Re-Creating Adam at Villa Carducci

Author(s): Robert L. Mode

Source: Zeitschrift fr Kunstgeschichte, 47. Bd., H. 4 (1984), pp. 501-514
Published by: Deutscher Kunstverlag GmbH Munchen Berlin
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1482289
Accessed: 11-12-2015 21:48 UTC
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FamosifromVillaCarducci,
Uffizi
Legnaia.Florence,
I. AndreadelCastagno,Uomini

MISZELLEN
Robert L. Mode

Re-CreatingAdam atVilla Carducci

Between1449and 1451Andreadel Castagnowas not mentionedin theearlysources,thesesubjects
a fictive>>Madonna and
engaged in the decoration of a semi-enclosed - Adam and Eve flanking
chamber(variouslyreferred
to as sala or loggia)in
? Castagnowas creditedwiththeVilla Legnaiauomini
the Carduccifamilyvillaat Legnaia.For thissite,
Florence
Memoriale,
famosischemebyAlbertini,
1510o,
17andAntonioBilli(seeFrey,II LibrodiAntonioBilli,
locatedon theoutskirtsof Florence,theartistunBerlin I892, 23) priorto I530. Furtherconfirmationwas
dertookto portrayuominifamosiincludingcivic
provided by Vasari (ed. Milanesi, 1878), II, 670, withthe
heroes(Pippo Spano, FarinatadegliUberti,NictheCarducciproprietorship
of
1568editionspecifying
the villa (acquiredand renamedby thePandolfiniin
colo Acciaiuoli) and literarygiants(Dante, Pet1475). After1847 the uominifamosifromthe principal
rarch,Boccaccio) - all eminentFlorentinesof the
wall were removed,to be subsequentlylocated in
- theUffizi(Florpreceedingtwo centuries- as well as ancient
Sant'Apolloniaand - morerecently
hadbeenincorporated
into
ence).Historicalexemplars
female paragons (Cumaean Sibyl, Esther, ToearlierTuscanmuraldecorations
at thePalazzo Datini
myris).Taken as a whole (Fig. i), thisgroup of
in Prato (ca. 1390), thePalazzo Pubblico in Siena (1413worthiesserved to personifyQuattrocentono14), and the town hall at Lucignano (ca. 1445).
MarioSalmi,>>Gliaffeschi
di Andreadel Castagnorittions of loftycharacteror noteworthyachieverovati<<, Bolletinod'Arte,XXV, 1950, 301-302. Priorto
ment'.
the1948-49restoration,
a fragment
oftheuppersection
On an adjacentside wall to the leftof the main
had beenrecovered
(i9io), enablingSalmito formulate
a schematic
architectural
format
forthesidewall even
mural decorationthere was revealed,duringa
beforethefigures
werefoundbelow(see Salmi,Paolo
1948-49restoration
campaign,additionalsubjects
Uccello,Andreadel Castagno,DomenicoVeneziano,
with
the
known frescoes2.Although
Rome 1936; Paris 1937, Fig. 146 and 147).
compatible
5oI

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AndreadelCastagno,
mural.VillaCarducci,
Adam/Eve
Legnaia

Child< lunettewithattendantangels- have since

been ascribedto Castagno's own hand3.The architectural

surroundsfortheprincipalfigures
conformin all essentialaspectsto thosefoundon the
longwall,withtheexceptionofan open-curtained
baldachinabove the centralportaland its fictive
lunette.Much of the schemehas survivedintact,
butsignificant
portionsremainobscuredespitethe
carefulrestoration
(Fig. 2).
The conditionofthissidewallvariesto a considerabledegree,mostofthesurfaceloss beingto the
rightof center.Fromwhatis discernibletherecan
be no doubt that the baldachinsectionwas inarea.
tendedto be an illusionistic,self-contained
The projectionof the baldachinpinnacleoutside
the architectural
enclosureof the main level,towith
reduced scale of the attending
the
gether
monochromatic
treatmentof the
and
angels
combine
to
isolate
this
entire
sectionfrom
lunette,
theschemearoundit.Conversely,therelationship
on thelong
ofAdam and Eve to theuominifamosi
wall is heightenedby the special way Castagno
portrayedthesesubjectsand theirsettings.
bewas madeto avoiddiscontinuity
Everyeffort

tween the compartments

containingthe >>primal
main
wall.The greateriland
those
on
the
parents<<
in
lusion of depth the side wall compartments
resultedfromthemoreacuteprogressionof orthagonalswithina wall 7.5 m. wide(vs. 5.5 m. across
themainwall). This allowedCastagnoto position
the Adam and Eve behindthe frontplane using
plinthsbeneaththeirfeet to assure isocephalic
unitywith the uominifamosi.The possibilityof
their possessinga >>statuary<<
identityhas been
but
their
polychromatic
presentation
suggested4,
3 Soexact
isthecorrespondence
between
thesidewalldec-

