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Le Cose Belle di Alberto Cozzi
May 18, 2013 | 
Author Le Cose Belle di Alberto Cozzi
Another joyous session of paper marbling here in Florence – two very talented guests enjoyed a morning session with Riccardo Luci at the long running family business of Alberto Cozzi.
The business uses marbled paper for blank book binding as well as for making the interiors and the pages of books look more beautiful. Like so many things in Florence even the tools they use for stamping gold leaf motifs on books have been in use before most of us were born!
But before we watched Riccardo burn our initials on books there was marbled paper to be made – with great concentration!
Madonna of the Harpies – what on earth does it mean?
Madonna of the Harpies by Andrea del Sarto
This famous painting displayed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence was painted in 1515-17 by Andrea del Sarto for the Poor Clare nuns of San Francesco dei Macci. In 1335 this was a hospital founded by the Macri family, with an attached convent and a church known as San Francesco al Tempio.
It also provided a refuge for battered wives.
Mary and Jesus are flanked by two saints , Saint Francis, and St John the Evangelist , which would not be an unusual subject matter for any church or monastery in Renaissance Florence – but the strange creatures featured on the pillar that Mary is standing on do give one pause for consideration….what message would these naked legs akimbo ladies offer the nuns?
One likely interpretation is that the picture shows the Virgin Mary triumphant over evil, and the monstrous “Harpies” , as they were known, are based on a text about locusts described in the Book of Revelations . Close inspection does allow that these infernal legs could indeed be the legs of locusts – and they are certainly in an uncomfortable position for a polite young lady!
Definitions of a harpie include:-
- A rapacious monster described as having a woman’s head and body and a bird’s wings and claws or depicted as a bird of prey
- A grasping, unscrupulous woman.
But what were the Nuns – or indeed the battered wives – expected to make of this image? The two cherubs on either of the plinth seem worried about holding Mary in place , the Harpies perhaps seem to have their hands tied behind their backs – but their legs and wings look in working order – but Mary looks more concerned about holding her struggling infant than withstanding them, – so presumably she feels she has them beat – and maybe the tied up women has something to do with the battered wives?
Incidently, it is said that the pensive face of the Virgin Mary was actually a portrait of Andrea del Sarto’s own wife , Lucrezia – the lady also featured in his famous Last Supper where the pair of them , depicted as servants, gaze down on the unhappy 13 supper guests gathered bickering around the table below.
This Last Supper, shown above, was painted in 1427. It was also his last important work and can be found in San Salvi.
Giro di Italia – how wet can you get?
Giro di Italia – Stage 9 was hard work in the rain
Today started bright and sunny but by the time we got to Piazzale Michelangelo to get a good place to see the race the skies had darkened and a relentless rain was pouring down on cyclists and spectators alike.
Having heard that Sir Bradley Wiggins didn’t like going downhill in the rain, we waited only to cheer him on for the next stage rather than toast his victory today,- and even I have to admit I have spent nicer days in Florence!
Wet Iris
To kill time whilst we waited for the cyclists to arrive we visited the Iris Garden and felt sorry for the poor bedraggled symbol of the city as it was battered from above.
Italian style
Still it was a good day for the sale of pink umbrellas and packamacs!
Italian Style ? !
Patronage and New Models for the Performing Arts in the Third Millennium
Patronage and New Models for the Performing Arts in the Third Millennium
6-9 May Florence held this International Symposium as part of the 2013 Festival of Europe -
A diverse group of expert speakers gave papers illustrating both the methods – and the reasons – for both present and latter day patronage of the arts.
Yesterday – 8 May 2013, I was privileged to attend the second day of the Symposium held by the International Studies Institute of Florence
The event was divided into three parts – the first day featuring Music, the second -Dance and the third – Theatre. The morning session was held at the beautiful Palazzo Rucellai on the Via della Vigna Nuova in Florence.
This Blog is not intended as a thesis on the four lectures given in the morning in and around the subject of patronage of works including dancing but just a very brief expression of my overall impression of the messages delivered by the venerable guest speakers and my expression of thanks for being allowed to attend due to my support of the upcoming Festa della Cultura San Giovanni Battista 21-25 June 2013.
