Thèses sur le sujet « Cosimo II de' Medici »

This thesis investigates the Medicean ability to present divergent messages to different audiences through the manipulation of art and architecture of the Palazzo Medici. I examine several works of art commissioned and authored by the Medici. First, Donatello’s bronze David, located in the Medici Courtyard, is interpreted through the traditional Christian perspective as seen by the vicini, making the Medici appear pious, reverent, and religiously devout. This work is also interpreted from the amici point of view using ancient and contemporary authors to trace the development of ideas amongst the circle of Classically educated friends of the Medici. Second, Donatello’s bronze Judith and Holofernes, located in the adjacent Medici Garden, is examined in the same way to highlight the divergent message of humility juxtaposed with pride. This exercise shows the Medici had the ability to use one piece of art to set the stage for several different messages. Each type of visitor would view the same piece of art and come away with a different message specifically tailored to them, which allowed the family to increase support for their political faction and maintain their status as de facto rulers of Florence. The Medici family’s success is undisputed amongst scholars, but Cosimo’s use of the Augustan model and his use of the palace as propaganda is a subject that has been left scarcely examined. Much research has been conducted on the exterior due to what is extant, but how those in the Medici faction viewed it is non-existent. This work builds upon F.W. Kent’s position that Renaissance palace were built with several groups in mind. Through this examination of the Medici’s use of polyvalent messaging, a new understanding of the Medici emerges, which shows they were masters of propaganda and can explain why the Palazzo Medici became the model for palaces through Florence, the Italian Peninsula, and eventually greater Europe.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the patronage of Piero de’ Medici and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. My aim is to discuss and place the patronage in the complex field of the renaissance as an active conjugal partnership between the two. The study is divided in three main chapters, the introduction part where an overview of the main issues in the field of renaissance patronage and a background of the people involved; one chapter where the two religious rooms are introduced and the specific patronage described; and finally a chapter where the different procedures are discussed, compared and combined into one joint conjugal patronage for the both of them. The evidence uncovered supporting the conjugal patronage is partly the similarities between the altar paintings in the rooms. They are both made of Fra Filipo Lippi and both are portraying the Adoration of Infant Jesus. The presence of the coat of arms of both the noble houses at the Camaldoli adoration and a series of lettres between Piero and one of his painters, Benezzo Gozzoli.

Fin dalle sue origini negli anni Ottanta del XV secolo, era l’ufficio incaricato all’amministrazione di beni mobili - che comprendeva mobilia, porcellane, corni, abiti da maschera, fornimenti da cavalli, armi, gioielli, medaglie e anticaglie di più sorte - della famiglia Medici a Firenze e in Toscana. Il Giornale di entrata e uscita della Guardaroba Medici (1482-1561), il più antico registro dei beni in entrata e in uscita conservati nella Guardaroba, risale a quando i Medici abitavano ancora nel palazzo di via Larga, prima dell’assassinio del duca Alessandro de’ Medici. Successivamente, nel primo periodo del suo governo, Cosimo I operò a livello politico e istituzionale delle trasformazioni atte al rafforzamento dello Stato centrale che coinvolsero anche una più sistematica gestione dei beni mobili della Guardaroba.
 Documenti che riconducono alla complessa eterogeneità tipologica dei beni amministrati sono gli inventari.

L’obiettivo di questo studio è quello di rispondere — attraverso una parziale trascrizione dell’inedito Inventario della Guardaroba del Duca Cosimo alla consegna di Giovanni Ricci da Prato (1538) e il vaglio di altri documenti dell'Archivio di Stato di Firenze — ai seguenti quesiti aperti: a cosa serve questo elenco? Cosa compare e cosa non compare? I beni elencati sono stati dati in carico o venduti? Come vengono distinti gli oggetti?

