SIX TUSCAN POETS
- Seda DOGAN DEMIREL
- Oct 12
- 6 min read
Date: 1544
Artist: Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)
Art Movement/Period: Late Renaissance, Mannerism
Exhibited Location: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, USA
The work was commissioned between 1543 and 1544 by Luca Martini , nephew of the humanist Poggio Bracciolini and a leading figure in the court of Cosimo I de' Medici (1569–1574) . It is currently on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and a copy is held by Oriel College, Oxford.
In the Shadow of the Accademia Fiorentina: Vasari's Composition
The subject of the painting is thought to have been suggested by Luca Martini. Martini was a well-known figure among artists and writers in Florence and a prominent supporter of intellectual and cultural exchange. Martini's personal interest in poetry was evident. His interest in Dante also led him to commission works based on the Divine Comedy. The prominent presence of Dante in Vasari's work reflects the respect Martini and his circle held for poetry and the poet.
The discussions held at the Florence Academy (Accademia Fiorentina), a place established for the promotion and study of the public language, of which Martini was one of the founders, provided fertile ground for the birth of this commission given to Vasari.
The Politics of the Table: Re-Centering Dante in the Age of Petrarchism
Portrait of Six Tuscan Poets dates to a period when Petrarch's reputation was on the rise. The commentary of Bembo, a leading 16th-century literary critic, helps us understand this period. Bembo argues that literary language should be based on the refined lyricism of Petrarch and the elegant prose of Boccaccio. He offers Petrarch and Boccaccio as models.
Bembo criticized Dante for making mistakes in his choice of words and for not being balanced in his use of language; he said that "while he wanted to show in his poetry that he was the master of the seven free arts and philosophy, as well as all Christian sciences, in the poetry he remained less sublime and incomplete."
Bembo's propositions became dominant in many centers of Italy. However , the Florentines were dissatisfied with the increasing relegation of their native poet to the background. While Dante's fortunes declined outside Florence, admiration for the poet and his works remained high at home.
Six Poets, One Throne: Dante
Vasari's choice of these six poets is deliberate. In the painting, Dante is placed alongside his contemporaries and near-contemporaries, the Tuscan writers. Dante is the dominant poet in the work.
Vasari emphasizes Dante's superiority in the painting in several ways. Dante is depicted in the center, surrounded by his distinguished colleagues: he is the only one seated in an elegantly decorated Florentine chair, yet he appears to be of the same height as the others.
Just behind it, Giovanni Boccaccio's 1348 biography of Dante includes portraits of the author. Boccaccio described Dante as follows: "Our poet was of medium height... His face was long, his nose aquiline, his eyes rather large than small. His jaws were broad, and his lower lip protruded further than his upper. His complexion was dark; his hair and beard were thick, black, and curly; his expression was always sad and thoughtful."
This depiction differs from the "canonical" image of Dante that became dominant after the 16th century. Based on a death mask kept in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence and likely based on a now-lost statue from his tomb in Ravenna, this image shows a tall, balding figure with a severely serious expression and an aquiline nose.
The 15th-century Dante masks, now in the Palazzo Vecchio and the Bargello in Florence, claim to be taken from carved tombstones or the dead poet's face, respectively.
The Universe on the Table: Dante's Map of Knowledge
On the table are objects such as a quadrant, celestial and terrestrial globes, compasses, a book, a pen, and an inkwell. Together, these instruments symbolize astronomy, astrology, geometry, cosmography, and geography. The books, pen, and inkwell are traditional symbols of the scholar/writer.
Dante, positioned closest to the table, has his hand on the objects. This gesture suggests the universe of knowledge in The Divine Comedy. Conversely, the book in Petrarch's hand, " Rime sparse ," with its portrait of Laura on the cover, suggests the more limited and intimate nature of his world.
Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio: Balance of Power in Vasari's Painting
All the other poets are standing. Petrarch, in church vestments, holds up the Rime , which features Laura on the cover . Dante seems to ignore Petrarch for a moment. Boccaccio, Dante's first biographer, stands between Dante and Petrarch, behind them. Dante demonstrates a technical point by holding up his Vergilius in front of Cavalcanti (a subtle allusion to Dante's view that Cavalcanti underappreciates Vergilius). Petrarch leans forward to examine the book more closely.
