Lomazzo crespi busca three unconventional lombard paintings - Matteo Lampertico
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lomazzo crespi busca
three unconventional lombard paintings
COPERTINA_LAMPERTICO_GIUGNO_2017.indd 1 14/06/17 06:31
lomazzo crespi busca
three unconventional lombard paintings
Edited by
Francesco Frangi, Alessandro Morandotti and Mauro Pavesi
LONDON ART WEEK 30 June − 7 July 2017
M&L FINE ART
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contents
Front cover: Photographic credits 4| Giovan Paolo Lomazzo (attributed to)
Daniele Crespi, Apollo and Marsyas (and a contest between Apollo and Pan) © 2017, Paolo Vandrasch, Milano Saint George and the Dragon
detail © 2017, Foto Scala, Florence, courtesy Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
by Mauro Pavesi
© 2017, Matthew Hollow, London
Lomazzo, Crespi, Busca. Three Unconventional Lombard Paintings 14 | Daniele Crespi
edited by Francesco Frangi, Alessandro Morandotti and Mauro Pavesi
Apollo and Marsyas (and a contest between Apollo and Pan)
Graphic project, cover and layout by Alessandro Morandotti
© Fabio Vittucci
24 | Antonio Busca
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any The Philosopher and the Courtier
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recor- by Francesco Frangi
ding, or any storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing
from the publisher.
First edition: June 2017
giovan paolo lomazzo (attributed to) (Milan 1538-1592) Saint George and the Dragon Oil on copper, 56.5 x 43.4 cm The painting is being presented as a work of the painting on the left there is the sidelong an exquisitely Mannerist conception. It is – in trajectory of the horse rearing. The latter appears painterly terms – ideally suited to be represented to be dressed up for a game or tournament rather in smaller dimensions. The image itself is built up than for a real battle. The horse dominates a in little, tense strokes that produce a metallic and horrifying dragon twisted around itself, with scintillating pictorial effect. The light, coming a look imbued with blood and a broken spear from the left, reverberates upon the smooth running through his neck. The movement of the surface of the armour with ripples of brilliant steed is re-echoed, on the left, by the escaping colourful flashes of light on the princess’s princess who is fleeing the scene and moving her dress that blows in the wind. Halfway down arms and legs in an agitated way, winding her 1. Giovan Paolo Lomazzo, “La Barca” (“The Boat”), formerly Maison d’Art, Monte Carlo 4 giovan paolo lomazzo saint george and the dragon 5
body in the typical sixteenth-century manner
of the figura serpentinata. The horse’s stance is
clearly inspired by the famous fresco, Marco
Curzio, by Giovanni Antonio Pordenone on the
facade of Palazzo Talenti d’Anna in Venice. This
was an image that was well-known to artists
from the mid-Sixteenth century, thanks also to
the etching taken from it by Niccolò Vicentino1.
The length of the figures and the sophistication
of some of the details (above all the elegant princess
with her complex hairstyle), remind us of the
style of Bernardino Campi from Cremona and his
characteristic – yet cold and cerebral – pictorial
interpretation of the work of Parmigianino, in
which the fluid and delicate rhythm of the great
painter from Emilia and his followers (from
Mazzola Bedoli to Lelio Orsi) cool down into
more perfect forms. Comparisons with the female
figures of some of Bernardino’s works from the
1670’s and the 1680’s are highly significant, from
2. Giovan Paolo Lomazzo, “La Barca” (“The Boat”), detail, for-
the Saint Barbara of the Sant’Antonio Abate merly Maison d’Art, Monte Carlo
altarpiece in Milan (1565) to the Santa Cecilia
in the altarpiece of San Sigismondo in Cremona
(1566) and to the Magdalene in the Pietà with on the other hand, is more “grammatically
Saints in Brera (1574)2. Furthermore, there is incorrect” than Bernardino Campi’s work.
also a more generic relationship with some other This unusual, manifold pictorial sensitivity is
works, in the rather evident movement of the arms also highly visible in the more rippling and
and hands (that are datable to the period from tense application of colour that, in the same
the 1540’s to the 1560’s), to the artists Giulio and way, distinguishes itself both from the polished
Antonio Campi from Cremona (but not relatives Parmigianinesque calligraphy of Bernardino
of Bernardino). This relationship may also be and from the softer and more “rubbery” work
observed in some characteristic choices of colour, of Giulio and Antonio Campi. The proportions
such as dull green, golden yellow, orange-red and of the characters’ bodies are also striking – with
light blue. their hands and their heads slightly over-sized –
None of these similarities are however so as is the spirited expression of the warrior Saint
evident as to produce an actual attribution. in rigorous profile with his pronounced hooked
Indeed, compared to the cold and rarefied nose and large dark eyes.
elegance of attributed works by Bernardino, to If we look at all those artists who worked
the fluid and curvaceous style of Giulio Campi around the figure of Bernardino Campi in the
and to the more intense realism – marked and 1560’s and the 1570’s (thus avoiding any form
familiar – of Antonio Campi, the Saint George of research into a follower of the aforementioned
reveals the signs of a temperament that, on one Giulio and Antonio Campi, more difficult in terms
hand, is more intellectual and cerebral than the of our attribution in that they were without the large
one by Giulio and Antonio Campi but that, and articulated entourage of their fellow painter)
6 giovan paolo lomazzo saint george and the dragon 73. Giovan Paolo Lomazzo,
Self-Portrait, Pinacoteca di
Brera, Milan, courtesy Ministe-
ro per i Beni e le Attività Cultu-
rali / Raffaello Bencini/Archivi
Alinari, Florence
we need to discard any hypothesis that points in Milanese, Giovan Paolo Lomazzo (1538-92),
the direction of Carlo Urbino, Giuseppe Meda, known especially as one of the most important
Giovanni Antonio Sacchiense and the little-known theorists of Mannerism. He was also an important
Lattanzio Grassi3. None of these painters more or artist and his uncommon pictorial repertoire is,
less linked to Bernardino Campi appear, in any still today, in need of being rediscovered.
