I have changed the title of the thread to reflect better what comes next.
Here I will begin with a little more of Ambrogio Bembo's work, something he (with a question mark) did for the Casa Meli. Bandera and Tanzi, 2013, do not include this scene in their selection of "tavole" (panels) to reproduce, but they were all done by the same artist in the same style on the same themes. This one is called "Giuseppe toglie la tazza d'oro", Joseph removes the gold cup. It is also in Kaplan vol. 2, but even my bad photo is better than what he has. Bandera and Tanzi, like the Museo in Cremona, haves the question mark after Ambrogio's name; the attribution is not certain. The Museo has "meta dei XV secolo"; Bandera and Tanzi have "1445-1450 circa". I apologize for the photo, but the light was turned low and I'm lucky to have gotten anything.
Now compare that to a scene out of "Lancelot", published 1446, which Bandera and Tanzi attribute to Ambrogio and Bonifacio together:
On the one hand, there is an obvious affinity, both in the general design and particular details. On the other hand, the "Lancelot" is more expressive.
Here is something else that relates to the PMB, a scene from the Casa Meli. I am not sure what Bible scene is being depicted. What interests me is the shape of the table legs:
Then, from the Bagatella's table:
And from "Lancelot":
But why assume their collaboration, as opposed to one or the other? I am not sure. I will quote what Tanzi says, with my translation (Bandera and Tanzi, p.p. 58-59):
Nel frattempo, in una lunga scheda, Mario Marubbi (in La Pinacoteca 2004, pp. 142-159, n. 40) tenta di chiarire le vicende materiali del ciclo e si attesta sui l'etichetta “Bottega dei Bembo (Ambrogio Bembo?)”, con una cronologia intorno o poco prima della metà del Quattrocento (cfr. anche Castellini 2003, p. 110; 2005, p. 279). Esclude le dieci di Torcello e coglie nella serie, “senza voler parlare di diversi pittori”, due diverse tendenze: "una più sintetica e attenta a risolvere le figure in verticale, caratterizzata da posture più statiche che predilige una disposizione simmetrica, da un segno sottile ed elegante e che ricorre a pochissimi tocchi di colore liquido quasi acquerellato, e una tendenza (o una mano) più distesa, che articola il racconto in maniera più complessa, conferendo movimento e profondità alla scena, oltre a ricorrere più generosamente al colore temperato, contraddistinta da un segno più marcato”.
Roberta Aglio (2008, pp. 16-24), infine, si occupa delle fonti iconografiche e visive del ciclo, in diretto rapporto con gli affreschi nelle volte del transetto del Duomo di Cremona, sulla scorta di quanto già intravisto da Monika Dachs (1989, pp. 116-117).
La serie dì casa Meli è una delle realizzazioni più tìpiche e suggestive di questa specifica specializzazione della bottega bembesca: le analogie di carattere grafico con ii disegno del 1450 con Sant'Omobono, con le illustrazioni del Lancillotto, 1446, e con le altre opere del quinto decennio, fanno pensare a una datazione contigua. Negli anni quaranta-cinquanta le affinità stilistiche tra Bonifacio e Ambrogio sono tangibili, nel segno della declinazione più cortese del gotico, con un compiacimento calligrafico più marcato in Ambrogio. Sono dei 1452 e del 1453 i pagamenti da parte degli ospitalieri cremonesi di Sant’Antonio Abate a un "Magister Bonifatius pictor” e a un "Magìster Ambroxius pictor” per un salterio e otto miniature “ex penello et auro” per un breviario, che rafforzano la convinzione di una collaborazione piuttosto intensa tra i due fratelli, che va intesa come partecipazione comune a imprese di varia natura, sia in pit- [end of 58] tura, con dipinti murali e da cavalletto, sia nelle "arti congeneri", miniature, tarocchi, cassoni nuziali, tavolette da soffitto.
