Taddeo Crivelli (fl. 1451, died by 1479), also known as Taddeo da Ferrara, was an Italian painter of illuminated manuscripts. He is considered one of the foremost 15th-century illuminators of the Ferrara school, and also has the distinction of being the probable engraver of the first book illustrated with maps, which was also the first book using engraving.
His most prestigious commission was a lavishly illustrated two-volume Bible produced between 1455 and 1461 for Ferrara's ruler, Duke Borso d'Este. Other surviving works he took charge of in Ferrara include an illuminated copy of Boccaccio’s Decameron and a luxurious book of hours known as the Gualenghi-d'Este Hours.
After Borso's death in 1471 he moved to Bologna, where payments for his work declined. Despite the lavish works he supervised during his career he sometimes pawned parts of manuscripts he was supposed to illuminate, suggesting his finances were far from stable. His last recorded work dates from 1476.
Biography
Detail from a page of the Borso Bible displaying the Este family's coat of arms
Background and career in Ferrara
He appears to have been born in Ferrara sometime in the 1420s.[2] His father, Niccolò Crivelli, and his grandfather, Bongrazia Crivelli, were both notaries. They were naturalized citizens of Ferrara, who are thought to have migrated from somewhere in Lombardy. Crivelli's own life is largely undocumented until 1451, by which time he was certainly working in Ferrara. Analysis of his personal account book between 1451 and 1457 alongside official court documents indicates that Crivelli was in charge of a busy workshop, sharing work out with assistants and colleagues. Nevertheless, records of illicit pawnbroking transactions of parts of manuscripts he had been engaged to illuminate suggest that his financial situation was far from stable.[3]
From 1455 until 1461, he worked, together with Franco dei Russi, on his most prestigious commission: the miniatures for the luxuriously produced personal Bible of Ferrara's ruler Borso d'Este, who chose to take it to Rome to show it off to Pope Paul II on the occasion of his investiture as Duke of Ferrara in 1471.[4] Borso's commission for this lavish work specifically demanded "magnificence" fit for the subject: the resulting two-volume work, which has been called "an encyclopedia of 15th-century Ferrarese illumination", reflects the most exquisite and extravagant courtly taste of the age.[5] Crivelli was responsible for the majority of the illustration work.[6] Other painters who assisted Crivelli and Russi on the illuminations include Guglielmo Giraldi, Giorgio D'Allemagna and a youthful Girolamo da Cremona.[4] Production of the Bible cost exactly twice the amount paid to Domenico Ghirlandaio for the entire Tornabuoni Chapel in Santa Maria Novella in Florence.[7] The illumination work alone cost five thousand lire, which at the time represented a colossal sum of money.[5] The Borso Bible (as it is sometimes called) is now conserved in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena.[n 1]
Illumination from the Gualenghi-d'Este Hours
Crivelli is known to have completed other major works in Ferrara, at least two of which survive. A 1467 illuminated copy of Boccaccio’s Decameron, which was commissioned for Teofilo Calcagnini, a court advisor to Borso, is conserved in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.[4] A sumptuous book of hours, known as the Gualenghi-d'Este Hours, produced some time after the marriage in 1469 of Orsina D'Este with Andrea Gualengo (another prominent advisor to Borso), is conserved in the Getty Museum.[8]
Although he may have produced larger paintings while in Ferrara,[n 2] none has been found. A record of a pawnbroking transaction of 1472 suggests that he may have left Ferrara abruptly, presumably in the wake of Borso's death in 1471, and perhaps attracted by the patronage of the Bentivoglio family in Bologna.[3][6]
Detail from the Borso Bible, Crivelli's most significant commission. It was produced together with Franco dei Russi, (a member of Crivelli's own circle), to whom this nativity scene has been attributed.
Final years in Bologna
By 1473 Crivelli was working in Bologna with a fellow miniaturist, Domenico Pagliarolo (fl 1471–97), on a Gradual for the monastery of San Procolo. He also took on the unfamiliar task of engraving maps and nautical charts, and is usually accepted as the engraver of the 1477 Bolognese edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia, the first book both to contain printed maps and to be illustrated by engravings rather than woodcuts.[10] A slightly later map of the world on a single sheet has also been attributed to him, but is now not thought to be his.[11] Receipts show that in this period payments for his illuminations declined. He was engaged to work on manuscripts for the grand basilica of San Petronio, but ended up pawning parts of them (which his patrons later bought back). His last recorded work dates from 1476; by 1479 he is referred to as being dead.[3][6]
Personal life
His wife Margherita bore him three sons and a daughter, Lodovica, who married the painter Lorenzo Costa.[3]
Style
The style of the art-work in the Borso Bible has been linked to the Ferrara school of painting which developed under the influence of Cosmè Tura (and especially to the frescoes that were subsequently painted to decorate the Salone dei mesi in Palazzo Schifanoia).[3] Some of Crivelli's stylistic traits, such as his use of line in representations of clothing and clouds, also suggest Lombard influence. The elaborately decorated miniatures for the Borso Bible are characterized by saturated colouring and rich costumes that would seem to comply with Borso's luxurious tastes. Architectural spaces are rendered by means of false perspective.[6]
↑ Landau, David, and Parshall, Peter. The Renaissance Print, Yale, 1996, p. 241, ISBN0300068832; Crone, G.R., review of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. A Series of Atlases in Facsimile, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 130, No. 4 (Dec., 1964), pp. 577-578, Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), Article DOI: 10.2307/1792324, JSTOR
↑ Woodward, David, Art and Cartography: Six Historical Essays, The Kenneth Nebenzahl, Jr., Lectures in the History of Cartography, p.195, 1987, University of Chicago Press, ISBN0226907228, 9780226907222, google books
Pfändtner, Karl-Georg (April 2011). "A Newly-Discovered Masterpiece by Taddeo Crivelli: A Portrait of Borso d'Este in the Bamberg State Library". Manuscripts on My Mind. St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
The House of Este was an Italian princely family, linked with several contemporary royal dynasties, including the House of Habsburg and the British royal family.
