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The Court of Lorenzo the Magnificent Part 5: Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo

Among the many artists who earned the attention of the Magnificent, the Pollaiuolo brothers left behind an artistic legacy closely tied with Medicean propaganda. This episode explores the role of the Pallaiuolo brothers in the development of Florentine Renaissance art, specifically through the works they completed for the Medici Palace: The Labors of Hercules.

Later reappropriated, this episode also dives into how Hercules is used as a Florentine political symbol and is adaptable as both a pro-Medici and an anti-Medici symbol, similar to function of the biblical heroes David and Judith.

Works Discussed

Antonio Pallaiuolo, Hercules and the Hydra, ca. 1475 https://www.uffizi.it/opere/pollaiolo-ercole-idra

Antonio Pallaiuolo, Hercules and Antaeus, ca. 1475 https://www.uffizi.it/opere/pollaiolo-ercole-anteo

Antonio Pallaiuolo, Hercules and Antaeus, ca. 1475, bronze Antonio https://www.wga.hu/html_m/p/pollaiol/antonio/sculptur/hercul2.html

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The Court of Lorenzo the Magnificent Part 4: Angelo Poliziano

Born Agnolo Ambrogini in Montepulciano in 1454, Poliziano rose to intellectual supremacy in Laurentian Florence as the premier Humanist and poet of the Medici court. This episode exlpores his education, life, and works in vernacular Italian, namely his Stanze and l'Orfeo.

Poliziano is inseparable from the larger history of the Medici court. His output is directly tied to Medici family. He was friends with Giuliano and witnessed his murder at the climax of the infamous Pazzi Conspiracy. He was loved by Lucrezia Tornabuoni, but greatly unfavorable in the eyes of Lorenzo's wife, Clarice Orsini. Then, he helped educate the young Michelangelo and even advised on subjects for his earliest works. This discussion looks at these relationships, ultimately arriving at the questionable circumstances of his premature death at the age of forty in 1494.

Works Discussed,

Michelangelo Buonarotti, Battle of the Centaurs, ca. 1492

https://www.casabuonarroti.it/en/museum/collections/michelangelos-works/battle-of-the-centaurs/

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The Court of Lorenzo de' Medici Part 3: Large-Scale Mythological Painting

The 1480's in Florence was an age of relative prosperity under Lorenzo the Magnificent. During this period, the visual arts began to take a new shape. Influenced by both classical and contemporary literature and poetry, Lorenzo's court saw the introduction to large-scale mythological painting, ushered in by the famed Sandro Botticelli.

This episode looks closely at the formation of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, as well as the subsequent Court of Pan by Luca Signorelli in 1490. We discuss the cultural and political circumstances around the development of this new genre of painting, as well as a host of patrons, including the Vespucci family and Lorenzo il Popolano de' Medici. A close look at these works alongside scholarly research reveals a tension between representation and actual cultural attitudes, especially around differentiating between philosophical representation and lived, sensual realities.

Works Discussed:

Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, ca. 1485 https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/birth-of-venus

Sandro Botticelli, Venus and Mars, ca. 1485 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/sandro-botticelli-venus-and-mars

Luca Signorelli, The Court of Pan, ca. 1490 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Education_of_Pan

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Youtube Videos mentioned for extra information:

Piero di Cosimo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R99_lpzeLzQ&list=PLUejELZ-zvuCN0XSgU-4JoV4ezeU6MBLb&index=4

Luca Signorelli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE3MC80SvHU&list=PLUejELZ-zvuCN0XSgU-4JoV4ezeU6MBLb

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