The most important pictures of this room are: Titian's portrait of a
young man with a glove (92); the Holy Family, called of the
_Impannata_ or "covered window" (94), a work of Raphael's Roman
period, painted by his scholars, perhaps by Giulio Romano; Cristofano
Allori's Judith (96), a splendid and justly celebrated picture,
showing what exceedingly fine works could be produced by Florentines
even in the decadence (Allori died in 1621); Andrea del Sarto's scenes
from the history of Joseph (87, 88), panels for cassoni or bridal
chests, painted for the marriage of Francesco Borgherini and
Margherita Acciaiuoli; a Rubens, the so-called Four Philosophers (85),
representing himself with his brother, and the scholars Lipsius and
Grotius; Andrea del Sarto's Holy Family (81), one of his last works,
painted in 1529 for Ottaviano dei Medici and said to have been
finished during the siege; Van Dyck's Cardinal Giulio Bentivoglio
(82). It is uncertain whether this Julius II. (79) or that in the
Tribuna of the Uffizi is Raphael's original, but the present picture
appears to be the favourite; both are magnificent portraits of this
terrible old warrior pontiff, who, for all his fierceness, was the
noblest and most enlightened patron that Raphael and Michelangelo had.
It was probably at his bidding that Raphael painted Savonarola among
the Church's doctors and theologians in the Vatican.
In the _Sala di Apollo_ and _Sala di Venere_.
Here, first of all, is Raphael's celebrated portrait of Pope Julius'
unworthy successor, Leo X. (40), the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent;
on the left--that is, the Pope's right hand--is the Cardinal Giulio
dei Medici, afterwards Pope Clement VII.; behind the chair is the
Cardinal Luigi dei Rossi, the descendant of a daughter of Piero il
Gottoso. One of Raphael's most consummate works.
Andrea del Sarto's Pietà (58) was painted in 1523 or 1524 for a
convent of nuns in the Mugello, whither Andrea had taken his wife and
household while the plague raged in Florence; it is one of his finest
works. Titian's Magdalene (67) has been called by Ruskin a
"disgusting" picture; as a pseudo-religious work, it would be hard to
find anything more offensive; but it has undeniably great technical
qualities. His Pietro Aretino (54), on the other hand, is a noble
portrait of an infamous blackguard. Noteworthy are also Andrea del
Sarto's portrait (66), apparently one of his many representations of
himself, and Murillo's Mother and Child (63).
In the _Sala di Venere_, are a superb landscape by Rubens (14),
sometimes called the Hay Harvest and sometimes the Return of the
Contadini; also a fine female portrait, wrongly ascribed to Leonardo
(140); the Triumph of David by Matteo Rosselli (13). It should be
observed that the gems of the collection are frequently shifted from
room to room for the benefit of the copyist.
The _Sala dell' Educazione di Giove_ and following rooms.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account