In 1555,the Florentine Mannerist painter Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)created two significant oil panels,the Chariot of the Sun and the Chariot of the Moon,on the ceiling of the Hall of the Elements in the Palazzo Vecchio...In 1555,the Florentine Mannerist painter Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)created two significant oil panels,the Chariot of the Sun and the Chariot of the Moon,on the ceiling of the Hall of the Elements in the Palazzo Vecchio,Florence.1 Cosimo I de’Medici,Duke of Tuscany(1519-1574),commissioned Vasari to renovate his apartments in the Palazzo Vecchio.Vasari restructured and painted the ceiling and walls of the Hall of the Elements on the second floor,named for its depicted subjects.The walls were painted using the fresco technique,while the ceiling was executed in oil on panels.The walls depicted the elements of Fire,Earth,and Water,whereas the ceiling illustrated the element of Air,containing the panels of the Chariots.Vasari began his education in classical culture in Arezzo under the Latin grammarian Antonio da Saccone and the ancient historian and literary scholar Giovanni Pollio Lappoli,known as Pollastra(1465-1540).He continued his studies within the Medici household under the humanist and hieroglyphologist Pierio Valeriano(1477-1558).In 1539,he met the Milanese law professor and emblematist Andrea Alciato(1492-1550)in Bologna,from whom he learned about the moral aspects of emblems.Through their historical,philosophical,mythographic,and emblematic symbolism,Vasari skillfully synthesize d knowledge to construct intellectual programs that encompass the concepts of ekphrasis and history paintings in his decorative cycles,as revealed in the Chariots.In depicting the cosmic movement of stars and time in the Chariots,Vasari integrated the idea of the chariot illustrated in Baccio Baldini’s astrological engravings and the mythographic account of Apollo and Diana’s chariots in Vincenzo Cartari’s Le Imagini degli dei degli antichi(1547 and 1571).In the discourse regarding the physical and metaphysical movements of the cosmos,Vasari underscores the influence of Italian Neoplatonism,with particular emphasis on insights derived from Marsilio Ficino’s exploration of alchemical colors in nature,as articulated in Liber de Arte Chemica(Books 14 and 15),while also elucidating the importance of Plato’s Chariot of the Soul or Allegory of the Chariot(Jones,Litt,&Ormerod,1918,p.246).展开更多
In 1555,assisted by Cristofano Gherardi,Il Doceno(1508-1556),Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)designed and painted a mythological and cosmological theme in the Sala degli Elementi,an apartment of Cosimo I de’Medici(1519-1574...In 1555,assisted by Cristofano Gherardi,Il Doceno(1508-1556),Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)designed and painted a mythological and cosmological theme in the Sala degli Elementi,an apartment of Cosimo I de’Medici(1519-1574),Duke of Florence,at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.The Apartment of the Elements is dedicated to the four elements(air,earth,fire,and water),which in antiquity were considered to be the basis of the material of the world.The four elements are personified as a history painting theme on the ceiling and the walls of the chamber.Accordingly,on the ceiling is the element of Air,personified by several events:Its center depicts Saturn Mutilating Heaven and surrounding this scene are The Chariots of the Sun and the Moon,the images of Day and Night,and the virtues of Peace,Fame,Justice,and Truth.On the walls of the chamber,there are personifications of the elements of Earth(north),Fire(east),and Water(south).The frescoes on the left hand wall relate to the element of Earth.In the center of the north wall,the first fruits of the Earth are offered to Saturn.1 On the adjacent wall,east wall,above the fireplace,are scenes relating to the element of Fire:Vulcan’s Forge is depicted in the center of wall.2 On the adjacent wall,south wall,the element of Water is symbolized with The Birth of Venus.3 On the window wall,west wall,are two large niches containing simulated sculptures of Hermes-Mercury and Hades-Pluto.These two images connect thematically with the wall decoration of the elements and the pantheon of the gods on the ceiling.This essay will focus only on the image of Hermes-Mercury.It consists of two parts:the stylistic impact of classical and Renaissance sources of this astral and pagan god in Vasari’s imagery,and the signification of the personification of Mercury associated and interconnected with Cosimo I de’Medici,Duke of Florence.展开更多
