Handbook of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Part 8

[Madonna and Saints. Palma il Vecchio, about 1480-1528]

Madonna and Saints. Palma il Vecchio, about 1480-1528

In this important Venetian painting of the High Renaissance, the Madonna and Child are represented in a beautiful landscape surrounded by four saints; at the left St. Michael and St. Dorothea, at the right St. Joseph (probably) and St. Mary Magdalene. Such scenes are called in Italian "sante conversazioni," or sacred conversations, and were especially popular in Palma's time. This artist, one of the great masters of the Venetian school, was called il Vecchio, or the elder, to distinguish him from his grand-nephew who was called Palma the younger. Three periods of development may be noted in Palma's work. The first is called Bellinesque, when Palma was still influenced by Giovanni Bellini. In his second period, Giorgione's influence was dominant. The so-called blond manner characterized his third period. The fascinating landscape of our painting calls to mind the influence of Giorgione, but the wholesome well-being that radiates from this goodly company of saints reminds one more of t.i.tian than of Giorgione. Palma enjoyed the beautiful luxurious things of life, he delighted in rich amplitude of form, in splendid glowing color, in the health and sanity of happy men and women; and to his vision he gave the permanency of supreme craftsmanship. Our painting, given in memory of James S. Bell by his son, was formerly in the Rangoni Collection of Modena.

[Stucco Relief. Workshop of Antonio Rossellino]

Stucco Relief. Workshop of Antonio Rossellino

During the Renaissance, a great number of charming reliefs in stucco and plaster by great sculptors, or in their style, were used for the decoration of the home or of wayside shrines. Our example, probably from the workshop of Antonio Rossellino (1427-1478), is a typical example of these popular reliefs.

[Gla.s.s. Venetian, XVI Century]

Gla.s.s. Venetian, XVI Century

The gla.s.s factories at Murano near Venice were celebrated during the Renaissance, as they are today, for their beautiful productions. The large beaker shown in our ill.u.s.tration is of bluish gla.s.s. The deep dish is of white gla.s.s decorated with colored enamels.

[Chair. Florentine, XVI Century]

Chair. Florentine, XVI Century

The grotesque figures, the grinning mask and other decorative motives which may be noted in this elaborately carved chair are characteristic of furniture designed in the High Renaissance.

[Pomona, Glazed Terracotta Statuette. Giovanni Delia Robbia, 1469-1529 (?)]

Pomona, Glazed Terracotta Statuette. Giovanni Delia Robbia, 1469-1529 (?)

This charming statuette of Pomona, or Dovizia, as it has been suggested, is the work of Giovanni della Robbia, a Florentine sculptor, the son of Andrea della Robbia who was the nephew of Luca della Robbia. The work of the della Robbia family in glazed terracotta is familiar to all lovers of Italian art. Giovanni was the pupil of his father. His early works, such as this Pomona, show him at his best; in his later productions he lacks refinement and indulges in polychromy with too liberality. When discreetly used, as in this statuette, color enriches the plastic quality of the work. The G.o.ddess wears a blue gown with decorations in golden yellow; the fruit is represented naturalistically in yellow green and violet; and the flesh parts are glazed in white. On her head the G.o.ddess carries a basket filled with fruit, and in her left hand a br.i.m.m.i.n.g cornucopia. A little boy, with charming naturalness, turns to her for protection as if afraid of the dog barking at him.

[Candlestick, Wood, Carved and Gilded. Florentine, XVI Century]

Candlestick, Wood, Carved and Gilded. Florentine, XVI Century

Vasari and a writer of the XVII century mention a statue by Donatello of La Dovizia, which stood in the Mercato Vecchio in Florence. This statue is described as representing a maiden bearing on her head a basket of fruit. The statue is lost, but two existing statuettes of the della Robbia school, in addition to our own (both inferior to ours), are probably reflections of the Donatello Dovizia. In one, in the Buonarotti Museum, we see a maiden supporting on her head, with her right hand, a basket filled with flowers and fruit. A similar statuette in the Berlin Museum carries a cornucopia as well as a basket. Both are called Pomona.

The cornucopia, however, is the cla.s.sic attribute of Ceres and of Abundantia, or, in this case, Dovizia, the Italian version of Abundantia.

That our statuette is intended as a personification of riches or abundance rather than as Pomona becomes yet clearer when we examine the inscription on the base: GLORIA ET DIVITIE IN DOMO TUA, "May Honor and Riches Be Within Thy House." The boy and dog give a touch of domesticity to the group. They express "within thy house," revealing Dovizia as a household G.o.ddess.

[Virgil Appearing to Dante, Tapestry. Florentine, Middle of XVI Century]

Virgil Appearing to Dante, Tapestry. Florentine, Middle of XVI Century

These two tapestries in the Charles Jairus Martin Memorial Collection are remarkably fine examples of Renaissance tapestry weaving in Italy and Flanders during the XVI century. The Dante tapestry was woven about the middle of the century in Florence at the Medici atelier-the Arazzeria-Medici-founded by Cosimo I in 1537. It bears in the selvage the mark of the Florentine manufactory and of the master weaver, John Rost, who with another Fleming, Nicholas Karcher, conducted (from 1546) the work of the Arazzeria. His mark, in the lower left-hand corner of the tapestry, is a punning device, a roast of meat upon a spit. The tapestry was woven for some member of the Salviati family, whose arms appear in the upper border. The design has been attributed on evidence of style to Francesco Rossi de' Salviati (1510-1563), who, with Bronzino and other well-known artists of the High Renaissance, provided many cartoons for the Medici weavers. The scene represented is taken from the opening canto of Dante's Divine Comedy; Virgil, the type of Human Philosophy, sent to guide the poet through h.e.l.l and Purgatory, appears to Dante who has lost his way in "the wood of error," where he is menaced by three symbolical animals, the panther, the lion and the she-wolf, who would prevent him from ascending the "Holy Hill." The border designs in the grotesque style are particularly interesting and typical of Renaissance ornament. The tapestry is unusually large, measuring 16 ft. 7 in. in height by 15 ft. 4 in. in width. Italian tapestries of the High Renaissance are not common; the Dante tapestry, formerly in the J. P. Morgan Collection, is far and away the most important example of its kind in the country.

