Quattrocento Florence Research Articles

Hermes' Lyre: Italian Poetic Self-Commentary from Dante to Tommaso Campanella by Sherry Roush (review)

230 Reviews and in Dante's lyric poems, the central part of the book examines Dante's metapho? rical language in the three cantiche, but focuses primarily on the Paradiso. Gibbons attributes the high incidence of metaphors in the Paradiso to the religious and spiritual nature of its subject matter. Collectinga number of pertinent references, he maintains that Dante renewed traditional Christian metaphors in ways that affect the linguistic and metric structure. Gibbons hypothesizes that to rejuvenate his sources the poet employed three strategies or techniques: the selection of uncommon words, the extension of the metaphor by means of grammatical construction based on neologisms, and the search forrimas caras. He then analyses with convincing precision what he calls the 'grammar' of metaphor, that is to say 'the syntactic formin which the various elements are juxtaposed' (p. 81). Gibbons finds that Dante achieved striking effectsby combining the two terms of the comparison with a copulative verb ('e letizia era ferza del paleo' (Par. xvm. 42)), or through the use of a genitive link ('la punta del disio' (Par. xxn. 26)), or through the accumulation of adjectives, pronouns, and relative clauses that qualify individual metaphorical words. More commonly, in Gib? bons's view, Dante employed verb metaphors. The verbs he selected are traditional, but 'familiar ideas are revitalized simply by the brevity with which they are restated* (p. 85). The variety,the expansion, and the repetition of terms employed by the poet also contribute to this process of renewal of the common stock of imagery. Chapter 6 is a case study of metaphors in Canto 28 of the Paradiso. But in fact metaphoric pas? sages from the whole of the Divine Comedy are taken into account, thus transforming this brief but dense chapter into a reading that reveals the complexity and the level of formal elaboration of Dante's language which 'encourage the reader to re-evaluate a mode of expression that might otherwise have been taken forgranted' (p. 114). The closing section of the volume is perhaps less compelling but no less useful. It concentrates on the reader's response to Dante's metaphoric language. Three kinds of readers are considered: Dante's ideal reader, the Trecento and Renaissance com? mentators, and finally Petrarch. In the firstof these chapters, Gibbons examines the reactions that Dante expected from the model readers of his works, in particular the Vita nuova, the Convivio, and the Comedy, and concludes that Dante's model reader 'will use literal improprieties as signals to interpret the text metaphorically rather than resist the poetic driftand make carping criticisms' (p. 130). In the chapter dedicated to the medieval and Renaissance commentators' reading of the Comedy, Gibbons highlights how none of the early exegetes matches his own interpretation of Dante's use of metaphor. The only exception appears to be, at times, Benvenuto da Imola, whose appreciation of the stylistic features ofthe Comedy is well known. In the closing chapter of his book, Gibbons invites the reader to a deeper understanding of Dante's metaphors through their reception in Petrarch's poetry. Gibbons argues that Petrarch felt the violence with which Dante's metaphors 'disrupt the logic of semantics' as well as 'the formal experimentalism with which they challenge the reader's preconceptions' (p. 174). Metaphor in Dante is an important and noteworthy contribution to the understand? ing of Dante's use, creation, and renewal ofthe poetic language. University of Reading Paola Nasti Her mes' Lyre: Italian Poetic Self-Commentary from Dante to Tommaso Campanella. By Sherry Roush. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 2002. ix + 249 pp. ?32. ISBN 0-8020-3712-7. This book examines six authors who, as poets, comment on their own work; the Hermes ' lyre of the title corresponds to the view that poetic self-commentary combines MLR, ioo.i, 2005 231 both hermeneutic and lyric dimensions. The authors selected are paired (DanteBoccaccio ; Lorenzo de' Medici-Girolamo Benivieni; Giordano Bruno-Tommaso Campanella) and located within three broad historical contexts (late Duecento to mid-Trecento; late Quattrocento Florence; and the milieu of Catholic Reformation at the turn of the seventeenth century). Each pairing involves contrasting forms of self-commentary (prosimetrical and self-gloss), and while individual authors are...

