Full title | Minerva as Protectress of the Arts and Sciences |
---|---|
Artist | Luca Giordano |
Artist dates | 1634 - 1705 |
Series | Modelli for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence |
Date made | early 1680s |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 73.5 x 88 cm |
Acquisition credit | Presented by the Trustees of Sir Denis Mahon's Charitable Trust through the Art Fund, 2013 |
Inventory number | NG6638 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
This modello, or detailed oil study, is one of a group of 12 that Giordano made in preparation for the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence in 1682–85. This scene corresponds to that painted on one of the two short walls, above the entrance to the grand Galleria.
It shows Minerva, goddess of wisdom and crafts, entrusting the key of knowledge to a seated figure representing Intellect and a hammer to the kneeling figure of Craftsmanship. Minerva is accompanied by the messenger god, Mercury, while the naked figure of Truth kneels beside her. To the left is the she-wolf that, according to legend, suckled the infants Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. In the background is probably Amphion, one of the founders of the ancient Greek city of Thebes, also known for his musicianship. He is playing a viol so beautifully that he has attracted a flock of birds.
This modello, or detailed oil study, is one of a group of 12 – ten of which are in the National Gallery – that Giordano made in preparation for the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence in 1682–85. The overall theme of the highly elaborate, showpiece frescoes is the progress of Mankind by means of Wisdom and Virtue. This scene corresponds to that painted on one of two short walls of the grand Galleria, above the entrance doors and directly opposite The Cave of Eternity.
Despite its current title, this scene is as much focused on a celebration of Minerva’s association with the virtues of hard work and diligence as on her role as protector of the arts and sciences. Minerva, who is the goddess of wisdom, is the figure in the centre of the painting, spotlit in a mountainous landscape. She is accompanied by the messenger god, Mercury, who hovers at her shoulder. Minerva is shown entrusting the key of knowledge to a seated figure representing Intellect, beside whom kneels naked Truth. With her other hand, and in her parallel role as goddess of the crafts, she gives a hammer to Craftsmanship (Artificio) and, behind him, Industry. At their feet, alongside Minerva’s shield and spear, lie a spade and pick, symbols of hard work and construction, as well as a wooden box – a hive, alluding to the industry of bees.
On the left of the painting a she-wolf stands over two babies – these are Romulus and Remus on the banks of the Tiber. According to legend, the twins were abandoned to die by the river but, suckled by the wolf, they survived. Romulus went on to found Rome. The figure sitting on the rock in the background playing the viol is probably the god Amphion, who appears in Homer’s Iliad and several other Greek legends. He was associated with ethereally beautiful music, and here his playing is so sweet that he has attracted a flock of birds; he even seems to have drawn the attention of the wolf. Just as Romulus was the founder of Rome, Amphion (and his brother Zethos) were known as the founders and builders of Thebes, one of the most prominent Greek cities in ancient literature. In this scene, Giordano seems to be evoking the founding of Rome and Thebes as ultimate examples of industry and craftsmanship.
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Minerva as Protectress of the Arts and Sciences
Modelli for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence
This group of ten paintings was made by Giordano as a series of detailed oil studies (or modelli) for the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, which are among the artist’s finest achievements. The modelli are part of a set of 12 (the other two are in private collections).
Nine of the paintings relate to the ceiling of the highly ornate Galleria, built to house a precious collection of antiquities and function as a public reception room. The other is associated with the ceiling of the adjacent Library. The overall theme in the Galleria is the elevation of mankind through Wisdom and Virtue, using allegorical and mythological figures to represent different strengths and traits. It culminates in a centrepiece which presents the wealthy Medici family as the paradigm of both these qualities.
Giordano seems to have worked up these modelli to clarify his designs and may have presented them to his client, the Marquess Francesco Riccardi, for approval before the frescoes were executed.
This group of ten paintings was made by Giordano as a series of detailed oil studies (or modelli) for the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. Begun in 1682 and completed in 1685, the frescoes are among Giordano’s finest achievements and appear to have been painted ‘a secco’ – that is, on dry rather than fresh (‘a fresco’) plaster. The modelli were originally part of a set of 12 (the other two are in private collections). Nine of them relate to the ceiling of the highly ornate Galleria and the tenth – the Allegory of Divine Wisdom – is associated with the ceiling of the adjacent Library.
Giordano seems to have produced preliminary oil sketches based on drawings, and then worked up more finished oil sketches to clarify his design. It was probably these that Giordano presented for approval to his client, the Marquess Francesco Riccardi (1648–1719), so that any required changes could be discussed before the frescoes were executed (some differences can be seen when we compare the modelli with the final frescoes). Others have suggested that these ten modelli were painted after the frescoes were completed, as ricordi (or visual records). Contemporary documents do make clear that the modelli were valued as finished works in their own right. The ten canvases in the National Gallery still have the original carved and gilded frames made for them in Florence in the 1680s, as they were clearly hung and on display at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (where they remained until the early nineteenth century).
The Palazzo, which had originally been built by Cosimo de' Medici in the mid-fifteenth century, was bought in 1659 by the Medici’s friends and allies, the fabulously wealthy Riccardi family. They doubled the size of the original building, and the showpiece of the new extension on the west side of the palace was a splendid Galleria on the first floor, with a barrel-vaulted gallery and heavily gilded stucco decorations. Flooded with light from the south- and west-facing windows that line two of its sides, this room was intended to house a precious collection of antiquities and to function as a public reception room.
The frescoes in the Galleria were designed not only to impress Florentine society, but to flatter the Medici specifically; they were still the most powerful family in the city. Giordano’s adviser for the iconography of the ceiling was Alessandro Segni, a man of letters who had been Francesco Riccardi’s tutor and travelling companion. Between them, the three men devised the continuous frieze of interconnected scenes which runs around the lower part of the ceiling. The overall theme in the Galleria is the elevation of mankind through Wisdom and Virtue, using allegorical and mythological figures to represent different strengths and traits. It culminates in a centrepiece that presents the Medici family, elevated to the company of the gods, as the paradigm and embodiment of both of these qualities. Other themes, including particular virtues, the four elements, the cycle of life and death and the regenerative power of nature, are also woven into the visual narrative.
At the two short ends of the room are scenes representing human life (The Cave of Eternity) and industry and the arts (Minerva as Protectress of the Arts and Sciences). On the long sides are mythological figures and allusions to classical myths and legends. The Rape of Proserpine incorporates scenes of death, judgement, punishment and the afterlife, while the adjacent scene celebrates agriculture and fecundity. On the opposite long side of the ceiling, the modelli for which are in two different private collections, the triumph of the Roman gods Bacchus, Neptune and Amphitrite adjoins the Death of Adonis. In the corners of the Galleria are allegories of the four Cardinal Virtues: Fortitude, Justice, Prudence and Temperance.
Understanding the Galleria’s ceiling is not just about decoding the allegories, which are often complex and imprecise and are always open to different interpretations. Giordano’s great achievement in the frescoes was to fuse all these parts together into a vast swirling whole, remarkable for its lightness, transparency and sheer visual brilliance – vast areas of the ceiling are given over to blue sky and translucent white clouds. Though the modelli are darker, more static, on a smaller scale and divided into separate scenes, they are crucial to understanding the decorative scheme’s artistic development.










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