ITALY, FIFTEENTH CENTURY
The history of Renaissance jewellery in general may be approached by
reviewing the condition of Italian jewellery in the fifteenth century.
In the foregoing outline of European jewellery to the end of the
fifteenth century--which has served as an approximate date for the
termination of the mediæval epoch--practically no reference has been
made to Italy. One need only examine the general style of Italian
painting, architecture, and sculpture of the Quattrocento, to see how
far apart the art of Italy stands from that of the rest of Europe.
Italian jewellery certainly merits the great reputation it has always
possessed. Nor is this surprising, considering the prominent part played
by the goldsmiths in the renaissance of artistic taste--by these
craftsmen who, in the highest sense artists, were the first to break the
fetters of tradition, and yield to those impulses that sought a wider
field for the gratification of their creative instinct. Hence the
history of the jeweller's art in Italy at the period of the Quattrocento
largely resolves itself into the biographies of those master sculptors
and painters, who worked first as goldsmiths and jewellers, and
throughout their careers remained ever mindful of their original trade.
Venice, which in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was the
wealthiest city and the principal port in Europe, though rivalled in the
former century by Bruges and by Antwerp in the latter, encouraged the
use of luxurious jewellery, as did the great cities of the north. But
Florence undoubtedly took the lead as an artistic centre, judging alone
by the artists she produced. The paintings of the Venetian school (the
work of Crivelli, for instance), and those of the schools of Tuscany,
etc., reveal the exquisite beauty of ecclesiastical jewellery, and of
the ornaments with which men, no less than women, loved to deck their
persons. Nearly every painter possessed an insight into the mysteries of
the goldsmith's craft, and represented his subject, whatever it might
be, with careful attention to its jewelled accessories. The great
merchants of opulent and artistic cities, such as Siena, Milan, and
others, besides Venice and Florence, delighted in rich jewels; and the
masters of the schools of painting which had their centres in these
towns have preserved in glowing pigment a faithful record of these
delicate works of art, on which the eminent jewellers of the day
lavished their skill and ingenuity.
The great superiority and beauty of the personal ornaments revealed
to us in this manner must first of all be ascribed to that awakening
to the full joy of life that was so characteristic a feature of the
Renaissance. The rapture of spring ran hot in men's veins. Life was
an uninterrupted succession of revelry and gaiety, amid splendour
of colouring and glitter of gold. The goldsmith emerges from the
subordinate state he occupied in the mediæval guild, and attains fame as
a free artist, whose duty was to minister personally to the luxurious
tastes of those who played a part in the gorgeous pageant of the new
epoch. The goldsmiths included among their ranks great master craftsmen,
whose perfection of technical skill seemed to find satisfaction only in
overcoming the greatest problems that their art could offer.
Vasari tells of the very close connection and almost constant
intercourse that existed between the goldsmiths and the painters.
Indeed, nearly every artist, before applying himself to painting,
architecture, or sculpture, began with the study of the goldsmith's
craft, and "passed the years of his apprenticeship in the technical
details of an industry that then supplied the strictest method of
design."[117]
[117] Symonds (J. A.), _Renaissance in Italy--The Fine Arts_, p. 91.
The names of several artists of the Renaissance have been handed down
who are specially recorded as having worked at jewellery. One of the
earliest of those who began their career in the goldsmith's workshops
is Ghiberti (b. 1378), who throughout life remained faithful to that
species of work. His jewellery is specially extolled by Vasari.
Following upon Ghiberti were two great jewellers, Tommaso (commonly
called Maso) di Finiguerra and Antonio Pollaiuolo; the former famous for
his nielli, the latter for his enamel-work upon relief. Pollaiuolo's
love for jewel-forms in his paintings (executed together with his
brother Piero) is seen not only in the Annunciation at Berlin, but in
the group of SS. Eustace, James, and Vincent in the Uffizi, and the
portrait of Simonetta Vespucci at Chantilly. Born in 1435, a few years
after Pollaiuolo, Andrea del Verrocchio resembled in the peculiar
versatility of his genius, others of these typical artists of the Middle
or High Renaissance--the Epoch of the Goldsmith it has been termed.
