In 1910 Elia Volpi bought the Palazzo Davanzati in Florence. The antiquarian renovated the former merchant palazzo into an old Florentine home and filled it with artworks and furniture from the...Show moreIn 1910 Elia Volpi bought the Palazzo Davanzati in Florence. The antiquarian renovated the former merchant palazzo into an old Florentine home and filled it with artworks and furniture from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Question in this thesis is whether Volpi used sources to create his reconstruction of the medieval Renaissance interior and if he used sources, which kind of sources he used.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
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The Jarves Collection, the first collection of early Italian art in the United States, was created by James Jackson Jarves (1818-1888) in Florence in the 1850s, and brought to the USA in 1860...Show moreThe Jarves Collection, the first collection of early Italian art in the United States, was created by James Jackson Jarves (1818-1888) in Florence in the 1850s, and brought to the USA in 1860 hoping to create a “Free Gallery of Art.” Jarves presents medieval and Renaissance Florence as a democratic and religious model for the United States to emulate. The collection thus performed an educational function, literally carrying civilization – in the form of early Italian paintings – to the United States. Considering Jarves’s role within the history of American collecting and reception of Italian art, publications have focused on placing Jarves within the American history of collecting, while giving little thought to underlying structures in Jarves’s motivations and actions in assembling and promoting his collection. As Jarves presents history as a didactic and emancipatory model for the United States, this thesis asks what his stake was in presenting early Italian art as the model of civilization. Limited to the period from the early 1850s, when Jarves starts collecting, until 1871, when the collection was sold to Yale University, this thesis focuses on Jarves’s motivations, placed within contemporary trends. It is split into three parts: the first looks at the underlying structures that influenced the make-up of the collection; the second looks at Jarves's ideas as expressed through his writings, and at their connection to his collection. The final part looks at the Jarves's main aim for his collection: the creation of a national gallery of art for the education of the American public.Show less
King Edward IV of England’s collection of Flemish manuscripts has often been connected to his exile in Burgundy and his friendship with the bibliophile Louis of Gruuthuse. But this king did not...Show moreKing Edward IV of England’s collection of Flemish manuscripts has often been connected to his exile in Burgundy and his friendship with the bibliophile Louis of Gruuthuse. But this king did not start collecting these manuscripts immediately after his exile or his acquaintance with Gruuthuse. This study looks into the question of how Edward IV came to collect Flemish manuscripts by focusing on his known interest in Burgundian culture. As a result, it is argued here that the collection of manuscripts was an expression of this king’s emulation of Burgundian magnificence.Show less
Women in England during the early modern period had relatively little autonomy in pursuing their own goals and in defining their own identity. This was particularly true of married women, who...Show moreWomen in England during the early modern period had relatively little autonomy in pursuing their own goals and in defining their own identity. This was particularly true of married women, who laboured under the restrictions placed upon them by the laws of coverture, which removed many of their legal rights. Upon widowhood, however, a new opportunity for self-expression was immediately presented in the form of the socially-accepted tradition of commissioning a monument commemorating their husband. In this thesis I will examine the process by which these commissions took place and comment upon the difficulties and expectations, as well as the opportunities and motives, faced by widows engaging in this relatively unique form of artistic patronage.Show less
The subject of this MA thesis is the re-erection of the Lateran obelisk in 1588 by Sixtus V (1585-1590). Sixtus had little regard for pagan imperial monuments, and had many destroyed and used as...Show moreThe subject of this MA thesis is the re-erection of the Lateran obelisk in 1588 by Sixtus V (1585-1590). Sixtus had little regard for pagan imperial monuments, and had many destroyed and used as building materials for his urban construction plans. The question arises why, after moving and re-erecting two obelisks that were in plain view, he proceeded to actively have two more excavated and re-erected. Alfred Gell’s Anthropological Theory of Art (ATA) is applied in order to find an answer, and it is concluded that the ATA provides an excellent basis for an analytical approach. Based on the premise that an art object is an extension of the patron and can be assigned partial personhood, the ATA makes it possible to consider people in an object’s “social circle” as both agents and patients. Their relations with the object (which is called the index) and with each-other produce some unexpected insights which provide a partial answer. This thesis also demonstrates that it is possible to consistently apply Gell’s entire theory to a single art object. What is more: the index is considered from different perspectives, as if consisting of different parts, i.e., the technical ingenuity required to excavate and erect it, and its intrinsic sacredness. The analysis shows, among other things, that the obelisk is a representation of itself in imperial times, as if it were a portrait of itself in earlier days. This is another partial answer. It has been found theoretically necessary to alter the ATA’s four term system into a structure of five terms. The theory is stretched even more in the penultimate chapter, which provides some direct insights that are of crucial importance to the answer to the research question.Show less
Although it is widely known and accepted that Titian relied heavily, especially during the later years of his life, on his workshop and assistants for the completion of his works, the exact tasks...Show moreAlthough it is widely known and accepted that Titian relied heavily, especially during the later years of his life, on his workshop and assistants for the completion of his works, the exact tasks of these assistants are never specified. Vasari writes in his life of Titian that his Northern assistants may have painted his landscapes for him. This thesis will look into workshop practice in general, but will focus on the workshop of Titian himself. Also the possible role of the Northern assistants will be discussed.Show less
This research investigates the minor and major decoration in 18 examples of 12th century classical manuscripts from the Leiden Special Collections and formulates the possible use for this...Show moreThis research investigates the minor and major decoration in 18 examples of 12th century classical manuscripts from the Leiden Special Collections and formulates the possible use for this manuscript category.Show less
