The Medici

1
The Medici

• Family of bankers from Mugello
• Cosimo the Elder 1389-1464
• Piero (the Gouty) 1416-1469
• Lorenzo the Magnificient (1449-1492) and
• Giuliano-----Giulio (Pope
  Clement VII) (1478-1534)
• Giovanni ( Pope Leo X) 1475-1521

2
Cosimo the Elder

• Always keep out of the public eye but
• Undisputed patriach of Florence
• In 1439 persuaded Pope Eugenius IV to transfer
  General Councilof the Greek Orthodox Church and
  Roman Catholic Church in FLORENCE
• Presence of so many Greek scholars led to the
  study of Plato, the Platonic Academy, additions
  to Cosimos library
• See Benozzo Gozzolis The Procession of the Magi
  in Medici Palace 1459

3
The Medici Palace

• In 1444 Cosimo asked Michelozzo Michelozzi to
  design the Palace in Via Larga (via Cavour)
• Michelozzo also worked on the Convent of San
  Marco
• Fra eato Angelico dipicted the cells of San Marco
• Cosimo had a cell there too

4
San Lorenzo

• Parish church of the Medici
• Very old church (393A.D.) , reconstructed by
  Brunelleschi
• Sculptures by Donatello, Verrocchio
• Later by Michelangelo, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino
• Cosimo is buried in the crypt, on the naive
  Pater Patriae

5
Old Sacristy

• Brunelleschi designed it
• Donatello executed the statues
• Tomb of Cosimos sons (Giovanni and Piero)
• Commissioned by Lorenzo

6
The New Sacristy

• Under the Old Sacristy, proves Michelangelos
  genius
• Commissioned by Giulianos natural son, Pope
  Clement VII in 1521
• Tombs of Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano in
  simple graves near the wall
• Lorenzo pensieroso, Giuliano military chief,
  4 allegories Night, Day, Dusk, Dawn

7
Chapel of the Princes

• Luxurious, octagonal edifice,covered in
  semi-precious stones and marbles
• Burial place for the Grand dukes
• 6 porphyry tombs surmounted by bronze statues of
  the deceased Cosimo I,, Francesco I, Ferdinando
  I,Cosimo II, Ferdinando II,Cosimo III.
• Central pillar remains of Cosimo the elder
• In all 45 tombs of Medici family

8
The Laurentian Library

• Founded by Cosimo the Elder
• Enriched by Lorenzo
• Taken to Rome by Leo X
• Presented to Florence by Clement VII
• Commissioned Michelangelo to design edifice
• HALL and staircase

9
Semi Precious Stones

• The stones are divided into minerals and rocks
  (made up of several different minerals)
• The hardness of the minerals is measured by their
  resistance to beig worked on
• The hardness of a stone is based on Mohs scale
  of 1 to 10
• Talc is the softest at 1, the diamond is the
  hardest at 10

10
Semi Precious Stones

• Soft stones (from 1 to 5) marble, alabaster,
  lapis lazuli, malachite
• Semi precious stones (or pietre due) chalcedony,
  agate, jasper, petrified wood, porphyry, rock
  crystal
• Gems emerald, ruby, diamond

11
Manufacturing Tecnique

• Glyptics 3 dimensional manufacturing tecnique
  for sculptures,vases, cameos, gems
• Commesso a particular type of mosaic, used in
  Ancient Rome, and brought to perfection in
  Florence in 1588 in the Opificio delle Pietre
  Dure (Semi precious stones workshop)

12
Glyptics

• First a drawing of the object is produced
• The right stone is chosen (for size and COLOUR)
• To consume the stone a drill with an emeric wheel
  is used
• To polish the object a felt wheel is used
• Cameos agate or onyx is used

13
Commesso

• Semi precious stones a re too hard to be
  sculptured and therefore must be consumed
• They are consumed with an abrasive powder called
  EMERY
• Emery powder is formed by sand rich of quartz

14
Tarsia

• Bi-dimensional painting made of slices of stone
• This tecnique is also called Commesso from the
  latin joining together
• The stone is cut into thin slices
• The artist chooses the stones with the right
  colour

15
Tarsia

• The slices are cut into very precise forms with
  a special bow with a emery thread
• The forms are glued to the drawing
• The pieces are put on a slate (piallaccio),
  covered with plaster, another slate is glued on
  the back, the plaster is washed away
• The stones are polished with a liquid potè

16
Inlay (Intarsio)

• Inlaying technique
• The tarsia is placed in a groove of a background
  stone