Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Paolo Uccello 044.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood'': the fresco measures 732 x 404 cm (288 x 159 in); with ''[[Trompe-l'œil]]'' frame added in the 16th century, 820 x 515 cm (323 x 203 in).<ref>Borsi, 1994, p. 304.</ref>]] |
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The '''''Funerary Monument''''' (or '''''Equestrian Monument''''') '''''to Sir''''' '''''John Hawkwood'''''<ref>Although the title of “Sir” is ubiquitously attached to Hawkwood’s moniker, there is no documentary evidence of the circumstances under which Hawkwood was knighted; most of his contemporary ''condottieri'', regardless of their reputations, were also knights. Hawkwood's knighthood is not listed in the "Register" of [[Edward, the Black Prince]], and some proponents of his knighthood claim that it occurred in Italy. See Caferro, Hawkwood, 9, 42.</ref> is a [[fresco]] by [[Paolo Uccello]], commemorating [[England|English]] ''[[condottieri|condottiero]]'' [[John Hawkwood]], commissioned in 1436 for [[Florence]]'s [[Florence Cathedral|Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore]]. The fresco is an important example of art commemorating a [[mercenary|soldier-for-hire]] in the Italian peninsula and is a seminal work in the development of [[perspective (graphical)|perspective]]. |
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The politics of the commissioning and recommissioning of the fresco have been analyzed and debated by historians. The fresco is often cited as a form of "[[Florence|Florentine]] propaganda" for its appropriation of a foreign soldier of fortune as a Florentine hero and for its implied promise to other ''condottieri'' of the potential rewards of serving Florence.<ref name=Caferro9>Caferro, 2006, p. 9.</ref> The fresco has also been interpreted as a product of internal political competition between the [[Albizzi]] and [[Medici]] factions in [[History of Florence#Renaissance Florence|Renaissance Florence]], due to the latter's modification of the work's symbolism and iconography during its recommissioning. |
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The fresco is the oldest extant and authenticated work of Uccello, from a relatively well-known aspect of his career compared to the periods before and after its creation. The fresco has been restored (once by [[Lorenzo di Credi]], who added the frame) and is now detached from the wall; it has been repositioned twice in modern times. |
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==John Hawkwood== |
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{{main|John Hawkwood}} |
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[[Image:John hawkwood.jpg|thumb|right|Engraving of John Hawkwood, based on the fresco]] |
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Hawkwood had a long military career and a complicated relationship with Florence. He fought for England during the [[Hundred Years War]] and then with the "[[Great Company]]" which harassed the [[Avignon Papacy]].<ref name="caf31-61"/> After gaining command of the "[[White Company]]" from [[List of condottieri|Albert Sterz]] in the 1360s, Hawkwood led the company [[Principal passes of the Alps|across the Alps]] in 1363 in the employ of [[John II, Marquess of Montferrat]], to take part in his war against [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]].<ref name="caf31-61">Caferro, 2006, p. 31–61.</ref> Hawkwood and the "White Company" remained in Italy, accepting money from many [[Historical states of Italy|city-states]], both to wage war and to refrain from it.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 4.</ref> Hawkwood's reputation as one of the ablest ''condottieri'' in the peninsula developed in the ensuing decades, during which he was employed (by both sides) in the [[Pisa]]n–Florentine War (1363–1364), notably winning the [[Cascina|Battle of Cascina]] (1364) for Florence,<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 97–115.</ref> in the wars of [[Perugia]] against the Pope (1369), and in the service of [[Bernabò Visconti]] in his war against a coalition that included Pisa and Florence, and even (in 1372) the Marquis of Monteferrato.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 116–143.</ref> |
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Hawkwood then entered the service of [[Pope Gregory XI]] in his wars against Milan (1372–1375) and in the [[War of the Eight Saints]] (1375–1378), during which Hawkwood helped put down the Florentine-instigated rebellions in the [[Papal States]].<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 144–174.</ref> During the conflict, Hawkwood was paid 130,000 florins—which was extracted from local clergy, bishops, abbots, monasteries, and ecclesiastical institutions—to confine his activities to suppressing the rebellions in the Papal States, rather than directly attacking Florence.<ref name="najemy">Najemy, John M. 2006. ''A History of Florence 1200-1575''. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1405119543. pp. 151-155.</ref> Hawkwood also received a 600 florin annual salary for the next five years and a lifetime annual pension of 1,200 florins.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 175.</ref> |
