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Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond

Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond. Culture: Italian, Florence. Dimensions: H. 39-1/2 x W. 77 x D. 32-7/8 in. (100.3 x 195.6 x 83.5 cm); Painted surface 15 1/4 x 49 1/2 in. (38.7 x 125.7 cm). Maker: Attributed to workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italian, Florence ca. 1416-1465 Florence); and workshop of Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italian, Florence 1402-1489 Florence). Date: after ca. 1461. Purchased in 1913 from the Florentine dealer Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), this elaborate chest, or cassone, has long enjoyed status as one of the few fifteenth-century objects of its kind to survive intact and, moreover, to portray a contemporary historical event--the conquest of Trebizond, the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire, by Mehmed II in 1461 (for another example of a cassone panel depicting a contemporary historical event, see 07.120.1). This status has been called into question by a detailed, technical examination undertaken in 2008. It has now been demonstrated that so far from being intact, various parts of the chest are not integral and that, most importantly, the painted front may originate from another chest. This means that the purported provenance of the chest from Palazzo Strozzi, first asserted by Weisbach [see Ref. 1913], may have no bearing on the interpretation of the scene on the painted front. That the chest itself is connected with some member of the Strozzi family is clear from the emblems that appear on the end pieces, which are original to it: the Strozzi falcon or hawk perched on a caltrop (spiky metal devices that, when scattered on the ground, destabilize the enemy's horses) with a banderole inscribed ME[Z]ZE--perhaps indicating another Strozzi emblem, the half-moon crescent [see Ref. Nickel 1974]. The inside of the lid and the back of the cassone retain their original stenciled patterns simulating patterned fabric, and the top of the lid is embellished by a gessoed piece of cloth that is gilded and tooled to simulate a runner of cut velvet (this motif is worn, the paint having been almost entirely lost, so that the design is barely legible today). The scene on the painted front is universally recognized as coming from the most active and prestigious workshop for the production of painted cassone in mid-fifteenth-century Florence: that shared by Apollonio di Giovanni and Marco del Buono. Its subject is neither biblical nor mythological, nor even based on a contemporary novella such as those by Boccaccio. Rather, it depicts an event that unfolds before two identifiable cities of the Byzantine Empire. Much work has been done identifying the places shown [see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005]. In the left background, clearly labeled on its walls, is Constantinople. An attempt has been made by the artist to suggest a number of the city's landmarks and distinguishing topographical features, some of which are also labeled. There is the Latin church of San Francesco; the monumental column of Justinian in the Augustaion and the Egyptian obelisk (evidently topped by a crescent) in the Hippodrome originally laid out by Emperor Septimus Severus in the third century AD and further embellished by Constantine; the Hagia Sofia; the nearby sixth-century church of Saint Irene; what must be intended either as the Blachernae Palace or its thirteenth-century annex, the Palace of Porphyrogenitus, which served as the imperial residence for the last Byzantine emperors (the fragmentary inscription may possibly have been intended as [PALAZZO] DEILO [IM]PER[AT]ORI); the Golden Horn--the city's fabled inlet that was protected by a chain that could be drawn across it--with western ships (carracks) moored next to the Genoese quarter of Pera, the walls of which are dominated by the great circular Galata tower, atop which the Genoese flag can be seen. Other boats in the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara may be either Greek dromons or Ottoman. Further back, on the European side of the Bosphorus, is the CHASTEL NVOVO (the "new fortress" of Rumeli Hisari built by Mehmed II in 1451-52 in preparation for the seige of Constantinople; its distinctive towers are still a landmark today). Across the Bosphorus is another walled city designated as LO SCUTARIO--Scutari, present-day Üsküdar (the