Gegenstand der Arbeit sind Darstellungen, die dem Umfeld zweier Heiligenkulte in Florenz angehören und auf Bestellungen der Medici, ihrer Freunde und Verbündeten zurückzuführen sind. Den ursprünglich römischen Kult seiner Namenspatrone, der hll. Cosmas und Damian hat erst Cosimo de’ Medici in Florenz bekannt gemacht. Dabei erwies sich das Fehlen einer nennenswerten Florentinischen Tradition als maßgeblicher Faktor seiner Wirkkraft. Fra’ Angelico, Filippo Lippi und andere Künstler konnten formal neuartige Bildlösungen entwickeln, deren Inhalte sich als Projektionsflächen der politischen und geistigen Florentiner Eliten eigneten. Cosimo etablierte auf diese Weise ein Netzwerk persönlicher Repräsentation, das nicht allein die Barriere zwischen privatem und öffentlichem Raum zu durchdringen vermochte, sondern auch demonstrativ über die in Florenz herkömmliche Beschränkung auf das eigene Stadtviertel hinausgriff. Mit dem Generationswechsel nach Cosimos Tod erforderten die veränderten Machtverhältnisse auch einen Wechsel in der Strategie des Kults. In der zweiten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts tritt ein anderer Kult, jener der hll. Drei Könige in den Vordergrund. Dieser besaß im Gegensatz zur Verehrung von Cosmas und Damian in Florenz eine eigenständige, spezifisch republikanische Tradition. Unter deren Schutz konnte eine kontinuierliche Politisierung althergebrachter Rituale und die Übernahme der Kontrolle durch die Medici stattfinden. Auch in diesem Fall zeigt die Analyse der erhaltenen Darstellungen, dass sie den Auftraggebern als Loyalitätsnachweis dienten und die Zugehörigkeit zum Klientel der Medici und damit der städtischen Eliten markierten. Noch in der Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts griff Herzog Cosimo I. auf strategische Elemente und Motive des Kults zurück, nun zunehmend aus dem sakralen Kontext gelöst und Bestandteil höfischer Panegyrik.
The Images observed here are mainly of two religious cults commissioned by members, friends and allies of the Medici family. In the early 15th century Cosimo de’ Medici following the example of his father introduced his patron saints, Cosmas and Damian into his native city of Florence. Prior to this the cult of these saints was of no vital importance outside Rome. Thus there was no eminent pictorial tradition of their images which proved an important factor in the cult’s success. Fra’ Angelico, Filippo Lippi and other artists were able to develop a new imagery that allowed members of Florence’s political and humanistic circles to identify with. Cosimo established a network of personal representation which did not only penetrate the barriers between private and public space but ostentatiously reached beyond the customary boundaries of a family’s home quarter. After Cosimo’s death in 1464 political instability resulted in a change of strategy. In the second half of the 15th century a different cult, that of the Three Magi, moves into the center of medicean interest. Contrary to Saints Cosmas and Damian the cult of the Magi had an ancient and marked republican tradition in Florence. Under cover of this tradition the Medici party managed to take over control of the confraternity of the Magi and wield its influential instruments to their own benefit. As with images of Saints Cosmas and Damian those depicting the Adoration of the Magi were used as a confirmation of loyalty to the Medici and their faction. Even in the 16th century Duke Cosimo I. went back to elements and motifs of his predecessors’ strategy. Rather than reviving the cult of Saints Cosmas and Damian however they are used to give evidence of political and dynastical continuity.

Följande uppsats behandlar fyra hovporträtt av konstnären Bronzino föreställande fursteparet Cosimo I de’ Medici och Eleonora di Toledo speglade mot de litterära källorna Machiavellis Fursten och Castigliones Boken om hovmannen. Uppsatsen empiriska material kommer således att bestå av ovanstående material placeras framför varandra för att belysa dess beröringspunkter, både i fråga om likheter och olikheter. Analysens teoriangrepp kommer med avstamp i Roland Barthes semiotiska bildanalys att närma sig porträttens denotativa men främst konnotativa uttryck. Vidare har Shearer Wests bok Portraiture använts för förståelsen kring porträttet som genre i dess historiska kontext. Undersökningens disposition består av två huvudrubriker varav den första behandlar den historiska kontexten och den sista delen själva bildanalyserna. Resultatet visar på att samtliga porträtt av Cosimo och Eleonora finner flera beröringspunkter i Machiavellis furstespegel som Castigliones hovmannaideal, men skiljer sig delvis beroende på porträtt. Vidare har undersökningen visat på att Cosimo i sina två utvalda statsporträtt – valde att i det senare gestalta sig själv i en måttfullare stil – inte helt olik den måttfullhet som skildras i såväl Castigliones litterära verk som visuella porträtt. Cosimos tidigare porträtt svarar dock bättre mot Machiavellis idé om imitering. De två porträtten av Eleonora finner även dom olika samband med textmaterial och där Eleonoras senare statsporträtt tycks besitta flera av hertiginnans drag – något som inte med samma tydlighet framträder i det tidigare porträttet. Gemensamt för alla porträtt är deras avsaknad av sprezzatura som den allra viktigaste egenskapen för en person vid hovet.