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Hawkwood married Donnina, the illegitimate daughter of [[Bernabò Visconti]], in 1377.<ref name=Hudson5>Hudson, 2006, p. 5.</ref> In that same year he defected to Florence.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 175–190.</ref> Hawkwood's 1377 massacre at [[Cesena]] during the twilight of his papal employment in the War of the Eight Saints continues to tarnish his legacy.<ref name=Hudson4-5>Hudson, 2006, p. 4–5.</ref> Thus, until 1377, Hawkwood had principally served the [[Visconti]] of Milan and their allies in Pisa, [[Lucca]], and [[Siena]], usually against the interests of Florence, making him an ironic candidate for a monument in the [[Florence cathedral|Duomo of Florence]].<ref name=Hudson4-5/> At the bidding of Pisa, Hawkwood attacked the [[Brunelleschi]] family's Villa Petraia in Castello, burned Florentine subject territories around Incisa after defeating Florentine ''condottiero'' [[House of Farnese|Ranuccio Farnese]], and even taunted Florence from outside the city walls.<ref name=Hudson5/> |
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However, Hawkwood was the ''de facto'' commander-in-chief ([[Captain General|Captain-General]]) of Florence's military from 1377 until immediately prior to his death in 1394.<ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 131; Borsi, 1994, p. 112.</ref><ref name=Borsi302/> Hawkwood won many victories for Florence, including his suppression of the [[Ciompi|''arti minori'' revolt]] in January 1382,<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 11.</ref> but contemporary Florentines would have regarded Hawkwood's successful retreat from Milan late in his career, across three rivers—including the notorious [[Oglio]]<ref name=Hudson5/>—and across a barren countryside, as his "greatest military feat".<ref name=Caferro20>Caferro, 2006, p. 20.</ref> |
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Hawkwood, now in his seventies, made preparations to return to England, where he had been sending money to acquire land, and set up a [[chantry]]. Just as he was liquidating his affairs in Italy, he died, on [[March 17]] [[1394]].<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. xiv.</ref><ref>Saunders, 2004, pp. 294–295. Coincidentally, letters from Hawkwood to a family friend in England on these arrangements are the oldest surviving correspondence in English (now [[British Museum]]).</ref> |
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In 1395, [[Richard II of England]] petitioned Florence for the return of Hawkwood's body,<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 9–10.</ref> as he had done for [[Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland]], the local magnate to the Hawkwood family in England, in whose service he had begun his military career.<ref name=Caferro323>Caferro, 2006, p. 323.</ref> Florence acquiesced to Richard II's request in a [[June 3]] [[1395]] letter: |
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<blockquote>Our devotion can deny nothing to the eminence of your highness. We will leave nothing undone that is possible to do, so that we may fulfill your good pleasure. So, therefore, although we consider it reflected glory on us and our people to keep the ashes and bones of the late brave and most magnificent captain John Hawkwood, who, as commander of our army, fought most gloriously for us and who at public expense was interred in the principal church of Santa Reparata […] nevertheless, according to the tenor of your request, we freely concede permission that his remains shall return to their native land.<ref name=Caferro323/></blockquote> |
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However, it remains an open question whether Hawkwood's remains were ever transferred to England, to the tomb prepared for him at St. Peter's in [[Sible Hedingham]], or whether his remains were reburied in 1405 under the old [[choir (architecture)|choir]] of the Duomo, of which record has been lost since it was repaved in the 16th century.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 326–327.</ref><ref name=Wegener132>Wegener, 1993, p. 132.</ref> In any case, the tomb monument would have run into difficulty, as a ban on tombs above floor level in the Cathedral was passed on [[April 5]] [[1400]].<ref name=Wegener132/> |
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==Context== |
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[[Image:Niccolò Piccinino.png|thumb|right|The commissioning of the fresco coincided with that of a monument to [[Niccolò Piccinino]] in Lucca, then at war with Florence.]] |
