Piero del Pollaiuolo

Portrait bust on the tomb he shared with his brother

Piero del Pollaiuolo (UK: /ˌpɒlˈwl/ POL-eye-WOH-loh,[1] US: /ˌpl-/ POHL-,[2] Italian: [ˈpjɛːro del pollaˈjwɔːlo]; also spelled Pollaiolo; c. 1443 – by 1496), whose birth name was Piero Benci, was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. His older brother, by about ten years, was the artist Antonio del Pollaiuolo and the two frequently worked together. Their work shows both classical influences and an interest in human anatomy; according to Vasari, the brothers carried out dissections to improve their knowledge of the subject (though modern scholars tend to doubt this).[3]

Apollo and Daphne (c. 1470–1480), one of the works now given to Piero by its owner, the National Gallery

Giorgio Vasari, who wrote several decades after both brothers were dead, includes a joint biography of Antonio and Piero del Pollaiuolo in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Vasari says that Antonio was especially highly regarded for his disegno or drawing,[4] and it may be that on shared works he did most of the underdrawing, leaving Piero and their assistants to complete the painting. Vasari began the tradition of stressing the contribution of Antonio rather than Piero to the paintings, which went largely unchallenged until the 20th century, despite suspicions by art historians such as "Crowe and Cavalcaselle" in the late 19th century,[5] and in the 20th Martin Davies, later Director of the National Gallery.[6] In the 21st century a full and partly successful challenge has been mounted, and some attributions changed.

In recent years there has been a trend among art historians to increase the credit Piero is given for the paintings, led by figures such as Aldo Galli, whose Antonio and Piero Del Pollaiuolo: Silver and Gold, Painting and Bronze (2014) assigns the actual painting of many works to Piero that had long been given to Antonio, or both brothers. At least one of the brothers was influenced by the landscape style of Early Netherlandish painting, and the revisionist school thinks that this was Piero.

Assigning attributions

Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1470), Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan

Contemporaries regarded Antonio as much the more significant talent; he was also a sculptor, whereas Piero seems only to have painted. They had separate workshops in a shared building. Disentangling their contributions, and those of their assistants, in paintings is difficult, as can be seen from Vasari onwards.[7] Many works are given joint attributions, but others, especially smaller works, are given to a single brother. In some cases these have changed over the years, for example the Apollo and Daphne in the National Gallery in London was long attributed to Antonio, but by 2023 is described by the museum as by Piero.[8] Davies, in 1961, noted "The attribution to Antonio, claimed to be a better man than Piero, is little more than a recognition of its high quality".[9]

In the traditional distribution of authorship, Piero (and his workshop) was usually given the smaller altarpieces and portraits, with mythological subjects, especially several with Hercules, given to Antonio.[10] One well-known portrait in Berlin, the Profile Portrait of a Young Lady has been attributed to both brothers individually, as well as a string of other masters. Piero only signed and dated one painting, his Coronation of the Virgin of 1483 in Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano, while Antonio only signed his most important sculptures, his papal tombs, and his single engraving, the Battle of the Nude Men.[11]

A profile portrait of a richly dressed young woman, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli's Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1470), is now also regarded by the museum (Aldo Galli's base) as by Piero, but in 2005 was "now generally assigned to Antonio", according to Alison Wright, author of the most recent monograph of the brothers in English.[12] Similar portraits in Berlin, the Uffizi in Florence, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York form a group of four that are typically given the same attribution, but the plainer and more forceful Boston female portrait is separated by many (see below).[13]

A letter by Antonio in 1494 stated that the original, now lost, very large three paintings featuring Hercules done for the Palazzo Medici over thirty years before, were a work of both brothers, the only specific documentation tying Antonio to any work in painting.[14] The miniature versions of two of them that are now in the Uffizi are one pair of traditional attributions to Antonio that Galli accepts.[15]

In the case of the largest surviving Pollaiuolo painting, the Saint Sebastian altarpiece now in London, differences in quality within the large painted area have always been noted by art historians, and traditionally those parts regarded as of top quality were attributed to Antonio, and those less good to Piero or assistants.[16] Galli sees the whole piece as Piero's, with his team.[17]