Our first speaker was Matteo Sansone of the New York University – who gained his PhD and then taught at the University of Edinburgh. His passion is Italian Opera and he has been teaching students to share his enjoyment at the University of New York in Florence since 2001.
An Opera director whom Matteo Sansone is less than enthusiastic about these days is Florentine born Franco Zeffirelli - whilst acknowledging his earlier success with Maria Callas and the introduction of Australian Joan Sutherland into Europe, he pointed out that film director Zeffirelli’s obsession with detail and meticulous recreation of period decor led to audiences being completely distracted away from the Opera music they were there to enjoy.
The amusing Opera story that Sansone used to illustrate this point was the production of Aida to which Zeffirelli added authenticity by including several horses, two camels and an elephant to the already crammed stage La Scala in Milan -some of the cast are shown below!
Zeffirelli’s great patron in New York was the widow of a Texas oil magnate called Mrs Sybil Harrington - she financed 16 MET operas offering increasingly lavish Zeffirelli productions of ”Boheme,” ”Tosca” and ”Turandot” as well as Otto Schenk’s ”Meistersinger.” Mrs Harrington loved opera on a grand scale and Zeffirelli loved to make them! It reminded me of Tchaikovsky’s 13-year relationship funded by the wealthy widow Nadezhda von Meck - if only there were more such patrons today.
The second presentation was by John Honeig, Founder and Artistic Director of the Festa della Cultura S.Giovanni Battista - who was able to show us some fine photos of Bernardo Buontalenti designs for “Il Ballo del Granduca” in 1589 that made Zeffirelli’s efforts above look quite modest and unassuming!
Clearly lavish spectacle and stuffing the stage with supporting cast members is an ancient Florentine tradition – and Zeffirelli is manfully upholding it!
The spectacular art work , sculpture, temporary architecture and tapestry created to welcome Christina of Lorraine, the new bride of Duke Ferdinando 1 di Medici was festooned across the entire centro storico of Florence and the special events put on to mark the event would probably have cost the equivilant of the UK staging of the Olympics as well as the Royal Wedding in 2012 – and as with the Olympics the public paid the price for their attendance.
The six intermedi of the Ballo del GranDuca produced some of the most exciting integrated drama, dance and music spectacles ever seen at that time.
As can be seen from this concept drawing the whole performance would have driven any self respecting health and safely executive close to despair!
John’s lecture was multi-media, seemlessly stitching together the music and the images of the dance, opera and sea-battle in the flooded courtyard of the Pitti Palace. He explained why they needed – and we still need – a mix of private and public sponsorship to run such an event.
Posted in Architecture, Dancing, Exhibitions, Festival of San Giovanni, Music, News, Opera, theatre | 
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Giorgione – The Tempest
The Tempest is a painting now found in the Accademia in Venice is believed to have been painted in 1506-08 by Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; (c. 1477/8–1510) a Venetian artist rather better known as Giorgione . Even this attribution is open to dispute as this artist never signed or dated any of his work,
As Giorgione died suddenly, relatively young at just over 30 , of the plague, it seems that no one truly knows or understands all the symbolism of this mysterious painting – but it is often sited as the first true “landscape” painting due to the time and attention the artist spent on creating light and atmosphere in this country scene.
A break away from religious subject matter, practically every image in this painting is open to at least two interpretations – The nude mother could be a gypsy woman, a prostitute or perhaps linked with the second figure a representation of Eve with Adam after having been thrown out of Eden? Given that it was usually only the artist or the donor who was able to look out from a painting could she even have been the wife of one of the brave new clients found in the Veneto during that period who asked for non-religious or mythological paintings?
The man therefore could be Adam – now fully clothed to hide his shameful nudity, or a soldier, or as holding a staff – even a pilgrim – but whichever of these he is representing he has chosen to wear the dapper outfit of a contemporary fashionable Venetian! He stares towards the woman – who stares accusatively at the viewer and thus creates a fascinating triangle outside the painting – which is perhaps why it holds our attention so well.
If we follow the Adam and Eve theory the storm and the flash of lightning could represent God and his cherubim driving the couple out of Paradise – or it could simply be to draw attention to the City behind – which seems to display the Lion of St Mark ( representing Venice) but also displays the insignia of Padua? To some critics the man ith his staff represents steadfastness evidenced by the pillars behind him, which often symbolize force or strength. However as nothing in this painting can be that straightforward these pillars are broken, which was a classic symbol of death.
