Articles
Titian’s Poesie and Hapsburg Political Imagery
Titian’s Poesie, as sensual images with alluring depictions of the female nude, have been extensively described in the press. But for that same reason they present a fundamental challenge to historians who are concerned with how art both defines and draws meaning from the political and religious contexts of the age.
Talk from 2020, National Gallery conference “Poetry in Paint: Titian’s Late Mythologies.”
Titian’s Poesie, as sensual images with alluring depictions of the female nude, have been extensively described in the press. But for that same reason they present a fundamental challenge to historians who are concerned with how art both defines and draws meaning from the political and religious contexts of the age.
Talk from 2020, National Gallery conference “Poetry in Paint: Titian’s Late Mythologies.”
Jerusalem on the Hill: Rome and the Vision of St. Peter’s in the Renaissance: Nicholas V and Julius II
The project to revitalize St. Peter’s basilica as the center of a resurgent Church proceeded in step with the goal to reassert papal authority across the Italian peninsula and to extend that authority to the Eastern Mediterranean by mounting a crusade to recover the Holy Land. By embedding references to the Holy Land in the fabric of the new church, the architecture itself became the expressive voice of the papacy’s political agenda to transform the basilica, and all of Rome, into a New Jerusalem.
In tracing the development of these ideas as they were introduced by Nicholas V, (1447-1455) refined by Julius II (1503-1513), and translated into physical form by Donato Bramante, this essay provides a new way of understanding myriad problems – multiple papal patrons, numerous architects, and several distinct designs – associated with the project of rebuilding St. Peter’s over almost two centuries.
Article in book "La basilica di San Pietro: Fortuna e imagine," ed. Giovanni Morello, Rome: Gangemi, 2012.
The project to revitalize St. Peter’s basilica as the center of a resurgent Church proceeded in step with the goal to reassert papal authority across the Italian peninsula and to extend that authority to the Eastern Mediterranean by mounting a crusade to recover the Holy Land. By embedding references to the Holy Land in the fabric of the new church, the architecture itself became the expressive voice of the papacy’s political agenda to transform the basilica, and all of Rome, into a New Jerusalem.
In tracing the development of these ideas as they were introduced by Nicholas V, (1447-1455) refined by Julius II (1503-1513), and translated into physical form by Donato Bramante, this essay provides a new way of understanding myriad problems – multiple papal patrons, numerous architects, and several distinct designs – associated with the project of rebuilding St. Peter’s over almost two centuries.
Article in book "La basilica di San Pietro: Fortuna e imagine," ed. Giovanni Morello, Rome: Gangemi, 2012.
| jerusalem_on_the_hill_article_from_la_basilica_di_san_pietro.pdf |
Pope Nicholas V and Passion Booty in Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation of Christ
This article explores an aspect of Jerusalem imagery in the years surrounding Pope Nicholas V’s Jubilee of 1450, and it broadens the focus of previous studies by considering the picture in the context of contemporary papal ideology. Singling out a renewed interest in the Holy Spoils that Titus brought to Rome following his destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 69 AD — a list expanded to include Passion relics — it concerns the representation of Flavian booty in Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation.
Piero’s “stagings” of the biblical narrative takes on historical relevancy when we consider that the sites of the Prison and the Flagellation were transferred to the porticoed courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre in the middle ages; a dramatic recreation of events of the Passion was occasionally set against this backdrop.
Article in "New Studies on Old Masters: Essays in Renaissance Art in Honour of Colin Eisler"
This article explores an aspect of Jerusalem imagery in the years surrounding Pope Nicholas V’s Jubilee of 1450, and it broadens the focus of previous studies by considering the picture in the context of contemporary papal ideology. Singling out a renewed interest in the Holy Spoils that Titus brought to Rome following his destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 69 AD — a list expanded to include Passion relics — it concerns the representation of Flavian booty in Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation.
Piero’s “stagings” of the biblical narrative takes on historical relevancy when we consider that the sites of the Prison and the Flagellation were transferred to the porticoed courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre in the middle ages; a dramatic recreation of events of the Passion was occasionally set against this backdrop.
Article in "New Studies on Old Masters: Essays in Renaissance Art in Honour of Colin Eisler"
| pope_nicholas_v_and_passion_booty_in_pieros_flagellation_of_christ.pdf |
Chance and Coincidence in Titian's Diana and Actaeon
In I556, Titian began a picture of Diana and Actaeon for Philip II, which he completed over a period of three years. The painter had a large stock of material from which to draw, for the theme had been treated extensively in the philosophy, literature, and art of the Renaissance, but Titian's formal innovations radically change the standard iconography of the myth. This paper will attempt to show that Titian used the encounter between Diana and Actaeon to explore the relationship of fate and fortune in regard to free will, a primary question for the sixteenth century. It will further suggest that Titian utilized the theme of Actaeon's contemplation of the goddess to express a new interpretation of Nature as the mediatrix between divine wisdom and human understanding.
