![Hendrick Goltzius - Portrait of Stradanus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Hendrick_Goltzius_-_Portrait_of_Stradanus.jpeg)
Stradanus, Johannes Stradanus, Jan van der Straet or Giovanni Stradano
[More name variations: Johannes Stradanus, Giovanni della Strada, Johannes della Strada, Giovanni Stradano, Johannes Stradano, Giovanni Stradanus, Johannes Stradanus, Jan van Straeten, Jan van Straten][ Jan van der Straet]
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History
The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...
[De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde van 1453–1615]
edited and published by Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, Antwerp, 1872–1876, p. 153 (1523 – 2 November 1605) was a Flemish artist active mainly in 16th-century
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 an ...
, Italy. He was a wide-ranging talent who worked as an easel and fresco painter, designer of tapestries, draughtsman, designer of prints and pottery decorator. His subject range was varied and included history subjects, mythological scenes, allegories, landscapes, genre scenes, portraits, architectural scenes and animals.
[ After training in his native Flanders, he left his home country and ultimately settled down 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 an ...
, Italy. He became a prominent court artist to 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 ...
during the second half of the 16th century and worked on the many decorative projects of the court.[M. Sellink, ''Stradanus (1523-1605), Court Artist of the Medici'']
Harvey Miller Publishers, 2011 Stradanus also produced large altarpieces for the most important churches in Florence.[Sandra Janssens, ''Jan van der Straet, alias Stradanus - Hofkunstenaar van de Medici'']
at Tento
He was a prolific designer of prints which were circulated widely throughout Europe for many centuries.[ Through his knowledge of Florentine and Italian art and his international contacts with engravers and editors in Antwerp, Stradanus contributed to the development of printmaking.] He was one of the earliest members of the prominent Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno established in Florence in 1563. Stradanus also worked on various commissions in Rome, and resided in Naples from 1576 until about 1580. Thereafter he returned to Florence, dying there in 1605.[M. Leesberg, ''Johannes Stradanus'']
at Hollstein
Life
Born in Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
, he began his training in the shop of his father. He subsequently continued his training in the workshop of the further unknown Bruges master Maximiliaen Francken (from 1535 to 1537). He later moved to Antwerp where he studied from 1537 to 1540 in the workshop of Pieter Aertsen
Pieter Aertsen (1508 – 2 June 1575), called ''Lange Piet'' ("Tall Pete") because of his height, was a Dutch painter in the style of Northern Mannerism. He is credited with the invention of the monumental genre scene, which combines still life ...
, a Dutch genre painter active in Antwerp. There he mastered the visual language of the Renaissance and the ability to depict complex compositions.[Manfred Sellink, ''Johannes van der Straet, Gevierd Brugs schilder in Florence'']
in: Ons Erfdeel. Volume 51 (2008) In 1545 he was registered under the name Hans vander Straten as a master painter in the Antwerp guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...
.[ In Antwerp he moved in the circle of the Romanists, i.e. Northern artists who had traveled to Italy and upon their return to their home country created a Renaissance style, which assimilated Italian formal language.][Ilja M. Veldman. "Romanism." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 5 October 2019]
As was common at the time, he left his home country to travel to Italy to complete his studies.[ He traveled first to Lyon where he may have worked with the Dutch painter Corneille de la Haye. He then moved on to Venice where he spent a few months.][''Three drawings by Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus (1523-1605)'']
in: Stephen Ongpin Fine Art: 2018 Master Drawings Catalogue, published on 9 January 2018, p. 16-27 In Venice he met the Flemish carpet weaver Jan Rost who headed up the newly established Arazzeria Medicea, the personal weaving workshop in of Florence of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici
Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death.
Life
Rise to power
Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...
. Rost encouraged Stradanus to travel to Florence for work. He followed the advice and reached Florence in 1550, where he entered in 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 ...
Dukes. He became one of the principal assistants of 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, Sculpt ...
, a painter, architect and the principal advisor of the Medici on art issues. Stradanus carried out his first commissions as a designer of tapestries in the Arazzeria Medicea.[ He designed a number of scenes for tapestries and frescoes to decorate the ]Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the City hall, town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David (Michelangelo), David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent ...
in Florence and the Medici Villa at Poggio a Caiano
Poggio a Caiano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Prato, Tuscany region Italy. The town, birthplace of Philip Mazzei, lies south of the provincial capital of Prato.
Sister towns
Poggio a Caiano has two sister cities:
* Charlottesvi ...
