19 June 2011

Pietro Torrigiano is one of the few Italian Renaissance Artists to work extensively in England – as a protege of King Henry VII he sculpted his master in life and in death.

The sculpture above is King Henry in the prime of life but Torrigiano’s most famous work in V&A museum in London is probably the Renaissance Tomb of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey – lying in perpetuity in the lady Chapel with his wife Elizabeth of York, as shown below.

Tomb of Henry VII (1457-1509) and his Wife, Elizabeth of York, 1518 (bronze) by Torrigiano, Pietro (1472-1528)

Pietro was described by Benvenuto Cellini as an extraordinarily handsome man, and very hot tempered!

The second attribute is beyond doubt because one of Torrigiano’s key claims to fame is the artist having been taunted by Michelangelo for his poor drawing whilst copying Massaccio in the Brancacci Chapel He lost his temper and “gave him such a punch in the nose that i felt the bone and cartilage crunch like a biscuit”

So, Michelangelo “carried his signature” till he died and this is why Pietro Torrigiano, fearful of the wrath of their patron, Lorenzo de Medici, left Florence and ultimately fled to England.

Torrigiano was successful with his commission to produce a Renaissance sculpture for the English King Henry VII  in the Gothic Cathedral at Westminster but less lucky when he moved onto Spain. The Duke of Arcus promised him a great deal of money for a copy of a sculpture of the Madonna and Child, which he duly completed but was paid with a vast amount of virtually worthless coin. When he discovered that he had been tricked he visited the Spaniard and in a rage destroyed the beautiful sculpture,  so the owner, believing himself compromised, arranged for Torrigiano to be arrested and thrown to the Inquisition.

My personal interest in Torrigiano developed when I lived for three months in 96 Via del Campuccio with my bedroom overlooking the Torrigiano gardens and the peaceful sculpture of Piero Torrigiano walking under the wing of Seneca.

  My friend, artist Glynis Barnes Mellish, who was staying with me during October 2007 , and painted the view from her bedroom window for my birthday present – but I still  so wanted to visit those private gardens – they seemed so impossibly well kept and so well beloved – a little piece of paradise – the largest privately owned gardens in the centre of any City in Europe.

Torrigiani tower

So, this year I am delighted to have managed to tour these gardens twice – once with Dr Katie Campbell as part of our Tuscan garden Tour project when we were given a private tour by one of Pietro’s descendants Vanni Torrigiano. Below we are walking in the garden on the other side of the wall from my sabbatical apartment!!

my room in 96 Via del Campuccio overlooking the Torrigiani gardens

And I managed to visit them again in June with Susan McCreight when they had an open day – How lucky am I?

The Torrigiani Tower

The Torrigiani Gardens are now a typical example of the Romantic style, which characterised the gardens at the beginning of the 19th century but in the 17th Century the circuit that now surrounds the quiet statue of Pietro walking with his chosen mentor Senaca was originally used for horse racing. The tower was built by Gaetano Baccani on Masonic principles, each layer getting closer to the ultimate aim of perfection. It was used as an astronomic “observatory” and contained a library, a collection of astronomic instruments and on the top an opened terrace to observe the sky. Sadly it is now in such a state of decay that none of this is open to the public. A Masonic ideal is maintained throughout the garden with an area for the intellectual spirit suggested by an open air theatre and a gym to maintain the body in peak condition – and even a sacred Wood for contemplation. A large part of the garden is still surrounded by the original City walls.

This may not be a perfect Tuscan Renaissance garden but it gets my vote for size, diversity and romance!