Dish
1535 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This piece belongs to a now widely dispersed service of istoriato maiolica made in Urbino for the Grand Master of France Anne de Montmorency (1493-1567) in 1535.
There are around 20 known pieces belonging to this service; plates of different sizes and shapes, candlesticks and a flask. All the pieces depict classical mythology and include Anne de Montmorency coat of arms in a slightly inaccurate rendering.
Montmorency was the greatest private art patron of the French Renaissance.
No documentation has come to light about the commission of this service, but it is likely that it was a diplomatic gift from Italy to one of the most influential men at the French court.
Most of the pieces from the set are inscribed on the back with the name of the workshop in which they were made, that of Guido Durantino in Urbino in 1535.
Guido, who later took the name of Fontana, was head of one of the most prolific workshops in Urbino from the 1530s and he employed some of the best istoriato painters available. Although the handwriting on the inscriptions belongs to the same person, there are significant stylistic differences among the various pieces which perhaps suggests more than one painter worked on the set.
There are around 20 known pieces belonging to this service; plates of different sizes and shapes, candlesticks and a flask. All the pieces depict classical mythology and include Anne de Montmorency coat of arms in a slightly inaccurate rendering.
Montmorency was the greatest private art patron of the French Renaissance.
No documentation has come to light about the commission of this service, but it is likely that it was a diplomatic gift from Italy to one of the most influential men at the French court.
Most of the pieces from the set are inscribed on the back with the name of the workshop in which they were made, that of Guido Durantino in Urbino in 1535.
Guido, who later took the name of Fontana, was head of one of the most prolific workshops in Urbino from the 1530s and he employed some of the best istoriato painters available. Although the handwriting on the inscriptions belongs to the same person, there are significant stylistic differences among the various pieces which perhaps suggests more than one painter worked on the set.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Tin-glazed earthenware |
| Brief description | Dish, tin-glazed earthenware, depicting Hippolytus and Phaedra, Urbino, 1535 |
| Physical description | Tin glazed earthenware (maiolica) bowl, depicting Hippolytus fleeing Phaedra. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | DISH
Dated 1535
Workshop of Guido Durantino (died about 1576)
Even renowned workshop artists copied pictures. The scene on this dish, painted for Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France, is adapted from a woodcut illustration to Ovid's tales of Greek myths. The image shows Hippolytus fleeing his lecherous stepmother Phaedra, an example of male chastity appropriate to the dish's statesman-owner.
Italy, Urbino
Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
Museum no. C.2243-1910
Salting Bequest(2008) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by George Salting, Esq. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Ovid |
| Summary | This piece belongs to a now widely dispersed service of istoriato maiolica made in Urbino for the Grand Master of France Anne de Montmorency (1493-1567) in 1535. There are around 20 known pieces belonging to this service; plates of different sizes and shapes, candlesticks and a flask. All the pieces depict classical mythology and include Anne de Montmorency coat of arms in a slightly inaccurate rendering. Montmorency was the greatest private art patron of the French Renaissance. No documentation has come to light about the commission of this service, but it is likely that it was a diplomatic gift from Italy to one of the most influential men at the French court. Most of the pieces from the set are inscribed on the back with the name of the workshop in which they were made, that of Guido Durantino in Urbino in 1535. Guido, who later took the name of Fontana, was head of one of the most prolific workshops in Urbino from the 1530s and he employed some of the best istoriato painters available. Although the handwriting on the inscriptions belongs to the same person, there are significant stylistic differences among the various pieces which perhaps suggests more than one painter worked on the set. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'C. Bernardi; 'Immagini architettoniche nella maiolica italiana del Cinquecento' Exhibition catalogue, Milan 1980-1981; Plate reproduced on plate 76. copy in departmental library 3A85A |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.2243-1910 |
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| Record created | July 4, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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