Credo che ad Ambrogio siano da riferire tanto il disegno a penna con SanfOmobono e devoti sulla copertina del Libro mastro del Consorzio di Sarit’Omobono dell’Archivio dì Stato dì Cremona (reg. 381), pagatogli il 10 aprile 1450, quanto l'altro del registro 380, che si legano, come ha riconosciuto per primo Boskovìts, alle Illustrazioni - più raffinate e finite, ma indubbiamente della stessa mano - del Lancillotto fiorentino; alle tavolette e ai mazzi di tarocchi Visconti dì Modrane e Colleonì-Baglioni, I personaggi delle tavolette hanno una verticalità più slanciata rispetto a quelli del Lancillotto: I disegni fiorentini hanno una maggiore finitezza, dovuta alla diversa funzione, ma entrambe le imprese escono dal medesimo ramo della bottega. La distinzione di mano tra Bonifacio e Ambrogio è percepibile con un certo agio grazie ai confronti tra queste opere e le miniature dì Bonifacio alla Mirandola e a Rimini. Il corpus di Ambrogio, così formato, dovrebbe comprendere dipinti come l'affresco con la Madonna con II Bambino tra i Santi Cosma e Damiano, datata 1448, della Pinacoteca di Cremona (inv. 17), che già Puerari avvicinava ai due Santi Harris ora a Leicester (New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, inv. L.F25.1950.0.0, LF26.1950.-0.0), e, credo, il trittichetto di Avignone (inv. Calvet 22810), sempre sul finire degli anni quaranta. Entrano a pieno diritto nella discussione anche parte degli affreschi nella cappelletta della Rocca di Monticelli d’Ongina, eseguiti per Carlo Pallavicino dopo l’elezione a vescovo di Lodi nel 1456 (e, verosìmilmente, la presa di possesso dell’edificio, nel 1458): le Storie di San Bassiano, i Profeti, le lunette con San Giorgio e la principessa, la Crocifissione e la Deposizione. (Marco Tanzì)
(Meanwhile, in a long discussion, Mario Marubbi (in La Pinacoteca 2004, pp. 142-159, n. 40) attempts to clarify the recent material on the cycle and stands by the label "Bembo Workshop (Ambrogio Bembo?)", with a chronology around or just before the middle of the fifteenth century (cfr. also Castellini 2003, p. 110; 2005, p. 279). He excludes the ten of Torchello and grasps in the series, "without wanting to talk about different painters", two different trends: "a more concise and careful to resolve the figures in vertical, characterized by more static postures that prefers a symmetrical arrangement, by a sign slim and stylish and in which recurs a few touches of liquid color, almost watercolor, and a trend (or hand) more relaxed, that articulates the story in a more complex way, giving movement and depth to the scene, as well as more generous use of tempered color, characterized by a stronger design."
Roberta Aglio ([Le tavolette da soffito bembesche con storie della Genesi dei Museo Civico di Cremona. Alcune considerazioni iconografiche, in "Arte Lombarda", 152, pp. 16024) 2008, pp. 16-24), finally, deals with the iconographic sources and the visual cycle, in direct relation to the frescoes in the vaults of the transept of the Cathedral of Cremona, on the basis of what has already been glimpsed by Monika Dachs (Ene Cremoneser "tavoletta da soffitto" im Besitz des OberoesterreichischerLandesmuseums in Linz, in "Jahrbuch des Oberoesterreichisher Musealverein", 134, pp. 113-131] 1989, pp. 116-117).
The series at the Meli house is one of the most typical achievements, suggestive of this specific specialization of the Bembo workshop: the similarities in character with the graphic design in 1450 of Sant'Omobono, with illustrations of Lancelot, 1446, and other works of the fifth decade, suggest a contiguous dating. In the forties-fifties, stylistic affinities between Bonifacio and Ambrogio are tangible, in the more courteous sign of declination of the Gothic, with a more pronounced calligraphic complacency in Ambrogio. There are the 1452 and 1453 payments by the Hospitallers of Saint Anthony of Cremona to a “Magister Bonifatius Pictor" and a "Magister Ambroxius Pictor" for a psalter and eight miniatures "ex penello et auro" for a breviary, reinforcing the conviction of a rather intense collaboration between the two brothers, that should be understood as joint participation in productions of various kinds, both in paintings [58] , painting in murals and easel, and in the "arti congeneri": miniatures , tarot cards, wedding chests, ceiling panels.
I believe that to Ambrogio are to be referred both the drawing in pen with Sant’Omobono and devotees on the cover of the ledger of the Consortium of Saint Omobono of the Archives of Cremona (reg. 381), paid on April 10, 1450, as well as the other register 380, which connect, as Boskovits first recognized, to the Illustrations - finer and more finished, but undoubtedly by the same hand - of the Florentine Lancelot; the panels, and the Visconti of Madrone and Colleoni-Baglioni Tarot decks. The characters of the panels have a more slender verticality than those of Lancelot: The Florentine drawings have a greater finitude, due to their different function, but both bear the impress of the same branch of the shop. The distinction of the hand between Bonifacio and Ambrogio is perceived with a certain ease thanks to the comparisons between these works and the miniatures of Bonifacio at Mirandola and Rimini. The corpus of Ambrogio, thus formed, should include paintings such as the fresco of the Madonna and Child between Saints Cosmas and Damian, dated 1448, Pinacoteca di Cremona (cat. 17), which already Puerari advanced, with the two Harris Saints now at Leicester (New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, inv. L.F25.1950.0.0, LF26.1950.-0.0), and, I believe, the triptych of Avignon (inv. Calvet 22810), all in the late forties. With full rights in the discussion come also part of the frescoes in the chapel of the Rocca dif Monticelli d'Ongina, executed for Carlo Pallavicino after his election as Bishop of Lodi in 1456 (and, presumably, his taking possession of the building in 1458): the Stories of San Bassiano, the Prophets, the lunettes with Saint George and the Princess, the Crucifixion and the Deposition. (Marco Tanzì))
This last list must have been meant to include everything that Ambrogio participated in, with or without Bonifacio. But it seems, from the captions to the reproductions in the book, that Tanzi attributes the triptych in Avignon to Ambrogio alone (
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EG3WXkFRN1k/V ... age-48.JPG), as well as, with a question mark, a c. 1468 San Giorgio (
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-75gqnV5EU3A/V ... age-16.JPG; Kaplan, p. 134, calls this San Alexis). As for the saints at Leicester, which he attributes to Ambrogio, a comparison of them with two other saints in Milan and attributed to Bonifacio might be one way to see the differences between the two painters:
The ones he attributes to Ambrogio are in black and white. The others certainly have more life, if nothing else.