name, Skutarion, derived from the leather shields of the Roman soldiers stationed there; it fell to the Ottomans almost a century before Constantinople). Then, dominating the hill on the right is the walled city of Trebizond (modern-day Trabzon). Located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, it became the seat of a separate Byzantine empire when it was conquered by Alexios Komenos in 1204--the year Constantinople fell to the crusaders--and was the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453. It fell to the Ottomans in 1461, marking the final demise of Byzantium. Although hardly an accurate depiction, it seems clear that for his depiction of Constantinople the artist was supplied with descriptions and maps, such as the one included in Cristoforo Buondelmonti's Liber insularum Archipelagi of 1420 [see Ref. Pope-Hennessy and Christiansen 1980] as well as, possibly, drawings by that inveterate traveler Cyriac of Ancona and the reports of other visitors to the city [see Ref. Lurati 2005]. Before the walled city of Trebizond is depicted a battle. An encampment of tents is shown on the far right, in front of which the leader of one of the armies is seated on a triumphal chariot drawn by two white horses. He wears a turban, as do other members of his army, including the troops emerging behind Scutari, and he points his white baton towards a gesticulating, bearded figure who, dressed in blue, wears the sort of cylindrical hat splayed out at the top that was associated in Western Europe with the Byzantine Greeks [see Ref. Lurati 2005]; he rides a black steed and is plainly either reporting on the progress of the battle or taking orders. Prior to 1980 it was presumed that the figure on the chariot was Mehmed II [see Ref. Weisbach 1913] and that the battle depicted the Ottoman defeat of the Byzantines in 1461--hence the designation of the chest as the Trebizond Cassone. However, as has been pointed out by Paribeni [see Ref. 2001], Trebizond was taken by Mehmed II without a battle: it capitulated without bloodshed. Moreover, a close examination of the costumes reveals that it is the Ottomans who are being vanquished (for the costumes, see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005). Clearly shown among the captives and those in retreat are members of the Ottoman elite infantry, the Janissaries, wearing their distinctive white conical hats with the top folded over. Other conical hats are gold, some with a feathered decoration (for similar Turkish costumes, see Cesare Vecellio's Degli habiti antichi . . . , Venice, 1664, book 7, pp. 297-302). Their commander is almost certainly the turbaned figure to the left of the melee, dressed in gold, holding a scepter and mounted on a black horse. He is defended by Janissaries, one of whom turns around while pointing with his left hand. Scimitars are wielded by both armies, as are the distinctive recurved composite bows of Ottoman warfare. In front of the triumphal chariot five captives, two of whom kneel, are being presented to the victorious army commanders. The characterization of the two armies should have been enough to refute the common identification of the figure on the triumphal chariot as Mehmed II. And, in fact, a careful examination with the aid of infrared light in 1980 revealed an inscription identifying him as TAN[B]VRLANA--Tamerlane, or Timur (1336-1405), the celebrated Mongol emperor and commander who defeated the Ottomans under Bayezid I at Ankara in 1402 (Bayezid was taken prisoner). The battle, then, would seem to be Tamerlane's victory over Bayezid at Ankara, but anachronistically shown against the backdrop of Trebizond. As remarked by Gombrich [see Ref. 1955], "it cannot have been the intention of the painter simply to represent a Greek disaster." And, indeed, the setting of a battle that took place in 1402 in front of a city that fell to the Ottomans in 1461 signals an emblematic intent. In the minds of Europeans, Tamerlane's victories assured him a place among the "worthies". As such, his image was included in a fresco cycle of famous men commissioned about 1432 by Cardinal Giordano Orsini for his palace in Rome. A number of interpretations have been suggested to explain the apparent anachronisms (see the thorough summary in Ref. Krohn 2008). One would have it that the figure is not actually Tamerlane but the Turkmen rival of the Ottomans, Uzun Hasan (1423-1478), who was known in his time as a second Tamerlane [see Ref. Paribeni 2001 and Baskins, as reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]. Uzun Hasan made a pact with Mehmed II not to aid the Byzantine forces and thus to assist the Ottoman conquest of Trebizond. How this relates to the actual battle scene depicted remains problematic, but it may be worth noting that the Venetians sought Uzun Hasan as an ally against the Ottomans. What cannot be doubted is the intention to conflate historical events, using the past as a template for the future by reminding viewers that the Ottomans--now a threat to Europe--were not invincible. Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has indicated a pair of cassoni panels commissioned from the workshop of Apollonio, apparently in 1461, that illustrate the triumph of the Greeks over Xerxes' invading Persian army in 480-79 BC. Given the date of the commission, there would appear to be a reference to the conquest of Trebizond, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, and a hoped for reversal. At the Council of Mantua in 1459, Pius II promoted a crusade against the Turks. An army was assembled in Ancona in 1464, but dispersed when Pius died there on August 15. There were, of course, also mercantile interests, and Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has pointed out that in December 1460 an accord established a Florentine commercial presence in Trebizond. The presence on the MMA cassone of the two cities of Constantinople and Trebizond would thus seem to transform Tamerlane's victory at Ankara in 1402 into an emblematic prognosis for the defeat of the Ottoman conquerors of Trebizond. As noted above, the painted front may have belonged to another chest so that the attempts to link it with the Strozzi remain speculative. Moreover, it has not been proven that the chest itself came from the Strozzi palace, though it contains Strozzi emblems. Several Strozzi marriages have been suggested as appropriate moments for the commission: Caterina Strozzi, who married Jacopo degli Spini in 1462 [see Ref. Nickel 1974]; the brother of Vanni di Francesco Strozzi, who traveled to Constantinople and Trebizond in 1462 and who commissioned a cassone from Apollonio for the marriage [see Ref. Paribeni 2001]; Strozza di Messer Marcello degli Strozzi, who married in 1459; Benedetto di Marco degli Strozzi, who married in 1462 [Baskins, reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]; and finally, most prominent of all, the wealthy banker Filippo Strozzi--the builder of Palazzo Strozzi--who married Fiammetta degli Adimari in 1466 [Beatrice Paolozzi-Strozzi, in Ref. Krohn 2008].
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Título:
Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond
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Traducción automática: Cassone con panel frontal pintado que representa la conquista de Trebisonda. Cultura: italiano, Florencia. Dimensiones: H. 39-1/2 x W. 77 x D. 32-7/8 pulg. (100,3 x 195,6 x 83,5 cm); Superficie pintada 15 1/4 x 49 1/2 pulg. (38,7 x 125,7 cm). Maker: atribuido al taller de Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italiano, Florencia ca. 1416-1465 Florencia); y taller de Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italiano, Florencia 1402-1489 Florencia). Fecha: después de ca. 1461. Adquirido en 1913 al marchante florentino Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), este elaborado cofre, o cassone, ha disfrutado durante mucho tiempo del estatus de uno de los pocos objetos de este tipo del siglo XV que ha sobrevivido intacto y, además, representa un evento histórico contemporáneo: la conquista de Trebisonda, el último puesto avanzado del Imperio bizantino, por Mehmed II en 1461 (para ver otro ejemplo de un panel de cassone que representa un evento histórico contemporáneo, consulte 07.120.1). Este estado ha sido cuestionado por un examen técnico detallado realizado en 2008. Ahora se ha demostrado que, lejos de estar intactas, varias partes del cofre no son integrales y que, lo que es más importante, el frente pintado puede provenir de otro. cofre. Esto significa que la supuesta procedencia del cofre del Palacio Strozzi, afirmada por primera vez por Weisbach [ver Ref. 1913], puede no tener relación con la interpretación de la escena en el frente pintado. Que el cofre en sí está relacionado con algún miembro de la familia Strozzi se desprende de los emblemas que aparecen en las piezas finales, que son originales del mismo: el halcón o gavilán Strozzi posado en un abrojo (dispositivos de metal