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Category Archives: Renaissance

Venice & Islam at the MMA, NY

20 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, History, Renaissance, The Ottoman Empire, Venice

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Alexandria, Art of Venice, Gentile Bellini, Islamic Art, Metropolian Museum of Art, Venetian Art, Venetian Merchants, Venice

h2_trdr_1

Madonna and Child by Stefano Veneziano

Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797

In 2007, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York exhibited works displaying

“the exchange of art objects and interchange of artistic ideas between the great Italian maritime city and her Islamic neighbors in the eastern Mediterranean.” (MMA)

Venice had been a republic until it was conquered by Napoleon in 1797. It the year 828 CE ,

“two Venetian merchants stole St Mark‘s hallowed body from Muslim-controlled Alexandria and brought it to their native city, and 1797, when the city fell  to the French conqueror Napoleon[.]” (MMA)

We could give our story two starting-points. In the last decades of the 13th century, Venetian Marco Polo (1254 – 8/9 January 1324) travelled the silk road/route and reached China where he met Kublai Khan, the Mongol conqueror who would be Emperor of China. After the conquest of the Byzantine Empire, on 29 May 1453, by the Ottoman Turks, the silk road was longer used. It had deteriorated during the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire. The last merchants to use it may have died of the plague, the Black Death (1436 – 1453). In order to purchase silk, spices, coffee and other precious goods, merchants would henceforth use a sea route. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), sailed to India following the west coast of Africa to the point, the Cape of Good Hope, where the Atlantic connects with the current Indian Ocean. A sea route had been traced.

Our topic, however, is Venice in the days when it traded with a not-too-distant Orient. So our second starting-point is Gentile Bellini‘s 1479 visit to Istanbul, where he made the portrait of Mehmed II, the Conqueror. Mehmed II was an Ottoman Turk and a Muslim. The people of the Byzantine empire had been Christians who spoke koine Greek. We barely remember there was an Anatolia, which, to a large extent, became modern-day Turkey. After Word War I, Constantinople was occupied. The Ottoman Empire had fallen, but Turkey declared its War of Independence (1919 – 1923) and won. The Ottoman Empire had fallen, but Turkey rose. (See Turkish War of Independence, Wikipedia.)

In 1453, Greek scholars fled to Italy (Venice to begin with), carrying books and they inaugurated the Renaissance, but the defeat of the Byzantine Empire was the fall the Holy See of Orthodox Christianity. It had been the eastern Rome. The fall of Constantinople was, therefore, mostly catastrophic. During the first millennium, the Byzantine Empire had been Arabised and during the second millennium, it would be turkified. Both Arabs and Ottoman Turks were Muslims. Mehmed II conquered the Christian Byzantine Empire in Anatolia and went on to conquer several Christian countries now located in Eastern Europe. Repercussions would be felt for centuries to come.

Venice “mirrored” the East, but the East would also “mirror” the West. In fact, the art the Byzantine Empire resembles Islamic art. Venice lacks minarets and an obélisque, but barely so. It is all lace or arabesques, arched windows and entrances, bas-reliefs, decorative tiles and domes. Venice begins in Alexandria, Egypt.

“Venice is also often referred to as ‘the mirror of the East’ because her architecture and urban plan incorporate typical Islamic features and ornamental flourishes.” (MMA)

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St Mark preaching in Alexandria by Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, 1504-7 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Basilica di San Marco, Venice

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Church of the Holy Apostles, Istanbul, Turkey (see Pinterest)

Works Exhibited at the MET

Venetian and Islamic works exhibited at the MMA were “[g]lass, textiles, carpets, arms and armor, ceramics, sculpture, metalwork, furniture, paintings, drawings, prints, printed books, book bindings, and manuscripts[.]” (MMA)

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Reception of the Venetian Ambassadors in Damascus by Gentile Bellini, 1511, Louvre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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A Stallion by Habiballah of Sava, Afghanistan, 1601-6
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1992.51/

hb_55_121_35

Chilins (Chinese Chimerical Creatures) fighting with a Dragon, Istanbul, 16th century

Chinese Chimerical Creatures fighting with a Dragon (Chilins), Istanbul, 16th century
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/55.121.35/

hb_55_121_23

A Portuguese, Iran, mid 17th century

A Portuguese, Iran, mid 17th century
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/55.121.23/

dp240659

Woman Applying Henna, Iran, 17th century

Woman Applying Henna, Iran, 17th century

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451308?sortBy=Relevance&deptids=14&ft=*&offset=140&rpp=20&pos=156

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The Concourse of Birds by Habiballah of Sava, Iran, c. 1600

