1. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
Modulo1 – Seconda Liceo Pagina 1
RITRATTISTICA DAL RINASCIMENTORITRATTISTICA DAL RINASCIMENTO
ALLA RESTAURAZIONEALLA RESTAURAZIONE
PORTRAITS FROM THE RENAISSANCEPORTRAITS FROM THE RENAISSANCE
TO THE RESTORATIONTO THE RESTORATION
Liceo Ginnasio Statale
Alessandro Volta Como
Indirizzo Storico-Artistico
Modulo Interdisciplinare 1 – Seconda Liceo
2. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Henry VIII
1530
Hans Holbein
the Younger
3. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Henry VIII
1530
Hans Holbein
the Younger
detail 1
4. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance Portraits
Henry VIII
detail 2
5. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Painting
The Ambassadors
1533
Hans Holbein the
Younger
6. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance Painting
The Ambassadors
detail 1
7. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance Painting
The Ambassadors
detail 2
8. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance Painting
The Ambassadors
detail 3
9. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Coronation
Portrait
1558
Unknown artist
10. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Coronation
Portrait
detail
11. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Pelican
Portrait
1574
Nicholas Hilliard
12. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance Portraits
Elizabeth I Pelican Portrait detail
13. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Phoenix
Portrait
1575
Nicholas Hilliard
14. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance Portraits
Elizabeth I Phoenix Portrait detail
15. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Portrait of the Sieve
or Siena Portrait
1580 ca.
Quentin Massys
the Younger
16. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Portrait of the
Sieve
1580 ca.
detail
17. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance Portraits
Elizabeth I
Portrait of the Sieve
18. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Portrait of the
Sieve
1580 ca.
detail
19. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
The Ermine
Portrait
1585
William Segar
20. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
The Armada
Portrait
1588
George
Gower
21. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
The Armada
Portrait
1588
George
Gower
detail 1
22. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
The Armada Portrait
1588
George Gower
detail 2
23. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
Ditchley Portrait
1592
Marcus Gheeraerts
24. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
The Rainbow Portrait
1600 ca.
Marcus Gheeraerts
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Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
The Rainbow Portrait
detail 1
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Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Renaissance
Portraits
Elizabeth I
The Rainbow Portrait
detail 2
27. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Royalist
Painting
James I
1606 ca.
John de Critz
28. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Jacobean
Painting
Elizabeth Bassett
1614-18 ca.
William Larkin
29. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Jacobean Painting
Elizabeth Bassett
1614-18 ca.
William Larkin
detail
30. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
Modulo1 – Seconda Liceo Pagina 30
Jacobean Painting
Lady Diana Cecil
1614-18 ca.
William Larkin
31. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Jacobean Painting
Lady Diana Cecil
1614-18 ca.
William Larkin
detail
32. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Royalist
Painting
Charles I
Anthony Van Dyck
33. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Royalist Painting
Charles I
Equestrian Portrait
1638
Anthony Van Dyck
34. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Royalist Painting
Charles I on Horseback
1633
Anthony Van Dyck
35. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Puritan
Painting
A Puritan
family
1642
William
Dobson
36. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Restoration
Painting
Charles II
c.1663
John Michael
Wright
37. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Restoration Painting
Charles II - detail
38. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Restoration Painting
James III
1720
Antonio David
39. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Restoration
Painting
Charles Edward Stuart
1732
Antonio David
40. Liceo Ginnasio Volta Como -
Indirizzo Storico artistico
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Restoration
Painting
Henry Stuart
1732
Antonio David
Editor's Notes
Imposing personality of Henry VIII, determined, strong and powerful monarch. The artist, Holbein, of the Flemish tradition, was court painter from 1532 to his death in 1543, when he died during a plague epidemic.
Rich decorations with gold, pearls, gems and bits of his silken shirt coming out of cuts in the leather waistcoat, according to the fashion.
The embroidery with interlacing patterns.
Jean de Dinteville, a French ambassador in London, and Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur and a classical scholar . In 1533 they went to London to try to prevent the English from breaking away from the Church of Rome. Their mission failed and the schism took place in 1534 bringing about years of conflicts.