Whatever is going on with the subject matter, there is evidence that Giorgione had studied the work of Leonardo da Vinci, who had been painting in Venice less than ten years before – this is shown by the density and opaqueness of the oil paint and the use of Leonardo’s famous sfumato. made famous by his painting of the Mona Lisa
Not to leave this painting in the Renaissance – there have been many suggestions that this painting was an influence on Manet when he painted his equally mysterious Le dejeuner sur l’herbe
Federico da Montefeltro – The Duke of Urbino
Federico da Montefeltro
One of the most frequently commented upon paintings in the Uffizi is this elaborate panel painting by Piero della Franscesca
Sadly for the Duke of Urbino, who is portrayed on in this diptych with his Duchess sometime between 1465-72 the comments are hardly flattering – in fact more often utterly damning, towards poor Federico’s facial beauty!
And the compliments don’t readily flow in relation to the beauty of his wife Battista Sforza either -who is probably not looking at her best in this pale profile picture.
Although Renaissance portraits were traditionally always painted in profile – very often on either side of the religious painting that they were sponsoring – it was not long after this portrait that Leonardo da Vinci pioneered the quarter face portrait – which allowed the artist to show more of the character as well as the characteristics of the sitter.
However in this painting the profile view was actually believed to have been the most flattering way of showing the unfortunate Federico, had lost his right eye and part of his nose as the result of a lance wound, whilst his wife Battista Sforza had an exceptionally high forehead – so didn’t appear to best advantage in face – forward portraits either.
A later portrait of Federico da Montefeltrowith his son Guidobaldo (c. 1475), by Pedro Berruguete also portrays the Duke in profile - evidently a prolific reader, the Duke chose to have himself portrayed reading a vast book, wearing a soft cloak, his Ermine badge of nobility and the Order of the Garter given to him by the King of England on display below his left knee.
But to ensure that there was no suggestion that this mighty warrior had “gone soft” with his interest in Humanism – he has his full armour on under his cloak, the necklace of the military Order of the Ermine, a sword hanging at his side and his helmet and baton are ready for action should the need arise!
Sadly Battista had died shortly after giving birth to Guiodobaldo – having already born six daughters the final arrival of the long awaited son and heir proved too much for her.
Nonetheless her heritage to her daughters was a serious education like her own and her granddaughter was none other than the poet Vittoria Colonna, the object of a passionate friendship with Michelangelo , who at 61-years wrote some of his most famous love sonnets to her.
The Thorn Bird
The Thorn Bird 
There is a legend, or myth, that when Christ was carrying the cross to Calvary a small bird – usually represented as a goldfinch – flew down and plucked one of the thorns from the crown around his head.
Some of Christ’s blood splashed onto the bird as it drew the thorn out, and the spots of red on the plumage of goldfinches is seen as a symbol of the blood of Christ.
This was why children destined for the church – like Giovanni di Medici , shown above, who was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo, was pictured with the small goldfinch- a sign of his devotion to Christ and his future career.
The image of the goldfinch as a symbol of Christ’s passion is shown in early Trecento and full Renaissance paintings – such as the one shown above in this image by Cecco di Pietro -active 1370 1414. Goldfinches eat thistles which are symbolised by the crown of thorns and has a ribbon tied around its foot which is designed to symbolise the soul caged in the body.
As the Christian belief is that only through the Resurrection of Christ is the external soul set free – the bird also becomes a symbol of resurrection.
Also featured are classic images from Tuscany in which the sheaf of millet in the child’s right hand symbolises the bread of communion – and a much more common symbol – the coral around his neck which protects the child against evil and is a classic Christening gift even today.
A more well known vision of the goldfinch is this image by Raphael of the infant Jesus being offered the bird by John the Baptist where he is stroking the bird with some trust
And in the unfinished sculpture by Michaelangelo in the Royal Academy - where the child recoils in momentary fear from the horror that the bird foretells.
Vivaldi also wrote music for and about the Goldfinch - Il Gardellino – which you can listen to on YouTube on this attachment by James Galway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khDWawpPbH8
My friend Federico Maria Sardelli is an expert on Vivaldi and his music and we hope to hear him both play and speak during the forthcoming festival di San Giovanni in Florence at the end of next month.