This article opens up an important but overlooked chapter in the political and diplomatic history of Florence, as well as that of fifteenth-century Franco-Italian relations more broadly. In late 1461, the city of Florence elected ambassadors to go to France to congratulate King Louis XI on his accession to the throne. Intended as a purely ceremonial mission, the Florentine diplomat Piero de' Pazzi ignored his commission and pursued policies that explicitly promoted French interests in Italy. By doing so, Piero sought to improve the standing of his own family, both domestically and abroad, at the expense of the Medici regime in Florence and the anti-French Italian League that the Medici supported. This article offers for the first time a full investigation of a surprisingly early example of tensions between the Medici and the Pazzi, tensions that famously erupted in the Pazzi Conspiracy of 1478.

Cette étude se propose d’étudier la réception de la nouvelle de la victoire de Lépante dans le grand-duché de Toscane sous le règne de Côme Ier et la transformation de l’événement d’actualité en objet historique, inscrit dans l’historiographie officielle médicéenne. La participation de la flotte toscane à la Sainte Ligue de Lépante en 1571 s’inscrit dans un contexte particulier de crise diplomatique avec le roi d’Espagne Philippe II de Habsbourg, dont la Toscane est un État vassal et dont l’autorité est de plus en plus contestée par les Médicis. Côme Ier de Médicis a vu aboutir les projets de son ambitieuse politique navale en 1560 avec la création de l’Ordre militaire marin de Santo Stefano, de sa politique dynastique en 1569 avec l’obtention, par le pape Pie V, du titre héréditaire grand-ducal, accompagné d’un contrat de collaboration militaire pour l’Ordre. La présence de la Toscane, sous la bannière pontificale, dans une coalition aussi prestigieuse que la Sainte Ligue, qui réunit Venise, l’Espagne et le pape, devrait constituer une occasion privilégiée de renforcer le discours de légitimation du principat médicéen. En effet, la victoire de Lépante constitue un événement au sens traditionnel du terme, c’est-à-dire un fait politico-militaire inattendu, éclatant, dont les représentations d’actualité cristallisent les enjeux diplomatiques du moment et dont les célébrations permettent de mettre en scène le pouvoir : plus que l’antagonisme, c’est la qualité de l’alliance qu’on lui oppose qui fait sens dans les récits et les images de Lépante. Pourtant, en Toscane, on n’assiste pas à une production aussi riche, féconde, variée et durable qu’ailleurs en Italie, notamment à Venise ou à Rome. Fidèle à sa tendance de fond qui préfère aux revendications ouvertes la discrétion et la prudence, le discours médicéen raconte une victoire de Lépante ambigüe, nuancée, comme une voix discordante au cœur du concert de célébrations qui suivent l’événement, dépassant le simple clivage des catégories de victoire et de défaite. Les représentations toscanes puisent leur matière même dans les correspondances militaires et diplomatiques des acteurs de la bataille : ils écrivent juste après l’avènement des faits, observent avec lucidité les graves disfonctionnements au sein de la Sainte Ligue, rendent compte de leur expérience concrète de la guerre et des lourdes pertes subies par l’Ordre au cours des combats. La nouvelle et les détails de la victoire se diffusent très largement grâce à une nouvelle forme éditoriale, les avvisi a stampa, des publications occasionnelles qui racontent et célèbrent la victoire. Celles qui sont publiées en Toscane révèlent des choix éditoriaux particuliers : l’imprimerie officielle grand-ducale semble vouloir ménager les susceptibilités en diffusant des versions canoniques pontificales ou espagnoles du déroulement des événements, qui ignorent la participation toscane, tandis que des récits plus favorables aux Toscans sont publiés par des typographes d’importance secondaire. Dans un troisième temps, l’événement s’inscrit dans l’historiographie officielle du régime grand-ducal ; la bataille de Lépante est traitée comme une « semi-victoire » dans un chapitre de l’Istoria de’ suoi tempi de Giovambattista Adriani, l’histoire officielle du règne de Côme ; en revanche, elle fait l’objet d’une célébration triomphale dans un cycle de fresques de Giorgio Vasari réalisé dans la Sala Regia du palais apostolique du Vatican. En effet, Côme renonce à faire représenter la victoire de Lépante à Florence, au Palazzo Vecchio, comme nombre de ses hauts faits militaires, pour envoyer l’artiste officiel de l’État opérer au service du pape, comme ambassadeur du prestige culturel de Florence : pour servir l’État , les arts seraient, en somme, bien plus efficaces que les armes
