ENGLISH VERSION Luciano Mazzaferro. Giovan Battista Marino: Artistic Interests Between Court Life and Art Collecting. Part Two

Translation by Francesco Mazzaferro
CLICK HERE FOR ITALIAN VERSION

Luciano Mazzaferro
Giovan Battista Marino: 

Artistic Interests Between Court Life and Art Collecting
Part Two: The 'Galeria'

[Note by Giovanni and Francesco Mazzaferro: This text is the faithful transcription and translation of a manuscript of our father, Luciano Mazzaferro. He produced a comment to three works by Giovan Battista Marino (1569-1625), in which the interests in art of the Italian Baroque poet emerged: the first of his Dicerie sacre (Sacred Dialogues), the Galeria (Gallery) and the Lettere (Letters). The title of the writing, as well as its division into paragraphs and the notes are our editorial input.]

Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Ancient Rome (1754-1757 ca)

GO BACK TO PART ONE

The 'Galeria' (Gallery)

Five years after the publication of the Sacred Dialogues, the first edition of the Galeria appeared in Venice. The work was a great success and several reprints were made hereof: the first reprint to repair the many printing errors reported by Marino (see Letters, p. 225 ff.), the other ones to cope with the constant demand of the readers. Between 1620 and 1674 seventeen reprints were carried out. Then, suddenly, printers did not fight anymore to obtain print commissions and the long silence began. In 1926 the Carabba printing house in Lanciano promoted a partial edition, limited to those compositions considered to have a direct interest for visual arts. The text was used more than once and the scholars who took advantage of it did not fail to express their appreciation for the criteria used in the compilation. The opinions changed abruptly in 1979, when an integral new edition of this work by Marino was produced: when it came again to speak about the text published in 1926, everything was qualified with several caveats. This is the way things indeed happen, and there is no reason to wonder about it. We should add that the new edition edited by Pieri, valuable in many respects, is due to a researcher who, by his own admission, does not have a deep knowledge of painting and sculpture. To remedy deficiencies in this field, he counted on various experts, among whom I identified Mina Gregori. The work appeared in two volumes; all quotes in this note are taken from the first volume, including Marino’s verses and the editor’s preface. Even if I never mentioned it, I feel obliged to point out that I also repeatedly used the second volume, with comments and indices.[14]

In a writing signed by Onorato Claretti, State Counsellor in Turin [15], but mostly attributed to Marino himself, it is explained that the term Galeria (Gallery) "means pinacoteca or art gallery, location where in ancient times (as reported by Petronius Arbiter)" paintings were kept. A collection of art works, in short; but of what kind? And to cope with the question that has often seemed the most relevant, belonging to whom? Long time ago, the temptation has repeatedly appeared to attribute, if not all, the ownership of at least most of the works to the same author of the script, Marino. He would have not done anything else but drawing up an unusual and evocative catalogue of paintings and various art objects he had gathered with passion and tenacity. Today, putting aside this doubtless simplistic version, we prefer to speak of and "Imaginary Museum". We are flagging this label, which appears largely satisfying, without worrying too much about defining exactly its meaning. Indeed, there is no doubt that a collection such as the one described by Marino is based on improbable, if not impossible combinations of art works. A collection like this has never existed and there is no reason to suppose that a so structured art gallery can somehow be created to the delight of collectors and art lovers. In this respect there is no reason for discussion: a similar museum tour is a creation of the imagination and, if we really want to talk about a collection or an art gallery or a museum, we must inevitably talk about imaginary collections, art galleries, museums. If anything, the point to be considered is another one: if the collection is indeed imaginary, it is however not true that all works are mere products of the imagination, described in a way that seemed more attractive to Marino. The reading of the verses of the Gallery leads to the belief that at least some of the works described were actually owned by the poet, while others - which did not belong to the author of the Adone - were collected in other private collections or placed in beautify places, sacred or not, of public access. Some paintings and some sculptures were and are so popular and valuable, that do not require any effort to those who want to state their location and the legal ownership. Always within the Gallery – moreover - the description can be found of works that are - without any doubt or at least due to a number of indicia - the simple results of the fluid phantasy of Marino. For these (and only for these) it is possible to talk of truly "imaginary works", and not only of paintings and sculptures transplanted into an "imaginary museum". These "imaginary works" are therefore explained by a simple poetic creation and are completely unrelated to the work done by any painters and any other artists in the kingdom of images. Moreover, in the Gallery, there are sonnets and other verses that do not refer either to concrete or even imaginary works and that can be explained by sudden literarily exposition needs, by occasional events, historic facts and even polemical intentions. I think I am remaining sufficiently close to reality, if I come to the conclusion to allocate the rhymes in this work by Marino in five groups. Prior to enumerating them, I would simply limit myself to state again that the borders between one group and the other one cannot in any case be defined as so evidently clear-cut as one would like. For a number of poetic descriptions some doubt will always remain as to the most appropriate place in which to put them. This is one obvious matter – one would say – and is common to most classifications and any critical reframing; but it seems to me that recalling it is not completely out of place.