The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, with a break during the Napoleonic Wars (1796–1814) when Emperor Napoleon I reorganized the states and republics of renaissance-era Italy, then under the domination of his French Empire. It was ruled since its establishment by the noble House of Este, and since 1814 by the Austria-Este branch of the family.
Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him as the Duke of Ferrara in 1471, over which the family had in fact long presided. Nonetheless, this latter territory was lost to the Papal States in 1597, while the Estensi continued to rule the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in the Emilia until 1796, when it became part of Napoleon Bonaparte's Cispadane Republic. In 1814 the duchy was restored under the Habsburg grandson of the last Este Duke, continuing until annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia in 1859.
Cosmê Tura, also known as Il Cosmè or Cosimo Tura, was an Italian early-Renaissance painter and considered one of the founders of the School of Ferrara.
The School of Ferrara was a group of painters which flourished in the Duchy of Ferrara during the Renaissance. Ferrara was ruled by the Este family, well known for its patronage of the arts. Patronage was extended with the ascent of Ercole d'Este I in 1470, and the family continued in power till Alfonso II, Ercole's great-grandson, died without an heir in 1597. The duchy was then occupied in succession by Papal and Austrian forces. The school evolved styles of painting that appeared to blend influences from Mantua, Venice, Lombardy, Bologna, and Florence.
Palazzo Schifanoia is a Renaissance palace in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna (Italy) built for the Este family. The name "Schifanoia" is thought to originate from "schivar la noia" meaning literally to "escape from boredom" which describes accurately the original intention of the palazzo and the other villas in close proximity where the Este court relaxed. The highlights of its decorations are the allegorical frescoes with details in tempera by or after Francesco del Cossa and Cosmè Tura, executed ca 1469–70, a unique survival of their time.
Leonello d'Este was Marquis of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio Emilia from 1441 to 1450. Despite the presence of legitimate children, Leonello was favoured by his father as his successor. In addition, his virtuous qualities, high level of education, and popularity among the common people as well as his formal papal recognition ultimately made him the most suitable heir.
The Duchy of Ferrara was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno River, including the city of Ferrara. The territory that was part of the Duchy was ruled by the House of Este from 1146 to 1597.
Borso d'Este was Duke of Ferrara, and the first Duke of Modena, which he ruled from 1450 until his death. He was a member of the House of Este.
Cesare d'Este was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1597 until his death.
Ercole I d'Este, KG was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. He was a member of the House of Este. He was nicknamed North Wind and The Diamond.
The Decameron, subtitled Prince Galehaut and sometimes nicknamed l'Umana commedia, is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men; they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived of the Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence, it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose.
Tito Vespasiano Strozzi was an Italian Renaissance poet at the Este court of Ferrara, who figures as an interlocutor in Angelo Decembrio's De politia litteraria.
The Biblioteca Estense, was the family library of the marquis and dukes of Este. The exact date of the library's birth is still under speculation, however it is known for certain that the library was in use during the fourteenth century. Whilst it was greatly enriched during the Renaissance years in Ferrara, the library was concretely established in Modena in the beginning of the seventeenth century. It is known as one of the most important libraries in Italy. The library is located, along with the Galleria Estense directly below its collection of artworks, in the Palazzo dei Musei in Modena.
The Galleria Estense is an art gallery in the heart of Modena, centred around the collection of the d’Este family: rulers of Modena, Ferrara and Reggio from 1289 to 1796. Located on the top floor of the Palazzo dei Musei, on the St. Augustine square, the museum showcases a vast array of works ranging from fresco and oil painting to marble, polychrome and terracotta sculpture; musical instruments; numismatics; curios and decorative antiques.
The Bible of Borso d'Este is a two volume manuscript. The illuminated miniatures, work of Taddeo Crivelli and others, were executed between 1455 and 1461. The work is held in the Biblioteca Estense di Modena
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
Franco dei Russi was an Italian painter, active in field of manuscript illumination.
The Gallerie Estensi is a network of three museums and a library, bringing together the collective fruits of artistic production from Ferrara, Modena and Sassuolo in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. The galleries aim to preserve the historic heritage left by the influential House of Este, with a focus on relating their noble past to the local communities at each site.
The Pinacotecta Nazionale is an art gallery in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located on the piano nobile of the Palazzo dei Diamanti, a work of Renaissance architecture by Biagio Rossetti, commissioned by Leonello d’Este in 1447. Not to be confused with the Civic Museum on the lower floor, which has hosted temporary exhibitions of contemporary art since 1992, the Pinacoteca houses a collection of paintings by the Ferrarese School dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It was founded in 1836 by the Municipality of Ferrara after Napoleon's widespread dissolution of churches threatened the protection of important public artworks. The gallery is formed as much around notable northern Italian painters as it is around the exquisite interior decoration of the palace itself, together with remnants of frescoes from local churches and later acquisitions from the Sacrati Strozzi collection.
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