Conditions of sociability : mobility, mutability and medaglie in early modern networks and possible publics
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The Pursuit of Art and Pleasure in the Secret Grotto of Wilhelm V of Bavaria
Abstract The Grottenhof is a small garden surrounded by painted loggias in the Munich Residence, a palace that served as the seat of the Wittelsbach Dukes of Bavaria beginning in the sixteenth century. Completed between 1582 and 1589, the garden contains an elaborate grottoed fountain, sculpture, and paintings based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The pictorial program of the painted loggias combines images of mythological ardor with illusionistic interlopers from everyday court life who make punning references to the pursuit of love. The sources for the garden can be found in Italian and French prototypes, yet the program of decorations creates a variety of associations that were unique to the patron, Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria. The material and subject matter also reflect contemporary theories about art, nature, and the ordering of knowledge that informed the earliest cabinets of curiosities, where collections of art and natural objects were brought together in the so-called Kunstkammer. The garden was meant to engage all of the senses in a sanctuary that stimulated sensual thoughts while provoking broader contemplation about creativity and art.
TWO "AVVISI", CARAVAGGIO, AND GIULIO MANCINI
In July 1600, Tiberio Cerasi, treasurer of the Camera Apostolica, acquired a small chapel in the church of S. Maria del Popolo in Rome. The following Septem ber, Caravaggio was contracted to paint two panels for the lateral walls of the chapel: the Crucifixion of Saint Peter and the Conversion of Saint Paul. Probably around this same time, a contract was also signed by Annibale Carracci to produce the altarpiece, an Assumption of the Virgin. Barely eight months later, on May 3, 1601, Cerasi died. Two days later, in an awiso dated May 5, it is reported that just prior to his death Cerasi added a codicil to his will