case, to be recognisable in terms of style when Indeed, there are several elements that
compared to the painting under examination, in are compatible with the artistic “manner” of
the application of minute and at times irregular Lomazzo. If, for example, we look at the pictorial
colour and in its unusual “loaded” sensitivity. On construction of the Saint George – with his head
the contrary, some of these characteristics may in such perfect profile almost like a pivot for the
on the other hand be found in the works of the twisted rotation of a body in a pose that is slightly
8 giovan paolo lomazzo saint george and the dragon 9unstable – we witness the characteristic motif of bathed in profile by the slightest of reflections
the painting of the artist, more than visible in the and with an almost “meaty” consistence. This is
characters positioned to the sides in the frescoes a particular detail that is almost identical to the
of the Adoration of the Magi and the Adoration crown of a vine-leaf that runs around the straw
of the Shepherds in Santa Maria Nuova in hat worn by Lomazzo himself in his Self-Portrait
Caronno (works that have been documented with as an Abbot of the Accademia della Val di Blenio
certainty)4 or in the figure of the Saint John in the today at the Pinacoteca di Brera (fig. 3). Even
Crucifixion (signed), previously in San Giovanni a more generic element (although in no way
in Conca in Milan and today in the Valmadrera evidential) such as the mannequin-like rigidity
parish church5. The design of the face, with in the movement of the characters (as in the
large sunken almost almond-shaped eyes, is also posture of the princess which would appear to
typical of the works of Lomazzo and may be bring to mind the Leonardesque drawings of the
compared to more than just one similar feature in so-called Huygens Codex) is clearly compatible
signed or documented works, such as the profiles with Lomazzo’s painting.
of the Saint Paul on the altarpiece of the Foppa If it is to be accepted, the attribution of the
Chapel in San Marco, Milan, the Virgin in the Saint George and the Dragon might however find
Crucifixion at the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, and further confirmation in problematic works such
the Christ in the two Agonies in the Garden in as the mysterious mythological – or allegorical?
San Carlo al Corso, Milan, and the Pinacoteca – image known as “La Barca” (“The Boat”, figg.
Ambrosiana, Milan6 (in this last painting the 1-2), today on the antique market (with the female
design of the hands also reminds us of the similar figure to the left that is in no way dissimilar to
feature in the figure of the princess in the copper the princess fleeing the dragon and saved by the
work with Saint George). Even the rare and warrior Saint)7, or such as another little-known
fortuitous combination of the white-pink colour, painting with the Suicide of Cleopatra in a full-
visible in the matching of the horse’s plumes length representation at the Musée Girodet in
to the fair colouring of the animal, is an aspect Montargis8, in which, among other things, there
that frequently comes back in Lomazzo’s artistic is a bush similar to the one in the painting under
repertoire, in one of the steeds in the processions examination. There are other similarities, too that,
of the Adoration of the Magi at Caronno and in although not irrefutable, are nevertheless a useful
the dress of the Virgin in the Crucifixion in Brera. support in these hypotheses. I am referring to the
In a “difficult” painter like Lomazzo, often diagonal lance at the bottom of the painting that
able to change face and to transform his own is throwing some shadow onto the ground (in the
pictorial ductus even in the space of one same same position as the sword of Saint Paul in the
painting (valid examples are the Noli me tangere altarpiece in Milan at San Marco), or the way of
now at the Pinacoteca in Vicenza and the drawing the double drapes of the princess, open
altarpiece of the Foppa Chapel in San Marco into two folds over her stomach and on her legs in
in Milan), minor yet distinctive details are the movement and fluctuating in opposite directions.
ones that often aid in the recognition of a work The complicated twirls of these garments are to
– details that are either identical or, in any case, be found, as a matter of fact, in many figures of
very similar and that cross over the various multi-coloured angels that populate the glory of
changes in the style of the artist. Among these the angels in the apse of the Foppa Chapel, the
details, the way in which the little vegetable utmost fantastical artistic display by the painter.
bushes are painted beneath the horse’s hooves However, beyond any sort of attribution of
is extremely significant, with semi-wilted leaves, the painting to the unique repertoire of Lomazzo
10 giovan paolo lomazzo saint george and the dragon 11(which should be taken with a degree of caution), more mature years of his artistic production, 1 On the chiaroscuro print of Marco Curzio: M. Muraro, A Id. in Le meraviglie dell’arte. Important Old Master Paintings,
the high quality of the painting is, in any case, from the style of Bernardino and Antonio Rosand, Tiziano e la silografia veneziana del Cinquecento, Venice exhibition catalogue [Monte Carlo, Maison d’Art, 2005], pp. 43-48.
