Donatello: Creator of Works of Grace and Excellence

Donatello's St. John the Baptist in
the Duomo of Siena.
Photo by Annie Bigelow

Detail of the head and left hand of
St. John the Baptist. Please note the parted
lips and fingers raised in greeting.
Photo by Annie Bigelow

In his Life of Donatello, Florentine Sculptor Giorgio Vasari praises his many works claiming they "possess so much grace and excellence and such a fine sense of design that they were considered to be more like the distinguished works of the ancient Greeks and Romans than those of any other artist that ever existed". In comparing his works to those of other sculptors of his time, specifically the proto-Renaissance sculptors that proceeded him, Vasari's claim has merit. His rendering of the body suggests careful observation of human anatomy and movement; his drapery mimics natural folding against the body and suggests the limbs beneath; and most strikingly in the case of his bronze St. John the Baptist in the Siena Duomo, his rendering of facial features and emotion is almost eerily close to life.

Detail of the right hand of St. John the Baptist. Please note the lighter band of bronze just above
the wrist as well as the awkward clenching of the fingers.
Photo by Annie Bigelow

Donatello's John the Baptist depicts an old, weathered man, pained from the life of sacrifice. His mouth is formed in such a way that he seems tone uttering a tired sigh as he acknowledges the viewer with two raised fingers. Vasari's only mention of this breathtaking (pun intended) is as a "Saint John the Baptist in metal, which lacked its right arm below the elbow; and this, it is said, Donatello left unfinished because he had not been satisfied with the full payment." We know that Vasari was at least partially incorrect as more of Donatello's works were and are in Siena. But moreover, John the Baptist is in possession of both of his arms. It could be that Donatello did come back and finish the work or completed it originally, but perhaps the Cathedral had the work finished by another. Upon closer examination, the right hand seems to be the most awkwardly rendered part of the work and there is a line of welding suggesting that the arm was added later.

Bibliographic Notes: Quotes from Vasari can be found in the Oxford World Classics Edition of Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists. 

Ambroggio Lorenzetti's Polyptych

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, a proto-Renaissance Sienese painter, is arguably best known for his Allegories of Good and Bad Government in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. While I didn't get the chance to see those works while visiting Siena on Friday, I did have the opportunity to see one of his earlier works, Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Benedict, Francis of Assisi, and Mary Magdalene in the Museo dell'Opera.

This work dating from 1320 - 1330 is four parts of a polyptych. A central panel seems to be missing as all four main figures and the four secondary figures in the trefoil frames face toward the middle. The polyptych is believed to be part of the Altar of the Magi that used to be in the Siena Duomo. Perhaps the polyptych is in sections now with the central panel missing because, like Duccio's Maesta, it was broken up to be sold.

The work can firmly be placed in the proto-Renaissance with the evident influence of the International Gothic Style and the influence of Humanism. The Gothic style is reflected in the pointed arches and gabled shape of each section. Humanistic ideas are reflected in the individualized treatment of the saints. Ambrogio Lorenzetti hasn't yet reached the level of realism prevalent in the Renaissance as his figures are still stiff, especially Benedict, and the drapery is too uniform in Francis and doesn't suggest or reflect the body beneath. Nonetheless, the work exhibits a beautiful and very Sienese use of color.

Giotto - Dimmer of Cimabue's Light

18th Century Sculpture of Giotto
Photo courtesy of McPig on Flickr Creative Commons

In Pergatorio, Dante stated, “Once Cimabue thought to hold the field/ As painter; Giotto now is all the rage,/ Dimming the lustre of the others fame.” Vasari clearly felt the same, as he states in his Lives of the Artist that “Giotto truly eclipsed Cimabue’s fame just as a great light eclipses a much smaller one”. Art historians have carried on this belief for centuries as Gardner’s Art through the Ages calls Giotto the first Renaissance painter and refers to him as, “A pioneer in pursuing a naturalistic approach to representation based on observation, he made a much more radical break with the past”. 

Just one glimpse of a fresco from the Arena Chapel and it’s easy to see why Giotto has dimmed the fame of Cimabue as well as why he is considered the father of Renaissance painting. There are also examples of his groundbreaking style in his works that can be found right here in Florence.

One of such examples is Giotto’s Badia Polyptych. Originally designed for the Badia church, the work is now housed in the Uffizi gallery. This work is a series of connected wooden panels depicting Mary in the center with baby Jesus and various saints on either side, including John the Evangelist and Peter. While still focusing on the Virgin Mary and using the golden background utilized by medieval artists and his supposed teacher, Cimabue, Giotto has given each of his figures even more humanized, worldly features. A work like this clearly establishes Giotto as the connecting thread between the Medieval and Renaissance periods of art.     

Bibliographical Notes: The Dante and Vasari quotes can be found on page 13 of the Oxford World’s Classics edition of Giorgio Vasari’s The Lives of the Artists. The quote from Gardner’s Art Through the Ages can be found on page 407 of the 14^th backpack edition, Renaissance and Baroque 

Cimabue Created a Pathway to God

Cimabue's Santa Trinita Madonna
Originally an altarpiece for Santa Trinita,
 now in the Uffizi. Photograph by Flychild
courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons,
 (Photographs are not allowed in the Uffizi) 

Cimabue is often touted as the founder of Italian painting by many, including Vasari. This appointment is not fair-fetched considering his great influence and the ways in which he turned away from the Italo-Byzantine style popular in the Medieval period, creating instead the basis of the Proto-Renaissance style.