The "Fables"

It seems logical to me to include in the first section if not all, at least certainly a large majority of those "fables" which open the compilation. It is almost sure that these tales or episodes taken from ancient mythology should have been, at least in a first moment, the sole object of the Gallery. Marino wrote in 1613 to Bernardo Castello, a Genoese painter with whom he had close friendly and fruitful relations, to inform him about the work that he had "in his hands. It is called the Gallery, and contains nearly all ancient fables. Each tale" - says the poet - "is expressed in a drawing by the hand of a valorous man. On each drawing I am first producing a short eulogy in praise of that master, and then I am joking on it with some poetic caprice. I have already accumulated a large amount of them by the most famous and outstanding painters of this age, and I want to engrave them all with exquisite diligence. The included poems are all in order: and it will be (I think) a curious book for its variety" (see Letters, pag. 143). In short, Marino began to collect a series of depictions dedicated to ancient fables, and he gave himself two objectives: the first one of engraving them and having them followed by a comment in verse (it is his stated goal) and the other one (which was not explained to Castello, but can be deduced from other letters from Marino), to come into ownership of nice pictures to be placed in his collection. The first of the two objectives was then extensively revised: the costs of engraving advised against reproducing depictions and what remained, namely the number of verses written by Marino, was printed in the first part of a work that will appear replenished by other sections. At this point two aspects should appear clear: the descriptions made by the Neapolitan poet do not refer to abstract representations, but to works by authors whose names are mentioned by Marino and on whom - as explained in the letter mentioned a few lines above – he made more or less gentle jokes. It should also be borne in mind that the works which the poet received and described in his rhymes are not always (and actually, almost never) works on canvas, but simple designs which had been likely drawn precisely in that format, and with those characteristics, that the author of the Adone required to artists to ensure uniformity, either directly or through friends who were both influential and able to remove others’ laziness.

Other poems based on actually existing images

The "fables" are not the only poems written in the Gallery to comment representations received by Marino and stored in its collection. There are certainly others, but (as the poet gives us no information whatsoever) you need to move with caution, as if you were sitting on a minefield. However, I am led to include in the group of assets owned by Marino the "Ritratti di diversi Signori e Letterati amici dell’Autore" (Portraits of several Gentlemen and Writers friends of the author) (of course with some exceptions, such as in numbers XV, 4, 4a and 4b on which I will happen to speak later), all or most of the portraits made of him and those relating to his woman. It is easy to deduct from his letters that Marino took action to ensure that some canvas would be executed and donated to him, in which he would be taken up in a beautiful fashion. Moreover, he addressed himself to friends, acquaintances and sometimes even to enemies in order to obtain their portraits. And he himself shows that in many cases he undertook to return the favour by writing laudatory verses to put in the Gallery or in other works. Sometimes (but rarely) he reciprocated by sending some of his own small portraits or even better, a good copy to be entrusted to a good painter (whom, not by coincidence, he could eventually not be able to eventually track down). The portraits of him, her beloved or "gentlemen" and "writers" known to him are not in abundance in the Gallery, but everything leads us to believe that the commitment shown by the artists who have performed them has been greater than the effort required for the fulfilment of the “tales”. More than drawings, traced at the first opportunity in an available time, the portraits make us think of veritable oil paintings, i.e. works with all the traits of good academic quality.