of considerable importance as is the sophisticated Campi, setting himself up as the standard bearer 1976, p. 138. 8 On the Cleopatra: F. Elsig, Cléopatredans le miroir de l’art
application of colour (which has been well and defender of the Leonardesque traditions of 2 On the altarpiece of Sant’Antonio Abate (1565): G. Bora occidental, exhibition catalogue [Geneva 2004], edited by C.
preserved despite some surface paint loss on the Milanese School. This was a tradition that in Pittura a Milano. Rinascimento e Manierismo, edited by M. Ritschard, Milan 2004, pp. 92-93; G. Kazerouni, L’automne de
the face and the hands of the princess). There is, was undermined in those years – a period that Gregori, Milan 1998, p. 270; for the altarpiece of Brera (inv. 331): la Renaissance: d’Arcimboldo à Caravage, exhibition catalogue
moreover, a pictorial ductus (or style) that is more more or less coincided with the episcopate of Id. in I Campi e la cultura artistica cremonese del Cinquecento, [Nancy, 2013] edited by C. Stoullig, F. Collette, Paris 2013, pp.
irregular in comparison with the techniques of Carlo Borromeo (1560-84)11 – by the “invasion” exhibition catalogue [Cremona 1985] edited by M. Gregori, 300-301; for the attribution to Lomazzo: Pavesi, New insights, cit.
those artists from Parma or Cremona, and also in of painters hailing from Cremona or, more Milan 1985, pp. 167-168; for the altarpiece of San Sigismondo: 9 Please see the works by G. Bora, Da Leonardo all’Accademia
comparison with the aptly called “Second School generally, from eastern Lombardy. M.C. Rodeschini Galati in Pittura a Cremona dal Romanico al della Val di Bregno: Giovan Paolo Lomazzo, Aurelio Luini e i
of Fontainebleau”, a movement whose imitators In particular, by appearing onto the scene Settecento, edited by M. Gregori, Milan 1990, p. 273; M. Tanzi, I disegni degli accademici, in «Raccolta Vinciana», XXIII, 1989, pp.
sometimes showed a style that was insidiously in Milan in the early 1550’s, Bernardino Campi Campi, Milan 2004, p. 27. 73-101; F. Porzio, Lomazzo e il realismo grottesco: un capitolo del
close to the late Lombard or Emilian Mannerism. had initially attracted into his circle some young, 3 On Sacchiense: C. Furlan, Un inedito di Antonio Sacchiense, primitivismo del Cinquecento, in Rabisch. Il grottesco nell’arte
Details of the utmost elegance and sophis- local painters such as Giuseppe Meda and, also, in «Kronos» 13, 2009, pp. 103-108; on Grassi (author of an del Cinquecento, exhibition catalogue [Lugano 1998] edited
tication come to the forefront here, such as the Lomazzo, whose artistic training with Giovan interesting altarpiece at Calolziocorte, near Lecco): G. Virgilio, by M. Kahn-Rossi, F. Porzio, Milan 1998, pp. 23-36; F. Rinaldi,
whimsical image of the dragon twisted around Battista della Cerva, a pupil of Gaudenzio, had Lattanzio Grassi e la bella pala cinquecentesca di San Martino a Bernardino Luini «mediolanensis», Aurelio Luini e Giovan
itself. The mocking faces in the middle ground hastened in him a certain amount of impatience12. Calolziocorte, in «Trapassato presente», 1, 2009, pp. 31-50. Paolo Lomazzo: disegni firmati tra autografia e documento, in
(quite similar to the caricatural drawings of the Throughout the 1570’s, when Campi had 4 For the documentary evidence of the frescoes in Caronno, «HortiHesperidum» 4, 2014, pp. 9-57.
Accademia della Val di Blenio, now at the Pina- already antagonised most of the local painters that, as a matter of fact, Lomazzo never mentioned in his writings 10 Please see for example: G. Romano in Gaudenzio Ferrari e
coteca Ambrosiana in Milan)9, dressed in unusual with his various intrigues in order to obtain the (although payment is documented for 1566): P. C. Marani, Un la sua scuola. I cartoni cinquecenteschi dell’Accademia Albertina,
clothes and exotic head garments which remind sought-after commissions of the Gonfalone di dipinto poco noto di Bernardino Campi e la Scuola di Carità di exhibition catalogue [Turin 1982], Turin 1982, p. 252.
us of Caucasian costumes. The unusual setting Sant’Ambrogio and the altarpieces of the organ of Caronno Milanese, in «Arte Lombarda», 49, 1978, pp. 16-23, 11 G. Bora, Milano nell’età di Lomazzo e di San Carlo:
of the scene should also be noted since it would the Cathedral, Lomazzo also made him the object p. 16, n. 8; P. Zaffaroni, in Chiesa della Purificazione. Caronno riaffermazione e difficoltà di sopravvivenza di una cultura, in
appear to have been set near a fortress with the of rather heavy criticism in his writings, both in Pertusella, Florence 2007, pp. 198-205. Rabisch, cit., pp. 23-36.
heavy grating of a wooden gate. his works of poetry later collected in his volume 5 For the Crucifixion of Valmadrera (signed with the 12 G. Romano in Gaudenzio Ferrari, cit., p. 252.