文摘In 1555,the Florentine Mannerist painter Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)created two significant oil panels,the Chariot of the Sun and the Chariot of the Moon,on the ceiling of the Hall of the Elements in the Palazzo Vecchio,Florence.1 Cosimo I de’Medici,Duke of Tuscany(1519-1574),commissioned Vasari to renovate his apartments in the Palazzo Vecchio.Vasari restructured and painted the ceiling and walls of the Hall of the Elements on the second floor,named for its depicted subjects.The walls were painted using the fresco technique,while the ceiling was executed in oil on panels.The walls depicted the elements of Fire,Earth,and Water,whereas the ceiling illustrated the element of Air,containing the panels of the Chariots.Vasari began his education in classical culture in Arezzo under the Latin grammarian Antonio da Saccone and the ancient historian and literary scholar Giovanni Pollio Lappoli,known as Pollastra(1465-1540).He continued his studies within the Medici household under the humanist and hieroglyphologist Pierio Valeriano(1477-1558).In 1539,he met the Milanese law professor and emblematist Andrea Alciato(1492-1550)in Bologna,from whom he learned about the moral aspects of emblems.Through their historical,philosophical,mythographic,and emblematic symbolism,Vasari skillfully synthesize d knowledge to construct intellectual programs that encompass the concepts of ekphrasis and history paintings in his decorative cycles,as revealed in the Chariots.In depicting the cosmic movement of stars and time in the Chariots,Vasari integrated the idea of the chariot illustrated in Baccio Baldini’s astrological engravings and the mythographic account of Apollo and Diana’s chariots in Vincenzo Cartari’s Le Imagini degli dei degli antichi(1547 and 1571).In the discourse regarding the physical and metaphysical movements of the cosmos,Vasari underscores the influence of Italian Neoplatonism,with particular emphasis on insights derived from Marsilio Ficino’s exploration of alchemical colors in nature,as articulated in Liber de Arte Chemica(Books 14 and 15),while also elucidating the importance of Plato’s Chariot of the Soul or Allegory of the Chariot(Jones,Litt,&Ormerod,1918,p.246).
文摘In 1555,assisted by Cristofano Gherardi,Il Doceno(1508-1556),Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)designed and painted a mythological and cosmological theme in the Sala degli Elementi,an apartment of Cosimo I de’Medici(1519-1574),Duke of Florence,at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.The Apartment of the Elements is dedicated to the four elements(air,earth,fire,and water),which in antiquity were considered to be the basis of the material of the world.The four elements are personified as a history painting theme on the ceiling and the walls of the chamber.Accordingly,on the ceiling is the element of Air,personified by several events:Its center depicts Saturn Mutilating Heaven and surrounding this scene are The Chariots of the Sun and the Moon,the images of Day and Night,and the virtues of Peace,Fame,Justice,and Truth.On the walls of the chamber,there are personifications of the elements of Earth(north),Fire(east),and Water(south).The frescoes on the left hand wall relate to the element of Earth.In the center of the north wall,the first fruits of the Earth are offered to Saturn.1 On the adjacent wall,east wall,above the fireplace,are scenes relating to the element of Fire:Vulcan’s Forge is depicted in the center of wall.2 On the adjacent wall,south wall,the element of Water is symbolized with The Birth of Venus.3 On the window wall,west wall,are two large niches containing simulated sculptures of Hermes-Mercury and Hades-Pluto.These two images connect thematically with the wall decoration of the elements and the pantheon of the gods on the ceiling.This essay will focus only on the image of Hermes-Mercury.It consists of two parts:the stylistic impact of classical and Renaissance sources of this astral and pagan god in Vasari’s imagery,and the signification of the personification of Mercury associated and interconnected with Cosimo I de’Medici,Duke of Florence.