Poems based on works seen in other collections or in public places

Apollo Belvedere

In a third group of works, the works must then be remembered that Marino had definitely seen and admired in other collections or in public places and, of course, could not be part of his collection. These are usually works of high prestige, whose author is quoted. Also the name of the collector who had acted to order them or pick them up is mentioned (of course, in cases where it made sense to do so). I am citing some works: paintings "in the house of Giovan Carlo Doria" (No. 5 p. 51, No. 8 p. 52 ff., No. 13b p. 56, No. 16 p. 57, No 21. p 59 ff., Nos. 22 and 23 both at p. 60); those in the collection of Cardinal Aldobrandini (No. 3 p. 50 ff., and No. 19 at p. 58 ff.); those "in the house of Bartolomeo della Nave" (No. 15 p. 56 ff., No. 17a on p. 58 and No 18 on the same page); most of the other paintings of sacred interest or biblical illustration with just a few exceptions , such as "Judith with the Head of Holofernes" (No. 1 p. 49) repeatedly requested by Marino to Cristoforo Bronzino; the portraits of Savoy family members, mentioned by the poet in homage to his patron (Nos. 17 and 18 on p. 227, No 18a on p. 227 ff., No. 15 on p. 282); the portrait of the Doria couple (No. 21 p. 229); numerous sculptures of the classical era, such as the famous "Apollo Belvedere" (No. 1, p. 271), the "nude Venus  assigned to Phidias (No. 5, p. 273 , the most known "Cow of Myron" (Nos. 25, 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d at p. 286 ff.); the mutilated statue of Pasquino now on the back of Palazzo Braschi (No. 22 p. 285); four marble of Michelangelo, i.e. the Night (No. 26, p. 288), the Aurora (No. 26a,ibidem) , the Pietà in St. Peter (No. 26b therein ) and the Moses (No. 26c, on p. 289); and two works by Giambologna (No. 11, p. 280 and No. 32 p. 291). I cannot stress more that the list - here simply reported in the form of examples - is very far from being complete. Moreover, the boundaries between this third group and the other sections with various works mentioned in the Gallery still present grey zones which I do not think can be removed, and that in any case, I certainly do not think to be able removing. A trait or characteristic point still remains: I am referring to the ease with which the Marino put together, in one single volume, his own drawings, paintings and miniatures of little importance with sacred works of large resonance and masterpieces of inestimable value.

Poems based on imaginary works

I have come to the fourth group. So far, I spoke about works allegedly belonging to Marino, about those who were part of collections created by other collectors or those which were exposed in holy or public places. Whatever their owner (private or public, it does not matter here) may have been, it is about paintings, sculptures, etc ... that actually exist: in short, they are not a mere figment of poetic imagination. A different speech should be held instead for this fourth group, larger than one would assume at least at a first glance, and made up of imaginary works, never translated into reality: the poet invented them, gave them a physiognomy and then described them as if they were paintings or marble placed there, close at hand and intended for general admiration. In an anthological compilation of the works carried out by Marino on behalf of the Rizzoli publisher, Alberto Asor Rosa puts the reader on the alert and rightly points out that in various parts of the Gallery Marino, "rather than taking inspiration from the works of art, tries himself to compete with painters and sculptors, experimenting with a new genre: portraiture in poems" (p. 377). [16] All true; all acceptable, provided however that a less rigid meaning is given to the terms used by Asor Rosa and it does not lead to the imprecision of creating a close identification between portraits and imaginary works. In Marino’s Galery there are certainly ( as we have already noted ) "made" portraits, i.e. true portraits, as indeed in other sections of the volume certain compositions are found, which are simply imagined and never turned into pictures or sculptures.

Compositions in tribute to artists and friends ; invectives against enemies

In the fifth and last group are placed the poems where really existing works are not described and even not paintings or sculptures that are (as above) mere inventions, imaginary products. The connections with the figurative world become particularly thin (to the point that, in most circumstances, those connections are cut altogether). The verses of Marino have another purpose: they are tributes to the memory of artists and friends, and are reduced to simple thanks; alternatively, they are based on old stories to mock enemies and the most hardened opponents. I am thinking about the verses in occasion of the death of Scipione Pulzone (No. 8 p. 190), Annibale Carracci (No. 8b p. 191) or Caravaggio (No. 8a always p. 191): Marino speaks here of artists, not of any of their works. I am reminded of the rhymes for the death of the son of Jacopo Palma il Giovane (No. 9 p. 192) and the verses written for the death of the wife of Bernardo Castello (No. 9a, yet on p. 192). You may also remember Nos. 4, 4a and 4b (pp. 194 ff.), prepared to ask the Count Campeggi, Guido Casoni and Don Angelo Grillo to obtain their own portraits; nor should we overlook No. 3 (p. 194), where he thanked his friend "Claudio Achillini of his portrait sent to him." Some rhymes appear (not many, to be honest, but also indicative of the many curiosities of the poet) which are nothing but translations from Greek and Latin. And then it is good to take into account the unexpected presence of so-called "Burlesque Portraits": next to verses difficult to place, one can finding biting rhymes, merciless and animated by the desire to hurt, directed against Gaspare Murtola, the Genoese scholar, who lose all control after the continuous attacks of the Neapolitan poet and came even to the point to attempt to his life. In a sonnet (No. 6 p. 205) Marino suggests that there is a portrait of his opponent , and instead of describing its content or stylistic qualities, bursts into laughing:

Here Art has won on Nature

Here at least it is not him [editor's note: Murtola] writing, and playing the fool.

