Italian Renaissance Art

This paper focuses on the not quite well enough remarked upon role of the female avenger in the
Íslendingasǫgur, its patterns, and narrative structure by analysing and comparing two episodes
from Gísla saga Súrssonar and Harðar saga ok Hólmverja. Þórdís (Gísla) and Þorbjörg (Harðara)
draw upon an earlier Germanic archetype, best exemplified by Guðrún Gjúkadóttir, bringing about
vengeance at the dinner table. However, where they differ is in the aftermath of said dinner. Taking
Guðrún’s foundations, these two women build upon it and set themselves apart from most other
female characters by taking matters of revenge in their own hands, instead of recurring to the most
codified ways of getting revenge through inciting male relatives into doing it for them. Their
brothers are their keystones, and their complex relationships make or break Germanic narrative
structures. The turning point comes when both women betray their brothers, leading to their
husbands having their brothers-in-law killed, news of the killing reaching the women at the dinner
table, and the consequent decision to violently avenge their brothers. The reason for the
appearance of this new structure might be found in a cultural shift, or it might be purely
narratological. Regardless, I believe this merits a deeper analysis.

It’s a valuation about the V Centenary of the death of Andrea Mantegna, the expositios during 2006, its catalogues and some publication because of this celebration, to conclude the importance of Leon Battista Alberti in the Mantova of the Gonzaga.

Il progressivo studio della scultura del Cinquecento messinese e l’importante tema dei modelli di riferimento hanno condotto, in questo contributo, all’individuazione di relazioni fra alcuni fogli del corpus grafico prodotto da Polidoro da Caravaggio e dalla sua bottega durante il periodo di soggiorno messinese con talune opere di scultura realizzate da diversi artefici attivi nel medesimo centro fra XVI e XVII secolo. Emerge una notevole influenza del pittore lombardo, allievo di Raffaello, sul campo della scultura; del resto egli è impegnato nella città dello Stretto nella prestigiosa impresa di allestimento degli apparati effimeri per il passaggio di Carlo V, esperienza in cui l’artista si cimenta nella fusione delle arti. Il saggio quindi mette in relazione alcune opere grafiche dell’artista lombardo con sperimentazioni figurative restituite a scultori contemporanei quali Domenico Vanello e Giovan Domenico Mazzolo, ed inoltre altre suggestive elaborazioni polidoresche con opere di scultori successivi quali Rinaldo Bonanno e il vasto entourages dei Calamecca.

The progressive study of the sixteenth century sculpture in Messina and the important topic about reference models have led, in this contribution, to the identification of relationships between some sheets of the graphic corpus created by Polidoro da Caravaggio and his workshop during the period of his stay in Messina with some sculptures made by different craftsmen working in the same place between the 16th and 17th centuries. A notable influence emerges from the Lombard painter, a Raphael pupil, upon the art of sculpture; after all, he is engaged in the city of the Strait in the prestigious challenge of setting up the ephemeral architectural structures for the passage of Charles V, an experience in which the artist put his efforts in the fusion of the arts. The essay therefore links some graphic works by the Lombard artist with figurative experiments returned to contemporary sculptors such as Domenico Vanello and Giovan Domenico Mazzolo, and also other evocative polidoresque creations with later works made by sculptors such as Rinaldo Bonanno and the vast entourages of the Calamecca.

La mostra espone i risultati delle analisi condotte sul battistero nell'ambito del corso di "Metodi e tecniche del restauro architettonico", prof. Sergio Bettini, ass. arch. Marco Di Nallo, durante due anni accademici (2018/19, 2019/20), nonché dei restauri effettuati in senso al corso di laurea in restauro della SUPSI.

The exhibition displays the results of the analyses conducted on the baptistery as part of the course "Methods and techniques of architectural restoration," Prof. Sergio Bettini, ass. arch. Marco Di Nallo, during two academic years (2018/19, 2019/20), as well as restorations carried out in the sense of the SUPSI restoration degree course.

Appuntamento del ciclo di incontri curato da Alessandro Buono e Matteo Giuli “Il Caffè dei Modernisti. Temi e discussioni di Storia”.
Giovedì 26 ottobre 2023, alle ore 16:00 presso la Chiesa di Santa Eufrasia (Biblioteca di Antichistica – Via dei Mille, 15 – Pisa), Barbara Gelli (Università di Pisa), terrà il seminario dal titolo:
“Onore delle armi e promozione sociale nella Siena di metà ‘500. L’accademia militare dei bardotti”.

The funeral rituals accompanying the death of doge Andrea Gritti (1455-1538) epitomize the period of interregnum in the Venetian context. The presentation of dogal authority was symbolically associated with the continuity of the republic and carefully managed throughout the transition to a newly elected prince. And like the survival of the body of state the rehabilitation of the physical body of the defunct Doge was a crucial phase in the ceremonial process. This essay considers a previously unpublished contemporary account of the esequies of doge Gritti, in the light of what it reveals about his immediate physical burial, now confirmed as being at San Francesco della Vigna.

