Studiolo of Francesco I
The Studiolo is a small painting-encrusted barrel-vaulted room in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was completed for the duke from 1570 to 1572, by teams of artists under the supervision of Giorgio Vasari and the scholars Giovanni Batista Adriani and Vincenzo Borghini.
This small room was part-office, part-laboratory, part-hiding place, and part-cabinet of curiosities. Here the prince tinkered with alchemy and kept his collection of small, precious, unusual or rare objects. The walls and ceiling were decorated with paintings showing a similar variety of subjects, some showing exotic forms of industry and others mythology. The inset paintings are now all that remains in the room of the original contents. They are rather larger than what is normally meant by the term cabinet painting.
The late-Mannerist decorative program of paintings and sculpture was based on items encompassed by the collection. The object collection itself was stored in ~ 20 cabinets. In the center is a fresco of Prometheus receiving jewels from nature, commenting on the interplay of divine, nature, and humanity, that is the goal of both artistic and scientific interests.
Paintings
The walls were also covered with 34 paintings representing mythologic or religious subjects, or representing trades. The arrangement was such that paintings were somehow related to their neighbors, and emblematic of the objects in the cabinets below. The arrangement we see today is somewhat speculative; and the relationships are not always clear. For example, Tommaso d'Antonio Manzuoli's Diamond Mines hangs above Maso de Sanfriano's Fall of Icarus. The painting by Giovanni Battista Naldini of the House of the Dreams emphasized the relationship with the adjacent bedroom of the Prince. In addition, originally a portrait of Francesco's mother, Eleonora of Toledo by Bronzino, kept vigil.[1]
While the Studiolo employed many of the best of contemporary Florentine painters, their work in this room, for most, does not represent their best efforts. The room itself is now more interesting as an example of an introverted and eccentric monarch; from an artistic viewpoint, the style of these paintings is the high point of Florentine Mannerism, as reflected in the affected and contorted crowds in the canvases. The pseudo-allegiance to the sciences couple with the sense that they illuminated the educated monarch, suggest a prescient hint of the encyclopedic philosophy of Enlightenment. However, Francesco ultimately was a poor representative of the inquisitive mind; at best this room served as a tinkerer's closet, a place for this personally awkward monarch to find seclusion from his wife, family, and court. Not long after the death of the Grand Duke, it was neglected and dismantled by 1590, only to be partially reconstructed in the twentieth century as a Renaissance oddity within the medieval palace. Lacking furniture or a closed door, this reconstruction fails to accurately recreate the claustrophobic feel of the original.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
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Contributing artists to the Studiolo
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- Alessandro Allori (Pearl Fisherman)
- Bartolomeo Ammannati (Ops)[2]
- Niccolò Betti
- Ludovico Buti (The Armory)
- Giovanni Maria Butteri[3] (Francesco Visiting Glassworks)[4]
- Elia Candido (Aeolus)[2]
- Vittore Casini (The Forge of Vulcan)
- Mirabello Cavalori (Lavinia at the Altar)Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- Jacopo Coppi, called "il Meglio" (The Invention of Gunpowder)[5]
- Francesco del Coscia
- Giovanni Fedini
- Alessandro Fei, called "il Barbiere"
- Stoldo Lorenzi (Galatea)[2]
- Sebastiano Marsili
- Girolamo Macchietti (Medea and Jason)Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- Andrea del Minga
- Lorenzo dello Sciorino (Hercules and Ladon)
- Francesco Morandini, called "il Poppi", and Jacopo Zucchi (ceiling paintings)
- Giovanni Battista Naldini (Allegory of Dreams, Gathering of Ambergris)
- Carlo Portelli
- Maso da Sanfriano (Flight of Icarus)Script error: No such module "Unsubst"..
