Daniele Barbaro
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
translator of, and commentator on, Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
. He also had a significant ecclesiastical career, reaching the rank of Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
.
He was born in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, the son of Francesco di Daniele Barbaro and Elena Pisani, daughter of the banker Alvise Pisani and Cecilia Giustinian. Barbaro studied philosophy, mathematics, and optics at the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
. He has been credited with the design of the university's botanical garden
Padua Botanical Garden
The Orto Botanico di Padova is a botanical garden in Padua, northern Italy. Founded in 1545, it is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location The garden, affiliated with the University of Padua, currently covers roughly 22,000 square meters, and is known...
.
Barbaro served the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
as ambassador to the court of Elizabeth I in London and as representative at the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
. His appointment as Cardinal may have been secret (in pectore
In pectore
In pectore is a term used in the Catholic Church to refer to appointments to the College of Cardinals by the Pope when the name of the newly appointed cardinal is not publicly revealed...
) to avoid causing diplomatic complications. In 1550 he was elected Patriarch of Aquileia
Patriarch of Aquileia
The Patriarch of Aquileia was an office in the Roman Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages the Patriarchate of Aquileia was a temporal state in Northern Italy. The Patriarchate of Aquileia as a church office was suppressed in 1752....
, an ecclesiastical appointment that required the approval of the Venetian Senate.
On the death of his father, he inherited a country estate with his brother Marcantonio Barbaro
Marcantonio Barbaro
Marcantonio Barbaro was an Italian diplomat of the Republic of Venice.-Family:He was born in Venice into the aristocratic Barbaro family...
. They commissioned Palladio to design their shared country home Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser, is a large villa at Maser in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed and built by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio, with frescos by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria for Daniele Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia...
, which is now part of a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
Palladio and Daniele Barbaro visited Rome together and the architecture of the villa reflects their interest in the ancient buildings they saw there. The interior of the villa is decorated with fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es by Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
, who also painted oil portraits of Daniele; the one reproduced above on this article shows him dressed as a Venetian aristocrat, the one below shows him in clerical dress.
Daniele Barbaro may have designed the Palazzo Trevisan in Murano
Murano
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...
, alone or in collaboration with Palladio. Like at the Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser, is a large villa at Maser in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed and built by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio, with frescos by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria for Daniele Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia...
, Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
and Alessandro Vittoria
Alessandro Vittoria
Alessandro Vittoria was an Italian Mannerist sculptor of the Venetian school, "one of the main representatives of the Venetian classical style" and rivalling Giambologna as the foremost sculptors of the late 16th century in Italy....
probably also worked on the project, which was completed in 1557.
His will refers to his collection of purchased and constructed astronomical instruments. Daniele renounced his inheritance in favor of his brother Marcantonio and was buried in an unmarked grave in behind the Church of San Francesco della Vigna
San Francesco della Vigna
San Francesco della Vigna is a Roman Catholic church in the Sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy.-History:Along with Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, this is one of two Franciscan churches in Venice. The site, originally a vineyard , was donated by Marco Ziani in 1253 for construction of...
instead of the family chapel there. Daniele commissioned the church's altarpiece of The Baptism of Christ (c.1555) by Battista Franco.
Barbaro's fame is chiefly due to his vast output in the arts, letters, and mathematics. A cultured humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
, he was a friend and admirer of Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
, a patron of Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
, and a student of Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo was an Italian scholar, poet, literary theorist, and cardinal. He was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language, specifically Tuscan, as a literary medium, and his writings assisted in the 16th-century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch...
. Francesco Sansovino
Francesco Sansovino
Francesco Tatti da Sansovino was a versatile Italian scholar and man of letters, also known as a publisher. He was born in Rome, the son of Jacopo Sansovino, but soon moved to Venice then studied law at Padua and Bologna....
considered Daniele to be one of the three best Venetian architects, along with Palladio and his father Jacopo
Jacopo Sansovino
Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino was an Italian sculptor and architect, known best for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Andrea Palladio, in the Preface to his Quattro Libri was of the opinion that Sansovino's Biblioteca Marciana was the best building erected since Antiquity...
.
