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Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

Publié par GIACOBBE GIUSTI le 31 Mai 2018
Publié dans: Gille, Bertrand (1970). "Alberti, Leone Battista". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 96–98. ISBN 0-684-10114-9. Wright, D.R. Edward, "Alberti's De P, leon battista alberti, Senza categoria, The upper storey of Santa Maria Novella. Tagué : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Poster un commentaire

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

 

The upper storey of Santa Maria Novella

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti
CdM, presunto autoritratto di leon battista alberti, white ground.jpg
Born Leon Battista Alberti
February 14, 1404
Genoa, Italy
Died April 25, 1472 (aged 68)
Rome, Italy
Nationality Italian
Known for Architecture, Linguistics, Poetry
Notable work Tempio Malatestiano, Palazzo Rucellai, Santa Maria Novella
Movement Italian Renaissance

Leon Battista Alberti (Italian: [leˈon batˈtista alˈbɛrti]; February 14, 1404 – April 25, 1472) was an Italianhumanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher and cryptographer; he epitomised the Renaissance Man. Although he is often characterized exclusively as an architect, as James Beck has observed,[1] « to single out one of Leon Battista’s ‘fields’ over others as somehow functionally independent and self-sufficient is of no help at all to any effort to characterize Alberti’s extensive explorations in the fine arts. » Although Alberti is known mostly for being an artist, he was also a mathematician of many sorts and made great advances to this field during the 15th century.[2] Alberti’s life was described in Giorgio Vasari‘s Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.

Life

Leon Battista Alberti was born in 1404 in Genoa. His mother is not known, and his father was a wealthy Florentine who had been exiled from his own city, allowed to return in 1428. Alberti was sent to boarding school in Padua, then studied Law at Bologna.[3] He lived for a time in Florence, then travelled to Rome in 1431 where he took holy orders and entered the service of the papal court.[4] During this time he studied the ancient ruins, which excited his interest in architecture and strongly influenced the form of the buildings that he designed.[4]

Alberti was gifted in many ways. He was tall, strong and a fine athlete who could ride the wildest horse and jump over a man’s head.[5] He distinguished himself as a writer while he was still a child at school, and by the age of twenty had written a play which was successfully passed off as a genuine piece of Classical literature.[3]In 1435, he began his first major written work, Della pittura, which was inspired by the burgeoning pictorial art in Florence in the early 15th century. In this work he analyses the nature of painting and explores the elements of perspective, composition and colour.[4]

In 1438 he began to focus more on architecture and was encouraged by the Marchese Leonello d’Este of Ferrara, for whom he built a small triumphal arch to support an equestrian statue of Leonello’s father.[3] In 1447 he became the architectural advisor to Pope Nicholas V and was involved with several projects at the Vatican.[3]

His first major architectural commission was in 1446 for the facade of the Rucellai Palace in Florence. This was followed in 1450 by a commission from Sigismondo Malatesta to transform the Gothic church of San Francesco in Rimini into a memorial chapel, the Tempio Malatestiano.[4] In Florence, he designed the upper parts of the facade for the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, famously bridging the nave and lower aisles with two ornately inlaid scrolls, solving a visual problem and setting a precedent to be followed by architects of churches for four hundred years.[6] In 1452, he completed De re aedificatoria, a treatise on architecture, using as its basis the work of Vitruvius and influenced by the archaeological remains of Rome. The work was not published until 1485. It was followed in 1464 by his less influential work, De statua, in which he examines sculpture.[4] Alberti’s only known sculpture is a self-portrait medallion, sometimes attributed to Pisanello.

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

Palazzo Rucellai

Alberti was employed to design two churches in Mantua, San Sebastiano, which was never completed, and for which Alberti’s intention can only be speculated, and the Basilica of Sant’Andrea. The design for the latter church was completed in 1471, a year before Alberti’s death, but was brought to completion and is his most significant work.[6]

As an artist, Alberti distinguished himself from the ordinary craftsman, educated in workshops. He was a humanist, and part of the rapidly expanding entourage of intellectuals and artisans supported by the courts of the princes and lords of the time. Alberti, as a member of noble family and as part of the Roman curia, had special status. He was a welcomed guest at the Estecourt in Ferrara, and in Urbino he spent part of the hot-weather season with the soldier-princeFederico III da Montefeltro. The Duke of Urbino was a shrewd military commander, who generously spent money on the patronage of art. Alberti planned to dedicate his treatise on architecture to his friend.[5]

Among Alberti’s smaller studies, pioneering in their field, were a treatise in cryptography, De componendis cifris, and the first Italian grammar. With the Florentine cosmographer Paolo Toscanelli he collaborated in astronomy, a close science to geography at that time, and produced a small Latin work on geography, Descriptio urbis Romae (The Panorama of the City of Rome). Just a few years before his death, Alberti completed De iciarchia (On Ruling the Household), a dialogue about Florence during the Medici rule.

Alberti, having taken holy orders, remained unmarried all his life. He loved animals and had a pet dog, a mongrel, for whom he wrote a panegyric, (Canis).[5] Vasari describes him as « an admirable citizen, a man of culture…. a friend of talented men, open and courteous with everyone. He always lived honourably and like the gentleman he was. »[7] Alberti died in Rome on April 25, 1472 at the age of 68.

Publications

Further information: Mathematics and architecture

Alberti regarded mathematics as the common ground of art and the sciences. « To make clear my exposition in writing this brief commentary on painting, » Alberti began his treatise, Della Pittura (On Painting), « I will take first from the mathematicians those things with which my subject is concerned. »[8]

Della pittura (also known in Latin as De Pictura) relied in its scientific content on classical optics in determining perspective as a geometric instrument of artistic and architectural representation. Alberti was well-versed in the sciences of his age. His knowledge of optics was connected to the handed-down long-standing tradition of the Kitab al-manazir (The Optics; De aspectibus) of the Arab polymath Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham, d. c. 1041), which was mediated by Franciscan optical workshops of the 13th-century Perspectivae traditions of scholars such as Roger Bacon, John Peckham and Witelo (similar influences are also traceable in the third commentary of Lorenzo Ghiberti, Commentario terzo).[9]

English title page of the first edition of Giacomo Leoni’s translation of Alberti’s De Re Aedificatoria (1452). The book is bilingual, with the Italian version being printed on the left and the English version printed on the right.

