Lorenzo de' Medici
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| - | '''Leda and the Swan''' is a [[Motif (visual arts)|motif]] from [[Greek mythology]], in which [[Zeus]] came to [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]] in the form of a [[swan]]. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore [[Helen]] and [[Castor and Polydeuces|Polydeuces]], children of Zeus while at the same time bearing [[Castor and Polydeuces|Castor]] and [[Clytemnestra]], children of her husband [[Tyndareus]], the King of [[Sparta]]. As the story goes, Zeus took the form of a swan and raped or seduced Leda on the same night she slept with her husband, King [[Tyndareus]]. In some versions, she laid two eggs from which the children hatched. In other versions, Helen is a daughter of [[Nemesis (mythology)|Nemesis]], the goddess who personified the disaster that awaited those suffering from the pride of [[Hubris]]. | ||
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| - | The motif was rarely seen in the large-scale sculpture of antiquity, although [[Timotheos]] is known to have represented Leda in sculpture (''compare illustration, below left''); small-scale examples survive showing both reclining and standing poses, in [[cameo (carving)|cameo]]s and engraved gems, rings, and terracotta oil lamps. Thanks to the literary renditions of [[Ovid]] and [[Fabius Planciades Fulgentius|Fulgentius]] it was a well-known myth through the Middle Ages, but emerged more prominently as a classicizing theme, with [[erotic art|erotic overtones]], in the Italian Renaissance. Many artists have their own representative paintings of 'Leda and the Swan'; with the support of Greek mythology. | ||
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| - | ==Eroticism== | ||
| - | The subject undoubtedly owed its sixteenth-century popularity to the paradox that it was considered more acceptable to depict a woman in the act of copulation with a swan than with a man. The earliest depictions show the pair love-making with some explicitness—more so than in any depictions of a human pair made by artists of high quality in the same period. The fate of the album [[I Modi]] some years later shows why this was. The theme remained a dangerous one in the Renaissance, as the fates of the three best known paintings on the subject demonstrate. The earliest depictions were all in the more private medium of the [[old master print]], and mostly from Venice. They were often based on the extremely brief account in the ''Metamorphoses'' of [[Ovid]] (who does not imply a rape), though [[Lorenzo de' Medici]] had both a Roman sarcophagus and an antique carved gem of the subject, both with reclining Ledas. | ||
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| - | The earliest known explicit Renaissance depiction is one of the many [[woodcut]] illustrations to ''[[Hypnerotomachia Poliphili]]'', a book published in [[Venice]] in 1499. This shows Leda and the Swan making love with gusto, despite being on top of a triumphal car, being pulled along and surrounded by a considerable crowd. An engraving dating to 1503 at the latest, by [[Giovanni Battista Palumba]], also shows the couple in coitus, but in deserted countryside. Another engraving, certainly from Venice and attributed by many to [[Giulio Campagnola]], shows a love-making scene, but there Leda's attitude is highly ambiguous. Palumba made another engraving in about 1512, presumably influenced by Leonardo's sketches for his earlier composition, showing Leda seated on the ground and playing with her children. | ||
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| - | There were also significant depictions in the smaller decorative arts, also private media. [[Benvenuto Cellini]] made a medallion, now in Vienna, early in his career, and [[Antonio Abondio]] one on the [[obverse]] of a medal celebrating a Roman [[courtesan]]. | ||
| + | '''Lorenzo de' Medici''' (1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492) was an [[Italy|Italian]] statesman and [[de facto]] ruler of the [[Florentine Republic]] during the [[Italian Renaissance]]. Known as '''Lorenzo the Magnificent''' (''Lorenzo il Magnifico'') by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets. His life coincided with the high point of the early Italian Renaissance; his death marked the end of the Golden Age of Florence. The fragile peace he helped maintain between the various Italian states collapsed with his death. Lorenzo de' Medici is buried in the Medici Chapel in [[Florence]]. | ||
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Revision as of 22:33, 18 July 2009
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Lorenzo de' Medici (1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492) was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (Lorenzo il Magnifico) by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets. His life coincided with the high point of the early Italian Renaissance; his death marked the end of the Golden Age of Florence. The fragile peace he helped maintain between the various Italian states collapsed with his death. Lorenzo de' Medici is buried in the Medici Chapel in Florence.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Lorenzo de' Medici" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
