Expert Florence Guide - Isabella Tronconi

Name: Expert Florence Guide - Isabella Tronconi
Address: Piazza Duomo, Florence, 50100, IT
Telephone: +393408243006
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Expert Florence Guide - Isabella Tronconi

Hello travellers, pleased to meet you! I am Isabella, your guide in Florence!
(4)

28/04/2024

with , from Paris, about 1320-1340, , , .

Said writing tablets were normally coated with a thin layer of wax on one side to engrave. They were literally small carnets for the writing..!

These writing table in particular depicts the on the beach of , as this story is recounted by the illuminated manuscripts of the Grandes Chroniques de (the only other media this tiny takes inspiration from).

The defeat of Sidon, when the Arabs slaughtered the Christians, took place on the beach, on July. The dead bodies were left everywhere by the sea to rot; a few months later, finally went to Sidon to see what had occurred to his soldiers, and found nothing but decaying and rotting corpses. One can almost smell the stench simply by looking at the people accompanying the King, that are about to vomit. Saint Louis insisted that those poor remains were sacred relics to touch and honour, for the had died in the name of Christ: and started personally to collect the bones, and to stack them in a bag, wearing no gloves.

25/12/2023

..!

"Hodie nobis celorum...In die nativitatis domini"

, 60v of the "B" of the Museo Diocesano di , dating back to the 1270s.

11/07/2023

, and with , and another also known as " dell'impannata", 1513-1514 circa , , ; , The miracles of San Bernardino: the healing of a mute (detail), 1473, , .

This sublime painting is known all over the world for the "impannata" in the background. Long before windows had glass, due to its cost, they were covered up with "impannate", a cloth soaked in turpentine to make it water-resistant.

Credits: first picture .artblogger

Second picture: Claudio Paolini

03/07/2023

Let's talk about
today!

, from the Rofeno Abbey, 1332-1337 circa, , slaying the , central ; , central ; , left panel; , right panel; , left pediment; Saint Louis of France, right pediment.

Nowadays, the most common products used in restoration are of synthetic origin; being these resins obtained from fossil oil, they are devoid of 14C ( ). Therefore, a not complete removal from the sample to be dated can be the cause of a consistent apparent ageing of the dated artworks. A chemical pre-treatment is required in order to clean the samples before the measurements. At INFN-LABEC laboratory in , a new procedure based on the use of an extraction with chloroform as solvent was tested.

According to its style, the can be clearly dated to a following period, the XVI century (it's attributed to the Olivetan monk Raffaello da Brescia). The goal of was verifying whether the wood frame was obtained using timbers of a possible original frame or using new wood. For the radiocarbon measurements, two significant wood samples were collected.

Turned out, the radiocarbon ages relative to the two samples subjected only to the ABA standard protocol are not compatible and are much older than the expected value. This result is the effect of the apparent ageing due to the presence of Paraloid B72 that was not completely removed with this pre-treatment. On the contrary, the measured radiocarbon concentrations and the corresponding radiocarbon ages of the two samples treated with the new procedure are consistent between them, and in agreement with the style of the picture frame. This suggests that the frame was rebuilt without any reuse timbers of the original wooden frame.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876619613000065

Credits©: First picture_@camminarte_in_toscana
Second picture_thebestofpainting
Third picture_@paolodigiglio

