Medici Treasures
Alevtina Kalinina
The Medici were a family of Florentine bankers who rose to
power in the 14th and 15th centuries. They produced politicians
popes, princes in Italy, and Queens of France. The Medici
were well-known patrons of the Arts, sometimes using them
as a tool of diplomacy or power. The name of Medici is closely
related to the development of the Renaissance in Italy: Fra
Angelico, Botticelli and Raphael, Michelangelo, Benvenutto
Cellini were all their protégés. “Medici Treasures” is an unprecedented
exhibition organized by Italian and Russian curators
in the Moscow Kremlin. It comprises masterpieces that were
part of the famous Florentine dynasty’s collection that was
dispersed over time to several museums in Florence. The largest
part now belongs to the Palazzo Pitti, also to the National
Museum of Bargello, the Palatine Gallery, and the Uffizi Gallery
in Florence, and others.
The present exhibition, organized as part of the Italian Culture
in Russia programme, has united the efforts of these museums
and tries to give an idea of the full scope of the glamour
of the Medici line. Their rise to political power started with
Cosimo de Medici, or Cosimo the Elder, who was born in 1389.
Cosimo had the best education available in 14th century Florence.
His reign and that of his grandson Lorenzo are considered
to be a golden century for Florence, one of the centres of
the Renaissance. The art collection was started by Giovanni di
Bicci, Cosimo the elder’s father. All future generations inherited
a passion for collecting. The Medicis realized that possessing
refined and precious things strengthened their status and
power. For several centuries, generation after generation of
Medicis added to a multi-faceted collection comprising crystal
cups, antique vessels and cameos, coins, medals, precious
vases, bronze, various jewels and other items. This world famous
collection was an example for those who would collect
art systematically and actually was a kind of prototype for future
arts museums.
The exhibition in the Kremlin is set up chronologically, it
traces the evolution of the Medicis from earliest times and includes
acquisitions by Lorenzo the Magnificent to Anna Maria
Louise, who gave the family collection to the city of Florence
as a gift, with the condition that it would never leave the city.
The first generation of Medici, for example, demonstrated
special passion for antiquity which was in line with the Renaissance
in general. Italian dynasties liked to see themselves as
the successors to the Roman Republic, and the Medicis were
no exception. Gems and intaglios are a special part of the exhibition,
presenting the best examples of glyptics—the art of
engraving or carving on precious stones, manufactured during
ancient times and also cameos carved during the Renaissance,
depicting the Florentine nobility or numerous mythological
intaglios. Under Cosimo’s sons Francesco and
Ferdinando, the collection was enriched with beautiful “pietre
dure”—fine mosaics from precious and semiprecious
stones. Francesco Medici started manufacturing precious
items from crystal to even porcelain. Under Ferdinando I, the
technique of mosaics would reach its climax and would be
internationally attributed to
as Florentine mosaics. Jewels related
to the last Medici—Anna Maria Louise are of equal interest,
too. Pendants, jewellery made
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May 20-August 1
Moscow Kremlin
Ivan the Great Bell-tower complex
Open: 10.00-17.00, except Thursday
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from pearls and gold with
enamel, are genuine sculptures in miniatures, depicting del’
arte scenes, antique mythology, figurines of birds and animals.
One of these
sculptures—a present to Anna Maria from
her husband is a tiny golden cradle with a pearl for a blanket
and a tiny child beneath it. The child represented the dream
of a successor; one which never came true. In 1743 the Grand
Ducal line died with Anna Maria Louisa de Medici.
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