If we return to the aforementioned attribution of the Grotteschi (published in 1587) and in the monogramme «PL»): F. Moro, Per il censimento delle opere d’arte 13 Ibid.
hypothesis, it might be important to remember pages of the Trattato (released in 1584)13. della provincia di Lecco, in «Museo vivo», 3, 1993, pp. 4-16, p. 11; 14 R.P. Ciardi, Lomazzo, Giovan Paolo, in Dizionario
that – as already often mentioned by scholars of If the attribution was proven, the copper work for the provenance from San Giovanni in Conca: L. Lanzeni, Due biografico degli italiani, vol. 65, Rome 2005, pp. 462-463.
considerable authority (Giulio Bora and Giovanni with the Saint George might be a further example ‘Crocifissioni’ di Giovan Paolo Lomazzo già nella chiesa milanese 15 We may understand this from a rhyme by Lorenzo Toscano
Romano) Lomazzo in his own theoretical writings of Lomazzo’s skill at undertaking precious little di S. Giovanni in Conca, in «Proporzioni», n.s., IV, 2003, pp. 39- in Lomazzo’s poetic autobiography in his Rime (Milan 1587, p.
– which deserve to be taken, as with all autobio- paintings of smaller dimensions, along with the 78; on the chronology: M. Pavesi, New insights on Giovan Paolo 544): ideally speaking to the Tuscan artist he praises him for having
graphical texts, with a certain amount of caution evocative painting with the Agonies in the Garden Lomazzo’s artistic career, in From Theory to Practice. Lomazzo’s grappled with an attempt to imitate «l’occhio di Tizian, / la forza
– had done everything in his power to conceal his of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the twin painting aesthetic principles reflected in the art of his time, conference immensa / ne i moti» portraying Castaldo as «grave di furor».
previous affinity (personal and, in all probability, with the Crucifixion signed and dated 1565 – proceedings [Boston, RSA panel 2016] edited by L. Tantardini,
also stylistic) with Bernardino Campi, to the ac- unfortunately taken from this latter institute in Boston-Leiden 2017, currently being printed.
tual point that he even omitted to mention any the 1960’s (visible however in an unpublished 6 Please see both F. Rosi in Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, vol.
reference to his early work of the frescoes in San- photograph, known to scholars including Roberto II, Milan 2006, pp. 161-165 e F. Porzio in Rabisch. Il grottesco
ta Maria Nuova at Caronno (1560-65)10, under- Paolo Ciardi)14 – and works such as the «picciol nell’arte del Cinquecento, exhibition catalogue [Lugano 1998]
taken in the presbytery of the same church that quadro» - small picture – that reproduced the edited by M. Kahn-Rossi, F. Porzio, Milan 1998, pp. 315-316.
housed an altarpiece by the artist from Cremona. Titian-like portrait of Giovan Battista Castaldo, a 7 For the painting please see: B. Agosti, Lungo la Paullese
After having studied these works with work that is now lost and of which Giovan Paolo 2 (verso Milano), in Quattro pezzi lombardi (for Maria Teresa
youthful admiration around the sixth and the mentions in his rhyming autobiography15. Binaghi), Brescia 1998, pp. 125-141, 1997 p. 139 (as a Milanese
beginning of the seventh decade of the Sixteenth painter «between Figino and Lomazzo»); M. Tanzi, Il capolavoro
century, Lomazzo detached himself, in the later, Mauro Pavesi rudolfino di Paolo Piazza, in «Prospettiva» 103-104, 2001, p. 155;
12 giovan paolo lomazzo saint george and the dragon 13daniele crespi
(Milan? 1597/1600 – 1630)
Apollo and Marsyas
(and a contest between Apollo and Pan)
Oil on board, 69 x 123.4 cm
The painting, executed upon a trapezoidal board, of musical instruments, in particular stringed
was originally the lid of a harpsichord. The lower instruments with a keyboard1. Since we know
corners were a relatively modern addition that the original use of this wooden board we should
was intended to regulate the overall shape. The not be surprised by the lack of attention that had
recent pictorial “neutral” restoration - in tone been paid to the preparation and finish of the
with the background - has enabled the spectator surface as would have been usual in a painting
to see more clearly the original perimeter of the intended as part of a picture gallery in a large
wooden board. room. The swift and thin spread of colour inter-
The back part of the support, or what can feres to a certain extent with the wooden veining
actually be seen in those areas saved from the without forgetting that the corrugated effect of
parquetry that had been applied when the the surface (especially in the figure of Apollo)
painting was transformed into a quadro a stanza, is accentuated by the natural movements of the
was decorated with a pattern that attempted to wood. The speed and the experimental charac-
imitate wooden veining so as to suggest a finish ter of the painting are emphasised by numerous
that would be suitable for a board utilised as the pentimenti – second thoughts – that are visible
cover for a musical instrument. to the naked eye in many of the work’s features.
