110 Cimabue prima parte

Dicenni of pepo, also known as Shimabue, we have very limited biographical knowledge; only two written documents mention him. We know roughly when he was born, around 1240, and when he died, around 1302. For the rest, we can follow his movements through his works, artworks of extraordinary importance. which remained precisely between Arezzo, Florence, and Rome, where we know he visited many times, but about which we have no knowledge there is practically nothing left of his works, and Assisi in particular, a fundamental artist recognized as in his role as headmaster of the Florentine school, Giardà Vasari, who indeed spoke of him as a master in some way, as an apostle, as a schoolmaster, who in some way paved the way for the true revolution in Western painting which is the Giotto revolution that we will discuss in greater detail later. Artist whom Dante Alighieri himself mentions in a famous tercet, the one that says precisely Who said Cimabue in the painting of the Neighboring Field, and now Giotto cries out, and what does this tercet mean? Indeed, his fame is dark—that is, in this case, Dante is speaking of the pupil's greatness surpassing that of the master. Even though Giotto surpasses Cimabue, he also speaks to us about the importance of Cimabue as a master, as a guide. But where does this guide, this master, come from? Well, Cimabue was certainly shaped within the context of the workshop, the decoration of the Florence Baptistery. where a great artist we have already encountered and already dealt with used to work who is Coppo di Marcovaldo, whom we have seen working together with his son Salerno di Poppo in the crucifixion of the cathedral of San Zeno here in Pistoia. Coppo di Marcovaldo is an artist with exceptional expressive power and an extraordinary, vital imagination. And from this standpoint, Cimabue must have been quite impressed, quite fascinated. This artist, although still embedded within absolutely Byzantine schemes, reinforces them from a purely expressive standpoint. So you see here the contortion of these damned figures, the idea, the imagination that creates this setting. We see the same idea in these two enthroned Madonnas, which are absolutely Byzantine in tradition. You especially notice the highlights, these strokes, these comb-like lines of gold inserted into the mantle. and which undoubtedly initially served in Byzantine tradition to define the folds and the play of light on the mantle But then they become a series of sterile lines that even flatten the figure, failing to convey the figure's depth. To your left is the Madonna dei Servi, created by the hand of Marco Valdo in 1260, following the Battle of Montaperti. It serves as a pledge because it was taken by the Sienese. Unfortunately, the faces are from a later period; they were repainted by a painter from Lucca. On the right side, however, you can still see another Madonna seated on a throne. Interesting because the composition follows that of the Theotokos of the Odigitria, yet there is a very pronounced sense of will. very expressive, it is the most important contribution of Marco Valdo's stroke to Western art. Another fundamental artist for Cimabue, as we have seen when examining the crucifixes, was Giunta Pisano. You can see that the model of the crucifix by Giunta Pisano, shown on the left, is virtually identical to the one used by Cimabue. in his first crucifix, the youthful one, created around 1270 for the church of San Domenico in Arezzo. What is being revived? What is clearly still Byzantine in Cimabue? Especially the way the muscles are structured along a contour, as if it were precisely a withered drawing which over the centuries has repeatedly occurred in the same way and thus has lost intensity. There remains a kind of perimeter, a contour line marking muscles that are no longer even muscles. What do I mean? In this case, you see the crucifixion, don't you? It's as if it were a white image, a boundary within which figures gradually emerge. the figures of the muscles, but to outline these figures in a manner always identical to themselves and thus simplifying over the centuries. So you draw the facial features using this kind of inverted V for the eyebrows. which gives the idea of the grieving one. They mainly make the signs of the muscles in the arms and legs. with this kind of circles that detach the muscles as if they were indeed anatomical parts precisely detached from one another. Even more will be seen in the shaping of the body, chest, and abdomen. where this form of drawing is clearly visible, which no longer has a counterpart with the true and proper nature, with the observation of a human body, right? The same thing happens with regard to color. If you consider the shadow in the left image, the chiaroscuro is not a true chiaroscuro. There are two fundamental colors, two shades, of the same ochre, the same yellow. And the darkest part is essentially used to define the outline of the musculature. So what comes out, aside from the ugliness of my model, It's simply the idea of emphasizing these contour lines, this graphic style which does not represent nature so much as it does not attempt to imitate nature, but rather signifies nature itself. We've already talked about the difference between meaning something and representing something, haven't we? These are the abdominal muscles, meaning the abs, but they are not the real abs. However, there are also many differences we have already seen compared to Giunta Pisano. In particular, the figure is more dynamic, with a more pronounced undercut. You can see it in the right-hand image; this is also something we have already seen. just as we have already seen the head that is most refined on the shoulder, as if trying to use the same language that Giunta Pisano used Thus, a Byzantine era, but pushing it to its utmost consequences. Chiaroscuro is nonetheless more pronounced, and the figure gains a greater sense of volume. there is thus a will toward tridimensionality that is beginning to emerge, We will see whether this three-dimensionality emerges in the development of Shimabuura's art. Thus, you see a much stronger chiaroscuro, but also one that is more blended. a lighter passage compared to the chiaroscuro of Giunta Pisano, and finally, the figures of the sorrowful, especially those you see in the side tables, which assume a greater humanity through the gesture of holding one's cheek with the hand. One very important thing, because hand language was essential, the figures you see, which have this appearance of humanity and therefore of realism, but a realism that is visible only in the gesture, because afterward you see that the structured mouth persists in a Byzantine manner, the bifurcated nose, the eyebrows made with this kind of regular curve, the strong lighting of the drapery, then a whole series of information