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In the [[Quattrocento]], it was traditional for ''[[condottieri]]'' like Hawkwood to be buried in major public churches, even when their careers had produced mixed results for the city-state in question. The genre of the [[equestrian statue]] was revived during the Quattrocento for the purpose of commemorating ''condottieri''; [[Donatello|Donatello's]] equestrian statue of [[Erasmo of Narni|Gattamelata]] (c. 1447–1453) in [[Padua]] is the first surviving bronze equestrian statue since [[Ancient Rome]].<ref>Paoletti, John T. 2005. ''Art in Renaissance Italy''. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 1856694399. p. 265.</ref> [[List of condottieri|Tibertino Brandolino]] was interred at [[San Francesco]] in [[Venice]]; [[List of condottieri|Jacopo de’ Cavalli]] at [[Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Rome)|SS. Giovanni e Paolo]] in Rome; [[Savelli family|Paolo Savelli]] at [[Frari|Basilica dei Frari]] in Venice, along with a wooden equestrian statue on a marble sarcophagus,<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 5–6.</ref>which—along with the bronze horses on the façade of St. Mark—may have inspired Uccello's ''Hawkwood'';<ref name=Paolieri19>Paolieri, 1991, p. 19.</ref> and [[List of condottieri|Konrad Aichelberg]] at a church in Pisa.<ref name=Caferro315>Caferro, 2006, p. 315.</ref> When such burials were not possible, frescoes were an acceptable substitute: [[List of condottieri|Guidoriccio da Fogliano]] was painted on horseback by [[Simone Martini]] in [[Palazzo Pubblico]] in Siena in 1328; [[House of Farnese|Pietro Farnese]] was depicted in a [[papier-mâché]] equestrian monument atop a sarcophagus in the Florence Cathedral in 1363.<ref name=Caferro315/> |
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Holding ever more lavish funeral ceremonies for fallen ''condottieri'' was only one way in which Italian city-states competed with each other to attract the services of the most skilled mercenaries.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 316.</ref> Hawkwood's funeral was sandwiched between the funerals in Siena of [[List of condottieri|Giovanni d’Azzo degli Ubaldini]]—who had been poisoned by the Florentines in the Visconti wars—and [[List of condottieri|Giovanni “Tedesco” da Pietramala]].<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 316–317.</ref> The commissioning of Uccello to repaint the fresco came at the "climax" of a war with Lucca, which had recently begun a monument to honor [[Niccolò Piccinino]], in contrast to Piccinino's ''[[pittura infamante]]'' in the [[Palazzo Vecchio|Palazzo della Signoria]] in 1428,<ref name=Caferro320>Caferro, 2006, p. 320.</ref> depicting him hanging upside-down in chains,<ref name=Hudson6>Hudson, 2006, p. 6.</ref> which was "depaint[ed]" in April 1430.<ref name=Hudson6/><ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 144.</ref> |
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==Commissioning== |
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===Background=== |
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On [[August 20]] [[1393]]—when the [[Signoria of Florence|Signoria]], at the suggestion of Coluccio Salutati, voted to erect a marble statue of Hawkwood in the Duomo, "that brave men may know that the commune of Florence recompenses true service"—Hawkwood was liquidating his Tuscan properties and preparing to return to England.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 310–313.</ref> It was unprecedented for the Signoria to vote to erect a monument to a living person in the cathedral.<ref name=Borsi302>Borsi, 1994, p. 302.</ref> The ambiguous plans of the Signoria—which likely was aware of Hawkwood's health status—might well have been for a tomb rather than a [[cenotaph]]; Hawkwood died soon after, on [[March 17]] [[1394]].<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 313.</ref> The Signoria went to great lengths (unsuccessfully) to entice Donnina to remain in the city—voting to transfer various sums of money to her (in exchange for Hawkwood's Tuscan fortress), despite "thorny legal issues" which required multiple acts of the city council—indicating to some extent the market value of Hawkwood’s symbolic capital.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 321–322.</ref> Hawkwood's [[March 20]] funeral began in the [[Piazza della Signoria]], continued to the [[Florence Baptistry|Battistero di San Giovanni]], where his body was placed on the baptismal font for public viewing, and culminated in the Cathedral, at a cost of 410 florins, not counting the substantial expenses of the Guilds.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 314–315; Hudson, 2006, p. 9; for comparison, the funeral of [[Coluccio Salutati]], the humanist Chancellor of Florence, cost 250 florins. See Caferro, 2006, p. 315.</ref> |
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[[Image:Firenze.Duomo.Tolentino.JPG|thumb|left|The fresco of fellow ''condottiero'' [[Niccolò da Tolentino]] is adjacent to the ''Hawkwood'' in the [[Florence Cathedral]].]] |
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The plans for Hawkwood's commemoration were modified on [[December 2]] [[1395]], when it was decided to also rework the wooden monument of [[List of condottieri|Pietro Farnese]], the hero of the Pisan war,<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 310–313.</ref> and to place marble tomb monuments to Farnese and Hawkwood on the north aisle, facing the high altar.<ref name=Caferro317>Caferro, 2006, p. 317.</ref> Painters [[Agnolo Gaddi]] and [[List of Italian painters|Giuliano Arrighi]] were selected by a committee to sketch directly onto the Duomo wall models for the Hawkwood and Farnese tombs.<ref name=Caferro317/> Although neither tomb was realized, documentary evidence suggests that a painting of Hawkwood—with a figure of Hawkwood by Gaddi and a sarcophagus by [[Francesco di Pesello|Pesello]]—was completed by [[June 16]] [[1396]].<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 317–318. Other dates include 1395 (plans) and 1405 (execution). See Hatfield, 1965, p. 320.