This dissertation focuses on how the news of the victory of the battle of Lepanto was received and dealt with under the rule of Cosimo I de’ Medici in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. This approach will then highlight that, from piece of news to historical information, this event was in fact transformed and discussed by the official Medicean historiography. The Tuscan fleet joined the Holy League in 1571. This coincides with a diplomatic crisis which crystallized the Medici’s contesting the authority of King Philip II of Spain over the vassal state of Tuscany. Cosimo I de’ Medici’s ambitious naval policy led to the creation, in 1560, of the Sacred Military Order of St Stephen and when, in 1569, Pope Pius V granted him the title of Grand Duke on the grounds of hereditary right, along with a military agreement to support the Order, his dynastic policy was finally asserted. The papal banner acknowledged a prestigious alliance between the Republic of Venice, Spain and the Pope. Being part of this Holy League offered Tuscany an opportunity to legitimate the Medicean princedom. The Battle of Lepanto may be considered as an event, that is to say, an unexpected military and political fact. The representations of this brilliant victory epitomize the diplomatic stakes of the time and the way the event was celebrated highlights its power issues. In fact, in the narratives and images of the Battle, what prevails is the strength of the alliance and not what it stood up against. Yet, works dedicated to the Battle in Tuscany were not as diverse and lasting as in other parts of Italy such as Rome and Venice. Medicean historians and artists gave a nuanced version of the Battle, mirroring a general trend of discretion. Their voices thus disrupted the harmonious celebrations which came after the event and challenged the dichotomy of victory versus defeat. Tuscan representations of the event drew their inspiration from an archival material made of diplomatic and military letters. Just off the battlefield, the protagonists of the combat put their experience down into words. They exposed that the Holy League was seriously dysfunctional and gave a first-hand testimony of the war and of how heavy the losses were for the Order. The news of the victory, but also its details, quickly and widely spread thanks to avvisi a stampa, a new editorial practice consisting in occasional publications extolling the grandeur of the victory. This thesis contends that the publications in Tuscany were ruled by a particular editorialist choice. In fact, it appears that the grand-ducal official press remained neutral and published mainly canonical versions of the Battle, praising both the papal and Spanish roles, but which overlooked the Tuscan participation, whereas narratives extolling the Tuscan input in the battle were handled by minor typographers. Furthermore the event made its way into the official historiography of the grand dukedom. In a chapter from Giovambattista Adriani’s Istoria de’ suoi tempi, which relates the official history of Cosimo’s rule, the Battle of Lepanto is described as a "semi-victory". On the other hand, it was treated as a grand victory by Giorgio Vasari in the series of frescos he painted for the Sala Regia in the Vatican palace. As a matter of fact, Cosimo, instead of having the Battle, and many other of his military feats, commemorated in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, decided to send the official artist of the State to the Vatican as a cultural ambassador. Arts seemed a better way to serve the State than weapons

À partir d’une lecture d’écrits publiés et inédits de Vincenzo Borghini (1515-1580), cette thèse s’interroge sur le rôle que ce moine bénédictin florentin joua dans la politique culturelle des Médicis, et plus particulièrement sur la manière dont il concilia érudition et conscience politique, passion pour l'art et respect des nouvelles prescriptions de l’Église, élitisme culturel et diffusion des savoirs. La pratique historiographique avait un rôle d’importance alors que le duc Côme Ier ambitionnait de consolider le rôle politique de la Toscane en Italie et parmi les grandes puissances européennes par l’obtention du titre de grand-duc. Après avoir espéré que l’Empereur lui en accorderait la