#studiolo

Crawford Studiolo, Toronto, Canada,

Anya Moryoussef Architect,

Studiolo de Francisco I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence,

Completed between 1570 and 1572 under the supervision of Vasari, the studiolo was a small no-window room used as office and laboratory, hiding room but also cabinet of curiosities. 

The duke Francesco I loved alchemy, which was a forbidden study field at that time, and decided to build this studiolo to conduct his researches and keep his collection of small and precious rare objects. The room’s decorations are breath-taking, being adorned with a Late-Mannerist style. 

Matteo 11,12

Il regno di Dio è stato annunciato e ciascuno vi entra con violenza.

Villa Medici è il secondo luogo che voglio farvi conoscere nei dintorni di Piazza di Spagna a Roma. Si trova sulla collina del Pincio ed ospita la prestigiosa Accademia di Francia fondata da Luigi XIV; l’edificio perciò è la residenza di artisti e ricercatori che operano nel campo della creazione artistica, della storia e della teoria delle arti, del restauro delle opere d’arte e dei monumenti, oltre ad essere sede di mostre ed eventi.

L’attuale struttura risale alla metà del XVI secolo voluta dal cardinale Giovanni Ricci da Montepulciano. Nel 1576 la splendida villa fu acquistata dal cardinale Ferdinando de Medici per ospitare la sua collezione d’opere d’arte.

Solo entrando nell’ampio giardino è possibile ammirare la ricca facciata interna della villa decorata con maschere, ghirlande, statue e bassorilievi, alcuni provenienti addirittura dall’Ara Pacis. 

Passeggiando tra le sedici aiuole si possono vedere fontane, altre statue tra le quali il gruppo dei Niobidi e l’Arco rappresentato in un dipinto di Velazquez.

Grazie alla sua posizione, il giardino è un punto panoramico perfetto per godere di una stupenda vista su Roma, soprattutto al tramonto.

Il percorso di visita comprende anche la Gipsoteca che ospita i più bei calchi in gesso realizzati dai borsisti dell’Accademia di Francia a Roma nel corso dei secoli.

Si prosegue con lo Studiolo di Ferdinando de’ Medici chiamato anche Stanza degli Uccelli data la volta affrescata con un pergolato raffigurante piante ed uccelli che erano presenti a quel tempo nel giardino della villa e che Ferdinando amava mostrare ai suoi ospiti.

Infine, l’appartamento storico del Cardinale Ferdinando de’ Medici con fregi, soffitti a cassettoni, dipinti e mobili antichi.

Lorenzo Costa The Reign of Comus (c. 1506-1511 CE) Tempera on wood - 152 × 239 cm Paris, France, The Louvre

Dammit, Karen, you did it again! This is why we don't invite you to the instrument jams any more!

ART HISTORY FUN FACT: The painting was originally created for the studiolo (fancy Italian for a private study) of Isabella d'Este. She also commissioned the work. It was included in her studiolo alongside other canvases.

By Costanza Beltrami

Northern Italian painter Lorenzo Costa died on 5 March 1535 in Mantua. He was 75, an impressive age for a man of his time. His long career unfolded among the cities of Ferrara, where he was born around 1460, Bologna, where he reached immediate success as a young artist working for the Bentivoglio family, and Mantua, where he succeeded Andrea Mantegna as court painter to the Gonzagas.   Connected to the powerful noble families which ruled Italy’s leading cities, Costa was well-versed in depicting the pleasures of courtly life. Works such as A Concert (1485–89) reveal his interest in the expression and pose of singers and musicians, a fascination shared by such contemporaries as Piero della Francesca. Costa’s courtly audience was interested in the rediscovery of antiquity and its myths, a key element of the Italian Renaissance. Learned nobles often explored the classical world in the peace of their studiolo, a small private room dedicated to reading, studying and writing. Mantegna and Costa both painted mythological scenes for the studiolo of Isabella d’Este, the powerful, learned and stylish marquess of Mantua. Costa did not only paint for the court: he also lived in it, establishing friendships with other members of the marquises’ household. A record of his social life as a courtier is his Portrait of Battista Fiera, the Gonzagas’ court physician who likely cured Costa of syphilis in 1507–8.

 Reference: Maria Cristina Chiusa, "Costa family," Grove Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000019737

See also: Stephen Campbell and Clifford Malcolm Brown, The Cabinet of Eros: Renaissance Mythological Painting and the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este (New Haven, 2006)

A Concert, about 1485-95, oil on wood, 95.3 x 75.6 cm, The National Gallery, London. Source: Web Gallery of Art

Portrait of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, c. 1492, tempera on wood, 55 x 49 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Source: Web Gallery of Art

Virgin and Child Enthroned, c. 1495, oil on panel, 50 x 37 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Source: Web Gallery of Art

Portrait of Battista Fiera, about 1507­–8, oil on wood, 51.4 x 38.7 cm, The National Gallery, London. Sourcre: Web Gallery of Art