In both Della pittura and De statua, Alberti stressed that « all steps of learning should be sought from nature. »[10] The ultimate aim of an artist is to imitate nature. Painters and sculptors strive « through by different skills, at the same goal, namely that as nearly as possible the work they have undertaken shall appear to the observer to be similar to the real objects of nature. »[10]However, Alberti did not mean that artists should imitate nature objectively, as it is, but the artist should be especially attentive to beauty, « for in painting beauty is as pleasing as it is necessary. »[10] The work of art is, according to Alberti, so constructed that it is impossible to take anything away from it or add anything to it, without impairing the beauty of the whole. Beauty was for Alberti « the harmony of all parts in relation to one another, » and subsequently « this concord is realized in a particular number, proportion, and arrangement demanded by harmony. » Alberti’s thoughts on harmony were not new—they could be traced back to Pythagoras—but he set them in a fresh context, which fit in well with the contemporary aesthetic discourse.

In Rome, Alberti had plenty of time to study its ancient sites, ruins, and objects. His detailed observations, included in his De Re Aedificatoria (1452, On the Art of Building),[11] were patterned after the De architectura by the Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius (fl. 46–30 BC). The work was the first architectural treatise of the Renaissance. It covered a wide range of subjects, from history to town planning, and engineering to the philosophy of beauty. De re aedificatoria, a large and expensive book, was not fully published until 1485, after which it became a major reference for architects.[12] However, the book was written « not only for craftsmen but also for anyone interested in the noble arts, » as Alberti put it.[11] Originally published in Latin, the first Italian edition came out in 1546. and the standard Italian edition by Cosimo Bartoli was published in 1550. Pope Nicholas V, to whom Alberti dedicated the whole work, dreamed of rebuilding the city of Rome, but he managed to realize only a fragment of his visionary plans. Through his book, Alberti opened up his theories and ideals of the Florentine Renaissance to architects, scholars and others.

Alberti wrote I Libri della famiglia—which discussed education, marriage, household management, and money—in the Tuscan dialect. The work was not printed until 1843. Like Erasmus decades later, Alberti stressed the need for a reform in education. He noted that « the care of very young children is women’s work, for nurses or the mother, » and that at the earliest possible age children should be taught the alphabet.[10] With great hopes, he gave the work to his family to read, but in his autobiography Alberti confesses that « he could hardly avoid feeling rage, moreover, when he saw some of his relatives openly ridiculing both the whole work and the author’s futile enterprise along it. »[10]Momus, written between 1443 and 1450, was a misogynist comedy about the Olympian gods. It has been considered as a roman à clef—Jupiter has been identified in some sources as Pope Eugenius IV and Pope Nicholas V. Alberti borrowed many of its characters from Lucian, one of his favorite Greek writers. The name of its hero, Momus, refers to the Greek word for blame or criticism. After being expelled from heaven, Momus, the god of mockery, is eventually castrated. Jupiter and the other gods come down to earth also, but they return to heaven after Jupiter breaks his nose in a great storm.

Architectural works

The dramatic facade of Sant’ Andrea, Mantua, (1471) built to Alberti’s design after his death
The unfinished and altered facade of San Sebastiano has promoted much speculation as to Alberti’s intentions.

Alberti did not concern himself with the practicalities of building, and very few of his major works were brought to completion. As a designer and a student of Vitruvius and of ancient Roman remains, he grasped the nature of column and lintel architecture, from the visual rather than structural viewpoint, and correctly employed the Classical orders, unlike his contemporary, Brunelleschi, who utilised the Classical column and pilaster in a free interpretation. Among Alberti’s concerns was the social effect of architecture, and to this end he was very well aware of the cityscape.[6] This is demonstrated by his inclusion, at the Rucellai Palace, of a continuous bench for seating at the level of the basement.

In Rome he was employed by Pope Nicholas V for the restoration of the Roman aqueduct of Acqua Vergine, which debouched into a simple basin designed by Alberti, which was swept away later by the Baroque Trevi Fountain.

Some studies[13] propose that the Villa Medici in Fiesole might owe its design to Alberti, not to Michelozzo, and that it then became the prototype of the Renaissancevilla. This hilltop dwelling, commissioned by Giovanni de’ Medici, Cosimo il Vecchio‘s second son, with its view over the city, may be the very first example of a Renaissance villa: that is to say it follows the Albertian criteria for rendering a country dwelling a « villa suburbana ». Under this perspective the Villa Medici in Fiesole could therefore be considered the « muse » for numerous other buildings, not only in the Florence area, which from the end of the 15th century onwards find inspiration and creative innovation here.

Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini

The Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini (1447, 1453–60)[14] is the rebuilding of a Gothic church. The facade, with its dynamic play of forms, was left incomplete.[6]

Façade of Palazzo Rucellai

The design of the façade of the Palazzo Rucellai (1446–51) was one of several commissions for the Rucellai family.[14] The design overlays a grid of shallow pilasters and cornices in the Classical manner onto rusticated masonry, and is surmounted by a heavy cornice. The inner courtyard has Corinthian columns. The palace set a standard in the use of Classical elements that is original in civic buildings in Florence, and greatly influenced later palazzi. The work was executed by Bernardo Rosselino.[6]

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini
Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti
The polychrome facade of Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella

At Santa Maria Novella, Florence, between (1448–70)[14]the upper facade was constructed to the design of Alberti. It was a challenging task, as the lower level already had three doorways and six Gothic niches containing tombs and employing the polychrome marble typical of Florentine churches such as San Miniato al Monte and the Baptistery of Florence. The design also incorporates an ocular window which was already in place. Alberti introduced Classical features around the portico and spread the polychromy over the entire facade in a manner which includes Classical proportions and elements such as pilasters, cornices and a pediment in the Classical style, ornamented with a sunburst in tesserae, rather than sculpture. The best known feature of this typically aisled church is the manner in which Alberti has solved the problem of visually bridging the different levels of the central nave and much lower side aisles. He employed two large scrolls, which were to become a standard feature of Church facades in the later Renaissance, Baroque and Classical Revival buildings.[6]

Pienza

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

 

Piazza Pio II in Pienza, looking towards the Palazzo Piccolomini

Alberti is considered to have been the consultant for the design of the Piazza Pio II, Pienza. The village, previously called Corsignano, was redesigned beginning around 1459.[14] It was the birthplace of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, Pope Pius II, in whose employ Alberti served. Pius II wanted to use the village as a retreat but needed for it to reflect the dignity of his position.

The piazza is a trapezoid shape defined by four buildings, with a focus on Pienza Cathedral and passages on either side opening onto a landscape view. The principal residence, Palazzo Piccolomini, is on the west side. It has three stories, articulated by pilasters and entablature courses, with a twin-lighted cross windowset within each bay. This structure is similar to Alberti’s Palazzo Rucellai in Florence and other later palaces. Noteworthy is the internal court of the palazzo. The back of the palace, to the south, is defined by loggia on all three floors that overlook an enclosed Italian Renaissance garden with Giardino all’italiana era modifications, and spectacular views into the distant landscape of the Val d’Orcia and Pope Pius’s beloved Mount Amiata beyond. Below this garden is a vaulted stable that had stalls for 100 horses. The design, which radically transformed the center of the town, included a palace for the pope, a church, a town hall and a building for the bishops who would accompany the Pope on his trips. Pienza is considered an early example of Renaissance urban planning.

