The play of divine beauty: Bronzino’s decoration of the Chapel of Eleonora in the Palazzo Vecchio (1541-1543)
Thainan Noronha de ANDRADE
Published in Games from Antiquity to Baroque
Keywords: Agnolo Bronzino, Chapel of Eleonora, Neoplatonism.
Starting in 1540, Cosimo I de' Medici (1519-1574) commissioned a series of structural and decorative reforms in the old seat of the Republic of Florence, the Palazzo della Signoria, transforming it into the official residence of his principato. One of the first artistic commissions ordered by the duke was the chapel dedicated to his wife, Eleonora de Toledo (1522-1562), decorated in fresco by Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572) between 1541 and 1543. This chapel stands out as one of the earliest and most significant examples of the Florentine aesthetic language from the mid-16th century. Resulted from a series of artistic and theoretical developments that took place in the first half of the century, it is characterized by highly symbolic expressiveness whose content manifests in a polysemic manner, simultaneously incorporating various levels of meaning, including political, religious, and philosophical elements. In this sense, the present study analyzes the respective pictorial cycle considering the Neoplatonic aesthetic speculations circulating within Italian and Florentine culture, influencing contemporary conceptions of the nature of artistic beauty and its appreciation, linking this process to a broader attitude that characterized Medici patronage.
The pneumatology of Great Basilius in his treatise to Amphilochius Iconium
Eirini ARTEMI
Published in Idea and image of royal power of the monarchies in Ancient and Medieval World
Keywords: Amphilochius of Iconium, Arian controversy, Basilius of Caesarea, Holy Spirit, Homoousios, Pneumatology, Trinitarian teaching.
St. Basilius’ contribution to pneumatology is best comprehended within the historical milieu of the Arian controversy that pervaded much of the fourth century Roman Empire religiously and politically. It is a study which focuses on Basilius's understanding of the role and the Person of the Holy Spirit, particularly as found in his treatise to Amphilochius Iconium. The distinctive character of the Holy Spirit can be defined in the light of the Trinitarian relationship of the Spirit. Basilius, like Athanasius, defines the distinctiveness of the Holy Spirit in terms of His relation to God the Father and the Son. The status and position in their relationship defines the distinctiveness of each member of the Trinity. The definition of this kind occupies the major part of Basilius’ treatise of pneumatology. Basilius’ pneumatology cannot be understood; however, apart from his thoughts on salvation and baptism, which themselves are bound together. Basilius’ argument for the divinity of the Holy Spirit works by illustrating what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit illumines and sanctifies the baptized. The Holy Spirit completes and perfects creation from the beginning of time to its end and illumines the mind of the believer to understand the message of its order. The Holy Spirit inspires the Scriptures and governs their understanding in the church. Making no claim to know the essence of God, Basilius also leaves no doubt that the Holy Spirit has revealed his divinity through his actions. Only God does what only God can do.
The poetics of Love in the Roman the la Rose
Ruy de Oliveira ANDRADE FILHO, Luiz Fernando ALVES
Original title: A poética do Amor em O Romance da Rosa
Published in Nicholas of Cusa in Dialogue
Keywords: Courtly Love, Guillaume of Lorris, Jean of Meun, The Romance the la Rose, XIII Century.
We aim with this article to analyze the poetics of love in The Romance of the Rose. We think that Guillaume de Lorris’s conception of love is associated with the flourishing of the French courtly society of the XIII Century, and that Jean de Meun’s conception of love is a result of the decline of this same society. Behind the virtues offered by Guillaume to the medieval lover we find the notion of courtesy, of the art of living in society, the understanding of the poetry as a form of ethics, and the medieval poetic of desire – intimately associated with the religious mysticism appeared from the XI Century and with the troubadours’ poetry. Jean is more influenced by the Ovidian tradition of thinking about the causes and effects of love. In the first part of the poem, Guillaume idealizes the conquest of the Rose; in the second, Jean describes the cueillette of the Rose, which could be read as a rape, in an allegorical way. It is this tension between different conceptions of love in a same poem that makes possible a better comprehension of the ways people used to think and feel in the Middle Ages.
The portal and the rose window in the Praise 1 of the Cantigas de Santa Maria by Alfonso X (13th century)
Bárbara DANTAS
Original title: O portal e a rosácea no Louvor 1 das Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X (século XIII)
Published in Intercultural Mediterranean
Keywords: Alfonso X, Architecture, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Virgin Mary.
Language:
The Cantigas de Santa Maria, in addition to their most obvious characteristic, that of King Alfonso X's homage to the Virgin Mary, through hundreds of praises, accounts of miracles and their corresponding images – in particular, more than four hundred full-page historical illuminations – are for us, art historians, a summary of medieval life, not only in the kingdoms of León and Castile, ruled by the Wise King in the second half of the 13th century, but throughout Europe and its surroundings. An example of this is right at the beginning of the Alfonsine compendium, in the Praise 1, since its 2nd stanza, as well as vignette 2 of the illumination, tell of an important event that took place in Bethlehem: the birth of Jesus. Focusing on this stanza and vignette – but without losing sight of the main theme of the praise of the Virgin, her seven moments of extreme happiness, or “goyos” in Galician language –, this article correlates biblical texts with the themes addressed in the Praise 1 of the Cantigas; it also correlates religion and architecture, goodness and beauty, as well as holiness and perfection of forms. Let us then delve into the religious universe that underpins the creation of the Gothic portal and rose window, according to the vision of Alfonso X and his Cantigas de Santa Maria.
