MENU

Art and Science: a naturalist's point of view

dettaglio fontanta del Tacca



The staff at the Museum of Natural History – in particular, those affiliated with  Zoology, Botany and Botanical Gardens – has been involved in numerous occasions in naturalistic analyses applied to cultural heritage. The studies, generally commissioned by individual art historians or art museums, or other institutional bodies, have had the objective of providing scholars and users with an unusual look at the subjects represented in a work of art. In some cases, it is a matter of giving a name to the obvious subjects in the work, in other cases we notice details - a small plant, an insect, a peculiar landscape - that can escape the inattentive visitor.
Among the studies carried out, we wish to mention: the research on the bronze base of Pietro Tacca's Porcellino (1612) held in the Bardini Museum in Florence; the investigation on one of the tapestries of the series 'Stories of Jewish Joseph' (XVI century), commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici and kept at the Quirinale in Rome; the analysis of several paintings, including an altar frontal by Guido da Siena, found at the National Paintings Gallery of Siena, a nativity by Filippo Lippi in the Museo Civico in Prato and, in Florence, on the frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi in the Cappella della Cintola.

Verrocchio’s Winged Boy with Dolphin
in 2019 the research group studied the bronze sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio “Winged boy with dolphin” (circa 1470-1475), held at the Museum of Palazzo Vecchio, through the analysis of the dolphin held in the putto’s arms and the wings of the putto.
A naturalistic look at the Winged boy with Dolphin” is the title of the contribution published by Simone Cianfanelli and Gianna Innocenti of the University Museum System in “Verrocchio Lab, the restoration of the Winged Boy with Dolphin and new investigations on the Madonna of Piazza”, by Arturo Galansino (Marsilio Editori, Venice).

Nature in Palazzo Vecchio
Another recent study focused on the identification of plants, animals and landscapes in the frescoed rooms of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. With the contribution of the Aboca company and with the collaboration of other colleagues, a naturalistic guide of the Palazzo (The painted Nature. Plants, flowers and animals in the representations of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, curated by Maria Adele Signorini and Valentina Zucchi, Aboca Edizioni), so that visitors, thanks to the identification of natural elements, can appreciate its importance and meaning, as well as note unusual details.

The study group that dealt with the naturalistic analysis of the frescoed rooms, in collaboration with the Mus.e Association, also analysed paintings, sculptures and frescoes by sixteenth-century authors placed in the Studiolo of Francesco I and the frescoes attributed to Francesco Bachiacca in the Scriptorium of Cosimo I. The work of the group, composed for the Museum of Natural History by Gianna Innocenti, Simone Cianfanelli, Marina Clauser and Chiara Nepi, has deepened the knowledge and promoted the naturalistic aspects of the artistic representations of the Palace.

Art/science 
The relationship between Art and Science, so significant especially in the past, needs constant comparisons between experts of different disciplines and the Museum of Natural History constitutes the privileged interlocutor of art historians for the implementation of comprehensive research projects.

SMA contacts: Chiara Nepi, Marina Clauser, Gianna Innocenti, Simone Cianfanelli

Last update

07.09.2021

Cookies

I cookie di questo sito servono al suo corretto funzionamento e non raccolgono alcuna tua informazione personale. Se navighi su di esso accetti la loro presenza.  Maggiori informazioni