Justice, from the Seven Virtues, 1469–1470, Uffizi

The situation is not entirely clarified by Piero's documented, important and very public commission in 1479 for a set of full-length paintings of the Seven Virtues for the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of government of the Republic of Florence. They were to decorate the room of the Tribunale della Mercanzia, the body overseeing all the Guilds of Florence. In the end, and after some public acrimony, Fortitude was done by Botticelli and the other six by Piero; all seven are now in the Uffizi (see below).[18] Given the nature of their relationship, some art historians have continued to suggest that Antonio helped Piero with aspects of the paintings, either in the design or the execution. Others are happy to use their style to identify similar works as by Piero's workshop.[19]

Aldo Galli's redistribution of the paintings does not so much depend on stylistic analysis as a reassessment of early (pre-Vasari) documentary records and comments by early writers such as the "Anonimo Gaddiano" probably from the 1530s and 1540s, so only shortly before Vasari.[20] But one characteristic and unusual feature of some paintings is that they are painted directly onto the wood panel, without the usual careful preparation of glue and gesso. The Boston Lady and Uffizi Galeazzo Maria Sforza are examples.[21] But this has also been described as a technique used by Antonio, and was used in the David in Berlin.[22]

A recently re-attributed Portrait of a Youth sold at Sotheby's in 2021 for 4,564,200 GBP (6,261,764 USD), the first "fully attributed work" by Piero ever to come to auction.[23] It had previously been attributed to Cosimo Rosselli among others, and with the portrait of Galeazzo Maria Sforza is Piero's only known male portrait. The teenage subject is given an almost frontal pose, unusual for the period. The reattribution was supported by Alison Wright and Aldo Galli, among others.[24]

Biography

He was born in Florence. The brothers took their nickname from the trade of their father Jacopo, who sold poultry, pollaio meaning "hen coop" in Italian,[25] and pollaiuolo "poulterer".[26] This was a luxury trade at the time, and Jacopo's four sons were unlikely all to find room for careers in it. According to Benedetto Dei, the contemporary "fanatical enumerator" of Florentine life, there were only 8 poultry suppliers in Florence in 1472, but 44 goldsmith's workshops.[27]

Antonio was the eldest son; the two middle brothers respectively went into poultry (eventually inheriting that business) and goldsmithing. The youngest brother was Piero, and he and Antonio very frequently worked together, though their workshops were physically "separate but mutually accessible".[28]

Piero's training is uncertain. The Florentine painter Andrea del Castagno (d. 1457) has been considered as a possible master (sometimes for both brothers) on stylistic grounds and the authority of Vasari, but problems with the dating makes this questioned by many scholars.[29]

In a surviving letter by Antonio of 1494 he says that he and a brother (presumed to be Piero) painted the three huge canvases of three Labours of Hercules for the Medici Palace thirty-four years before; these were famous in their time, but are now lost.[30] Art historians think he may have misremembered the date by a year or two.[31]

According to Francesco Albertini, writing in 1510, he painted a fresco of Saint Christopher six metres high on the facade of San Miniato fra le Torri, near his house;[32] both church and fresco have now disappeared. Albertini gives to Piero alone the Saint Sebastian altarpiece now in London, the Cardinal of Portugal's Altarpiece, and others.[33]

His only signed work, the Coronation of the Virgin in San Gimignano, is dated 1483. In about 1484, when he was around 41, he followed Antonio to Rome, and thereafter seems to have spent most of his time there until his death.[34] Not many works are usually allocated to this period.[35]

The last certain record of him is when he was paid for a now unidentified painting in Pistoia Cathedral in November 1485. It is clear from Antonio's will of November 1496 that he was dead by then; otherwise the date and circumstances of his death are unknown. As his tomb is in Rome he is thought to have died there, like Antonio. He had never married, but left an illegitimate daughter called Lisa, whose care was entrusted to Antonio; she later married, with Antonio giving 150 lire to her dowry.[36]

