Giovanni the Baptist festivity Florence (collection of sources)

[Huck]

I think, there are questions around Giovanni the Baptist and we should collect material, which offer some answers.

1st source
The Towns of Italy in the Later Middle Ages
By Trevor Dean
(2000)

http://books.google.com/books?id=sk...yiBw&sig=L1Qd8uVxxeGVWn3mR_uv6P_bfYQ#PPA72,M1

Description of Goro Dati, early 15th century writer (lived 1362 - 1435, so before the "Trionfi-phase", which should have started ca. 1430 or little later). The date of the text is in the moment unknown.

The various described activities know only one triumphal chariot for the winner of the Palio

***********

The source offers other interesting details:

1.
Rainmaking in Florence in 1354 (has nothing to do with Giovanni)
http://books.google.com/books?id=sk...yiBw&sig=L1Qd8uVxxeGVWn3mR_uv6P_bfYQ#PPA81,M1

2.
1300 .. Guglielma, also sister Manfreda (has nothing to do with Giovanni)
http://books.google.com/books?id=sk...yiBw&sig=L1Qd8uVxxeGVWn3mR_uv6P_bfYQ#PPA88,M1

3.
1346 .. Florence attacks an inquisitor
http://books.google.com/books?id=sk...yiBw&sig=L1Qd8uVxxeGVWn3mR_uv6P_bfYQ#PPA94,M1

4.
The following gives an impression of Italian festivity days of the time (not naturally totally identical at other locations or other times, some of these are local variables)

http://books.google.com/books?id=sk...yiBw&sig=L1Qd8uVxxeGVWn3mR_uv6P_bfYQ#PPA77,M1

Regulation for Holidays in Perugia, 1342:

"all Sundays,
Christmas day and the two preceding days,
the feast of St. Stephen in December and its octave,
the feasts of St. John the Evangelist,
the Holy Innocents,
The Circumcision,
Epiphany,
Conversion of St. Paul,
the Conception,
Nativity,
Purification,
Annunciation,
Assumption of the Virgin Mary,
Enthronement of St. Peter,
all the feast days of all the apostles and evangelists,
the feasts of Sant'Ercolano in March and November,
of San Lorenzo,
of San Francesco in Otober,
of San Domenico,
San Benedetto,
Sant'Agostino,
the whole of Holy Week, Easter Sunday and the whole of the following week,
Ascension day,
Pentecost and the two following days,
Corpus Christi,
the feasts of St. Louis (of Toulouse),
John the Baptist,
Mary Magdalen,
St. Peter of Vincula,
the Beheading of John the Baptist,
All Saints,
St. Martin,
Holy Cross, St Michael Archangel,
San Bevignate,
San Martino IV Pope,
Santa Lucia,
San Costanzo bishop of Perugia,
San Niccolo of Bari,
the first day of Lent,
the two days of indulgence of San Domenico,
St. Stephen in August,
the feast of St. Catherine,
San Silvestro,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
every Fiday, out of reverence fot the Suffering of the Lord ...

and we establish that criminals trials should have holidays at no other days ... And we order, that on each and every of these days ... no artist is to dare or presume to work, open his shop or perform his craft. And whoever contravens will be punished 100s ... but this does not apply to butchers, spicers, bakers, innkeepers and smiths (for shoeing animals)."

Addition to the author of the Johannes-the-baptist report:

Goro Dati is brother of Leonardi Dati (1360 - 1325), an important man in the Dominican order and the author of "Le Sfera" (which version ? compare
http://www.newberry.org/smith/exhibits/mapsnations/exhibit1998.html )

Wikipedia

Leonardo Dati (1360–16 March 1425) was an Italian friar and humanist. He was Master general of the Dominican Order from 1414 to his death.

He was a Prior of Santa Maria Novella from 1401, and took part in the Council of Pisa of 1409. At the time of the Council of Constance, Dati became Master General of a reunited Dominican Order. His sermons at Pisa and Constance include references to literary texts, and he was well known as an author of commentaries on Aristotle. Leonardo also gave financial aid to his brother Gregorio [or Goro], a Florentine merchant and diarist.

