The Portrait of Elderly Man, painted by Luca Signorelli, is one of the masterpieces of the portraiture of the Italian Renaissance (Berlin, Staatliche Museen). In the essay, it is proposed the identification of the man in red with Cristoforo Landino: humanist and counselor to Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent. The chronological collocation of the Signorelli’s painting on wood is proposed soon after the 1481, when Landino became protagonist of the Florence culture, thanks to the print publication of his ‘Comento sopra la Comedia’ , work that emphasized the civic identity with the poet of excellence Dante Alighieri. The assay deals also with the others Medicean paintings of Luca Signorelli illustrating, together with the mythological works of Botticelli, the centrality in the commission policy of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici. Other remarks are dedicated to one of the pillars of the Medicean power system: the Chancellor of the Republic, Bartolomeo Scala. Great friend of Cristoforo Landino, enthusiast of the antiquity, Scala is proposed as possible commissioner to Luca Signorelli of the Portrait of Elderly Man.
Il Volo di Mercurio. Intorno al ritratto di uomo anziano di Luca Signorelli
MARCELLI, FABIO
2011
Abstract
The Portrait of Elderly Man, painted by Luca Signorelli, is one of the masterpieces of the portraiture of the Italian Renaissance (Berlin, Staatliche Museen). In the essay, it is proposed the identification of the man in red with Cristoforo Landino: humanist and counselor to Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent. The chronological collocation of the Signorelli’s painting on wood is proposed soon after the 1481, when Landino became protagonist of the Florence culture, thanks to the print publication of his ‘Comento sopra la Comedia’ , work that emphasized the civic identity with the poet of excellence Dante Alighieri. The assay deals also with the others Medicean paintings of Luca Signorelli illustrating, together with the mythological works of Botticelli, the centrality in the commission policy of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici. Other remarks are dedicated to one of the pillars of the Medicean power system: the Chancellor of the Republic, Bartolomeo Scala. Great friend of Cristoforo Landino, enthusiast of the antiquity, Scala is proposed as possible commissioner to Luca Signorelli of the Portrait of Elderly Man.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
