Donatello's Reliquary Bust of Saint RossoreAuthor(s): Anita MoskowitzSource: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 63, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 41-48Published by: College Art AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3050084Accessed: 06/07/2010 02:30

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THE IDENTITY OF DONATELLO'S ZUCCONE 41

room for doubt in suggesting that the Bamberg Prophet is Elisha, but the mantle worn by Donatello's Zuccone allows for no such question mark.

The passage from the Book of Kings describes an old man's despair at the loss of his master. He tears his own garment from his back and rends it in two, a gesture ex- pressing supreme anguish, and only then does he take up the mantle of the double-spirit which has fallen to him. In narrative illustrations this scene is played out, but here that action, restricted to a single figure, is distilled in the mantle which reveals the miraculous transfer of prophetic power.

Just as Elijah's flight in the fiery chariot prefigures the Ascension of Christ, so his fallen mantle prefigures the tongues of fire that fell upon the Apostles at Pentecost, evidence of their new ability and responsibility. The metaphor still exists in the mantle of authority which falls upon any newcomer to a position of command, and is acknowledged historically in the robe of the emperor and the cappa of the pope. The sculptured folds of the Zuccone's mantle sweep attention forcefully upward toward the compelling bald head, but at the same time the

folds fall heavily downward and the head, too, turns down. The fierce and despairing old man is literally weighed down by the outsized cloak of new authority and awesome responsibility. It is the moment when Elisha, himself, grasps the full import of the miracle. Donatello seized that moment and transformed a traditional formula into a new and startling image of power.

Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306

Bibliography

Janson, H. W., The Sculpture of Donatello, 2nd ed., Princeton, 1963.

Herzner, V., "Donatello und Nanni di Banco: Die Prophetenfiguren fiir die Strebepfeiler des Florentiner Domes," Mitteilungen des Kunsthistor- ischen Institutes in Florenz, xvII, 1973.

Lisner, M., "Josua und David: Nanni und Donatellos Statuen fuir den

Tribuna-Zyklus des Florentiner Doms," Pantheon, xxxii, 1974.

Poggi, G., II duomo di Firenze (Italienische Forschungen, Kunsthistorisches Institut Florenz, ii), Berlin, 1909.

Donatello's Reliquary Bust of Saint Rossore

Anita Moskowitz

The gilt-bronze reliquary bust of Saint Rossore (Figs. 1- 3), executed sometime between 1422 and 1427,1 is deeply rooted in the centuries-old tradition of head and bust reli-

quaries; yet, as one would expect from Donatello, it is an

exceedingly original work in which many of the conven- tions of the reliquary tradition are rejected. That tradition was connected, during the Middle Ages, primarily with

goldsmith and silversmith workshops. The reliquaries

This study originated in a seminar entitled "Problems of the Portrait Bust in Italy," directed by Professor Irving Lavin at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. I wish to thank Professors Lavin and H. W. Jan- son for reading earlier versions of this text and for offering helpful criticisms and suggestions. Part of this material was delivered at a session on portraiture led by Professor David Wilkins at the Thirteenth Con- ference on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, May 4-7, 1978.

1 Sometime between 1422, when a relic of Saint Rossore was brought from Pisa to Florence by the Brothers of Ognissanti (Scipione Am- mirato, Dell'istorie fiorentine, Libro xvii, Florence, 1600, 682), and 1427, when a tax declaration indicates that a bronze half-length figure of the saint was completed (G. Fontana, Un'opera del Donatello esistente nella Chiesa dei Cavalieri di S. Stefano di Pisa, Pisa, 1895, 3f.), Donatello ex- ecuted the gilt-bronze bust reliquary to contain the skull of the saint. Church records of the 17th century indicate that an altar and a chapel in the Ognissanti were dedicated to Saint Rossore (Razz6li, 59f.). W. and E. Paatz (Die Kirchen von Florenz, iv, Frankfurt am Main, 1952, 431), citing P. Antonio Tognocchi di Terrinca (Descrizione della chiesa e del convento di Ognissanti in Firenze, Florence, 1691), refer to a lost fresco of "St. Rossore (?)" still visible in the church in the 1680's. For the subse-

quent history of the vicissitudes of the bust's ownership, see Janson, 57.