A jeweller whose influence in his own day was greater, and whose fame
almost equalled that of Cellini, was Ambrogio Foppa, called Caradosso,
who was born about 1446 at Milan. He worked first in the service of
Ludovico Sforza, and afterwards at Rome, where he died as late as
the year 1530. He seems to have been skilled in every branch of the
goldsmith's art, and especially excelled in making little medallions of
gold, enriched with figures in high relief and covered with enamels,
which were worn as enseignes in the hat or hair. His work in this
direction is highly extolled by Cellini, and his skill in enamelling
specially mentioned by Vasari.
Among the artists of the end of the fifteenth century who, after
being goldsmiths and jewellers, became celebrated as painters must be
mentioned Botticelli (1444-1510), Domenico del Ghirlandaio (1449-1494),
and Francia (1450-1517). Ghirlandaio is commonly referred to as a maker
of the jewelled coronals (_ghirlande_), popular with the unmarried and
newly wedded ladies of Florence. It is probable that he did produce this
class of work in early life; but his name seems to have been borne by
several members of his family, for in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries a goldsmith was often familiarly termed "Ghirlandaio," as one
of his chief occupations was the manufacture of the rich head-ornaments
then so much in vogue.
[Illustration: Pendant worn by one of The Three Graces in
Botticelli's "Primavera."]
Though Ghirlandaio does not fill his pictures with dainty details like
the intricate settings which Botticelli devised for the neck-pendants of
the Graces in his "Primavera," yet he invariably pays careful regard to
the representation of jewelled accessories. Such may be seen in the
well-known portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni (1488), belonging to Mr.
Pierpont Morgan (formerly in the Kann Collection). She has two jewels:
one, worn on her breast, is formed of a ruby in claw setting with a
small beryl above, and hung with three pendent pearls; the other,
specially introduced into the picture and lying beside her in a recess,
is composed of a cluster of stones--a ruby surrounded by two pearls and
three beryls--beautifully set, and surmounted by a winged dragon with
a sapphire over its head. Resting upon a table in the foreground of
another picture--a curious panel in the possession of Mr. George
Salting--representing Costanza de' Medici, are several pins, three rings
on a roll of parchment, and a pendant hung with three pearls and set
with a large and a small sapphire. In the Pitti Gallery is a portrait,
not by Domenico, but by his son Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, which may be here
alluded to owing to the special interest of its subject. The portrait is
that of a jeweller holding in his hand and gazing intently at what is
presumably one of his own creations--a richly enamelled jewel fashioned
in the form of a "pelican in its piety."
[Illustration: Jewel, in Ghirlandaio's portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni.]
Concerning the jewellery of the great goldsmith of Bologna, Francesco
Raibolini, called Francia, a considerable amount of information has been
preserved. Born in 1450, he passed the best part of his life as a
goldsmith, and not till he was upwards of forty did he abandon the
goldsmith's art for that of the painter.[118] One of Francia's finest
paintings is the "Felicini" altar-piece in the Bologna Gallery, executed
in 1484 by commission of Messer Bartolomeo Felicini for the church of S.
Maria della Misericordia in that city. Among the many splendid gifts
this famous church had received was a jewel which the records say was
set by Francia himself. Its beauty was held in such esteem, that by
desire of the chapter the artist introduced it into his picture,
where it can be seen hanging over the head of the Madonna. Its centre
is occupied by a fine amethyst, and is bordered by deep blood-crimson
enamel, with pearls at the angles. So carefully is every detail of this
jewel painted, that a modern goldsmith has found no difficulty in
copying it with absolute exactness[119] (Pl. XXV, 1).
[118] Williamson (G. C.), _Francia_, pp. 2, 3, 21, 38.
[119] For a photograph of this jewel, and for the information
respecting it and the other works of this artist, I am indebted
to the kindness of Dr. Williamson.
[Illustration: _PLATE XXV_ FIFTEENTH-CENTURY PENDANTS, ETC.