Knowing the original function of the painting Some stucco work and pictorial touches seen
has been highly significant. The choice of wood under a black light concern the joint lines of the
– poplar or lime wood – is immediately very evi- rectangular portion of the board at the top left
dent since these were woods that were noted for that was originally a mobile flap intended to
their excellent harmonious features and there- protect the keyboard. The now concealed inser-
fore exceedingly suitable for the construction tion is made up of two wooden segments, one
1. Agnolo Bronzino, Contest between Apollo and Marsyas, Hermitage, Saint Petersburg (in the early XVII Century in Milan, where attri-
buted to Correggio)
14 daniele crespi apollo and marsyas (and a contest between apollo and pan) 152. Daniele Crespi, The rest
on the flight into Egypt,
Princeton University Art
Museum, Princeton
shorter (8.5 x 4.5 cm) and one more extended cal contests between Apollo and the two satyrs,
(8.5 x 87.5 cm), both made with the rest of the Marsyas and Pan, are illustrated. These contests
table since the paint is coherent with the sur- were described in many ancient literary sources
rounding areas. (the most fortunate of these tales is the highly and
The choice of the subject is coherent with a almost contextual one – in this particular case – of
work made to accompany a musical instrument. the two stories in Ovid’s Metamorphoses: VI, 703-
In two episodes played out in a sequence of ideal 708; XI, 146-193). These episodes, assembled
continuity, we may follow the visual translation here in order to ideally re-evoke the “labours”
of two famed mythological stories where, in a of Apollo and his incomparable musical talent,
sort of iconographical contamination, the musi- were especially loved by painters in the Baroque
16 daniele crespi apollo and marsyas (and a contest between apollo and pan) 173. Daniele Crespi, Fall of Saint Paul, Blanton
Museum of Art, Austin
age since they offered so many opportunities to cipal scene, the choice of the point of view is ex-
translate onto the surface of the picture the most tremely dynamic and the composition is wholly
varied expressions and behaviour. original with regard to the techniques adopted
To the right at the back, in a sequence of by numerous painters of the Seventeenth century
small figures, there is the musical challenge be- who were engaged in interpreting this popular
tween Apollo and Pan (recognisable by his goats’ iconographical subject (although the setting of
feet, an attribute that distinguishes him from the story within a close-up frame on one single
Marsyas) positioned symmetrically to the sides board is not unusual). Marsyas faces Apollo and,
of King Midas who, according to the literary tale, although his hands are tied behind his back and
was given the ears of an ass after he had failed his body has been partially flayed, he is not yet
to agree with the favourable verdict. In the cen- entirely subjugated as he would mostly appear in
tre of the painting, in a sequence of larger figures, those other paintings that told the same story in
the punishment of Marsyas is represented – a which the satyr is also tied to a tree or the trunk
punishment that is decreed by Apollo’s victory of a tree and thus rendered harmless. The prom-
and sanctioned by the Muses. Here, in the prin- inent figures are almost projected towards the
18 daniele crespi apollo and marsyas (and a contest between apollo and pan) 194. Daniele Crespi, Fall of Saint
Paul, detail, Blanton Museum of
Art, Austin
spectator and they move in a play of contrasting of the Seventeenth century, a period in which
studies upon a real stage setting supported merely painters dear to him (Morazzone and Cerano,
by the presence of the musical instruments of the but also Giulio Cesare Procaccini), were “bearers
contest, placed symbolically on the ground as in- of the most spiritual Mannerism that Italy had
dicators of the contenders. We are witness to an ever enjoyed until that time” and were defined
agility test that portrays a ballet scene or, even, a as “swordsmen of the sacristy”3. Indeed, one’s
moment of physical exercise. mind, at this point, rushes to Jacob’s Struggle
The painting is rare testimony to the artistic with the Angel by Morazzone, in the collections
production of unreligious works in the Milan of the Archbishopric of Milan, now at the
of the Borromeo archbishops. It combines Diocesan Museum in the same city. Longhi, in
the uniqueness of the subject – at least in that that very same study, went on to mention the
particular city noted above all for its religious type and the character of the figures, still highly
production “in a certain manner unequalled in recognisable on account of the “elegant dimples”
Europe”2 – with the special nature of the original (with a most probable reference to Procaccini or
function. “sweeter works” by Cerano and by Morazzone).
With just a little bit of imagination, it is not He may even have been making a reference to
very difficult to attribute to this painting the an intended play of contrasts, on account of
explosive definitions that Longhi launched at the “cruel wounds” (here Longhi was most
the characterisation of the stylistic and cultural certainly referring to the most dramatic scenes in
climate of painting in Lombardy in the early part Morazzone’s or Cerano’s works). Lastly, Longhi
20 daniele crespi apollo and marsyas (and a contest between apollo and pan) 21mentioned “sentiment and rancour” as typical working life that was prematurely interrupted by The very close relationship with the painting more macabre aspects.
characters of Lombard painting of that age. his death. at Austin, which Crespi had to work on At first sight, therefore, the painting would
This is all that this painting enables us to This painting was on the division line that immediately following - or practically at the same appear to be a tribute to the works of painters
see. It is perfectly aligned with that everlasting ideally separated the two phases of the artist and time as – the newly re-discovered Apollo and from his homeland (the so-called pestanti dear
Lombard Mannerism in its counterpoint between is around the year 1620. Marsyas, is further documented by the identical to Giovanni Testori), studied in his early years
the sweet and graceful bright figure of the young The perfection in terms of design and the style of the light ochre drapes that are blowing as a painter (those by Cerano, among the most
Apollo (“Olympian swordsman”, to paraphrase plastic quality of the anatomies of the figures in harmonious spirals around the legs of the important). However, if we look more closely at
Longhi) and the wild and evil (Longhi would (well-defined in outline) as well as the types figure of Apollo and, in the case of the American the result of such an artistic endeavour, we can
say “rancorous”) Marsyas, distinguished by of faces and the shining consistence of the painting, they embellish with a sash the armour see that Crespi, even in consideration of the fact
his dark and taut skin, like those devils that complexions are also to be found in other known of the soldier in the background. Rendered more that the subject would have enabled him to do
punctuate Morazzone’s Last Judgement in the works by the artist, even though the “rough” and noticeable by similar bright crests, the fabrics are so, was not able to compete in terms of cruelty
Chapel of the Buona Morte in Novara. A further essential nature of the painting, prepared without animated by vortexes in the folds that emphasise and drama with his immediate predecessors,
reference might also be made to the ungodly and the attentions made for a “gallery” painting, the excitement in the movements of the figures. thus highlighting in this case, too, the classical
reprehensible butcher (also by Morazzone) who would, to some extent, point away from the The freedom that Daniele Crespi enjoyed composure and the moderate temperament that
acts as the pivot of the entire composition of the quest for any sophisticated painting techniques when he chose to interpret such an unusual were innate qualities that belonged solely to him.