oration
andtheuomini
scheme
thatbothmust
famosi
be presumed
to havebeenexecuted
inthesamecamtheaddition
ofa doorway
beneath
paign;subsequently,
Esther
on themainwallmayhavediminished
theimofthesideportals
andallowed
thecovering
of
portance
themostcursory
decoration.
Vasari
anylateral
provides
mention
oftheentire
thathe(like
scheme,
suggesting
Albertini
andBilli)lacked
accesstowhatwasstilla privvilla.
ate,residential
NewYork
4James
Beck,ItalianRenaissance
Painting,
asfic1981,154.FortheAdamandEvetobeidentified
tive statuary,
a truemonochromatic
in
rendering
da Tolentino)
wouldbeneces(aswithNiccolo
grisaille
natural
fleshtonesandpaledrapery
hues
sary.In fact,
belieanysuchintention
onthepartofCastagno.

502

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DetailofEve.VillaCarducci,Legnaia
3. AndreadelCastagno,
DetailofAdam.VillaCarducci,Legnaia
4. AndreadelCastagno,
belies this; and in any case the demandsof arEssentialto thisformof programis a stronghischitectonicand spatialconsistencyadquatelyac- toricalemphasis,whichconstitutes
butone aspect
count for the plinthshavingbeen introducedin of humanisticmodel selection7.The introduction
thisfashion.
5W. A. Simpson,>CardinalGiordanoOrsini(t 1438)as
The selectionof mankind'soriginalancestorsfor
a PrinceoftheChurchanda PatronoftheArts<<,
Joura seriesofpaintedexemplarsis notwithoutparallel
nal of the Warburgand CourtauldInstitutes,
XXIX,
in themid-fifteenth
1966, 138-140,and RobertL. Mode, >Masolino, Uccentury.Duringthefourteen
cello
and the Orsini Uomini Famosiw,Burlington
thirtiesa large chamberin the Monte Giordano
CXIV, 1972,369-378.
Magazine,
6 AntonioAverlino,called II Filarete,Trattatodi Arpalace of the CardinalOrsini at Rome was decoed. W. von Oettingen,ViennaI890, 304ratedwithmuralsdepictinguominifamosibeginchitettura,
Filareteproposeda divisionof historical
306.
personwith
Adam
and
Eve.
More
of
a
>universal
hisning
ages into six ages (followingthe schemeutilizedby
than
a
select
of
tory<
grouping
repesentative
EusebiusandIsidoreofSeville),openingas follows:,Et
a questaprimaeti eraappressofigurato
AdamoetEva;
worthies,theMonte Giordanofrescocyclecan be
e
altri
The
Sforzinda
schemewasingli
seguitavano...<<.
relatedto the shop of Masolino and therebya
tendedto surrounda cortile,as a muralpositioned
Florentinetradition
accessibleto Castagno5.In adil porticho<<.Itsconception
musthavebeencon,sotto
with the Castagno project at Legnaia,
decoradition,Filaretewas to proposea courtyard
temporary
form)cannotbe de(inmanuscript
thoughitsinfluence
tionwithintheprecinctsof ?Sforzinda< consisting
termined.
of paragonsfromthegreatages of humanhistory 7 For a fulldiscussionof humanistic
modelselectionin
- starting
seeRobert
withAdam and Eve6.
uominifamosi
projectsoftheQuattrocento,
503

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the side wall is thusof criticalconsequenceto an