The Concourse of Birds by Habiballah of Sava, Iran, c. 1600
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451725

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Woman Carrying a Vase, Iran, 17th century

Woman carrying a Vase, Iran, 17th century
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/450600?sortBy=Relevance&deptids=14&ft=*&offset=40&rpp=20&pos=60

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“The Angel Surush Rescues Khusrau Parviz from a Cul-de-sac”
Bashdan Qara (active c. 1525–35)
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452182

Jean Chardin’s Testimonial

Jean Chardin, a French jeweler who traveled throughout Iran in 1664–70 and again in 1671–77, exclaimed that Isfahan was “the greatest and most beautiful town in the whole Orient.” He described the city’s population as a mix of Christians, Jews, fire-worshippers, Muslims, and merchants from all over the world. He counted 162 mosques, 48 colleges, 802 caravanserais, 273 baths, and 12 cemeteries, indicating ‘Abbas’ extensive architectural work in the city. Among the most scenic quarters was the area behind the Ali Qapu, where a series of gardens extended to the Chahar Bagh, a long boulevard lined with parks, the residences of nobles, and the palaces of the royal family. Tile panels and frescoes from the pavilions of the Chahar Bagh in the Museum’s collection are examples of the lavish decoration of these structures. (MMA)

Comments

Venice and the Islamic world is a very long story. It includes, for instance, the use of a lingua franca, a simplified hybrid language, mostly Italian, that was understood in every port in the Mediterranean Basin.

It also tells the story of the compulsory trip to the Orient young Venetians undertook. I should also stress the notion of exchange. It was not exploitation of the Orient but an exchange. The word “mirror,” used above, is appropriate. For instance, Venetians imitated the glass made in the Orient until Muslims bought Venetian glass for their Mosques. We could even suggest that the love for all things oriental, “turquerie” in our case, preceded 18th-century Europe. Merchants travelling to the Orient brought back souvenirs.

Works displayed in the exhibition depict a mostly joyful and somewhat diverse Orient as do the texts written for visitors to the exhibition. Each text leads to another text. The Orient, Syria for instance, was home to local and old Christian communities: Assyrians, Armenians, and Egypt, home to Coptic Egyptians, etc.

I discovered a Bellini album. It seems Gentile Bellini was the first Orientalist, but of a different breed than 19th-century Orientalists (see Orientalism, Wikipedia). Yet, the conquest of Constantinople was a catastrophe. It divided the population of the various countries of Eastern Europe between Christians and Muslims, and this fragmentation was reflected in the wars that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

I am omitting the works of European artists: Gentile Bellini and his pupils, three of whom are Giovanni di Niccolò Mansueti, Vittore Carpaccio (15th century Venice) and Giorgione (1476 – 1510). They were influenced by the Orient. So was Albrecht Dürer (21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), who lived shortly after the fall of Constantinople.

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An Oriental Family by Albrecht Dürer, engraving

Music, the Printing Press and the Vernacular

Venice was also a turning-point in music. The Franco-Flemish lands had been the cultural hub of Europe as polyphony developed, including the madrigal, a song in the mother tongue. The Netherlandish composer Adrian Willaert (c. 1490 – 7 December 1562), of the Franco-Flemish school taught music in Venice and was the kapellmeister of the Basilica di San Marco. He founded the Venetian School, music. Polyphony is a product of the West.

In fact, the Renaissance is the birthplace of a nationhood and nationalism based on the use of a common language. Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1398 – February 3, 1468) invented the movable type printing press (c. 1440) to the delight of Venetians. It all started in Venice. As of the Renaissance, the invention of the printing press allowed the development of literature written in the vernacular, the mother tongue. Greek scholars could have the works of antiquity copied rapidly, but so did authors who wrote in the vernacular, a national language. Associated with the validation of the vernacular are Venetian Cardinal Pietro Bembo (The Petrarchan Movement), Sperone Speroni (Dialogo delle lingue, a defense of vernacular languages instead of Latin, Joachim du Bellay (Défense et illustration de la langue française) and Geoffrey Chaucer.

The relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the West deteriorated, but for a very long time, as the port central to the economy of countries bordering the Mediterranean, Venice was rich and it never fell to the Ottoman Empire.

“Despite all of the wars, Venice remained a privileged partner, thanks to an almost perfect balance between religious spirit, chameleon-like diplomacy, and acute business sense.”  (MMA)

The above quotation will be our conclusion.

