Backgrounder

RENAISSANCE MASTERWORKS FROM THE
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE OF
VERROCCHIO’S “DAVID” RESTORED

Washington, DC--The National Gallery of Art is home to the most important collection of works by Verrocchio and his school outside Italy. In Washington, Verrocchio’s “David” Restored: A Renaissance Bronze from the National Museum of the Bargello, Florence will be presented in the rich context of these works. The selections on view reflect the iconography of David and Goliath, Verrocchio’s patronage, and the artist’s oeuvre.

The Iconography of David and Goliath

In the late 1460s, when the Medici family commissioned Verrocchio to cast his David, Florence was one of the richest city states in Europe, despite the city’s small size and lack of natural resources. The shepherd boy David, powerful in spirit and mind but not physically intimidating, was a popular symbol in Florence. As the smallest major power on the political stage of Italy, the city saw itself as a young David contending with such powerful Goliaths as the Pope, the Duke of Milan, the King of Naples, and the Doge of Venice.

Figure 1
The Youthful David

Andrea del Castagno’s The Youthful David (c. 1450) is unique in Renaissance art. It is the only example of a painted shield that can be attributed to a great master, and it is decorated with a narrative scene instead of the typical coat of arms. It was intended for display in ceremonial parades rather than for protection in battle. Castagno demonstrated his knowledge of the new science of anatomy by modeling the figure in light and shadow, articulating the muscles and veins of the arms and legs, and suggesting powerful activity through David’s running pose and windblown garments.

Figure 2
David of the Casa Martelli

The David of the Casa Martelli (c. 1461/1479), created by a follower of Donatello, stands triumphant with his chin high, hand on hip, and a foot on the severed head of Goliath. This David once stood in the courtyard of the palace of the Martelli family of Florence, an ambitious family of bankers who were loyal to the Medici. The Martellis were significant patrons of the arts; this David appears in Agnolo Bronzino’s painting Ugolino Martelli (c. 1540).

The Patronage of the Medici

Andrea del Verrocchio was a favorite sculptor of the Medici, a powerful family in Florence. His David, probably executed between 1465 and 1470, was most likely commissioned by Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici (1416-1469), father of Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), who sold it to the city government in 1476.

Figure 3
Giuliano de’ Medici

Verrocchio’s bust of Giuliano de’ Medici (c. 1475/1478), a portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent’s younger brother, may have been made in conjunction with a joust organized for Giuliano’s coming of age in 1475. Outfitted in elegant armor decorated with a ferocious, winged head, Giuliano’s figure displays the confident and proud demeanor expected of a young man from a distinguished Florentine family.

Figure 4
Lorenzo de’ Medici

Giuliano was later murdered in a failed plot to oust the Medici from Florence. At High Mass in the Florence Cathedral on April 26, 1478, henchmen of the Pazzi family, who were tired of the Medicis’ leadership, drew their daggers to assassinate Lorenzo and Giuliano. Giuliano, aged only 25, was instantly killed; Lorenzo, although wounded, escaped to suppress the conspiracy and consolidate his power.

To commemorate these events and offer public thanksgiving for his salvation, life-size wax images of Lorenzo were placed in several churches. Verrocchio supervised the production of these images. The terracotta bust of Lorenzo de’ Medici (1478/1521) in the collection of the National Gallery of Art may perpetuate one of these wax images in more permanent form. More than life-size and compact, the bust is composed of massive, simple forms. His brooding look suggests one who has survived the worst attack his enemies could mount and warns them not to try again.

Figure 5
Alexander the Great

This relief of Alexander the Great (c. 1483/1485) is likely a version in marble of a bronze of the same subject that Lorenzo de’ Medici commissioned from Verrocchio for the king of Hungary, Mathias Corvinus. The relief sought to equate Corvinus’s campaigns against the Ottoman army with those of Alexander the Great. As Lorenzo was aware, Corvinus’s success would protect Florence from the Ottoman threat. The armor was designed in ancient style, but imaginatively embellished with a winged head on the breastplate and a dragon with ribbon on the helmet. Verrocchio and his contemporaries often designed such rich and fantastic armor for Florentines to wear in jousts.

Figure 6
Putto Poised on a Globe

Andrea del Verrocchio’s Putto Poised on a Globe (probably 1480) is
closely related to the winged Putto on a Globe, clutching a small dolphin, that Verrocchio made as the centerpiece of a fountain (Palazzo della Signoria, Florence) for Lorenzo de’ Medici. Poised as if about to take flight, the figure is yet another demonstration of the new freedom of movement expressed in Renaissance art.

In conclusion, the juxtaposition of Verrocchio’s David and related works from the National Gallery of Art underlines the importance of David as a symbol of Renaissance Florence. Verrocchio’s “David” Restored: A Renaissance Bronze from the Museum of the Bargello, Florence provides a unique opportunity to better understand the context of these important works of Renaissance art.

Captions:

Figure 1. Andrea del Castagno, The Youthful David, c. 1450, tempera on leather on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection

Figure 2. Follower of Donatello, The David of the Casa Martelli, c. 1461/1479, marble,
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection

Figure 3. Andrea del Verrocchio, Giuliano de’ Medici, c. 1475/1478, terracotta, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Figure 4. Florentine 15th or 16th century, probably after a model by Andrea del Verrocchio and Orsino Benintendi, Lorenzo de’ Medici, 1478/1521, painted terracotta, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection

Figure 5. Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, Alexander the Great, c. 1483/1485, marble, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Therese K. Straus

Figure 6. Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, Putto Poised on a Globe, probably 1480, unbaked clay, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

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RENAISSANCE MASTERWORKS FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE OF VERROCCHIO’S “DAVID” RESTORED

Figure 1 The Youthful David

Figure 2 David of the Casa Martelli

Figure 3 Giuliano de’ Medici

Figure 4 Lorenzo de’ Medici

Figure 5 Alexander the Great