French art historian, Daniel Arasse, wrote a book called On n’y voit rien (We Don’t See Anything) in which he pointed out all of the things in paintings that float past our eyes without leaving a blip on the screen of our awareness. So take a look at this masterpiece by Sandro Botticelli and tell me what you see. Yes, go ahead, talk. I know what you are going to say. “Well, there are Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.” Okay, go on. “Uh, they are sitting in some old ruined building.” Good, what else? “There are a lot of people standing around who don’t look like shepherds.” Very good. Anything else? “Looks like the people are from the middle ages or something.” Well, the Renaissance. Does that seem strange to you? “Sure, these folks were not actually at the birth of Jesus, and what is that bird (is it a peacock?) sitting up on the building?” Ah, now we are getting somewhere. You are beginning to really observe. Very good. Any questions? “Yeah, what the heck is this all about?”
Let’s start with this guy who looks out from the lower right corner. He wears a yellowish colored robe, and we can muse on the many things that his facial expression might be saying to us.
This is a self-portrait of Sandro Botticelli, the man who was commissioned to paint this Adoration of the Magi. He was one of the favorite painters of the Medici family when they ruled Florence in the 15th century. Painters were normally considered to be just a type of servant class, workmen hired to do a job like a bricklayer or a carpenter. However, in the 15th century the royal courts of Europe began to realize the individual value of their artists. Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, for instance, used painter Jan Van Eyck as a diplomat. Though Florence was a republic, it was lead by the Medici family, who were merchant bankers as rich and powerful as any royalty, and like the royals knew the value of art to enhance their prestige. Botticelli shows us here that he is well within the bosom of the Medici family and looks out at us as if to say, “You see me here. I’m in with the In-Crowd.”
The man facing out here is Gaspare del Lama, and he is even closer into the action of the painting, as would be appropriate for him as the man who commissioned this work. But why, you might ask, is he not right before the Holy Family? He’s paying for this painting, isn’t he? Well yes, but the painting has another purpose.
This is 15th century Florence after all and strategic thinking was of paramount importance. Gaspare del Lama was the son of a barber, who through the patronage of the Medici family rose in status as a banker himself and a financial agent for the Medici bank. As with all the wealthy of Florence, his family was able to have a chapel for itself inside of one of the city’s fine churches, Santa Maria Novella. This painting was to go inside the chapel and was designed to reflect del Lama’s appreciation for the Medici family, as well as showing in the crowd a number of other important Florentines whom the populace would have recognized. In other words, Gaspare del Lama was showing off his wealth, status, and good connections. So who are some of these other people, the real players in the life of that city-state.
This stately, gray-haired, richly dressed gentleman is Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464), known as Cosimo the Elder so as not to confuse him with his 16th century relative, Cosimo I, Duke of Tuscany. This Cosimo is the son of Giovanni de Bicci de Medici, the founder of the Medici Bank and merchant empire. Cosimo the Elder learned from his father two important things: keep your appearance low-key (Giovanni, though wealthy, rode a mule instead of a fine horse) and don’t give advice unless you are asked for it. These words of wisdom seem quite sound even in our day, though I don’t know about riding a mule.
Cosimo is seen here in the role of the oldest of the Wise Men (Magi) sometimes known as Gaspare in Italy (Balthazar in northern Europe – see my post on this name confusion at vernellestudio.com). As the eldest of the Magi, it was his duty to be front and center. In some paintings of that day, this elder man seems to be looking between the legs of the child as if to inspect to see if he is really a human baby boy. Botticelli treats that subtly here but certainly gives Cosimo pride of place. Note that at the time of this painting, Cosimo the Elder had passed on some years before, but would live on forever in this painting commissioned by someone showing his appreciation for Cosimo and his family.
The two men pictured here are the sons of Cosimo the Elder. On the left in red is the heir apparent, Piero de Medici, known as Piero the Gouty because of his health condition. He, too, would be a patron of the arts, known in particular for commissioning Benozzo Gozzoli to paint the Medici Chapel’s famous Procession of the Magi (see The Medici Palace’s Procession of the Magi, ofartandwine.com).
This young man who bears something of a resemblance to Giovanni de Medici as shown above is actually one of two sons of Piero de Medici. More handsome than his brother Lorenzo, who is known as the Magnificent, because of his appreciation of culture and his patronage of the arts, Giuliano seems to have had a fascination with Simonetta Vespucci, whom he had his friend Botticelli paint a portrait of as Pallas Athena on a banner for a joust that he took part in. However, Giuliano met a tragic end on Easter Sunday in 1478 when the Pazzi Conspirators attacked the Medici brothers in church, wounding Lorenzo and killing Giuliano.
That leaves us with the last important figure in this painting, the young and rather arrogant looking Lorenzo de Medici (1449-1492) with a young friend or relative hanging on his shoulder. He and his chums seem more interested in something other than the Holy Family. Lorenzo looks in the direction of his father and uncle, while the friend on the far right actually has his hand extended, pointing in the direction of those members of Lorenzo’s family. The head of the white horse may be a reference to the Procession of the Magi by Gozzoli in which near Lorenzo is a magnificent white horse, a symbol of the power and grace of the coming generation of Medici rulers.