, projects that were under the general direction of Vasari and executed by the about 20 assistants in Vasari's workshop.[
]
During the period from 1550 to 1553, he spent time in Rome to work on commissions.[STRADANUS Johannes & GALLE Philippe & COLLAERT Adrian, ''La mésaventure du chasseur'']
/ref> Here he assisted Francesco Salviati and also worked with Daniele da Volterra
Daniele Ricciarelli (; 15094 April 1566), better known as Daniele da Volterra (, ), was a Mannerist Italian painter and sculptor.
He is best remembered for his association with the late Michelangelo. Several of Daniele's most important works ...
on the decoration of the Vatican Belvedere.[ Some time between 1550 and 1555 Stradanus married Lucrezia di Lorenzo Guardieri. Two children from this marriage were Lucrezia (before 1556) and Scipione (1556-1612). Scipione became an artist and collaborated with his father on some projects.][G.J.J. van der Sman & Bouk Wierda, ''Wisselend succes - De loopbanen van Nederlandse en Vlaamse kunstenaars in Florence, 1450-1600'', in: Netherlands yearbook for history of art, 63, pp. 170-239 ] Stradanus became financially successful and he was able to acquire a house and other possessions as well as donate substantial sums to religious institutions. One of these was the Sant'Agata Monastery, where his daughter Lucrezia became a nun in 1569.[
Stradanus worked in Florence in a milieu that included Vasari, ]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 reddis ...
, Allori Allori is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter
*Angelo Allori (1502–1572), Florentine Mannerist painter
*Cristofano Allori (1577–1621), Italian portrait painter
{{surnam ...
and Salviati. Stradanus was one of the earliest members together with the aforementioned artists of the Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno, after its establishment was approved by the Medici court on 13 January 1563 at the request of Vasari. The Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno acted both as a guild for all working artists in Florence and an institution for education in the arts. Stradanus later became a consul of this institution. He also taught classes at the Accademia and one of his pupils was Antonio Tempesta
Antonio Tempesta, also called il Tempestino (1555 – 5 August 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art acted as a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. Much of his work depicts major battles and hi ...
. He played a key role in the design of the tomb of Michelangelo who died in 1564.[Arthur J. DiFuria, ''Review of Stradanus 1523-1605: Court Artist of the Medici By Alessandra Baroni and Manfred Sellink'']
in: Historians of Netherlandish Art Reviews, published in 2013 Stradanus also worked on various ephemeral works created for important public events in Florence. In 1565, he was a member of the team of painters and sculptors who executed the large-scale decorations at the occasion of the entry into Florence of Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Joanna of Austria (German ''Johanna von Österreich'', Italian ''Giovanna d'Austria'') (24 January 1547 – 11 April 1578) was an Archduchess of Austria. By marriage to Francesco I de' Medici, she was the Grand Princess of Tuscany and later the ...
on the occasion of her wedding with Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici.
Biography
Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medic ...
. The overall direction of the project was in the hands of Giorgio Vasari.[
]
Stradanus was one of the artists involved in the decoration of the Studiolo of Francesco I
The Studiolo is a small painting-encrusted barrel-vaulted room in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was completed for the duke from 1570 to 1572, by teams of artists under ...
, the small, windowless barrel-vaulted room in the Palazzo Vecchio commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici and completed between 1570 and 1575 after designs by Vasari. The room was a Wunderkammer (Hall of Wonders), containing a vast collection of rare and precious items such as gems, medals, precious metals, carvings, pharmaceuticals and animal exhibits.[Mike McKiernan, ''Joannes Stradanus (Jan van der Straet), Francesco I in His Alchemy Laboratory'', 1570]
in: Occupational Medicine, Volume 63, Issue 3, April 2013, Pages 172–174 Representations of the four elements (earth, air, fire and water) covered each wall. Stradanus contributed two paintings to the decoration of the Studiolo: '' The Alchemist's Studio'' and ''Circe transforms the companions of Ulysses''.[The "Studiolo" of Francesco I]
at the site of the Civil Museums of Florence
In the early 1570s Stradanus seems to have become independent of the court and Vasari. By this time the relationship between Stradanus and Vasari had soured and Vasari even tried to prevent Stradanus from gaining certain commissions. During this period he created a number of easel paintings. He had started to gain on his own commissions for large altarpieces for the most important churches of Florence, starting with the Santa Croce in 1569, which was followed by the Santissima Annunziata, the Santo Spirito, the Santa Maria Novella
Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church.