[Joseph Ruler Over Egypt, Tapestry. Brussels, Second Quarter of XVI Century]

Joseph Ruler Over Egypt, Tapestry. Brussels, Second Quarter of XVI Century

The extraordinary success which attended the weaving at Brussels in the early part of the XVI century of the tapestries from Raphael's famous cartoons brought the Italian Renaissance style into great favor among the tapestry weavers of Flanders. Evidence of this is clear in our tapestry from a set ill.u.s.trating the history of Joseph. Behind the seated woman in the foreground stands a lady in the rich costume of the XVI century; it is not improbable that this is the portrait of some n.o.blewoman at whose expense the tapestries were woven. In the lower left-hand corner of the border occurs the Brussels mark, a red shield with a capital letter "B" on either side. From 1528 on, the Brussels weavers were required by law to add the mark of the city, together with their own mark, to all tapestries of more than six ells. The weaver's monogram, at the right in the lower border of our tapestry, as not yet been identified. The tapestry dates from about the second quarter of the XVI century. It was formerly in the Rospigliosi and Ffoulke Collections.

[Lectern, Walnut. Italian, Umbrian, XVI Century]

Lectern, Walnut. Italian, Umbrian, XVI Century

The architectural design of this large lectern is typical of Italian Renaissance furniture, as is also the use of such cla.s.sical decorative motives as the egg-and-dart pattern, rosettes, swags, etc. The lectern, from some Umbrian church, served to support the large choir-books, oftentimes beautifully illuminated, that were in use during this period.

[Ca.s.sone, with Gilded Decoration. Florentine, Third Quarter of XV Century]

Ca.s.sone, with Gilded Decoration. Florentine, Third Quarter of XV Century

Richly ornamented ca.s.soni to hold the bridal trousseau const.i.tute an important cla.s.s of Renaissance furniture. The two marriage chests, ill.u.s.trated on this page, are magnificent examples of this type of furniture. The Florentine ca.s.sone is ornamented with gilded, low reliefs in "pastille." In the center are the four cardinal virtues, Temperance, Justice, Fort.i.tude and Prudence; on either side of this group, mythological scenes that may be taken in connection with the virtues as representing the opposition between the ordered Christian life and pagan license. The Medusa heads are introduced as guardians against misfortune.

This combination of pagan and Christian elements is thoroughly characteristic of the Renaissance. The beautifully carved walnut ca.s.sone was made in 1514 for a marriage which united two Sienese families, the Piccolomini and the del Golia. In its refinement of proportions and skilful execution this ca.s.sone is a masterpiece of furniture designing.

[Ca.s.sone, Carved Walnut. Sienese, 1514]

Ca.s.sone, Carved Walnut. Sienese, 1514

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ART

[Chair, Portuguese. XVII Century]

Chair, Portuguese. XVII Century

The XVII century is an age of opposites. Democracy is contrasted with absolutism; the newly won Dutch Republic with the monarchies of Spain and France. Christendom is divided between the antagonistic sects of Catholicism and Protestantism. The Counter-Reformation, at first mistrustful of the artist, now makes use of art to further the Catholic reaction. But religious art itself, exclusively Catholic, is animated by varying emotions which find expression, on the one hand, in the pa.s.sionate, morbid fervor of Ribera (1588-1656); on the other, in the easy-going rhetoric and corpulent healthiness of Rubens (1577-1640). In secular art we find equally striking contrasts; the pendulum swings from the aristocratic refinement of Van Dyck (1599-1641) to the vulgarity of Brouwer (1606-1638). It seems incredible that two such great artists as Rembrandt (1607-1669) and Velasquez (1599-1660) should have been contemporaries: Velasquez, reserved, proud, the embodiment of Spanish courtliness; Rembrandt, emotional, democratic, understanding and sympathizing with all mankind. But the contrast is no greater than between the popular art that flourished in the Netherlands under a free people, and the monarchical art, with its academies, court painters, sculptors, architects, tapestry weavers and cabinet makers, that revolved around the awesome person of le grand monarque, Louis XIV. Architecture, sculpture and the minor arts display more uniformity of style than the paintings of the period. Dependent largely upon the Church or upon an opulent aristocracy for patronage, they reflect the taste for grandiloquence, ostentation and splendid show which characterized, in this century, ecclesiastic and n.o.ble alike. The cla.s.sic orders tower and writhe on church facade and palace walls. Within, where all is resplendent with gold and rich colors, magnificence pays its lavish homage to deity or to royalty in equal measure.

[Henry Hyde, Lord Clarendon. Sir Peter Lely, 1618-1680]

Henry Hyde, Lord Clarendon. Sir Peter Lely, 1618-1680

English painting before the XVIII century was largely dominated by foreign artists: Holbein in the XVI century; Van Dyck in the first half of the XVII century; and, in the second half, the Dutchman, Sir Peter Lely, who came to England in 1641 and speedily won great reputation as a portrait painter, imitating the style of Van Dyck who had just died. Lely's work is distinguished by many excellent qualities, although marred by the pompous artificiality of his time. He is at his best in such a portrait as this, painted shortly after his arrival in England, of the second Earl of Clarendon (1638-1709) as a boy.

[The Concert. Michiel van Musscher, 1645-1705]

The Concert. Michiel van Musscher, 1645-1705