Navigation

The link Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797 takes one to the Bellini carpets. One then scrolls down to Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797. One clicks on the link. To view each century click on Art, then Collection, and search Islamic Art or Venice and Islamic Art. We are exploring West Asia, various centuries, and the MMA refers to Constantinople as Istanbul, its name since 1928.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cedr/hd_cedr.htm# (trade)

Love to everyone. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

Language

  • Pietro Bembo by Titian, and the Vernacular (27 January 2016)
  • La Pléiade: Joachim du Bellay (30 December 2011)
  • The Petrarchan Movement (6 December 2011)

Orientalism

  • An Older Orient (18 September 2016)
  • Orientalism Good & Bad (14 September 2016)
  • Orientalism Good or Bad (7 September 2016)

Venice

  • Veneţia (Ştefania)

Sources and Resources

  • Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797
  • Wikipedia (most entries)
  • Britannica

—ooo—

“Calligraphic Composition in Shape of Peacock,” Folio from the Bellini Album
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451978?sortBy=Relevance&ft=Islamic+Art&offset=1280&rpp=20&pos=1297

dt4838

© Micheline Walker
20 October 2016
WordPress

map_of_venice_15th_century

The True Moor of Venice (a lecture)
Michael Barry: “The Three Philosophers ”
MMA

giorgione_029b

The Three Philosophers by Giorgione, finished by Titian the MMA)

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The British Royal Collection’s Portrait of Pietro Bembo

07 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Ballet, Italy, Renaissance

≈ Comments Off on The British Royal Collection’s Portrait of Pietro Bembo

Tags

Comédie-Ballet, Le Roi danse, Molière, Pietro Bembo, The British Royal Collection, The Madrigal

 

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Portrait of Pietro Bembo by Giovanni Bellini (British Royal Collection)

I explored the British Royal Collection and learned that in 1940, it was suggested that the above portrait, by Giovanni Bellini, was a portrait of Pietro Bembo (20 May 1470 – 11 or 18 January 1547). It is a suggestion, which means that there is an element of doubt. The facial features of the Royal Collection’s Pietro Bembo bear a resemblance to Raphael’s portrait, but Raphael’s portrait of Pietro Bembo (c. 1506), shows a dark-haired Pietro Bembo.

The Madrigal

I know of Pietro Bembo from my days as a student of musicology. He is associated with the development of polyphony (many voices) through the madrigal (songs in the mother tongue, as in the Spanish madre), secular songs. However, Pietro Bembo was a writer, not a musician.

As the popularity of madrigals waned, Louis XIV, who loved to dance and was a dancer, hired Italian-born  Jean-Baptiste Lully, or Giovanni Battista Lulli, a composer and dancer. When Molière returned to Paris after spending several years touring France, his Précieuses ridicules (18 November 1659) impressed the court.

I have yet to order my new computer, but when it arrives, we will again be in Italy briefly. Molière created the comédie-ballet. Les Fâcheux was performed at Vaux-le-Vicomte.  Molière wrote the text and Lulli, the music. The ballet accompanying Les Fâcheux (The Bores) was choreographed was Pierre Beauchamp.

A few years ago, I  wrote a post on Vaux-le-Vicomte and, in partiular the feast hosted by Nicolas Fouquet on 17 August 1661, perhaps the most lavish fête in the history of France. Louis XIV had just become king of France. Louis was so impressed that during the fête itself, he decided to destroy Fouquet, or Foucquet. The video I used has been removed and I have yet to find a video that matches the former video.

le-roi-danse

Le Roi danse (Photo credit: Google Images)

Conclusion

Would that Giovanni Bellini had given a name to the persons whose portrait he painted. He entitled many of his portraits as Portrait of a Young Man or Portrait of a Man.

I have a new post, I hope to publish today. It is about ballet. Molière created the comédie-ballet in 1661. He created a total of 11.

With kind regards to all of you. ♥

The video shown below is an excerpt from a film entitled Le Roi danse.

07cardin

© Micheline Walker
7 April 2016
WordPress

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pietro Bembo: Titian or Bassano?

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Easter, Renaissance

≈ Comments Off on Pietro Bembo: Titian or Bassano?

Tags

Bembismo, Jacopo Bassano, Latin, Pietro Bembo, Titian, Vernacular

 

07cardin

Portrait of a Cardinal by Jacopo Bassano, c. 1545

Portrait of a Cardinal
c. 1545
Oil on canvas, 58 x 46 cm
Szépmûvészeti Múzeum, Budapest
Web Gallery of Art

Jacopo Bassano

It appears the portrait of Cardinal Pietro Bembo (20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) published in a post dated 27 January 2016 is not by Titian (1488/1490  – 27 August 1576). It is by Jacopo Bassano (1510 – 14 February 1592) and it was painted in c. 1545, a few years after Titian painted his portrait of Cardinal Pietro Bembo. Bassano’s cardinal is not given a name by the Szépmûvészeti Museum, but I suspect it is a portrait Cardinal Pietro Bembo.