puntiagudos que, cuando se esparcen en el suelo, desestabilizar los caballos del enemigo) con una banderola inscrita ME[Z]ZE--quizás indicando otro emblema de Strozzi, la media luna creciente [ver Ref. Níquel 1974]. El interior de la tapa y el fondo de la cassone conservan sus patrones originales estarcidos simulando tela estampada, y la parte superior de la tapa está adornada con una pieza de tela enyesada dorada y labrada para simular un corredor de terciopelo cortado (este motivo es gastado, habiéndose perdido casi por completo la pintura, por lo que el diseño es apenas legible en la actualidad). Se reconoce universalmente que la escena del frente pintado proviene del taller más activo y prestigioso para la producción de cassone pintado en la Florencia de mediados del siglo XV: el compartido por Apollonio di Giovanni y Marco del Buono. Su tema no es bíblico ni mitológico, ni siquiera se basa en una novela contemporánea como las de Boccaccio. Más bien, representa un evento que se desarrolla ante dos ciudades identificables del Imperio bizantino. Se ha trabajado mucho en la identificación de los lugares mostrados [véanse especialmente las Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002 y Lurati 2005]. Al fondo a la izquierda, claramente rotulada en sus muros, se encuentra Constantinopla. El artista ha intentado sugerir una serie de puntos de referencia de la ciudad y rasgos topográficos distintivos, algunos de los cuales también están etiquetados. Está la iglesia latina de San Francesco; la monumental columna de Justiniano en el Augustaion y el obelisco egipcio (evidentemente rematado por una media luna) en el Hipódromo originalmente diseñado por el emperador Septimus Severus en el siglo III dC y embellecido aún más por Constantino; la Santa Sofía; la cercana iglesia de Santa Irene del siglo VI; lo que debe entenderse como el Palacio Blachernae o su anexo del siglo XIII, el Palacio de Porphyrogenitus, que sirvió como residencia imperial para los últimos emperadores bizantinos (la inscripción fragmentaria posiblemente podría haber sido pensada como [PALAZZO] DEILO [IM]PER [AT] ORI); el Cuerno de Oro, la entrada legendaria de la ciudad que estaba protegida por una cadena que se podía pasar a través de ella, con barcos occidentales (carracas) amarrados junto al barrio genovés de Pera, cuyas paredes están dominadas por la gran torre circular de Galata , en lo alto de la cual se puede ver la bandera genovesa. Otros barcos en el Cuerno de Oro y el Mar de Mármara pueden ser dromones griegos u otomanos. Más atrás, en el lado europeo del Bósforo, se encuentra CHASTEL NVOVO (la "nueva fortaleza" de Rumeli Hisari construida por Mehmed II en 1451-52 en preparación para el asedio de Constantinopla; sus distintivas torres siguen siendo un hito en la actualidad). Al otro lado del Bósforo hay otra ciudad amurallada designada como LO SCUTARIO--Scutari, actual Üsküdar (el nombre, Skutarion, deriva de los escudos de cuero de los soldados romanos estacionados allí; cayó en manos de los otomanos casi un siglo antes de Constantinopla). Luego, dominando la colina a la derecha está la ciudad amurallada de Trebisonda (actual Trabzon). Ubicada en la costa sur del Mar Negro, se convirtió en la sede de un imperio bizantino separado cuando fue conquistada por Alexios Komenos en 1204, el año en que Constantinopla cayó ante los cruzados, y fue el último puesto avanzado del Imperio bizantino después de la conquista de Constantinopla por los otomanos en 1453. Cayó en manos de los otomanos en 1461, marcando la desaparición final de Bizancio. Aunque difícilmente sea una descripción precisa, parece claro que para su representación de Constantinopla el artista recibió descripciones y mapas, como el incluido en el Liber insularum Archipelagi de Cristoforo Buondelmonti de 1420 [ver Ref. Pope-Hennessy y Christiansen 1980] así como, posiblemente, dibujos de aquel empedernido viajero Ciriaco de Ancona y los relatos de otros visitantes de la ciudad [ver Ref. Luratti 2005]. Ante la ciudad amurallada de Trebisonda se representa una batalla. En el extremo derecho se muestra un campamento de tiendas, frente al cual el líder de uno de los ejércitos está sentado en un carro triunfal tirado por dos caballos blancos. Lleva un turbante, al igual que otros miembros de su ejército, incluidas las tropas que emergen detrás de Scutari, y apunta con su bastón blanco hacia una figura gesticulante y barbuda que, vestida de azul, lleva una especie de sombrero cilíndrico desplegado en la parte superior