Sunday, April 9, 2017

Glorification of the Barberini in the Paper Museum

Aedes Barberinae
frontispiece to the printed book written by Girolamo Teti
supervised by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Pope Urban VIII Barberini receiving his copy of the book
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Andrea Camassei
1642
British Museum

"In 1623 the Tuscan Cardinal Maffeo Barberini was elected Pope and took the name of Urban VIII (reg. 1623-1644).  His nepotism and extravagance were to be as notorious to moralists as their results were to be glorious for the arts, and one of his first acts was to make his nephew, the abate Francesco, a cardinal.  Soon afterwards Cassiano was appointed to the young Cardinal's household and began to receive additional revenues from the various religious institutions attached to some of the posts that he occupied.  Thus for the next 21 years he held a position near the center of one of the most cultivated of European courts; his official duties do not appear to have been arduous or time-consuming  but they gave him ample opportunity to keep himself fully informed about those aspects of modern life (such as official ceremonies, popular sports and international politics) that continued to fascinate him even when he was devoting most of his energy to antiquity and the sciences; and his income was more than adequate for his needs, though never remotely comparable to that of his employer or any of the other rich collectors of the day. . . . The even tenor of his life was interrupted by the death of Pope Urban VIII in 1644 and the flight from Rome of Cardinal Francesco Barberini in the following year, but he suffered no more than the loss of his official position (and some of the income that derived from it): the fact that his close association with the defunct regime did not lead to further problems suggests that his political involvement with it was not considered to have been of much importance.  He was in any case re-instated when Cardinal Barberini returned after a short exile in Paris, and the election to the papacy of his friend Fabio Chigi as Alexander VII (reg. 1655-1667) ensured that the last years of his life were spent as agreeably as was compatible with his increasing ill health."

 Francis Haskell, from his catalog introduction for the 1993 exhibition in the Prints and Drawings Gallery at the British Museum, The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-1657)

Aedes Barberinae
illustration to the printed book by Girolamo Teti
supervised by Cassiano dal Pozzo
 Allegory of Divine Providence
(detail of Salone ceiling, Palazzo Barberini)
engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert
after Pietro da Cortona
1642
British Museum

Aedes Barberini
illustration to the printed book by Girolamo Teti
supervised by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Bears of Prudence
(detail of Salone ceiling, Palazzo Barberini)
 

engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Pietro da Cortona
1642
British Museum

Aedes Barberinae
illustration to the printed book by Girolamo Teti
supervised by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Griffin of Manlius Torquatus
(detail of Salone ceiling, Palazzo Barberini)

engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Pietro da Cortona
1642
British Museum

Aedes Barberinae
illustration  to the printed book by Girolamo Teti
supervised by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Hercules Battling Harpies
(detail of Salone ceiling, Palazzo Barberini)

engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Pietro da Cortona
1642
British Museum

Accadmia Partenia
Allegory with Flying Jupiter for the Accademia Partenia
(cult of the Virgin within the Collegio Romano under Barberini patronage)
engraving by Karl Audran after Pietro da Cortona
ca. 1623-40
British Museum

Accademia Partenia
Allegory with Cybele, Time, and Apollo for Accademia Partenia
(cult of the Virgin within the Collegio Romano under Barberini patronage)
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Giovanni Lanfranco
1642
British Museum

Accademia Partenia
Allegory with Minerva and the Muses on Parnassus for Accademia Partenia
(cult of the Virgin within the Collegio Romano under Barberini patronage)
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Giovanni Lanfranco
1642
British Museum

Documenti d'amore
title page to the printed book of poetry
written by supposed Barberini ancestor, Francesco da Barberino (1264-1348)
Cupid reaching toward three heraldic Barberini bees
publication sponsored by Cardinal Francesco Barberini
engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert after Andrea Camassei
1640
British Museum

Documenti d'amore
illustration to the printed book of poetry
by Francesco da Barberino (1264-1348)
Seated woman embroidering
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Camillo Massimi
1640
engraving
British Museum

Hesperides
proof of title-page to printed book on citrus fruit
by Giovanni Battista Ferrari
sponsored by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Hesperides presenting olive crown to Hercules 
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Pietro da Cortona
1646
British Museum
Hesperides
title-page to printed book on citrus fruit
by Giovanni Battista Ferrari
sponsored by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Hesperides presenting olive crown to Hercules
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Pietro da Cortona
1646
British Museum



Hesperides
illustration to printed book on citrus fruit by Giovanni Battista Ferrari
sponsored by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Harmonillus transformed into a lime tree 
engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert after Andrea Sacchi
1646
British Museum

Hesperides
illustration to printed book on citrus fruit by Giovanni Battista Ferrari
sponsored by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Arrival of Hesperides in Naples
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Giovanni Lanfranco
1646
British Museum

Hesperides
illustration to printed book on citrus fruit by Giovanni Battista Ferrari
sponsored by Cassiano dal Pozzo
Cultivation  of lemons in Genoa
engraving by Johann Friedrich Greuter after Guido Reni
1646
British Museum