COSIMO DE MEDICI - MOVER AND SHAKER OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE AND A STUNNING BRONZE SCULPTURE.
In times gone by when I first showed an interest in the fine and decorative arts my studies concentrated on the 19th century in Europe and Britain in particular and I took little notice of the Renaissance period of the 15th and 16th centuries. My perceptions of the European world being one dominated largely by the church and its patronage with a legacy in our art galleries today of works with a religious subject matter was naive to say the least. Now its this very period that I find captivating and having the opportunity to visit Italy two or three times a year is just manna from heaven. So my posting today takes me once again to the Florence of the 15th century and introduces a man of extraordinary ability, capability and influence. Then it goes on to look at a work of art I've seen several times on my travels to Florence. It may have a religious subject, but as I intend to reveal here, it has a timeless value set firmly within a framework of Medici patronage and human achievement, creativity and excellence of a very special kind. It is quite simply both arrestingly beautiful and academically significant. Not surprisingly, in the history of western art books on the Renaissance always seem to give it special status.
Cosimo di Medici (1389-1464) is the man credited by many as establishing the illustrious Medici dynasty in 15th century Florence. His achievements were many. Firstly he further developed the banking network established by his father Giovanni di Bicci di Medici (1360-1429) and through this he amassed huge wealth and resources the size of which it would be difficult to envisage and comprehend even in today's avaricious world. Secondly, by taking control of Florence's power bases and using them to enhance the family's status he quietly pushed his family in to pole position in such a way as to extend its influence throughout northern Italy and beyond. Thirdly, by pursuing a myriad of intellectual interests he became one of the movers and shakers of the Renaissance in Europe and deliberately created for himself a legacy which has lasted centuries.
In 15th century Italy "humanism" was the slowly developing fashion for pursuing studies that illuminated understanding of the human condition and its potential - something very different to the Christian medieval view of a world where all was said to be controlled by divine forces and where everything was to do with the will of God. But in 15th century Italy the winds of change would blow strongly for it was a time of gradual but momentous intellectual revolution and rebirth. Cosimo de Medici would at the very heart of this new movement!
Initially the development of humanism was fuelled by the rediscovery of ancient classical literary sources - manuscripts which brought to life the works of Plato and many others. These had survived the "dark" ages in the libraries of monasteries in different parts of Europe and Byzantium and in the 15th century the mission was to discover and possess them. Cosimo, the fabulously wealthy Florentine banker, was able to fund a search for them and assist in those discovered being purchased and removed to Florence. Many of them would rest in his own personal library, but they were also studied seriously and often shared between scholars. Insights gained from them would profoundly influence the development of Florence in the 15th century - intellectually, politically, socially and in terms of the very fabric of the city itself through building commissions and art patronage.
To enlarge - by the time Cosimo was 30, from very small beginnings, he'd built up a collection of over 70 important books and manuscripts He used an agent called Poggio Bracciolini as his intrepid scout and trips were made to many European cities as well as to places further afield in Greece, Syria and Egypt. Bracciolini had been letter writer to Pope John Paul XXIII and later became a major searcher of ancient manuscripts throughout Europe making trips to France, Germany and Switzerland. Not known for being the most scrupulous of negotiators he did however make an incredibly important find at the Monastery of St Galen in Switzerland where, in a tower dungeon, he uncovered a complete copy of DE RERUM NATURA "On the Nature of Things" written by Roman author and philospher Lucretius and lost since the fall of the Roman Empire. Based on poems by Greek authors it was to prove important in the development of early humanist thinking in 15th century Florence. Bracciolini would also prove influential in helping Cosimo realise his ambitions of becoming a major manuscript collector.
Sources also tell us Cosimo settled the debts of the eccentric dilettante and collector Niccolo de Niccoli after his death (he and Cosimo had been friends since his youth). The debt settlement was done on the basis he could gain control over Niccoli's huge ownership of over 800 important books and manuscripts. He would donate as much as half of these to a new project he started in Florence in the early 1440's.
In 1444 Cosimo created the first public library in Europe in the Florentine monastery of San Marco - where he commissioned architect Michelozzo Michelozzi, a student of the illustrious Ghiberti, to oversee the restoration and development of a new Medici library there. The money provided by him funded not only the conservation and development work but in addition provided the funds needed to add more books to the ones donated from the Niccolo collection. Fortyfive copyists, hired by the bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci, made further accurate copies of other important works to add to the collection. It was ground breaking stuff.
Cosimo's patronage of architecture and the arts included the following:
And then there was the David sculpture!! - the work of art I set out to write about at the beginning of this posting!