Wikipedia’s entry on Pietro Bembo shows the above painting but it is attributed to Titian, However, the same painting is featured in Wikipedia’s entry on Jacopo Bassano. It is one of the paintings that forms part of a gallery located at the foot of the entry on Jacopo Bassano. The cardinal shown in Wikipedia’s entry on Bassano is not named, nor is the cardinal whose portrait, by Jacopo Bassano, is housed in Budapest’s Szépmûvészeti. It is the “Portrait of a Cardinal.”

Budapest’s Szépmûvészeti Múzeum is closed at the moment, but one may browse its collections online. Budapest’s “Portrait of a Cardinal” is attributed to Jacopo Bassano.

There is a third portrait of Cardinal Bembo. It was painted by Giovanni Bellini. I believe it is a portrait of a young man, but…

Titian (Titiano Vecelli)

As noted above, Titian did make a portrait of Pietro Bembo, which I presume explains the kerfuffle. Titian’s portrait is a more formal of Cardinal Bembo and it is dated c. 1540. It did occur to me that the portrait held at the Szépmûvészeti was wrongly attributed to Jacopo Bassano, but I doubt it very much.

Jacopo Bassano was a great artist.

Pietro Bembo by Titian, 1540 (WikiArt)
Pietro Bembo by Titian, 1540 (WikiArt)
Pietro Bembo by Jacopo Bassano, 1545 (Wikipedia)
Pietro Bembo by Jacopo Bassano, 1545 (Wikipedia)

About Pietro Bembo

The use of the vernacular as a literary language was the subject matter of the post I published on 27 January 2016. In Italy, the vernacular started to replace Latin relatively early and it was called the Petrarchan Movement. Bembo’s “way of making direct imitations of Petrarch was widely influential and became known as bembismo.”[1] According to Pietro Bembo, Petrarch’s use of Italian was a model for the modern Italian language. Petrarch lived in the 14th century (20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374).

Other models were Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 – 21 December 1375) and, to a lesser extent, Dante Alighieri (c. 1265 – 1321). (See Pietro Bembo, Wikipedia.)  In the Italian states, the vernacular, Italian, started to be used as a literary language at the beginning of the 14th century, which is an early date. It precedes the Renaissance which began when the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks, in 1453. However, the scholars who fled to Italy were Greek scholars.

Yes, I am writing my book, despite limitations.

Wishing all of you a very Happy Easter ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Pietro Bembo by Titian, and the Vernacular (27 January 2016)
  • The Petrarchan Movement (6 December 2011)

_______________

[1] “Pietro Bembo”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 26 mars. 2016
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pietro-Bembo>.

Philippe Jaroussky sings Vivaldi

portrait-of-a-young-man-1_jpg!HalfHD

Portrait of a Young Man by Giovanni Bellini

© Micheline Walker
26 March 2016
WordPress

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On Artist Sofonisba Anguissola

04 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Italy, Renaissance

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Élisabeth de Valois, education, Italian Mannerist Painter, Philip II of Spain, Renaissance, Sofonisba Anguissola

 

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Sofonisba Anguissola, self-portrait

Sofonisba Anguissola

Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1532 – 16 November 1625) is the third Renaissance artist we are discussing. She is considered a Mannerist painter.

Sofonisba was the oldest of seven children, six daughters and a son, born to Amilcare Anguissola and Bianca Ponzone. Sofonisba’s father was an aristocrat. Britannica describes him as wealthy and Wikipedia, as impoverished. It is not a contradiction. It simply means that Sofonisba lived comfortably but that her father could not provide six dowries to marry his daughters. He therefore decided that his daughters would be in a position to earn an income and bring some wealth to a potential spouse. Amilcare was centuries ahead of his times and both a realistic and responsible father. The Anguissola sisters therefore received a “well-rounded” education which included the fine arts. Lucia, the most promising of the Anguissola sisters, died at a young age. One sister entered a convent. The others married.

Sofonisba and her sister Elena apprenticed to Bernardino Campi (1522–1591), at his home for three years. She also apprenticed to Bernardino Gatti, il Sojaro (1495-96 – 22 February 1576). This was a precedent. Other families emulated the Anguissola family. Sofonisba’s sisters, Lucia, Minerva, Europa and Anna Maria apprenticed to Sofonisba. Sofonisba then travelled to Rome where she met Michelangelo (March 1475 – 18 February 1564) for whom she executed a drawing he liked. She also travelled to Milan and painted the Duke of Alba.

In short, Sofonisba had a privileged and happy upbringing and the future bode well for her, as her father wished. Moreover, Italy is where the scholars, who fled Byzantium in 1453, had settled. The Renaissance began in Italy. It follows that Italy was the right milieu for artists. As for Sofonisba, she had the privilege of being born to enlightened parents. She therefore spent a lifetime doing what she loved.

Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma, c. 1561 (Pinterest)
Élisabeth de Valois (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Marquess Massimiliano Stampa (courtesy: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore)
Sofonisba  Anguissola by Anthony Van Dyck (Photo credit: Wikipedia) (7)
The Double Portrait, Bernardino Campi and Sofonisba (Photo credit: Wikipedia) (8)

Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma
Élisabeth de Valois, Queen of Spain
Élisabeth de Valois, Queen of Spain
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Marquess Massimiliano Stampa (courtesy: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore)

Madrid : 1559

The Duke of Alba, whom she painted, recommended her to no less than Spain’s most prominent monarch, King Philip II (Felipe II). Philip II had married French princess Élisabeth de Valois (2 April 1545 – 3 October 1568) whom he was very fond of and who enjoyed painting. Hence his recruiting Sofonisba who earned the rank of lady-in-waiting to the Queen consort. She was also an attendant to the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia. Germaine Greer writes that in Sofonisba’s days, “painting was a craft practiced by menials,”[1] which may explain why Sofonisba was named attendant to the Infanta. However, Sofonisba was employed and young Élisabeth, very pleased with her artist lady-in-waiting, with whom she spent the remainder of her brief life. Moreover, Sofonisba was a court painter.

At the court of Spain, Sofonisba Anguissolla was a portraitist mainly. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, “Anguissola’s paintings of this period are no longer extant, having burned in a fire in the Prado in the 17th century.”[2]

Marriages: the Dowry

Accounts vary as to dates, so I will simplify matters by saying that after the Queen died, at the age of 24 after a miscarriage, Felipe II provided Sofonisba with a dowry and married her to an aristocrat, Sicilian nobleman Fabrizio de Moncadas. After Fabrizio’s death, Sofonisba met Orazio Lomellino, the captain of the ship taking her to Cremona and she married him. Sofonisba and her husband lived in Genoa where Sofonisba continued to work as a portraitist, but also executed religious works. She died in 1625, at the age of ninety-three. Anthony Van Dyck visited her when she was in her 90s. He found her mentally alert and made a portrait of her. By then, Sofonisba, who was wealthy, had become of patron of the arts.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • On Artist Sofonisba Anguissola (4 March 2016)
  • On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi (28 February 2016)
  • On Artist Lavinia Fontana (17 February 2016)

 

With kind regards to everyone. ♥

The_Chess_Game_-_Sofonisba_Anguissola

The Chess Game (Portrait of the artist’s sisters playing chess), 1555 (Commons Wikimedia)

 

The Artist's Mother, 1557 (Wikipedia)
The Artist’s Mother, 1557 (Wikipedia)
Minerva, Amilcare and Asdrubale, 1557 (Wikipedia)
Minerva, Amilcare and Asdrubale, 1557 (Wikipedia)

 

Sofonisba-Anguissola-by-Van-Dyck

Portrait of Sofonisba by Anthony Van Dyck (Photo credit: Wikipedia) (7)

____________________
[1] Germaine Greer, The Obstacle Race, (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979), p. 180.

[2] “Sofonisba Anguissola”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 04 mars. 2016
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/Sofonisba-Anguissola>.

800px-Self-portrait_with_Bernardino_Campi_by_Sofonisba_Anguissola

© Micheline Walker
4 March 2016
WordPress

 

Bernardino Campi painting himself and Sofonisba
(Photo credit: Wikipedia) (8)

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On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi

28 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Italy, Renaissance

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Artemisia Gentileschi, Career, Carravagio, Chiaroscuro, Orazio Gentileschi, Rape and Trial

Self-portrait_as_the_Allegory_of_Painting_(La_Pittura)_-_Artemisia_Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638–9, Royal Collection (the painting may be a self-portrait)

Artemisia Gentileschi (8 July 1593 – c. 1656) was one of the finest painters of her days. She is the second woman associated with the Baroque period we are discussing. In the fine arts, the Baroque era begins in the late 16th century and ends towards the middle of the 17th century. Artemisia is a 17th-century Italian artist.

Artemisia was born in Rome and first apprenticed with her father, Orazio Gentileschi  (1536 – 1639). Orazio moved to France in 1624 at the invitation of Marie de Medici (26 April 1763 -3 July 1642), but left for England two years later, where he remained until his death.