couronne, il se tourna vers la papauté. Pris entre de tels enjeux, Borghini, conseiller du prince aux fonctions multiples, oeuvra de manière aussi efficace que complexe. Sa pratique de l’histoire, familiarisée avec la tradition, mais fondée sur des méthodes d’approches nouvelles, évolua en adéquation avec ce qu’il nommait les «circustanze de’ tempi di parte». Les jeunes années de Borghini permettent de comprendre le rôle de premier plan qu’il tint auprès de la cour ducale. Ses études sur l’histoire s’enracinent dans ses années de formation et sa rencontre avec des personnalités comme Vettori et Vasari. Il donnera à ce dernier des conseils fondamentaux pour la conception des Vite. Les années 1560 sont celles d’une nouvelle pratique : Borghini fut l’un des principaux responsables des traités descriptifs des grands apparats dont il avait au préalable été le concepteur en tant qu’auteur des programmes iconographiques. Pour leur rôle dans la construction d’une mémoire collective de la Toscane, ces textes peuvent être considérés comme une forme de micro-histoire. Les années 1570 sont celles du passage de la micro-histoire des descriptions d’apparats à la rédaction et à la correction de traités d’histoire universelle. L’enjeu politique n’est alors plus l’obtention du titre de grand-duc mais sa légitimation. Les recherches historiques de Borghini permettent de synthétiser toutes ses activités au service des Médicis : il n’eut de cesse de se servir de l’Histoire du passé pour célébrer la Toscane du présent, qui, au-delà des Médicis, était son ultime objectif
Stemming from published and unbublished writings of Vincenzo Borghini (1515-1580), this Dissertation questions the role Florentine Benedictine friar Vincenzo Borghini (1515-1580) played in the cultural policies of the Medici, particularly the way he reconciled erudition and political consciousness, his passion for art and his respect for the new Church prescriptions. The use of History was important at a time when Cosimo was trying to strengthen the political clout of Tuscany, in Italy and among great European powers, by obtaining the grand-duke crown. Having hoped, in vain, that the Emperor would grant him this title, he turned to the papacy. In the face of such stakes, the role of Borghini, a man with multiple hats, was a complex one. The way he made use of history evolved in conjunction with what he called the «circustanze de’ tempi di parte». Borghini's young years help us understand the essential position he occupied within the ducal court. His approach to history finds its roots in his formative years and his acquaintance with prominent people like Vettori and Vasari. He provided the latter with fundamental advice for the theoretical conception of the Vite. The 60s were testament to a new approach: Borghini was, with a few others, in charge of writing up the treaty describing the great pageants he himself had originally devised. Given their role in the elaboration of an oriented memory, those texts can be considered to be a kind of kind of micro-history. The 70s showed the transition from the micro-history of descriptions of the pageants to writing and correcting treaty dealing with universal history. Obtaining the the title of Grand duke is not any more politically at stake; what matters now is making sure it is legitimized. Borghini's historical research synthesizes all the activities he carried out while serving the Medici family. He endeavored to use past history to celebrate Tuscany's present, which, above and beyond the Medici, was his ultimate aim

This thesis explores the relations between the Druze emir Fakhr al-Din II Ma'n and three successive Medici Grand Dukes between 1605 and 1633. Eschewing traditional historiographical concerns with the origins of Lebanese nationalism and the cultural encounter between East and West, I have sought first and above all to locate relations between this powerful emir and the Court of Tuscany within the broader context of Mediterranean history.
I suggest that the actions of Fakhr al-Din and of the Medici Grand Dukes have to be understood in relation to broad, long-term trends in the economic and social history of the Mediterranean. I explore two of these trends in detail: the breakdown in commercial and diplomatic relations between Florence (and then Tuscany) and the Ottoman empire during the course of the sixteenth century; the bargaining between the Porte and provincial power-holders in the Syrian provinces in the century following the Ottoman conquest.