And here are examples of the miniatures that Tanzi attributes to Bonifacio Bembo:
.
I have not located a 1448 fresco of "Madonna and Child between Saints Cosmas and Damian". It is not in my photos taken at Cremona, nor can I find a "cat. 17" in the book, nor is it in Kaplan.
Looking at the Meli panels that Tanzi reproduces, I suppose I can see what he means by "verticality":
(a) expulsion of Adam and Eve:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dR7AP9cnncY/V ... age-17.JPG
(b) Joseph sold by his brothers:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-viJ7pl0rU8M/V ... age-20.JPG (an example where the "verticality" is not present)
(c) Joseph before Pharoah:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JlarZ775OrM/V ... age-18.JPG
(d) Arrest of Benjamin:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BRpfaKPy5ek/V ... age-19.JPG
There is a similar "verticality" in some of the Cary-Yale and PMB figures, e.g. the attendants on the Emperor and Empress cards; but these are invariably children, who would be expected to be thinner.
I have an additional observation not mentioned by the experts. It may not be worth anything. I'd say that Ambrogio might not do animals well. At the Casa Meli he has a scene of Adam naming the animals.
He doesn't seem to know what size a unicorn is, much less a lion. Either that or these were done for children to look at, and he wanted the animals to look like pets. But I don't know of any other such examples. (Incidentally, Bonifacio's Adam at Sant'Agostino (reproduced in Tanzi's 2011 book) shows, by comparison Ambrogio's "slender verticality":
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GwBR7RLIEYk/V ... age-26.JPG
For comparison of animals, here is a scene from "Lancelot" with a unicorn done the correct size, just as lovable, and some other animals. I think they are done better than in the Casa Meli panels.
In the tarot decks, there aren't many animals. The dog in the CY Love card seems to me pretty lifelike. The lion in the CY Fortitude card is strange, but at least its head is the right size (
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/23 ... 5d5ea2.jpg. The lion in the corresponding card of the PMB (
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... rength.jpg) is absurdly small, like that in "Adam Naming the Animals". In contrast Bonifacio's lion in the fresco of St. Mark and St.Gregory (
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uXbIUC3ifbE/V ... age-52.JPG) is fairly realistic.
Bandera and Tanzi do produce documentation that the two painters collaborated. Tanzi writes (p. 25). That is mentioned in the long passage I quoted before. It refers back to another discussion which gives the reference in the literature (p. 25):
In quest'ottica non sottovaluto i pagamenti del 1452 per le miniature di un Uffiziolo per i frati Ospitalieri di Sant’Antonio a Cremona a un “Magistro Bonifatìo pictori" e a un "Magistro Ambroxio pictori” {Novati 1885, p. 53): sono documenti che rafforzano la convinzione di una collaborazione piuttosto intensa tra i due fratelli negli anni quaranta-cinquanta.
(With this in mind I do not underestimate the payments of 1452 for the miniatures of an Uffiziolo for the Hospitaller Brothers of St. Anthony in Cremona to a "Magistro Bonifatìo pictori" and a "Magistro Ambroxio pictori" (Novati 1885 [P. Novati, Scrittori e miniatori cremonese del secolo XV, "Il Bibliofilio" VI, pp. 49-53], p. 53); these are documents that reinforce the conviction of a rather intense collaboration between the two brothers in the forties-fifties.
This is Tanzi writing, but the volume is edited by both Bandera and him, with attributions not credited to either in particular. She is a leading authority on the cards, and Tanzi the same on the Bembos.
I have underexposed and more or less blurry photos of about a dozen more of the Casa Meli panels, if anyone needs to see more. There is also one more in Kaplan vol. 2, p. 135. And there are many more scenes from "Lancelot" in Bandera and Tanzi's 2013 catalog besides those here and in Kaplan.