which recall the Byzantine tradition. Around 1270, in the 1270s, Cimabue, already in his thirties, frequently traveled to Rome. We indeed have a document citing him in Rome, but nothing remains of Cimabue's Roman works. We are left with this image, which demonstrates Cimabue's knowledge of Rome. In 1277 Cimabue received the commission to go to Assisi to decorate the upper part. the presbytery area of the Upper Basilica of Assisi, and this is a very important thing because the Basilica of Assisi, as we have seen, was an extremely important basilica, a papal commission, directly funded and decided upon by the Pope, selected the artists to be sent, So going to work in Assisi meant being artists of the highest caliber. considering that the artists who preceded him on this commission were prominent Roman artists, thus near the Pope, who was in Rome, and especially French artists, Frenchmen, Therefore, they are considered the greatest artists of this period. Cimabue arrived in Assisi in the 1280s, and he painted the entire decorated area of the presbytery. what you see above, that is, the vault of the transept chapel where the four evangelists are located, On one of the four sails, the city of Rome is depicted, associated with Saint Mark. city of Rome, which he evidently knew well, as he depicts some buildings that can still be seen today, In particular, the Tower of the Militia, which can be seen very clearly if you go, for example, to the area of the Imperial Forums. You turn around and see the Tower of the Militia, or for example the Pantheon, which is recognizable by its structure. This above is the Palazzo dei Governatori, whose façade I would like to draw your attention to. Where there are these small shields inscribed with SPQR, you may not be able to see them clearly. and two orzini coats of arms, two orzini coats of arms because indeed the commission had been entrusted by Pope Nicholas III Orzini, the pedigree I will show you in greater detail, On one side there is the actual coat of arms, and on the other side, precisely, the two coats of arms painted by Cimabue. The effect you see, the color shift, let's say it has gone from white to black. It depends on a rather curious event that happens to these frescoes. Cimabue used lead white, known as *biacca*, which is lead carbonate. which was often used as a color because it was a fairly bright white, but it had the problem of turning black, that is, it oxidized. and therefore all the frescoes created inside this building by Cimabue have undergone this kind of discoloration, which is why today we find these images that are photographic negatives, We'll get there. Before creating the frescoes, let's say, in the Upper Basilica, Cimabue will create this majesty in the Lower Basilica of Assisi, majesty in which one can already see the distance from what he had previously. that is Marco Valdo's body. The pose is more or less the same; Christ is always on one leg. of the Virgin, the Virgin Madonna of Ghiria There is, however, a throne, and a red cushion upon which the Virgin Mary had already been. but the throne is set at a two-quarter angle, there is an obvious pursuit of three-dimensionality, an evident three-dimensional will from this perspective, The throne is carved in such a way as if it were a large piece of metalwork. there is indeed a genuine will toward realism, and also the arrangement of the Virgin's drapery, the Virgin's face, and the Child are absolutely less abstract, that is, there is indeed a search, a much softer chiaroscuro, an innovative research into naturalism, an absolute realism Just as innovative is the depiction of the angels, that are stacked one behind the other in space, with a strong composition, You can see that two heads face toward the Virgin and two face the opposite direction. in a kind of weighted composition, so that the figure remains within a right polygon, thoughtful, well-constructed, well-structured but there is indeed a search for spatiality, These figures are placed facing each other. We will see that it is one of the great innovations of the Nishimabu Master's model. which will be precisely adjacent for the subsequent majesties. A curiosity, very interesting from this standpoint, the fresco because it is generally highly celebrated for the figure of Saint Francis, On the right you can see an image of Saint Francis. perhaps the most famous one we have, unfortunately greatly repainted over the centuries but I must say, given that we're in Pistoia, It's not one of the earliest images of Saint Francis. where we are in the 1380s Saint Francis died in 1226. He had been canonized, declared a saint, in 1228. The first artist, the first work we know of, which depicts Saint Francis, It is the only one remaining among the earliest works, belongs to Buonaventura Berlinghieri who was a Luccan artist, and in particular to the Fala of Pescia, a phrase you can still find today in the church of San Francesco, who is in Pescia, in the province of Pistoia which is signed and dated 1235, Therefore, it was created just a few years after the saint's death. Since it's completely irrelevant, there's no way. since we are in the Pistoia territory, It is also interesting to know what we already have. To conclude, then in the next lesson we will go into detail, I wish to particularly emphasize a certain point, This is the plan you see of the Upper Basilica, Once the Lower Basilica was completed, Cimabue will be transferred with his relics to the Upper Basilica, who will carry out a series of works in the passage, in the presbytery area, as you already know quite well by now what it is, the area that was divided according to the direction of Conostasi, from the area where the people were, where the faithful were stationed, This, on the other hand, is the presbytery area, the area where the clergy was located. Interesting is the fact that Cimabue executed the presbytery section, Iao Potorriti, therefore the Roman school, will carry out the central turn, while later the teacher of Isaac, whom we will discover to be Giotto, It will carry out the first campsite, the one toward the entrance. This does not surprise us because we know that churches were decorated from the apse toward the entrance, What's interesting, though, is the melting pot. This is a word to which I am particularly attached, We can consider this place Assisi. as an exceptional place of exchange, each of the artists who went to work in Assisi was assisting the other artists in their work, the Roman school, the Sienese school, the Florentine school above all, And then, for example, we mentioned French artists, and if it was worth something in some way to develop one's own style, a very particular way of doing things Therefore, we must consider Assisi as a kind of driving center the news at the end of 200 something we will examine in detail during the next lesson.