</ref> Historian [[Frances Stonor Saunders]] speculates that Uccello may have based his representation of Hawkwood on this early painting and that the earlier painting may have been based on a [[death mask]] of Hawkwood.<ref>Saunders, 2004, pp 313–315.</ref> The Hawkwood fresco is situated in the third bay of the northern wall, today flanked by paintings of [[Dante]] (c. 1455) and fellow mercenary [[Niccolò da Tolentino]] (c. 1465, by [[Andrea del Castagno]]); fictive tombs in fresco of two humanist ecclesiasts—Bishop Corsini (c. 1422, probably by [[List of Italian painters|Giovanni dal Ponte]]) and Fra Luigi de' Marsigli (c. 1439 by [[Bicci di Lorenzo]]), an Augustinian monk who founded a literary academy—are much smaller than those of the two ''condottieri''.<ref name=Caferro318>Caferro, 2006, p. 318.</ref><ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 8.</ref> The fresco probably came to replace the tomb (rather than serving as a place marker for it) for reasons of expedience and frugality, although on these points there is little documentary evidence.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 9.</ref> |
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===Fresco=== |
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The fresco was initially commissioned, decades after Hawkwood's death, in May 1433 by the Albizzi government, just months before the regime's collapse.<ref name=Caferro318/> Perhaps the project was an attempt by the Albizzi to hearken back to a time when the oligarchic elite of Florence had been more aligned with their own conservative interests.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 14.</ref> On [[July 13]] [[1433]], design competition notices for the new monument were placed at the Duomo, the Baptistry, and [[Orsanmichele]].<ref name=Hudson10>Hudson, 2006, p. 10.</ref> The instigators of the renewed project were the grandsons of Guido di Soletto del Pera Baldovinetti, one of the ambassadors who (unsuccessfully) pleaded with Hawkwood to return to Florence's service in 1389, and [[list of historians|Donato Velluti]], a 14th-century military and political historian.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 12.</ref> It is almost inconceivable that the commissioners of the monument would not have regarded Hawkwood as a self-interested mercenary, knowing that he often acted against the interests of Florence.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 13.</ref> After the launching of the design competition, in September 1433, [[Cosimo de' Medici|Cosimo]] and [[Medici|Averardo de' Medici]] were exiled from Florence, for—among other things—allegedly attempting to embroil Florence in a war with Lucca.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 13. Interestingly, Uccello's ''Battle of San Romano'', a set of three paintings, depicts the war against Lucca (see Hudson, 2006, p. 27), also noted for their political implications (see Griffiths, 1978, p. 313–316; Wegener, 1993, p. 136–139), because it depicted the battle which was the "closest approximation to victory in an otherwise disastrous war" (Starn, 1984, p. 58).</ref> |
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===Recommissioning=== |
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However, after Cosimo's triumphant return to Florence, rather than scrapping the project, in May 1436 the Medici regime hired Uccello to replace the Gaddi and Pesello fresco.<ref name=Caferro318/><ref name=Borsi303>Borsi, 1994, p. 303.</ref> Hugh Hudson suggests that it would have been too risky for the Medici to cancel the Albizzi project, so they instead shrewdly modified it to fit their interests.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 15.</ref> There is, of course, some weakness to attributing the commissioning and re-commissioning of the monument to Albizzi or Medici intrigues, as only two (maybe three) of the eight ''operai'' on [[July 13]] [[1433]] were members of the Albizzi faction and only one was a Medici when it was resumed on [[May 18]] [[1436]]; yet the influences of both factions doubtlessly did not require blood relation.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 14, 16.</ref> Around this time, documents attest to multiple repairs of a nearby window, opening the possibility that the original fresco had experienced water damage, and would have needed to be restored in any case.<ref name=Borsi302/><ref name=Caferro320/><ref name=Hudson10/> Others have suggested that the recommissioning was part of the "refurbishing" of the cathedral associated with its rededication as [[Florence Cathedral|Santa Maria del Fiore]] by [[Pope Eugene IV]] in March 1436.<ref name=Caferro320/> Yet, Borsi concludes that "undoubtedly under pressure from the Medici" the ''operai'' discarded their plans for a straightforward restoration of the Gaddi fresco and opted for a completely new monument.<ref name=Borsi303/> |
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===Uccello=== |
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{{main|Paolo Uccello}} |
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[[Image:Florence-Duomo-Clock.jpg|thumb|right|Uccello's only other extant fresco fully authenticated by contemporary documents, ''Clock Face with Four Prophets/Evangelists'' (1443) is also located in the [[Florence Cathedral]].]] |