enlargedreadingoftheentireprogramat Legnaia.
By farthebetterpreservedoftheimagesis thatof
Eve (Fig. 3). Castagno endowed her lightlyclad
formwiththestrength
and self-assured
demeanor
of an Amazon princessor Olympiandeity.Accordingto Horster,the artistmay have used a
familiarclassicaltypeofDiana thehuntress9.
Such
a bold interpretation
has littleto do withtheinnocentEve who dwelledin Eden northeguilt-stricken Eve of the Fall and Expulsion.Her animalskindressand long-handleddistaff
hardlydistract
.
. .
l,
;
.
fromtheproudbearingand levelgaze withwhich
rh?:
:
sheturnstowardthefuture.Sheratherassumesthe
a rolemade
guiseofwitnessto futuregenerations,
clear by the inscriptionbeneath her: EVA.
MATER. SVASIONE
SVA.
OM(NIVM).
GENVS. PEREMIT(MALIS)' .
The Villa Carducci Eve is representedfacing
herattention
awayfromAdam so as to concentrate
on the open vistato the left.Not only does this
denyanyconjugalconcernforhermate,butitruns
counterto Quattrocento
normsofsymmetrical
figure disposition.One would properlyexpectEve
Head ofChrist(reversed) to look towardtheright.The factthatshedoes not
5. AndreadelCastagno,
disturbsboth the physicaland psychologicalininResurrection
mural.S. Apollonia,
Florence
ofthetwo.To explainthisrelationship
it
tegration
is vitalto comprehendhow Eve's consortwas preofAdam and Eve intotheVilla Carducciprogram sented
by Castagno,in itselfa taskof virtual>>reto shiftpartof its originalemphasis creation<<.
is sufficient
fromthe illuminationof virtu'to theprogressof
The conditionof Adam is such that even the
humanity.Such added complexitysupportsthe closestscrutiny
cannotfullyrevealitsintendedapadvisorrenotionthatCastagnohad a humanistic
pearance(Fig. 4). There is littleremainingof the
sponsible for selectingthe subjects he was to feet,legs,trunkand head ofthefigure.Whatdoes
paint'. The presenceof theprogenitorfigureson remainof the more intactarmsand mid-section
: ?.

i.

L. Mode,
MonteGiordanoFamousMen Cycleof
Giordano Orsini and the UominiFamosi
Cardinal,The
Traditionin Fifteenth-Century
ItalianArt<<,Ph. D.
diss., Universityof Michigan, 1969, 200-242.

8 ChristianeL. Joost-Gaugier,
,Castagno's humanistic
program at Legnaia and its possible inventor<<,
Zeitschriftfiir Kunstgeschichte,XLV, 1982, 274-282.

Joost-Gaugier
puts forththe name of
convincingly
AlamannoRinuccini
as thehumanist
mostlikelytohave
advisedCastagnoin theplanningoftheVillaCarducci
demonstrate
theimprobabilprogram.Her arguments
ity of Castagnohavingprovidedthe actualplan, as
Andreadel Castagno,
suggested
byGeorgeM. Richter,
Chicago 1943, 19.

cannotbe whollygraspedowingto thefragmen9 Marita Horster,Andrea del Castagno, Oxford 1980, 30.

a Diana inRome
Thefigure
ofEve is showntoresemble
thatthependantAdam
(Museo delleTerme),implying
hadequalrelianceon antiquesources.Horsterprovides
a concisesummary
of theVillaCarduccifrescoesand
connectionsin a thoroughcatalogue
theirtraditional

entry(178-I180).
Adam(obbeneath
thecomparable
0oWithout
inscription

thehistorical
andmoraltoneoftheirpresentaliterated)
tion remainstentative;
nonetheless,
by usingelegant
theartisthasconveyedtheauLatinmajusculelettering
humanistic
ofa Quattrocento
epigram.
thority

504

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2#;
3*;(544

46 ?L

kjilk,

NO~

rl-ent"",
W
II;lI I

6. PierodellaFrancesca,
Detailofunidentified
youthsin
DeathofAdammural.S. Francesco,
Arezzo
withotherparts.And yetthedistaryrelationship
and
position
generalappearanceof thisdamaged
can
be
reformulated
on thebasis of survivfigure
ingdetails.Whereareasareentirely
missing,close
comparison with related examples will further
elucidatethesubject.
By comparingtheremainsof theVilla Carducci
Adam withthelikenessofEve itis possibleto disand
cerna commonapproachto theirarrangement
basic figuretype.Theiranglesof dispositionrelativeto thefrontplaneofeachcompartment
arevirtuallyidentical.Both exampleshave thetall,slenof sinewyyouth;and
derphysiquescharacteristic
both standat gracefulease withintheirrigidarchitectural
surroundings.
At itsbase,thefigureofAdam standson a blocklike plinthextendingfromjust beneaththe partiallyvisibleleftfootto justbeyondtheoriginallocation of the rightfoot. The positioningof his

lower legs can be reasonablyinferredby the axis

and angle of each thigh,while the resolutionof
weighton therightfootrequireda slightturnoutward similarto thatfoundin the Eve. What remainsof theleftfootsuggestslittleor no rotation
at theankle,presumably
as an accomodationtothe
hoe thatdescendsnextto it.
midMovingupwardthroughthewell-preserved
sectionoftheAdam itis clearthattheclassicalconhas beenmoderated(again,as with
effect
trapposto
Eve) so thattheaxesofpelvisand lowertrunkare
draperyis
nearlyparallel.The supple,animal-skin
oftheverysametypewornbyEve, althoughmodfolds.A clothband
elledwithstraighter
andfirmer
cinchesthethickmaterialhighon thewaist,differingfromitsfemalecounterpart
onlyin thedisplay
of an amply-tiedknot. By suggestinga thicker
waist via the knottedband, and a largerframe
throughdraperycontoursand visible muscula505

