The Crossing of the Red Sea | |
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Artist | Bronzino |
Year | 1542 |
Type | Fresco |
Dimensions | 320 cm× 490 cm(130 in× 190 in) |
Location | Palazzo Vecchio, Florence |
The Crossing of the Red Sea, also known as The Crossing of the Red Sea and Moses Appointing Joshua, is a fresco painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, finished in 1542. [1] It depicts the Israelites crossing the Red Sea from the book of Exodus and Moses commissioning Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land from the book of Numbers. It is housed in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
In 1540, Cosimo I de' Medici and/or his wife, Eleanor of Toledo, commissioned this and other frescoes for Eleanor's private chapel. Three of the four walls of the small chapel found on the second floor of the palace are covered with works telling the story of Moses. [2] [3]
The large fresco is an example of Maniera art and is found on the south wall of the chapel. [4] It is framed by fictive architectural elements including columns and an arch that provide the illusion the scene is contained in a lunette. The spandrels in the upper corners boast medallions and draperies to complete the illusion. [5] The damage to the lower left corner is due to moisture. [6]
The fresco depicts three different scenes from the Old Testament. The three figures in the center foreground and three figures in the left foreground represent the Hebrew nation preparing to leave Egypt (Exodus 12:33–39). [7] In the background, the Hebrews are shown safely completing their crossing of the Red Sea as Moses (shown in blue) gestures for the waters to return and drown the pursuing Egyptians (Exodus 14:21–29). [8] In the right foreground, Moses, near the end of his life, is depicted laying his hand on Joshua and commissioning him to lead the Israelites (Numbers 27:18–23). [9]
Bronzino's arrangement of the Hebrews in the foreground demonstrates his mannerist penchant for appropriating classical sculptural subjects in his works. The seated nude on the right is shown in the classic reclining pose of a river god. [10] The semi-nude youth on the left with his back to the viewer contorts his body to grip the arm of a seated female while holding a bundle of unleavened bread on his head. The same youth can be seen reaching the far shore in the background of the fresco. [8] Bronzino's study of a standing nude in the Uffizi was thought to be the work of Bronzino's teacher, Pontormo, until the 20th century. [4] It is clearly a preparatory chalk drawing for the standing figure with the bundle on his head. His exaggerated thrust of the hip and raised arm are common mannerist motifs and one leg crossed behind the other is a signature pose of Bronzino's. The figure in the center leaning on a rock is shown with his legs similarly crossed. [11] The standing figure's stance appears to be inspired by a Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue known as the Idolino . It was unearthed in a 1530 excavation at the Villa Imperiale of Pesaro where Bronzino was working at the time. Bronzino has replaced the gentle contrapposto of the ancient sculpture with a more artificial pose that is decorative and stylish. [1] [10]
Pontormo passed on his inclination to imitate Michelangelo to his student Bronzino. [12] This can clearly be seen by examining the outstretched arm of Moses as he prepares to lay his hand on the youthful Joshua. The gesture is taken directly from The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel. [13] Reflecting on these idealized yet emotionally detached figures taking their inspiration from previous work, art historian Arthur McComb wrote: [14]
It is hard to believe that we are here in a company of harassed Jews fleeing from slavery. This is rather a society of the elect, of youthful antique gods and fair Renaissance ladies. The sea to which these creatures of a marble formality have come is icy and still, and the arctic impression is borne out by color of a boreal coolness.
The damage to the fresco has obliterated much of the scene portraying the Hebrews preparing to leave Egypt. An anonymous engraving based on Bronzino's work that was published by Hieronymus Cock shortly after the fresco was completed includes the missing details. If these details accurately represent Bronzino's work, the scene depicts the standing youth encouraging two nursing mothers to rise up and begin the exodus. At his feet sit another child and bundles of supplies for the journey. [15] Based on this evidence, art historian Janet Cox-Rearick has suggested that the ornate silver urn and gold basin in the foreground represent the Egyptian treasure the Hebrews took with them as they hastily prepared to leave. [16]
This painting contains various allusions to the Medici's dynastic and political intentions. Moses can be equated to Cosimo I, who wants to lead his people to the promised land. The crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of the Egyptian army alludes to the 1537 battle of Montemurlo where Cosimo I defeated the army trying to restore the Republic of Florence. [17] The symbolism pointing to the battle isn't particularly subtle. A red Egyptian banner in the left background shows a portion of the coat of arms of the Strozzi family, one of the principal factions opposed to Medici rule. [18] The appointment of Joshua by Moses refers to the birth in 1541 of Francesco, the son of Cosimo I and Eleanor and heir to the ducal state. This last allusion is strengthened by the pregnant woman portrayed behind Moses in the right foreground. [19] [20]
Portraits of donors, political figures, and artists embedded in religious works were common in sixteenth-century Florence. It appears that three of the men surrounding Moses in the right foreground are portraits. Only one has been positively identified. The man with the long dark beard portraying the priest Eleazar is Pierfrancesco Riccio who served as both Cosimo's secretary and a priest at the Florence Cathedral. [21] The man in the red turban is a scholar based on the black coif under the turban, and his Florentine identity is thought to be the writer Pier Francesco Giambullari. The man in blue who is looking out of the fresco at the viewer might be a self-portrait of Bronzino. [22] It has also been posited that the man kneeling in front of Moses in the right foreground is Eleanor's father, Don Pedro de Toledo. [23]
Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school.
