Artistic Representations of Water Management in Medici Ducal and Grand Ducal Florence
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
11-16-2023
Department 1
Art
Abstract
Early modern Florence could boast of its art and architectural beauty, but when it came to water, it could resemble a hazard zone marked by dangerously high floodwaters. It was for good reason that Cosimo I de’ Medici and his heirs Grand Dukes Francesco I and Ferdinando I attended to water regulation, efforts celebrated by their court artists and humanists. In the visual arts, how to portray such feats had no clear iconographic traditions. The work of water management, be it repairing embankments or digging ditches, did not lend itself to the idealised, Michelangelesque style favoured by the Florentines. This study will explore the strategies artists took in representing Ducal and Grand Ducal authority over waterways, examining paintings, bronze medals and gilt reliefs celebrating the accomplishments of Cosimo I and his heirs. Among these are portrayals of the Medici with documents like maps, plans or reports, echoing material used by water management officials. Artists drew on the classical past to develop new idealised figures and symbols, featuring them in lofty, princely settings. Their prominence marked the legacies of water control that Medici Dukes and Grand Dukes promoted for themselves and their dynastic line.
ISBN/ISSN
9781003029823
Recommended Citation
Else, Felicia, M. "Straightening the Arno." In Disaster in the Early Modern World: Examinations, Representations, Interventions., edited by Ovanes Akopyan, and David Rosenthal. New York: Routledge, 2023.