Both Leonardo and Gregorio Dati are attributed authorship of La sfera (The sphere), an astronomical-geographic poemetto in ottave, written in the second half of 14th century, and a work much popular in its time. This work in verse gives information about the world, the marinaresche compass and other things, adding observations, notes about travel and designs. In some manuscripts of La sfera there are designs representing ports, headlands, islands, linked by many lines.

Dati's sermons on the feast of St. Francis (October 1416) and the feast of the Circumcision of Jesus (January 1417) advocated respect for papal power and reform within the context of the established order. The earlier sermon touched off an exchange of polemical memoranda between Dati and supporters of conciliar supremacy. Dati then addressed issues raised in this exchange in the later sermon. Dati's discussion of circumcision was traditional for his time, describing the jewish rite as superseded by baptism.

He is buried in the Cappella Rucellai at Santa Maria Novella. His tombstone is attributed to Lorenzo Ghiberti.

The Leonardo Dati, who appeared in the poetical competition 1441, should be distinguished ... likely a relative (?)
Leonardo Dati (1408 - 1472), poet, served as a secretary to the cardinals Giordano Orsini and Pietro Barba (nephew of Eugen IV), got an appointment as a papal secretary in the service of Calixtus 1455. When Cardinal Barba became Pope Paul II. (1464), Dati got the position of domestic secretary.

 

[Huck]

Source 2:
Sacred Narratives
By Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Jane Tylus
(2001)

http://books.google.com/books?id=7R...oBw&sig=K5-Vi2zO001wleGYIMQD-rYm3fE#PPA216,M1

I've selected the most interesting informations (just my private notebook):

++++++++
The report to the 1439 events in Florence go back to an anonymous Greek visitor. Plays were performed for the feast of the Annunciation and the Feast of the Ascension.
The Greek visitor "with bewilderment" notes the number of spectacles performed for the feast of Saint John the baptist, he speaks of Plays of the Resurrection, of the Nativity and the visit of the Magi, and of the miracles of Saint George (we need this original text, I would say).

The author has the opinion, that the representations were in the mid-50's numerous comparatively lengthy plays after processions and parades.

First performed August(?)1455: Play of St. John the Baptist, when he was beheaded: focusses on the last days of the saint and opens with John already in the desert. Herodes' wife calls John "a hermit full of sins", Herodes (called only "il Re") calls his wife "a worst of whores" and his daughter is cursed with much vehemence. Herodes' wife is swallowed by an earth-quake.

1465: the festivities were especially grandious cause the visit of Ippolita Sforza on her wedding-journey.

1473: Eleanora of Aragon on her wedding journey attended the festivities (7 plays were performed).

1475: It is remarked, that it is a wonder, that the buildings in the Piazza della Signoria did not go up in flames (cause of the firework)

1478: the feast is suspended "cause a peste" ? ... what about reasons cause of the assassination of Giuliano de Medici ... it's revived as late as 1488, likely cause some wars had it made difficult to have many foreign people in the city (?)

Many plays have survived:
Feo Belcari: Rappresentatione quando Santo Giovanni Battista essendo fanciullo fu visitado nel deserto da Gesu Christo.
Lucretia Turnabuoni: "Vita" - true biography of John
Pulci-family
Lorenzo de Medici

 

[Huck]

PICTURES

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/p/pisano/andrea/south_d/index.html

1330: South doors of the Baptistry in Florence (bronce)
by Andrea PISANO (1330)

1414-16: Lorenzo Ghiberti, at the north door, same place, St. John
http://www.wga.hu/art/g/ghiberti/st_john.jpg

1427: Lorenzo Ghiberti, Baptism of jesus (with St. John of course)
http://www.wga.hu/art/g/ghiberti/baptism.jpg

1427: Donatello, Herod's banquet (with John's head)
http://www.wga.hu/art/d/donatell/1_early/siena/1font_1.jpg

1433: Fra Angelicus (naturally a Florentian painter) occasionally paints John the Baptist. Here here he is joined at the both indoors with St. Markus, likely to indicate the current militaric alliance with Venice.