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"
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+++..++;
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.,~

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,-r
DetailofAdam- right
arm.
7. AndreadelCastagno,
VillaCarducci,
Legnaia
In fact,thereis a strongiconographicparallelbethe male
ture,Castagno has subtlydistinguished
of
of tweenAdam and therisenChristwhichsupports
physique Adam fromtheathleticfemininity
Eve. As closeas hisrenderings
parallelone another an analogoustreatment
giventheirrespectivevisin thelowerbodies and mid-sectionsof thesefig- ages. A connectionbetweenAdam and thisaspect
ures,thereis nevera hintof duplicationor simple of Christis found in the words of Paul fromI
reversalofpreliminary
CorinthiansXV: 20-22, whichled to a typological
drawings.
from
the
fold
that
starts
beJudging
V-shaped
parallelbetween?therisenChristas agentof the
neathAdam's waistband,thecontinuationof the gloriousresurrection
of thejust and Adam as the
animal-skingarb to its culminationin shoulder authorof naturallifeand death<<".The effectof
knots(of whichtheone on theleftis clearlyvisib- this on artisticusage in Castagno's time can be
le) was likewisesimilarto Eve's. Unfortunately, foundin worksby Ghibertiand Uccello".
thisareaoftheAdam has beenalmostentirelyobIn extendingthe figuresearchone can compare
literated.Yet it is safeto assumethatthegarment the Carducci Adam and Eve with two similarly
continuedmore directlyup the male torso and conceived subjects in the Piero della Francesca
thusdid not requirethemodestfoldingout ofthe
Christ's
Resurrection
inPauline
" DavidMichael
Stanley,
furliningas was done withthecostumeofEve.
Rome i96i, 177. The earlychurchestabSoteriology,
lished the doctrineof >Recapitulation<< based on
Perhapsthe most problematicarea of the Villa
Irenaeus'interpretation
ofSt.Paul: *Whatwe hadlost
CarducciAdam is theneckandheadregion,which
in Adam,thatis, beingaftertheimageand likenessof
has been lost exceptfora fragment
of thefigure's
God, we mightrecoverinChristJesus<<(AgainstHerestateofAdamasprimal
tics,
III. xix.I.) The>perfected<
righteye and its adjacentbrow and cheekbone.
as therisensaviour
arethusrelated
to
beingandChrist
Smallthoughit maybe, thiscriticalfragment
sufoneanother
inboth>imageandlikeness<<,
as abstract
ficesto establisha leftward
andslightly
downward
andphysical
witha common
entities
imtypes
spiritual
of
the
head.
The
print.
angling
physiognomyappears
12 Forthe
eastdoorsoftheFlorentine
Ghiberti
Baptistry,
thatit closelyreyoungand beardless,suggesting
Adamwithin
theinner
frieze
as
portrayed
(above-right)
sembledthehead of Christin theSant'Apollonia
witha short
beardandlonghair,
muscular
andidealized
- onlyin reverse(Fig. 5). The Adam
Resurrection
similar
inallrespects
toAdam'sappearance
inUccello's
AdamandFallofMan(Chiostro
Creation
S.
Verde,
of
differs
in
more
and
its
hairline
sideslightly
regular
M. Novella)anddirectly
to theChrist
ofUcparallel
waysglance,butotherwiseappearslargelyto agree
cello'sownResurrection
window
andLucadellaRobin type.
bia'sResurrection
lunette
(bothinFlorence
Cathedral).
506

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rr4

'
!.....
......

ra

"it

g,7-'

g.,.,

il

i
. ..i.:

I?y
I
)ly

-, , ,-

on >>Landsdowne<<
8. Herakles(Romanvariant
type),2ndc. A.D. MuseodelleTerme,Rome
Florence
9. CircleofUccello,Heraklesmural.PalazzoBardi-Serzelli,
muraldepictingthe Death ofAdam at San Frannoted
cesco in Arezzo (Fig. 6). Horsterhas rightly
the connectionbetween the femalefigureand
Eve13,but passed over the possiblelinkbetween
themalefigureand Adam. Althoughpresentedin
simiprofile,Piero'syoungmaletypeis strikingly
lar to thatemployedat Legnaiaby Castagno.The
partiallyclad youtheven raiseshis rightarmand
glances sideways, closely approximatingthe
Adam. Piero was too originalan artistto repeat

exactlytheformulaof another,but thecomparabilityoftypesin bothpairsoffigurescannotbe ignored.Sinceno clearidentity

has beenestablished
forthiscouple, it may evenbe hypothesizedthat
a prefiguration
oftheelderlyAdam
theyrepresent
and Eve on the rightof the composition,already
the Castagno
'3 Horster,op. cit.,32. Pierotransformed

feminine
persona,
goddess/heroine
typeintoa dramatic
a narrative
rolewithin
theDeathofAdam
(San
fulfilling
withreserve.
Francesco,
Arezzo)whiletreated
507

