You are on page 1of 64

Lorenzo de Medici (1449-1492)

Lorenzo il Magnifico
r. 1469-1492

Florentine Humanism and Neoplatonism

Petrarch (1304-1374)
Humanism, the collection, translation, and
dissemination of classical Greek and Roman texts
Marsilio Ficino (1453-1499)
Catholic priest
Tutor of Lorenzo de Medici
Translated Plato from Greek to Latin
D. Ghirlandaio
Plato: Man moves up based on his
1486-1490
choice of right or wrong
,
Ancient values were important and worthy of
respect, an ethical basis for the life of a Christian
Ficino accepted the idea of merging Platonism and
Christianity
Tried for heresy

Michelangelo, Doni Tondo, 1504-1506


Intertwined figures, possible response to Leonardo
Paragone Sculpture vs Painting
What was Michelangelos opinion?
How would the Church interpret this painting?
How would Ficino interpret it?

Revival of Papacy and Rome


March 19, 2015

Some Comments on Biographers of Artists


Certain traits are required for artistic creation
Stereotyped notions are linked to artists and influence
our view of what an artist is.
The same themes occur over and over
A great artist is unique
Early events in the artists life are premonitory.
According to the Historia Naturalis (34:61) of Pliny the
Elder, Lysippus
Had no teacher
Learned from nature
Kris & Kurz, Legend, Myth, and Magic in the Image of the
Artist, 1979

Ascanio Condivi (c. 1525 1574)


1550 1554 Pupil of
Michelangelo
Lived in his house, talked to
him, He confided in me.
1553 - Life of Michelagnolo
Buonarroti
Two printings
First printing: 16 marginal
notes with corrections of
errors and omissions
Made a case for aristocratic
heritage of Michelangelo as a
descendent of the Counts of
Canossa (doubtful)

Giorgio Vasari (1511 1574)

Father of art history

First version 1550


Second version -- 1568

The Lives of the most Excellent


Painters, Sculptors, and
Architects, Written by Giorgio
Vasari, Painter and Architect of
Arezzo

Sources: The Medici,


Contemporaries, Paolo Giovio,
Associates of Ghirlandaio

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

Through the Eyes of Vasari


Gift from God
Divinely inspired
Natural love for drawing
and sculpting
Early efforts perfect
Surpassed his master
No other sculptor surpassed
Michelangelo
Jacopo del Conte
Portrait of Michelangelo, c. 1540
34.6 x 25.2
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pope Julius II
(1443-1513)
(r. 1503-1513)

Raphael, Portrait of Pope Julius II


1511, National Gallery, London

Giuliano Della Rovere


Son of the only brother of
Pope Sixtus IV, who
built the Sistine Chapel
Terribilita and temper
Get out of my sight and go
to the devil.
War leader
Enlarged the Papal States
Julius Caesar
Art lover, High Renaissance
Owned the Apollo Belvedere
Bramante, New St. Peters
1506 - Cornerstone of New St.
Peters
Michelangelo and Raphael

Donato Bramante (c. 1444 1514)

Native of Urbino
Worked for Sforzas in Milan
Acquainted with Leonardo da Vinci
1502 Tempietto, Site of St.
Peters Crucifixion in the Circus
of Nero
Chief Architect of Julius II and
general superintendent of papal
construction
1506 New Basilica of St. Peter

Bramante
Tempietto
San Pietro in
Montorio
Rome, 1502-1511
Built on the site of
Peters crucifixion

Temple of Hercules Victor, Late 2nd century BCE


Rome

Martyrdom of St. Peter


One of the 12 apostles
First pope & first Bishop
of Rome
Crucified under Nero at
spina (center) Neros Circus
Interred in a mausoleum in
a cemetery at the northern
end of the circus

L. C. Hudec. Recent
Excavations under St. Peters
Basilica in Rome.
Journal of Bible and Religion 20
(Jan. 1952).

Michelangelo, Crucifixion of St. Peter


1546-1550, Vatican Palace, Vatican City

Old St. Peters, 3rd century, Rome

1506 -- Bramante: plan for new St. Peters

Basilica Large important church given special


ceremonial rights by the Pope. The pope is Bishop of Rome.
The Archbasilica St. John Lateran is the popes bishops seat.
Clearing the old St. Peters began in 1452
and new St. Peters occupies its place

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

Pride, descended from


Counts of Canossa
Terribilita, temper
Lived with Lorenzo de
Medici the Magnificent
Corrected others, at 17
had his nose broken by
Torrigiani
Little respect for nobles
and the Pope
Insisted on appropriate
payment

Daniele Da Volterra
Portrait Bust of Michelangelo
Buonarroti 1545, Bargello

Tomb of Julius II

Plan of 1506
Intended for St. Peters
Michelangelos ideas
Colossal
23 6 x 35 6
Free-standing
Very Roman
Funerary monument
Pretensions of Julius
1st: Victories with
male nudes (6/16 were
begun)
2nd: Moses, Paul, active,
contemplative
3rd: Image of Julius? Two
angels carrying a
sarcophagus?

Tomb of Julius II, Plan of 1513

Tomb of Julius II (1505 and 1513 plans)

Tomb of Julius II
San Pietro in Vincoli
(St. Peter in Chains)
1505 - 1545

Funds diverted to St. Peters


Bad luck to complete your
tomb during your lifetime.
1508-1512 Sistine Chapel
Julius II died in 1513 and
Leo X, a Medici pope, was
elected.
1527 Papal States
conquered by the Holy
Roman Empire

Michelangelo, Moses, c. 1515


Marble, 7 9
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome

Priest, lawgiver, ruler

Designed to be placed on a
corner and viewed from below

Horns -- In the Vulgate,


Moses face is described as
shining. The word meaning
shining was mistranslated to
cornuta, meaning horned.

Michelangelo, Leah and Rachel, Active Life and Contemplative Life


for the Tomb of Julius II

Michelangelo, Male nudes, Captives for the Tomb of Julius II


c. 1512, Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave, Louvre

Vasaris Michelangelo Rivalry and Politics

Raphael Sanzio
(1483-1520)

Self Portrait (1506)


Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Raphael, School of Athens


1509-1510
Vatican Palace

Sistine Chapel 1480s (reconstruction)

NO

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling 1508-1512

Entrance

Altar

Narrative panels Advance to the altar from the entrance and


trace the history of the fall of mankind backward from
Moses to the Creation, as if to emphasize a new beginning and a return
to pre-lapsarian grace (pre-lapsarian refers to the time before
the fall of man, assisted by woman).
Prophets and sybils foretold the birth of Christ
in Jewish and ancient Roman traditions.
Corner pendentives Stories of deliverance
Triangular spandrels and Lunettes Ancestors of Christ

Drunkenness of Noah
Compare to Adams pose in Creation of Adam
Note the pointing finger
Both Adam and Noah have roles as populators of the world

The Flood

Moses Sacrifice

Fall of Man

Creation of Woman

Creation of Man
Belvedere Torso

God Separating the Waters from the Heavens

Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Planets

Separation of Light From Darkness

Cumean Sibyl

Libyan Sibyl

Jeremiah mourning the fall of Jerusalem


Do we see Michelangelo? Savonarola?

Daniel

Isaiah

Isaiah

Ezekiel
Raphael, The Prophet Isaiah
1512, Fresco
Basilica di SantAugustino
rome

You might also like