His version of John shows usually some elegance in the clothes:

Catagno:

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/p/pisano/andrea/south_d/index.html

1442: Castagno in Venice, first datable pictures of the artist - this picture belongs to a series ...

... which through there natural frame are similar to Tarot cards

In his late phase Castagno could be rather expressive:

... somehow it reminds me on a specific picture of Dali. It presents St. Jerome.

Castagno rarely paints John the Baptist, it's more his friend Domenico Venentiano, who focussed on this figure:
Picture 1445:

A "poor John". His legs are naked, as the legs of the Fool in the Pierpont-Morgan-Bergamo-deck.

Picture 1454:

In both cases John is painted together with St. Francis - one should remember, that Pope Eugen (died 1447) was on the side of the Franciscans and that the Franciscans were against playing cards. As the following Pope Nicholas, although having much more favor to humanism and books as Eugen, made San Bernardino a Saint in 1450 and send St. Capristanus to Germany to preach further against playing cards and for a crusade against the Osmans, who had conquered Constantinople ...
... one can see, that the interests of the Franciscans still had their place in the Florence society (although some card playing was allowed in Florence in 1450).

In some of the wild stories around Castagno (with the nick-name "Hanging Man" - likely died 1456/57 in a peste) killed his friend Domenico Venenziano, the John-of-Baptist painter (died 1461).

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/ghirland/domenico/6tornab/62tornab/index.html

1486 - 1488: Various pictures are in the Turnabuoni-chapel.
One has to remember, that Lucrezia Turnabuoni showed much engagement in the John-the-Baptist festivities and that in the year 1488 the festival was revived. The production time of the pictures in the chapel is given with 1486-1490, so these presentations are contemporary to the restart.


****

Well, there are much more ... a big study

This here was made by a real Trionfi card painter, Michelino da Besozzo. John is the poor guy to the left ...

.. and if you wish to see more, go to

http://www.wga.hu/index1.html

and type at the bottom of the page "john baptist" in the field "text" and press "search"

 

[Huck]

Report to the Council

The History of the Council of Florence
By Ivan N. Ostroumov, John Mason Neale, Aleksandr Vasilýevich Gorski (1861)

http://books.google.com/books?id=z_IQAAAAIAAJ&dq=history+florence

It shows the council from the other side, from the perspective of the orthodox church ... and this makes it interesting, especially if one is already used to read material from the other direction.

 

[Huck]

Lucrezia Turnabuoni as wife of Pietro de Medici and mother of Lorenzo naturally had a lot of female influence on the matters, which happened in Florence.

http://books.google.com/books?id=7d...Jzc7ALo4-mxBw&sig=Lo64xPbi48DtMoOSC8ahDLQEG9U

This source gives 4 poets, which are said to have her general protection:

* Feo Belcari, about 20 years older than Pulci, started to write ca. 1445, with much engagement in the rapresentatione, reached an high age and died 2 years after Lucrezia.

Belcari, Feo (Firenze 1410 - 1484), scrittore toscano.

Di famiglia borghese, esercitò l’arte della lana, fu scrivano presso la basilica di San Lorenzo e ricoprì varie cariche pubbliche. Strettamente legato alla famiglia dei Medici, iniziò l’attività letteraria nel 1445 con la compilazione del Prato spirituale, volgarizzamento di vite di santi scritte in latino dal monaco camaldolese e umanista Ambrogio Traversari (1386-1439), a loro volta rifacimento di originali greci.