Giorgio Vasari naît le 30 juillet 1511 ; il s'éteint le 27 juin 1574. À la fin de l'année 1554, il entre au service de Cosme Ier de Médicis, duc de Florence, et se voit rapidement confier la responsabilité des travaux de transformation du Palais de la Seigneurie en Palais Ducal. L'artiste livre les clefs de lecture du cycle pictural déployé sur les plafonds et les murs du célèbre monument florentin, connu sous le nom de Palazzo Vecchio, dans une oeuvre peu étudiée : Ragionamenti del Sig. Cavaliere Giorgio Vasari, pittore et architetto aretino, sopra le invenzioni da lui dipinte in Firenze nel Palazzo di loro Altezze Serenissime. Rédigé entre 1558 et 1567, mais publié à titre posthume seulement en 1588, ce texte met en scène Giorgio Vasari et le prince François Ier de Médicis, fils aîné de Cosme Ier et d'Éléonore de Tolède. Sous une plume ekphrastique, au sein de laquelle le mot et l'image s'unissent, l'artiste compose un dialogue distribué sur trois journées et conduit dans trois lieux emblématiques du palais : le Quartier des Éléments, le Quartier de Léon X et la Salle des Cinquecento. L'intérêt de cet ouvrage réside dans les différents niveaux de lecture comme dans les différents "dialogues" qu'il suppose. Si la réécriture de certains épisodes mythologiques, mis en relation directe avec l'histoire de la dynastie médicéenne, participe du dessein officiel de l'oeuvre, à savoir la glorification ducale, le mythe prélude, en raison de son appartenance à un univers ésotérique, à une lecture dérobée du texte vasarien qui, au-delà de servir le règne médicéen, révèle une aura mémorielle nous invitant à appréhender I Ragionamenti de Giorgio Vasari comme un édifice de la Mémoire
Giorgio Vasari was born on 30 July 1511 ; he died on 27 June 1574. At the end of 1554, he starts to be on the service of Cosimo I de' Medici, the Duke of Florence and he quickly sees himself entrusted with the transformation works of the seigneurial palace into a ducal one. The artist delivers the reading guides of the pictorial cycle deployed on the ceilings and the walls of the famous Florentine monument known as Palazzo Vecchio, in Ragionamenti del Sig. Cavaliere Giorgio Vasari, pittore e architetto aretino, sopra le invenzioni da lui dipinte in Firenze nel Palazzo di loro Altezze Serenissime, a little-known and little-studied work. Written between 1558 and 1567, but only posthumous published in 1588, this text stages Giorgio Vasari and Prince Francesco I de' Medici, the elder son of Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo. Under a descriptive hand, in which the word and the image unite, the artist composes a dialogue spread over three days and lead in three emblematic places of the palace: the Elements Area, the Leo X Quarter and the Cinquecento Room. The interest of this work lies in the different reading levels as in the different "dialogues" that it means to suggest. If the rewriting of some mythological episodes, directly viewed in relation to the history of the Medici dysnasty, contributes to the official aim of the work - namely the ducal glorification - the myth preludes, owing to its belonging to an esoteric world, a hidden reading of the Vasarian text that, beyond serving the Medici reign, reveals a memory aura inviting us to comprehend Giorgio Vasari's Ragionamenti as an edifice of Memory

Cette thèse, qui présente les sculpteurs actifs à Florence à l’époque des deux derniers grands-ducs de la dynastie des Médicis, Cosme III (1670-1723) et Jean-Gaston (1723-1737), est une étude de synthèse permettant de situer les sculpteurs dans un contexte social et historique. Elle considère le métier de sculpteur sous tous ses aspects : la formation, les conditions de vie et de travail, le statut social, l’organisation des ateliers, la répartition du travail entre les différents collaborateurs, le processus de création des sculptures et des décors sculptés, ainsi que le rôle essentiel du dessin dans l’élaboration et l’exécution de ces sculptures. En arrivant au pouvoir, Cosme III voulut donner un nouvel essor à la sculpture florentine et prit de nombreuses initiatives dans cette direction : il transforma l’enseignement, développa la production d’objets de luxe au sein de la Galleria dei Lavori et facilita le travail des sculpteurs de nombreuses manières, offrant à la plupart d’entre eux des pensions, des charges officielles et des ateliers. Les sculpteurs étaient certes nombreux, mais la vie artistique s’articulait en réalité autour de quelques figures majeures. Le plus important était Giovanni Battista Foggini, installé dans le célèbre atelier des sculpteurs de cour situé Borgo Pinti. Il cumula les fonctions de Premier sculpteur et d’architecte de la Galleria dei Lavori, dirigeant ainsi une très vaste équipe d’assistants et de collaborateurs. Notre recherche est fondée sur un ample dépouillement d’archives et sur l’étude de dessins préparatoires. Un volume d’annexe comprend un répertoire des sculpteurs ainsi que la transcription de nombreux documents inédits