Martyrdom of Saint Rufina and Saint Seconda (a and rich colours (I am referring in particular to subject in his artistic production without
painting by the three artists Cerano, Procaccini the figure of Apollo) which were normally found referring to past models is surprising. Yet, in Alessandro Morandotti
and Morazzone) at Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan. in works by the Lombard painter. Milan, in a collection that was almost a non-
Even though it is not easy to fully appreciate There are many potential comparisons to be institutionalised artistic academy during Crespi’s
the artist’s non-religious production, if we ex- made at this point and they are all with works by years of professional training, there was one 1 Concerning the nature of the lid of this harpsichord, I have
clude his more celebrated portraits, this painting the artist that were painted around 1620. The type possible reference point. I am referring to the been able to consult the description written for the Matteo Lampertico
is spectacular proof of the early artistic produc- of face used for Apollo is almost superimposable Contest between Apollo and Marsyas (fig. 1), at gallery by an expert of musical instruments, Augusto Bonza.
tion of Daniele Crespi. with the face of the angels and the Virgin in the that time considered to be a work by Correggio 2 G. Bora, La pittura del Seicento nelle province occidentali
The energetic modelling of the figures in this painting at the Princeton University Art Museum and kept in the collection of Pirro I Visconti lombarde, in La pittura in Italia. Il Seicento, edited by M. Gregori,
Apollo and Marsyas are those typical of Crespi’s (fig. 2), whilst the small sketched figures in the Borromeo (1560-1604), at the nymphaeum of E. Schleier, Milan 1988, I, p. 77.
early work, since the time when he worked with background are similar to the soldiers in the Lainate (today at the Hermitage with an updated 3 R. Longhi, L’Assereto [1926], in Opere complete di Roberto
Moncalvo in the Church of San Vittore al Corpo distance in the Saint Sebastian at the Musée des attribution to Bronzino, made by Hermann Voss Longhi, II. Saggi e ricerche 1925-1928, Florence 1967, I, p. 36.
in Milan (1619 circa). This was a period of his Beaux-Arts in Brest6. at the beginning of the Twentieth century7). 4 F. Frangi, Daniele Crespi. La giovinezza ritrovata, Milan 2012.
production that the volume by Francesco Frangi4 However, it is the Fall of Saint Paul, previously In this particular case, too, it was a painting 5 Ivi, p. 8.
has studied in some considerable depth. It was a in the Suida Manning Collection and now at that had started out as the lid of a musical 6 Ivi, fig. 35.
moment in which the artist engaged in mutual the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin (Texas), instrument, most probably commissioned by 7 For those events regarding this painting, A. Morandotti, Milano
glances at the work of the so-called “Maestro of the most important piece of the painter’s early Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, profana nell’età dei Borromeo, Milan 2005, pp. 12, 77, note 14.
San Sebastiano Monti”, his alter ego in the years artistic production (figg. 3-4), that has played from the Florentine painter. Daniele Crespi must
from 1618 to 1620 and informal experimenter of a guiding role in confirmation of the work’s have looked at that illustrious precedent before
sketches and of figures in athletic spirals. Daniele attribution. The movement of Apollo’s arm that his very eyes, and perhaps merely drew from it
Crespi yearned then for a “restless and hyper- is pulling Marsyas’ skin during the latter’s flaying the inspiration for the elegant movement of the
sensitive artistic vein” and “did not hesitate to is the same as the one of the young soldier who is wrist of Apollo during the “vivisection” and the
welcome into his work the testy expressivity of holding the reins of the wild horse after the fall idea of integrating an episode of the story to the
painters from the previous generation”5. Crespi of Saul. Furthermore, the face of this very same background. In the painting that had previously
undertook this particular direction in order to soldier has, in the emphasis of his amazement been understood to be by Correggio, the rarefied
achieve a measured and tranquil style in the name at the miraculous conversion of the first king of dispersion of the figures in the landscape was not,
of accuracy in design and artistic exchange with Israel, spirited and loaded tones that are perfectly however, most of all suitable for a painter in the
the great classic painters from Emilia. This was a suited to those expressed by Marsyas on account newly-arrived Baroque age, since it highlighted
turning point in the later years of his all too short of the torture he is going through. the scene in the foreground and emphasised the
22 daniele crespi apollo and marsyas (and a contest between apollo and pan) 23antonio busca (Milan, 1625 – 1684) The Philosopher and the Courtier Oil on canvas, 74.9 x 98.5 cm This work had not previously been the subject of artist’s name (fig.3)2, and the elderly character any literary criticism and has been mentioned by in the painting, Lot and his Daughters, signed the author of this essay as a work from the early “A.B.”, once at Alfonsi Old Master Paintings in career of Antonio Busca, a Milanese painter who Vicenza and recognised as a work by Busca by was active throughout the central years of the Alessandro Morandotti (fig.1)3. When carefully Seventeenth century1. Such an attribution has observing this latter example, it is not difficult been based, first of all, on the representation to pick out the very same glazed quality in the of the philosopher portrayed on the right. This painting; a quality that also distinguishes the cur- image entirely corresponds to other paintings by rent painting under examination. The gestures of this artist. Further examples are represented by the characters in Lot and his Daughters are also the Saint Joseph in the early work of The Holy similar to our current example – as may be seen Family once at the Galerie Canesso in Paris, in the comparison between the philosopher’s left bearing on the back an old inscription with the hand and the right hand (almost identical from 1. Antonio Busca, Lot and his Daughters, formerly Alfonsi Old Master Paintings, Vicenza 24 antonio busca the philosopher and the courtier 25