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

c='1

ofCastagno's
Adam.
Io. Reconstruction
DrawingbyC. Mode
oftheExin theaftermath
awareoftheirmortality
pulsion.
theextendedrighthand
By a curiouscoincidence,
of Piero'smaleyouthhas beenlargelyeffacedin a
mannersimilarto thatof the righthand on Castagno'sAdam (Fig. 7). Whereasthe lefthand of
Adam was made to clasp the handleof a hoe (or
mattock),the righthand was extendedforward
withthepalmupwardin a gestureofpresentation.
intactto
The back of his righthandis sufficiently
suggestthatthe originalcontentswere lightand
easilygrasped- therebeinglittlebendor flexionin
thetendonsand fingers.
A likelysourceforthearmandhandpositionsof
theVilla CarducciAdam is a well-knownvariant
on the Landsdowne Herakles type, which had
numerousGreco-Romanversions,wherethe ancientherois shownclaspingthehandleofa knotty
theapples
clubrestingbesidehimwhilepresenting

of theHesperidesin a demonstrative
gesture(Fig.
8). That thistypewas knownin Florenceby the
mid-1400's is attestedto by the Bardi-Serzelli
frescoversionofthesubjectfromthecircleofUccello (Fig. 9)14. In suchexamples,however,theupraisedhandof presentation
graspstheappleswith
a curlingof thefingersnot indicatedby whatremainsofAdam's righthand.
It would not be acceptableforan Adam figure
to hold forth
withpost-Expulsioncharacteristics
the forbiddenfruitas ifstillin Eden. Nor does it
fruitsto the
seemlikelythathe shouldbe offering
Madonna as Horstersuggests'5,since the fictive
>Madonna and Child<<in theportallunettenearby
is isolated within a separate,canopied space.
a hand holdingfruitsof any kind
Furthermore,
would demanda graspingactionwhichthisAdam
was deniedon thebasisofexistingevidence.
solutionto thisproblemis
A more satisfactory
providedby a passage in the apocryphal>Vita
Adae et Evae<<whichwas foundin textsof thesocalled ApocalypsisMosis known in North Italy
the
fromthei ith centuryonward'6.In recounting
her
to
the
Fall
and
of
offspring,
Expulsion
history
Eve makesthefollowingdeclaration:
us to be castoutof
ThusspaketheLordandordered
theangels
Adamweptbefore
Butyourfather
paradise.
to
him:
>>What
the
said
and
angels
paradise
opposite
Andyourfather
wouldstthouhaveus to do,Adam?<<
saithuntothem,>Behold,ye castmeout.I prayyou,
so
herbsfromparadise,
allowmetotakeawayfragrant
I havegoneout
toGodafter
anoffering
thatI mayoffer
Variantson theLandsdowneHerakles,bothGreekand
inSeymour
Howard,TheLandsRoman,aresurveyed
downe Herakles,Malibu I966/rev.ed. 1978, 22-32.
The fragmentary
Heraklesfrescofromthe Uccello
Florence)is from
workshop(Palazzo Bardi-Serzelli,
lateinthesecondquarterofthefifteenth
century.
15 Horster,
to theraisedhand of
op. cit.,30. Referring
as offerthegesture
identifies
Adam,Horsterproperly
an iconographic
tory in naturewithoutspecifying
inan actofexpiaforAdamliterally
rationale
engaging
tionbeforethe>Madonna andChild&.
16 R. H. Charles(ed.), The
and PseudoepigApocrypha
Oxford1913,II,
inEnglish,
raphaoftheOld Testament
copies of the
148. Charlescitesseparatemanuscript
in Milan (eleventhcenMosisoriginating
Apocalypsis
and- outsideItalycentury),
tury),Venice(thirteenth
These
and otherappearin
century).
(fifteenth
.aris
influence
andlong-lasting
ances
attestto itswidespread
oftheperiod.
literature
withintheapocryphal

'4

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ofparadisethathe mayhearme.<<AndtheangelsapproachedGod and said: >>JAEL,EternalKing,commandmyLordthattherebe givento Adamincenseof

sweetodourfromparadiseand seedsforhisfoods.<<
And God badeAdamgo in andtakesweetspicesand
herbsfromparadiseand seedsforhisfood.
fragrant
And theangelslet himgo and he tookfourkinds:
crocusandnard,andcalamusandcinnamon,
andthe
otherseedsforhisfood.Andafter
thesehewent
taking
outofparadise.
Andwewereon theearth'7.