In classical and Renaissance art and literature, the iconography of the winged horse embodies contrasting meanings, from Pegasus’s virtuous triumph of the spirit, in opposition to the Platonic notion of uncontrollable libido and sensory dissatisfaction, to the symbol of elusive Fortune and hence Misfortune, driven by the perception of the goddess Fortune’s nature as volatile, irrational, and fleeting. This paper delves into the deep interconnection between visual arts and literary sources, examining the various interpretations of the winged horse image in humanistic thought and its connection with the concepts of Fate, Fortune, Virtus, and Wisdom, as articulated by Francesco Petrarca, Leon Battista Alberti, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Andrea Alciati, Achille Bocchi, and Andrea Fulvio. The analysis extends to Renaissance visual representations, with a focus on medals, paintings, and engravings, such as the sixth woodcut from the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, The Cardinal Virtues by Raffaello Sanzio in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Parnassus by Baldassarre Peruzzi at Villa Farnesina, and Hercules at the Crossroads by Annibale Carracci. Finally, this reflection highlights the significance of the winged horse as a symbol of Fortune’s unreliability and transience, contrasting it with enduring Wisdom, which can overcome any misfortunate hardship. This juxtaposition reveals the ultimate purpose of Virtue and the pursuit of knowledge as the final aim of the Renaissance concept.

Il progetto di recupero, salvaguardia e valorizzazione di un tesoro del nostro patrimonio: i panni tartarici in seta e oro del pontefice domenicano (1303-1304), tra Occidente e Oriente. Alla pubblicazione del volume Il parato di Benedetto XI. Storia di un tesoro, si accompagna il tour nazionale di conversazioni che pongono il parato papale in dialogo con altrettante significative testimonianze del nostro patrimonio contestualizzandolo nel più vasto scenario artistico, storico e culturale dell'epoca.

This essay examines a combination of fivw translational modalities that give  Chaucer's The Physician's Tale the appearance of a translation when, in fact, it is  not.  The five modalities shaping Chaucer’s translational practices are appropriation, transformation, transportation, hermeneutics, and liminality. Chaucer learned and experimented with this mode of pretending to translate early in his writing career. Because it gave him enormous creative range, he never abandoned the mode, scattering bits of faux translation throughout his oeuvre.

As a matter of fact the first instruments looking like violins appeared in Italian paintings during the very first decades of the sixteenth century, while – when considering the set of instruments made by Andrea Amati (or at least attributed to him) – the earliest preserved instruments date back probably to its second half.
Over many years of study of medieval bowed instruments, I have developed my own rather original approach to this mid-sixteenth century period.[3] Borrowing from the former techniques and aesthetics, I propose to leave aside our contemporary violin makers’ knowledge bases, forgetting all the acknowledged conceptions about construction, internal arrangements or acoustic matters, and I will simply trace the record of the historic evidence. When we observe closely what the documents show us chronogically, admitting every new technical feature only when the proof of its existence is established, some preconceived ideas about the violin can be seriously challenged.

The aim of the author of the article is to get closer to the group of recipients of two artists from Gołuchów: Józef Witkowski and Rafał Walendowski, paying special attention to the aspect of restaurant tradition in their work. The article uses traditional and electronic publications, as well as information received from the child of Józef Witkowski, Elżbieta Mizerkiewicz, and Rafał Walendowski.

I registri di imbreviature tardo medievali conservati presso l’Archivio di Stato di Piacenza contengono un grande numero di raffigurazioni di carattere araldico, di solito mescolate a prove di penna di ogni genere e prive di un qualsiasi carattere programmatico. Si tratta tanto di stemmi isolati o riuniti in serie più nutrite, talvolta accompagnati da ornamenti esterni (cimieri, tenenti, lambrecchini), quanto di più semplici riproduzioni delle figure principali di insegne celeberrime come quella viscontea. In un contesto come quello italiano in cui le attestazioni araldiche tardomedievali restano relativamente poco numerose e, soprattutto, poco note per l’assenza di lavori sistematici d’inventario, i disegni dei notai piacentini rappresentano uno strumento prezioso per la conoscenza degli stemmi al tempo impiegati nella città emiliana, per riflettere sulla circolazione del sapere araldico nella società medievale, per indagare il ruolo giocato dagli uomini di legge nella sua conservazione, trasmissione e utilizzo.

The late-medieval registers of imbreviature kept at the State Archives of Piacenza contain many heraldic drawings, usually mixed with pen proofs of various kinds and devoid of any programmatic character. These are both isolated coats of arms or assembled in series, sometimes accompanied by external ornaments (crests, holdings, mantlings), as well as simpler reproductions of the main figures of famous insignia such as the Visconti one. In the Italian context, where late-medieval heraldic attestations are relatively sporadic and, above all, little known due to the absence of systematic inventory works, the drawings of the notaries of Piacenza represent a precious tool for knowledge of the coats of arms used in the Emilian city in the late Middle Ages, to reflect on the circulation of heraldic knowledge in medieval society, to investigate the role of lawmen in preservation, perpetuation and use of coats of arms.