Works
His works include:- (1542) ‘’Exquisitae in Porphyrium Commentationes’’.
- (1542) ‘’Predica de' sogni’’, published under the pseudonym of Reverend padre Hypneo da Schio. .
- (1544) Edited an edition of the commentaries on Aristotle's RhetoricRhetoric (Aristotle)Aristotle's Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the 4th century BC. In Greek, it is titled ΤΕΧΝΗ ΡΗΤΟΡΙΚΗ, in Latin Ars Rhetorica. In English, its title varies: typically it is titled Rhetoric, the Art of Rhetoric, or a Treatise on...
written. by his great-uncle Ermolao BarbaroErmolao BarbaroErmolao or Hermolao Barbaro, also Hermolaus Barbarus , was an Italian Renaissance scholar.-Education:Ermolao Barbaro was born in Venice, the son of Zaccaria Barbaro, and the grandson of Francesco Barbaro...
. - (1545) Edited an edition of Ermolao Barbaro's Compendium scientiae naturalis.
- (1556) An Italian translation with extended commentary of VitruviusVitruviusMarcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
' Ten Books of Architecture, published as Dieci libri dell'architettura di M. Vitruvio. The work was dedicated to Cardinal Ippolito II d'EsteIppolito II d'EsteIppolito d'Este was an Italian cardinal and statesman. He was a member of the House of Este, and nephew of the other Ippolito d'Este, also a cardinal.-Biography:...
, patron of the Villa d'EsteVilla d'EsteThe Villa d'Este is a villa situated at Tivoli, near Rome, Italy. Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, it is a fine example of Renaissance architecture and the Italian Renaissance garden.-History:...
at TivoliTivoli, ItalyTivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...
. - (1567) He later published a Latin edition entitled M. Vitruvii de architectura. The original illustrations of Vitruvius' work have not survived, and Barbaro's illustrations were done specially by Andrea PalladioAndrea PalladioAndrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
. As well as being important as a discussion of architecture, Barbaro's commentary was a contribution to the field of aesthetics in general. El GrecoEl GrecoEl Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
, for example, owned a copy. Earlier translations had been made, by Fra Giovanni and Como, but this work was considered the most accurate version to date. Barbaro clearly explained some of the more technical sections and discussed the relationship between nature and architecture, though he also acknowledged the way Palladio's theoretical and archeological expertise contributed to the work. - (1567) Dell Eloquenza Dialogo
- (1568) La practica della perspettiva, a book on perspective for artists and architects. This work describes how to use a lensLens (optics)A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
with a camera obscuraCamera obscuraThe camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
. - an unpublished and unfinished treatise on the construction of sundials (De Horologiis describendis libellus, Venice, Biblioteca MarcianaBiblioteca MarcianaThe Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana is a library and Renaissance building in Venice, northern Italy; it is one of the earliest surviving public manuscript depositories in the country, holding one of the greatest classical texts collections in the world. The library is named after St. Mark, the...
, Cod. Lat. VIII, 42, 3097). The latter work was supposed to have discussed other instruments as well, including the astrolabeAstrolabeAn astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
, the planispherePlanisphereA planisphere is a star chart analog computing instrument in the form of two adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot. It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date. It is an instrument to assist in learning how to recognize stars and constellations...
of Spanish mathematician Juan de Rojas, the navigationNavigationNavigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
instrument cross-staff, the torquetumTorquetumThe torquetum or turquet is a medieval astronomical instrument designed to take and convert measurements made in three sets of coordinates: Horizon, equatorial, and ecliptic...
, an astronomicalAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
instrument and Abel FoullonAbel FoullonAbel Foullon; France, was an author, director of the Mint for Henry II of France and also an engineer to the king of France after Leonardo da Vinci....
's holometer, a surveying instrument.
See also
- PerfectionPerfectionPerfection is, broadly, a state of completeness and flawlessness.The term "perfection" is actually used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts...
(Aesthetic perfection) - Portrait of Daniele BarbaroPortrait of Daniele BarbaroThe Portrait of Daniele Barbaro is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Paolo Veronese , belonging to the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam....
- Barbaro family