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Venetian portraits: *
Gentile Bellini was trained by his father Jacopo Bellini who introduced him to oil. Around 1465 he began working independently & was considered one of the premier painters of Venice. One of his earliest surviving portraits (one of the oldest surviving oil panel paintings in Venice) is The Blessed Lorenzo Giustinian (1445). In the late 1470s he travelled to Constantinople (capital of the Ottoman Empire) where he painted a range of erotic pictures for the harem of Sultan Mehmet II (1479-81) as well as a Mehmet’s portrait. From these roots Venetian portraits became famous. By the early 16th century portraits, apart from recording a sitter's appearance for posterity, were also status symbols. Portraits allowed the artist to defeat both time & death. Venetian portrait also benefitted from the custom that each doge would commission a votive painting of himself with the Madonna, placed in the Collegio or the Senate. By mid-16th century the cult of personality had become so strong that magistrates were also commissioning such votive paintings. Tintoretto (1518-94) had a virtual monopoly on these official portraits. While Veronese (1528-88) seldom painted such officials, he produced some of the greatest privately portraits. Yet it was Titian (1488-1576) who led the pack.
Gentile Bellini- Portrait of Sultan Mehmet II, 1480, oil on canvas
Titian- Pope Paul III and His Grandsons, 1545–46, o on canvas, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese stands behind Pope Paul III. Ottavio Farnese at right prepares to kiss Paul's feet.
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fickle Florence: *
By 1433 Cosimo de Medici's power menaced Palla Strozzi, the Albizzi & other anti-Medici families. Cosimo was exiled, but in 1434 this was rescinded and Cosimo gained control of Florence. In 1494 King Charles VIII of France crossed the Alps to claim his rights to the Kingdom of Naples. He needed to pass thru Tuscany & refused to accept Florentine neutrality. Piero Medici (now in command) attempted resistance, but was abandoned by the Florentine elites who had fallen under the influence of the Dominican Savonarola. Piero fled. The Republic was re-established. Giovanni de' Medici (later Pope Leo X) re-conquered the republic in 1512. In 1527 Charles V invaded Italy & would go on to sack Rome itself, humiliating Pope Clement VII (another Medici). Taking advantage of the chaos & apparent weakness of the Medici clan the people of Florence drove them out again! Once again a Republic was declared. However cites like Florence needed big friends to remain independent & this they did not have. In June 1528 Clement VII and Charles signed the Peace of Barcelona. The Papal States regained some cities, and Charles V agreed to restore the Medici to power in Florence. In 1530, after an eleven-month siege, the city capitulated, and Clement VII installed his illegitimate nephew Alessandro. Alessandro de' Medici (1510-37) was appointed Duke of Florence by Clement VII in 1532; once again the Republic was dead. He was the first Medici to rule Florence as a hereditary monarch. His assassination in 1537 at the hands of a distant cousin, Lorenzaccio, which caused the duchy of Florence to pass to Cosimo I de Medici, from the family's junior branch. Under Cosimo Florence increased its territory & power: purchased the island of Elba from Genoa, conquered Siena & developed a powerful naval base on Elba. Cosimo reformed the Church. He was a long term supporter of Pope Pius V, who in the light of Florence's expansion in 1569 declared Cosimo Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title unprecedented in Italy. The family would remain in charge until 1737, when Gian Gastone died; the last male Medici of the Grand Ducal line.
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Hellenic sorriness: *
With the close of the Greek Dark Age, urbanization emerged & the political form, the polis, was born in Archaic Greece (800-480 BC). The polis was capable of organized warfare & not just small-scale raids for livestock & grain. The fractious nature of Greek society made continuous conflict on this larger scale inevitable. A new style of warfare evolved: the hoplite phalanx. Hoplites were armoured infantryman, with spears & shields; the phalanx was a formation of hoplites with their shields locked together, spears pointed forward. Battles consisted of one phalanx against another. Conflicts were often resolved by a single set-piece battle. The 5th century BC saw temporary political unity, necessary to match the Persian Empire (499-449 BC). This unity was however fragmented by the Peloponnesian War (460-404 BC) between Athens & Sparta and associated allies. Warfare changed with emphasis on naval battles & strategies of attrition such as blockades and sieges. With the defeat of Athenians (404 BC) Greece fell under Spartan hegemony. This proved unstable. In the Corinthian War (395-387 BC), Athens, Thebes, Corinth & Argos fought & lost to Sparta. However Spartan domination ended with the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC) when Thebes decisively defeated them. Thebes lacked sufficient manpower & resources. Following the costly Battle of Mantinea, Theban hegemony ceased. Now the city-states of southern Greece were weak & divided, unable to resist the rise of the Macedonians. Philip II untied Greece when he defeated Athens & Thebes at Chaeronea in 338 BC. He re-established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states with him as the elected hegemon. While this unity continued under Alexander, after the latter’s death in 323 BC the Greek world once again resorted to internecine warfare, now between the ex-commanders of Alexander. In 146 BC political unity & peace was again restored, this time by Roman legions at the battle of Corinth.
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Medicis: *
As well as great patrons to the arts in Florence, the Medici produced 4 popes: Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) & Pope Leo XI (1605). Also 2 queens of France—Catherine de' Medici (1547–1589) and Marie de' Medici (1600–1630). In 1532, the family received the hereditary title Duke of Florence & in 1569, the duchy was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which the Medicis ruled until 1737. Although the grand dutchy enjoyed some economic growth by Cosimo III de' Medici (ruled. 1670–1723) it had gone bankrupt.
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<E>
waste republics: *
Milan is an example. In 1447 the death of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, ended Visconti rule & led to the establishment of the Ambrosian Republic. This government however was short lived & was overthrown in 1450 by Francesco Sforza. This dynasty was also short lived because in 1499 Milan fell into the hands of the king of France, Louis XII. In 1500 Ludovico Sforza conquered the state only to suffer defeat at Novara in the same year; French rule continued until 1513. Again a Sforza (Massimiliano) overthrew the French. However, the victory of Francis I at Marignano in 1515 again ended Sforza rule. In accordance with a peace treaty (1529) Milan returned to Sforza rule , but when the incumbent duke died unexpectedly, the city came under the domination of the Habsburgs (Charles V).