(ITALIAN AND FLEMISH)]
The last of the great jewellers of the Quattrocento was Michelagnolo di
Viviano, who worked at Florence under the patronage of Lorenzo and
Giuliano de' Medici. He was the earliest instructor of the greatest
goldsmith and jeweller of the late Renaissance, Benvenuto Cellini, in
whose _Treatise_ and _Life_ he is spoken of with the highest praise.
From actual examples we obtain but slight information of the Italian
ornaments of the fifteenth century; but that there is a distinct
alteration in the style of jewellery between the Quattrocento and the
Cinquecento, the pictures of these great artistic periods offer abundant
proofs. This difference is particularly noticeable in ornaments for the
head. During the fifteenth century we find the forehead heightened, and
the space thus obtained emphasised by a single jewel placed at the top
of the brow. This form of ornament is admirably shown in Piero della
Francesca's "Nativity" in the National Gallery, and particularly in
his "Madonna and Child," with saints and angels, and with the donor,
Federigo of Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, in the Brera, Milan. The
parts of these two pictures most characteristic of the artist are
the figures of the angels, who wear jewels executed with extraordinary
brilliancy--compositions of pearls in delicate goldwork enriched with
blue enamel. Precious stones and jewels were often sewn, at regular
intervals, all round the band of ribbon or galloon that encircled the
head, as seen in a portrait in the Ambrosiana, Milan, ascribed to
Ambrogio da Predis, and considered to be that of Beatrice d' Este; but
it is more usual to find in the centre of the brow an isolated jewel,
held by a narrow ribbon or silken cord, knotted at the back of the
head--as in Caroto's portrait of the Duchess Elizabeth Gonzaga in the
Uffizi, who wears on the forehead a jewelled scorpion, emblem of logic.
This head-ornament is known as the _ferronnière_; and the origin of its
title is somewhat peculiar. There is in the Louvre an attractive and
greatly admired portrait of a lady, with her hair held in place by
black cord supporting a diamond in the middle of the forehead. For
many years the portrait was entitled "La Belle Ferronnière," having been
erroneously considered to be that of the blacksmith's wife (ferronnière)
whose beauty enthralled Francis I in his declining years. It is now
generally held to be a portrait of Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of
Ludovico Moro, Duke of Milan. The name of the painter is a matter of
dispute, though the work is still ascribed, as it has long been, to
Leonardo da Vinci. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the
Romantic movement was at its height, a similar ornament was revived, and
received its present name under a misconception of the subject of the
picture. In the sixteenth century this simple ornament is abandoned, and
it was the painter's task to depict magnificent coiffures like those of
Veronese's ladies, sprinkled with jewels and entwined with ropes of
pearls.
As regards the ornaments for the neck, the changes of fashion in the
two periods and the artistic mode of expressing the fashion demanded a
different style of jewellery. The slender neck which is displayed in the
portraits of the earlier period required lighter ornaments than did the
massive forms of the later. "The artist no longer trifled with single
gems, hanging on a thread, but painted a solid chain, and the light,
close-fitting necklace becomes pendent and heavy."[120] The distinct
refinement exhibited in Italy in the fifteenth and early sixteenth
centuries did not demand a great profusion or variety of jewellery. As
the pendent ornament for the neck-chain, a simple jewel formed by one
stone in the centre and smaller stones or four pearls around seems in
most cases to have been sufficient. Circular pendants of niello-work
surrounded by silver-gilt bands of corded ornament were much in use, and
a small number, dating from about 1460 to 1530, have survived. They
sometimes bear a religious subject (Pl. XIX, 4). But not infrequently
the head of a lady is represented in profile, generally with a flower
under her nose; and it is possible that these were worn by men as a
pledge of affection from their lady-love. Finger rings with somewhat
similar designs were also worn (Pl. XXIII, 16).
[120] Wölfflin (H.), _The art of the Italian Renaissance_, p. 234.
Beyond a small number of objects of this description, very few examples
of Italian Quattrocento jewellery have escaped the crucible. The change
of taste even between the early and the full Renaissance was sufficient
to cause their destruction. Among surviving jewels of this century is a
very beautiful gold and enamel pendant in the collection of Mr. Pierpont
Morgan. It is circular in form, and was probably intended as a
reliquary. Upon the front is an Annunciation in high relief. The garment
of the Virgin is enriched with red and blue, and that of the angel with
red and white enamel; the chequered base being of translucent green.