que se asoció en Europa occidental con los griegos bizantinos [ver Ref. Lurati 2005]; monta un corcel negro y claramente informa sobre el progreso de la batalla o recibe órdenes. Antes de 1980 se suponía que la figura del carro era Mehmed II [ver Ref. Weisbach 1913] y que la batalla representó la derrota otomana de los bizantinos en 1461, de ahí la designación del cofre como Trebisonda Cassone. Sin embargo, como ha sido señalado por Paribeni [ver Ref. 2001], Trebisonda fue tomada por Mehmed II sin batalla: capituló sin derramamiento de sangre. Además, un examen detallado de los trajes revela que son los otomanos los que están siendo vencidos (para los trajes, véase especialmente Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002 y Lurati 2005). Entre los cautivos y los que se retiran se muestran claramente miembros de la infantería de élite otomana, los jenízaros, que llevan sus distintivos sombreros cónicos blancos con la parte superior doblada. Otros sombreros cónicos son de oro, algunos con una decoración de plumas (para trajes turcos similares, véase Degli habiti antichi... de Cesare Vecellio, Venecia, 1664, libro 7, págs. 297-302). Su comandante es casi con certeza la figura con turbante a la izquierda del cuerpo a cuerpo, vestido de oro, sosteniendo un cetro y montado en un caballo negro. Lo defienden los jenízaros, uno de los cuales se da la vuelta mientras señala con la mano izquierda. Ambos ejércitos empuñan cimitarras, al igual que los distintivos arcos recurvados compuestos de la guerra otomana. Delante del carro triunfal, cinco cautivos, dos de los cuales arrodillados, son presentados a los comandantes del ejército victorioso. La caracterización de los dos ejércitos debería haber sido suficiente para refutar la identificación común de la figura del carro triunfal como Mehmed II. Y, de hecho, un examen cuidadoso con la ayuda de luz infrarroja en 1980 reveló una inscripción que lo identificaba como TAN[B]VRLANA--Tamerlán, o Timur (1336-1405), el célebre emperador mongol y comandante que derrotó a los otomanos bajo Bayezid I en Ankara en 1402 (Bayezid fue hecho prisionero). La batalla, entonces, parecería ser la victoria de Tamerlán sobre Bayezid en Ankara, pero anacrónicamente mostrada contra el telón de fondo de Trebisonda. Como señaló Gombrich [ver Ref. 1955], "no puede haber sido la intención del pintor simplemente representar un desastre griego". Y, de hecho, el escenario de una batalla que tuvo lugar en 1402 frente a una ciudad que cayó ante los otomanos en 1461 señala una intención emblemática. En la mente de los europeos, las victorias de Tamerlán le aseguraron un lugar entre los "dignos". Como tal, su imagen se incluyó en un ciclo de frescos de hombres famosos encargado alrededor de 1432 por el cardenal Giordano Orsini para su palacio en Roma. Se han sugerido varias interpretaciones para explicar los aparentes anacronismos (ver el resumen completo en Ref. Krohn 2008). Uno diría que la figura no es en realidad Tamerlán, sino el rival turcomano de los otomanos, Uzun Hasan (1423-1478), quien fue conocido en su tiempo como un segundo Tamerlán [ver Ref. Paribeni 2001 y Baskins, como se informa en la Ref. Krohn 2008]. Uzun Hasan hizo un pacto con Mehmed II para no ayudar a las fuerzas bizantinas y así ayudar a la conquista otomana de Trebisonda. Sigue siendo problemático cómo se relaciona esto con la escena de batalla real representada, pero puede valer la pena señalar que los venecianos buscaron a Uzun Hasan como aliado contra los otomanos. Lo que no se puede dudar es la intención de fusionar eventos históricos, usando el pasado como modelo para el futuro recordando a los espectadores que los otomanos, ahora una amenaza para Europa, no eran invencibles. Paribeni [ver Ref. 2001] ha indicado un par de paneles cassoni encargados al taller de Apolonio, aparentemente en 1461, que ilustran el triunfo de los griegos sobre el ejército persa invasor de Jerjes en 480-79 a. Dada la fecha de la comisión, parecería haber una referencia a la conquista de Trebisonda, el colapso del Imperio bizantino y una inversión esperada. En el Concilio de Mantua en 1459, Pío II promovió una cruzada contra los turcos. Se reunió un ejército en Ancona en 1464, pero se dispersó cuando Pío murió allí el 15 de agosto. Por supuesto, también había intereses mercantiles, y Paribeni [ver Ref. 2001] ha señalado que en diciembre de 1460 un acuerdo estableció una presencia comercial florentina en Trebisonda. La presencia en el cassone MMA de las dos ciudades de