In the following sonnets the target is always Murtola. In the composition 6b it is cried that it would be worth "of a dump" to think of a portrait worthy depicting a man of such features. To let him "an immortal imprint" it would be enough "just to print his face on a piece of shit". Sorry, but Marino was not gentle, when he wanted to scramble somebody. For his and ours sake, he did not let himself always to be dominated by hatred, but was carried away by the taste of taking note of various curiosities. See, again by way of example, Nos. 8 and 9 on pages 309 ff., where he talks about accidents happened to two ancient statues; or No. 11 p. 310 which, on closer inspection, is presented with the typical features of a joke (A fake head in the statue of a traitor).

The Gallery as a didactic model

The Gallery experienced a considerable success in the seventeenth century. I have already mentioned it, and it remains only to wonder why a literary work in verses of this nature did collect such a fortune. I believe, it happened for several reasons. First of all, it must remember the fact that the Galery was composed by Giambattista Marino, a highly appreciated poet in his century and an indisputable point of reference for buyers of printed works. It should also be considered that the composite nature of the collection, the references to mythological tales and scenes of religious life, the series of real or fictitious portraits, the various peculiarities and curiosities brought to light and the alternation between measured obsequiousness and controversies with no brake seemed tailored to multiply the interest of the reader, to reduce the risk of monotony , to activate the taste for comparisons and checks and to interrogate for possible implications. It is also necessary to keep in mind that, along with depictions not always well calibrated, the Gallery presented itself with expositive resources which were very appreciated in those times, with dazzling images, with pieces of unbelievable ability, with countless gags, with an unusual amount of winks, twists and oddities.

But all this is not enough. In the work of Marino the readers of the seventeenth century had to find an additional and decisive reason of attraction. Marzio Pieri assumed or, better said, realised it, when he reached the end of its extensive preface, to speak of a didactic intent that would have moved the poet. That said, the Pieri does not go over and starts playing with words of affection, as if feared he had gone too far. And instead, this didactic intent was so clear, that it really deserves a few more words. As on other occasions, Marino realised the ambitions and needs, even those of modest scope, of his times and once again managed to accommodate them. A growing number of people with some cultural concern felt the desire to talk about works of art, to get out of the narrow precincts of a strictly technical vocabulary and to communicate personal impressions, perhaps by using communications devices of various kinds or by making various considerations around the content of the representations art. More and more, paintings and sculptures were becoming a topic of conversation; it was aimed to organise conversations on their attractiveness using a polished manner, according to the preferences of the time. I am convinced that the work of Marino, with the attractive colour of his verse, with his rich vocabulary of many voices and with frequent references to historical knowledge and ancient mythology provided a unique and truly irreplaceable guide. To realise the originality and wide usability of the Gallery just compare it with the poor and stammering recommendations of Pierre Le Brun ("La façon de parler des Beaux Tableux" – The way to speak about beutiful paintings), a substantially contemporaneous (1635) work, reported in the second volume of the compilation of Ms Merrifield. [17] In the work of Marino, devoid of the ingenuities committed by Le Brun, found themselves "examples of reading" to use, without any fear of appearing naïve, even in demanding circumstances. One should take into account the various still functioning academies, of the long queue of old and new followers and of the trend, which had become a fashion, to write verses on just newly painted works, as well as on sculptures and paintings that, to the glory of the collectors, entered into their collections. No work could offer didactic guidelines as valid and authoritative as the colourful interlocking of verses concocted by Marino. With his book, the exuberant Neapolitan poet did not give any appreciable critical contribution and did not reveal any valid criterion to distinguish great artists from the crowd of imitators in the second or third rows, but helped readers to move with enough ease between art collections and speak fluently on them, according to their own caprice or the necessity of the case.

GO TO PART THREE

NOTES

[14] Marzio Pieri, or the editor of this edition, has meanwhile become Professor of Italian Literature at the University of Parma and works with a small publishing house placed in Lavis (a small village in the Trento province) , called La Finestra (The Window), which has a particular focus on the Baroque literature and the work of Marino. Just with this publishing house, Pieri published a new edition of La Galeria in 2005, in collaboration with Alessandra Ruffino.

[15] Giovan Battista Marino , Rime (Rhymes). Part Three, Venice, 1614.

[16] Giambattista Marino, Collected Works, edited by Alberto Asor Rosa, Milan, Rizzoli, 1967.

[17] Pierre Le Brun, Recueuil des essaies des merveilles de la peinture (Collection of surveys on the wonders of painting)in Mary P. Merrifield , Original Treatises on the Arts of Painting , vol II , p. 757-841, London, 1849. Owned by this library.