This project looks at two members of Florence’s Medici family, Cosimo il Vecchio (1389-1464) and Duke Cosimo I (1519-1574), in an attempt to assess how they used the patronage of art to facilitate their rule. By looking at their individual political representations through art, the specifics of their propagandist works and what form these pieces of art came, it is possible to analyze their respective rules. This analysis allows for a clearer understanding of how these two men, each in very different positions, found art as an ally for their political endeavors. While they were in power only one hundred years apart, they present uniquely different strategies for the purpose of creating and maintaining their power through the patronage of art.

No description available.

Caravaggio was a complicated man, working in a complicated day, in a complicated city. As he ushered in the Baroque movement, playing with contrast, bending light with darkness, the Church was preoccupied with the game of highlighting or suppressing voices to maximize their power and minimize dissent. A well-known product of this is the struggle Galileo had in confirming that the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around. Giordano Bruno was publicly burned at the stake for similar reasons. Often excluded from historical narratives of this time is the public execution of Beatrice Cenci and her family for reasons that leaned more towards political power and less towards moral judgement. Many Caravaggio historians point to Cenci’s death as the inspiration behind the common motif of beheadings in his paintings. Able to navigate between both the high and low cultures of Rome, Caravaggio provides a window into the way these societies interacted, one of many things that drew me to him and his story. He was also a person in his own right, with thoughts and feelings that we may never have the complete picture of, though he’s left us clues in his works and actions. Far less has been preserved of Prospero, Anna, Fillide, and Mario. This is my attempt to fill in the blanks.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the patronage of Piero de’ Medici and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. My aim is to discuss and place the patronage in the complex field of the renaissance as an active conjugal partnership between the two. The study is divided in three main chapters, the introduction part where an overview of the main issues in the field of renaissance patronage and a background of the people involved; one chapter where the two religious rooms are introduced and the specific patronage described; and finally a chapter where the different procedures are discussed, compared and combined into one joint conjugal patronage for the both of them. The evidence uncovered supporting the conjugal patronage is partly the similarities between the altar paintings in the rooms. They are both made of Fra Filipo Lippi and both are portraying the Adoration of Infant Jesus. The presence of the coat of arms of both the noble houses at the Camaldoli adoration and a series of lettres between Piero and one of his painters, Benezzo Gozzoli.

Early modern representations of witchcraft have been the subject of considerable recent scholarship; however, three significant aspects of the corpus have not received sufficient attention and are treated independently here for the first time. This dissertation will examine how witchcraft imagery invited discourse concerning the reality of magic and witchcraft and suggested connections to contemporary issues through the themes of the witch’s violent autonomy, bestial passions, and unnatural interactions with the demonic and the dead. These three themes address specific features of the multifaceted identity of the witch and participate in a larger discussion that questioned the nature of humanity. Analysis of each issue reveals a complex, ambiguous, and often radically open treatment of the subject that necessitates a revision of how witchcraft imagery from this period is understood. Each understudied aspect of witchcraft imagery is explored through a series of case studies that have not appeared together until now. Previously unexamined artworks with inventive content are introduced and canonical pictures are examined from new perspectives. These images were created in the principal artistic centers, the Italian city-states, the German provinces, and the Low Countries, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the controversy over witchcraft was at its peak. Although they are few in number, these highly innovative images are the most effective and illuminating means by which to access these themes. These works of art provide valuable insights into important issues that troubled early modern society. Chapter 1 reveals how witchcraft imagery produced in the Low Countries is concerned with the witch’s violent rejection of the social bonds and practices upon which the community depends for survival. Chapter 2 examines how the figure of the witch was used to explore concerns about the delineation and transgression of the human-animal boundary. Chapter 3 exposes an interest in the physical possibility of witchcraft; artists questioned the ability of witches and demons to manipulate the material world. Issues include the witches’ capacity to reanimate dead bodies and create monstrous creatures. Together these images demonstrate active and meaningful engagement with the theories, beliefs, and practices associated with witchcraft.

Early modern representations of witchcraft have been the subject of considerable recent scholarship; however, three significant aspects of the corpus have not received sufficient attention and are treated independently here for the first time. This dissertation will examine how witchcraft imagery invited discourse concerning the reality of magic and witchcraft and suggested connections to contemporary issues through the themes of the witch’s violent autonomy, bestial passions, and unnatural interactions with the demonic and the dead. These three themes address specific features of the multifaceted identity of the witch and participate in a larger discussion that questioned the nature of humanity. Analysis of each issue reveals a complex, ambiguous, and often radically open treatment of the subject that necessitates a revision of how witchcraft imagery from this period is understood. Each understudied aspect of witchcraft imagery is explored through a series of case studies that have not appeared together until now. Previously unexamined artworks with inventive content are introduced and canonical pictures are examined from new perspectives. These images were created in the principal artistic centers, the Italian city-states, the German provinces, and the Low Countries, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the controversy over witchcraft was at its peak. Although they are few in number, these highly innovative images are the most effective and illuminating means by which to access these themes. These works of art provide valuable insights into important issues that troubled early modern society. Chapter 1 reveals how witchcraft imagery produced in the Low Countries is concerned with the witch’s violent rejection of the social bonds and practices upon which the community depends for survival. Chapter 2 examines how the figure of the witch was used to explore concerns about the delineation and transgression of the human-animal boundary. Chapter 3 exposes an interest in the physical possibility of witchcraft; artists questioned the ability of witches and demons to manipulate the material world. Issues include the witches’ capacity to reanimate dead bodies and create monstrous creatures. Together these images demonstrate active and meaningful engagement with the theories, beliefs, and practices associated with witchcraft.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Melbourne, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (vol. 2, leaves [2]-26).