02/07/2023

Do you remember the Patriarchs frescoed on the sails of the Strozzi Chapel vault in the Santa Maria Novella church..? Let's now skip to another vault in another chapel, boasting yet more amazing murals (and yet more amazing Patriarchs): the cycle in the Sassetti Chapel in in , painted between 1482 and 1485 by (Michelangelo's teacher) and his many assistants. Francesco Sassetti was an agent of the Medici bank. The six main represent scenes from the life of , Sassetti’s patron saint: The Renunciation of Worldly Goods; The Confirmation Of The Franciscan Rule, The Test of Fire, The Miracle Of The Stigmata, The Death Of St. Francis, The Resurrection Of The Boy.
Let's talk first about the fresco technique, which Domenico Ghirlandaio mastered -don’t forget that he taught this technique to Michelangelo Buonarroti..!
“Fresco” means “fresh” in Italian, i. e. “painted on wet plaster” with water-based pigments. When plaster dries, they become part of the matrix of the wall. Pigments become part of the matrix of the wall due to the chemical process of carbonatation. The fresco painting consists of three strata and the materials they're made of; the arriccio, a rough under layer to smooth out the wall, 3:1 sand to lime paste, which is absorbent, retains water, and dries slowly; intonaco, a smooth upper layer upon what the final painting is performed (1:1 fine sand to lime paste), drying fast; the painted surface, which in this way becomes very durable, as resistant as stone, and lasts forever with its brilliant, vibrant colours. As a matter of fact, this fresco cycle looks as if it were painted only a short time ago. Florentine painters were actually the most skilled at this technique..!

Read more 👉🏻 https://expertflorenceguide.com/the-sassetti-chapel-by-domenico-ghirlandaio-in-santa-trnita/?fbclid=PAAaapyy4-a_pNKz4ifIQWM1SMDRU59FXSalAOsTu9gf3_zEnUxz2h84ujbAU

25/06/2023

of a head of a warrior; terracotta highrelief depicting the torso of a warrior, both pieces from the of , III century b. C., Fiesole, .

The is said to have been decorated with stories of Eteocles and Polynices (two of the four children Aedipus had had with Jocasta, unbeknownst of her being his own mother) crossing swords, and killing each other ( ). According to King , Polynices wasn't worthy of being buried, for he had betrayed his own homeland. His sister had his body buried out of compassion nonetheless, this resulting in Antigones being sentenced to death by being buried alive.

The pieces can possibly depict the previously mentioned .

di Fiesole

02/06/2023

, of Isabella Brant, , 1625-1626,

Everytime I look into Isabella's eyes, I truly feel like there's a connection between the two of us. Could be the name we share?She was Pieter Paul ' first wife, that he married in 1609 right after going back home from Italy, and who he deeply loved and cared for. You can tell. This painting could be enlisted amongst the so-called "speaking likeness", portraits that communicate so much about the feelings and personality of the portrayed ones. It almost looks like Isabella is caught mid- reading her booklet of prayers and blissfully smiles to her husband. According to some scholars, the painted this artwork right after his wife's death in 1626 (she died of plague in her early thirties): the ivy around the column in the background might mean . The portrait was a gift to Grand Prince Ferdinand of the from his brother-in-law Elector Palatine Prince Johann Wilhelm Von Der Pfalz: in this mail of December 10th 1705 Grand Prince Ferdinand thanks Prince Johann for the paintings he received as a gift: "All these art pieces are really beautiful in every genre, as well as they all were painted by accredited painters, but that one by Rubens is beyond imagination, and the wonder of that famous "paintbrush"".

The painting was executed on a whole, single panel; the is a gorgeous .

30/04/2023

"Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without ."

Detail of the statue depicting (Ludovico di Giovanni de' ), father to under the . It's by Temistocle Guerrazzi and dates back to 1856.

Courtesy of .

09/04/2023

with the great, rather unknown and this from the superb and sumptuous of the of , Gastone della Torre, presumably executed near to the 's date of death (August 20th, 1318) and built in the right nave of the in .Gastone della Torre felt by accident from his horse during a journey that would supposedly take him to Aquileia. The conception of the monument could have taken place in a deeply pro- political context, with the Florentine authorities possibly showing interest in the burial of Gastone della Torre, easily seen as a sort of illustrious martyr of the cause. When the lord of Florence was Robert of himself, the bishop was Antonio d'Orso, very close to the Angevin ruler either: he would die just a few years after Gastone della Torre, and would be buried in a tomb by the same Tino di Camaino. The decision to place the tomb of Gastone della Torre in was consistent with the pro-Guelph climate in which the commission could probably take place.