*r

,?
'Ib

~*:Y

5~
-'

??~S~i~

~\
? .~Rr,;

' 'P ilYC~

Pt *?
I

*'
ifi

.i

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:::
::
:

t?t
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i??

It is not onlyapt butprobablethattheCarducci

Adam held out herbsand seeds in his relatively
to sacrifiopen righthand.As theaccompaniment
cial offerings
and theseedsof new life,theseattributeswould have specialmeaningin an enlarged
programat thevilla.
Beforeessayingan overviewofthisprogram,the
completelikenessof Castagno'sAdam can at last
be surmisedin all essentials(Fig. io). Standingon
a low plinth,he resembledEve in theway a slight
was impartedto an open stancethat
contrapposto
and
balanceto thelowerbody. The tilt
gavepoise
of hips and trunkwas resolvedin squared-off
shoulders,withtheentiremid-sectioncoveredby
an animal-skin
A youthful
headwas anggarment.
led a bitdownwardto theleft,withtheeyescastto
theside. Long of limb,thisAdam heldan upright
hoe in one handwhilepresenting
herbsand seeds
withtheother.In his slenderand gracefulappearancehewas depictedas mankind'sidealprogenitor
and theprecursorof salvation.
Anotherframeofreference
fortheVillaCarducci
Adam is providedby itsassociationwiththefrescoed figureof St.Johnthe Baptist(Fig. i i), executed(witha St. Francis)at SantaCroce in Florence by Castagno's colleague, Domenico Veneziano. Wohl citesits derivationfromtheBaptist
figurein the ,St. Lucy Altarpiece<<(ca. 1445-47),
while maintainingthat it predatesan analogous
figurebyCastagno,theAnnunziataSt.Jerome(ca.
1454-55),8. His datingof 1450-53 placestheSanta
Croce St.JohntheBaptistin theimmediateafter17 Ibid.

. Domenico Veneziano,Detail ofSt.JohntheBaptist

in St. Francisand JohntheBaptistmural.

Museodi S. Croce,Florence

Apoc. Mos. xxix,1-7.

8sHellmutWohl,ThePaintings
ofDomenicoVeneziano,
New York and London 1980, 134-136.At one point

Wohlnotesananalogy
between
theSt.John
theBaptist
and the Villa CarducciEve (22), bypassingthemore

Adambutidentifying
their
analogous
commonality.
509

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?:.~r?-EI~5~r
~lsr
sl%~"iEf
F~I~,?l,;.-

_,,-,
,.

--,,

.....

. ..:
'
:
... .. . .. !

?
I)

;,.

. i . .. .,

..

.\W

.%
. I?

?
"

': . ;

.?

""

i.~..

:i ,,:,

" ';

.i .
9":

.....

:
:. . ...i,:?
,,,.,.
...
..?L
.! -?,9~S~

12.

in Trinity
DetailofSt.Jerome
AndreadelCastagno,
withSaints
mural.SS. Annunziata,
Florence

mathof theVilla Carducciproject.Though close

thisverto itspredecessorintheforties'altarpiece,
withthe
sionoftheBaptistalso betraysfamiliarity
Carducci Adam. Though angled in reversethe
positionof thelegs,tiltofthetrunk,and cinching
of the animal-skingarmentare close derivations
fromthefigureat Legnaia.Most convincingis the
treatment
ofthedownthrust
arm,whichassumesa
positionpreciselycomparableto thearmofAdam
holdingthe hoe. While the Castagno figurereattriquiressucha gestureto supportan important
bute,theBaptistby Domenico Venezianohas no
borsuchrequirement,
indicatinga self-conscious
for
its
effect.
of
the
motif
rowing
expressive
This leads to a considerationof the aforemen-

tionedSt. Jerome,which Castagno untertookas

vision used in the Corboli
part of the >>Trinity<<
at
Annunziata'9.
SS.
Postdatingthe Villa
Chapel
the influenceof
Carducci schemeand reflecting
Donatello,thisfigurestillharksbackto theAdam,
expeciallyin its upper portion(Fig. 12). But of
even greaterinterestis the sinopia for this St.
Jeromediscoveredin 1967 (Fig. I3), whichin its
ofstance
overalldispositionand specifictreatment
and gesturebelongsmidwaybetweentheCarducci
and (final)Annunziatafiguretype.Thus in a brief
both
span encompassingtheearlyfourteenfifties,
Domenico Veneziano (to whom the sinopiahas
'9 Horster,op. cit.,34-35and

i8i-i82.