Più importante è la successiva opera agiografica Vita del Beato Giovanni Colombini (1449), fondatore dell’ordine dei gesuati. Ma Belcari raggiunse la fama con le sacre rappresentazioni (Di Abraam e di Isaac suo figliolo, 1449; Di Santo Giovanni Battista quando andò nel deserto, anteriore al 1470; Dell’Annunciazione di Nostra Donna, 1471, rappresentata con grande successo in occasione della visita di Galeazzo Sforza a Firenze) e con le laudi, composte quasi sempre sul metro della ballata popolare.

from http://it.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_221502391/Belcari_Feo.html


* Michele de Gioganti, likely identical to a poet in the poetical contest of 1441 ... it's difficult to get something about him, likely also much older than Pulci. From one note it might be concluded, that he wrote short after the marriage some laudatio to Lucrezia.


* Bernardo Bellincione ...

who wrote a little poem,

("The poet: 'Nature, who stirs your wrath, who arouses your envy?'
Nature: 'It is Vinci, who has painted one of your stars!
Cecilia, today so very beautiful, is the one
Beside whose beautiful eyes the sun appears as a dark shadow.'
The poet: 'All honor to you [Nature], even if in his picture
She seems to listen and not talk.
Think only, the more alive and more beautiful she is,
The greater will be your glory in future times.
Be grateful therefore to Ludovico, or rather
To the talent [ingegno] and hand of Leonardo
Which allows you to be part of posterity.
Everyone who sees her - even if too late
To see her alive - will say: that suffices for us
To understand what is nature and what art.')

by which it is stated, that this famous lady ...

... was Cecilia Gallerani, a maitresse of Ludovico Sforza, who was a problem at the marriage of Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este.

Bernardo Bellincioni (1452 - 1492) was about 20 years younger than Luigi Pulci ... he left Florence in 1482 (likely short after the death of Lucretia) and went then via some stay in Mantova to the court of Milan (where he naturally met Leonardo, same birthyear 1452 and ergo same age, who at a similar came to Milan).
He was the prototype of the "poor poet", who got some money for survival of Lorenzo in Florence. His acceptance in Milan grew with the time, not immediately - comparable to the career of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo likely did win his high reputation in Milan since 1489, when he started to organize festivities.

Bellincione is said to have revived the poetic style of Burchiello:

"9 As she brought two roses to Solomon, said the bee:--It's not raining today, Bernardo, and you won't need a heavy Coat.
12 Calandrino made the sign of the Gospel because he ate an ice-coldwatermelon, but I shan't hide how he gave birth to it
15 Burchiello wants to give 'em an irritating shave; let's add one rule: get on with Sixtus and fear not the mushrooms"

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-138705493.html

... which seems to connect (likely literary) stomach problems of Calandrinus (Roman poet and publisher) with dangerous mushrooms of the troublesome Pope Sixtus (Sixtus attempted 1478 to kill the Medici brothers, though not with mushrooms, Calandrinus died in this same year 1478 ... I don't know, if Bellincione wished to see there a connection).
Bernardo (?) ... Bellincioni himself ... or is this Bernardo Rucellai, the rich brother-in-law of Lorenzo, who participated in Lorenzo's youth group, the Brigata ... or Bernardo Pulci?

It's said, that "Lorenzo de' Medici kept a book of Burchiello's verse in his bedroom". Also, that "Bernardo Bellincioni, Matteo Franco (Pulci's literary foe), and Antonio Alamanni (1464 - 1528, too late for our interest)" were major descendants of Burchiello's art.

 

[Huck]

Tornabuoni Chapel

painted with frescoes by Domenico GHIRLANDAIO in the years 1486 -1489

The pictures are reachable and described at:

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/ghirland/domenico/5sassett/frescoes/5confir.html
(follow the links below at the sides)

* Frescoes on the left wall: Stories of the Virgin
* Frescoes on the right wall: Stories of St John the Baptist
* Frescoes on the rear wall and vaults

(unluckily the rear wall is not given completely) ... generally it seems to me that the explanations are occasionally a little doubtable and not nessarily the "ultimate truth"

Background of this greater piece of art seems to be the death of Lucrezia Tornabuoni (Lorenzo de Medi's mother) in the year 1482.
Her brother, who earned a lot of money by his partnership with the Medici bank, was the sponsor.