The bust is slightly over life-size (56cm high) and rests on a 16th-

century base (Janson, 57). The figure was cast in four pieces, excluding the brooch seen in some photographs, and the collar. The brooch was a later addition and has been removed from the Saint Rossore bust. Janson believes that the collar, too, is not original. In the late 16th century the bust came into the possession of the Cavalieri di S. Stefano in Pisa. Jan- son suggests that the collar may have been the kind worn by the Cavalieri and that it was added to the Saint Rossore in order to assimilate him into their company. The collar has apparently never been removed, which has hindered any conclusive determination regarding its authenticity. Admit-

tedly, it appears as an alien feature, especially in photographs. The

following observations, however, lead me to conclude that some collar, if not the present one, was intended from the beginning: (1.) The neck of Rossore in profile (Fig. 1) contains several grooves (suggesting wrinkles) which, unlike the modeling of the rest of the figure, are schematically in- cised and were clearly not intended to be fully visible; (2.) The drapery in the back forms a "shelf" which easily holds the collar nestled in its folds; (3.) The cufic lettering and decorative border of the hem of the mantle do not continue, as close examination reveals, beneath the collar as one would expect if no collar were intended. It is possible that the original collar was lost or damaged and that a new one was subsequently made; the latter perhaps reveals more of the neck in profile than was originally intended.

42 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

1 Donatello, Reliquary Bust of Saint Rossore, side view. Pisa, Museo di S. Matteo (photo: H. W. Janson)

2 Detail of bust (photo: H. W. Janson)

produced in these shops - both the so-called "speaking reliquaries" (created in the form of the part of the body from which the relic came) and the more numerous box- like shrines - were expertly wrought objects, generally made of precious metals, or gilded, and were frequently embellished with gems, enamel and filigree work.2 In con-

trast, the Saint Rossore bust lacks any purely decorative adornments,3 and the material of which it is composed, gilt bronze, while not unprecedented for reliquary heads and busts, is extremely rare.4

In addition to the choice of material, several other aspects of the bust are unusual. Medieval reliquary heads

2 On the subject of reliquaries in the Middle Ages see, in particular, Braun; von Falke and Frauberger; von Falke and Meyer; E. Kovacs, Kopfreliquiare des Mittelalters, Budapest, 1964; E. Redslob, Deutsche Goldschmiedeplastik, Munich, 1922; and Souchal.

3Regarding the brooch, see n. 1.

4 The entire figure is made of gilded bronze except for the eyes, which are silver. D. Strom, citing museum restoration officials as authority, "Studies in Quattrocento Tuscan Wooden Sculpture," Ph.D. diss., Princeton, 1979, 13, states that the eyes were originally enameled realistically. Everything about the bust and the rest of Donatello's oeuvre argues against this. It is more likely that the contrasting silver eyes, if original, contributed, in the subdued light of the chapel, to the intensity of the expression.

That bronze or gilt-bronze reliquaries were a rarity during the Middle Ages may be deduced from the fact that of the approximately eighty reli- quary heads and busts datable prior to the 15th century mentioned or described in Braun's exhaustive study of reliquaries (see bibliog.), only two are of bronze, both gilded: a 12th-century head in the Stiftskirche, Melk (p. 414) and a 13th-century bust in Erfurt Cathedral

