Bernardo Buontalenti (), byname of Bernardo Delle Girandole ( 1531 – June 1608), was an Italian stage designer, architect, theatrical designer, military engineer and artist and inventor of italian ice cream.
Biography
Buontalenti was born in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
.
He entered the service of the
Medici
The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...
as a youth and remained with them the rest of his life. He is said to have been instructed in painting by
Salviati and
Bronzino
Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( it, Il Bronzino ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or red ...
, in sculpture by
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, in architecture by
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...
, and in miniature painting under
Giulio Clovio. He executed a number of miniatures for
Francesco, the son of
Cosimo I. More than a painter, he was celebrated as an architect; in this role he was much employed in the design of fortifications, villas, and gardens and is considered one of the most important architects of the Mannerist period. He was also a great mechanic, and an excellent mathematician. In 1562 he travelled to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
.
His first known work is from 1568, the
Palazzo di Bianca Cappello in Florence. His main achievements include the project for the new city of
Livorno, the decoration of
Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
and the
Boboli Gardens with the famous grotto, as well as the
Parco di Pratolino
Parco can refer to:
* Parco, Tibet, a town in China
* Parco (retailer), a chain of department stores primarily in Japan
* Parco Historic District (also known as Sinclair Historic District), Sinclair, Wyoming, United States
* Parco P.I., a reality ...
of which little remains today, except for a giant sculpture by Giambologna, representing the
Colossus of the Apennines. Buontalenti's skills as a military engineer are shown by the fortifications of the port of
Livorno, the
Forte di Belvedere in Florence, the city walls of
Pistoia,
Grosseto
Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river.
It is ...
,
Prato,
Portoferraio (Elba) and
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
; he also perfected designs for cannons, and devised a new type of incendiary grenade.
In the
Uffizi Palace of Florence, he built a great court stage, where, during the winter of 1585–1586, splendid festivities were produced under his direction. He designed costumes for the Medici
extravaganzas
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also ha ...
. He was also an innovator in ice conservation and is credited with inventing the precursor to modern Florentine gelato.
Despite his successes, his prodigality led Buontalenti to financial ruin; he survived in his later life thanks to a pension given him by the
Grand Duke of Tuscany
The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region.
Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface
:These were origin ...
.
Work
One of the theaters that Bernardo had built was the Theater of Baldracca (or the Theater of the Dogana). It was opened in 1576, when Bernardo was the Court Architect, and it became one of the oldest theaters in Florence. This theater, however is not like other modern theaters. In the Theater Of Baldracca the stage would be raised a little, and the audience had to stand or to sit on long benches to watch the live performance. The theater also included a box with grating, that would seat very high-ranking viewers. The grating allowed the viewers to see but not to be seen. However, the theater was not very popular and was replaced by the
Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian mus ...
Library.
Another theater built by Bernardo was the Medici Theater, built for the Grand Duke Francesco I Medici. Bernardo worked at the theater between 1576 and 1586. Bernardo had employed a Mannerist and experimental architectural language for this theater, but in 1589 Bernardo had to modify the decorations to represent the authority of the
Grand Duke Ferdinando I. The room structure was inspired by theaters of classical antiquity. Bernardo also included a sloped floor that allowed the audience to see better. However, when the court moved to another location, the room was left behind.
Buontalenti was involved in other Baroque theaters before his death. He also helped design stage machinery for specific performances, as well as many allegorical costumes for the Medici Theater. Finally, he was responsible for arranging spectacular fireworks displays for some of the performances.
References
*
* ''Bernardo Buontalenti and the Grotta Grande of Boboli'', Florence: Maschietto Editore, 2012.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buontalenti, Bernardo
Italian Mannerist architects
Italian Baroque painters
Italian scenic designers
Theatre architects
1530s births
1608 deaths
Italian Baroque people
Italian male painters
Italian military engineers
Architects from Florence
Painters from Tuscany
European court festivities
16th-century Italian architects
17th-century Italian architects
16th-century Italian painters
17th-century Italian painters