Lucrezia Tornabuoni had shown during her life a major engagement for the Giovanni-the-Baptist festivities in Florence, engaging especially for the rappresentatione during these festivities, religious street theatre, that showed scenes of the life of Giovanni tthe Baptist.

Consequently the paintings in the chapel somehow repeat this show of Giovanni in 7 scenes (on the right wall), comparing it to 7 scenes of the life of Mary (on the left wall). One of the scenes in the Johannes-pictures shows the meeting of Mary, mother of Jesus, with the "old" mother Johannes, Elizabeth.


Studying these paintings gives the impression, that we have here the pictures of a "live show" of Lucrezia's earlier theatre visions for the Johannes-shows.

There is enough place to show Tornabuoni women (also men, but women dominate clearly.

I think, I found Lucrezia Tornabuoni 3-4x presented, although she is not always presented as such:

The real portrait.

As already mentioned somewhere, the Giovanni festivities were delayed for some years after 1478, they were revived 1488 during the productions of these paintings.


The Florentine story of Mary seem to follow:
The Protoevangelium of James - The Birth of Mary the Holy Mother of God, and Very Glorious Mother of Jesus Christ

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/stj20001.htm

see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim

The church, in which the Tornabuoni chapel is integrated, is Santa Maria de Novella ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Novella

... and the facade was made 1470 by the achitectural plan of Leon Battista Alberti (about whom I recently already told much) and the commissioner was
Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai, father of Bernardp Rucellai, who married a sister of Lorenzo and became member in Lorenzo's "brigata". Alberti took also influence on Rucellai's garden, which much later became the meeting place of the revived Platonical Accademia, and he disigned the Palazzo Rucellai (build 1446 - 1451 with the facade finished in 1465) - his first major appearance as an architect.

 

[Rosanne]

This was San Giovanni's procession in 1495 in Venice- a more sedate and liturgical affair than what was in Florence.
http://www.abcgallery.com/B/bellini/gentile2.html

I am reading Richard C. Trexler's Public life in Renaissance Florence .
I am convinced in my ever mercurial nature- that the ritual celebrations for this festival have a lot to do with the Charles V1 cards than has ever been researched. In your threads and my own meanderings on the subject it has been talked about as Triumphs - but it might be more appropriate to speak of edifizi or floats. There were a mixture of immobile and processional edifizi; the major procession was ecclesiastical rather than secular or profane as edicts enforced. ps. The main procession movable edifizi were not allowed- but outside various churches immovable edifizi or stages were used and dignitaries were often on these as well as Saints and Virtues. The Festival extended usually for four days before the feast and secular processions with floats were used.

 

[Huck]

I learnt recently something

... John the Baptist was engraved on the Florentian ducats - also on coins in Milan. And the ducat of Florence and Venice was the major stable money-unit in Europe, the Venetian a little more stable than the Florence money.

[... later added: meanwhile broken link to the pictures]

Milan, a socalled "Popolino"

Btw. your source seems to be an interesting book.

 

[Rosanne]

An interesting tidbit Huck-
The Feast of Saint John the Baptist, in June, is held very close to the date of a heathen festival of water, which celebrated the purifying of followers with water of the earth - in essence a type of baptism. This is the late May ancient feast of Mercuralia celebration known also as the "Festival of Mercury". Mercury was thought to be the god of merchants and commerce, and the Romans would sprinkle water from a sacred well on their ships and merchandise. I guess the river Arno would do! (Interesting that Lorenzo apparently won the Helmet of winged Mercury on the Feast of John the Baptist) David became a symbol of the Florentine Republic in conflict with more powerful enemies, yet favored by God. I have read critiques that say the famous Statues of David in Florence, especially Donatellos are a fusion of the Christian and Roman ideals of David and Mercury

 

[Huck]

(Interesting that Lorenzo apparently won the Helmet of winged Mercury on the Feast of John the Baptist)

Hm. Do you have a date for this?