5Io

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..
??.

,,,.

.... ;
?/

t V

'

-:
rl7!
i~

withSaints
13.AndreadelCastagno,SinopiaforTrinity
been occasionallyascribed)'2and Castagno himselfrefinedand expressivelymodifieda formula
withAdam.
that>>originated&<
The St.Jeromeconnectionhas yetanotheraspect
whichbearsupon theVilla Carducciloggiadecoration.AntonioBilli,one oftheearliestsourcesto
identifyCastagno's work at the villa, included
there>et nella loggiade'Carduccia Soffiano,che
et
oggie dectacasa de'Pandolfini,uno crucifisso,
uno s.to Girolamo e Maria, opera excellentissima<<". No traceof thiswas uncoveredwhenthe
side wall oppositetheAdam and Eve was investistands.It is
gatedin 1966,but thedocumentation
that
the
singularphrasing>opera excelpossible
etuno
lentissima<<aftera listingof >uno crucifisso,

s.to Girolamoe Maria<<impliesa unifiedpanelpresentation rather than frescoed compartments.

Such a renderingis found in S. Domenico at
Fiesole, wherea Botticellesquealtarpiecedepicting >>TheCrucifiedChristwithVirginMary and
St.Jerome< was longattributed
to Castagno'scir20

Wohl,op. cit., 52-I 53.WohlagreeswithMeiss'initial

evaluationof thesinopiaas theworkof Castagno,approaching the manner of Domenico Veneziano,
withtheunderis credited
whereasDomenicohimself
Hartt,HistoryofItalianRenaisdrawingby Frederick
sance Art,New York I969/2nd ed. I979, 269.

" Frey,op. cit., 23. This passagein Billi(c. 48v.) cannot

referto anyotherknownCastagnofrescoor panel,alas at S.
thoughthesubjectsappearin separatecontexts
Apolloniaand(forSt.Jerome)in theMadonnadi Casa
Florence.
Pazzi (Palazzo Pitti)or SS. Annunziata,

511

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"1

9?i
.,??
~~'

L?.

pi
Y

'i

~?-? I:

??I

'i

r;?

r,
?i.

i"'

?4:

? s*?

''
%:.

14. MannerofCastagno/Botticelli,
withVirgin
Christ
Crucified
MaryandSt.Jerome.
S. Domenico,Fiesole

cle (Fig. 14). More likely,a frescowithlittlear- suchas thebaldachinopchitectural

interruption
posite filledthewall acrossfromAdam and Eve
but was subsequentlyremovedbecauseof surface
or structural
deterioration
damage.
In consideringthe entireprogramfortheloggia
one mustsupposetheimageofMaryoppositeEve
and St.JeromeoppositeAdam (withthecrucified
the promiseconChristat the center,fulfilling
tainedin the>>Madonna and Child< lunetteacross
fromit). What emergesis a plan thatintegrates
both side walls and places the uominifamosi
withinan enlargedcontext.Since there are no
physicalremainsof therightside wall decoration,
thereis impossible.But
a precisereconstruction
knowingthe essentialcomponentsof its subject

a continuity
of setting,
there
matter,and inferring
is muchthatcan be deducedwithoutspeculation.
Across fromEve the figureof Mary would anofthe
nouncea neweraofgraceandtheinstitution
historicalEcclesia. Logically, Mary would be
turnedtowardherSon, shownon thecrossabove
a centraldoorway.This would properlycounter
thegaze ofthefiguresopposite,i.e. Adam looking
in the semi-enclosed
past a sacred prefiguration
lunetteand Eve staringawayintodistanttimeand
space (quite literally,beyond the loggia). The
major epochs of Old Testamentprophecyand
New Testamentfulfillment
mightthenconfront
one another,while centeredon Christ as the
sourceof redemptionin a fallenworld.Lastly,St.
Jerome,as fatherof the churchand translatorof