Constantinopla y Trebisonda parecería así transformar la victoria de Tamerlán en Ankara en 1402 en un pronóstico emblemático para la derrota de los conquistadores otomanos de Trebisonda. Como se señaló anteriormente, el frente pintado puede haber pertenecido a otro cofre, por lo que los intentos de vincularlo con los Strozzi siguen siendo especulativos. Además, no se ha probado que el cofre en sí provenga del palacio Strozzi, aunque contiene emblemas Strozzi. Se han sugerido varios matrimonios de Strozzi como momentos apropiados para el encargo: Caterina Strozzi, que se casó con Jacopo degli Spini en 1462 [ver Ref. Níquel 1974]; el hermano de Vanni di Francesco Strozzi, que viajó a Constantinopla y Trebisonda en 1462 y que encargó un cassone de Apollonio para el matrimonio [ver Ref. Parisbeni 2001]; Strozza di Messer Marcello degli Strozzi, que se casó en 1459; Benedetto di Marco degli Strozzi, que se casó en 1462 [Baskins, informado en Ref. Krohn 2008]; y finalmente, el más destacado de todos, el rico banquero Filippo Strozzi, el constructor del Palazzo Strozzi, quien se casó con Fiammetta degli Adimari en 1466 [Beatrice Paolozzi-Strozzi, en Ref. Krohn 2008].
Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond. Culture: Italian, Florence. Dimensions: H. 39-1/2 x W. 77 x D. 32-7/8 in. (100.3 x 195.6 x 83.5 cm); Painted surface 15 1/4 x 49 1/2 in. (38.7 x 125.7 cm). Maker: Attributed to workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italian, Florence ca. 1416-1465 Florence); and workshop of Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italian, Florence 1402-1489 Florence). Date: after ca. 1461. Purchased in 1913 from the Florentine dealer Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), this elaborate chest, or cassone, has long enjoyed status as one of the few fifteenth-century objects of its kind to survive intact and, moreover, to portray a contemporary historical event--the conquest of Trebizond, the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire, by Mehmed II in 1461 (for another example of a cassone panel depicting a contemporary historical event, see 07.120.1). This status has been called into question by a detailed, technical examination undertaken in 2008. It has now been demonstrated that so far from being intact, various parts of the chest are not integral and that, most importantly, the painted front may originate from another chest. This means that the purported provenance of the chest from Palazzo Strozzi, first asserted by Weisbach [see Ref. 1913], may have no bearing on the interpretation of the scene on the painted front. That the chest itself is connected with some member of the Strozzi family is clear from the emblems that appear on the end pieces, which are original to it: the Strozzi falcon or hawk perched on a caltrop (spiky metal devices that, when scattered on the ground, destabilize the enemy's horses) with a banderole inscribed ME[Z]ZE--perhaps indicating another Strozzi emblem, the half-moon crescent [see Ref. Nickel 1974]. The inside of the lid and the back of the cassone retain their original stenciled patterns simulating patterned fabric, and the top of the lid is embellished by a gessoed piece of cloth that is gilded and tooled to simulate a runner of cut velvet (this motif is worn, the paint having been almost entirely lost, so that the design is barely legible today). The scene on the painted front is universally recognized as coming from the most active and prestigious workshop for the production of painted cassone in mid-fifteenth-century Florence: that shared by Apollonio di Giovanni and Marco del Buono. Its subject is neither biblical nor mythological, nor even based on a contemporary novella such as those by Boccaccio. Rather, it depicts an event that unfolds before two identifiable cities of the Byzantine Empire. Much work has been done identifying the places shown [see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005]. In the left background, clearly labeled on its walls, is Constantinople. An attempt has been made by the artist to suggest a number of the city's landmarks and distinguishing topographical features, some of which are also labeled. There is the Latin church of San Francesco; the monumental column of Justinian in the Augustaion and the Egyptian obelisk (evidently topped by a crescent) in the Hippodrome originally laid out by Emperor Septimus Severus in the third century AD and further embellished by Constantine; the Hagia Sofia; the nearby sixth-century