Picture by (https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tino_di_camaino,_monumento_del_patriarca_di_aquileia_gastone_della_torre,_1318-19,_09_resurrezione_1.jpg)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24435269

31/03/2023

(SEE PREVIOUS POST) Tomorrow I'll have the honour to be the guide of some guests who will take a truly special tour: Marucelli Fenzi in . No doubt we'll focus on the jaw-dropping two rooms with magnificent and stuccos by from (the painting ) and Giovanni Baratta from (the plaster decoration), dating back to roughly 1705 - 1707. The rooms were Ruberto Marucelli's apartments, and the paintings depict the Golden Age And The Fall Of Mars, and the Youth At The Crossroad.

The and the Fall of are basically a tribute to the , who the Marucellis indeed supported, and to their wise government which had allowed Florence and to thrive and prosper (hence the of Peace and Abundance). The latters are parading around, causing , dark-haired, clad in red, superbly foreshortened, to fall off the cornice directly in the hall! The s are decorated by Snuffing The Torch Of War and Cupid Painting Alongside , meaning that wellness and wealth allows Art to flourish.

The was gilded with 21.000 mordant by Silvestro Organisti. The two puttos that burn armours and trophies, and the of War throwing a torch at two that seek shelter under a flag with the Marucelli's coat-of-arms, are . According to Giorgio Vasari and Cennino Cennino, there were two ways of getting oil on wall done; saturating the plaster with cooked oil (or sun-heated flax oil), then laying an made out of marble powder and brick powder (subsequently covered in flax oil and heated resine-like paint), or laying down two layers of limestone and brick powder, residues of iron, and oil . Eventually, a was necessary, made out of , , and "terra" to cast bells.

All of these wonderful pictures belong to .

30/03/2023

Tomorrow, one more time, I'll have the honour to be the guide of some guests who will take a truly special tour: the tour of Marucelli Fenzi in . The acquired it in 1971.

No doubt we'll focus on the jaw-dropping two rooms with magnificent and stuccos by from (the ) and Giovanni Baratta from (the decoration), dating back to roughly 1705 - 1707. The rooms were Ruberto Marucelli's apartments, and the depict the Golden Age And The Fall Of Mars, and the Youth At The Crossroad (the latter of which Ricci painted after he went back to Florence from ).

In the latter, the sky swarms with and there's no cornice to hinder the painted depictions. Youth is struggling to make a choice between Virtue (or Wisdom?), a man in rags and crowned in laurel pointing at a life of sacrifice and study, and Vice , a smirking pointing at a instead. It appears obvious that Sebastiano Ricci got inspiration from the Of The depicted by in in the 1680s. Giovanni Baratta's stuccoes, on the other hand, apparently take advantage of the cornice to play on it like some chasing after a dove, or a literally looking inside some 's open fangs (the Intellectual Curiosity).

The paintings on the walls, (
) depict the Incorruptibility Of Gaius Fabricius, the Modesty Of Cincinnatus, and the Continence of Scipio.

All of these wonderful pictures belong to Fantastic Florence

02/02/2023

See previous posts. The Modena Metopes explained, one by one..!

The of the in is an absolute milestone for everyone who's passionate about . These depicting were the decorating the outer of the nave of the of Modena, . They are ascribed to an unknown artist, hence conventionally know as "Master of the Metopes", active at the beginning of the . The entire cycle is related to the representations of the , as in the (maps of the world). It might depict some of the remote people living at the margins of Earth.

The Icthyophagous (Fish-eater)

This portrays a monsterly creature, with a bird head and a hooked beak, devouring a . This creature might depict what in the Liber Monstrorum is defined as an "Icthyophagous", a being living in the remote regions of India, its body covered by a thick hair, eating exclusively raw fish.

The Big Maid

This barely contains the curled up body of a large-sized girl. By her side one can see an and a winged or whose head is turned upside down. They are both creatures with negative connotations (ibis, according to , was an impure beast feeding on rotten fish and carrions, living in bogs, too lazy to explore cristal clear water, hence identified as lust). Due to her size, the maid is comprised in the mirabilia group and perhaps it is a depiction of the giant girl dragged on a beach by strong sea currents mentioned in the .