A Turkish rug, a globe, instruments used for astrology and astronomy, some of which are calendars and time-keepers; the information we get from these instruments is that this scene was painted at 10.30 on 26th April 1533. They also represent the ability of man to measure time , to establish his position at sea, to explore the world . There is a clear allusion to the world of sea trade and colonial expansion.
We can see the last edition of Hymns by Martin Luther , a globe, a textbook of “ Arithmetic for Merchants” and a lute . All these objects point out that the two men are in the prime of life , health , material and intellectual accomplishment , in a wide range of knowledge.
A human skull can be seen by looking at the diagonal line of the object from close to the picture – from left below. Holbein used this device called anamorphosis , a process of perspective distortion popular in the 16th century; the purpose was to remind that from a different perspective you see only the image of eternal death and the rest around, the two men here, blur and almost disappear. The moment we “look death in the face”, this reassuring reality and their self-confident characters disappear. The symbolical value then is that of a “ memento mori ”, which the two men cannot see and which science cannot understand. It’s a philosophical statement of the nature of the human existence: all the magnificence and pride of these men will die.
It is a stunning and beautiful image. Elizabeth is lavishly dressed and holds the traditional orb and sceptre . Her hair is loose , as befits her unmarried state, and its colour is particularly striking against the white of her skin . And, once again, Elizabeth's much-admired hands are displayed as they rest upon the symbols of her authority .
In her hands, symbols of political and religious power and authority: the sceptre and the orb.
There is a closed imperial crown over each shoulder. The crown is on top of both a rose (on the left) and a fleur-de-lys (on the right). These represent her dynastic claims to both England and France. The Pelican pendant on her breast symbolizes charity and redemption. It represents the queen's selfless love of her subjects. The pelican is said to prick its own breast to feed its children with its flesh and blood. Elizabeth wore a pelican jewel in several state portraits to remind the English of her equally self-sacrifice and generosity .
The phoenix symbolizes sacrifice and rebirth from its own ashes. It is therefore also the symbol of eternity .
Portrait attributed to Quentin Massys the Younger from Antwerp or to Cornelius Ketel. The sieve is a symbol of chastity and purity , originally taken from Petrarch's Trionfo della Pudicizia . In the story, a Roman Vestal Virgin proves her purity by carrying water in a sieve and not spilling one drop. The sieve thus reinforces Elizabeth's image as ' the virgin queen '. The rim of the sieve is inscribed with: ‘A TERRA IL BEN / MAL DIMORA IN SELLA' (‘The good falls to the ground while the bad remains on the saddle’ trad. Roy Strong). Another possible translation is “On the earth the good remains on the saddle with difficulty” trad. Frances Yates (see The Renaissance Englishwoman in print: counterbalancing the canon by Anne M. Haselkorn,Betty Travitsky) Thus the sieve is not only a symbol of chastity but of the Queen’s ability to distinguish between the good and the evil , that is in her reign between those who were loyal to her and her enemies.
The roundels on the column behind the queen depict the story of Aeneas and Dido , with the queen compared to Aeneas. Like the classical hero, she has faced temptation (marriage) and now leads a powerful nation . At the basis of the column, the bottom roundel shows an imperial crown . The symbolism shows Elizabeth, then as the “ imperial virgin ”, as the mythical empress Gloriana , celebrated by Spencer in his epic poem The Faerie Queen a few years later, where Elizabeth is poetically transformed into the allegory of perfection, of the incarnation of all virtues .
Next to the queen, below left, we can also read: “STANCHO RIPOSO & RIPOSATO AFFANNO” ( 'Weary rest, restful worry .') a quotation from Petrarch’s Trionfo d’Amore . Love’s pains and sorrows have come to an end for her, who now becomes symbol of chastity, quoting instead from Trionfo della Pudicizia , with the sieve in her hand.
The globe behind the queen continues the theme of the empire. Ships are crossing west on the globe, possibly an allusion to England's conquest of the New World. TVTTO VEDO ET MOLTO MANCHA (' I can see everything and much is (still) missing ') is inscribed on the globe. The British Isles are in the sunshine, while the rest of Europe is still in the dark: the British Empire is being born . A religious reform, a sea naval power, an overseas expansion with the queen’s claim on the New World.