church of Saint Irene; what must be intended either as the Blachernae Palace or its thirteenth-century annex, the Palace of Porphyrogenitus, which served as the imperial residence for the last Byzantine emperors (the fragmentary inscription may possibly have been intended as [PALAZZO] DEILO [IM]PER[AT]ORI); the Golden Horn--the city's fabled inlet that was protected by a chain that could be drawn across it--with western ships (carracks) moored next to the Genoese quarter of Pera, the walls of which are dominated by the great circular Galata tower, atop which the Genoese flag can be seen. Other boats in the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara may be either Greek dromons or Ottoman. Further back, on the European side of the Bosphorus, is the CHASTEL NVOVO (the "new fortress" of Rumeli Hisari built by Mehmed II in 1451-52 in preparation for the seige of Constantinople; its distinctive towers are still a landmark today). Across the Bosphorus is another walled city designated as LO SCUTARIO--Scutari, present-day Üsküdar (the name, Skutarion, derived from the leather shields of the Roman soldiers stationed there; it fell to the Ottomans almost a century before Constantinople). Then, dominating the hill on the right is the walled city of Trebizond (modern-day Trabzon). Located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, it became the seat of a separate Byzantine empire when it was conquered by Alexios Komenos in 1204--the year Constantinople fell to the crusaders--and was the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453. It fell to the Ottomans in 1461, marking the final demise of Byzantium. Although hardly an accurate depiction, it seems clear that for his depiction of Constantinople the artist was supplied with descriptions and maps, such as the one included in Cristoforo Buondelmonti's Liber insularum Archipelagi of 1420 [see Ref. Pope-Hennessy and Christiansen 1980] as well as, possibly, drawings by that inveterate traveler Cyriac of Ancona and the reports of other visitors to the city [see Ref. Lurati 2005]. Before the walled city of Trebizond is depicted a battle. An encampment of tents is shown on the far right, in front of which the leader of one of the armies is seated on a triumphal chariot drawn by two white horses. He wears a turban, as do other members of his army, including the troops emerging behind Scutari, and he points his white baton towards a gesticulating, bearded figure who, dressed in blue, wears the sort of cylindrical hat splayed out at the top that was associated in Western Europe with the Byzantine Greeks [see Ref. Lurati 2005]; he rides a black steed and is plainly either reporting on the progress of the battle or taking orders. Prior to 1980 it was presumed that the figure on the chariot was Mehmed II [see Ref. Weisbach 1913] and that the battle depicted the Ottoman defeat of the Byzantines in 1461--hence the designation of the chest as the Trebizond Cassone. However, as has been pointed out by Paribeni [see Ref. 2001], Trebizond was taken by Mehmed II without a battle: it capitulated without bloodshed. Moreover, a close examination of the costumes reveals that it is the Ottomans who are being vanquished (for the costumes, see especially Refs. Paribeni 2001, Paribeni 2002, and Lurati 2005). Clearly shown among the captives and those in retreat are members of the Ottoman elite infantry, the Janissaries, wearing their distinctive white conical hats with the top folded over. Other conical hats are gold, some with a feathered decoration (for similar Turkish costumes, see Cesare Vecellio's Degli habiti antichi . . . , Venice, 1664, book 7, pp. 297-302). Their commander is almost certainly the turbaned figure to the left of the melee, dressed in gold, holding a scepter and mounted on a black horse. He is defended by Janissaries, one of whom turns around while pointing with his left hand. Scimitars are wielded by both armies, as are the distinctive recurved composite bows of Ottoman warfare. In front of the triumphal chariot five captives, two of whom kneel, are being presented to the victorious army commanders. The characterization of the two armies should have been enough to refute the common identification of the figure on the triumphal chariot as Mehmed II. And, in fact, a careful examination with the aid of infrared light in 1980 revealed an inscription identifying him as TAN[B]VRLANA--Tamerlane, or Timur (1336-1405), the celebrated Mongol emperor and commander who defeated the