18/01/2023

🧑🏻‍🎨 was ALWAYS amongst my favourites.

(Dead between , and ), c. 1488

🖼️ , oil and gold on

: OPVS CAROLI CRIVELLI-VENETI (Work of Carlo Crivelli, Venetian)

⛪From , church of San Pietro in Muralto,

🏛️ , , now in for the temporary exhibit "Le Relazioni Meravigliose" in
(7 October 2022 – 12 February 2023).

This was the upper element of an altarpiece painted by for the high altar of the church of San Pietro in Muralto in Camerino, that belonged to the Order of Friars Minor.
This painting signalled a turning point in Crivelli's work, with the experimentation of the "square altarpiece" ("tavola quadra all'antica") derived from classical models. Carlo's detailed and laborious painting, full of
illusionistic effects, accentuated by the use of gold, create an almost hyperrealistic, enamelled and brilliant image that sought to represent the divine.

In the Pietà, the theme of grief for the of is explored in the gestures and expressions of the three :the tears of , John's scream, Mary Magdalene's contemplation of the stygmata. Even the are crying. The deep wounds are actual ulcers, painful to watch. Next to all this there's a with a man's face on the base, possibly a of Crivelli himself (eighth picture).

11/01/2023

See previous post. The Modena Metopes, explained one by one..!

The of the in is an absolute milestone for everyone who's passionate about . These depicting were the antefixes decorating the outer of the nave of the of Modena, . They are ascribed to an unknown artist, hence conventionally know as "Master of the Metopes", active at the beginning of the . The entire cycle is related to the representations of the , as in the (maps of the world). It might depict some of the remote people living at the margins of Earth.

This depicts two seated figures facing each other, one of them upside-down. The most convincing interpretation connects it to the description of the in the " de diversis generibus" (Book of , VIII century) : "On the other side of the planet down under, lives a race of people named Antipodes. Their Greek name means that they stand with their feet against ours in the deepest bowels of the Earth and they move on our shadows".

The third picture depicts a
, a boy
with a dragon . Psylli were believed to be people immune to snake poison, for being exposed to their bites since their very youth ( ). The child here is playing with the dragon barely showing any fear, and the dragon itself returns the feeling: in the (about II century), it is said that snakes only attack human beings when they wear clothes, while they don't harm them when they're naked (which means they're pure and innocent).

09/01/2023

Finally I got to visit this absolute milestone for everyone who's passionate about : the of the in . These depicting were the antefixes decorating the outer of the nave of the of Modena, . They are ascribed to an unknown artist, hence conventionally know as "Master of the Metopes", active at the beginning of the . The entire cycle is related to the representations of the , as in the (maps of the world). It might depict some of the remote people living at the margins of Earth. Inspiration for their depiction springs from texts such as the (II-IV century), the by (VII century), the (VIII - IX century) and the (XII - XIV century). Their physical oddities and strange habits intrigue and strike fear, but should also be considered as part of the divine design, according to 's (XVI, 8): "God created all of the living creatures, the monstrosities as well, which also contribute to the variety of this world and to the harmony of Universe; no living being is bereft of Divine Grace".

Stay with me, I'll tell you something about each and everyone of them.

06/01/2023

is the of the ..!

🧑🏻‍🎨 Don Diamante di Feo from , " " (or at least of two out of the three of them..!), , del , , of the Don Diamante Nativity in the Louvre (https://www.instagram.com/p/CmjX6JgDHNy/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=) alongside two more panels depicting the "Presentation at the Temple" and the "Massacre of the Innocents", 1470-1472 circa.

E. C. Strutt, in 1901, suggested that the man standing behind the knelt , clearly dressed up as a clergyman, clad in red, resembled the back then believed to be of Cardinal Carlo of the in the Filippo Lippi's frescoed cycle in the Cathedral of Prato. Later on, in 1912, E. Schäffner published the portrait of Cardinal Carlo engraved in the family tree by Martino Rota (1589), and it's so much alike this one! Should this olive-coloured man of church be actually Carlo (https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmru259Lgjf/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=), the robe, maybe a Vallombrosan monk's, worn on the protonotary's red garments, could hint to a sort of spiritual communion with the Vallombrosan monks in
, of whom Carlo de' Medici was commendatory .

