Allegoria della Fortezza (early 1680s)

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)

Allegoria della Fortezza (Allegory of Fortitude)
early 1680s
Oil on canvas, 95 x 99.2 cm
National GalleryLondon

This modello, or detailed oil study, is one of a group of 12 – ten of which are in the National Gallery’s collection – that Giordano made in preparation for the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence in 168285. This one corresponds with the group in the corner of the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the grand Galleria, between the entrance and window wall.

The main figure represents Fortitude (or Courage), one of the four Cardinal Virtues first identified by the philosopher Plato and later adopted by the Roman Catholic Church. One Virtue is depicted in each of the four corners of the Galleria and they form part of a continuous frieze of allegorical and mythological scenes. In the finished fresco, four of the Medici family depicted in the centre of the ceiling are also given attributes representing each of the Virtues.

Fortitude appears just left of centre here, with two of her emblems: a lion (strength and courage) and a fallen column. The column is an allusion to the Biblical story of Samson: blinded and bound to a pillar, Samson prayed for a final burst of strength and brought down the temple on himself and his enemies. Honour crowns Fortitude with a laurel wreath; he also bears the palm of victory, brought to him by an eagle. This would have had associations with Jupiter, king of the gods, especially since it has arrived on a storm cloud (thunderbolts are another of his attributes). To the left is Constancy, resting on an anchor and proving her powers of endurance by holding her hand in a flaming brazier. The cowering figure wearing a deer skin represents Fear, and the figure reclining in the centre foreground is probably Misery (or Calamity). The heroic figure of Valour, stands on the right; Victory sits on a globe above him, holding a standard and a pomegranate. Peace, meanwhile, with a flaming torch and olive branch, is sharply foreshortened as she descends to earth.

In each of the other areas of the fresco representing the Virtues, Giordano made a key change in the posture of the central figure. In the modelli, each of the Virtues looks downwards; in the fresco, presumably revised at the request of his patron, the Marquess Francesco Riccardi, Giordano has twisted the head and torso of each to look up and back towards the aerial figures above. These alterations better suit the curvature of the ceiling and inject more energy and dynamism into the design, sending the eye up towards the centre of the room.

Fortitude is the one exception. In the fresco she has the same downward gaze as in the modello. Giordano may have painted this fresco first, and only subsequently decided that the pose was too static, making the necessary alterations to the others. He did make a couple of other changes in the fresco: the eagle’s cloud is different, billowing much higher than it does in the modello, and the bird’s neck is significantly elongated, so that it looks upwards more dynamically. (NG)

Modelli for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi:

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Allegoria della Giustizia
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Allegoria della Prudenza
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Allegoria della Sapienza Divina
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Allegoria della Temperanza
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Allegoria dell’Agricoltura
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Antro dell’eternità
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Apoteosi dei Medici
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
La barca di Caronte e il ratto di Proserpina
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)
Minerva protettrice delle Arti e delle Scienze
early 1680s
National GalleryLondon

 

 

This group of ten paintings was made by Giordano as a series of detailed oil studies (or modelli) for the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, which are among the artist’s finest achievements. The modelli are part of a set of 12 (the other two are in private collections).

Nine of the paintings relate to the ceiling of the highly ornate Galleria, built to house a precious collection of antiquities and function as a public reception room. The other is associated with the ceiling of the adjacent Library. The overall theme in the Galleria is the elevation of mankind through Wisdom and Virtue, using allegorical and mythological figures to represent different strengths and traits. It culminates in a centrepiece which presents the wealthy Medici family as the paradigm of both these qualities.

Giordano seems to have worked up these modelli to clarify his designs and may have presented them to his client, the Marquess Francesco Riccardi, for approval before the frescoes were executed. (NG)