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The choice of Paolo Uccello (born in Florence in 1397),<ref>The date of Uccello's birth is somewhat speculative. However it is known that he was born to Antonia di Giovanni and Dona di Paolo, a barber-surgeon.</ref> who had apprenticed for [[Lorenzo Ghiberti]] from June 1407, busying himself polishing the "[[Florence Baptistry#Baptistry doors|Gates of Paradise]]", may have been an attempt to find a painter knowledgeable in bronze and statuary, which the fresco was to mimic.<ref>D'Ancona, 1960, p. 5.</ref><ref name=Paolieri12>Paolieri, 1991, p. 12.</ref> For centuries, art historians have regarded Uccello as a less-prominent artist at the time of the Hawkwood commission: he is not mentioned in the preface of [[Leone Battista Alberti|Alberti]]'s ''De Pictura'', nor in [[Domenico Veneziano]]'s 1438 letter to [[Piero di Cosimo de' Medici]] listing the major contemporary painters; nor have art historians even attempted to speculate that he studied the frescoes at the [[Brancacci Chapel]].<ref>Paolieri, 1991, p. 7. The designation of an artist as having studied the Brancacci frescos—which is often not based on documentary evidence—is primarily of historigraphical importance, an indication that the artist is regarded as worthy of the trope of "genius".</ref> One difficulty for art historians attempting to gauge Uccello's reputation at the time of the ''Hawkwood'''s commissioning is the 10-year blind spot in the reconstruction of Uccello's career between 1415—when Uccello was made a member of the [[Guild of Saint Luke|Guild of Doctors and Apothecaries]]—and his trip to Venice in 1425.<ref>Some speculate that he stayed at Ghiberti's workshop. See Paolieri, 1991, p. 12.</ref> Similarly, all the works of Uccello's Venetian period are either missing or else of uncertain attribution: Uccello is thought to have made a no-longer-existing mosaic of [[St. Peter]] on the façade of [[St. Mark's Basilica]], to have collaborated on the design of architectural structures for the mosaics in the Mascoli Chapel of St. Mark's by [[Michele Giambono]], and possibly to have made some geometrical pattern decorations for the interior of St. Mark's.<ref>Paolieri, 1991, p. 12–13.</ref> |
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Uccello was known to have been in Venice in 1427 and to have returned to Florence by 1431, allowing a second window for historiographical speculation: some say he may have gone to Rome;<ref>Paolieri, 1991, p. 13.</ref> others say he went directly to Florence.<ref>Mode, 1972, p. 377.</ref> Uccello likely painted the ''Creation of the Animals and Creation of Adam'' (c. 1431) in the upper part of one of the bays of the Chiostro Verde (the "Green Cloister") in [[Santa Maria Novella]], which—like the ''Hawkwood'', as specified in its commission<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 17; Wegener, 1993, p. 134.</ref>—is in the "terra verde" [[grisaille]] manner.<ref>Paolieri, 1991, p. 13–15.</ref> Perhaps Uccello worked on the stories from the life of the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Virgin]] and [[St. Stephen]] in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption in the [[Prato Cathedral]] around 1435, although [[John Pope-Hennessy|Pope-Hennessy]], Pudelko, and Salmi<ref>Salmi, 1936, p. 106.</ref> all dispute this attribution.<ref>Paolieri, 1991, p. 15–16.</ref> |
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Thus, the [[Florence Cathedral]] is the repository of all the extant works of Uccello whose attributed is firmly rooted in in contemporary documents: two murals—the ''Hawkwood'' and the ''Clock Face with Four Prophets/Evangelists'' (1443)—and two stained glass windows—''Resurrection'' (1443-1444) and ''Nativity'' (1443-1444).<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 1.</ref> The ''Hawkwood'' is Uccello’s "earliest dated and fully authenticated extant work".<ref>Pudelko, 1934, p. 232.</ref> |
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===Modifications=== |
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Uccello's ''Hawkwood'' was completed, only to be ordered redone by the ''capo maestro'' of the Opera del Duomo, on [[June 28]] [[1436]].<ref name=Caferro318/><ref name=Borsi303/> Uccello was found not to have been at fault on [[July 6]], and paid for both his first and second versions, the latter of which was finished before [[August 31]].<ref name=Caferro318/><ref name=Borsi303/> Incidentally, the second version—copied from the original, rather than direct observation—is the only true extant testimony to Hawkwood's appearance.<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 8.</ref> The demanded redesign—which was ordered soon after post-Albizzi members secured a majority among the ''operai''<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 21.</ref>—is at the heart of any discussion about the political implications of the fresco. For centuries, art historians have argued that the rejection was rooted in questions of perspective and color,<ref>e.g. Paolieri, 1991, p. 22.</ref> while more recent scholarship suggests it was the content of the fresco to which the ''capo maestro'' objected.<ref name=Caferro321>Caferro, 2006, p. 321.