2. Antonio Busca, Saint Augustin and Saint Ambrose, formerly Galleria Zabert, Turin
a design point of view) of Lot’s daughter on the Overall, Busca’s work stands out on account
right in the above painting. of the artist’s choice of a stylistic language
Therefore, I do not believe that there may that is set upon a solid academic basis which
be any doubt concerning the authenticity of this distinguishes him from other (slightly older)
work as being from Busca’s repertoire – a painting personalities of the Baroque in Lombardy such as
that is evocative and thoughtfully arranged and Francesco Cairo, the brothers, Carlo Francesco
highly important in emphasising the significant and Giuseppe Nuvolone and Giovanni Stefano
status of Busca as an artist in the Seventeenth Montalto. All these artists were influenced – to
century. Antonio Busca was thus excluded from differing degrees – by the pictorial ability of
any re-evaluation of the painting of the Seventeenth painters like Van Dyck or those who were part
century in Lombardy that had been carried out by and parcel of the great artistic traditions of
scholars in the latter part of the Twentieth century. Genoa throughout the Seventeenth century.
Indeed, Busca was one of the main players in the The different artistic course that Antonio
figurative art of the time: a role that was sanctioned Busca took compared to his fellow Lombard
– among other things – by his nomination in 1668 painters was due, in all probability, to the study
as the painting professor at Milan’s newly-founded trip to Rome that painter made in 1650, along
Accademia Ambrosiana. with his peer – of almost the same age – Giovanni
26 antonio busca the philosopher and the courtier 273. Antonio Busca, The Holy Family, formerly
Galerie Canesso, Paris
Ghisolfi4. The latter painter was also Milanese chronological terms regarding the artist’s work in
and both artists were able to learn the latest the 1650’s is represented by this afore-mentioned
trends in the classical culture that was in fashion lost Milanese fresco. From this perspective, the
at that time in the city of the Popes. Proof of this discovery of the painting under discussion here
immersion in those highly contemporary trends acquires a particular significance since there are
was the now lost fresco featuring the Nobilium consistent reasons that lead us to presume that it
Sapientia – a finely measured composition – that was indeed realised by Busca during those very
had once been in the Palazzo of the Giureconsulti years that came immediately after his sojourn in
in Milan (1653-1656). This work may now only central Italy. To further support this hypothesis,
be admired in old photographs5. is the highly rare iconographical design of the
However, it is the period just after the Roman work – oriented towards philosophical subjects –
sojourn that appears to us to be the most difficult which has very strongly settled upon the subject
phase of the Antonio Busca’s career to reconstruct of Vanitas. This is in perfect harmony with the
considering that the only fundamental certainty in subjects frequented in Rome by Salvator Rosa in
28 antonio busca the philosopher and the courtier 29the mid-Seventeenth century. Salvator Rosa was Even though all of these writings and allegorical sia la Pietra di filosofi8, in which he analyses the 1 F. Frangi, in La collezione Lemme cinquant’anni dopo,
a painter who Busca most certainly knew and allusions examined until now have conformed subject of the philosopher’s stone, that is, the edited by A. Agresti, Rome 2016, p. 59, fig. 2. The reference to
frequented during the time he spent in the Eternal to the iconographical traditions of Vanitas, search for the incorruptibility of matter within Busca was later reconfirmed by V. Sgarbi, Un filosofo drammatico,
City in 1650. This is also apparent from the fact elements that are decidedly less predictable – or hermetic and alchemic culture. This is a piece in ‘Sette’, 7-4-2017, p. 31.
that his travelling companion, Giovanni Ghisolfi, obvious - are provided by other details present in of research that the author intended in order to 2 F. Frangi, in Giovan Battista Discepoli detto lo Zoppo da
had decided to work in the city, as soon as he had the painting - details that are highly significant underline this misleading dimension, to prove Lugano. Un protagonista della pittura barocca in Lombardia,
arrived, right beside Salvator Rosa, specialising in in any attempt made to fully understand the that the only true philosopher’s stone that was exhibition catalogue edited by F. Frangi and A. Bernardini
the depiction of ancient ruins. work in question. I am alluding both to the able to guarantee the purification of Mankind (Rancate, Pinacoteca Zust, 14 September – 25 November 2001),
Considering that also from a strictly stylistic large urn that lies to the right of the philosopher was to be recognised in the Christian God9. Milan 2001, p. 114.