Sant’ Andrea, Mantua

The Basilica of Sant’Andrea, Mantua was begun in 1471,[14] the year before Alberti’s death. It was brought to completion and is his most significant work employing the triumphal arch motif, both for its facade and interior, and influencing many works that were to follow.[6] Alberti perceived the role of architect as designer. Unlike Brunelleschi, he had no interest in the construction, leaving the practicalities to builders and the oversight to others.[6]

Other buildings

Painting

Giorgio Vasari, who argued that historical progress in art reached its peak in Michelangelo, emphasized Alberti’s scholarly achievements, not his artistic talents: « He spent his time finding out about the world and studying the proportions of antiquities; but above all, following his natural genius, he concentrated on writing rather than on applied work. » [7]Leonardo, who ironically called himself « an uneducated person » (omo senza lettere), followed Alberti in the view that painting is science. However, as a scientist Leonardo was more empirical than Alberti, who was a theorist and did not have similar interest in practice. Alberti believed in ideal beauty, but Leonardo filled his notebooks with observations on human proportions, page after page, ending with his famous drawing of the Vitruvian man, a human figure related to a square and a circle.

In On Painting, Alberti uses the expression « We Painters », but as a painter, or sculptor, he was a dilettante. « In painting Alberti achieved nothing of any great importance or beauty, » wrote Vasari.[7] « The very few paintings of his that are extant are far from perfect, but this is not surprising since he devoted himself more to his studies than to draughtsmanship. » Jacob Burckhardt portrayed Alberti in The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy as a truly universal genius. « And Leonardo Da Vinci was to Alberti as the finisher to the beginner, as the master to the dilettante. Would only that Vasari’s work were here supplemented by a description like that of Alberti! The colossal outlines of Leonardo’s nature can never be more than dimly and distantly conceived. »[5]

Alberti is said to be in Mantegna’s great frescoes in the Camera degli Sposi, the older man dressed in dark red clothes, who whispers in the ear of Ludovico Gonzaga, the ruler of Mantua.[citation needed] In Alberti’s self-portrait, a large plaquette, he is clothed as a Roman. To the left of his profile is a winged eye. On the reverse side is the question, Quid tum? (what then), taken from Virgil‘s Eclogues: « So what, if Amyntas is dark? (quid tum si fuscus Amyntas?) Violets are black, and hyacinths are black. »[citation needed]

Contributions

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

Detail of the facade of Tempio Malatestiano

Alberti made a variety of contributions to several fields:

  • Alberti was the creator of a theory called « historia ». In his treatise De pictura (1435) he explains the theory of the accumulation of people, animals, and buildings, which create harmony amongst each other, and « hold the eye of the learned and unlearned spectator for a long while with a certain sense of pleasure and emotion ». De pictura (« On Painting ») contained the first scientific study of perspective. An Italian translation of De pictura (Della pittura) was published in 1436, one year after the original Latin version and addressed Filippo Brunelleschi in the preface. The Latin version had been dedicated to Alberti’s humanist patron, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga of Mantua. He also wrote works on [sculpture], De Statua.
  • Alberti used his artistic treatises to propound a new humanistic theory of art. He drew on his contacts with early Quattrocento artists such as Brunelleschi, Donatello and Ghiberti to provide a practical handbook for the renaissance artist.
  • Alberti wrote an influential work on architecture, De Re Aedificatoria, which by the 16th century had been translated into Italian (by Cosimo Bartoli), French, Spanish and English. An English translation was by Giacomo Leoni in the early 18th century. Newer translations are now available.
  • Whilst Alberti’s treatises on painting and architecture have been hailed as the founding texts of a new form of art, breaking from the Gothic past, it is impossible to know the extent of their practical impact within his lifetime. His praise of the Calumny of Apelles led to several attempts to emulate it, including paintings by Botticelli and Signorelli. His stylistic ideals have been put into practice in the works of Mantegna, Piero della Francesca and Fra Angelico. But how far Alberti was responsible for these innovations and how far he was simply articulating the trends of the artistic movement, with which his practical experience had made him familiar, is impossible to ascertain.
  • He was so skilled in Latin verse that a comedy he wrote in his twentieth year, entitled Philodoxius, would later deceive the younger Aldus Manutius, who edited and published it as the genuine work of ‘Lepidus Comicus’.

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

The upper storey of Santa Maria Novella
Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

One of the giant scrolls at Santa Maria Novella
  • He has been credited with being the author, or alternatively the designer of the woodcut illustrations, of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a strange fantasy novel.[15]
  • Apart from his treatises on the arts, Alberti also wrote: Philodoxus (« Lover of Glory », 1424), De commodis litterarum atque incommodis (« On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Literary Studies », 1429), Intercoenales(« Table Talk », c. 1429), Della famiglia(« On the Family », begun 1432) Vita S. Potiti (« Life of St. Potitus », 1433), De iure (On Law, 1437), Theogenius (« The Origin of the Gods », c. 1440), Profugorium ab aerumna (« Refuge from Mental Anguish »,), Momus (1450) and De Iciarchia (« On the Prince », 1468). These and other works were translated and printed in Venice by the humanist Cosimo Bartoli in 1586.
  • Alberti was an accomplished cryptographer by the standard of his day, and invented the first polyalphabetic cipher, which is now known as the Alberti cipher, and machine-assisted encryption using his Cipher Disk. The polyalphabetic cipher was, at least in principle, for it was not properly used for several hundred years, the most significant advance in cryptography since before Julius Caesar’s time. Cryptography historian David Kahn titles him the « Father of Western Cryptography », pointing to three significant advances in the field which can be attributed to Alberti: « the earliest Western exposition of cryptanalysis, the invention of polyalphabetic substitution, and the invention of enciphered code. »David Kahn (1967). The codebreakers: the story of secret writing. New York: MacMillan.
  • According to Alberti himself, in a short autobiography written c. 1438 in Latin and in the third person, (many but not all scholars consider this work to be an autobiography) he was capable of « standing with his feet together, and springing over a man’s head. » The autobiography survives thanks to an 18th-century transcription by Antonio Muratori. Alberti also claimed that he « excelled in all bodily exercises; could, with feet tied, leap over a standing man; could in the great cathedral, throw a coin far up to ring against the vault; amused himself by taming wild horses and climbing mountains. » Needless to say, many in the Renaissance promoted themselves in various ways and Alberti’s eagerness to promote his skills should be understood, to some extent, within that framework. (This advice should be followed in reading the above information, some of which originates in this so-called autobiography.)
  • Alberti claimed in his « autobiography » to be an accomplished musician and organist, but there is no hard evidence to support this claim. In fact, musical posers were not uncommon in his day (see the lyrics to the song Musica Son, by Francesco Landini, for complaints to this effect.) He held the appointment of canon in the metropolitan church of Florence, and thus – perhaps – had the leisure to devote himself to this art, but this is only speculation. Vasari also agreed with this.[7]
  • He was also interested in the drawing of maps and worked with the astronomer, astrologer, and cartographerPaolo Toscanelli.
  • In terms of Aesthetics Alberti is one of the first defining the work of art as imitation of nature, exactly as a selection of its most beautiful parts: « So let’s take from nature what we are going to paint, and from nature we choose the most beautiful and worthy things »[16]