This thesis, presenting sculptors active in Florence at the time of the last two grand dukes of the Medici dynasty, Cosimo III (1670-1723) and Gian Gastone (1723-1737), is a synthetic study which situates these sculptors in their historical and societal contexts. The work takes into account all the aspects of the profession: the training, in Rome and in Florence, the living and working conditions, the social status, the organisation of the workshops, the creative process, the division of work among the specialists, as well as the important role of drawing in designing and executing the works. When Cosimo III came into power, he decided to bring about a revival in Florentine sculpture and rapidly took many initiatives in this direction: he reformed artistic education, developed the production of luxury artefacts within the Galleria dei Lavori and facilitated the work of sculptors in many ways, offering many of them monthly pensions, official functions and locations for workshops. Even though the period saw a significant number of sculptors working in Florence, artistic life actually centred around a limited number of major figures. Giovanni Battista Foggini, the most important, was settled in the famous sculpture workshop located in Borgo Pinti. At the height of his long career, Foggini was First sculptor as well as Architect of the Galleria dei Lavori, hence managing a vast team of collaborators, assistants and craftsmen. The research is based on a thorough analysis of the archives related to the period as well as an extensive study of the preparatory drawings. A volume of appendices contains a repertory of the sculptors and also the transcription of many unpublished documents

Cette thèse étudie les modalités et les conséquences politiques de la crise qui ébranle l’autorité royale française durant le très court règne du jeune François II et fait basculer le royaume dans le temps des troubles de religion. Dans le contexte de la fin des guerres d’Italie et après la tragique mort d’Henri II, l’avènement d’un roi âgé de quinze ans refusant le pouvoir qui lui revient, déclenche une contestation politique inédite dans la France du XVIe siècle. La situation s’envenime d’autant plus pour l’autorité monarchique que le gouvernement royal, conduit par les Guise, oncles du roi, répond par une sévère répression antihérétique au succès de la Réforme protestante. En mars 1560, la conjuration manquée d’Amboise révèle au pouvoir l’ampleur et l’imbrication de ces mécontentements à la fois politiques que religieux. À la faveur d’acteurs aussi essentiels pour la France du XVIe siècle que Catherine de Médicis, le cardinal de Lorraine ou Michel de l’Hospital, un processus d’inflexion politique majeure s’initie alors : le pouvoir opte pour une modération religieuse et une politique d’apaisement qu’il s’efforce d’ajuster à la « nécessité des temps » autant qu’à l’accélération des élans catholiques et protestants. Si le règne de François II ouvre le temps des troubles civils, il ouvre donc aussi celui des tentatives et des expérimentations politiques dont les édits des guerres de Religion seront les héritiers. Appuyé sur une fine analyse de l’enchaînement événementiel, le présent travail s’efforce de révéler la complexité de ce règne « à la croisée des temps » autant que son caractère décisif pour la réflexion politique du second XVIe siècle français
This thesis focuses on the processes and political consequences of the crisis which destabilizes the French royal authority during the short-lived reign of young Francis II and propels the kingdom into the French troubles of religion. In the wake of the Italian Wars and the tragic death of Henry II, the accession of a fifteen-year-old king who refuses the power that is handed down to him entails a political contestation that is unprecedented in sixteenth-century France. The situation further deteriorates for the monarchical authority since the royal government led by the King’s uncles, the Guises, responds to the successful Protestant Reformation with severe repressive measures against heretics. In March 1560, the failed Amboise conspiracy reveals to the royal authority the extent and interconnectedness of the political and religious discontents. Thanks to figures of paramount importance to sixteenth-century France, such as Catherine de’ Medici, the Cardinal of Lorraine or Michel de l’Hospital, a process of major political reorientation is then initiated : the royal authority opts for religious moderation and an appeasement policy it tries to adapt to both the “necessities of times” and the increasing Catholic and Protestant momentums. Though the reign of Francis II opens the era of civil wars, it also opens that of political trials and experimentations which will eventually bring about the Wars of Religion edicts. This work is based on a detailed analysis of the chain of events, and endeavours to reveal the complexity of a reign “at the crossroads of times” as well as its determining role in the political reflection of the second half of the sixteenth century in France