512

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theVulgate,would have stood oppositeAdam so

as to witnessthe establishment
of humanhistory
subgrazia in whichfaithtranscends
meresubmission.
The earliersuggestionthatAdam was holding
and seeds of new lifecan
bothherbsforofferings
be strengthened
by thispresumedconfrontation
with St. Jerome.The Villa Carducci St. Jerome,
like a derivativeCastagno school-piece at San
Miniato(Fig. 15), would have displayedhis holy
textas wellas an implement
ofpenitence.Whereas
Adam could only submitto the laborious consequencesof his sin,penanceand salvationbeing
impossiblewithoutdivinegrace,St.Jeromeaspires
to risebeyondthelimitsof theflesh.And just as
early sacrificialofferingswere superseded by
hereby thesaint),
Christ'ssacrifice(contemplated
lifereplacedby the
so weretheseeds of terrestrial
seeds of spirituallifecontainedin Jerome'sVulgate.
As part of the thematicorderwithinthe Villa
Carducciloggiascheme,St.Jeromehad particular
withpeniimportancebecauseofhisdual identity
tentialand intellectualdevotions.Millard Meiss
has demonstratedthe close ties betweendevout
scholarshipand penitencein theQuattrocentoinof thesaint". In facta specialveneraterpretation
tion of Jeromewas encouragedwhen Pope MartinV establisheda separateruleforthe Hieronymitesin 1429, leadingFlorenceto revivethepious
atS. Gerolamoin
causeofthesaintfirstestablished
Fiesole by Beato Carlo around 1360. Meiss especiallynotesthecrisisof consciencethatbeganaffectingTuscan humanistssuch as Boccaccio, and
he evendrawsa parallelbetweenthelatter'srejectionof pagan influencesand thesimultaneousretirement
fromtheworld made by Beato Carlo in
thenameof St.Jerome'3.
of St.
It is in this contextthata representation
Jeromeon the rightside wall of the loggia gains
added significance.
Not onlywould he have been
the
located opposite
Adam, but also in a corner
positiondirectlyadjacentto Boccaccioon themain
wall. The moraland historicalconnectioncould
not be overlooked,sinceJeromehad to reconcile
pagan humanismwithChristianfaithin a transi-

,.

'ti"
ij

c"r.
n
...

15.

St.Jerome.
CircleofCastagno,
Florence
S. Miniato,

tionalage as had Boccaccio (togetherwithDante

and Petrarch).
Both as church fatherand penitentialsaint,
Jeromebelongedon the side walls of thedecorativecomplextogetherwiththe othersacredpersonages. Their images,includingthose of Adam
and Eve, were in keepingwith archetypaland
theirmanner
hagiographicideals thatdetermined
of presentation.
were
to
meant
They
appear dis22

23

MillardMeiss,>>ScholarshipandPenitence
in theEarly
Renaissance:The Image of St. Jerome<<,Pantheon,
XXXII, 134ff.
waveof
Ibid., 138. As Meisseffectively
argues,thefirst

devotiontoSt.Jerome
(ca. 136o)wasfollowedbya later
movement
around1450whenthepietism
culminating
fostered
affected
a patrician
Florentine
bySt.Antoninus
of a
society(witnessCosimo de'Medici'sfoundation
new churchand monastery
forS. Gerolamo,Fiesole,
and thecommissions
to CastagnofromthePazzi, Corboli, and - based on Billi - Carducci families).

513

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tinctfromtheuominifamosi,withtheirportrait- comparable undertakingof the period could

likefeatures
andelaboratecostumes.Yet theycon- equal24.FromAdamonward,historyhas beenabtributedto a programmatic
synthesisthatcould ridgedbyhumanistic
thoughtintoa peculiarlyRenot otherwisehavebeenaccomplished.
naissancejuxtapositionof temporalachievment
The complexmeaningoftheVilla Carduccifres- withdivineinevitability.
coes by Castagnowas dependentupon a Christian/humanistic
fusionofmoralhistorywitha pro24 Although
theuominifamosiprograms
undertaken
for
cess of exemplarselectionthatrangedfromAdam
theOrsiniat MonteGiordanoin Rome (ca. 1430-32)
to thecontemporary
worldofQuattrocentoFlorandproposedbyFilareteforSforzinda
weregrander
in
ence.Whenviewedin isolationtheuominifamosi
a selective
unitscope,theydidnotattempt
syncretism
were seen as a set of charactermodels following
ingpaganandmoralviewsofhistory.
Worthyparagons
fromantiquityappearedwithChristianexemplarsin
lines
the
fifteenth
iconographic
popular during
latemedievalneufpreuximagery;
butamongfifteenth
century, albeit individualized by a guiding
centuryschemes,onlythecivicexamplessuchas Taddeo di Bartolo'sfrescoes
inthePalazzo Pubblico,Siena
humanistadvisor.Butputtogether
withtheAdam
or Domenico Ghirlandaio'smuralin the
(1413-14)
and Eve, as well as thelostfigureson thewall opPalazzo Vecchio,Florence(1482-85) showa humanistic
a syncretic
formulathatno
posite,theyconstitute
approachto theirplanning.

514

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