The ermine is traditionally connected to chastity , it is also the symbol of royalty ; and, if you look closely at the animal, you can see the gold crown it wears. The crown symbolizes majesty and purity. The dress is made of velvet, silk and taffeta, it has very large ruffs (collarino o gorgiera) around the neck, there are gems sewn into the embroidery, the sleeves are puffed out with padding, there is much jewellery – pearls for the arm-rings. Elizabeth wears the famous ' Three Brothers' jewel ’ - a gem made of three diamonds set in a triangle around a pointed diamond. It was one of her most treasured jewels. The sword of state rests on the table beside the queen and symbolizes justice; she also holds an olive branch to symbolize peace.
Power symbolism : the crown, the globe, the rich dress and the view of the sea from above as if she dominated historical events. The face of the queen seems a white mask and it looks detached from the body, encircled by the ring of spheres of her ruff. The pose of the queen and her gaze make the painting look like a sacred icon . Next to her right arm is an imperial crown, and her right hand rests upon a globe - specifically, her fingers rest upon the Americas. The detail symbolizes the English naval supremacy and their expanding empire .
The English fleet in the foreground and the Armada in the background with some ships on fire . Use of yellow for the sea and green for the sky: to add more dramatic tone to the historical event.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada by bad weather and by the English fleet, which was lighter and faster than the huge Spanish galleons.
A sonnet on the right lacks the final word of each line because of a cut that was made to the painting. It celebrates Elizabeth's divine powers ; a jewelled celestial sphere hangs from the queen's left ear, signifying her command over nature itself . The background of this portrait appears odd - it is split between blue and sunny sky on the left, and black and stormy sky on the right. This continues the theme of royal authority over nature . She is standing on the globe, on the map of England and her feet are on Ditchley, Oxfordshire, where she visited a mansion in 1592. She identifies herself with her country , the queen and her kingdom are the same. Her dress is characterised by the farthingale (crinolina).
Elizabeth was about 67 when this portrait was made but she looks twenty as if she were eternal : she had become a sort of goddess and had divine authority. Elizabeth's gown is embroidered with English wildflowers , thus allowing the queen to pose in the guise of Astraea , the virginal heroine of classical literature. Her headdress is an incredible design decorated lavishly with pearls and rubies and supports her royal crown. The pearls symbolize her virginity; the crown , of course, symbolizes her royalty. Pearls also adorn the transparent veil which hangs over her shoulders. Above her crown is a crescent-shaped jewel which alludes to Cynthia, the goddess of the moon.
Strong symbolism: she is carrying a rainbow in her right hand, which is the symbol of peace. The inscription above the rainbow says: non sine sole iris . No peace without the queen.
Her cloak is decorated with eyes and ears , which implies that she sees and hears all, maybe also thanks to her faithful servants. It shows her power to see and hear all that was necessary to govern her country. A jewelled serpent is entwined along her left arm, and holds from its mouth a heart-shaped ruby. Above its head is a celestial sphere. The serpent symbolizes wisdom ; it has captured the ruby, which in turn symbolizes the queen's heart . In other words, the queen's passions are controlled by her wisdom. The celestial sphere echoes this theme; it symbolizes wisdom and the queen's royal command over nature.
King James I Stuart (James VI of Scotland). His reign dates from 1603 to 1625. The jewel he carries shows St George fighting the dragon. In 1348, George was adopted by Edward III as principal Patron of his new order of chivalry, the Knights of the Garter . Some believe that the Order took its name from a pendant badge or jewel traditionally shown in depictions of Saint George . The insignia of the Order include a Collar and Badge Pendant, known as ‘the George’. The badge is of gold and presents a richly enamelled representation of St George on horseback slaying the dragon.
Elizabeth Bassett, Mrs Henry Howard, then Countess of Newcastle; Larkin, a Jacobite painter depicted a series of portraits of members of the Court and of the gentry. His sitters’ faces assume the distant imperturbability of a sacred icon . This stylisation came from the urgent wish of a society in violent flux (continuo mutamento) to assert its position; the light comes from above and it makes the sitter looks stiffer, the face is pale.
Taller and in brighter colours than the previous portrait, this is Lady Diana Cecil, Countess of Oxford and Elgin. A gorgeous dress and setting with rich velvet curtains, a Turkish carpet and a chair. She carries an embroidered handkerchief. Both portraits stress the social condition with a luxuriant life-style and wealth .