Works in print

Giacobbe Giusti, Leon Battista Alberti

A window of the Rucellai Palace
  • De Pictura, 1435. On Painting, in English, De Pictura, in Latin, On Painting. Penguin Classics. 1972. ISBN 978-0-14-043331-9.; Della Pittura, in Italian (1804 [1434]).
  • Momus, Latin text and English translation, 2003 ISBN0-674-00754-9
  • De re aedificatoria (1452, Ten Books on Architecture). Alberti, Leon Battista. De re aedificatoria. On the art of building in ten books. (translated by Joseph Rykwert, Robert Tavernor and Neil Leach). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1988. ISBN0-262-51060-X. ISBN978-0-262-51060-8. Latin, French and Italian editions
  • De Cifris A Treatise on Ciphers (1467), trans. A. Zaccagnini. Foreword by David Kahn, Galimberti, Torino 1997.
  • Della tranquillitá dell’animo. 1441.
  • « Leon Battista Alberti. On Painting. A New Translation an Critical Edition », Edited and Translated by Rocco Sinisgalli, Cambridge University Press, New York, May 2011, ISBN978-1-107-00062-9
  • I libri della famiglia, Italian edition [1]
  • « Dinner pieces ». A Translation of the Intercenales by David Marsh. Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, State University of New York, Binghampton 1987.
  • « Descriptio urbis Romae. Leon Battista Alberti’s Delineation of the city of Rome ». Peter Hicks, Arizona Board of Regents for Arizona State university 2007.

In Popular Culture

Notes

  1. Jump up^ James Beck, « Leon Battista Alberti and the ‘Night Sky’ at San Lorenzo », Artibus et Historiae 10, No. 19 (1989:9–35), p. 9.
  2. Jump up^ Williams, Kim (August 27, 2010). The Mathematical Works of Leon Battista Alberti. Birkhauser Verlag AG. p. 1. ISBN 978-3-0346-0473-4 – via Duke Libraries.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Melissa Snell, Leon Battsta Alberti, About.com: Medieval History.
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e The Renaissance:a Illustrated Encyclopedia, Octopus (1979) ISBN 0706408578
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Jacob Burckhardt in The Civilization of the Renaissance Italy, 2.1, 1860.
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i Joseph Rykwert, ed., Leon Baptiste Alberti, Architectul Design, Vol 49 No 5-6, London
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Vasari, The Lives of the Artists
  8. Jump up^ Leone Battista Alberti, On Painting, editor John Richard Spencer, 1956, p. 43.
  9. Jump up^ Nader El-Bizri, « A Philosophical Perspective on Alhazen’s Optics, » Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, vol. 15, issue 2 (2005), pp. 189–218 (Cambridge University Press).
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Liukkonen, Petri. « Leon Battista Alberti ». Books and Writers(kirjasto.sci.fi). Finland: Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
  11. ^ Jump up to:a b Alberti, Leon Battista. On the Art of Building in Ten Books. Trans. Leach, N., Rykwert, J., & Tavenor, R. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1988
  12. Jump up^ Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc., Palladio’s Literary Predecessors
  13. Jump up^ D. Mazzini, S. Simone, Villa Medici a Fiesole. Leon Battista Alberti e il prototipo di villa rinascimentale, Centro Di, Firenze 2004
  14. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h Franco Borsi. Leon Battista Alberti. New York: Harper & Row, (1977)
  15. Jump up^ Liane Lefaivre, Leon Battista Alberti’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997
  16. Jump up^ De Pictura, book III: Ergo semper quae picturi sumus, ea a natura sumamus, semperque ex his quaeque pulcherrima et dignissima deligamus.

References

  • Gille, Bertrand (1970). « Alberti, Leone Battista ». Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. pp. 96–98. ISBN 0-684-10114-9.
  • Wright, D.R. Edward, « Alberti’s De Pictura: Its Literary Structure and Purpose », Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 47, 1984 (1984), pp. 52–71.
  • Robert Tavernor, On Alberti and the Art of Building. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN978-0-300-07615-8.
  • Mark Jarzombek, “The Structural Problematic of Leon Battista Alberti’s De pictura”, Renaissance Studies 4/3 (September 1990): 273–285.
  • Anthony Grafton, Leon Battista Alberti. Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance. New York 2000
  • Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. ‘Walling and the city: the effects of walls and walling within the city space’, The Journal of Architecture pp 309–45 Volume 16, Issue 3, London & New York: Routledge, 2011 http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjar20/16/3#.UlGA8ChTNUQ
  • Korolija Fontana-Giusti, Gordana, ‘The Cutting Surface: On Perspective as a Section, Its Relationship to Writing, and Its Role in Understanding Space’ AA Files No. 40 (Winter 1999), pp. 56–64 London: Architectural Association School of Architecture Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/29544173
  • Günther Fischer, Leon Battista Alberti. Sein Leben und seine Architekturtheorie. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Darmstadt 2012
  • Michel Paoli, Leon Battista Alberti, Torino 2007*
  • Francesco Borsi, Leon Battista Alberti. Das Gesamtwerk. Stuttgart 1982
  • Manfredo Tafuri, Interpreting the Renaissance: Princes, Cities, Architects, trans. Daniel Sherer. New Haven 2006.
  • Les Livres de la famille d’Alberti, Sources, sens et influence, sous la direction de Michel Paoli, avec la collaboration d’Elise Leclerc et Sophie Dutheillet de Lamothe, préface de Françoise Choay, Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2013.
  • Vasari, The Lives of the Artists Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN0-19-283410-X