The thesis investigates the interaction that developed between a major art dealer, Thos. Agnew and Sons (Agnews), and a principal public collection, the London National Gallery, from 1855 to 1928. Agnews played a crucial role in the life of the National Gallery and greatly facilitated the museum accession of important paintings, such as the Madonna Ansidei by Raphael, the Rokeby Venus by Velazquez, the Portrait of Doge Vincenzo Morosini by Tintoretto, and many others. In turn, collaborating with the National Gallery allowed Agnews to penetrate the international Old Masters market and reach for higher social standing. Through the analysis of ten case studies of acquisitions, which are supported by new archival evidence and are contextualised within a broader historical and theoretical framework, this thesis charts the emergence, development and decline of the rapport between the two organisations. It analyses how Agnews and the National Gallery began as two unconnected entities in the mid-nineteenth century, explores how their distinct trajectories turned into a close, collaborative rapport during the 1880s, and finally examines how in the third decade of the twentieth century they separated and initiated a newly detached professional relationship. Appropriating sociological theories by Pierre Bourdieu, Bruno Latour, Viviana Zelizer and others, this study investigates museum acquisitions as resulting from complex interplays of cultural and commercial forces within the field of cultural production. Acquisitions are further enlightened by the analysis of the networks that underpin them, which provide additional evidence on how economic factors are embedded within broader social constructs. By detailing and locating these processes and relationships within the historical context of a broad shift towards commercialisation, yet demonstrating that cultural elements are part of the dealers activities and that commercial values are an intrinsic component of the museum, this study provides an insight into the historical origins of modern-day relationships between museums and art dealers.

Orientador: Luciano Migliaccio / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Cências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T18:48:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fonseca_RaphaeldoSacramento_M.pdf: 14872320 bytes, checksum: f26d3e2cbc2fdb1b4f8ba5bc44226b62 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Esta pesquisa tem como ponto de partida o texto "Do tirar pelo natural", concluído em 1549 pelo artista e humanista português Francisco de Holanda (1517-1584). Tal texto é considerado o primeiro da história da arte dedicado integralmente ao retrato enquanto objeto artístico. Uma noiva edição deste texto, além de uma revisão historiográfica sobre a figura de Francisco de Holanda foram realizadas dentro desta dissertação. Além disso, dois ensaios sobre a retratística em Portugal durante o século XVI foram escritos levando em consideração não apenas "Do tirar pelo natural", mas também suas outras produções textuais e imagéticas / Abstract: This research has as first step the text "Do tirar pelo natural" ("To make from the natural"), concluded in 1549 by the Portuguese artist and humanist Francisco de Holanda (1517-1584). This text is considered the first in art history dedicated fully to the portrait while artistic object. A new edition of the text, besides a historiographic revision of Francisco de Holanda, was realized in this dissertation. Moreover, two essays about portraiture in Portugal during the XVIth century were written keeping in mind not only "Do tirar pelo natural" ("To make from natural"), but also Holanda's other texts and images / Mestrado / Historia da Arte / Mestre em História

Orientador: Luiz Cesar Marques Filho / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T19:28:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Berriel_MarinaJorge_M.pdf: 703220 bytes, checksum: a205b05f50e77a9680b4bfe65d3ab7d6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: É a realização de uma tradução comentada da obra La Vita di Michelangelo Buonarroti, escrita por Ascanio Condivi, referência na historiografia da arte clássica. No desenvolvimento desta tradução, a comparação de determinados aspectos da obra de Condivi com Vita di Michelangelo Buonarroti, de Giorgio Vasari e, secundariamente, com as biografias posteriores. Análise da função que algumas questões desempenham neste universo. Em especial a forma com a qual as crenças astrológicas e religiosas da época influenciaram as discussões sobre arte e sobre a posição social do artista. Podemos dizer que a dicotomia entre as duas principais visões de arte do período - a coordenada por Michelangelo, e a de Rafael - se justificam com a explicação astrológica quando tratam de questões como a predestinação do indivíduo e o quanto isto altera sua condição de artista. Outra questão é a reincidência de dois temas centrais para Michelangelo, que aparecem na última fase de sua vida: o terror (expresso na arte o sentimento de incomensurabilidade divina em relação ao humano), e a piedade (identificável na série de Pietà realizadas neste período). Secundariamente, discussões como a necessidade de Vasari e Condivi em estabelecer uma origem nobre para a família Buonarrotti, entre outras questões que possam surgir no desenvolvimento do trabalho / Abstract: This work is an annoted translation of the book La Vita di Michelangelo Buonarroti, written by Ascanio Condivi, which is a reference in Classic Art¿s historiography. In the development of this translation, a comparison of determinated aspects of both Vite di Michelangelo, one written by Giorgio Vasari and the other written by Ascanio Condivi is made. Among with these two versions of Vite di Michelangelo Buonarroti other biographies on the same matter written later on are also used as material of comparison on a secondary basis. An analises is made on the role that some questions represent on this particular universe. Specially the way in which religious and astrologycal beliefs of that time have inffluenced the discussions on the artist¿s social position. We may say that the dicotomy between the two most important points of view on Art of that period ¿ one belonging to Michelangelo Buonarroti, and the other belonging to Rafaello ¿ are justified by astrologycal explains when dealing with matters such as predestination of the individual and how it alters his condition as an artist. Another matter is the reincidence of two central themes for Michelangelo on his latest years: the terror (expressed in art as the feeling of unmeasurement of the divine as opposed to humane), and pity (indentifyable in the series of Pietà made in thet period). Secondly, discussions as Condivi¿s need to establish a nobel origin to the Buonarroti¿s family, among other matters that have come up during the development of this work / Mestrado / Historia da Arte / Mestre em História