This essay is twofold： the first part focuses on the interpretation of the concept of Hell in Dante＇s Inferno and Italian culture as depicted in Last Judgment scenes such as Giotto＇s in the Arena Chapel of Padua; S...This essay is twofold： the first part focuses on the interpretation of the concept of Hell in Dante＇s Inferno and Italian culture as depicted in Last Judgment scenes such as Giotto＇s in the Arena Chapel of Padua; Signorelli＇s in the Orvieto Cathedral; and Michelangelo＇s in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The second part deals with the drawing illustrations for the text of Dante＇s Divine Comedy composed by the Florentine painters Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Here the emphasis is on Dante＇s Inferno, which comments upon Neoplatonic personalities, Florentine politics, and current popular art. Comparisons with some of Botticelli＇s, Stradano＇s, and Zuccaro＇s drawing illustrations indicate the assimilation of classical artistic concepts such as Horace＇s ut pictura poesis [as is painting so is poetry] as well as Plato＇sfurorpoeticus [poetical inspiration] promoted in the writings of Marsilio Ficino, a Renaissance Neoplatonic philosopher.展开更多
In previous studies on the iconographical symbolism revealed in Giorgio Vasari’s fresco decoration for the Cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore(also known as the Dome of Florence,1572-1574),I discussed three points:(1)the...In previous studies on the iconographical symbolism revealed in Giorgio Vasari’s fresco decoration for the Cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore(also known as the Dome of Florence,1572-1574),I discussed three points:(1)the impact of Dante’s Divine Comedy,in particular the Inferno;(2)the influence of Coppo di Marcovaldo’s mosaic decoration on the cupola of the Florentine Baptistery(1300);and(3)the inspiration of Renaissance Neoplatonism in Vasari’s paintings.(Aspects of this study were published in Cheney,2016,pp.488-519;Cheney&Hendrix,2002,pp.177-188;Cheney,1998,pp.35-55;Cheney,1987,pp.1-8).In this essay,I will focus on another iconographical representation:the metaphysical and physical symbolism of the eye(―l’occhio‖)in Vasari’s cupola imagery(Figure 1).This approach will connect with Cosimo Bartoli’s lecture on Dante’s Divine Comedy and,in particular,on Dante’s Purgatorio(Cantos XXX and XXXI)as well as with Vincenzo Borghini’s program for the decoration of the Cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore.展开更多
文摘This essay is twofold： the first part focuses on the interpretation of the concept of Hell in Dante＇s Inferno and Italian culture as depicted in Last Judgment scenes such as Giotto＇s in the Arena Chapel of Padua; Signorelli＇s in the Orvieto Cathedral; and Michelangelo＇s in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The second part deals with the drawing illustrations for the text of Dante＇s Divine Comedy composed by the Florentine painters Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Here the emphasis is on Dante＇s Inferno, which comments upon Neoplatonic personalities, Florentine politics, and current popular art. Comparisons with some of Botticelli＇s, Stradano＇s, and Zuccaro＇s drawing illustrations indicate the assimilation of classical artistic concepts such as Horace＇s ut pictura poesis [as is painting so is poetry] as well as Plato＇sfurorpoeticus [poetical inspiration] promoted in the writings of Marsilio Ficino, a Renaissance Neoplatonic philosopher.
文摘In previous studies on the iconographical symbolism revealed in Giorgio Vasari’s fresco decoration for the Cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore(also known as the Dome of Florence,1572-1574),I discussed three points:(1)the impact of Dante’s Divine Comedy,in particular the Inferno;(2)the influence of Coppo di Marcovaldo’s mosaic decoration on the cupola of the Florentine Baptistery(1300);and(3)the inspiration of Renaissance Neoplatonism in Vasari’s paintings.(Aspects of this study were published in Cheney,2016,pp.488-519;Cheney&Hendrix,2002,pp.177-188;Cheney,1998,pp.35-55;Cheney,1987,pp.1-8).In this essay,I will focus on another iconographical representation:the metaphysical and physical symbolism of the eye(―l’occhio‖)in Vasari’s cupola imagery(Figure 1).This approach will connect with Cosimo Bartoli’s lecture on Dante’s Divine Comedy and,in particular,on Dante’s Purgatorio(Cantos XXX and XXXI)as well as with Vincenzo Borghini’s program for the decoration of the Cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore.
