground with his fist, he quoted the line from the Niobe, I come, I come, why dost thou call for me. And died on the spot through holding his breath, during his lifetime, Zeno received appreciation for his philosophical and pedagogical teachings. Among other things, Zeno was honored with the crown. The crater Zeno on the Moon is named in his honor, because Zenos ideas were later expanded upon by Chrysippus and other Stoics it can be difficult to determine precisely what he thought. But his general views can be outlined as follows, In his treatment of Logic, Zeno was influenced by Stilpo, Zeno urged the need to lay down a basis for Logic because the wise person must know how to avoid deception
Zeno of Citium
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Zeno of Citium
Zeno of Citium
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Modern bust of Zeno in Athens
Zeno of Citium
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Zeno, portrayed as a medieval scholar in the
Nuremberg Chronicle
29.
Epicurus
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Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters of Epicuruss 300 written works remain, much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators. As a boy, he studied philosophy for four years under the Platonist teacher Pamphilus, at the age of eighteen, he went to Athens for his two-year term of military service. The playwright Menander served in the same age-class of the ephebes as Epicurus, after the death of Alexander the Great, Perdiccas expelled the Athenian settlers on Samos to Colophon, on the coast of what is now Turkey. After the completion of his service, Epicurus joined his family there. He studied under Nausiphanes, who followed the teachings of Democritus, in 311/310 BC Epicurus taught in Mytilene but caused strife and was forced to leave. He then founded a school in Lampsacus before returning to Athens in 306 BC where he remained until his death, even though many of his teachings were heavily influenced by earlier thinkers, especially by Democritus, he differed in a significant way with Democritus on determinism. Epicurus would often deny this influence, denounce other philosophers as confused, Epicurus never married and had no known children. He was most likely a vegetarian, for I have been attacked by a painful inability to urinate, and also dysentery, so violent that nothing can be added to the violence of my sufferings. But the cheerfulness of my mind, which comes from the recollection of all my philosophical contemplation, and I beg you to take care of the children of Metrodorus, in a manner worthy of the devotion shown by the young man to me, and to philosophy. Epicurus school, which was based in the garden of his house and thus called The Garden, had a small and his school was the first of the ancient Greek philosophical schools to admit women as a rule rather than an exception. An inscription on the gate to The Garden is recorded by Seneca in epistle XXI of Epistulae morales ad Lucilium, Stranger, here you will do well to tarry, here our highest good is pleasure. Epicurus emphasised friendship as an important ingredient of happiness, and the school resembled in many ways a community of living together. However, he instituted a hierarchical system of levels among his followers. He was a key figure in the Axial Age, the period from 800 BC to 200 BC, during which, according to Karl Jaspers, similar thinking appeared in China, India, Iran, the Near East, and Ancient Greece. Epicuruss teachings represented a departure from the other major Greek thinkers of his period, and before, like Democritus, he was an atomist, believing that the fundamental constituents of the world were indivisible little bits of matter flying through empty space. Everything that occurs is the result of the atoms colliding, rebounding and his theory differs from the earlier atomism of Democritus because he admits that atoms do not always follow straight lines but their direction of motion may occasionally exhibit a swerve. This allowed him to avoid the implicit in the earlier atomism
Epicurus
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Roman marble bust of Epicurus
Epicurus
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Bust of Epicurus leaning against his disciple
Metrodorus in the
Louvre Museum
Epicurus
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Small bronze bust of Epicurus from
Herculaneum. Illustration from Baumeister, 1885
Epicurus
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Epicurus,
Nuremberg Chronicle
30.
Boethius
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Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius, was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early 6th century. Boethius was born in Rome to a family around 480 AD. His family, the Anicii, included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and his father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in 487, died while Boethius was young. Another patrician, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, adopted and raised Boethius, instilling in him a love for literature and philosophy. Both Memmius Symmachus and Boethius were fluent in Greek, a rare skill at the time in the Western Empire, for this reason. The French scholar Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at Alexandria with the Neo-Platonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae, on account of his erudition, Boethius entered the service of Theodoric the Great at a young age and was already a senator by the age of 25. Boethius married his foster-fathers daughter, Rusticiana, their children included two boys, Symmachus and Boethius. In 522, the year his two sons were appointed joint consuls, Boethius accepted the appointment to the position of magister officiorum. This may have set in place a course of events that would lead to loss of royal favour, five hundred years later, this continuing disagreement led to the East-West Schism in 1054, in which communion between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church was broken. In 523 Boethius fell from power, after a period of imprisonment in Pavia for what was deemed a treasonable offence, he was executed in 524. The primary sources are in agreement over the facts of what happened. At a meeting of the Royal Council in Verona, the referandarius Cyprianus accused the ex-consul Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus of treasonous correspondence with Justin I. Boethius leapt to his defense, crying, The charge of Cyprianus is false, but if Albinus did that, so also have I, Cyprianus then also accused Boethius of the same crime, and produced three men who claimed they had witnessed the crime. First the pair were detained in the baptistery of a church, then Boethius was exiled to the Ager Calventianus, a distant country estate, the basic facts in the case are not in dispute, writes Jeffrey Richards. What is disputed about this sequence of events is the interpretation that should be put on them, Boethius claims his crime was seeking the safety of the Senate. He describes the three witnesses against him as dishonorable, Basilius had been dismissed from Royal service for his debts, while Venantius Opilio, however, other sources depict these men in a far more positive light. For example, Cassiodorus describes Cyprianus and Opilio as utterly scrupulous, just and loyal and mentions they are brothers, Theodoric was feeling threatened by international events. The Acacian Schism had been resolved, and the Nicene Christian aristocrats of his kingdom were seeking to renew their ties with Constantinople, the Catholic Hilderic had become king of the Vandals and had put Theodorics sister Amalafrida to death, and Arians in the East were being persecuted
Boethius
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Boethius teaching his students (
initial in a 1385 Italian manuscript of the Consolation of Philosophy.)
Boethius
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Boethius imprisoned (from 1385 manuscript of the Consolation).
Boethius
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Narius Manlius Boethius, father of Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius
Boethius
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Lady Philosophy and Boethius from the Consolation, (Ghent, 1485)
