Filippo Baldinucci
Encyclopedia
Filippo Baldinucci was an Italian
art historian and biographer.
biographers/historians of the artists and the arts of the Baroque
period. Patronised by the Medici
, he aspired to become the new Vasari
by renewing and expanding his biographies of artists, to which Baldinucci added lives of French and Flemish artists omitted by Vasari. His most important work was this biographical dictionary of artists, Notizie de' professori del disegno da Cimabue in qua, of which the publication began in 1681 and continued after his death.
His biography of Gian Lorenzo Bernini
was published in 1682.
Baldinucci came from a prominent and wealthy family of the Florentine merchant elite. As well as writing he drew portraits in chalk and modeled in clay; many of his deft and lively chalk portraits of friends are in the collection of the Uffizi
. For Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici
, brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
and a scholar and patron of the arts, he began as bookkeeper in 1664 and developed, after the Cardinal's death, into virtually the curator
of the Grand Ducal collections. In this way Baldinucci made a name as one of Italy's leading connoisseurs. His work recataloguing and adding to the Medici collections, first of drawings and then of paintings, was groundbreaking, using new ideas about organisation and completeness to make these the most modern collections of the time—collections in large part the foundation of the Uffizi
's art holdings.
This meticulous work was based on an ability to distinguish between the hands of different painters—an idea then new and untested, and one that opened up the field of connoisseurship that enabled the attributions of Italian drawings, which are generally unsigned. In his Vocabolario, the first dictionary of artistic terms, Baldinucci provided fourteen definitions of style using eighty different terms, and applied some of his terms to "bad" art.
From this grew his Notizie, in which he consciously intended to build upon the Vite of Giorgio Vasari
; Baldinucci's was the first art history
to trace the lives and work of artists not only of one region (Vasari was prejudiced towards Tuscan artists) but all Italy, and indeed beyond. He studied closely the stylistic debts of the great masters to one another, and in this, and his meticulous use of documentation and archives, he was centuries ahead in the discipline of art history.
In his Vocabolario (1681) he presented terms of art and technical terms, not only for the fine arts but for goldsmith's work, pietre dure, color pigments and tools.
In other ways Baldinucci was very much a man of his time, of the Counter-Reformation
and of the Baroque. Educated at a Jesuit
school, he was intensely pious—before marrying, he completed the whole of Ignatius of Loyola
's Spiritual Exercises to discover whether he should in fact devote himself to a single life. Three of his sons went into the church, and one, Antonio
, was a Jesuit missionary later beatified.
He had great appreciation of the Baroque
, and wrote in a periodic style which reflected it, each phrase opening from the preceding, full of periphrasis
and other flourishes of rhetoric
, though flowing. His understanding of art stemmed largely from his religion, for he believed that it came as divine inspiration into special lives, the lives of the artists he so painstakingly recorded.
Baldinucci's son wrote the first biography of his father; Baldinucci's notes are conserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence (MSS Fondo Nazionale II.II.110)
from his 1876 collection, Pacchiarotto, and How He Worked in Distemper
. It is based on an anecdote contained in Baldinucci's life of the artist Lodovico Buti.
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...
art historian and biographer.
Life
Baldinucci is considered among the most significant FlorentineFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
biographers/historians of the artists and the arts of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
period. Patronised by the Medici
Medici
The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
, he aspired to become the new Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
by renewing and expanding his biographies of artists, to which Baldinucci added lives of French and Flemish artists omitted by Vasari. His most important work was this biographical dictionary of artists, Notizie de' professori del disegno da Cimabue in qua, of which the publication began in 1681 and continued after his death.
His biography of Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
was published in 1682.
Baldinucci came from a prominent and wealthy family of the Florentine merchant elite. As well as writing he drew portraits in chalk and modeled in clay; many of his deft and lively chalk portraits of friends are in the collection of the Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
. For Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici
Leopoldo de' Medici
Leopoldo de' Medici was an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and Governor of Siena. He was the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.-Biography:...
, brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando II de' Medici was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest child of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. His 49 year rule was punctuated by the terminations of the remaining operations of the Medici Bank, and the beginning of Tuscany's long economic...
and a scholar and patron of the arts, he began as bookkeeper in 1664 and developed, after the Cardinal's death, into virtually the curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of the Grand Ducal collections. In this way Baldinucci made a name as one of Italy's leading connoisseurs. His work recataloguing and adding to the Medici collections, first of drawings and then of paintings, was groundbreaking, using new ideas about organisation and completeness to make these the most modern collections of the time—collections in large part the foundation of the Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
's art holdings.
This meticulous work was based on an ability to distinguish between the hands of different painters—an idea then new and untested, and one that opened up the field of connoisseurship that enabled the attributions of Italian drawings, which are generally unsigned. In his Vocabolario, the first dictionary of artistic terms, Baldinucci provided fourteen definitions of style using eighty different terms, and applied some of his terms to "bad" art.
From this grew his Notizie, in which he consciously intended to build upon the Vite of Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
; Baldinucci's was the first art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
to trace the lives and work of artists not only of one region (Vasari was prejudiced towards Tuscan artists) but all Italy, and indeed beyond. He studied closely the stylistic debts of the great masters to one another, and in this, and his meticulous use of documentation and archives, he was centuries ahead in the discipline of art history.
In his Vocabolario (1681) he presented terms of art and technical terms, not only for the fine arts but for goldsmith's work, pietre dure, color pigments and tools.
In other ways Baldinucci was very much a man of his time, of the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
and of the Baroque. Educated at a Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
school, he was intensely pious—before marrying, he completed the whole of Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
's Spiritual Exercises to discover whether he should in fact devote himself to a single life. Three of his sons went into the church, and one, Antonio
Anthony Baldinucci
Anthony Baldinucci was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary, best known for his unusual methods of conducting missions.-Life:...
, was a Jesuit missionary later beatified.
He had great appreciation of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, and wrote in a periodic style which reflected it, each phrase opening from the preceding, full of periphrasis
Periphrasis
In linguistics, periphrasis is a device by which a grammatical category or grammatical relationship is expressed by a free morpheme , instead of being shown by inflection or derivation...
and other flourishes of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, though flowing. His understanding of art stemmed largely from his religion, for he believed that it came as divine inspiration into special lives, the lives of the artists he so painstakingly recorded.
Baldinucci's son wrote the first biography of his father; Baldinucci's notes are conserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence (MSS Fondo Nazionale II.II.110)
Works
- Comminciamento e progresso dell'arte dell'intagliare in rame colle vite di molti de' più eccellenti maestri della stessa professione... Florence 1667 and further editions. Baldinucci's engraving forms the frontispiece. This contains the first mention in Italy of Rembrandt's prints.
- Vocabolario toscano dell'arte del disegno Florence 1681. Reprinted 1976.
- Notizie de' professori del disegno da Cimabue in qua, 6 vols, Florence 1681-1728, published in part posthumously. A second edition in six volumes with additional materials was edited by A. Matteoli (1725–30) and was reprinted in Rome, 1975.
- Vita del cav. Gio. Lorenzo Bernino, Lettera a Vinc. Capponi, Veglia sulle Belle Arti, Lezione accademica were collected and appended to the second volume of his Notizie, 1682.
'Filippo Baldinucci on the Privilege of Burial'
Filippo Baldinucci on the Privilege of Burial is the title of a poem by Robert BrowningRobert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
from his 1876 collection, Pacchiarotto, and How He Worked in Distemper
Pacchiarotto, and How He Worked in Distemper
Pacchiarotto, and How He Worked in Distemper is a short collection of English poems by Robert Browning, published in 1876. The collection marked Browning's first collection of short pieces for more than twelve years, and was well-received...
. It is based on an anecdote contained in Baldinucci's life of the artist Lodovico Buti.