This patinated bronze figure of David, of David and Goliath fame (Book of Samuel Ch 17), is housed in the Bargello - Florence's museum of sculpture which can be found in a monumental building, once a prison and located behind the Piazza della Signoria. It's a cast bronze figure modelled in the form of naked young man (apart from a brimmed hat and calf length boots), with hand on hip and with his other hand holding an over-sized sword - the one he used to slay the Philistine giant - Goliath. The deed has been done and his right foot rests on the large severed helmeted head of the giant. The figure has an enigmatic smile on his face.
The bronze casting and craftsmanship is superb and the figure is famous for being, according to most art historians, the first free-standing, unsupported male nude to be cast in bronze since antiquity. Many art historians, (but not all it has to be said for the figure is undocumented) believe the figure was commissioned by Cosimo di Medici from the upcoming Florentine Renaissance sculptor Donatello who he knew well. The date is probably the 1440's and its thought to have been a private commission made to stand on a pedestal in the centre of the recently completed courtyard of the Palazzo Medici. The statue was certainly recorded as being there by Vasari in the 16th century. Though there is no paperwork to support this theory - the laurel band on David's head would suggest a Medici commission. The laurel was one of the personal emblems of the Medici as seen in the Pontormo painting shown earlier in this posting.
The iconography of the statue is on one level obvious - the young hero of the Israelites has slayed the mighty giant of the Philistine army, but on another level it is enigmatic and controversial. This figure is realistic and in it Donatello has captured a slender, vulnerable and effeminate young man - not exactly an alpha male and a huge contrast with the "manliness" of Goliath as its revealed in the huge severed head. The youth has overcome the giant not through physical capacity and capability but by other means which art historians have speculated on for decades. One curious aspect of the composition is that David stands on one of the two wings found on the helmet of Goliath, but the other longer wing appears to work its way up David's right leg towards his groin. Was this then a a coded message of a homoerotic nature perhaps signifying the known homosexuality of the sculptor or is there a more subtle meaning to this enigmatic work? At the time the statue was made homosexual acts were criminal offences, though the practice was common amongst young men in a society where casual sexual acts with young women were off limits to most. Whatever the case - the statue would have been perceived then as edgy in nature I feel sure. As a sculpture of male figure however it shows a distinct shift in Donatello's work for he made two statues of David - the earlier one in marble - which somehow lacks realism and doesn't convey the emotion and personality of the later one.
As I said - this early "humanist" statue can be viewed in the Bargello, but there is a plaster cast copy in the Renaissance Cast Court at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It's surprisingly good.
This has been a fascinating post to put together and I've enjoyed doing it. It's once again revealed to me the importance and broad-ranging interests and ambitions of Cosimo di Medici as one of the most important movers and shakers of the early Renaissance in Florence.
Ciao and until next time
Ian
* - the Pontormo painting of Cosimo di Medici was done some 50 years after his death in 1464. According to one author it may have been made from sketches contemporary with Cosimo's life which have not survived. You can make up your own mind, as I have tried to do, what qualities of personality and emotion the artist has captured in the work.
In times gone by when I first showed an interest in the fine and decorative arts my studies concentrated on the 19th century in Europe and Britain in particular and I took little notice of the Renaissance period of the 15th and 16th centuries. My perceptions of the European world being one dominated largely by the church and its patronage with a legacy in our art galleries today of works with a religious subject matter was naive to say the least. Now its this very period that I find captivating and having the opportunity to visit Italy two or three times a year is just manna from heaven. So my posting today takes me once again to the Florence of the 15th century and introduces a man of extraordinary ability, capability and influence. Then it goes on to look at a work of art I've seen several times on my travels to Florence. It may have a religious subject, but as I intend to reveal here, it has a timeless value set firmly within a framework of Medici patronage and human achievement, creativity and excellence of a very special kind. It is quite simply both arrestingly beautiful and academically significant. Not surprisingly, in the history of western art books on the Renaissance always seem to give it special status.
Cosimo di Medici (1389-1464) is the man credited by many as establishing the illustrious Medici dynasty in 15th century Florence. His achievements were many. Firstly he further developed the banking network established by his father Giovanni di Bicci di Medici (1360-1429) and through this he amassed huge wealth and resources the size of which it would be difficult to envisage and comprehend even in today's avaricious world. Secondly, by taking control of Florence's power bases and using them to enhance the family's status he quietly pushed his family in to pole position in such a way as to extend its influence throughout northern Italy and beyond. Thirdly, by pursuing a myriad of intellectual interests he became one of the movers and shakers of the Renaissance in Europe and deliberately created for himself a legacy which has lasted centuries.