(p. 418). According to Braun (p. 424), the majority of bust reliquaries produced before the Renaissance (extant or known through inventories) were made of silver over a wooden core or, less frequently, of plain silver or gilded copper. From the 14th century on, wood reliquaries with silver, gilt, or painted surfaces become numerous. Reliquary heads or busts of

pure gold are, of course, extremely rare. Only three other bronze reli-

quaries of the type under consideration are known to me: a head in the Kestner Museum, Hannover (von Falke and Meyer, 321b); another in Reims (ibid., 54); and a third in the Lambert Church, Diisseldorf (von Falke and Frauberger, 119). Others, of course, may exist or have been

destroyed; however, it becomes clear from the literature that bronze reli-

quary heads and busts are rare. The examples referred to above were all

produced outside Italy. The reliquary bust of Saint Donatus, signed by Pietro and Paolo Aretino in 1346 at Arezzo, is described by White, 391, as

"gilt bronze" although it has traditionally been considered silver. See M. Salmi, "L'Oreficeria medioevale nell'Aretino." Rassegna d'arte, xvI, 1916, 236-46, and idem, Civiltd artistica della terra Aretina, Novara, 1971, 77.

DONATELLO'S SAINT ROSSORE 43

3 Bust, frontal view. Pisa, Museo di S. Matteo (photo: H. W. Janson)

4 Andrea Arditi, Reliquary Bust of Saint Zenobius. Florence, Duomo (photo: Alinari)

and busts almost invariably have wide-open eyes and im- mobile features, as is true, for example, of a reliquary that was probably well known to Donatello, the early trecento bust of Saint Zenobius, first Bishop of Florence (Fig. 4).6 In contrast to Zenobius, whose expression suggests mystical aloofness, Rossore looks downward, his head tilted so that deep shadows are cast over the eyes. The forehead, moreover, is furrowed and, at the same time, the eyebrows are contracted. The eyes, unlike those of traditional reliquaries, are neither incised with pupils nor enlivened with enamel but are left blank. The result is an expression of almost fierce concentration and, simultaneously, intense contemplation - expressions quite alien to the conventions of the reliquary tradition.7

Finally, the features of Rossore, as many observers have noted, are unusually individualized. The Rossore, indeed, has been suggested as a precursor of the Early Renaissance portrait bust, although its expression differs markedly from the characteristically benign expressions of the latter type (Fig. 5).8 It may be said, nevertheless, that the history of reliquaries forms an important chapter in the develop-

5 Antonio Rossellino, Giovanni Chellini. London, Victoria and Albert Museum (photo: Museum)

s See, for example, Braun, figs. 475-77, 482-85; White, fig. 183A.

6For notes and a bibliography on the Saint Zenobius bust, see

L'oreficeria nella Firenze del Quattrocento, exh. cat., Florence, 1977, 176f.

7 A rare precedent for the downward glance is seen in a 14th-century bust in Cividale (White, fig. 183B) in which the pupils are clearly indicated and the brow is incised with two schematic furrows. The head, however,

with its pensive expression and stylized physiognomy, is in strong con- trast to that of Saint Rossore.

8 The portrait-like character of the bust has been commented upon by J. Lanyi, "Problemi della critica donatelliana," Critica d'arte, Iv-v, 1939, 9-

23; Janson, 58; and I. Lavin, "On the Sources and Meaning of the Renaissance Portrait Bust," Art Quarterly, xxxiii, 1970, 207-26. See also

J. Schuyler, Florentine Busts; Sculpted Portraiture in the Fifteenth Century, New York, 1976, 67.

44 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

ment of the Renaissance portrait bust for, in contrast to painted images, reliquary heads and busts tend, throughout the Middle Ages, toward portrayals that suggest individual likenesses.9 But the Rossore goes further in this direction than any earlier example, pro- jecting not only individuality but, as indicated above, an intense psychological presence.