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Battista_Alberti

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Publié par GIACOBBE GIUSTI le 17 avril 2018
Publié dans: Architecture portal Catholicism portal Vatican City portal Art patronage of Julius II Italian Renaissance painting Index of Vatican City-related articles Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Miserere (All, Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino and assistants Temptation of Christ by Sandro Botticelli Vocation of the Apostles by Domenico Ghirlandaio The Sermon on the Mount, attributed to Cosimo Rossell, Botticcelli, Sandro - The Punishment of Korah and the Stoning of Moses and Aaron, Deimling, Barbara (2000), Sandro Botticelli 1444/45–1510, Köln: Taschen, ISBN 3-8228-5992-3 Earls, Irene (1987), Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary, Westport: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-2, Detail from The Last Judgement by Michelangelo, Ekelund, Hébert & Tollison 2006, p. 313 Jump up^ Vatican City, Whc.unesco.org, retrieved 9 August 2011 Jump up^ Pietrangeli 1986, p. 28 Jump up^ Monfasani, John (1983), "A Description of , Ghirlandaio: The.Calling.of.the.First.Apostles, Hendrick van den Broeck Resurrection of Christ, Michelangelo - Fresco of the Last Judgement, Moses Leaving to Egypt by Pietro Perugino and assistants The Trials of Moses by Sandro Botticelli and his workshop The Crossing of the Red Sea by Cosimo Rosselli, Domenico Ghirlandaio or Bi, Perugino, Consegna delle chiavi, Senza categoria, signorelli, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michelangelo, The Libyan Sibyl, Sistine Chapel(/ˌsɪstiːn ˈtʃæpəl/; Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina[kapˈpɛlla siˈstiːna]) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Ar, Trials of Moses by Botticelli, V&A - Raphael, St Paul Preaching in Athens. Tagué : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Poster un commentaire

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo, lunetta, Jacob – Joseph

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Perugino: Taufe Christi

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Botticelli: Begebenheiten aus dem Leben des Mose

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Ghirlandaio: The.Calling.of.the.First.Apostles

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Perugino, Consegna delle chiavi

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Botticcelli, Sandro – The Punishment of Korah and the Stoning of Moses and Aaron

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

V&A – Raphael, St Paul Preaching in Athens

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Signorelli: Testament und Tod Mose

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michelangelo, The Libyan Sibyl

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Rosselli: Die Bergpredigt

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Detail from The Last Judgement by Michelangelo

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Rosselli: Das letzte Abendmahl

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Hendrick van den Broeck Resurrection of Christ

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo – Fresco of the Last Judgement

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Creazione di Adamo

Michelangelo Buonarroti 

  • Sistine Chapel
  • Cappella Sistina(Italian)

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel
Sistina-interno.jpg

Sistine Chapel, from the altar end

Sistine Chapel is located in Vatican City

Sistine Chapel
Location on a map of Vatican City
Basic information
Location Vatican City
Affiliation Roman Catholic
District Diocese of Rome
Country Vatican City
Year consecrated 15 August 1483
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Papal oratory
Leadership Francis
Website mv.vatican.va
Architectural description
Architect(s) Baccio Pontelli, Giovanni de Dolci[1]
Architectural type Church
Groundbreaking 1473[1]
Completed 1481[1]
Specifications
Length 40.9 metres (134 ft)
Width (nave) 13.4 metres (44 ft)
Height (max) 20.7 metres (68 ft)
Official name: Vatican City
Type Cultural
Criteria i, ii, iv, vi
Designated 1984[2]
Reference no. 286
State Party Flag of the Vatican City.svgHoly See
Region Europe and North America

The Sistine Chapel(/ˌsɪstiːn ˈtʃæpəl/; Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina[kapˈpɛlla siˈstiːna]) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1477 and 1480. Since that time, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, and most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo.

During the reign of Sixtus IV, a team of Renaissance painters that included Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, created a series of frescos depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe l’oeil drapery below. These paintings were completed in 1482, and on 15 August 1483 Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.[3][4]

Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the chapel’s ceiling, a project which changed the course of Western art and is regarded as one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization.[5][6] In a different climate after the Sack of Rome, he returned and between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgment for Popes Clement VII and Paul III.[7]The fame of Michelangelo’s paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel ever since they were revealed five hundred years ago.

History

While known as the location of Papal conclaves, the primary function of the Sistine Chapel is as the chapel of the Papal Chapel(Cappella Pontificia), one of the two bodies of the Papal household, called until 1968 the Papal Court(Pontificalis Aula). At the time of Pope Sixtus IV in the late 15th century, the Papal Chapelcomprised about 200 people, including clerics, officials of the Vatican and distinguished laity. There were 50 occasions during the year on which it was prescribed by the Papal Calendar that the whole Papal Chapel should meet.[8] Of these 50 occasions, 35 were masses, of which 8 were held in Basilicas, in general St. Peter’s, and were attended by large congregations. These included the Christmas Day and Easter masses, at which the Pope himself was the celebrant. The other 27 masses could be held in a smaller, less public space, for which the Cappella Maggiore was used before it was rebuilt on the same site as the Sistine Chapel.

The Cappella Maggiore derived its name, the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel also in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of Pope Nicholas V, which had been decorated by Fra Angelico. The Cappella Maggiore is recorded as existing in 1368. According to a communication from Andreas of Trebizond to Pope Sixtus IV, by the time of its demolition to make way for the present chapel, the Cappella Maggiore was in a ruinous state with its walls leaning.[9]

The Sistine Chapel as it may have appeared in the 15th century (19th-century drawing)

The present chapel, on the site of the Cappella Maggiore, was designed by Baccio Pontelli for Pope Sixtus IV, for whom it is named, and built under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci between 1473 and 1481.[1] The proportions of the present chapel appear to closely follow those of the original. After its completion, the chapel was decorated with frescoes by a number of the most famous artists of the High Renaissance, including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pietro Perugino, and Michelangelo.[9]

The first mass in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on 15 August 1483, the Feast of the Assumption, at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.[10]

The Sistine Chapel has maintained its function to the present day, and continues to host the important services of the Papal Calendar, unless the Pope is travelling. There is a permanent choir, the Sistine Chapel Choir, for whom much original music has been written, the most famous piece being Gregorio Allegri‘s Miserere.[11]

Papal conclave

Main article: Papal conclave

One of the functions of the Sistine Chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals. On the occasion of a conclave, a chimney is installed in the roof of the chapel, from which smoke arises as a signal. If white smoke appears, created by burning the ballots of the election, a new Pope has been elected. If a candidate receives less than a two-thirds vote, the cardinals send up black smoke — created by burning the ballots along with wet straw and chemical additives — it means that no successful election has yet occurred.[12]

The conclave also provided for the cardinals a space in which they can hear mass, and in which they can eat, sleep, and pass time attended by servants. From 1455, conclaves have been held in the Vatican; until the Great Schism, they were held in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.[13] Since 1996, John Paul II‘s Apostolic ConstitutionUniversi Dominici gregis requires the cardinals to be lodged in the Domus Sanctae Marthae during a papal conclave, but to continue to vote in the Sistine Chapel.[14]

Canopies for each cardinal-elector were once used during conclaves—a sign of equal dignity. After the new Pope accepts his election, he would give his new name; at this time, the other Cardinals would tug on a rope attached to their seats to lower their canopies. Until reforms instituted by Saint Pius X, the canopies were of different colours to designate which Cardinals had been appointed by which Pope. Paul VI abolished the canopies altogether, since, under his papacy, the population of the College of Cardinals had increased so much to the point that they would need to be seated in rows of two against the walls, making the canopies obstruct the view of the cardinals in the back row.