The Crossing of the Red Sea or Parting of the Red Sea is an episode in the origin myth of The Exodus in the Hebrew Bible.
Cosimo I de' Medici was the second duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death.
Jacopo Carucci or Carrucci, usually known as Jacopo (da) Pontormo or simply Pontormo, was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound stylistic shift from the calm perspectival regularity that characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. He is famous for his use of twining poses, coupled with ambiguous perspective; his figures often seem to float in an uncertain environment, unhampered by the forces of gravity.
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's David statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi.
Santi di Tito was one of the most influential and leading Italian painters of the proto-Baroque style – what is sometimes referred to as "Counter-Maniera" or Counter-Mannerism.
Agnolo di Cosimo, usually known as Bronzino or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, Bronzino, may refer to his relatively dark skin or reddish hair.
Eleanor of Toledo was a Spanish noblewoman who became Grand Duchess of Florence as the first wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. A keen businesswoman, she financed many of her husband's political campaigns and important buildings like the Pitti Palace. She ruled as regent of Florence during his frequent absences: Eleanor ruled during Cosimo's military campaigns in Genoa in 1541 and 1543, his illness from 1544 to 1545, and again at times during the war for the conquest of Siena (1551–1554). She founded many Jesuit churches. She is credited with being the first modern first lady or consort.
The Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son is a painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, finished ca. 1545. One of his most famous works, it is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy and is considered one of the preeminent examples of Mannerist portraiture. The painting depicts Eleanor of Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, sitting with her hand resting on the shoulder of one of her sons. This gesture, as well as the pomegranate motif on her dress, referred to her role as mother. Eleanor wears a heavily brocaded dress with black arabesques. In this pose, she is depicted as the ideal woman of the Renaissance. The painting is the first known state-commissioned portrait to include the ruler's heir. By including the child, Cosimo wished to imply that his rule would bring stability to the duchy.
Giovanni di Cosimo I de' Medici, also known as Giovanni de' Medici the Younger, was an Italian cardinal.
The Deposition of Christ is a painting by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, completed in 1545. It is housed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Besançon, France. A copy by Bronzino can be found in the Palazzo Vecchio. This portrayal of the Deposition, although it depicts all the characters typically shown when Jesus is being taken down from the cross, more correctly should be characterized as a Lamentation and is an excellent example of late Mannerism or Maniera.
Events from the year 1545 in art.
The Youth of Moses or The Trials of Moses is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli and his workshop, executed in 1481–1482 in the Sistine Chapel, Rome.
The Crossing of the Red Sea is a fresco executed in 1481–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. Of uncertain attribution, it has been assigned to Cosimo Rosselli.
The Testament and Death of Moses is a fresco attributed to the Italian Renaissance painters Luca Signorelli and Bartolomeo della Gatta, executed in around 1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome.
The Descent from Mount Sinai is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Cosimo Rosselli and his assistants, executed in 1481–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. It depicts the prophet Moses in the process of receiving and introducing the Ten Commandments.
The Vocation of the Apostles is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, executed in 1481–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. It depicts the Gospel narrative of Jesus Christ calling Peter and Andrew to become his disciples.
On 1 or 2 August 1537, near the Tuscan village of Montemurlo, the forces of the newly installed Duke Cosimo I of Florence defeated a hastily organized army of those who wished to overthrow the Medici and restore the Republic of Florence. Following the battle, Cosimo's bloody vengeance on all those who opposed Medici rule effectively ended organized opposition to his family in Florence. The victory led to the decision of Emperor Charles V to formally recognize Cosimo as Duke of Florence on 30 September 1537.
Janet Cox-Rearick was an American art historian, Distinguished Professor of Art History at the City University of New York.
The Horns of Moses are an iconographic convention common in Latin Christianity whereby Moses was commonly presented as having two horns on his head, later replaced by rays of light. The idea comes from a translation, or mis-translation, of a Hebrew term in Jerome's Latin Vulgate Bible, and many later vernacular translations dependent on that. Moses is said to be "horned", or radiant, or glorified, after he sees God who presents him with the tablets of the law in the Book of Exodus. The use of the term "horned" to describe Moses in fact predates Jerome, and can be traced to the Greek Jewish scholar Aquila of Sinope, whose Greek translations were well known to Jerome. The Hebrew qāran' may reflect an allegorical concept of "glorified", or rings of light. Horns tend to have positive associations in the Old Testament, and in ancient middle eastern culture more widely, but are associated with negative forces in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. These considerations may have influenced the translators in their choices, for Aquila as a positive, or for Jerome, as a negative.