The form of the Rossore, too, suggests a possible relationship to Early Renaissance portrait busts. In con- trast to traditional reliquary heads and busts, which always terminate with a molding or socle, and are often set upon claw-like or architectural supports, the figure of Rossore, like early portrait busts, ends in a horizontal cut. But the manner in which Donatello has chosen to ter- minate his bust presents the viewer with a curious con- tradiction. As Irving Lavin has pointed out, this intensely immediate figure functions both as a "portrait" - that is, a fragmentary image which refers to the whole person - and as an "object," a container to house the relic. The lat- ter function, according to the same scholar, is made ex- plicit by means of an extraordinary device: the mantle about Rossore's shoulders spills over onto the plane of the support as if it were draping an object, not a person.10

This paper explores possible sources for these unusual characteristics and suggests that the Rossore bust repre- sents an innovation as startling in terms of the reliquary tradition as Donatello's earlier statues are in terms of monumental sculpture. Although in bust form, Rossore, like Saint George from Or S. Michele and Abraham from the Campanile of Florence - each portrayed during a specific moment in their respective dramas - is conceived as part of a larger narrative. I would like to suggest that Donatello's interpretation is based upon an account of the saint's martyrdom that was circulating in the fifteenth century, very possibly the same medieval account from which Boninus Mombritius's "Passio Sancti Luxorii Mar- tyris" of ca. 1480 was copied.11

Rossore is mentioned in a number of early mar- tyrologies which tell us only that he was a converted soldier decapitated in Sardinia during the time of Diocle- tian.12 We learn nothing about his physical appearance, his life prior to the period of his martyrdom, or his age at the time of his death. An extensive search through hagiographical literature brings to light only one Vita of Rossore prior to the Renaissance. Written in the twelfth century but extant only in a fifteenth-century copy, the

account is found in the Stift Melk; it forms part of an ex- tensive hagiology, the Magnum Legendarium Austriacum which, according to Gerhard Eis, provided sources for a large body of medieval European literature.13 It is not un- likely that the account was based upon earlier sources, and there may have been other versions in Donatello's day; but as the Melk Legendarium contains (to my knowledge) the only extant "Passion" of Saint Rossore prior to that of Mombritius, it is worth examining the text as a possible source for Donatello's conception of the saint.

From the Legendarium we learn that the pagan soldier Luxorius (the name was later rendered in Italian as Rossore) happened to own a Psalter and one day began reading the Psalms one after the other. He reached the eighty-sixth Psalm, a part of which is quoted in the text, and then: Quo psalmo valde perscrutato, apertus est sensus Luxorii et festinavit esse christianus. (Rossore scrutinized that Psalm intensely and his mind was opened, and he hastened to become a Christian.) Luxorius began studying and memorizing the Scriptures and, shortly af- ter, was baptized. He soon began to neglect his military duties, preferring to serve the Christian militia - miliciam christianam - rather than that of the secular government - miliciam seculi. The soldier's conversion is discovered by the prefect Delphius and a lively debate ensues be- tween the two who were previously, it would seem, on rather friendly terms. Delphius asks Luxorius, "Are you crazy to imperil your life and career in this way?" To each interrogation Luxorius responds with quiet dignity. He is implored, tortured, and finally threatened with death in an effort in induce him to venerate the idols once again. Delphius appears reluctant, however, to have Luxorius killed as the latter was previously an exemplary soldier destined for high honors, and so once more he attempts to persuade the convert to sacrifice to the gods. But Luxorius asks, "How can I possibly venerate idols of stone or gold and silver that can neither blink at me nor open their mouths to speak?" (In Mombritius's late fifteenth-century version he goes on to say, "They are made of stone and wood, and in their heads the storks build their nests, the spiders weave their webs and the birds leave their drop- pings!") This dialectic leaves the enraged prefect no alter- native but to order the execution of Luxorius. The text ends by reminding the reader that "those who call on him [Rossore] obtain good things....

Focusing exclusively on the events leading up to and in-

9 Souchal, 214; Lavin, 211f. 10 Lavin, 212.

"1 B. Mombritius, Sanctuarium seu Vitae Sanctorum, ii, Paris, 1910, 63- 64. The "Passio Sancti Luxorii" is also published, with annotations, in the Acta Sanctorum, Brussels, 1931, 454f. (Aug. 21). 12 The first known reference to him is found in the Martirologio Geronimiano, a 5th-century compilation (erroneously attributed to Saint Jerome) concerning Italian saints. See The Catholic Encyclopedia, Lon- don, 1910, ix, 741. His historical existence is further assumed from the fact that a monastery dedicated to Saints Gavino and Lussorio in Sardinia

is mentioned in a letter of Gregory the Great dated 599. See J.P. Migne, Pat. Lat., LXXvII, 1849, 946. In addition, see F. Lanzoni, Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII, Faenza, 1927, 671f.; Bibliotheca Sanctorum, viii, Rome, 1966, 395f.