According to Vasari, the two figures in the background are the 13th-14th-century poets Cino da Pistoia and Guittone d'Arezzo; however, it is not clear which is Cino and which is Guittone. Much of the past debate about this painting has focused on the identity of these two figures.
Recent studies have shown that Vasari's sources for these two figures were not based on " teste antiche " (medieval models), but rather on the likenesses of Cristoforo Landino and Marsilio Ficino in Domenico Ghirlandaio's Tornabuoni Chapel in Santa Maria Novella (1485). The significance of who is who stems from the cultural issues presented in the painting that influence its interpretation.
If the two figures are Cino and Guittone, they highlight the importance of the 13th-century poetic tradition in shaping the Italian literary language. Their presence suggests that the Tuscan poetic tradition, along with Guido Cavalcanti, evolved over generations, just as Vasari traced the history of art as a line of achievement from Cimabue to his own time.
Silent Dialogues: The Staging of Poetry in Vasari
One of the most striking features of Vasari's painting is the groupings and silent dialogues between the poets. The figures are also divided into those with and those without laurel wreaths: Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Cavalcanti all wear laurel wreaths; the two figures in the background wear contemporary headdresses.
The orientation of the poets' heads suggests another grouping: Dante converses with Guida Cavalcanti over the volume of Vergilius he holds in his hand. The Vergilius volume, recognizable by its inscription, represents the presence of the Roman poet in the painting, acknowledging the importance of both the early Italian lyric and the classical epic traditions. Guido represents the early Trecento lyric tradition, while the Vergilius volume represents the classical epic tradition.
Boccaccio and Petrarch are facing each other, as are the two figures behind them. Thus, the figures are divided into groups of two.
The heads of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio also form a trilogy: Petrarch looks at Dante, Boccaccio at Petrarch. They symbolize the famous "three crowns" of Florence.
Boccaccio is between Dante and Petrarch, inspired by both, but oriented toward his dear friend Petrarch. However, his position below Dante and Petrarch, on the same level as Guido, emphasizes his secondary position to them both.
Showing the poets' conversations facing each other suggests shared literary affinities. Each of the five visible hands is directed dramatically and instructively toward either the books or Dante: Dante presents his volume of Vergilius to Guido, while with the other hand he points to Petrarch's book. Guido points to a passage from the volume bearing the title Vergilius . Petrarch, clutching his book in one hand, thrusts his other hand toward Dante, as if trying to capture the "flash" of the Dante-Guido exchange.
To Whom Do the Three Crowns of Florence Belong?
The most interesting conversation appears to be that between Dante and Guido Cavalcanti. While Cavalcanti's inclusion is not surprising, his laurel wreathing is unexpected. In the 15th century, humanists like Bruni, Palmieri, and Manetti identified the "three crowns" of Florence as Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. Expanding this group to include Cavalcanti highlights the contribution of 13th-century poets, particularly those with a more philosophical bent, to the Tuscan literary heritage.
Praise for Cavalcanti's talent is plentiful: in Araf , Dante implies that one of the "two Guidos" (Cavalcanti) has robbed the other (Guinizelli) of his linguistic greatness. Lorenzo de' Medici praises Cavalcanti at the beginning of his Comento . Landino praises his "plain and learned style," saying that his only flaw is that he fades in the face of a "greater light" (Dante).
Considering the subject matter of the painting and the socio-cultural context in which it was produced, Vasari's painting invites a reflection on literary genealogy and superiority.
In his Vite , Vasari suggests that while art reaches its zenith in Michelangelo, poetry reaches its zenith in Dante. He illustrates this with the famous aphorism of Simonides: "Painting is mute poetry; poetry is speaking painting."
Source:
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, USA
Cornell University Library, The Fame of Dante in Italy and Worldwide
University of Oxford , Art as History by the First Historian of Art: Giorgio Vasari's Ritratto di sei poeti toscani
Deborah Parker, Vasari's "Portrait of six Tuscan Poets": A Visible Literary History
Ente Nazionale Giovanni Boccaccio, Giorgio Vasari, Sei Poeti Toscani
https://spotlight.vatlib.it/dante/feature/sei-letterati-toscani
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