In 1638, Artemisia would join him in England. Orazio died in 1639, but Artemisia did not leave England until she had completed her commissions. “According to her biographer Baldinucci (who appended her life to that of her father), she painted many portraits and quickly surpassed her father’s fame” (Britannica). By 1642, she was back in Italy.  

Influences

  • Orazio Gentileschi
  • Caravaggio
  • the Carracci brothers (Bologna)

There can be no doubt that her father, Orazio Gentileschi, influenced Artemisia, but her paintings are described as naturalistic and were not idealized, in which she differs from her father.

Artemisia and her father were influenced by Caravaggio (29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), the artist who inaugurated chiaroscuro (le clair-obscur) or tenebrism, the use of a dark background. Caravaggio exerted influence on several painters such as Georges de La Tour (13 March 1593 – 13 January 1652), Gerrit van Honthorst (4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) and Trophime Bigot (1579 – 1650). By and large, the word chiaroscuro is now used to describe a technique: light colours on a dark background.

Artemisia was also influenced by the brothers Carracci, by members of the Bolognese school, and by colleagues. She was a history painter who depicted scenes from the Bible and other religious subject matter. Moreover, she was a portraitist.

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Portrait of a Lady Dressed in a Gold Embroidered  Elaborate Costume, (nd) (Courtesy Britannica)

Chiaroscuro

I noted that Lavinia Fontana (24 August 1552 – 11 August 1614), a portraitist mainly, who lived at approximately the same time as Artemisia Gentileschi, used aa dark background. One has the feeling that tenebrism‘s subject matter is carved out of darkness, which is a lovely thought as artists are creators, even in representatial paintings. The painting featured immediately below, young Artemisia’s first painting is not caravaggesque. But it is rather prophetic.

Susanna_and_the_Elders_(1610),_Artemisia_Gentileschi

Susanna and the Elders, 1610 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Rape

  • the impossible Nozze di Riparazione
  • Orazio presses charges
  • the marriage & Florence

In 1611, Artemisia’s father hired artist Agostino Tassi (Perugia, 1578– Rome, 1644), both as an assistant and as teacher to his daughter. Tassi raped Artemisia, but another man, Cosimo Quorli(s), was involved.

At the time of the rape, Orazio rented an upstairs apartment in his house to a woman named Tuzia or Tutio, a chaperone who befriended Artemisia. However, on the day of the rape, the woman let the men into the house and did not respond when Artemisia screamed for help.

After the rape, Artemisia continued to have sexual relations with her rapist. Her continuing to have sexual relations with Tassi may be otherwise explained, but it seems she believed he would marry her, as he promised, thereby restoring her dignity and giving her the future he had taken away. However, foremost in her father’s eyes was restoring Artemisia’s honour. This recourse was not uncommon in Artemisia’s times. In Italy, such a marriage was called nozze di riparazione (a reparation marriage). Tassi reneged on his promise and Orazio pressed charges.

The Trial

  • the trial
  • torture
  • the mariage

During the five-month trial, it was revealed that Tassi was already married, that he planned to kill his wife and that he had entered into an adulterous relationship with his wife’s sister. Tassi was found guilty of rape, but never served a day of his one-year prison sentence. In fact, he was freed. During the trial, Artemisia had to submit to a gynecological examination and was tortured: the thumbscrew, for the purpose of eliciting evidence.

A month after the trial, Orazio married his daughter to Pierantonio Stiattesi. The couple lived in Florence where, in 1618, Artemisia bore Pierantonio a daughter who was named Prudentia, after Artemisia’s mother. Three sons were born to Pierantonio, but Artemisia is reported to have given birth to one daughter and to have lived in Naples in order to be near Prudentia.

800px-Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Giuditta_decapita_Oloferne_-_Google_Art_Project

Judith slawing Holofernes (1614 – 20) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

800px-Gentileschi_judith1

Judith and her Maidservant (1613 – 14) (Photocredit: Wikipedia)

Artemisia Gentileschi’s Career

  • Florence
  • Rome & Venice
  • Naples & London

In Florence, Artemisia was associated with the Medici court and enjoyed great success. She painted an Allegory of Inclination (Allegoria dell’Inclinazione) (c. 1616) commissioned by Michelangelo Buonaratti the Younger, Michelangelo’s grandnephew, “for the series of frescoes honouring the life of Michelangelo in the Casa Buonarotti.” (Britannica). In 1616, she joined Florence’s Academy of Design (Accademia di Arte del Disegno) and was the first woman to do so. In short, “[w]hile in Florence she began to develop her own distinctive style” (Britannica).