13 Cod. 677, BI. 95-96. G. Eis, "Die Quellen fiir das Sanctuarium des Mailander Humanisten Mombritius," Germanische Studien, Bks. 138- 142, Berlin, 1933, 20ff., 80; see also idem, Die Quellen des Marterbuches, Reichenberg i. B., 1932; repr. Hildesheim, 1975, in Prager Deutsche Stu- dien, XLVI, 10f. I am indebted to the Abbot Burkhard Ellegast of Stift Melk for permission to study and photograph the relevant text.

DONATELLO'S SAINT ROSSORE 45

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6 Bust of Julius Caesar. Florence, Pitti Palace (photo: Alinari)

7 Portrait herm of Bias. Rome, Museo Vaticano (photo: Alinari)

cluding his martyrdom, the text offers only one descrip- tive fact about Rossore: that he was a pagan soldier. As is true of Saint George (Fig. 9) (also an Early Christian soldier martyred under Diocletian), Saint Rossore is represented wearing classicizing armor. In both cases the armor is draped with a mantle reminiscent of the military paludamentum, a standard feature of antique military por- traits. But unlike classical prototypes, the Renaissance figures conspicuously lack the fibulae that invariably ac- company such attire.14 Instead, the mantle of Saint George is knotted, while that of Saint Rossore, more ambiguously disposed, resolves itself in a manner that suggests a loop -

dispositions common in the drapery of saints and Old Testament figures. Examples are Donatello's marble David in the Museo Nazionale and Nanni di Banco's Isaiah. In the Saint George, this possible double reference to paludamentum and saint or prophet's mantle may be said to signal the spiritual, as opposed to merely physical, nature of the saint's mission. In the case of the Rossore bust, this double reference becomes a primary means of expressing a contradiction inherent in the characterization of the saint. For, in contrast to Saint George, who directs his focused glance across a considerable space outside the niche and who stands tense and alert, as any soldier facing an adversary might stand, Rossore appears to turn inward,

his eyes unfocused and his expression deeply contem- plative. Were it not for the armor visible under the drapery, who would recognize that Rossore represents a soldier? As we shall see, it is likely that Donatello wished to portray a military figure devoid of military charac- teristics. A possible prototype for the Rossore bust is the portrait of Julius Caesar in the Pitti Palace (Fig. 6) (or one similar to it).15 The Caesar portrait differs from many other ancient military portraits in that there is little in the carriage or expression that projects any sense of pride or power; indeed, as in the Saint Rossore, the brows are knit- ted and the head tilts downward slightly. Nevertheless, the subject is clearly characterized as noble, heroic, and powerful; these attributes are conveyed, to a large extent, by means of the impressive swath of military drapery. Rossore's mantle, in contrast, is far more restrained; in- deed, however suggestive an ancient military portrait bust may have been to Donatello, the characterization of Rossore recalls primarily a different category of antique statuary: portraits of poets, orators, and philosophers. Generally bearded - compare, for example, the portrait herm of Bias in the Vatican (Fig. 7) - such figures are fre- quently represented with head turned downward, furrowed brow, and contracted eyebrows to convey in- trospection and contemplation.16

14 See T. Hope, Costumes of the Greeks and Romans, New York, 1962, xliii and pls. 251, 256, 295. The brooch in Fig. 3 is not original (see n. 1).