The chu ...
and other churches. He was also gradually working more outside Florence in places such as Pisa, Prato, Arezzo and Forli.[ In 1576 he moved to Naples, where he was employed by the newly appointed vice-roy of Naples ]John of Austria
John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...
. He visited around 1578 Antwerp possibly traveling from Naples in the company of John of Austria
John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...
who had been appointed governor of the Spanish Netherlands. At that time Antwerp was the most important centre of printing and publishing in Europe. Following this visit, he began to design engravings for the Antwerp printers, eventually producing a large number of drawings destined to be translated into prints.[Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus biography]
at Stephen Ongpin Fine Art Stradanus collaborated with printmakers Hieronymus Cock
Hieronymus Cock, or Hieronymus Wellens de Cock (1518 – 3 October 1570) was a Flemish painter and etcher as well as a publisher and distributor of prints. and the Galle
Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...
family in Antwerp to produce hundreds of prints on a variety of subjects, most of which were repeatedly reproduced and often bound into volumes.[
]
By 1583 Stradanus had returned to Florence. He worked that year for the Pazzi family
The Pazzi were a noble Florentine family. Their main trade during the fifteenth century was banking. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members of the family were banished from Florence and their property was confiscated; the ...
for whom he painted an extensive series of frescoes for the chapel in Villa Pazzi al Parugiano
The Villa Pazzi al Parugiano is a Renaissance style, rural aristocratic palace located in the rural neighborhood or frazione of Bagnolo, located within the town limits of Montemurlo, province of Prato, region of Tuscany, Italy. The word ''Parugiano ...
in Montemurlo
Montemurlo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Prato in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about northwest of Prato.
Montemurlo borders the following municipalities: Agliana, Cantagallo, Montal ...
near Florence. He worked between 1585 and 1587 on a commission by Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici (later Pope Leo XI
Pope Leo XI ( it, Leone XI; 2 June 153527 April 1605), born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 April 1605 to his death in April 1605. His pontificate is one of the briefest in his ...
) on frescoes for the chapel of the Palazzo Della Gherardesca in Florence.[
He died in Florence on 2 November 1605.][ He was buried in the Cappella della Compagnia di Santa Barbara of de Santissima Annunziata in Florence. To this day, his tomb is decorated with a bust of the artist, made after a portrait by his son Scipio, together with an inscription referring to his Flemish roots.][
]
Work
General
Stradanus was a versatile artist who worked as an easel and fresco painter, designer of tapestries, draughtsman, designer of prints and pottery decorator. His subject range was varied and included history subjects, mythological and religious scenes, allegories, landscapes, genre scenes, portraits, battle pieces, architectural scenes and animals.[ He was a prolific designer of prints which were circulated widely throughout Europe for many centuries.][ It is Stradanus' versality and relentless zest for work that ensured him such an important role in the workshop of Vasari and in the Florentine art world which he was able to maintain for almost 60 years. Around 1580 he commissioned a printed self-portrait (engraved by ]Johannes Wierix
Jan Wierix or Johannes Wierix (1549 – c. 1620) was a Flemish engraver, draughtsman, and publisher. He was a very accomplished engraver who made prints after his own designs as well as designs by local and foreign artists.
Together with ot ...
) accompanied by the following motto: ASSIDUITATE NIHIL NON ADSEQUITUR (There is nothing that cannot be achieved through perseverance).[
]
He played an important role in the design and execution of the large commissions for the Medici court the overall direction of which was in the hands of Vasari.[ His key task was to translate the sketches by Vasari into finished designs, which in turn were used to produce the cartoons for the final painted work. It is clear from the preserved drawings of Stradanus that he regularly participated in the initial development of the compositions. Sixteen finished studies for compositions by Stradanus have been discovered. These designs are executed in pen and ink, embellished by abundant wash.][Jan van der Straet, known as Giovanni Stradano, or Stradanus, ''The enlargement of the city of Florence'']
at Sotheby's In his use of wash to outline the figures Stradanus distinguished himself from his Flemish masters who preferred the use of a pen for such work. In his style and technique Stradanus combined his Flemish training with Italian techniques. He emphasized the pictorial qualities in his drawings.[Stradanus, ''Men hunting bulls with falcons'']
at Stephen Ongpin Fine Art
Paintings
Stradanus produced large altarpieces for the most important Florentine churches. His monumental religious panels still hang in the Santa Croce, Santissima Annunziata, Santa Maria Novelia and Santo Spirito. Stradanus' talent as a fresco painter is visible in the murals he created in the Palazzo Vecchio. This ducal palace, which was designed under the direction of Giorgio Vasari, was given a complete decoration with frescoes according to an extensive and complex iconographic program developed by Vasari. Stradanus made a fundamental contribution to the detailed designs of the fresco's, which were then executed by him and workshop assistants. In recognition of his important contribution his portrait was placed alongside that of Vasari on the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento, the majestic reception room of the Palazzo.[
In style, composition and technique, the work of Stradanus is entirely in line with that of Vasari and his workshop. He used the elaborate and complex compositions with an overly emphatic display of virtuosity in the postures and twists of the human body. His use of color was also in line with the development of what is later known as Florentine Mannerism: brighter and with greater emphasis on light-dark effects than the previous generations. There is little evidence of any influence of the Flemish painting traditions during this period, probably also because Giorgio Vasari had a firm grip on the program of the palace's decorations. His work is characterised by its high technical quality and the accuracy of his painting.][
]
Tapestries
While it is believed that Stradanus was active as designer of tapestries in Italy upon his arrival in the early 1550s, his first recorded designs were carried out for the Arazzeria Medicea, the personal weaving workshop of the Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici. He was paid in 1559 for the cartoons for a series of three tapestries on the Story of Saturn, the original designs of which were made by Vasari. These tapestries were intended for the Terrazo di Saturno in the Palazzo Vecchio. Stradanus changed the original designs of Vasari for the series.