Artemisia ran into debts because she and her husband were allowed to buy art material on credit. Pierantonio bought more than could be repaid. Creditors were at the door, so to speak. In 1621, she decided to eave for Rome, which her marriage.

Artemisia’s (1593 – 1653/6) career can be divided as follows, i.e. by naming localities:

  1. She was in Florence (1614 – 1620),
  2. in Rome and Venice (1621–1630), and
  3. in Naples and England (1630–1653).

Death

Very little is known concerning Artemisia Gentileschi’s final years and her death, but she may have been a victim of the 1656 outbreak of the plague that decimated Naples’ artistic community.

—ooo—

Artemisia Gentileschi lost her mother at the age of 12 and it appears she was not taught to read or write. Yet, in Florence (1614 -1620), she befriended Galileo Galilei, with whom she corresponded, in letters, for many years. (See Artemisia Gentileschi, Wikipedia)

Where did she find the courage to marry Pierantonio Stiattesi, to bear him at least one child, and to give birth after a violent rape? We know that she settled in Naples to be near her daughter. She was a good mother.

Works

Judith beheading Holofernes is Artemisia’s most notorious painting. Her treatment of Judith and Holofernes, a familiar subject matter to artists, is one of the most violent and bloody to have come down to us. Artemisia produced a second Judith slaying Holofernes. But she nevertheless painted other scenes from the Bible and various religious scenes, as did her contemporaries, and she was a fine portraitist. Germaine Greer[2] points to the strength of the women she depicted: strong hands, strong bodies, flesh.

Artemisia produced paintings about Bathsheba and David. According to Britannica, Bathsheba was raped and became pregnant. Her husband, a soldier, refused to make believe he was the child’s father. David had him killed and married Bathsheba. King David is Solomon’s father. Artemisia retold rape and violence, albeit subconsciously.

Conclusion

Could it be Artemisia Gentileschi never looked upon her circumstances as potentially paralyzing and that it never occurred to her that she lived in a man’s world? The image below, considered a self-portrait, shows a strong woman playing the lute. The following image is a serene portrait of St Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians whose feast day is celebrated on 22 November. Her paintings of the slaying of Holofernes are gruesome (the first one in particular) and may well reflect her experience.

Yet, although her artwork depics strong women, Artemisia drew much of her subject matter, including the slaving of Holofernes, from sources used by artists of her life and times. She did not live in seclusion, but belonged to a community of artists who may have influenced her and vice versa. Moreover, she had to make a living.

There is a lore of Artemisia Gentileschi listed in her Wikipedia entry (see Artemisia Gentileschi). Her rape is likely to attract the attention of artists, novelists and filmakers, but she was not entirely defined by her rape and the trial that ensued. Artemisia Gentileschi is the woman who corresponded with no less than Galielo Galilei, but first and foremost, she is artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

As mentioned at the top of this post Artemisia Gentileschi had female colleagues. I have discussed portraitist Lavinia Fontana  (24 August 1552 – 11 August, 1614), excluding the many little dogs featured in her paintings, but Sofonisba Anguissola (1532 – November 1625) was also a female colleague. I will discuss Sofonisba. Artemisia Gentileschi is Germaine Greer’s “Magnificent Exception,” which does not underrate her female colleagues’ art.

With kind regards to everyone. ♥

Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Self-Portrait_as_a_Lute_Player

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player (1615-17) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

800px-Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_St_Cecilia_Playing_a_Lute_-_WGA08561

St Cecilia Playing a Lute (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


RELATED ARTICLES

  • On Artist Sofonisba Anguissola (4 March 2016)
  • On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi (28 February 2016)
  • On Artist Lavinia Fontana (17 February 2016)

 

Sources and Resources

  • Artemisia Gentileschi, Wikipedia
  • the Encyclopædia Britannica
  • Germaine Greer

____________________

[1] “Artemisia Gentileschi”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 27 févr.. 2016
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/Artemisia-Gentileschi>.

[2] Germaine Greer, “The Magnificent Exception,” The Obstacle Race: the Fortunes of Women Painters and their Work (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979), pp. 189 – 207.

 

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© Micheline Walker
28 February 2016
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On Artist Lavinia Fontana

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Italy, Renaissance

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Accademia degli Incamminati, Lavinia Fontana, Pope Clement VIII, Pope Louis XIII, Prospero Fontana, Renaissance, Renaissance Academies, Woman Painter

portrait-of-a-noblewoman-1580_jpg!HalfHD

Portrait of a Noblewoman by Lavinia Fontana, 1580 (WikiArt.org)

The portrait of Pope Gregory Xlll, inserted in “Happy Valentine’s Day” is by Lavinia Fontana.