's The Caesar bust has been cited as a possible prototype for one of the heads on Ghiberti's north doors (R. Krautheimer, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Prince- ton, 1970, 284) and also for the "Poggio" statue in the cathedral (G. de

Francovich, "Appunti su Donatello e Jacopo della Quercia," Bollettino d'arte, ix, 1929, 145ff.). 16 K. Schefold, Die Bildnisse der antiken Dichter, Redner und Denker, Basel, 1943, passim.

46 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

8 Nanni di Banco, Saint Luke (detail). Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (photo: Brogi)

9 Donatello, Saint George (detail). Florence, Museo Nazionale (photo: H. W. Janson)

10 Donatello, Abraham and Isaac. Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (photo: Alinari)

Now, the text of the Legendarium explicitly refers to Rossore's intent reading of the Psalms, his absorption with the Scriptures, and his ability to engage in dialectic, characteristics not usually associated with military per- sonages but rather with philosopher and orator types. Furthermore, the text specifically states that as a servant of the Christian militia he begins to neglect his military duties: Animo vivens factus est ut illam miliciam seculi negligenter sectaretur, quia miliciam christianam perhen- niter tenebat. (Having become spiritually alive, he served the secular militia negligently because he clung with con- stancy to the Christian militia.) Perhaps it was the literal and figurative uses of the word miliciam in this passage that suggested to Donatello the ambivalent characteriza- tion of the saint. The mantle, then, an attribute of soldier as well as saint, is a pointed expression of this inherent contradiction.

Another passage from the Latin account may help ex- plain the demeanor of Saint Rossore. His conversion, it should be noted, was inspired by his reading of the Psalms: Quo psalmo valde perscrutato, apertus est sensus Luxorii. Nanni di Banco, earlier, had portrayed Saint Luke with downward glance, head and eyes turned to the pages of the Gospel held on his lap (Fig. 8). This may have been suggestive to Donatello. But far from actively reading, as

Saint Luke's focused glance may be interpreted, Rossore would appear to be in a state of intense contemplation. Donatello, I would suggest, portrays Rossore at the mo- ment of enlightenment and conversion.

If so, then the Rossore bust is conceived not as a totally self-contained image but as part of a narrative sequence during which one important moment is isolated from the continuum. This conception is no less innovative for a

reliquary than were the similar innovations in monumen- tal statuary seen in the figures of Saint George and Abraham. In the former (Fig. 9), the tense stance and sub- tle turn of the head express alertness to sudden danger, which may appear at any moment from outside the

niche."1 In contrast to the tension apparent in the stance and expression of Saint George, Abraham (Fig. 10) is represented during that moment when tension and relaxa- tion are held in a fragile balance: the moment after the climax of the event, that is, the moment after the angel has

stayed the execution of Isaac.18 The Early Christian martyr Rossore, then, would appear to be represented during that moment when, while contemplating the Psalms, he is transformed from a pagan soldier into a soldier of Christ.

As mentioned above, the Rossore bust strongly im-

presses observers as a portrait. But a portrait of whom? It seems unlikely that Donatello copied an earlier representa-

17 Janson, 29. 18 Ibid., 37.

DONATELLO'S SAINT ROSSORE 47

tion of the saint. The only record of an image of Rossore is that in a fresco, still visible in the 1680's in the Ognissanti, but since lost.19 The friars of the church of Ognissanti acquired the relic from Pisa in 1422, after which they com- missioned the bust from Donatello. It is probable, there- fore, that the fresco is contemporary with or later than the bust, since the friars would have had little reason to com- mission a painting of this obscure martyr before the ac- quisition of his relic. Nor did the sculptor follow the tradi- tion in fresco or panel painting of the type to which Rossore belongs: whereas Early Christian soldiers are generally represented as young, handsome, and beard- less,20 Rossore is depicted as a man no longer in his youth. In contrast to the relatively bland, idealized images in several other early bronzes, the Saint Louis of Toulouse and the David, for example,21 this figure not only projects an intense, almost aggressive psychological presence, but is clearly intended to suggest an individual likeness. What motivated Donatello in his conception of Rossore? I should like to offer for consideration the following, perhaps unprovable hypothesis. Lacking a prototype for his image of the saint, and wishing to represent certain ex- pressive qualities peculiar to the text on which his inter- pretation was based - qualities that are alien to the tradi- tion of reliquary busts or painted images of Early Chris- tian martyrs - Donatello chose to reproduce his own features and expression. Among the supposed portraits of Donatello is the figure in the Louvre panel, The Founders

