Ambrogio vs. Bonifacio Bembo
Posted: 06 Mar 2015, 21:42
In the Cremona Museo Civico, I discovered to my surprise,there is a whole floor devoted mainly to the work of Ambrogio Bembo, brother of the more well known Bonifacio Bembo. It is a small floor and easily missed, but still... I took hasty snapshots of everything. Also, the book (in "Quelle carte de triumphi che se fanno a Cremona": I Tarocchi dei Bembo, by Sandra Bandera and Marco Tanzi, 2013, has good reproductions of some of them. His known probable work is restricted to one series of frescoes done for the Casa Meli in Cremona, fortunately preserved when the house they decorated was being remodeled in the late 19th century, plus a drawing. The style is different enough from Bonifacio's known work to not be his, and very close in style to a sketch done in a ledger book recording payment to Ambrogio Bembo. This work is worth seeing and comparing to the Bembo cards, i.e. the Cary-Yale (CY), Brera-Brambilla (BB), and Pierpont-Morgan-Bergamo (PMB). It is also worth comparing to the "Lancelot" drawings, which have a similar style to the Bembo cards. Almost none of Ambrogio Bembo's work is currently on the Web.
In this post I am going to review the information, mostly already posted elsewhere on THF, about the ledger drawing associated with the name "Ambroxo Bembo". Here is the drawing, from Maria Grazia Tolfo at http://www.storiadimilano.it/Arte/miniatori.htm:
Of this Tolfo writes:
The Consortium of Saint Omobono seems to have been a charitable organization, named for a charitable merchant (http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/35350):
Francesco and Bianca Maria were benefactors, Loredan said a couple of posts later, citing Gli organgi assembeari e Collegiali del comune di Cremona Nell'eta Visconti-Sforzesca (Milan :Giuffe 1978)"), apparently from the start of their marriage. Being a benefactor also allows one a certain measure of control over an organization. On other threads I have defended the view that one meaning of the card is, for the Sforza family, a certain heretic and would-be "Popess" in the Visconti family. I see no contradiction between the Bembos' portraying, probably unknowingly, a heretic Popess, and their membership in this organization. As far as the Bembos and the public were concerned, she would represent the Faith and Wisdom associated with the Church, and the brown habit is that of the Poor Clares. The question of why there were two tarot figures representing the Church, the other being the Pope, need not have arisen.
It was the Dominicans who really combated "heresy" in Lombardy, via their control of the Lombard Inquisition. In 1474 they managed to prosecute 5 "witches" in Cremona, according to Lea in History of the Medieval Inquisition, vol. 3 p. 518. One alleged witch even had the name Guglielmina. But of course that is simply the feminine form of "William", the name of many saints. And 1474 is past the time of Francesco and Bianca Maria. During their time, such folk apparently went unmolested.
In this post I am going to review the information, mostly already posted elsewhere on THF, about the ledger drawing associated with the name "Ambroxo Bembo". Here is the drawing, from Maria Grazia Tolfo at http://www.storiadimilano.it/Arte/miniatori.htm:
Of this Tolfo writes:
I will ignore this last remark, about Lazzaro. He deserves a thread of his own; in any case his style, to the extent it has been identified (by Bendera and Tanzi (2013), is somewhat different from that of the cards.Nel 1450 si incaricarono di eseguire il Privilegio del Consorzio di Sant’Omobono di Cremona, al quale i Bembo appartenevano. Questo Privilegio è servito recentemente per portare un po’ d’ordine fra le mani dei vari fratelli Bembo: un bozzetto a penna del Privilegio è finito sul Libro mastro del Consorzio, che alla data 1450 segnala il pagamento al “magistro Ambroxo de Bembi” per aver dipinto Sant’Omobono sul Privilegio del Consorzio stesso. Il bozzetto era in funzione del Privilegio? Si pensa di sì, e allora ecco che Ambrogio Bembo per perizia “calligrafica” diventa l’autore dell’Historia di Lancillotto e quindi dei Tarocchi che erano assegnati allo stesso maestro dell’Historia. Ma la chiarezza è durata poco, perché dopo il ritrovamento di altre “prove” il povero Ambrogio è già scalzato a favore del fratello Lazzaro.
(In 1450 they took charge of running the Privilegio of the Consortium of Saint Omobono [Good Man) of Cremona, to which the Bembo belonged. This Privilegio was used recently to bring a little 'order among the hands of the various brothers Bembo: a pen sketch of the Privilegio is completed on the ledger of the Consortium, which, dated 1450, indicates payment to "magistro Ambroxo de Bembi" for having painted Saint Omobono on the Privilege of the Consortium. Was the sketch based on the Privilegio? It is thought so, and thus Ambrogio Bembo for his "calligraphic" expertise becomes the author of the History of Lancelot and the Tarot cards assigned to the same master of the History. But clarity is short-lived, because after the discovery of other "evidence", poor Ambrogio is already ousted in favor of his brother Lazzaro.
The Consortium of Saint Omobono seems to have been a charitable organization, named for a charitable merchant (http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/35350):
Loredan on another thread (viewtopic.php?f=11&t=932&p=13657&hilit=Ambrogio#p13660) said the organization was started in 1334 and also had the job of combatting heresy. It is not clear what exactly they did in this area. Loredan came to the conclusion, if I understand her, that this was added in order to discourage wandering preachers of dubious credentials and doctrines from taking advantage of the charity. In the 14th century there were apparently quite a few.In addition to being the patron saint of Cremona, Omobono Tucenghi is the protector of merchants, weavers and tailors. He himself, in fact, was a textile merchant esteemed in the city. He was good in business and rich. But money - in his conception of wealth, seen not as an end in itself - was for the poor. His action led him to be an authoritative witness in times of conflict between municipalities and the Empire (Cremona was with the emperor). When he died suddenly on 13 November 1197, during Mass, the fame of his holiness quickly spread. Innocent III elevated him to the altar two years later. Buried in the cathedral of Cremona. (Avvenire)
Patronage: Cremona, merchants, textile workers, Tailors
Roman Martyrology: In Cremona, St. Omobono, a merchant moved by charity for the poor, who has shone in collecting and educating abandoned children and restore peace in families.
Francesco and Bianca Maria were benefactors, Loredan said a couple of posts later, citing Gli organgi assembeari e Collegiali del comune di Cremona Nell'eta Visconti-Sforzesca (Milan :Giuffe 1978)"), apparently from the start of their marriage. Being a benefactor also allows one a certain measure of control over an organization. On other threads I have defended the view that one meaning of the card is, for the Sforza family, a certain heretic and would-be "Popess" in the Visconti family. I see no contradiction between the Bembos' portraying, probably unknowingly, a heretic Popess, and their membership in this organization. As far as the Bembos and the public were concerned, she would represent the Faith and Wisdom associated with the Church, and the brown habit is that of the Poor Clares. The question of why there were two tarot figures representing the Church, the other being the Pope, need not have arisen.
It was the Dominicans who really combated "heresy" in Lombardy, via their control of the Lombard Inquisition. In 1474 they managed to prosecute 5 "witches" in Cremona, according to Lea in History of the Medieval Inquisition, vol. 3 p. 518. One alleged witch even had the name Guglielmina. But of course that is simply the feminine form of "William", the name of many saints. And 1474 is past the time of Francesco and Bianca Maria. During their time, such folk apparently went unmolested.