- Stradanus (Francesco in his Laboratory)
- Santi di Tito (The Sisters of Phaethon, Hercules and Iole)
- Bartolomeo Traballesi (Danae)Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- Lorenzo Vaiani, called "dello Sciorina"
- Giorgio Vasari
- Jacopo Zucchi
Gallery
| Statuary Niches and Portraits of Francesco's Parents | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Studiolo di francesco I, 04.JPG | File:Studiolo di francesco I, 05.JPG | File:Studiolo di francesco I, 06.JPG | File:Studiolo di francesco I, 07.JPG | File:Studiolo di francesco I, 03.JPG | File:Studiolo di francesco I, 08.JPG | File:Studiolo di francesco I 07.JPG |
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Bronze by Ammanati Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Bronze by Giambologna Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Vault fresco: Prometheus receives Precious Stone from Nature Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| Ovals of Studiolo | |||||||
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| File:Sebastiano Marsili Atalanta e Hipomenes Studiolo.jpg | File:Vittorio Casini Forja de Vulcano Studiolo.jpg | File:Danae Bartolomeo di Mariano Traballesi Studiolo.jpg | File:Giovanni Stradano Ulises, Mercurio y Circe Studiolo.jpg | File:Giovanni Fedini El anillo de Policrates Studiolo.jpg | File:Jacopo Coppi La familia de Darío ante Alejandro Magno Studiolo.jpg | File:Maso da san friano, caduta di icaro, 1570-73 circa 01.jpg | File:Alexander Giving Campaspe to Apelles - Francesco Morandini il Poppi, 1571.jpg |
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Forge of Vulcan Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Danae Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Ulysses, Mercury, Circe Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Ring of Polycrates Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Darius’ Family before Alexander Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Fall of Icarus Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Alexander and Campaspe in Studio of Apelles Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| File:Francesco Brina, Neptuno y Anfitrite Studiolo.jpg | File:Santi di Tito Hercules y Omfale Studiolo.jpg | File:Niccolo Betti Saqueo de una ciudad Studiolo.jpg | File:Francesco del Coscia Juno toma el ceñidor de Venus Studiolo.jpg | File:Lorenzo dello Sciorina Hercules mata al dragón de las Hespérides Studiolo.jpg | File:Andrea di Mariotto del Minga Deucalión y Pirra Studiolo.jpg | File:Girolamo Macchietti 002.jpg | File:Mirabello Cavalori 001.jpg |
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Juno takes Girdle of Venus Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Hercules slays Dragon Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Deucalion and Pyrrha Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Jason and Medea Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Lavinia at the Altar Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| Upper Rectangular Canvases of Studiolo | |||||
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| File:Il laboratorio dell' Alchimista by Giovanni Stradano.jpg | File:Alessandro di Vincencio Fei El taller del orfebre Studiolo.jpg | File:Giovanni Battista Naldini 001.jpg | File:Mirabello Fábrica de lanas 1570-72 Palazzo Vecchio Florencia.jpg | File:Francesco Morandini Fundición del bronce Studiolo.jpg | File:Jacopo zucchi, miniera d'oro, 1570-73 circa 01.jpg |
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Jewelry Factory Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Gathering Ambergris Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Mining Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| File:Tommaso d'Antonio Manzuoli 002.jpg | File:Alessandro allori, pescatori di perle, studiolo.jpg | File:Girolamo Macchietti - Baths at Pozzuoli.jpg | File:Vasari, perseo e andromeda, studiolo.jpg | File:Santi di Tito 001.jpg | File:Santi di Tito El paso del Mar rojo Studiolo.jpg |
Diamond Mines Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Pearl Fisherman Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Thermal Baths at Pozzuoli Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Sisters of Phaeton Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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Moses parting Red Sea Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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References
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- ↑ Christopher Hibbert, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici (1979), Penguin Books
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Biography.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Schaefer S. The Invention of Gunpowder Journal of the Warburg and Courtald Institutes. (1981) p209-211.
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- http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/medici/themes.html
- https://web.archive.org/web/20060305135411/http://www.italica.rai.it/rinascimento/parole_chiave/schede/studiolo.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20040829205611/http://www.museoragazzi.it/MuseoRagazzi/db36cedt.nsf/pages/fr_studiolo
- https://web.archive.org/web/20051113175416/http://mypage.bluewin.ch/schupposc/studio.htm
External links
- For excellent photos see http://www.abaxjp.com/gw04-studiolo/gw04-studiolo.html
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