In 1559 Stradanus designed the cartoons on the theme of the ''Life of Man'' for the Quartiere di Leonora in the Palazzo Vecchio. The series was completed in 1565 and only four tapestries survive. Stradanus further designed cartoons for a six-piece series of ''Roman women'' (realised in 1562-1564), a series of four on the ''Story of Esther and Ahasuerus'' (realised in 1562-1564) and a six piece series of the ''Story of Ulysses'' (realised in 1563-1565) for the Sala di Penelope. Stradanus designed cartoons for a series of four on the ''Story of David'' for the Quartiere di Cosimo (realised in 1561-1562), a four piece series of the ''Story of Solomon'' (realised in 1564-1565), two sets of the ''Story of Cyrus'' comprising 13 tapestries (realised in 1565-1567) and two more series of the ''Story of David''. He further provided designs for cartoons for a series of tapestries on the ''History of the Medici'' for the Quartiere di Leone X (realised in 1569-1574).[Campbell, Thomas P. (2002). ''Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence''. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art-Yale University Press. pp. 502-504]
Cosimo wanted to decorate his outdoor villa in Poggio a Caiano with tapestries. Stradanus developed a decorative project with hunting scenes divided in three categories: hunts for four-legged animals, animals in the air and animals in the water. The designs were inspired by contemporary sources, the classical literature of Pliny, Homer and Herodotus, as well as the hunting practices at the Florentine court. The designs were received with great acclaim. Stradanus completed 28 cartoons for the series, which was woven between 1566 and 1577.[ The designs for these tapestries were later published as prints by printers in Antwerp such as ]Philip Galle
Philip (or Philips) Galle (1537 – March 1612) was a Dutch publisher, best known for publishing old master prints, which he also produced as designer and engraver. He is especially known for his reproductive engravings of paintings.
Life
Galle ...
and other international publishing houses.[
]
Prints
Stradanus became interested in working for the printers in the 1570s in particular after his visit to Antwerp in 1578. Initially, he provided existing designs he had created for his paintings and tapestries to the publishers to be turned into prints.[ The Antwerp publisher ]Hieronymus Cock
Hieronymus Cock, or Hieronymus Wellens de Cock (1518 – 3 October 1570) was a Flemish painter and etcher as well as a publisher and distributor of prints. published in 1570 a series of prints after Stradanus' designs for the tapestries of hunting scenes he made for the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici. From 1576 the design of prints became one of the principal activities of Stradanus.[ He later worked with ]Philip Galle
Philip (or Philips) Galle (1537 – March 1612) was a Dutch publisher, best known for publishing old master prints, which he also produced as designer and engraver. He is especially known for his reproductive engravings of paintings.
Life
Galle ...
as his main publisher, likely as a result of meeting with Galle in Antwerp during his visit in 1578.[ Stradanus' virtuoso drawings were engraved by some of the leading engravers of the second half of the sixteenth century, among them ]Hendrick Goltzius
Hendrick Goltzius, or Hendrik, (; ; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter. He was the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, or Northern Mannerism, lauded for his ...