Lavinia Fontana (24 August 1552 – 11 August 1614) was a major artist, a portraitist mainly, of the Italian 16th century. In fact, so fine was her work that she was called to Rome by Pope Clement VIII (24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605) where she settled in 1603. Germaine Greer writes that “when she travelled to their estates in the Emilia, they would mount a formal reception, with soldiers lining the streets, fire salutes, as if she were a princess.”[1]

A room of one’s own

Being a woman was an obstacle as women were expected to have children and run a household. Lavinia had 11 children, but her husband Paolo Zappi gave up his profession to be her assistant. Moreover, she had an income. You may remember what importance Virginia Woolf (25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) attached to having a room of one’s own. In A Room of One’s Own, published in 1929, she wrote that “[a] woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction[,]” and be an artist. In 17th-century France, widows were considered privileged women. They had time, money, and servants.

Lavinia Fontana was the daughter of painter Prospero Fontana (1512 – 1597), a prominent artist, and was raised in Bologna. There was a Bolognese School. As noted above, Lavinia Fontana did marry and gave birth to 11 children, but only three survived her. Some may have died in childhood, making for a smaller household, but causing considerable pain. The miracle is that she survived childbirth, a major risk, and was a productive artist.

Portrait of a Lady at Court, 1580
Portrait of a Lady at Court, 1580
Portrait of Ginevra Aldrovani Hercolani, 1595
Portrait of Ginevra Aldrovani Hercolani, 1595

Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait
Portrait of a Noblewoman, 1580
Portrait of a Noblewoman, 1580

Portrait of a Lady at Court, 1590
Portrait of Ginevra Adrovan Hercolani, 1595
Self-Portrait, Lavinia Fontana at the Clavichord with a Servant, 1577
Portrait of a Noblewoman, 1580
Portrait of Minerva Dressing, 1613
(Photo credit: WikiArt.org)

Subject Matter

Lavinia Fontana’s subject matter was the same as male artists of her times. She painted scenes inspired by the newly-discovered Greek antiquity. You will remember that the Renaissance began when the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks, which would be the year 1453. Byzantium’s Greek scholars fled to Italy. Lavinia also painted nudes. But above all, she was a fine portraitist. However, in order to earn a living, Lavinia had to paint religious scenes. As indicated in her Wikipedia entry, Lavinia “gained the patronage of the Buoncompagni family, of which Pope Gregory XIII was a member[,]” hence, perhaps, her truly magnificent portrait of him.

Schools

Lavinia Fontana’s style is called carracciesque, because of the influence of the Carracci cousins, Agostino,  Annibale  and Ludovico, Annibal in particular. They were the founders of the Accademia degli Incamminati  (walking forward). WikiArt.org classifies her work as examples of Mannerist Renaissance painting. As noted in earlier posts, the Italian Renaissance developed in Academies, hence the use of the word Accademia. There were formal academies, but others were informal, such as Count Bardi’s Florentine Camerata  where Vincenzo Galileo, astronomer Galileo Galilei’s father proposed the somewhat artificial twelve-tone equal temperament.

It has been suggested that Lavinia made paintings signed by her father. In fact, some patrons suspected as much and asked Prospero to do the work they commissionned by himself. This was no doubt a limitation for Lavinia. Her father preyed on her time and talent.

A main characteristic of her paintings is her attempt to convey feeling. Most noticeable, however, is her attention to details and the dark back drop. It be may that the greatest female artist of the Italian Renaissance is Artemisia Gentileschi  (8 July 1593 – c. 1656), but she had colleagues, Lavinia Fontana and Sofonisba Anguissola (1532 – November 1625).

LFontana

Portrait of Minerva Dressing, 1613

Some of her paintings were attributed to Guido Reni. There was a link. Both were born in Bologna and both moved to Rome.

Lavinia was considered an equal among the artists of her time and an inspiration to such painters as the afore-mentioned Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642), whose remarkable “St Michael Archangel” is held in Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome. I have used it in an earlier post. He too was invited to move to Rome.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • On Artist Sofonisba Anguissola (4 March 2016)
  • On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi (28 February 2016)
  • On Artist Lavinia Fontana (17 February 2016)

 

With kindest regards. ♥

188182-004-41660D65

The Holy Family with Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Photo credit: Britannica)

 

_____________
[1] Germaine Greer, The Obstacle Race (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979), p. 208.
[2] Cirici Pellicer, El barroquismo, (Barcelona: Editorial Ramón Sopena, 1963), p.75.

Vivaldi and Cecilia Bartoli 

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@ Micheline Walker
17 February 2016
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