La ricerca si è focalizzata sull’intervento di ampliamento del giardino di Boboli voluto a partire dal secondo decennio del XVII secolo dal granduca Cosimo II de’ Medici e condotto sotto la direzione dell’architetto di corte Giulio Parigi. Dopo un rapido excursus sul giardino cinquecentesco, detto ‘de’ Pitti’, e un’analisi della figura del committente Cosimo II, in particolar modo del suo aggiornato collezionismo, si è approfondito il ruolo di un protagonista inedito ma emerso come tale, Remigio Cantagallina, disegnatore assiduo nel rappresentare lo sviluppo del nuovo giardino formale dal poggio rurale, della cui opera si sono riletti e talora rinvenuti numerosi disegni, riconoscendone alcuni come riferiti a Boboli e ai suoi dintorni o a interventi coerenti con le lavorazioni allora in corso. Per poi passare al cuore dello studio, l’articolazione degli interventi di ampliamento del giardino, che sono stati in parte rivisti nella cronologia e indagati nei contenuti morfologici e formali in modo nuovo rispetto a quanto finora noto dalla storiografia. Infine si sono approfonditi due temi sottratti in modo diverso alla conoscenza, il perduto Bagno di Venere e gli incompiuti Voltoni, entrambi destinati a un ruolo cardine nella strutturazione formale e simbolica del nuovo giardino voluto da Cosimo II, per i quali si sono avanzate nuove letture e proposte.

La tesi prende in esame il ciclo degli affreschi interni della Villa di Poggio Imperiale, realizzati da un’équipe di pittori del Seicento Fiorentino su commissione di Maria Maddalena d’Austria (1589-1631), vedova del granduca di Toscana Cosimo II (1590-1621) e reggente del primogenito e successore al trono Ferdinando II. La Granduchessa, al termine dei lavori di rinnovamento della Villa, il 23 maggio 1624 la denominò “Villa di Poggio Imperiale” in memoria del fratello Ferdinando II che salì sul trono come Imperatore del Sacro Romano Impero nel 1619. Le dieci lunette nel Salone delle Udienze illustrano le regine e le imperatrici cristiane dal IV secolo al XVI secolo; le dieci lunette nella Camera da letto della Granduchessa sono dedicate alle Sante martiri; le altre dieci nell’Anticamera della Granduchessa rappresentano le donne illustri veterotestamentarie. Non sono mai emersi finora documenti di pagamento ai pittori, nè quelli relativi alle decorazioni che possano permettere di individuare il consulente iconografico dell’intero programma decorativo. Pertanto è stato fondamentale attribuire ogni decorazione tramite analisi stilistiche, ma finora erano stati poco approfonditi i significati della vasta decorazione nel contesto storico-culturale. Per affrontare questo problema in modo interdisciplinare, la tesi è divisa in tre parti. Nella prima parte viene esaminato il periodo precedente alla reggenza, ricostruendo l’entrata di Maria Maddalena d’Austria nella capitale del Granducato e gli archi trionfali eretti lungo il percorso. Successivamente vengono esaminate le commissioni artistiche da parte della giovane Granduchessa, con riferimento in particolare al collezionismo delle reliquie e alle decorazioni interne della cappella in Palazzo Pitti. La seconda parte è dedicata alla ricostruzione della carriera del pittore Matteo Rosselli, considerato il capo cantiere della Villa di Poggio Imperiale. Attraverso le sue attività svolte durante i primi due decenni del Seicento, sono illustrate anche le vicende artistiche dell’epoca a Firenze. Nella terza parte, dedicata al periodo di reggenza governato dalle tutrici di Ferdinando II, vengono esaminate le venti lunette che adornano il Salone delle Udienze e la Camera da letto della Granduchessa della Villa di Poggio Imperiale. La maggior parte di tali lunette presenta iconografie insolite. Non era mai stato fatto, però, un confronto puntuale fra le singole scene rappresentate ed i brani dei volumi proposti come fonti letterarie. Analizzando la coerenza fra i testi e le rappresentazioni, emerge che alcuni degli episodi dipinti, nella loro peculiarità, dovevano essere ispirati anche dalle altre fonti letterarie qui proposte, individuando le motivazioni che avevano portato a scegliere queste rappresentazioni insolite e, in certi casi, nuove.