Cardinal virtues series in two Florentine guild halls
Posted: 23 Apr 2019, 21:22
Images of these series are fairly hard to find on the web, so remedying that here. I was in Florence in early April and lucked out in gaining access to the Palazzo dell'Arte della Lana (the powerful Wool guild) by attending a special event (I saw a five piece brass chamber music event at night for 15 euros I didn’t really want to part with, but I was entertained); the Palazzo dell'Arte dei Giudici e Notai (Judges and Notaries guild) is much more easier to access – simply show up and eat in the seafood restaurant that is now in that space, rehabbed in 2011[?] (Fishing Lab alle Murate https://www.fishinglab.it/ - despite the terrible name, a damn good meal so worth eating there, especially with the frescoes in question just above your head if you eat on the mezzanine level).
Both series are discussed with admirable research in this unpublished doctoral thesis available via academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/7104776/From_M ... y_Florence
Although both cycles are from the second half of the 14th century and thus well before tarot, they still may have had relevance since these virtues are obviously in the decks (prudence controversially so) and the importance of these two guilds in the political life of Florence is unquestioned. The Lana guild was arguably the most important guild in the city and spurred the initiative of the famous statues that adorn the adjacent (and now attached) Orsanmichele Marian cult shrine. The Judges and Guilds held a super-legal status within the guild system as sort of the lead guild and was even lead by the likes of Leonardo Bruni, the chancellor of Florence when the ur-tarot was created c. 1440. The bottom line is both venues received the city’s elite on a frequent basis and thus viewed these cycles frequently as well.
Cardinal virtues in the Palazzo dell'Arte della Lana
The virtues appear here twice – in the standard medallions of the vaulted ceiling and more unusually as protectors of Brutus fighting off vice-like figures trying to influence this political role model (the primary tenant of this building today is the Dante Society – presumably they get the irony of being in a building featuring a historical figure that Dante placed in the devil’s mouth in the lowest level of hell; note: you can also access this building if a Dante Society event is going on but none was while I was there – failing that look for a musical event hosted there). In another post I’ll address the unusual but not unique attribute of Prudence present here: the armillary sphere. Note that the other set of four ceiling medallions are of the Evangelists (again, fairly standard to have the four virtues in one part of a ceiling and the four Evangelists in an adjoining cross-vault, as in the Baroncelli chapel in S. Croce). Justice is all but illegible due to the ravages of time (not my bad pic ;-). Above - upper left, counter -clockwise: Prudence, Strength, Temperance, Justice (only 2 have standard attributes).
Cardinal virtues in the Palazzo dell'Arte dei Giudici e Notai
Just steps down the street from the Bargello/Palazzo del Popolo, the frescoes in this-now restaurant feature the virtues as standard ceiling medallions flanked by two different representations of justice, with a highly symbolic representation of Florence in accord with her civic symbols. Prudence, worse for wear, holds a square (instead of the related compass), about as rare as the armillary sphere. The frescoes are extremely damaged here but generally legible (Temperance's attributes are odd - her vessels look more like incense thuribles and I'm not sure what is in her opposite hand).
Phaeded
PS Obviously there is much more going on in the overall decorative programs in each guild hall - I just focused on the virtues. Please refer to the thesis linked above for additional details and references.
Both series are discussed with admirable research in this unpublished doctoral thesis available via academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/7104776/From_M ... y_Florence
Although both cycles are from the second half of the 14th century and thus well before tarot, they still may have had relevance since these virtues are obviously in the decks (prudence controversially so) and the importance of these two guilds in the political life of Florence is unquestioned. The Lana guild was arguably the most important guild in the city and spurred the initiative of the famous statues that adorn the adjacent (and now attached) Orsanmichele Marian cult shrine. The Judges and Guilds held a super-legal status within the guild system as sort of the lead guild and was even lead by the likes of Leonardo Bruni, the chancellor of Florence when the ur-tarot was created c. 1440. The bottom line is both venues received the city’s elite on a frequent basis and thus viewed these cycles frequently as well.
Cardinal virtues in the Palazzo dell'Arte della Lana
The virtues appear here twice – in the standard medallions of the vaulted ceiling and more unusually as protectors of Brutus fighting off vice-like figures trying to influence this political role model (the primary tenant of this building today is the Dante Society – presumably they get the irony of being in a building featuring a historical figure that Dante placed in the devil’s mouth in the lowest level of hell; note: you can also access this building if a Dante Society event is going on but none was while I was there – failing that look for a musical event hosted there). In another post I’ll address the unusual but not unique attribute of Prudence present here: the armillary sphere. Note that the other set of four ceiling medallions are of the Evangelists (again, fairly standard to have the four virtues in one part of a ceiling and the four Evangelists in an adjoining cross-vault, as in the Baroncelli chapel in S. Croce). Justice is all but illegible due to the ravages of time (not my bad pic ;-). Above - upper left, counter -clockwise: Prudence, Strength, Temperance, Justice (only 2 have standard attributes).
Cardinal virtues in the Palazzo dell'Arte dei Giudici e Notai
Just steps down the street from the Bargello/Palazzo del Popolo, the frescoes in this-now restaurant feature the virtues as standard ceiling medallions flanked by two different representations of justice, with a highly symbolic representation of Florence in accord with her civic symbols. Prudence, worse for wear, holds a square (instead of the related compass), about as rare as the armillary sphere. The frescoes are extremely damaged here but generally legible (Temperance's attributes are odd - her vessels look more like incense thuribles and I'm not sure what is in her opposite hand).
Phaeded
PS Obviously there is much more going on in the overall decorative programs in each guild hall - I just focused on the virtues. Please refer to the thesis linked above for additional details and references.