The house of Giuliano da Sangallo is one of the earliest known examples of a space constructed, decorated and inhabited by an artist. Already praised in the sixteenth century for the important collection of paintings and ancient sculptures it housed, the Casa Sangallo in Borgo Pinti is a unique testament to the elevated social status and refined taste of this celebrated sculptor and architect. Carefully preserved and enlarged by Giuliano’s son, Francesco da Sangallo, it inspired Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Federico Zuccari, Giorgio Vasari and Santi di Tito in the creation of their own dwellings. Its role for the development of the Künstlerhaus, epitomised by Rubens a century later, makes the complete inventory, compiled before the sale and renovation of the house and the dispersal of the entire collection, a major discovery. This seminar will present the inventory to the public for the first time, enabling not only the identification of several important objects, but also a discussion of the function of each room. Giuliano and Francesco da Sangallo will emerge as major collectors with a conscious awareness of their place within the vibrant artistic environment fostered by the Medici family.
Alexander Röstel is a PhD Candidate at The Courtauld Institute of Art, having recently submitted his dissertation entitled Artistic Patronage Networks in late fifteenth-century Florence: The Corbinelli and Gondi Altarpieces under the supervision of Dr Scott Nethersole. From 2017 until 2019, following his BA at the University of Cambridge and MA at The Courtauld Institute of Art as well as his parallel research and exhibition assistance at the Department of Italian Paintings of the Alte Pinkothek in Munich, Alexander served as the Simon Sainsbury Curatorial Fellow at The National Gallery, where he was the curatorial assistant on the ‘Mantegna and Bellini’ exhibition and helped restructure the Sainsbury Wing. Alexander has published widely on the art of fifteenth-century Florence, including a forthcoming article on Giuliano da Sangallo’s activity as a sculptor.
Organised by Dr Scott Nethersole (The Courtauld)