05/01/2023

is simply honoured to host two artworks by an incredible like . I, as an , indeed am..! , who was born in to a Dutch mother and an Italian father in 1990, has studied thoroughly anything to study about human faces and facial features (as Leonardo da Vinci once did) his whole life. Hence his deep understanding of the they convey, and eventually, the souls they're mirror (and windows) of.

Having become tremendously skilled as a painter and as a , he started to depict portraits of , who truly did something important for mankind and left a mark on this world and history, alongside portraits of certain rappers and ordinary people. And how does Jorit make all of them look alike, part of the same , the ? He represents them sporting on their faces, as they all are fighting for mankind. The red stripes are related to some , to celebrate the passage from childhood to adulthood.

This is his message: , no matter what. , as those warriors did. Think about it when you see these gigantic, perfect, while you walk down the .

Which streets are those, in Florence? is a 125 square meters on one of the "Condominio Dei Diritti" walls, in Piazza Leopoldo, while Antonio Gramsci is to be found on the external wall of another , in Via Canova 25/22.

01/01/2023

ebbro ("Drunken ") by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, about 1695,
, of Doccia (Museo Ginori, ). No doubt many woke up like this this morning, after the celebrations! So, let me tell you something about this incredible piece of art.

Soldani Benzi himself shaped this out of . It was acquired by Carlo from Clemente Vitelli in the 1750s, after Soldani Benzi himself had gifted Vitelli with it. This mind-blowing artefact functioned as a model in the present way: the Manifattura Ginori was at work in at the exquisite blue and white at (second picture), and it needed a model for the little lions supporting the with portraits of members of the . The small terracotta lion by Massimiliano was literally cut away, serrated, to create a mold for the lions on top of the tempietto.

The tempietto is basically a homage Carlo Ginori paid to House , making sure the new were paid homage as well! As a matter of fact Mercury, on top of the shrine, bears a with depictions of Francesco Stefano of House Lorraine and Maria Teresa of House . The tempietto was begun in 1752 circa, and Marquis Carlo Ginori donated it to Accademia Etrusca of Cortona when he was elected " ", in 1756.

Where to see this beautiful "Bacchino ebbro" when in ..? Go visit the stunning
"Arti in dialogo. Echi tardo barocchi nelle del Museo Ginori" in Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi (Via S. Gallo, 10), open until February, 17th (strictly upon reservation at [email protected] ). You might find me there guiding as your .!

Credits for the pictures: ®Cristiano Giometti, ®Accademia Etrusca di Cortona (https://www.accademia-etrusca.org/oggetto/tempietto-porcellana-c-d-ginori/)

27/12/2022

, of Carlo of the , , , 1466 circa.

Thanks to some great customers, in these days I had the chance to refresh some thorough researches I conducted many years ago about Cardinal Carlo of House Medici, apostolic protonotary, prevost in , son to the Elder and a Circassian slave Cosimo had met when in Venice (hence the Cardinal's particularly olive-coloured complexion).
Long attributed to Domenico Veneziano, it was Corrado Ricci who first gave it to . In 1912 E. Schäffner identified the portrayed person with cardinal Carlo, so much alike Cardinal Carlo as depicted in the family tree engraved by Martino Rota in 1589. According to late Eve Borsook, this portrait was painted in 1459 during the Council, and not during the painter's sojourn in . Cosimo I had a monumental tomb built for Carlo in the Cathedral of Prato by Vincenzo Danti.

Carlo is also depicted by in the Chapel of the Magi in , riding alongside his father (second picture, on the right), and by in the with stories of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Stephen in the main chapel of the Prato Cathedral (third picture).