Architecture

Structure

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Exterior of the Sistine Chapel

The chapel is a high rectangular building, for which absolute measurements are hard to ascertain, as available measurements are for the interior: 40.9 metres (134 ft) long by 13.4 metres (44 ft) wide, the dimensionsof the Temple of Solomon, as given in the Old Testament.[15]

Its exterior is unadorned by architectural or decorative details, as is common in many Italian churches of the Medieval and Renaissanceeras. It has no exterior façade or exterior processional doorways, as the ingress has always been from internal rooms within the Apostolic Palace (Papal Palace), and the exterior can be seen only from nearby windows and light-wells in the palace. Subsidence and cracking of masonry such as must also have affected the Cappella Maggiore has necessitated the building of very large buttresses to brace the exterior walls. The accretion of other buildings has further altered the exterior appearance of the Chapel.

The building is divided into three stories of which the lowest is a very tall basement level with several utilitarian windows and a doorway giving onto the exterior court. Internally, the basement is robustly vaulted to support the chapel. Above is the main space, the Sistine Chapel, the vaulted ceiling rising to 20.7 metres (68 ft). The building had six tall arched windows down each side and two at either end, several of which have been blocked. Above the vault is a third story with wardrooms for guards. At this level, an open projecting gangway was constructed, which encircled the building supported on an arcade springing from the walls. The gangway has been roofed as it was a continual source of water leaking in to the vault of the Chapel.

A reconstruction of the appearance of the chapel in the 1480s, prior to the painting of the ceiling.

The general proportions of the chapel use the length as the unit of measurement. This has been divided by three to get the width and by two to get the height. Maintaining the ratio, there were six windows down each side and two at either end. Defined proportions were a feature of Renaissance architectureand reflected the growing interest in the Classical heritage of Rome.

The ceiling of the chapel is a flattened barrel vault springing from a course that encircles the walls at the level of the springing of the window arches. This barrel vault is cut transversely by smaller vaults over each window, which divide the barrel vault at its lowest level into a series of large pendentives rising from shallow pilasters between each window. The barrel vault was originally painted brilliant-blue and dotted with gold stars, to the design of Piermatteo Lauro de’ Manfredi da Amelia.[9] The pavement is in opus alexandrinum, a decorative style using marble and coloured stone in a pattern that reflects the earlier proportion in the division of the interior and also marks the processional way from the main door, used by the Pope on important occasions such as Palm Sunday.

A screen or transenna in marble by Mino da Fiesole, Andrea Bregno, and Giovanni Dalmata divides the chapel into two parts.[16] Originally these made equal space for the members of the Papal Chapel within the sanctuary near the altar and the pilgrims and townsfolk without. However, with growth in the number of those attending the Pope, the screen was moved giving a reduced area for the faithful laity. The transenna is surmounted by a row of ornate candlesticks, once gilt, and has a wooden door, where once there was an ornate door of gilded wrought iron. The sculptors of the transenna also provided the cantoriaor projecting choir gallery.

Decoration

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Diagram of part of the vertical fresco decoration of the Sistine Chapel

The first stage in the decoration of the Sistine Chapel was the painting of the ceiling in blue, studded with gilt stars, and with decorative borders around the architectural details of the pendentives. This was entirely replaced when Michelangelo came to work on the ceiling in 1508.

Of the present scheme of frescos, the earliest part is that of the side walls. They are divided into three main tiers. The central tier of the walls has two cycles of paintings, which complement each other, The Life of Moses and The Life of Christ. They were commissioned in 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV and executed by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Roselli and their workshops. They originally ran all round the walls, but have since been replaced on both end walls.

The project was perhaps supervised by Perugino, who arrived at the chapel prior to the Florentines. It is probable that the commission of Ghirlandaio, Botticelli and Roselli was part of a reconciliation project between Lorenzo de’ Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence, and Pope Sixtus IV. The Florentines started to work in the Sistine Chapel in the Spring of 1481.

Beneath the cycles of The Life of Moses and The Life of Christ, the lower level of the walls is decorated with frescoed hangings in silver and gold. Above the narrative frescos, the upper tier is divided into two zones. At the lower level of the windows is a Gallery of Popespainted at the same time as the Lives. Around the arched tops of the windows are areas known as the lunettes which contain the Ancestors of Christ, painted by Michelangelo as part of the scheme for the ceiling.

The ceiling was commissioned by Pope Julius II and painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. The commission was originally to paint the twelve apostles on the triangular pendentives which support the vault; however, Michelangelo demanded a free hand in the pictorial content of the scheme. He painted a series of nine pictures showing God’s Creation of the World, God’s Relationship with Mankind, and Mankind’s Fall from God’s Grace. On the large pendentives he painted twelve Biblical and Classical men and women who prophesied that God would send Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind, and around the upper parts of the windows, the Ancestors of Christ.

In 1515, Raphael was commissioned by Pope Leo X to design a series of ten tapestries to hang around the lower tier of the walls.[17] The tapestries depict events from the Life of St. Peter and the Life of St. Paul, the founders of the Christian Church in Rome, as described in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Work began in mid-1515. Due to their large size, manufacture of the hangings was carried out in Brussels, and took four years under the hands of the weavers in the shop of Pieter van Aelst.[18] Raphael’s tapestries were looted during the Sack of Rome in 1527 and were either burnt for their precious metal content or were scattered around Europe. In the late 20th century, a set was reassembled from several further sets that had been made after the first set, and displayed again in the Sistine Chapel in 1983. The tapestries continue in use at occasional ceremonies of particular importance. The full-size preparatory cartoonsfor seven of the ten tapestries are known as the Raphael Cartoons and are in London.[19]

At this point, the decorative scheme displayed a consistent iconographical pattern. The tier of Popes, which, in the scheme intended by Pope Julius, would have appeared immediately below the Twelve Apostles, would have emphasised the apostolic succession. It has been argued that the present scheme shows the two Biblical Testaments merged in order to reveal the Old predicting and framing the New, synthesizing, the logic of the Christian Bible.[20]

This was disrupted by a further commission to Michelangelo to decorate the wall above the altar with The Last Judgment, 1537–1541. The painting of this scene necessitated the obliteration of two episodes from the Lives, the Nativity of Jesus and the Finding of Moses; several of the Popes and two sets of Ancestors.