point of view this painting would seem to with the inscription, “Cineres / Hermetis”, and Once we have understood all of this new 3 Please see the description of the scholar in the brochure
reveal Salvator Rosa’s fresh, rough-edged and to the pile of books on the table upon whose information, it is no longer difficult to compre- dedicated to the painting and edited by Galleria Alfonsi in 2013
dramatically chiaroscuro style, all indicators spines two further inscriptions may be read: hend how Antonio Busca’s painting was conceived (the painting was then sold at Dorotheum, Vienna (9-4-2014,
point the attribution of a date very soon after “Pietra dei filosofi / detta / Athanatophilia” and with the explicit intention of providing – in visual lot 863). It is interesting to add that previously the abbreviation
the Roman sojourn, during a period that was “Che à nessun piace il morire”. All in all, these terms – what had been described and argued over “A.B.” was interpreted as a clue to a reference of the painting to
therefore relatively early in Busca’s professional references enable us to indisputably connect the in the volume from 1596. This is shown not only the Venetian, Antonio Bellucci.
repertoire since at the time he was still in his painting to a text of philosophical and moralistic by the inscriptions on the pile of books (referring 4 The information regarding the Roman trip was provided
thirties. Further confirmation of this would seem contents from a few decades before, namely, the to the whole literary work by Glissenti and to the by P. A. Orlandi, Abecedario pittorico, Bologna 1704, ed. Naples
to be provided by the refined image of the young Discorsi morali contra il dispiacer del morire. treatise on the philosopher’s stone) but also by the 1764, p. 212.
man on the left whose face is covered by shade Detto Athanatophilia by the doctor from Brescia, presence, at the back, of an urn that contained the 5 E. Verga, La Camera dei Mercanti di Milano. Aggiunto un
and still inspired by those characters depicted in Fabio Glissenti (1542-1612), published in Venice ashes of Hermes Trismegistus; a clear reference saggio sul Palazzo dei Giureconsulti dell’ing. P. Bellini, Milan 1914,
the early paintings by Francesco Cairo, that may in 1596, along with the accompaniment of a to the hermetic and alchemic traditions that were tab. on pp. 254-255.
be dated to the 1630’s and early 1640’s6. richly illustrative section taken mostly from the reinterpreted from a Christian perspective by the 6 A further, much later painting, in a similar size and similar
At this point, it is necessary to reflect upon sequence of engravings by Hans Holbein the doctor from Brescia. compositional conception, is most certainly linked to Busca; that is,
the meaning of the evocative representation that Younger and dedicated to the Danza macabra. However, what is more important is the this image of Saint Augustine and Saint Ambrose (fig.2), presented
had been conceived by the artist that revolves Perfectly identifiable with the cultural cli- fact that the relation to the late-Sixteenth cen- years ago as the work of a Lombard painter from the mid-
around an elderly sage who is attired à l’antique mate of the Counter Reformation, the volume tury volume enables us to underline the precise Seventeenth century at the Galleria Zabert in Turin (A. Cifani, in
and who carries a pen in his hand, intent on by Fabio Glissenti contains a central theme identity of the two protagonists in the painting, Gilberto Zabert. Dipinti, disegni e sculture dal XIV al XIX secolo,
teaching an elegant young man who is dressed that is based on a long dialogue taking place obviously the philosopher and the courtier of catalogue n. 35, Turin 1999, n. 16; oil on canvas, 99 x 127.5 cm).
in contemporary clothes and who is listening to over five “days” between a philosopher and a the afore-mentioned dialogue, both represented 7 On the volume by Glissenti and on the entire cultural profile
him in a meditative fashion. The very fact that the courtier who engage in conversation as they by Busca in consideration of the role they both of the doctor and writer from Brescia, please see: L. Piantoni,
philosopher’s “lesson” has as its subject the great walk through the streets and squares of Venice, played in the text. From the eloquent attitude of Morte a Venezia. L’Athanatophilia di Fabio Glissenti, 1596, in
question of Vanitas – or the transient nature of a city in which the author lived7. The main topic the former character – intent on revealing to the Visibile teologia. Il libro sacro figurato in Italia tra Cinque e
earthly life – is spelt out above all else by the large of the conversation, on the part of the philoso- person that he is speaking to the symbols of the Seicento, edited by E. Ardissino and E. Selmi, Rome 2012, pp.
cartouche on the table (beside a pair of spectacles pher, is the attempt to convince the courtier to precarious nature of terrestrial existence – we 221-249.
and a shell-shaped inkwell) upon which one may acquire the awareness of the fleeting character shift our gaze towards the perplexed expression 8 F. Glissenti, Discorsi morali contra il dispiacer del morire.
read the famed motto from the Bible “Vanitas of earthly joys and, consequently, to contemplate of the second figure who, just as the courtier in Detto Athanatophilia, Venice 1596, pp. 565-593.
Vanitatum / et Omnia Vanitas”, taken from the death as a liberating and determined moment in the Athanotiphilia by Fabio Glissenti, prefers to 9 Idem, p. 584.
Latin version of the Ecclesiaste (1,2; 12,8). Equally comparison with the deceptive dimension of our ignore the knowledge that the only virtuous way
explicitly, the symbols of human fragility and existence. These are all topics that the courtier forward for Mankind is in the acceptance and
the inescapable passing of time positioned in the understandably finds difficult to comprehend the contemplation of death.
right part of the painting, also allude to this very and take in lightly. At the end of this dialogue, Francesco Frangi
theme: an oil lamp that is bound to go out after the author has inserted a text entitled Brevissimo
time, an hourglass and a skull. trattato nel quale si discorre moralmente qual
30 antonio busca the philosopher and the courtier 31Printed in June 2017 by Scalpendi editore Srl – Milan – Italy
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