Florentine Painting

Question 1

Sir John Hawkwood by Paolo Uccello

Answer 1

1436 in Florence

• Uccello was an apprentice of Lorenzo Ghiberti
• According to Vasari, Uccello was really into perspective
• The painting was a frescoe at first then was transferred onto canvas
• Hawkwood was an Englishman and mercenary who traveled to Italy
• Commissioned by the Opera del Duomo

Question 2

Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello

Answer 2

1438-40 in Florence

• Depicts a battle between Florence and Sienna
• Nicolo Tolentino was the leader of the Florentine forces
• Apart of a series of three paintings centered around the battle
• Commissioned by Lorenzo di Bartolomeo Bartolini Salimbeni

Question 3

The Last Supper by Andrea del Castagno

Answer 3

1447 in Florence

• Made for the Convent of Sant’ Apollonia
• Located inside Apollonia’s cafeteria and is supposed to remind monks and nuns of the sacredness of a meal
• It took 32 days to complete the painting
• This Last Supper follows St. John’s account in which Jesus announces that the betrayer would be an apostle whom he gave a piece of bread dipped in wine

Question 4

Famous Men and Women Cycle by Andrea del Castagno

Answer 4

1448-49 in Florence

• Commissioned by Filippo Carducci
• Created for the loggia of Villa Carducci, a villa just outside of Florence
• Cycles featuring famous people were popular among Italian villas in the 1300s (14th c)
• One of the famous people, Pippo Spano, was a Florentine soldier of fortune in the service of the king of Hungary
• A woman among the famous people is named Cumaean Sibyl. Sibyl means a woman from the ancient world who foretold Christ

Question 5

Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro by Piero della Francesca

Answer 5

1474 in Urbino

• The whole piece was made for a pendent
• Federico was a mercenary and the Duke of Urbino, and Sforza was his wife
• Sforza died in childbirth before the pendent was made
• The profile views in the image references the profile views of emperors as seen on ancient Roman coins
• On the back of the pendent is an image of ceremonial parade celebrating Federico

Question 6

Madonna and Child with Saints by Piero della Francesca

Answer 6

mid 1470s in Urbino

• Commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro
• Made for the Church of San Bernardino
• An ostrich egg hangs over Mary in the painting which was common in most churches because the egg was traditionally a symbol of the Virgin Birth
• John the Evangelist was Federico’s patron saint who stands behind him in the painting