The Art Bulletin, Vol. 56, No. 4 (Dec., 1974), pp. 535-550
In I556, Titian began a picture of Diana and Actaeon for Philip II, which he completed over a period of three years. The painter had a large stock of material from which to draw, for the theme had been treated extensively in the philosophy, literature, and art of the Renaissance, but Titian's formal innovations radically change the standard iconography of the myth. This paper will attempt to show that Titian used the encounter between Diana and Actaeon to explore the relationship of fate and fortune in regard to free will, a primary question for the sixteenth century. It will further suggest that Titian utilized the theme of Actaeon's contemplation of the goddess to express a new interpretation of Nature as the mediatrix between divine wisdom and human understanding.
The Art Bulletin, Vol. 56, No. 4 (Dec., 1974), pp. 535-550
| chance_and_coincidence_in_titians_diane_and_acteon.pdf |
Ubi Sunt: An Elegiac Topos in the Fète Champètre
While its attribution has been widely disputed, the Féte Champétre remains a quintessential piece in a new genre that is fundamentally Giorgionesque. Although the work has often been studied, the mood of the painting and the reason for its melancholy effect on the viewer remain unexplained. Art historians have noted the Arcadian spirit of the picture and pointed to parallels in contemporary pastoral literature.
A closer analysis of key elements in that tradition provides a point of departure for a fuller reading of the painting. In Sannazaro's Arcadia of 1502, the conflation of the pastoral genre with the myth of the Golden Age was revived for the Renaissance. There shepherds sing a plaintive elegy, yearning for that faraway time which is irretrievably lost.
Giorgione, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi. (Castelfranco Veneto, l979), 61-66
While its attribution has been widely disputed, the Féte Champétre remains a quintessential piece in a new genre that is fundamentally Giorgionesque. Although the work has often been studied, the mood of the painting and the reason for its melancholy effect on the viewer remain unexplained. Art historians have noted the Arcadian spirit of the picture and pointed to parallels in contemporary pastoral literature.
A closer analysis of key elements in that tradition provides a point of departure for a fuller reading of the painting. In Sannazaro's Arcadia of 1502, the conflation of the pastoral genre with the myth of the Golden Age was revived for the Renaissance. There shepherds sing a plaintive elegy, yearning for that faraway time which is irretrievably lost.
Giorgione, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi. (Castelfranco Veneto, l979), 61-66
| ubi_sunt.pdf |
Concordia in Piero della Francesca's "Baptism of Christ"
Piero dell Francesca's Baptism of Christ introduces a new combination of subsidiary elements: I) The angels do not perform their usual function of bearing garments; instead two angels clasp hands, while the third gestures to the baptism. Each angel is distinguished by a different crown and a different colored robe. 2) In the middle ground is a group of four men, dressed specifically in oriental costume, one of who gestures heavenward. 3) A contemporary cityscape appears in the distant background, which has been identified with Borgo San Sepolcro.
I shall try to suggest that these differences from traditional iconography reflect an issue of fundamental importance to the unity of the Church.
The Art Quarterly (New York, N.Y.), 1972-01-01, Vol.35 (1), p.1-21
Piero dell Francesca's Baptism of Christ introduces a new combination of subsidiary elements: I) The angels do not perform their usual function of bearing garments; instead two angels clasp hands, while the third gestures to the baptism. Each angel is distinguished by a different crown and a different colored robe. 2) In the middle ground is a group of four men, dressed specifically in oriental costume, one of who gestures heavenward. 3) A contemporary cityscape appears in the distant background, which has been identified with Borgo San Sepolcro.
I shall try to suggest that these differences from traditional iconography reflect an issue of fundamental importance to the unity of the Church.
The Art Quarterly (New York, N.Y.), 1972-01-01, Vol.35 (1), p.1-21
| concordia_in_piero.pdf |
Imperial Themes in Piero della Francesca's True Cross Legend, article in Città e corte nell'Italia di Piero della Francesca : atti del convegno internazionale di studi, Urbino, 4-7 ottobre 1992.
As Piero's greatest artistic achievements, the True Cross Legend at Arezzo has been the subject of much imaginative research and many insightful observations. Scholars have discussed its date. Yet, given the nature of the legend and its configuration here, it is remarkable that the importance and relevance of imperial ideology has been disregarded in a work of art so frequently studied. My investigation of the True Cross Cycle at Arezzo considers the history and prophetic destiny of the legitimate secular ruler of the eastern and western empires that permeates the visual tissue of a venerable medieval legend in Piero's hands. This subject — which reflects the patron's global, Aretine and personal concerns — is the thread linking legend to time and place.
As Piero's greatest artistic achievements, the True Cross Legend at Arezzo has been the subject of much imaginative research and many insightful observations. Scholars have discussed its date. Yet, given the nature of the legend and its configuration here, it is remarkable that the importance and relevance of imperial ideology has been disregarded in a work of art so frequently studied. My investigation of the True Cross Cycle at Arezzo considers the history and prophetic destiny of the legitimate secular ruler of the eastern and western empires that permeates the visual tissue of a venerable medieval legend in Piero's hands. This subject — which reflects the patron's global, Aretine and personal concerns — is the thread linking legend to time and place.
Titian: the Poesie for Philip II, dissertation, New York University, Institute of Fine Arts. 18.1976, 65
1978 PhD. dissertation later developed into the 2019 book Sublime Truth and the Senses: Titian's Poesie for King Philip II of Spain.
1978 PhD. dissertation later developed into the 2019 book Sublime Truth and the Senses: Titian's Poesie for King Philip II of Spain.