Debts, Dowries, Donkeys: The Diary of Niccolo Machiavelli's Father, Messer Bernardo, in Quattrocento Florence

1University of Leeds Debts, Dowries, Donkeys: The Diary of Niccolò Machiavelli’s Father, Messer Bernardo, in Quattrocento Florence Catherine Atkinson 2002 190 £ 24

Engaging symbols: gender, politics, and public art in fifteenth-century Florence

During the 15th century, Florence emerged as one of Europe's most important city-states. This text investigates the fascinating intersection of art, politics and gender in the public sphere of Florence at this time. Adrian Randolph identifies a pivotal moment in the history of public art when Florentines visually encoded political and social relations within gendered categories. Randolph shows how engaging political symbols were grounded in a revolutionary way in amorous discourses that drew on metaphors of affection, desire, courtship, betrothal, marriage, homo- and hetero-eroticism, and procreation. The author emphasizes the sculpture of Donatello and the Medici family's efforts to seek legitimacy through artistic patronage. To characterize the political function of art, however, the text also encompasses a broad array of media - including paintings by Botticelli, portrait medals, and especially engravings - and tracks a number of important political developments. During the course of the 15th century, as tensions grew between Florence's explicit republicanism and a waxing politics of personal charisma, art was employed to alleviate the uneasiness, Randolph argues. First an oligarchical government and then three generations of Medici rulers, recognizing the importance of political appearances, carefully crafted images of themselves, their city, and the consensual relation they imagined existing between the two. Randolph aims to cast new light on these artistic practices to arrive at a convincing view of the connections among politics, gender and art in quattrocento Florence.

Lorenzo de' Medici's new men and their mores: the changing lifestyle of Quattrocento Florence

As an approach to the contentious problem of how to define the nature of Florentine society – feudal or mercantile, old or new – this paper investigates the outlook and lifestyle of Lorenzo de' Medici's secretary‐notaries, a new and highly vocal group of functionaries in the later fifteenth century. It examines first their social behaviour, especially their clothes and consumerism, then their political role and ambitions, and finally their morality, arguing that these men sought to rise in society by adopting ‘new ways’ and attitudes, not those of the old elite. In doing so, they articulated the outlook and values that came to typify new thinking about politics and society in the early modern period.

:Images of Quattrocento Florence: Selected Writings in Literature, History and Art

This anthology provides a panoramic view of 15th-century Florence in the words of the city's own citizens and visitors. The selections illustrate the social, political, religious, artistic and general cultural impact of Florence in shaping the Italian and European Renaissance.

Book Review: Images of Quattrocento Florence: Selected Writings in Literature, History, and Art

Book Review: Images of Quattrocento Florence: Selected Writings in Literature, History, and Art

Performing for Strangers: Women, Dance, and Music in Quattrocento Florence*

Contrary to a tradition of scholarly insistence on the invisibility of Florentine patrician women outside the domestic sphere, it can be argued such women did in effect perform a significant, public, or quasi-public, function in the negotiation of relationships between the Republic and other Italian, and European, elites. This article assembles fragmentary evidence concerning dancing and musical performance by women directed towards the entertainment of visiting notables in the second half of the Quattrocento, and uses modern concepts of gendered performance and the performance of gender to speculate on the nature of that experience for the women involved.

Images of Quattrocento Florence: Selected Writings in Literature, History, and Art

Images of Quattrocento Florence: Selected Writings in Literature, History, and Art

Political Oratory and the Public Sphere in early Quattrocento Florence

Political Oratory and the Public Sphere in early Quattrocento Florence

Lost and Partially Found: The Tondo, a Significant Florentine Art Form, in Documents of the Renaissance

The one of the most popular formats for devotional painting and sculpture in Quattrocento Florence, reflected specific religious and cultural ideas, in particular humanism and its veneration of the circle. The documentary material presented here contains clues not only as to the origins of the tondo but also regarding the meanings it held in the Renaissance. This synthetic study opens with an examination of the philological background of the word tondo, and goes on to discuss various inventories in detail, including those of the Medici family and the Magistralo dei Pupilli, as well as commission and payment documents, and artists' inventories. In the final analysis, an astonishing correlation exists between the documents and the physical evidence. The author also assesses both written records and works of art to determine where tondi would have been placed.

Hercules and David in the Early Decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio: Manuscript Evidence

Previous articleNext article No AccessHercules and David in the Early Decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio: Manuscript EvidenceMaria Monica DonatoMaria Monica Donato Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes Volume 54, Number 11991 Published for the Warburg Institute and the Courtauld Institute Views: 1Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/751481 Views: 1Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright © 1991 by The Warburg Institute. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: Andrew Butterfield New Evidence for the Iconography of David in Quattrocento Florence, I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 6 (Oct 2015): 115–133.https://doi.org/10.2307/4603693

"As If Conceived within a Legitimate Marriage" a Dispute concerning Legitimation in Quattrocento Florence

"As If Conceived within a Legitimate Marriage" a Dispute concerning Legitimation in Quattrocento Florence

Marriage Rituals and Marriage Chests in Quattrocento Florence

Florentine marriage chests played an important part in the complex marriage rituals of the Quattrocento. They were purchased by the groom's family, sent to the bride to be filled, and then carried through the street in a wedding procession which marked the final step in the legitimization of marriage. This parade had the form of a triumphal procession. It provided an arena for symbolic enactment of hostility between the newly allied families and for the display of family power in the face of community envy or hostility. It resembled folk customs surviving in parts of Europe well into the nineteenth century. The martial and classical subjects of most chests reflect the form and content of the marriage ritual and the education of their purchasers. Florence restricted, to some extent, the actual display of wealth in the ceremony: the painted scenes partly compensate for such restrictions.