Take, for example, his Santa Trinita Madonna. Sometimes referred to as his Maesta, this tempera on wood panel altarpiece features the Madonna in majesty, surrounded by angels with Christ on her lap. She is elevated to a position of power as she is by far the largest figure in the work. Her position of power does not make her someone to be feared, however, her more realistic features distinguish her as human, as someone the viewer can relate to. Her hand gesture underscores her approachability as it connotes her willingness to intercede with her son, Christ as Judge, on the viewer’s behalf. She also appears to be able to cross from the heavenly world in which she is depicted into the human world as her left foot is on the bottom step of her throne. This suggests that she could come down to this world to greet the viewer and give them aid in a time of need.

This is very different from the Italo-Byzantine style that strives to separate the viewer from the figures in this kinds of works. Artists wanted to depict the figures to be unreachable, not of this earth, something beyond the viewer’s understanding and therefore something to fear and respect. Cimabue on the other hand, is making a connection between God and man, in this case through the Virgin Mary.  

San Miniato - Medieval Church

San Miniato al Monte.
Photograph by Annie Bigelow

Last Sunday, I went to San Miniato al Monte, a beautiful medieval church that overlooks all of Florence. Built beginning in 1013, this medieval basilica is of the traditional longitudinal style, with a nave, choir and apse.

Interestingly, rather than being separated by a screen, the nave and choir are separated by a set of stairs on either side of the central aisle. So rather than having a screen and on step up to the choir, the choir and main altar are practically on a separate story of the church. This secondary level seems to symbolically underscore the separation of the priests and the laypeople as well as the priests’ role as go-between for God and His people.

The mosaic of Christ and the Evangelists over the main
altar of San Miniato. Photograph by Annie Bigelow

There is a practical component to these different levels as well. Below the main level of the church, next to the stairs that lead up to the choir and apse, there are two sets of stairs that lead down to another level of the church. Here you will find a secondary altar that appears to also act as the shrine to San Miniato (the church’s location was chosen based on the burial site and shrine). This secondary altar and space is currently used to smaller services, such as the Sunday evening Vespers.

San Miniato is a perfect example of the Italo-Byzantine style both in its adherence to the style and is a prime example of how the style can be manipulated to suit the needs of any given site and parish group. 

Giorgio Vasari - Perserver of Genius Art?

Giorgio Vasari was commissioned to complete the frescoes on the walls of the Salone dei Cinquecento (The Hall of 500) in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Originally Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were commissioned to do the project. Michelangelo only made a cartoon (a mock up sketch on paper) that was then stolen. Leonardo began his fresco, only for it to be damaged in a fire and left unfinished.

Peter Paul Ruben's drawing of The Battle of Anghiari c. 1603
Image courtesy of markldiaz on Flickr Creative Commons

Despite the damage to Leonardo’s fresco, called The Battle of Anghiari, was and is still considered a masterwork. During the period between Leonardo abandoning the project and Vasari taking up the commission, every aspiring artist travelled to Florence to practice their craft, which included making a drawing after Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari.

Many art historians believe that Vasari did not destroy Leonardo’s unfinished masterpiece by creating his new frescoes over it but rather preserved it in some way. Current research has shown that rather than painting on the original wall, Vasari built a new wall in front of the old one leaving only a few centimeters between the new one and the original. He also wrote on a flag held by a flag-bearer in the fresco that lies on that new wall, “Cerca Trova” (Search and Find) furthering the idea that Leonardo’s work is still there to be found. Art historians, conservers, and scientists  have been working together to determine whether Leonardo’s work lies behind Vasari’s and have come up with some really interesting results. By drilling tiny holes in Vasari’s fresco they have gained access to the original wall and some paint pigments that suggest Leonardo’s work is on the wall behind.

Detail of Vasari's The Battle of Marciano 

Based on my knowledge of Vasari, his respect for Leonardo and his belief of the artist as a genius (see previous post), I believe it to be more than possible that Vasari couldn’t bring himself to cover over Leonardo’s work and that he left it intact to be found and marveled over.  

For more information about the search of the Lost Leonardo please watch the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH1IomCUaIQ&feature=share

Introducing Giorgio Vasari - Artificer of Artist as Genius

The Illustrious Giorgio Vasari himself. Self-portrait.
Image courtesy of RasMarley on Flickr Creative Commons

Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artist is in many ways the foundation of Western Art History. Vasari was the first person to sit down and chronicle the lives of individual artists. But more than that, he created the notion that there’s a trajectory in art. He believed Renaissance art should be seen in three periods or stages. Each stage was focused on achieving perfection in art. The third stage, featuring Michelangelo, is to Vasari the paramount of artistic perfection. Even furthering the concept of art as a medium to be studied and explored, he compared artists to each other and began to distinguish between good art and bad.

Interestingly, Vasari didn’t use the word artist while describing artists in his Lives, he preferred the term artifice, meaning artificer. The use of artificer instead of artist or artisan is crucially important as this usage elevates the artist to a larger than life position. Rather than being an ordinary man who works with his hands and is therefore an artisan or other member of the working class, an artificer is a divine creator, a genius. When discussing genius artists Vasari argues that studying art techniques and the human form is not enough. A certain sprezzatura, an easy yet practiced grace, is needed to be a true genius in art and it simply cannot be taught.

For us in the 21^st century, the idea that artists, like Michelangelo and Raphael and many others before and after, are geniuses is completely reasonable as we have been conditioned since Vasari published his Lives that such is the case.  While in Florence we will be reading Vasari’s Lives and I’ll be discussing them here every week, so be sure to tune in. 

Bibliographical Note: The source of all the above information, specifically about Vasari's use of artificer rather than artist, is The Oxford World's Classics edition of Giorgio Vasari's The Lives of the Artists translated by Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella.