Barbara Longhi of Ravenna(1552-1638)enjoyed creating small devotional paintings depicting holy saints,in particular Saint Agnes(c.291-304).This saint’s life and martyrdom was recorded by the Bishop of Milan,Saint Amb...Barbara Longhi of Ravenna(1552-1638)enjoyed creating small devotional paintings depicting holy saints,in particular Saint Agnes(c.291-304).This saint’s life and martyrdom was recorded by the Bishop of Milan,Saint Ambrose(339-397),a Doctor of the Church and theologian,in his book Concerning Virgins(374)and by Jacobus de Voragine,the Archbishop of Genoa,in his Golden Legend(Legenda Aurea,1275).The saint’s story continues to be imaged and recounted to the present day because she is an icon of a pure and virtuous adolescent female.Barbara Longhi,along with her father,Luca Longhi(1507-1580),painted several versions of Saint Agnes.In their many depictions they composed two types of images:a single-solo-image of the saint;and her presence in a group of saints-a theme known as holy conversation.In her paintings of Saint Agnes,however,Barbara Longhi preferred to depict the solo image of the saint as virgo,a young maiden of virtue.This essay is composed of two parts:(1)an account of the life and martyrdom of Saint Agnes;and(2)an iconographical interpretation of Barbara Longhi’s Saint Agnes of Rome.展开更多
In 1564,in honor of the death of Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564),an artistic extravaganza was invented by the Benedictine monk Vincenzo Borghini(1515-1580)-prior of the hospital of the innocents,humanist,and admini...In 1564,in honor of the death of Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564),an artistic extravaganza was invented by the Benedictine monk Vincenzo Borghini(1515-1580)-prior of the hospital of the innocents,humanist,and administrator of the Florentine Academy of Design(Accademia del Disegno or Florentine Academy)-and was implemented by Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)-artist,writer,and artistic director of the Academy,who engaged his Florentine assistants to work on the execution of the tomb in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence(see Figure 1).The commission of Michelangelo’s tomb was prompted by his nephew,Lionardo[Leonardo]Simoni-Buonarroti(1522-1599),and the Grand Duke of Tuscany,Cosimo I de’Medici(1519-1574).The tomb was completed in 1578.Vasari designed the architectural monument,and his assistants,members of the Florentine Academy,collaborated in the following manner:The sculptures of the Fine Arts were carved by Giovanni Bandini(1540-1599),who represented the personification of architecture;Valerio di Simone Cioli(1529-1599),who represented the personification of Sculpture;and Battista Lorenzi(1527-1594),who represented the personification of Painting and the portrait bust of Michelangelo.Giovanni Battista Naldini(1537-1591)completed al fresco the burning urns,the purple-colored doorway of the tomb,the suspended canopy,and the Pietàin the center of the marble tabernacle.This latter artistic contribution is the topic of this essay.展开更多
文摘Barbara Longhi of Ravenna(1552-1638)enjoyed creating small devotional paintings depicting holy saints,in particular Saint Agnes(c.291-304).This saint’s life and martyrdom was recorded by the Bishop of Milan,Saint Ambrose(339-397),a Doctor of the Church and theologian,in his book Concerning Virgins(374)and by Jacobus de Voragine,the Archbishop of Genoa,in his Golden Legend(Legenda Aurea,1275).The saint’s story continues to be imaged and recounted to the present day because she is an icon of a pure and virtuous adolescent female.Barbara Longhi,along with her father,Luca Longhi(1507-1580),painted several versions of Saint Agnes.In their many depictions they composed two types of images:a single-solo-image of the saint;and her presence in a group of saints-a theme known as holy conversation.In her paintings of Saint Agnes,however,Barbara Longhi preferred to depict the solo image of the saint as virgo,a young maiden of virtue.This essay is composed of two parts:(1)an account of the life and martyrdom of Saint Agnes;and(2)an iconographical interpretation of Barbara Longhi’s Saint Agnes of Rome.
文摘In 1564,in honor of the death of Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564),an artistic extravaganza was invented by the Benedictine monk Vincenzo Borghini(1515-1580)-prior of the hospital of the innocents,humanist,and administrator of the Florentine Academy of Design(Accademia del Disegno or Florentine Academy)-and was implemented by Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)-artist,writer,and artistic director of the Academy,who engaged his Florentine assistants to work on the execution of the tomb in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence(see Figure 1).The commission of Michelangelo’s tomb was prompted by his nephew,Lionardo[Leonardo]Simoni-Buonarroti(1522-1599),and the Grand Duke of Tuscany,Cosimo I de’Medici(1519-1574).The tomb was completed in 1578.Vasari designed the architectural monument,and his assistants,members of the Florentine Academy,collaborated in the following manner:The sculptures of the Fine Arts were carved by Giovanni Bandini(1540-1599),who represented the personification of architecture;Valerio di Simone Cioli(1529-1599),who represented the personification of Sculpture;and Battista Lorenzi(1527-1594),who represented the personification of Painting and the portrait bust of Michelangelo.Giovanni Battista Naldini(1537-1591)completed al fresco the burning urns,the purple-colored doorway of the tomb,the suspended canopy,and the Pietàin the center of the marble tabernacle.This latter artistic contribution is the topic of this essay.