Frescoes

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Trials of Moses by Botticelli

The southern wall is decorated with the Stories of Moses, painted in 1481–1482. Starting from the altar, they include:

Northern wall

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

The Delivery of the Keys by Perugino

The northern wall houses the Stories of Jesus, dating to 1481–1482. They include:

Eastern wall

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

 

  • Disputation over Moses’ Body by Matteo da Lecce (1574) over Luca Signorelli’s original

Michelangelo’s frescoes

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo

Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 to repaint the vault, or ceiling, of the Chapel. It was originally painted as golden stars on a blue sky. The work was completed between 1508 and 2 November 1512.[21] He painted the Last Judgment over the altar, between 1535 and 1541, on commission from Pope Paul IIIFarnese.[22]

Michelangelo was intimidated by the scale of the commission, and made it known from the outset of Julius II’s approach that he would prefer to decline. He felt he was more of a sculptor than a painter, and was suspicious that such a large-scale project was being offered to him by enemies as a set-up for an inevitable fall. For Michelangelo, the project was a distraction from the major marble sculpture that had preoccupied him for the previous few years.[23]

The sources of Michelangelo’s inspiration are not easily determined; both Joachite and Augustinian theologians were within the sphere of Julius influence.[24]

Ceiling

: Sistine Chapel ceiling
: Gallery of Sistine Chapel ceiling
Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

A section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling

To be able to reach the ceiling, Michelangelo needed a support; the first idea was by Julius’ favoured architect Donato Bramante, who wanted to build for him a scaffold to be suspended in the air with ropes. However, Bramante did not successfully complete the task, and the structure he built was flawed. He had perforated the vault in order to lower strings to secure the scaffold. Michelangelo laughed when he saw the structure, and believed it would leave holes in the ceiling once the work was ended. He asked Bramante what was to happen when the painter reached the perforations, but the architect had no answer.

The matter was taken before the Pope, who ordered Michelangelo to build a scaffold of his own. Michelangelo created a flat wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall, high up near the top of the windows. Contrary to popular belief, he did not lie on this scaffolding while he painted, but painted from a standing position.[25]

Michelangelo used bright colours, easily visible from the floor. On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ. Above this he alternated male and female prophets, with Jonah over the altar. On the highest section, Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of Genesis. He was originally commissioned to paint only 12 figures, the Apostles. He turned down the commission because he saw himself as a sculptor, not a painter. The Pope offered to allow Michelangelo to paint biblical scenes of his own choice as a compromise. After the work was finished, there were more than 300. His figures showed the creation, Adam and Evein the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood.

The painted area is about 40 m (131 ft) long by 13 m (43 ft) wide. This means that Michelangelo painted well over 5,000 square feet (460 m2) of frescoes.[26]

Last Judgement

Giacobbe Giusti, Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement.
 The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)

The Last Judgement was painted by Michelangelo from 1535 to 1541, between two important historic events, the Sack of Rome by mercenary forces of the Holy Roman Empire in 1527 and the Council of Trent which commenced in 1545. The work was designed on a grand scale, and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The painting depicts the second coming of Christ on the Day of Judgment as described in the Revelation of John, Chapter 20. High on the wall is the heroic figure of Christ, with the saints clustered in groups around him. At the bottom left of the painting the dead are raised from their graves and ascend to be judged. To the right are those who are assigned to Hell and are dragged down by demons.

The Last Judgement was an object of a bitter dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo. Because he depicted naked figures, the artist was accused of immorality and obscenity. A censorship campaign (known as the « Fig-Leaf Campaign ») was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua‘s ambassador) to remove the frescoes.

The Pope’s Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena said « it was most disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully, and that it was no work for a papal chapel but rather for the public baths and taverns, »[27] In response Michelangelo worked da Cesena’s semblance into the scene as Minos, judge of the underworld. It is said that when he complained to the Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell, so the portrait would have to remain. Michelangelo also painted his own portrait, on the flayed skin held by St Bartholomew.

The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra, whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname « Il Braghettone » (« the breeches-painter »).

Restoration and controversy

Main article: Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes

The Sistine Chapel’s ceiling restoration began on 7 November 1984. The restoration complete, the chapel was re-opened to the public on 8 April 1994. The part of the restoration in the Sistine Chapel that has caused the most concern is the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo. The emergence of the brightly coloured Ancestors of Christ from the gloom sparked a reaction of fear that the processes being employed in the cleaning were too severe and removed the original intent of the artist.

Daniel, before and after restoration.

The problem lies in the analysis and understanding of the techniques utilised by Michelangelo, and the technical response of the restorers to that understanding. A close examination of the frescoes of the lunettes convinced the restorers that Michelangelo worked exclusively in « buon fresco« ; that is, the artist worked only on freshly laid plaster and each section of work was completed while the plaster was still in its fresh state. In other words, Michelangelo did not work « a secco« ; he did not come back later and add details onto the dry plaster.

The restorers, by assuming that the artist took a universal approach to the painting, have taken a universal approach to the restoration. A decision was made that all of the shadowy layer of animal glue and « lamp black », all of the wax, and all of the overpainted areas were contamination of one sort or another: smoke deposits, earlier restoration attempts, and painted definition by later restorers in an attempt to enliven the appearance of the work. Based on this decision, according to Arguimbau’s critical reading of the restoration data that have been provided, the chemists of the restoration team decided upon a solvent that would effectively strip the ceiling down to its paint-impregnated plaster. After treatment, only that which was painted « buon fresco » would remain.[citation needed]

Replicas

The only reproduction of the Sistine Chapel ceiling was painted by Gary Bevans at a church in Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, England.[28] A full-size architectural and photographic replica of the entire building was commissioned by the Mexican Government and funded by private donors.[29] It was on view at Mexico City from June 1 to July 15, 2016; it may then be exhibited at other Mexican cities and possibly elsewhere in the world. It took 2.6 million high definition photographs to reproduce the totality of the frescoes and tapestries.[30] A video of the history of the Chapel is shown to the visitors before entering the building; inside, a light-and-sound demonstration explains the content of each of the frescoes.