, Philip Galle and his sons Theodoor Theodoor () is a masculine given name. It is the Dutch language, Dutch form of Theodore (name), Theodore. Short forms of Theodoor are Theo, Dorus (disambiguation), Dorus, Dirck, and Dirk (name), Dirk. The latter two are derived from the Germanic nam ...
and Cornelis
Cornelis is a Dutch language, Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius (name), Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees (given name), Kees, Neel and Nelis.
Cornelis (Kees) an ...
, Hans Collaert
Jan Collaert the Elder or (I), Hans Collaert the Elder or Johannes Collaert (Brussels, between 1525 and 1530 – Antwerp, October 1580) was a Flemish printmaker, publisher, draftsman, tapestry designer, glass painter and designer and engraver of ...
and his sons Adriaen and Jan
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Num ...
, and members of the Sadeler family
The Sadeler family were the largest, and probably the most successful of the dynasties of Flemish engravers that were dominant in Northern European printmaking in the later 16th and 17th centuries, as both artists and publishers. As with othe ...
and the Wierix brothers.[
The subjects of the prints were wide-ranging and were in the first place geared towards the demand on the international market for prints that was supplied by the Antwerp printers. After the take-over by Antwerp by the Catholics, the preference was for ]counter-reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
themes such as the two '' Passion'' cycles, series on the ''life of the Virgin'' and the ''life of St. John the Baptist'', the ''Acts of the Apostles'', two series of the ''Resurrection of Christ'' and countless loose devotional prints that Stradanus designed.[
In addition, Stradanus drew inspiration for subjects from the Florentine intellectual and literary climate in which he lived. Important were his contacts with the exiled Florentine writer and scholar ]Luigi Alamanni
Luigi Alamanni (sometimes spelt Alemanni) (6 March 149518 April 1556) was an Italian poet and statesman. He was regarded as a prolific and versatile poet. He was credited with introducing the epigram into Italian poetry.
Biography
Alamanni was ...
and other members of the Alamanni family who are mentioned in various commissions and dedications to prints. Luigi Alamanni likely inspired Stradanus to illustrate the entire ''Divina Commedia
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...
''. Stradanus made a number of drawings for this project which was never completed. Only one of these drawings, depicting Canto 34 of Hell, where Dante and Vergilius look at Lucifer in the center of the earth, was engraved by Philip Galle. Other themes that tie in with similar intellectual interest are the ''Nova reperta'', depicting inventions of the modern era ending with a print showing an active printshop and the ''Americae retectio'', a so-called 'picture atlas', issued in leaflet form to commemorate the first centenary of the discovery of the New World.[ It has been argued that the two prints in the ''Nova reperta'' series on America of which one shows Amerigo Vespucci's first encounter with the New World and the four symbolic prints making up the ''Americae retectio'' series were aimed at showing the presumed important role played by Florence in the discovery of America as Vespucci was a Florentine. The prints and their allegorical symbols were disseminated widely through the next century and informed the contemporary perception of America.][Lia Markey, ''Stradano’s Allegorical Invention of the Americas in Late Sixteenth-Century Florence'', in: Renaissance Quarterly Renaissance Quarterly Vol. 65, No. 2 (Summer 2012), pp. 385-442] He also designed a series depicting the ''Horses of the Stable of John of Austria'' and the ''Illustrious acts of Roman women''.[
In yet another genre of print designs, aimed at a wider audience, Stradanus referred back to the subjects which he had elaborated as a court artist to the Medici court in his designs of tapestries and frescoes in the Palazzo Vecchio: a series that recounts the history and production of silk, an extensive series on the military triumphs of the Medici and a series depicting hunts of various animals published under the title ''Venationes Ferarum, Avium, Piscium''.][ While some of the hunts in the last series are depicted in a relatively realistic manner, such as the dramatic rendering of horsemen with lances trying to kill a lion that fiercely resists, other hunts seem rather unrealistic such as the print showing leopards being caught with the help of mirrors.][ One of his most famous loose prints was the ''Allegory of the arts'' engraved by ]Cornelis Cort
Cornelis Cort (c. 1533 – c. 17 March 1578) was a Dutch engraver and draughtsman. He spent the last 12 years of his life in Italy, where he was known as ''Cornelio Fiammingo''.
Biography
Born in Hoorn or Edam, Cort may have been a pupil of D ...
in 1578.[
]
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stradanus
1523 births
1605 deaths
Artists from Bruges
Painters from Antwerp
Flemish Mannerist painters
Painters from Tuscany
Flemish landscape painters
Flemish history painters
Flemish genre painters
Flemish tapestry artists