</ref> The specific objections of the ''capo maestro'' are not documented—except that the fresco was "not painted as it should be",<ref name=Caferro321/><ref name=Borsi28>Borsi, 1994, p. 28.</ref> but it is clear that only the portion containing the horse and rider was to be erased and redone.<ref>Hudson, 2006, p. 18.</ref> A preparatory drawing in the [[Uffizi]] with the same static scene is the primary clue to the appearance of the original fresco, in which Hawkwood was apparently more armored, taller, and—along with his horse—in a more militaristic stance.<ref>Paolieri, 1991, p. 22; Hudson, 2006, p. 19; Borsi, 1994, p. 303–304.</ref> The ''Hawkwood'' thus both participated in and reinforced the Quattrocento trend that every Florentine public monument to a soldier of fortune employ a parade horse rather than a battle charger, in less than complete armor, and at a pace more suited for reviewing troops than charging into battle.<ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 163.</ref> A study which subjected the drawing to [[ultraviolet]] rays confirmed that Uccello had originally depicted Hawkwood as "more threatening", with his baton raised and horse "at the ready".<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 321–322.</ref> |
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The fresco's current appearance is not identical to the version redone by Uccello. The frame with [[candelabra]]-pattern decorations was added by [[Lorenzo di Credi]] in 1524, when he restored the fresco.<ref name="b304"/> In 1688, it was restored again, in refurbishments celebrating the marriage of [[Ferdinando (III) de' Medici|Ferdinand de' Medici]] and Violante of Bavaria.<ref name="b304"/> The fresco was restored and transferred to canvas in 1842 by Giovanni Rizzoli and moved to the west wall of the Duomo, only to be moved back to the north wall in 1947, after being mounted on a [[masonite]] and aluminum support.<ref name="b304"/> It has been argued, based on Uccello's alleged use of [[Masaccio|Masaccio's]] [[Perspective (visual)|eye-point perspective]], that the painting was originally five feet higher than it stands today.<ref name="b304"/> The fully restored fresco was also briefly taken down in 1953–1954 to be shown in the "Quattro Maestri" ("Four Masters") exhibition in Florence.<ref name="b304">Borsi, 1994, p. 304. </ref> |
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==Style== |
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[[Image:Paolo Uccello 006.jpg|thumb|right|Uccello's ''Creation of the Animals and Creation of Adam'' (c. 1431, Above) is also in the "terra verde" style, as required by its commission.]] |
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The reworked fresco has also been seen as "classicizing" the image of the ''condottieri'', with the ''terra verde'' technique giving the [[conceit]] of an [[equestrian statue|equestrian bronze statue]].<ref>Starn, 1984, p. 65.</ref> The horse's proportions are based loosely upon those prescribed by Alberti in ''De equo animante'', which in turn is based upon the anonymous ''Sonetto del Cavallo Perfetto'';<ref>Bergstein, 2002, p. 864.</ref> however, in many ways the horse departs radically from Alberti's ideal of a harmonious and "lithe" creature in the style of [[Leonello d'Este|Leonello d'Este's]] monument to [[Niccolò III d'Este]], ''Arco del Cavallo'' in Ferrara.<ref name=Borsi114>Borsi, 1994, p. 114.</ref> Furthermore, Uccello's perspective in the Hawkwood monument openly flaunted Alberti's conception of perspective as demarcated in ''[[De Pictura]]'' (1435, translated into Italian as ''Della Pittura'' in 1436): the [[vanishing point]] is at the eye-level of the spectator rather than within the field of the fresco, for example.<ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 135–136.</ref> Alberti's ''De re aedificatoria'' also objected to statues of soldiers and/or lay burials in churches.<ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 136.</ref> Although the fresco is often called "monochrome",<ref name=Paolieri19/> its background is dark red, the horse and tomb are accented in red, black, white, and orange.<ref name=Caferro318/> The ''[[Trompe-l'œil]]'' perspective from the base, the ''[[chiaroscuro]]'' [[relief]]-effect of the horse and the rider, and lighting from the left are similar to [[Masaccio|Masaccio's]] [[Holy Trinity (Masaccio)|''Holy Trinity'']].<ref name=Borsi114/><ref name=Paolieri21>Paolieri, 1991, p. 21.</ref><ref>Dempsey, 1972, p. 281.</ref> The connection to Masaccio is so strong (or so often reported) that [[Albertini|Francesco Albertini]] actually attributed the work to Massaccio in 1510.<ref name=Borsi28/> However, Uccello's fresco has two viewpoints: the horse and rider are painted as if on level with the spectator, and the [[cenotaph]] is seen as if from below.<ref name=Caferro318/> |
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A variety of explanations have been proposed for this split perspective, which has even been suggested by [[Frederick Hartt]] to have been a [[practical joke]].<ref>Hartt, 1969, p. 212.</ref><ref>Kurbovy, 1988, p. 79–84.</ref> Entangled in these questions of perspective is [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]]'s criticism of the horse's raising both its right legs at the same time, which would likely topple the horse, if accomplished.<ref name=Hudson25>Hudson, 2006, p. 25.</ref> However, it is clear from Uccello's other works that he was not interested in using perspective simply for realism;<ref name=Paolieri12/> rather, Uccello "placed in an unnatural, fantastic overall atmosphere, the fruit of this painter's complex and unique imagination".<ref>Paolieri, 1991, p. 7.</ref> This style has even been cited as an example of synthetic realism in line with the late [[Gothic art|Gothic]] movement.<ref name=Paolieri21/> |