Quotes on Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel

« Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving. »

— Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 23 August 1787, [31]

« This work has been and truly is a beacon of our art, and it has brought such benefit and enlightenment to the art of painting that it was sufficient to illuminate a world which for so many hundreds of years had remained in the state of darkness. And, to tell the truth, anyone who is a painter no longer needs to concern himself about seeing innovations and inventions, new ways of painting poses, clothing on figures, and various awe-inspiring details, for Michelangelo gave to this work all the perfection that can be given to such details. »

— Giorgio Vasari on Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel

References

Citations
  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Ekelund, Hébert & Tollison 2006, p. 313
  2. Jump up^ Vatican City, Whc.unesco.org, retrieved 9 August 2011
  3. Jump up^ Pietrangeli 1986, p. 28
  4. Jump up^ Monfasani, John (1983), « A Description of the Sistine Chapel under Pope Sixtus IV », Artibus et Historiae, IRSA s.c., 4 (7): 9–18, doi:10.2307/1483178, ISSN 0391-9064, JSTOR 1483178.
  5. Jump up^ Gardner, Helen (1970) Art through the Ages, p. 469, Harcourt, Brace and World. ISBN 978-0-15-508315-8
  6. Jump up^ Robert Coughlan, The World of Michelangelo, Time-Life International, (1966) p. 116
  7. Jump up^ Robert Coughlan, p. 127
  8. Jump up^ Pietrangeli 1986, p. 24
  9. ^ Jump up to:a b c John Shearman, « The Chapel of Sixtus IV ». In Pietrangeli 1986
  10. Jump up^ « The Sistine Chapel », Vatican Museums, retrieved 9 August 2013
  11. Jump up^ Stevens, Abel & Floy, James. « Allegri’s Miserere ». The National Magazine, Carlton & Phillip, 1854. 531.
  12. Jump up^ Saunders, Fr. William P. « The Path to the Papacy« . Arlington Catholic Herald, 17 March 2005. Retrieved on 2 June 2008.
  13. Jump up^ Chambers, D. S. (1978), « Papal Conclaves and Prophetic Mystery in the Sistine Chapel », Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, The Warburg Institute, 41: 322–326, doi:10.2307/750878, JSTOR 750878.
  14. Jump up^ « Interesting Conclave Facts ». ewtn.com.
  15. Jump up^ Campbell, Ian (1981), « The New St Peter’s: Basilica or Temple? » (PDF), Oxford Art Journal, 4 (1): 3–8, doi:10.1093/oxartj/4.1.3, ISSN 0142-6540, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2015.
  16. Jump up^ Hersey 1993, p. 180
  17. Jump up^ Talvacchia 2007, p. 150
  18. Jump up^ Talvacchia 2007, p. 152
  19. Jump up^ Cheney, Iris. Review of « Raphael’s Cartoons in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen and the Tapestries for the Sistine Chapel » by John Shearman ». The Art Bulletin, Volume 56, No. 4, December 1974. 607–609.
  20. Jump up^ Oliveira, Paulo Martins « The Sistine Chapel and the two Testaments« , 2013, (online, academia.edu)
  21. Jump up^ Graham-Dixon 2008, p. 2
  22. Jump up^ Stollhans, Cynthia (1988), « Michelangelo’s Nude Saint Catherine of Alexandria », Woman’s Art Journal, Woman’s Art, Inc., 19 (1): 26–30, doi:10.2307/1358651, ISSN 0270-7993, JSTOR 1358651.
  23. Jump up^ Graham-Dixon 2008, p. 1
  24. Jump up^ Graham-Dixon 2008, p. xii
  25. Jump up^ 7 Things You May Not Know About the Sistine Chapel
  26. Jump up^ Michelangelo – The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, « Seven Common Questions About the Frescoes »
  27. Jump up^ Vasari 1987, p. 379
  28. Jump up^ Welcome to The Sistine Chapel Reproduction United Kingdom
  29. Jump up^ Vatican Approves $2.4 Million Replica of Sistine Chapel in Mexico City
  30. Jump up^ Full-size replica of Vatican’s Sistine Chapel opens in Mexico City
  31. Jump up^ Letter. Original: (in German) Ich kann euch nicht ausdrücken, wie sehr ich euch zu mir gewünscht habe, damit ihr nur einen Begriff hättet, was ein einziger und ganzer Mensch machen und ausrichten kann; ohne die Sixtinische Kapelle gesehen zu haben, kann man sich keinen anschauenden Begriff machen, was ein Mensch vermag. Italian Journey, 2nd journey to Rome.Italienische Reise, Teil 21
Bibliography
  • Deimling, Barbara (2000), Sandro Botticelli 1444/45–1510, Köln: Taschen, ISBN 3-8228-5992-3
  • Earls, Irene (1987), Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary, Westport: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-24658-0
  • Ekelund, Robert B.; Hébert, Robert F.; Tollison, Robert D. (2006), The Marketplace of Christianity, Cambridge: MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-05082-X
  • Graham-Dixon, Andrew (2008), Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-85365-1
  • Hersey, George (1993), High Renaissance Art in St. Peter’s and the Vatican, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-32782-5
  • Michelangelo (1999), Bull, George, ed., Michelangelo, Life, Letters, and Poetry, Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-283770-2
  • Pietrangeli, Carlo, ed. (1986), The Sistine Chapel, New York: Harmony Books, ISBN 0-517-56274-X
  • Seymour, Charles (1972), Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling: illustrations, introductory essays, backgrounds and sources, critical essay, New York: W. W. Norton, ISBN 0-393-04319-3
  • Stinger, Charles (1998), The Renaissance in Rome, Bloomington: Indianapolis, ISBN 0-253-21208-1
  • Talvacchia, Bette (2007), Raphael, Oxford Oxfordshire: Phaidon Press, ISBN 978-0-7148-4786-3
  • Vasari, Giorgio (1987), The Lives of the Artists, George Bull, New York: Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-044500-5
  • Wright, Lawrence (1983), Perspective in Perspective, London: Routledge & K. Paul, ISBN 0-7100-0791-4

Further reading

  • Ettlinger, Leopold (1965), The Sistine Chapel before Michelangelo: Religious Imagery and Papal Primacy, Oxford: Clarendon Press, OCLC 230168041
  • King, Ross (2003), Michelangelo & the Pope’s Ceiling, New York: Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-200369-7
  • Lewine, Carol (1993), The Sistine Chapel Walls and the Roman Liturgy, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 0-271-00792-3
  • Hirst, Michael; Colalucci, Gianluigi; Mancinelli, Fabrizio; Shearman, John; Winner, Matthias; Maeder, Edward; De Vecchi, Pierluigi; Nazzareno, Gabrielli; et al. (1994), Pietrangeli, Carlo, ed., The Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration, Takashi Okamura (photographer), New York: H.N. Abrams, ISBN 0-8109-3840-5
  • Pfeiffer, Heinrich (2007), Die Sixtinische Kapelle neu entdeckt (in German), Stuttgart: Belser, ISBN 978-0-8109-3840-3
  • Stone, Irving (2004), The Agony and the Ecstasy, London: Nal Trade, ISBN 0-451-21323-8. Previously publish by Doubleday in 1961; a novel.
  • Blech, Benjamin; Doliner, Roy (2008), The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican, New York: HarperOne, ISBN 978-0-06-146904-6
  • The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1982. ISBN 0-87099-348-8.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel

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