Van Dyck was born in Antwerp in the Netherlands in 1599 to a prosperous middle-class family. He was a highly accomplished artist at the age of twenty-one, when he first went to England, he was a rival of Rubens and went to enlarge his education in Italy, studying the works of Titian, which added tincture of mellowness and refinement. He settled in London in 1632 where he became Court Painter to Charles I . He supported with his work the propaganda for absolutism . He died at the outbreak of the Civil War. The king in his armour as the great leader (il condottiero) of the Royalist Army .
The king is wearing the medallion of a Garter Sovereign ; the Garter Order is a senior (di alto grado) and exclusive British order of knighthood, founded by Edward III in 1348. Its distinctive badge is a garter of dark blue velvet. A page is holding his helmet and he underlines the imposing figure of the king. The king was the leader of the Cavaliers and in this picture he is in the middle of the painting, in an impressive posture.
In this portrait the king is riding through a triumphal arch , wearing a Cavalier costume. The painting is life-size and gives the impression that the king is riding towards the viewer; curved and broken lines give the picture a sensation of movement. The man on the right is carrying the king’s helmet and is looking at him in deference. The coat of arms and crown on the left and the arch underline the overwhelming monumentality of the sovereign. Both equestrian paintings, immensely glamorous and elegant images of the Cavalier king, are unashamedly propagandist .
William Dobson , British painter of mid-17th century, he inherited much of the Italian Renaissance tradition, especially the Venetian one: Tiziano, Tintoretto and Veronese – see the use of colour. Notice the pyramidal structure of the painting: the father is in the central position, his wife is next to him and the children are under them. All the family are united as in a circle. The father puts his hand on the head of the eldest son, who is embracing the youngest. The baby is watching his mother and stretches towards her. The mother is laying her hand on her child’s shoulder, while she is pointing at him. The parents’ hands are close to each other in the centre. Vertical lines underline the two parents and the eldest son: to mean stability . The dominant colours in the background are dark to symbolize sin, death and evil; the adults’ clothes as well, and they underline the austerity and rigidity of customs of this Puritan family - the abolition of any form of entertainment is at the basis of the Puritan way of life -. Hands are important, to underline the importance of work and the protection of the family , two other basic values of the Puritan culture. The four skulls at the back symbolize the ineluctable fate, a destiny of death, linked to the Calvinist theory of Predestination. “ In the 1640s, the English painter William Dobson painted the portrait of the Streatfield family. Today, the painting is considered a fine example of portraiture of the period. Dobson employed certain specific codes in the painting, the most important of which are the skulls resting on the broken column in the background and the mother's finger pointing toward one of the children. Art critic Anita Schorsch wrote of this painting: "A deceased child is not only included in this portrait of an English Puritan family but is decidedly its subject. As the mother, tenderly affected, points to the child (draped unlike the other family members), the father casts his eyes on a death's head resting upon a cracked column." When these codes are understood, they transform the meaning of the painting. It becomes the story of a family's loss of and mourning for a beloved child. “ The Interpretation of Advertisements William M. O'Barr http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v007/7.3unit09.html
After the Civil war , and the republican experience of the Commonwealth, the monarchy was restored in 1660 , with Charles II , Charles I ’s son, under whose reign the king tried to restore absolute monarchy . This painting shows the authoritative manner of the king, who is holding the orb with the cross in his hands, showing that his earthly power has been given by Divine Right and the other hand points down in a blessing gesture of almost sacred authority .
“ The Old Pretender ”. James III Stuart , son of Charles II, in 1720. The Stuart family lived in Rome in exile after the Glorious revolution of 1688. The Jacobite faction was still alive in Scotland, northern England and Ireland and it was also Catholic. They wanted the Stuarts back to the throne so they led an uprising which failed.
“ The Young Pretender ”. James III ’s twelve-year-old eldest son, Charles Edward , nicknamed “ Bonnie Prince Charlie ”. There was a second Jacobite uprising in 1745 led by Charles Edward. He landed in Scotland and took Edinburgh, then moved south to England but the English noblemen did not join the Jacobite rebels. England did not want a Catholic king and an alliance with her great trade rival, France.
