PowerPoint Presentation - ISIS Gobetti

The Medici
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Family of bankers from Mugello
Cosimo the Elder 1389-1464
Piero (the Gouty) 1416-1469
Lorenzo the Magnificient (1449-1492) and
Giuliano-----Giulio (Pope Clement VII) (1478-1534)
• Giovanni ( Pope Leo X) 1475-1521
Cosimo the Elder
• “Always keep out of the public eye” but …
• Undisputed patriach of Florence
• In 1439 persuaded Pope Eugenius IV to transfer
General Councilof the Greek Orthodox Church
and Roman Catholic Church in FLORENCE
• Presence of so many Greek scholars led to the
study of Plato, the Platonic Academy, additions to
Cosimo’s library
• See Benozzo Gozzoli’s The Procession of the
Magi in Medici Palace 1459
The Medici Palace
• In 1444 Cosimo asked Michelozzo
Michelozzi to design the Palace in Via
Larga (via Cavour)
• Michelozzo also worked on the Convent of
San Marco
• Fra eato Angelico dipicted the cells of San
Marco
• Cosimo had a cell there too
San Lorenzo
• Parish church of the Medici
• Very old church (393A.D.) , reconstructed
by Brunelleschi
• Sculptures by Donatello, Verrocchio …
• Later by Michelangelo, Pontormo, Rosso
Fiorentino
• Cosimo is buried in the crypt, on the naive:
“Pater Patriae”
Old Sacristy
• Brunelleschi designed it
• Donatello executed the statues
• Tomb of Cosimo’s sons (Giovanni and
Piero)
• Commissioned by Lorenzo
The New Sacristy
• Under the Old Sacristy, proves Michelangelo’s
genius
• Commissioned by Giuliano’s natural son, Pope
Clement VII in 1521
• Tombs of Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano: in
simple graves near the wall
• Lorenzo = pensieroso, Giuliano = military chief,
4 allegories: Night, Day, Dusk, Dawn
Chapel of the Princes
• Luxurious, octagonal edifice,covered in semiprecious stones and marbles
• Burial place for the Grand dukes
• 6 porphyry tombs surmounted by bronze statues of
the deceased: Cosimo I,, Francesco I, Ferdinando
I,Cosimo II, Ferdinando II,Cosimo III.
• Central pillar remains of Cosimo the elder
• In all 45 tombs of Medici family
The Laurentian Library
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Founded by Cosimo the Elder
Enriched by Lorenzo
Taken to Rome by Leo X
Presented to Florence by Clement VII
Commissioned Michelangelo to design
edifice
• HALL and staircase
Semi Precious Stones
• The stones are divided into minerals and rocks
(made up of several different minerals)
• The hardness of the minerals is measured by their
resistance to beig worked on
• The hardness of a stone is based on Moh’s scale of
1 to 10
• Talc is the softest at 1, the diamond is the hardest
at 10
Semi Precious Stones
• Soft stones (from 1 to 5): marble, alabaster,
lapis lazuli, malachite
• Semi precious stones (or pietre due):
chalcedony, agate, jasper, petrified wood,
porphyry, rock crystal
• Gems: emerald, ruby, diamond
Manufacturing Tecnique
1. Glyptics – 3 dimensional manufacturing
tecnique for sculptures,vases, cameos,
gems
2. Commesso – a particular type of mosaic,
used in Ancient Rome, and brought to
perfection in Florence in 1588 in the
Opificio delle Pietre Dure (Semi precious
stones workshop)
Glyptics
• First a drawing of the object is produced
• The right stone is chosen (for size and
COLOUR)
• To consume the stone a drill with an emeric
wheel is used
• To polish the object a felt wheel is used
• Cameos: agate or onyx is used
Commesso
• Semi precious stones a re too hard to be
sculptured and therefore must be consumed
• They are consumed with an abrasive
powder called EMERY
• Emery powder is formed by sand rich of
quartz
Tarsia
• Bi-dimensional painting made of slices of
stone
• This tecnique is also called Commesso from
the latin = joining together
• The stone is cut into thin slices
• The artist chooses the stones with the right
colour
Tarsia
• The slices are cut into very precise forms
with a special bow with a emery thread
• The forms are glued to the drawing
• The pieces are put on a slate (piallaccio),
covered with plaster, another slate is glued
on the back, the plaster is washed away
• The stones are polished with a liquid :potè
Inlay (Intarsio)
• Inlaying technique:
• The tarsia is placed in a groove of a
background stone