Lorenzo was certainly the greatest patron of the arts from the Medici family. He also took his duties as the leader of the Florentine republic seriously, including making deals with the Pope to not lay siege to the city and of course, dealing harshly with Pazzi conspirators after the attack on him and the murder of his brother in 1478. Botticelli was already a great friend of the Medici family, but it was Lorenzo who took the 13-year-old Michelangelo into his household to live and be educated along with his own children. Lorenzo’s love of the arts may have made him take his eye off the family banking business, for by the end of his life in 1492, the business was not doing well, with many of its branch banks closed across Europe. However, he will forever be known as a great patron of the arts, and his name and image are on the special prize given to artists who win in their categories the Lorenzo il Magnifico International Award in the Florence Biennale.
So Gaspare del Lama surrounded himself with the best, intending to perpetuate his fame and fortune into eternity. That is where the peacock comes in. It is a symbol of immortality. Unfortunately for Gaspare del Lama, the very next year, 1476, he was condemned for dubious financial dealings and fell into disgrace. However, he and his pride live on in this version of Botticelli’s Adoration of the Magi.
For more on the Medici, the arts, and Renaissance Florence go to the first two parts of the series, The Medici, Godfathers of the Renaissance youtube.com. For more on how the Medici built their fortune, read Tim Parks Medici Money, and there are also the two blog posts mentioned earlier in this article.
Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor ,and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com
Christmas Wines and Holiday Cheer!
The first question is “Are there really Christmas wines?” The answer is well, yes, sort of. We know about the special mulled wine recipes which add spices to heated wine. (For more on that see “Let It Snow: Snow Paintings and Mulled Wines” ofartandwine.com) However, when dealing with major holiday meals, the basic idea is to focus on what you are serving at what stage of the meal (or the festivities). Gathering that information beforehand can lead you to arrange a pairing of wines that work well with holiday foods and thus could be called Christmas Wines.
Never let us forget that Christmas is a great celebration, and nothing is more celebratory than a glass of bubbly. Not only is it perfect for toasting the season and one another, but it also goes well with little finger foods. Prosecco works wonderfully with tiny cubes of roasted tomato bruschetta. Champagne and a plate of Brie cheese is perfection itself.
For those not wanting to do the traditional bird (turkey, goose, etc), Jenn Segal of Once Upon a Chef provides a recipe for roast beef tenderloin with red wine sauce. She uses the year’s Beaujolais Nouveau for her sauce. As for what to drink while eating this hearty beef dish, she proposes any number of red wines from Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Noir. I’d say a good Cabernet Sauvignon would work well, as it is a bit lighter than the Merlot but heavier than Pinot Noir.
Now that I mention Pinot Noir, what comes to mind are two of the other favorite dishes for the holidays: turkey and ham. Pinot Noir, often called the most drinkable of the red wines, goes very nicely with these two traditional holiday favorites. The wine often adds hints of fruit like cherries which go well with turkey or ham and with vegetarian dishes. Should you not want to do a Champagne toast, rest assured that a nice Pinot Noir makes for good pre-dinner sipping as well.
Pamela Salzman of Clean Eating gives the recipe that resulted in this wonderful culinary creation. As well, she lists all you need to know about the nutritional content of this meal. While she does not talk at all about wines to go with this dish, when one thinks of turkey, a variety of white wines come to mind, but the king of them all would be Sauvignon Blanc. The Spruce Eats website (thespruceeats.com) recommends one in particular but also gives a rundown of appropriate holiday wines in its article, “10 Bottles of Christmas Wine Under $25,” by Wallace Levy McKeel.
For those in the group who really go non-traditional (like me), one can always head for the seafood counter and select snow crab or king crab to feast upon. Then one has a choice to ponder: Sancerre or Muscadet. Here in the U.S. in most of our local wine shops, it will be easier to find Sancerre, and it is a wonderful choice. (See this article for more information vinepair.com) However, if your wine shop carries more specialty items, you might be able to get Muscadet, a wine created in the Loire-Atlantic. It is perfection with seafood.
So there it is, a bit of a roundup of what one might call Christmas Wines. As I said at the outset, it really is about pairing the wines with each dish and each moment in time during your holiday celebrations. Should you want more ideas and commentary, look at this piece from The Wine Show youtube.com.
One of the things that might go nicely as a Christmas gift is a membership to a wine club. Cellars Wine Club has a club for every level of wine enthusiasm and budget. With free shipping, a “no bad bottle” return policy, and tasting notes on each wine. Being in a wine club is a great way to end one year and ring in the new one. CellarsWineClub.com
Note: Of Art and Wine is an affiliate of Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.
©marjorie vernelle 2020
Coming Soon: The Bad Boy Monk, and Holiday Dessert Wines.
Madonna and Child with Two Angels, by Fra Filippo Lippi, c.1457.
So what happens when you are a talented orphan who is taken to a monastery to be cared for. You might just grow up to be a great painter, fall in love with a nun, and have a family (Oops!). The tale of Fra Filippo Lippi, his talent, and his many misdeeds is the stuff of legend. Of Art and Wine takes a look at this marvelous painter of the Italian Renaissance and prepares for you (Happy Holidays!) a little primer on dessert wines.