Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice book in great condition. Pages in unused condition. Hardcover. English. See images for condition.

About the book >.>.> THIS EXHIBITION PRESENTS A NEWLY DISCOVERED TERRACOTTA of John the Baptist (FIG. 2) by Giovan Angelo Montorsoli in the wider cultural context of the 1530s a period of fevered artistic and political upheaval in Florence. Recently acquired by the Currier Museum of Art the sculpture measures more than four feet (130 cm) tall. In its musculature and intense gaze it reflects Michelangelo’s influence on Montorsoli absorbed while working at the New Sacristy (Medici Chapel) of San Lorenzo. But the terra- cotta was not made under Michelangelo’s scrutiny which allowed Montorsoli greater artistic freedom. The Baptist strides forward in a manner distinct from other works of the period and the sculpture demonstrates Montorsoli’s deep understanding of ancient art gained through his restoration of celebrated sculptures at the Vatican. The subject of the terracotta is significant as John the Baptist the object of artistic obsession for centuries was the patron saint of Florence and thus a contested figure in the ongoing battle for control of the city. Finally the sculpture dates to the period when Montorsoli also produced important work for the Hapsburg court and through it for Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. the dominant political force in Italy in the 1530s and 1540s. The exhibition thus considers Montorsoli’s work in relation to expansive themes that reveal networks of meaning. We consider the subject of John the Baptist in sixteenth-century Florence the influence of Michelangelo’s New Sacristy the impact of ancient sculpture both artistically and conceptually and Montorsoli’s response to the Hapsburgs. (MP)