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===Inscription=== |
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Underscoring the classical elements of the fresco is the [[Latin]] inscription, added on [[December 17]] [[1436]]<ref name=Borsi303/> and penned by Bartolomeo Fortini de Orlandini, son of Benedetto di Ser Landi Fortini, former treasurer of Florence and apprentice of [[Alberti (surname)|Spinello Alberti]], one of the chief negotiators of Florence during the [[War of the Eight Saints]]<ref name=Caferro318/><ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 207.</ref>—the first such inscription on an antique sarcophagus in a Florentine painting.<ref>Covi, 1963, p. 14.</ref> The inscription reads: ''"Ioannes Actus''<ref>Hawkwood's name was also rendered as “Aucgunctur”, “Haughd”, “Hauvod”, “Hankelvode”, “Augudh”, Auchevud”, “Haukevvod”, “Haukwode”, or “Haucod.” “Acuto” (meaning cunning) was Hawkwood’s nickname. See Caferro, 2006, p. 9–10.</ref> ''eques brittanicus dux aetatis suae cautissimus et rei militaris pertissimus habitus est"'' (John Hawkwood, British knight, most prudent leader of his age and most expert in the art of war). The epitaph, likely a reference to Hawkwood's aforementioned ''cautissimus'' ("most prudent") retreat across the [[Oglio]], is borrowed from the eulogy of Roman general [[Fabius Maximus]], who wore down [[Hannibal]] by tactical retreat and avoiding battle.<ref name=Caferro20/><ref name=Hudson25/> The eulogy of Fabius Maximus comports so distinctly with [[Renaissance humanism|Quattrocento humanism]] that some scholars have even dubbed it a "Renaissance fake".<ref>Saxl, 1940, p. 25.</ref> |
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==Interpretation== |
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[[Image:Uccello Florentine Troops.jpg|thumb|left|Uccello's [[The Battle of San Romano|frescoes]] of the [[Battle of San Romano]] (pictured: ''Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano'', c. 1438–1440) are also noted for their political implications.]] |
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By classicizing the ''condottieri'', the portrait may have represented an opportunity to—as [[Leonardo Bruni]] had advocated—"revive the ancient form of tribute" by choosing a "long-dead and uncontroversial subject".<ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 156.</ref> Mallett has interpreted the fresco as a Medicean attempt to exalt "the praiseworthiness of ''condottieri'' to a populace with mixed feelings".<ref>Mallett, 1974, p. 129.</ref> In fact, Cosimo may have allowed the former Albizzi project to go through merely to pave the way for a similar honor for [[Niccolò da Tolentino]] (died 1435), a ''condottiero'' whom the Medici would have favored over Hawkwood.<ref name=Borsi302/> The Tolentino fresco was commissioned 20 years after the soldier of fortune's death, and was specified in its contract to be painted in "the same manner and form as the Hawkwood".<ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 161.</ref> Thus, the recommissioning of the portrait may be read as part of an ongoing debate over the appropriateness of ''condottieri'' for a Republic. Bruni raises this subject in ''De militia'' (1420),<ref>Bruni, generally a critic of mercenaries, praised Hawkwood for his effectiveness. See Caferro, 2006, p. 321.</ref> arguing for a standing Florentine militia, especially given the close ties between Tolentino and the Medici.<ref name=Hudson10/> Intending to depict Hawkwood as an "obedient captain conducting an inspection of troops",<ref name=Caferro9/> the conceit of Hawkwood patiently reviewing troops is "suggestive of a loyal communal servant".<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 320. [[Lionello Boccia]] has claimed that the unusual poses of Hawkwood and the horse can be attributed to 19th-century restoration rather than Uccello himself.</ref> |
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The Medici may have wished to emphasize that point that any ''condottiero'', no matter how hostile or fickle, could be bought off and manipulated to Florentine interests and truly Florentinized.<ref>Wegener, 1993, p. 157–158.</ref> Attempts to claim Hawkwood as Florentine were well underway even before his death; for example, [[Pier Paolo Vergerio]] wrote in 1391 that Hawkwood "no longer has any foreign blood […] and has become regenerated more strongly and more healthful in fiber and body under the moderating sky of Italy".<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 24.</ref> Such a viewpoint has even crept into modern scholarship: the 19th-century historian [[list of historians|Ercole Ricotti]] called Hawkwood "the last of the foreign ''condottieri'' or the first of the Italian ones"; his 18th-century biography Domenico Maria Manni called him "general captain of Florentine armies" and virtually ignored two decades of Hawkwood's service to other city-states;<ref>Manni, ''Commentario della vita del famoso capitano Giovanni Aguto Inglese..'' (Bologna: Volpe, 1755). </ref> even in the 20th century, [[list of historians|Friedrich Gaupp]] attempted to characterize Hawkwood's direct attack on Florence as a "marriage proposal".<ref>Caferro, 2006, p. 24–25.</ref> |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==References== |