Style

Cardinal of Portugal's altarpiece, c. 1466

The characterisation of his style inevitably depends on which paintings are attributed to him and his workshop. Over a century ago Wilhelm Bode complained of Maud Cruttwell in her monograph on the brothers "it is hardly permissable for Miss Cruttwell to attribute whichever of the paintings pleases her best to Antonio and the rest to Piero".[37] This was really directed at Bernard Berenson, who Bode saw as Cruttwell's mentor, who was especially critical of the few works and elements of works he allowed to Piero. He said in 1903 that the Coronation of the Virgin in San Gimignano was "a picture of unalloyed mediocrity, with scarcely a touch of charm to repay the absence of life and vigour".[38] Frederick Hartt, an enthusiast for Antonio, remarked that "Piero... was a painter—a dull one, judging by his one signed work" (the San Gimignano Coronation).[39]

By contrast, Aldo Galli describes it as "a magnificent painting" that "presents ... close stylistic and technical affinities with" other works he attributes to Piero, and others have attributed to Antonio: the six Virtues, the Cardinal of Portugal's altarpiece, and the London Saint Sebastian. According to Galli, "What they all have in common is a pronounced taste for precious effects, the highly efficacious imitation of jewels, brocades, velvets, with an illusionistic and tactile treatment based on the extensive and experimental use of oil-based binders (at the height of the reign of tempera in Florence), in open emulation of the Flemish masters. This refulgent pictorial treatment characterizes compositions that are highly studied, always somewhat artificial, populated with rather lanky and awkward figures, often seen with bottom-to-top perspective, with hands and feet that are nervously articulated, somewhat affected, emerging in their aristocratic pallor from silks and velvets studded with rubies and gilded trimmings".[40]

Works

Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, completed 1475, National Gallery, who have long attributed it to both brothers. Galli gives it to Piero alone.
Always or traditionally attributed to Piero

Notes

  1. ^ "Pollaiuolo". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Pollaiuolo". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  3. ^ Vasari; Wright, 86
  4. ^ Vasari; Wright, 5, 8
  5. ^ Galli, 42
  6. ^ Davies, 442–443, also 444 and 446 on the gallery's two Pollaiuolo paintings; Galli, 47.
  7. ^ Wright, 9
  8. ^ "Piero del Pollaiuolo | Apollo and Daphne". National Gallery, London. Retrieved 6 September 2019.; but Wright, 93–94, treats it as by Antonio
  9. ^ Davies, 446
  10. ^ Hartt, 313–317 exemplifies this approach
  11. ^ Wright, 1
  12. ^ Wright, 522
  13. ^ Galli, 69–72; museum page
  14. ^ Davies, 442–443; Galli, 61–62
  15. ^ Galli, 49–50
  16. ^ Davies, 444; Hartt, 316–317
  17. ^ Galli, 49
  18. ^ Uffizi page for Justice
  19. ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art, page for a portrait, "The present portrait is ascribed to Piero del Pollaiuolo on the strength of its similarity to six panels of Virtues painted for the Mercanzia."
  20. ^ Galli, 25–50
  21. ^ Galli, 72
  22. ^ Wright, 71; this has usually been regarded as by Antonio, but Galli gives it to Piero.
  23. ^ Rordorf, Oliver, "2021 Old Masters market review", Nicholas Hall (dealers)
  24. ^ Sotheby's, Lot 109 "Catalogue note", "Modern Renaissance: A Cross-Category Sale", London, 25 March 2021
  25. ^ Hartt, 313
  26. ^ National Gallery biography
  27. ^ Wright, 25
  28. ^ Wright, 2
  29. ^ Wright, 61–64; Vasari names Piero as a pupil in his Life of Andrea del Castagno.
  30. ^ Wright, 11
  31. ^ Wright, 79
  32. ^ Galli, 33; Wright, 253
  33. ^ Galli, 33
  34. ^ Wright, 19
  35. ^ Boston attribute their female portrait to Piero, and date it 1490–1499, giving his death date as 1496, Museum page
  36. ^ Wright, 21; Galli, 64
  37. ^ Galli, 45
  38. ^ Galli, 43–45, 44 quoted
  39. ^ Hartt, 313. Oddly for the main author of a monograph on The Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal, 1434-1459: At San Miniato in Florence (1964, University of Pennsylvania Press), Hartt also gets the brothers' ages mixed up "Piero, Antonio's older brother and assistant..."
  40. ^ Galli, 36
  41. ^ Museum page; Galli, 69–73
  42. ^ Museum page
  43. ^ Vasari; Galli, 49
  44. ^ Wright, 13
  45. ^ Galli, 70–72
  46. ^ Campbell, 88; Galli, 72–73
  47. ^ Museum page; Galli, 63; Davies, 446
  48. ^ Museum page; Wright, 13; Galli, 68–70
  49. ^ Campbell, 88
  50. ^ Museum page; Galli, 68–70
  51. ^ Davies, 443–445
  52. ^ Galli, 49
  53. ^ Galli, 35