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| COSIMO DE MEDICI by Jacopo Pontormo * The laurel leaves, revealed in the background, became a symbol of the Medici family. |
Initially the development of humanism was fuelled by the rediscovery of ancient classical literary sources - manuscripts which brought to life the works of Plato and many others. These had survived the "dark" ages in the libraries of monasteries in different parts of Europe and Byzantium and in the 15th century the mission was to discover and possess them. Cosimo, the fabulously wealthy Florentine banker, was able to fund a search for them and assist in those discovered being purchased and removed to Florence. Many of them would rest in his own personal library, but they were also studied seriously and often shared between scholars. Insights gained from them would profoundly influence the development of Florence in the 15th century - intellectually, politically, socially and in terms of the very fabric of the city itself through building commissions and art patronage.
To enlarge - by the time Cosimo was 30, from very small beginnings, he'd built up a collection of over 70 important books and manuscripts He used an agent called Poggio Bracciolini as his intrepid scout and trips were made to many European cities as well as to places further afield in Greece, Syria and Egypt. Bracciolini had been letter writer to Pope John Paul XXIII and later became a major searcher of ancient manuscripts throughout Europe making trips to France, Germany and Switzerland. Not known for being the most scrupulous of negotiators he did however make an incredibly important find at the Monastery of St Galen in Switzerland where, in a tower dungeon, he uncovered a complete copy of DE RERUM NATURA "On the Nature of Things" written by Roman author and philospher Lucretius and lost since the fall of the Roman Empire. Based on poems by Greek authors it was to prove important in the development of early humanist thinking in 15th century Florence. Bracciolini would also prove influential in helping Cosimo realise his ambitions of becoming a major manuscript collector.
Sources also tell us Cosimo settled the debts of the eccentric dilettante and collector Niccolo de Niccoli after his death (he and Cosimo had been friends since his youth). The debt settlement was done on the basis he could gain control over Niccoli's huge ownership of over 800 important books and manuscripts. He would donate as much as half of these to a new project he started in Florence in the early 1440's.
In 1444 Cosimo created the first public library in Europe in the Florentine monastery of San Marco - where he commissioned architect Michelozzo Michelozzi, a student of the illustrious Ghiberti, to oversee the restoration and development of a new Medici library there. The money provided by him funded not only the conservation and development work but in addition provided the funds needed to add more books to the ones donated from the Niccolo collection. Fortyfive copyists, hired by the bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci, made further accurate copies of other important works to add to the collection. It was ground breaking stuff.
 |
| TWO VIEWS OF THE MEDICI LIBRARY AT THE MONASTERY OF SAN MARCO IN FLORENCE (open to the public) |
- The Palazzo Medici, the archetypal Florentine palazzo - designed by Michelozzo Michelozzi
- The commissioning of the fabulous fresco cycle in the Magi Chapel by Benozzo Gonzoli (completed in 1461 - see blog posting number 3 done in 2015)
- Completion of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore by Brunelleschi.
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| BRUNELLESCHI'S DOME ON THE CATHEDRAL OF SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE Part of Cosimo di Medici's legacy to the city of Florence |
This patinated bronze figure of David, of David and Goliath fame (Book of Samuel Ch 17), is housed in the Bargello - Florence's museum of sculpture which can be found in a monumental building, once a prison and located behind the Piazza della Signoria. It's a cast bronze figure modelled in the form of naked young man (apart from a brimmed hat and calf length boots), with hand on hip and with his other hand holding an over-sized sword - the one he used to slay the Philistine giant - Goliath. The deed has been done and his right foot rests on the large severed helmeted head of the giant. The figure has an enigmatic smile on his face.
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| "David" by Donatello - 1440's Bargello Museum, Florence. |
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| Rear view of the Donatello bronze "David" |
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| The earlier marble "David" by Donatello completed in 1409 which is much stiffer and more 'gothic' in character than the one we have been looking at. |
As I said - this early "humanist" statue can be viewed in the Bargello, but there is a plaster cast copy in the Renaissance Cast Court at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It's surprisingly good.
This has been a fascinating post to put together and I've enjoyed doing it. It's once again revealed to me the importance and broad-ranging interests and ambitions of Cosimo di Medici as one of the most important movers and shakers of the early Renaissance in Florence.
Ciao and until next time
Ian
* - the Pontormo painting of Cosimo di Medici was done some 50 years after his death in 1464. According to one author it may have been made from sketches contemporary with Cosimo's life which have not survived. You can make up your own mind, as I have tried to do, what qualities of personality and emotion the artist has captured in the work.
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