Cercare di ricostruire le vestigia di città perdute nei secoli è sempre un’impresa ardua e costellata da inevitabili imprecisioni o troppo alte fantasie. Noto, comune della Sicilia, patrimonio dell’Unesco, contrassegnato con l’illustre effige di capitale del barocco, per la sua speciale particolarità di città distrutta dal terremoto nel 1693, abbandonata e ricostruita in altro loco, offre, paradossalmente,  una opportunità in più di comprensione. Nel sito di Netum, il monte Alveria, le lancette del tempo sono  ferme all’11 gennaio 1693 regalando agli studiosi uno dei più particolari ed unici siti archeologici italiani. Il catalogo delle testimonianze di Noto antica parte da una ricerca del tangibile, dalle opere d’arte presenti nella città di Noto che possono essere datate tra XV e XVII secolo. Come in un’orchestra in cui la fase di accordatura rappresenta l’allineamento verso uno status armonico, questo catalogo rappresenta l’inizio per uno studio di più ampio respiro e prospettiva che riesca a tracciare quel panorama di culture che fu il rinascimento in Italia.

Franciabigio, Madonna and Child, ca. 1510, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama, Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1961.109.
&
Bachiacca, Portrait of a Woman with a Music Book, ca. 1540-45, Teh J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 78.PB.227

Literature and art are intrinsically linked. This thesis studies the connection between fiction and visual arts by looking at the written text and accompanying illustrations in Cervantes’ Don Quijote de la Mancha. These two ways of artistic expressions are interconnected and inform and influence each other over time. By applying the theory of intertextuality, the relationship between the two is analyzed and described. The link between text and illustration is also examined via the literary device of ekphrasis, however, in an inverted form. Both, literature and art, share the power of expression to tell stories that will continue to exist beyond time, space, and the cultures that created them. Many artists have had the honor of illustrating Don Quijote and have created an iconography of the novel that assists readers with the understanding of the written text. By studying some of the images created by Antonio Carnicero (1748-1814), Gustave Doré (1832-1883), and Salvador Dalí (1904-19...

«Se mala segnoria, che sempre accora/ li popoli suggetti , non avesse-mosso Palermo gridar ''Mora, mora!''» (=Αν δόλιοι άρχοντες, που καταθλίβουν/ Τα πλήθη, δεν έσπρωχναν το Παλέρμο/ "Θανατικό! Θανατικό!" να ουρλιάζει». Οι συγκεκριμένοι στίχοι, από το 8ο Άσμα του Παραδείσου, απεικονίζουν με το λιτό, συμπυκνωμένο τρόπο γραφής του Δάντη και το χαρακτηριστικό παραστατικό ύφος του, τη μετάβαση, ενός τραγικού ιστορικού γεγονότος που έλαβε χώρα στο Παλέρμο του 1282, στο περιβάλλον της Τέχνης του Λόγου. Και μάλιστα στον χώρο της υψηλής ποίησης, σε ένα έργο που προσλαμβάνει εθνικό χαρακτήρα σηματοδοτώντας τη χρονική στιγμή εκκίνησης της Ιταλικής Λογοτεχνίας. Στον πρώτο στίχο της τερτσίνας, ως "mala segnoria" (=δόλιους άρχοντες), ο Δάντης περιγράφει την τυραννική διακυβέρνηση του Καρόλου του Ι των Ανζού, που πληγώνει τους υπηκόους, την καρδιά του λαού, που εξεγείρεται αναζητώντας τιμωρία. Το ρήμα "gridare" (=ουρλιάζω), αποδίδει την κραυγή που αντηχούσε σε όλο το επαναστατημένο νησί: "Θάνατος στους Γάλλους!" (=Muoiano i Francesi)

PRESENTAZIONE DEL VOLUME Memoria di Adriano Studi in onore del maestro Franceschini (1920-2005) nel centenario della nascita, a cura di Franco Cazzola, Chiara Guerzi, Corinna Mezzetti.
Saluti e introduzione di Franco Cazzola, presidente della Deputazione. Parleranno del volume Leardo Mascanzoni, don Angelo Manfredi, Marialucia Menegatti.
Questo numero speciale della rivista «Atti e memorie» è un omaggio della Deputazione provinciale ferrarese di storia patria ad Adriano Franceschini e alla sua lunga e preziosa opera di appassionato storico, di 'indagatore' di archivi e biblioteche, di editore di fonti.

PRESENTAZIONE DEL VOLUME Memoria di Adriano Studi in onore del maestro Franceschini (1920-2005) nel centenario della nascita a cura di Franco Cazzola, Chiara Guerzi, Corinna Mezzetti
Saluti e introduzione di Franco Cazzola, presidente della Deputazione.
Parleranno del volume Leardo Mascanzoni, don Angelo Manfredi, Marialucia Menegatti.
Questo numero speciale della rivista «Atti e memorie» è un omaggio della Deputazione provinciale ferrarese di storia patria ad Adriano Franceschini e alla sua lunga e preziosa opera di appassionato storico, di 'indagatore' di archivi e biblioteche, di editore di fonti.