Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper

Join me in the continuation of my conversation with ecocritical art historian and climate activist Esme Garlake. In the second part of our interview, we discuss the works of Raphael's pupil, Giovanni da Udine. Giovanni not only had an intense fascination with accurately depicting the natural world, which we discuss via his drawings, but had a substantial role in decorating Agostino Chigi's Villa Farnesina in Rome alongside Raphael and Giulio Romano.

Beyond the Renaissance, Esme provides valuable perspective on climate activism in museum spaces, and the role of art in how we envision the sustainability of our planet. 

For more of Esme's work: 
Blog: https://medium.com/@esme.garlake
Article: https://envhistnow.com/2023/05/04/towards-an-ecocritical-art-history/
Research Profile: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/art-history/esme-garlake 

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Join me in conversation in two parts with Esme Garlake, an ecocritical art historian and climate activist who centers her research on the interaction between the artist and the natural world. We are talking about two artists who were trained under Raphael, Giulio Romano and Giovanni da Udine.  How do animals manifest in their works, and what does it tell us about the social history of sixteenth century Italy?

Part one focuses on establishing how an ecocritical approach is used to analyze Renaissance art via Raphael before turning to the Palazzo Te in Mantua, and Giulio Romano's Sala dei Cavalli and the Banquet of Cupid and Psyche.

For more of Esme's work: 
Blog: https://medium.com/@esme.garlake
Article: https://envhistnow.com/2023/05/04/towards-an-ecocritical-art-history/
Research Profile: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/art-history/esme-garlake 

    
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Welcome to the Italian Renaissance Podcast Interview Series!

Passionate translator Michael Curtotti joins us on the podcast to discuss the Renaissance novelliere Matteo Bandello and his Romeo and Juliet, which serves as the inspiration to the famous play by William Shakespeare. Curtotti has recently published a new translation of Bandello's novella, a must read for all lovers of Renaissance literature. 

Purchase the book here:
English only: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMPFGPCJ
English-Italian Parallel Language Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0645844608

For more information on Michael Curtotti: https://beyondforeignness.org 

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Leonardo da Vinci arrived in Milan around the year 1482. Under the patronage of Duke Ludovico Gonzaga, Leonardo painted his famous Last Supper on the wall of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Still, his technical application of paint was a failure, causing almost immediate damage to the famous work. Between his inadequate innovation, the wars with Napoleon, and WWII, the Last Supper fresco has absorbed an excessive amount of damage. 

This discussion looks at the history of Last Supper depictions leading up to Leonardo, from the Early Christian catacombs to Byzantine mosaic.  It explores how his innovative approach to art elaborated a traditional theme, making it more in line with the ideals of Renaissance Humanism. Although the application was a grave error, the technical design of the work and rich symbolism position this work as among the most important paintings of the Renaissance. 

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Season 2 Finale! For the conclusion of this treatment of Renaissance Venice, we discuss Paolo Veronese and his famous painting that enraged the Holy Inquisition: The Supper in the House of Levi. 

Indeed, upon completion of this painting, the forces of the Counter-Reformation descended upon Veronese, bringing him under interrogation to explain what they deemed to be inappropriate in his art. This discussion details the painting itself along with the trial that condemned it within the greater context of the Protestant Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and the Roman Inquisition as it manifested in Venice. 

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Touted as the 'triumvirate' of sixteenth century Venice, Titian, Jacopo Sansovino, and Pietro Aretino were cultural megaliths that bolstered the ambitious city development plan under Doge Andrea Gritti. This episode explores the presence of both Aretino and Sansovino in Venice. 

Aretino was a famed writer, open homosexual, and merciless critic of the famed nobles of Italy. His court presence was one of high drama and unease, his pen a fearsome instrument of both mockery and flattery. Sansovino was a renowned architect, one who brings design ideals of the Roman Renaissance to the very heart of Venice. This discussion explores their joint presence as outsiders in the Venetian Lagoon who rise to prominence among the cultural elite. 

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Gaspara Stampa is among the most important poets of the Renaissance. Living in Venice, she was a central figure in the music and literary scene thriving during the sixteenth century. Her Rime, published the year of her death, give us insight to the brilliant mind of an upper class socialite with a complicated love life, far flung from the rigid confines of what we might expect from a Renaissance woman in a male dominated world.

Looking at her life and two sonnets, this discussion elaborates her role within the larger context of the Italian literary tradition, especially through Petrarch, and how these modes and tropes can be adapted and reworked through the culture of the Venetian Renaissance. 

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In 1494 upon the expulsion of the Medici from Florence, Michelangelo Buonarotti left his native city for the Republic of Venice. His stay there was brief and mostly undocumented. Yet, close comparison of source material and stylistic analysis reveals that perhaps Michelangelo was more influenced by his time in Venice than previously considered.

The master all'antica marble sculptor Tullio Lombardo had likely completed his masterpiece Adam the year before Michelangelo's arrival. Was the divine Michelangelo inspired by a Venetian Renaissance master before creating his own large-scale Bacchus, a marble nude figure modelled on antiquity? In this episode, we unpack the layers of influence that appear to manifest in Michelangelo's work as a potential result of Venetian influence. 

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With great pleasure, I welcome Gee Cooper back to the show to discuss the afterlife of Titian. Given his proliferation and international appeal, the works of Titian and his role as court painter had a ripple effect in courts throughout Europe. Among the most important figures is Charles I of England who looked to expand the Royal Collection after a visit to Spain where he saw Titian's poesie series and was permanently changed. The Titian List is the inventory of his works by Titian until his execution and the dispersal of his collection. 

Charles I wanted a Titian of his own. He employed Antony Van Dyck as his court painter, who would emulate Titian, reproduce his works, and adjust his own style to the preference of the King.  

In this conversation, we cover essential aspects of the poesie series in Spain to understand the impact that it had on Charles I. We then look at two types of Imperial portraiture to determine the direct influence of Titian's work in the seventeenth-century, not merely as items in an inventory, but as a highly praised style that infiltrated courtly painting. 

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Known as the greatest master of the Venetian Renaissance, Titian's painting career spanned most of the sixteenth century. This episode aims to give an overview of his life and works, focusing on three paintings from three different genres: an altarpiece, a portrait, and a  mythological scene. 

Just as they represent different genres, the paintings discussed serve as timestamps in his career, marking his earliest masterpiece, the height of his career, and one of his last works. By doing this, Titian's variety of skill and talent is put on full display, sorting through the variances in his style, and how he positions himself as the forerunner of conventional change in European painting. 

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