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*Bergstein, Mary. 2002. "Donatello’s ‘Gattamelata’ and Its Humanist Audience." ''Renaissance Quarterly'' '''55''': 833–868. |
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*Borsi, Franco. Translator Elfreda Powell. 1994. ''Paolo Uccello''. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0810939193 |
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*Caferro, William. 2006. ''John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth Century Italy''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801883237 |
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*Covi, Dario A. 1963. "Lettering in Fifteenth Century Florentine Painting." ''The Art Bulletin'' '''45''': 1–17. |
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*D'Ancona, Paolo. Translator Elizabeth Andrews. 1960. ''Paolo Uccello''. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc. |
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*Dempsey, Charles. 1972. "Massaccio’s Trinity: Altarpiece or Tomb?" ''The Art Bulletin'' '''54''': 279–281. |
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*Griffiths, Gordon. 1978. "The Political Significance of Uccello’s Battle of San Romano." ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'' '''41''': 313–316. |
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*[[Frederick Hartt|Hartt, Frederick]]. 1969 (Sixth Edition 2006). ''History of Italian Renaissance Art''. Englewood Cliffs and New York. ISBN 0131882473 |
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*Hatfield, Rab. 1965. "Five Early Renaissance Portraits." ''The Art Bulletin'' '''47''': 315–334. |
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*Hudson, Hugh. 2006. "The Politics of War: Paolo Uccello’s Equestrian Monument for Sir John Hawkwood in the Cathedral of Florence." ''Parergon'' '''23''': 1–33. |
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*Kubovy, Michael. 1988. ''The Psychology of Perspective and Renaissance Art''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521368499 |
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*Mallett, Michael Edward. 1974. ''Mercenaries and their masters; warfare in Renaissance Italy''. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 0874714478 |
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*Meiss, Millard. 1970. "The Original Position of Uccello’s John Hawkwood." ''The Art Bulletin'' '''52''': 231. |
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*Mode, Robert L. 1972. "Masolino, Uccello and the Orsini 'Uomini Famosi.'" ''The Burlington Magazine'' '''114''': 368–378. |
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*Paolieri, Annarita. Translator Lisa Pelletti. 1991. ''Paolo Uccello, Domenico Veneziano, Adrea del Castagno''. Florence: Scala/Riverside. |
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*Pudelko, Georg. 1934. "The Early Works of Paolo Uccello." ''The Art Bulletin'' '''16''': 230–259. |
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*[[Frances Stonor Saunders|Saunders, Frances Stonor]]. 2004. ''Hawkwood: The Diabolical Englishman''. Fontana, ISBN 0571219098. (US edition: 2005. ''The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in 14th Century Italy''.) |
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*Salmi, Mario. 1936. ''Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Castagno, Domenico Veneziano''. Rome. |
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*Saxl, F. 1940–1941. "The Classical Inscription in Renaissance Art and Politics: Bartholomaeus Fontius: Liber monumentorum Romanae urbis et aliorum locorum." ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'' '''4''': 19–46. |
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*Starn, Randolph, and Partridge, Loren. 1984. "Representing War in the Renaissance: The Shield of Paolo Uccello." ''Representations'' '''5''': 32–64. |
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*Wegener, Wendy J. 1993. "'That the practice of arms is most excellent declare the statues of valiant men': the Luccan War and Florentine Political ideology in paintings by Uccello and Castagno." ''Renaissance Studies'' '''7'''(2): 129–167. |
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{{featured article}} |
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[[Category:Fresco paintings]] |
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[[Category:Paolo Uccello paintings]] |
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[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Italy]] |
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[[Category:Culture in Florence]] |
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[[Category:15th century works]] |
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Revision as of 21:27, 4 June 2008
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