References

  • Campbell, Lorne, Renaissance Portraits, European Portrait-Painting in the 14th, 15th and 16th Centuries, 1990, Yale, ISBN 0300046758
  • Davies, Martin, The Earlier Italian Schools, National Gallery Catalogues, 1961, reprinted 1986, ISBN 0901791296
  • Galli, Aldo, "The Fortune of the Pollaiuolo Brothers", in Antonio and Piero del Pollaiuolo: "Silver and Gold, Painting and Bronze”, exhibition catalogue (Milan, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, 2014 – 2015), eds. A. Di Lorenzo and A. Galli , Milan 2014, pp. 25–77, PDF on Academia.edu
  • Hartt, Frederick, History of Italian Renaissance Art, (2nd edn.)1987, Thames & Hudson (US Harry N Abrams), ISBN 0500235104
  • Seymour, Charles Jr., Sculpture in Italy, 1400–1500, 1966, Penguin (Pelican History of Art)
  • "Vasari": Giorgio Vasari's joint biography of the Pollaiuolo brothers, in his Lives of the Artists.
  • Wright, Alison, The Pollaiuolo Brothers: The Arts of Florence and Rome, 2005, Yale, ISBN 9780300106251, google books

Read other articles:

Angin Sedang Berhembus(The Wind Is Blowing)(風は吹いているKaze Wa Fuiteru)Sampul edisi reguler yang ditampilkan oleh Veranda, Melody, dan HarukaSingel oleh JKT48Sisi-AKaze wa Fuiteiru (Angin Sedang Berhembus) / SenbatsuSisi-BKiss Datte Hidarikiki (Bahkan Ciumanmu Juga Kidal) / UndergirlsJuuryoku Sympathy (Simpati Gravitasi) / Team JEien Pressure (Selamanya Pressure) / Team KIIIWink wa Sankai (Kedipan 3 Kali) / Siswi Pelathan Generasi Ketiga, The Wind is Blowing / Senbatsu (Hanya edisi ...

 

 

Pub in the City of London Simpson's Tavern, London Simpson's Tavern is or was a pub and restaurant at 38 1/2, Ball Court Alley, Cornhill, in the City of London, EC3. Simpson's Tavern's sign at the entrance of Ball Court Simpson's occupied a Grade II listed building, built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.[1] Simpson's Tavern was closed down by the owner of the building on 28 October 2022, following a dispute about rental payments.[2][3] Image records 1812 Reco...

 

 

Untuk versi pendek, lihat extended play. Untuk versi kompilasi, lihat album kompilasi. Untuk kumpulan lagu-lagu yang direkam secara langsung, lihat album rekaman langsung. Untuk album lagu dari film dan serial, lihat album lagu tema. Album atau album rekaman adalah suatu koleksi audio atau musik yang didistribusikan untuk publik. Distribusi paling umum adalah melalui perniagaan, walaupun sering juga didistribusikan secara langsung pada suatu konser atau melalui situs web. Secara umum, suatu r...

