Buontalenti Grotto
Buontalenti Grotto
Vasari, Giorgio and Buontalenti, Bernardo (Arezzo 1511- Florence 1574) (Florence, 1531-Florence, 1608)
1583-1593, Pumice stone and limestone concretions, Three chambers
In 1513, Francesco I, Bernardo Buontalenti’s former student, hired the artist to design a setting for four unfinished marble sculptures by Michelangelo, known as the “Bound Slaves.” The prince wanted a unique display for the sculptures located in the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy. Buontalenti suggested that a rustic grotto of chambers encrusted with stone, shells, frescoes, mosaics, and fountains would create a whimsical atmosphere to house the unfinished sculptures (Rajer 30-31). While many scholars have theorized as to why these sculptures had been crafted to appear half-finished, one theory is that the sculptures reflect Michelangelo’s infamous aesthetic of non-finito, which means half-finished (Ruvoldt 1032-1033). Likewise, Buontalenti used aspects of geometry to create an underground world with aquatic and subterranean elements that gave the illusion of a natural world enhanced and half-finished from creation, emulating Michelangelo’s four statues. In this way, the grotto aimed to mirror the aesthetic of non-finito.
Multiple artists contributed to the creation of the three chambers within the grotto, but Buontalenti is considered the head designer. Piero di Tommasso contributed to the first chamber during the period of 1583-1584 where an Arcadian world of shepherds, sheep, trees and birds decorate the ceiling of the chamber. Additionally, Bernardino Poccetti (1542-1612) contributed to the paintings on the walls and ceilings with a wild fantasy landscape filled with exotic animals such as lions, tigers, monkeys, and birds (“Buontalenti, Bernardo”). Michelangelo’s four Slaves were placed in the corners of this interior space. Because this masterpiece was created during the Renaissance, the artists were consequently liberally educated. In relation to Michelangelo, he came from a higher social stratum, thus he received a liberal education. He was then able to translate his knowledge into art, hence the four sculptures. (Ames-Lewis 20).
The second chamber has a square shape and its walls are decorated with scenes from the Trojan War. The square space symbolizes the four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. The Prince also purchased Vincenso de Rossi’s Theseus and Helen, a statue based on the Trojan War. Moreover, Giusseppi di Lucca decorated the walls of this chamber with murals and shells (Rager 31). Finally, the third chamber is oval in shape. This chamber is beautifully decorated with fountains, with the sculpture the Bathing Venus in its center (“Grotto”). This statue is decorated with flowers and celestial allusions to depict idealized female beauty.
As previously mentioned, during the early Renaissance period, artists began to recognize that a higher intellectual field was vital to their advancement of painting and sculpture from craft to profession. In this case, liberal arts was considered the highest education because only a select population of society had access to this type of education, namely boys from the wealthier strata of society (Ames-Lewis 17-30). Bernardo Buontalenti and the artists who worked alongside him exemplify the power of being liberally educated and the skills earned from this education through their architectural piece, the Buontalenti Grotto.
In sixteenth century Northern Europe, there was a high demand for religious reform, which drastically affected the artistic and intellectual spheres. A humanistic and artistic perspective arose, which laid the foundation of values that eventually contributed to the creation of “humanities” (Mann 1). This humanistic attitude can be derived from a liberal arts education, which includes a focus on language, literature, history, and moral philosophy (Kraye 1). Due to the rise in liberally educated artists, these artists were able to express humanistic values through their artwork, such as: a changed mental attitude toward life, a preference for classical texts, and most important, geometry. By the end of the fifteenth century, the study of geometry was conceived as a vital foundation for an artist’s skills in perspective. (Ames Lewis 17-30). To exemplify the perspective amongst those who were hiring artists during the time, it is stated in The Intellectual Life of the Early Renaissance Artist, “I want the painter, as far as he is able, to be learned in all liberal arts, but I wish him above all to have a good knowledge of geometry.” Subsequently, it is evident that Renaissance artists were preferably liberally educated.
Buontalenti, an Italian architect, engineer, designer, painter, and inventor, was initially hired to tutor Francesco I de’ Medici, the son of the Medici family. (Buontalenti, Bernardo). The Medici family lived in Florence and was a powerful force that contributed to the cultural and intellectual movements of the Renaissance (“Zirpolo Medici Family”). Buontalenti had the ability to tutor Francesco about architecture and engineering because he trained with liberally educated artists such as Francesco Salviati and Giorgio Vasari. This exemplifies that Buontalenti was acquainted with the liberal arts. As he aged, Buontalenti was able to use his education, connections to the Medici family to construct the Buontalenti Grotto. Without a liberal arts education, Buontalenti and his assistants, would not have been able to read and translate Greek texts and use geometry to create their masterpiece.
List of Works Cited
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