La prostitution florentine au XVe siècle

« … La città mercatrice, ma che dico, meretrice ! »Aeneas Sylvius décrivant FlorenceEn avril 1403, le gouvernement de Florence institua un « Office de l'Honnêteté » (Onestà confiant à une juridiction permanente, pour la première fois dans l'histoire de la Cité, le soin de veiller à la moralité publique. Son objectif spécifique était de détourner les hommes de l'homosexualité, en favorisant la prostitution féminine. Il fallait pour cela bâtir ou acheter un édifice susceptible d'être utilisé comme bordel, et recruter des prostituées étrangères et des souteneurs pour y travailler ; mais il fallait aussi leur assurer des ressources et une protection qui les encourageraient à rester, et en attireraient d'autres. Le présent article étudie la démographie de ces immigrants et des tenanciers qui les hébergeaient, ainsi que des clients fréquentant les bordels; en revanche, il n'abordera pas le monde des bains publics et de la prostitution en dehors de la zone qui lui était assignée. Notre travail débute, et s'achève, en considérant la prostitution dans son contexte urbain et culturel, comme le faisaient les contemporains.

The Dowry Fund and the Marriage Market in Early Quattrocento Florence

Historians of Florence have insisted that the dowry was a keystone of the institution of marriage in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Matrimonial strategy-when, where, how, and with whom a marriage was arranged-it has been argued, was a reflex of social and economic position, yet a reflex conditioned by the amount and nature of the dowry.1 To stress that the dowry was a critical variable of matrimonial strategy is not to imply that Florence in this regard was unique. The dowry was equally important throughout Mediterranean Europe and continues to be so in southern Italy and in Greece.2 There was no such phenomenon as the Renaissance dowry. In the light of current knowledge, what distinguished Florence from other localities was the entrance of the commune into the matrimonial plans of its citizens, by the creation in the winter of 1425 of a dowry fund commonly known as the

The Compagnia de' Magi

Previous articleNext article No AccessThe Compagnia de' MagiRab HatfieldRab Hatfield Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes Volume 33, Number 11970 Published for the Warburg Institute and the Courtauld Institute Views: 10Total views on this site Citations: 7Citations are reported from Crossref Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/750893 Views: 10Total views on this site Citations: 7Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright © 1970 by The Warburg Institute. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Emanuela Ferretti Prophecies and Ruins: Architectural Sources for Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi, I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 23, no.22 (Dec 2020): 273–302.https://doi.org/10.1086/710958Judith Bryce Decoding Code Name 16: Was Francesco Caccini the Host of the Donati-Ardinghelli Wedding Celebrations of 1465?, I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 23, no.11 (Jun 2020): 7–32.https://doi.org/10.1086/708192Andrew Hui The Birth of Ruins in Quattrocento Adoration Paintings, I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 18, no.22 (Dec 2015): 319–348.https://doi.org/10.1086/683137 ALEXANDER NAGEL Twenty-five notes on pseudoscript in Italian art, Res: Anthropology and aesthetics 59-60 (Oct 2016): 228–248.https://doi.org/10.1086/RESvn1ms23647792 Timothy J. McGee Dinner Music for the Florentine Signoria, 1350-1450, Speculum 74, no.11 (Oct 2015): 95–114.https://doi.org/10.2307/2887271 Arnold Victor Coonin Portrait Busts of Children in Quattrocento Florence, Metropolitan Museum Journal 30 (Oct 2015): 61–71.https://doi.org/10.2307/1512950 Gabriel Blumenthal THE SCIENCE OF THE MAGI: THE OLD SACRISTY OF SAN LORENZO AND THE MEDICI, Source: Notes in the History of Art 6, no.11 (Sep 2015): 1–11.https://doi.org/10.1086/sou.6.1.23202344

The Archbishop on the Painters of Florence, 1450

FEW phases of the history of art are more familiar than the emergence of Renaissance painting in Quattrocento Florence: its great masters, its individual masterpieces, its abrupt shift from older style. But we have hardly any information on the external circumstances: was the new style well received by patrons and public, or was there a battle? Does it have a connection with the new secularism which allegedly is a Renaissance phenomenon and a beginning of modern attitudes? Or does it have stronger links with the religious symbolism which according to other allegations was only modified but not weakened? Is it dependent on or only parallel to the developments in sculpture and architecture?