Federasi Sepak Bola Asia BaratLogo WAFF sejak 2023Negara anggotaTanggal pendirian15 Mei 2001; 22 tahun lalu (2001-05-15)[1]TipeOrganisasi olahragaKantor pusatAmman, YordaniaJumlah anggota 12 anggota asosiasiPresidenPangeran Ali bin Al HusseinSitus webthe-waff.com (dalam bahasa Inggris) Federasi Sepak Bola Asia Barat (Bahasa Inggris: West Asian Football Federation) disingkat (WAFF), didirikan pada tahun 2001, adalah badan pengendali sepak bola di Asia Barat. Anggota pend...

 

 

Prisoner of the MountainsPoster rilis teatrikalSutradaraSergei BodrovProduserBoris GillerDitulis olehBoris Giller, Arif Aliyev, Sergei BodrovCeritaBoris GillerPenata musikLeonid DesyatnikovSinematograferPavel LebeshevPenyuntingAlan BarilOlga GrinshpunVera KruglovaDistributorOrion ClassicsTanggal rilis1996Durasi98 menitNegaraRusiaKazakhstanBahasaRusia Prisoner of the Mountains (Rusia: Кавказский пленникcode: ru is deprecated , Kavkazskiy plennik), yang juga dikenal sebag...

 

 

The Bisons' longest-running manager, Jim O'Rourke The Buffalo Bisons were a Major League Baseball team that was based in Buffalo, New York. They played in the National League from 1879 through 1885.[1] During their time as a Major League team, the Bisons employed five different managers.[2] The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[3][4] Table key # A running total of the number of Metropolitans' managers. Any ma...

Mike B. Anderson, le superviseur de la réalisation. Cet article présente la liste des réalisateurs ayant travaillé pour Les Simpson. Au 7 mai 2023, trente-neuf personnes ont été créditées pour avoir réalisé ou coréalisé au moins un épisode des Simpson. Depuis la neuvième saison, Mike B. Anderson est le superviseur de la réalisation. Liste # Nom Épisodesréalisés Saisons Dernier épisode 1 Silverman, DavidDavid Silverman 33 1 à 7, 14, 16 à 18 et 26 S26E10 - L'Homme qui vint...

 

 

Portrait du poète romano-africain Térence, Térence du Vatican, f.1r.[Quoi ?] Les Romano-Africains ou Romano-Libyens, appelés Afariqa par les auteurs de langue arabe, sont les anciennes populations maghrébines de culture romaine et qui parlaient leur propre variété de latin[1]. Ils étaient principalement concentrés de la conquête romaine dans l'Antiquité, à la fin du Moyen Âge (environ le xive siècle) dans toutes les villes côtières de l'actuelle Tunisie, en Tripolita...

 

 

Військово-музичне управління Збройних сил України Тип військове формуванняЗасновано 1992Країна  Україна Емблема управління Військово-музичне управління Збройних сил України — структурний підрозділ Генерального штабу Збройних сил України призначений для планува...

Частина серії проФілософіяLeft to right: Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Buddha, Confucius, AverroesПлатонКантНіцшеБуддаКонфуційАверроес Філософи Епістемологи Естетики Етики Логіки Метафізики Соціально-політичні філософи Традиції Аналітична Арістотелівська Африканська Близькосхідна іранська Буддій�...

 

 

Puteri Remaja Jilid pertama dari Puteri Remaja keluaran 1868PengarangLouisa May AlcottNegaraAmerika SerikatBahasaInggrisGenreKeluargaDramaKomediPubertasPenerbitRoberts BrothersTanggal terbit1868 (bagian 1)1869 (bagian 2)Jenis mediaCetakDiikuti olehLittle Men, Jo's Boys  Puteri Remaja (bahasa Inggris: Little Women) adalah sebuah novel oleh pengarang Amerika Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Buku ini ditulis dan memiliki latar tempat di rumah keluarga Alcott, Orchard Hous...

 

 

Cycling competition The Champion's Jersey British National Road Race ChampionshipsRace detailsDateJuneRegionGreat BritainDisciplineRoad raceTypeOne-dayWeb sitewww.nationalroadchamps.co.uk The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.[1] History Between 1943 and 1958, two separate bodies – the British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC) and the National Cyclists' Union (NCU) – ran championshi...