Credits for the third pic: WGA (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Fra_Filippo_Lippi_-_The_Funeral_of_St_Stephen_%28detail%29_-_WGA13274.jpg)

24/12/2022

and with this stunning
by Don Diamante di Feo in the . Its predella panels are
in the Museo Civico of Prato. Mentioned by Giorgio Vasari as 's “compagno e novizio”,Diamante was born Bartolozzo di Feo in 1430, in , southeast of . He was a member of the Vallombrosan order, and in 1454 he is documented for the first time working with Lippi as a salaried garzone, in the frescoed decoration of the main chapel in the Cathedral of (1452/1453 - 1465). In 1463 he was imprisoned, perhaps for having attempted to involve Giuliano Paoli, prior of San Fabiano in Prato, in the scandalous affair of 1461
which saw the accusation of Filippo Lippi, and two other couples of
“adulteri”. He was released soon thereafter through the intercession of the Florentine magistracy of the Signori Otto, the “Gonfaloniere di Giustizia” of Prato and the Archbishop of Florence Giovanni Neroni. Once again recorded alongside Filippo Lippi, this time at work on the frescoes of the Stories of the Virgin in the Spoleto Cathedral (1466-1469), Diamante also sojourned in Rome several times during the 1460s. By 1472 he had joined the Compagnia di San Luca (the Florentine artists’ confraternity), and was resident in the monastery of San Pancrazio in Florence. In 1498 he was apparently under lock and key again, with the abbot of San Salvi, and his release is
said to have been sought by Manfredo Manfredi, the envoy to Florence of Ercole I
d’Este, duke of Ferrara. The duke admired the Vallombrosan painter, who had left clear (but as yet unrecognised) evidence of
his talent in Rome. From this point onwards, we lose trace of don Diamante. The latest studies have cast light on Diamante di Feo’s clearly distinguishable
style, and on how it is no longer possible to claim his authorship for paintings merely
defined by a facile “Lippismo”. Quite recently both Luciano Bellosi and Miklós Boskovits attempted to reconstruct his œuvre. This Nativity and its predella show evidence of the painter’s decisive shift to a more Verrocchio-inspired style.

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Ostension of the Holy Girdle of #virginmary from the external #pulpit by #donatello and #michelozzo (1428 - 1433, copy). #prato , #cathedral of #santostefano , #august15 2022. #expertflorenceguide #florenceoffthebeatentrack #pratocity #visitprato #ferragosto #santamaria #assumptionoftheblessedvirginmary #assumptionofmary

🌟 A pochi giorni dal mio #tour del 5 Dicembre E le stelle stiamo a guardare. Firenze, museo di Scienze...a cielo aperto..!, ricordo con emozione quando ho assistito al passaggio del #sole nella #basilica di #santamarianovella il 22 Settembre di quest'anno, giorno dell' #equinoziodautunno . 🌞 Il sole -non un suo raggio, bensì proprio la proiezione della sua immagine, ribaltata, di 36 centimetri- è penetrato in chiesa attraverso un foro gnomonico grande un millesimo della sua altezza dal pavimento (20,45 metri), aperto dal cosmografo #egnaziodanti nel 1574 nel #rosone in facciata. ♀️Pensate che una volta, con l'ausilio di un foglio bianco, fu possibile vedere un puntino nero che transitava davanti all'immagine del Sole, Venere..! 🧭 Questo foro stenopeico è parte di una #meridiana a #cameraoscura , costituita da quello e da una banda metallica sul pavimento, una piattina, posizionata in direzione Sud-Nord (in questo caso la piattina, che indica il tratto compiuto dal fascio di luce nell’arco di tempo tra la minima altezza - nadir, #solstiziodinverno - e massima altezza, zenith, #solstiziodestate ) lungo la linea meridiana è lungo 41 metri circa). La maggior parte delle #meridiane a camera oscura si trova in #italia ..! ⛪ La piattina non è originale, ma fu costruita nel 2016 ispirandosi alla meridiana costruita da Egnazio Danti in Vaticano, nella Torre dei Venti. Anche il foro stenopeico del #rosone è stato rifatto sulle indicazioni menzionate da Leonardo Ximenes nel suo trattato quando fu smontata e restaurata la vetrata nel 1982. #expertflorenceguide #florenceoffthebeatentrack