Around is a border of leaves and flowers enamelled red and white. The
open-work back consists of a central rosette, surrounded by interlacing
curves, and edged with a delicate wreath (Pl. XXV, 2).
It remains to draw attention, by means of a beautiful representation of
jewellery in painting, to an example of the style of brooch worn in
Florence in the latter part of the fifteenth century. The picture
referred to is that of the Virgin and Child (No. 296) in the National
Gallery. It is apparently the work of Verrocchio, Pollaiuolo, or one of
the goldsmith-painters of whom we have spoken; for the minute execution
of the ornaments would seem to denote the hand of an artist who had
practised the goldsmith's and jeweller's art. The brooch that serves as
a fastening for the Virgin's cloak--the same being represented on
that of one of the angels--is of most charming design. It has in the
centre a table-cut ruby, around which are set four pearls between
ornaments in the form of blackberries, surrounded by an outer border of
blackberry leaves. So carefully is the jewel drawn that every detail can
bear close inspection. A peculiar point of interest is that the pearls,
each of which is set in a couple of crutch-like clasps, appear to
correspond to the "perles à potences" frequently mentioned in the
contemporary jewel inventories of the Dukes of Burgundy.
[Illustration: Brooch worn by the Virgin in fifteenth-century Florentine
picture (No. 296, National Gallery, London).]
Some measure of compensation for the unfortunate lack of actual
examples of Italian Quattrocento jewellery is obtained, apart from their
representation in pictures, by the very remarkable use that was made of
jewel forms for the marginal decoration of manuscripts. Such enrichments
of the borders of missals, etc., by means of painted jewel ornaments,
would seem to be but the direct outcome of the system whereby most of
the painters, sculptors, architects, and no less eminent miniaturists
received their first instruction in art in the workshops of the
goldsmiths. It is certain from their quality that the jewels
represented in manuscripts, generally in their natural size, are the
work of artists well acquainted with the jeweller's art, whose eyes were
further impressed by the embroidered edgings of ecclesiastical vestments
enriched with jewel ornaments and sewn with pearls and precious stones.
In painting with corresponding luxury the border decorations of church
missals, the miniaturists have obviously not drawn on their imagination,
or constructed jewel forms in a mere haphazard manner. The individual
pieces, often complete jewels, are just such as might at the time have
been found on the shelves of some goldsmith's workshop.
Among the most skilful of such reproductions of jewels are those in the
celebrated choir books of the cathedral of Siena, particularly the pages
painted by Liberale di Giacomo da Verona, who worked at Siena from the
year 1466. An examination of these illuminations reveals Liberale as an
artist thoroughly conversant with the jeweller's craft: so that his
work, together with that of his followers, such as the Florentine
Giovanni di Giuliano Boccardi, the Dominican Fra Eustachio, Litti di
Filippo Corbizi, Monte di Giovanni, Antonio di Girolamo, the famous
Attavante, and the various miniaturists of King Mathias Corvinus of
Hungary, apart from its charming execution, constitutes a veritable
storehouse of information respecting the ornaments of the period.
Particularly fine examples of jewelled and enamelled decorations are
also contained in choir books in the cathedral of Florence, missals in
the Barberini Palace, Rome, a Bible of Mathias Corvinus in the Vatican
Library, several books in the Brera at Milan, and the fine Glockendon
missal (_circa_ 1540) in the Town Library at Nuremberg. More important
perhaps than all is the Grimani Breviary, now in the Library of St.
Mark's, Venice. The ornamentation of this famous work, the product of a
Flemish artist of the final years of the fifteenth century, displays a
northern naturalism favourable to the striking representation of jewel
forms, and serves to illustrate the close and active relationship then
existing between the Flemish and Italian goldsmiths.[121]
[121] The whole of this magnificent work has been reproduced by
Sijthoff, of Leyden, under the direction of Scato de Vries and
Dr. S. Morpurgo.
[Illustration: A fifteenth-century jeweller. From _Ortus Sanitatis_
(Strasburg, about 1497).]