1863-1865 U.S. Congress 38th United States Congress37th ←→ 39thUnited States Capitol (1861)March 4, 1863 – March 4, 1865Members52 senators184 representatives10 non-voting delegatesSenate majorityRepublicanSenate PresidentHannibal Hamlin (R)House majorityRepublicanHouse SpeakerSchuyler Colfax (R)SessionsSpecial: March 4, 1863 – March 14, 18631st: December 7, 1863 – July 4, 18642nd: December 5, 1864 – March 3, 1865 The 38th United States Congress was a meeting of the ...

 

 

Terrorrist and founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba For other people named Hafiz Saeed, see Hafiz Saeed (disambiguation). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Significant amount of POV and unencyclopedic tone. Please help improve this article if you can. (April 2022) (Learn how and when to re...

 

 

American film director John EmersonEmerson gluing a moustache on Frank Stockdale, 1921BornClifton Paden(1874-05-29)May 29, 1874Sandusky, Ohio, United StatesDiedMarch 7, 1956(1956-03-07) (aged 81)Pasadena, California, United StatesResting placeEtna Cemetery, Etna, CaliforniaOccupation(s)Actor, playwright, director, producer, writerSpouse Anita Loos ​(m. 1919)​2nd President of the Actors' Equity AssociationIn office1919–1928Preceded byFrancis WilsonSucceeded ...

Untuk keadaan pandemi koronavirus Malaysia, lihat pandemi koronavirus di Malaysia. Perintah Kendali Pergerakan Malaysia 2020Bagian dari Pandemi koronavirus 2019–2020Inspeksi polisi sehubungan dengan perintah ini.Tanggal18 Maret 2020 (2020-03-18) – 12 Mei 2020 (2020-05-12) (1 bulan dan 24 hari)(sementara)LokasiMalaysiaSebabPandemi koronavirus di MalaysiaTujuanMengisolasi sumber pandemi koronavirusMetode Pelarangan pergerakan massal di seluruh negeri termasuk semua kegia...

 

 

Battle during the War of the First Coalition For other uses, see Battle of Neerwinden. Battle of NeerwindenPart of the Flanders campaign in the War of the First CoalitionBattle of Neerwinden by Johann GeigerDate18 March 1793Locationnear Neerwinden, Austrian Netherlands50°46′N 05°03′E / 50.767°N 5.050°E / 50.767; 5.050Result Coalition victoryTerritorialchanges French evacuation of the Low CountriesBelligerents Habsburg monarchy Dutch Republic Republican Fra...

 

 

Trigonometric identity relating the sides and angles of a triangle A triangle, showing the incircle and the partitioning of the sides. The angle bisectors meet at the incenter, which is the center of the incircle. By the above reasoning, all six parts are as shown. Trigonometry Outline History Usage Functions (sin, cos, tan, inverse) Generalized trigonometry Reference Identities Exact constants Tables Unit circle Laws and theorems Sines Cosines Tangents Cotangents Pythagorean theorem Cal...

Text front end for APT aptitudeDeveloper(s)Daniel Burrows[1]Initial release1999; 25 years ago (1999)Stable release0.8.13-5[2] / 6 August 2022; 23 months ago (6 August 2022) Repositorysalsa.debian.org/apt-team/aptitude.git Written inC++ (ncurses)Operating systemLinux, iOS[3]PlatformDebian and derivativesTypePackage managerLicenseGPLv2Websitewiki.debian.org/Aptitude  aptitude is a front end to APT, the Debian package manager.[4]...

 

 

 Gran Premio di Gran Bretagna 1998 623º GP del Mondiale di Formula 1Gara 9 di 16 del Campionato 1998 Data 12 luglio 1998 Luogo Circuito di Silverstone Percorso 5,140 km / 3,194 US mi circuito permanente Distanza 60 giri, 308,296 km/ 191,603 US mi Clima pioggia Risultati Pole position Giro più veloce Mika Häkkinen Michael Schumacher McLaren in 1:23.271 Ferrari in 1:35.704 (nel giro 12) Podio 1. Michael SchumacherFerrari 2. Mika HäkkinenMcLaren 3. Eddie IrvineFerrari Il Gran Premio di...