The process of islamization in Western Africa under the rulership of the Empire of Mālī
Ahmed-Salem Ould Mohamed BABA; Vicente CASTRO MARTÍNEZ
Original title: El proceso de islamización de África occidental bajo el Imperio de Mālī
Published in Mirabilia Journal 34
Keywords: Animism, Black Africa, Haŷŷ, Islam, Saadies, Trade.
In this article, it is analyzed the role that had the best-known sub-Saharan empire, Mālī, in the acceleration of the process of islamization which took place in the southern part of the Sahara Desert between the XIIIth and XVIth centuries. However, it proves to be useful for the mentioning of the fact that the adoption of the Muslim religion by the Western Africa peoples do not cause the abandonment of their traditional beliefs, but a syncretism between them, despite the intentions of their rulers. On the other hand, apart from religious aspects, it will be very important the investigation of the commercial exchanges as one of the essential elements in the development of the penetration of Islamic values along this region of the African continent, in conjunction with the importance of the art as an indicator of this process advancement. To do that, it will be paid close attention to the development of the peculiar Sudanese art that was implemented in the main cities of the empire, around which is related this investigation, Timbuktu.
The profane in the sacred: representations of peasant life in Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (15th century)
Paula de Souza Santos Graciolli SILVA
Original title: O profano no sagrado: representações da vida camponesa em Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (século XV)
Published in
Keywords: Iluminures, Labours of the months, Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Peasants.
This work proposes to realize an iconographic analysis of the representations of the peasant life in two illuminations present in Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, a book of hour richly illustrated and commissioned in 1413 by Jean de Valois (1340-1416) the Duke of Berry. The charge was initially given to the Limbourg brothers, but was only completed at the end of the 15th century by the illuminator Jean Colombe (1430-1493). We will analyze the illuminations referring to the months of July and September, where wheat and grape harvesting activities are presented respectively. To support our approach, we will start from the problematization of the notions of sacred and profane, recurrent in the visual culture of the Middle Ages, and from some reflections on the visions and interpretations of the medieval peasant.
The relation between gargoyles and texts in the context of late medieval Portugal: concerns about the behavior of the body and the sins
Catarina Alexandra Martins Fernandes BARREIRA
Original title: A relação entre gárgulas e textos no contexto tardo-medieval em Portugal: preocupações em torno do comportamento do corpo e os pecados
Published in Relations between History and Literature in Ancient and Medieval World
Keywords: Exempla, Gargoyles, Literature, Senses, Sins.
Our aim is to analyze the relationship between gargoyles and some Portuguese texts in the context of 15th and 16th centuries. In this purpose some gargoyles will be observed, as well as the iconographic programs that highlight the same concerns as the chosen texts, with special emphasis on the behaviour of the sinful body. From this phenomenon will result not only a deep relationship between gargoyles and late medieval ages, but in particular its educational role that results from a close relationship with the church and with its audience.
The relation between wealth, timē, axia and moira in the Homeric poems
Adriana Santos TABOSA
Original title: A relação entre riqueza, timē, axia e moira nos poemas homéricos
Published in Nicholas of Cusa in Dialogue
Keywords: Axia, Homer, Moira, Timē.
This paper analyzes the concept of wealth and its relation to the equation timē-axia-moira and the relation between the fundamental concepts of timē − agalmata contained in the Homeric poems.
The religious imagination in Ramon Llull: a theory of contemplative oration
Amador Vega
Original title: La imaginación religiosa en Ramon Llull: una teoria de la oración contemplativa
Published in Ramon Llull (1232-1316): the cooperation among different cultures and the inter-religious dialogue
The role of Ephesus in the late antiquity from the period of Diocletian to 449AD the Robber Synod
Eirini ARTEMI
Published in Society and Culture in Portugal
Keywords: Council of Ephesus, Cyril of Alexandria, Diocletian, Edict of Thessalonica, Ephesus, Robber Synod, Temple of Artemis.
During the reign of Diocletian (284-305AD), Ephesus was reorganized on centralized and authoritarian lines down to the provincial level. A big part of the city was rebuilt by Constantine I. In 401AD after the Edict of Thessalonica from Emperor Theodosius I, the ruins of temple of Artemis was destroyed. The most important role of the city took place in 431AD. There, the Council of Ephesus was assembled by the Emperor Theodosius the younger to settle the contentions which had been raised in the Church by the heretical teaching of Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople. Finally, in 449AD another council took place the Robber Synod, which was condemned by the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon in 451.
