Vasari's Chamber of Abraham: A Religious Painted Ceiling in the Casa Vasari of Arezzo
One indication of the Cinquecento artist's professional status was a new freedom to purchase, design, and decorate his own house. Vasari had established himself as a painter and writer by the 1540s, when he began work on a small house in Arezzo which still stands. His intellectual curiosity, en...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1987
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1987, Volume: 18, Issue: 3, Pages: 355-380 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | One indication of the Cinquecento artist's professional status was a new freedom to purchase, design, and decorate his own house. Vasari had established himself as a painter and writer by the 1540s, when he began work on a small house in Arezzo which still stands. His intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, and artistic ability made it possible for him to develop a new attitude of patronage in art. The Casa Vasari represents a collection of works created to express in personal terms Vasari's love for his masters, his fascination with antiquity, and his delight in artistic virtuosity. He succeeded in building his house as an artistic monument to his own accomplishments. Among the ceilings of the Casa Vasari, only the Chamber of Abraham (1548) is religious in subject matter and the content of its representation referring to the blessing of parenthood attests to the function of this room as a nuptial chamber. As a good Christian of the sixteenth century, he painted the Old Testament scene of God the Father blessing the seed of Abraham accompanied by the depiction of Cardinal virtues (Temperance, Prudence, Fortitude, and Justice) and Christian virtues (Modesty, Chastity, Concord, and Peace), which are essential for the harmony of the soul and the honor of a Christian home. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2540723 |