Ottomans under Bayezid I at Ankara in 1402 (Bayezid was taken prisoner). The battle, then, would seem to be Tamerlane's victory over Bayezid at Ankara, but anachronistically shown against the backdrop of Trebizond. As remarked by Gombrich [see Ref. 1955], "it cannot have been the intention of the painter simply to represent a Greek disaster." And, indeed, the setting of a battle that took place in 1402 in front of a city that fell to the Ottomans in 1461 signals an emblematic intent. In the minds of Europeans, Tamerlane's victories assured him a place among the "worthies". As such, his image was included in a fresco cycle of famous men commissioned about 1432 by Cardinal Giordano Orsini for his palace in Rome. A number of interpretations have been suggested to explain the apparent anachronisms (see the thorough summary in Ref. Krohn 2008). One would have it that the figure is not actually Tamerlane but the Turkmen rival of the Ottomans, Uzun Hasan (1423-1478), who was known in his time as a second Tamerlane [see Ref. Paribeni 2001 and Baskins, as reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]. Uzun Hasan made a pact with Mehmed II not to aid the Byzantine forces and thus to assist the Ottoman conquest of Trebizond. How this relates to the actual battle scene depicted remains problematic, but it may be worth noting that the Venetians sought Uzun Hasan as an ally against the Ottomans. What cannot be doubted is the intention to conflate historical events, using the past as a template for the future by reminding viewers that the Ottomans--now a threat to Europe--were not invincible. Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has indicated a pair of cassoni panels commissioned from the workshop of Apollonio, apparently in 1461, that illustrate the triumph of the Greeks over Xerxes' invading Persian army in 480-79 BC. Given the date of the commission, there would appear to be a reference to the conquest of Trebizond, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, and a hoped for reversal. At the Council of Mantua in 1459, Pius II promoted a crusade against the Turks. An army was assembled in Ancona in 1464, but dispersed when Pius died there on August 15. There were, of course, also mercantile interests, and Paribeni [see Ref. 2001] has pointed out that in December 1460 an accord established a Florentine commercial presence in Trebizond. The presence on the MMA cassone of the two cities of Constantinople and Trebizond would thus seem to transform Tamerlane's victory at Ankara in 1402 into an emblematic prognosis for the defeat of the Ottoman conquerors of Trebizond. As noted above, the painted front may have belonged to another chest so that the attempts to link it with the Strozzi remain speculative. Moreover, it has not been proven that the chest itself came from the Strozzi palace, though it contains Strozzi emblems. Several Strozzi marriages have been suggested as appropriate moments for the commission: Caterina Strozzi, who married Jacopo degli Spini in 1462 [see Ref. Nickel 1974]; the brother of Vanni di Francesco Strozzi, who traveled to Constantinople and Trebizond in 1462 and who commissioned a cassone from Apollonio for the marriage [see Ref. Paribeni 2001]; Strozza di Messer Marcello degli Strozzi, who married in 1459; Benedetto di Marco degli Strozzi, who married in 1462 [Baskins, reported in Ref. Krohn 2008]; and finally, most prominent of all, the wealthy banker Filippo Strozzi--the builder of Palazzo Strozzi--who married Fiammetta degli Adimari in 1466 [Beatrice Paolozzi-Strozzi, in Ref. Krohn 2008].
Técnica/material:
Poplar wood, linen, polychromed and gilded gesso with panel painted in tempera and gold
Museo:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Productor:
Attributed to workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italian, Florence ca. 1416-1465 Florence) • and workshop of Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italian, Florence 1402-1489 Florence)
Crédito:
Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Autorizaciones:
Modelo: No - Propiedad: No
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Tamaño imagen:
4245 x 2891 px | 35.1 MB
Tamaño impresión:
35.9 x 24.5 cm | 14.2 x 9.6 in (300 dpi)
Palabras clave:
DORADO • ESCULTURA EUROPEA Y ARTES DECORATIVAS • EUROPA • FLORENCIA • ITALIA • MADERA • METAL • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • MUEBLES • ORO • PANELES • PINTURA AL TEMPLE • PINTURA • PINTURAS • POLICROMIA • TEMPERA • TEMPLE • TUSCANY