of Florentine Art, attributed to the school of Uccello.22 Although the authorship of the Louvre panel remains in doubt, and there is good reason to believe that the painting (which includes five heads) is a composite of several earlier images, there is also good reason to accept the

figure labeled Donatello (Fig. 11) as a reflection of a con- temporary portrait of the sculptor.23 In ca. 1425 when the bust was made, Donatello would have been approximately forty years of age. A comparison of the head of Saint Rossore (Fig. 2) with Donatello's own impressive features as conveyed by the Louvre "portrait" reveals a striking resemblance. The broad eyelids, high cheekbones, the

bulge above the nose, the small triangular bare spot above the upper lip, the shape of the lips themselves, and the in- tense expression suggest that the Saint Rossore is, if only loosely speaking, a self-portrait.

Be that as it may, it is clear that Donatello considered deeply the nature and function of a reliquary and chose a form expressive of its dual purpose. That it is an object, a

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11 School of Uccello, The Founders of Florentine Painting (detail). Paris, Louvre (photo: Giraudon)

"container" is made manifest by the drapery which ap- pears to rest upon the surface supporting the bust. The sources for this device may be the similar ambiguities fre- quently seen in medieval reliquaries in which the molding or socle element also functions as part of the garment of the figure. In the bust of Saint Zenobius (Fig. 4), for in- stance, the escutcheons slightly overlap the horizontal socle so that a part of the sculpture that is clearly intended to be read as a formal ending supporting or terminating the object, the reliquary, becomes by this means part of the figure, the bust. As a container, the reliquary of Saint Rossore houses a precious, indeed potent, fragment of a human being, and thus provides a tangible allusion to the saint's temporal existence. At the same time, it is a "por- trait" of the saint which, by its nature, alludes to his spiritual existence and thus acts as a stimulus to the faith and courage of the viewer. This same dualism may be im-

19 See n. 1. Rossore is not included in G. Kaftal's Iconography of the Saints in Tuscan Painting, Florence, 1952; Iconography of the Saints in Central and South Italian Schools of Painting, Florence, 1965; Iconography of the Saints in the Painting of North East Italy, Florence, 1978. There are no references to him in the Princeton Index. Of the

following sources, only the last two (as indicated) include his name: M. L. Guenebault, Dictionnaire iconographique des figures, legendes et actes des Saints, Paris, 1850; E. Kirschbaum, et al., Lexikon der christlichen

Ikonographie, Rome, Freiburg, Basel, Vienna, 1971; K. Kunstle, Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1926; L.

Reau, Iconographie de l'art chritien, III, Paris, 1959, 1173 (with reference

only to the reliquary); E. Ricci, Mille santi nell'arte, Milano, 1931, 573

(with reference only to the reliquary). 20 Kaftal, Tuscan Painting, passim. 21 The effigy of Baldassare Coscia, for obvious reasons, is an exception. 22 J. Pope-Hennessy, The Complete Work of Paolo Uccello, London, 1950, 154-56. 23 J. Lanyi, "The Louvre Portrait of Five Florentines," Burlington Magazine, 1944, 94-5.

48 THE ART BULLETIN MARCH 1981 VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 1

plicit in the very choice of gilt bronze for an object traditionally wrought in precious metal. One might sup- pose that the commission called for the imitation, in a less expensive material, of a traditional silver-gilt or gold reliquary. But in contrast to medieval heads and busts in which the smooth and highly finished surfaces are enlivened with color and sparkle, the Rossore bust is force- fully modeled, the broad plastic planes interrupted by grooves and hollows that catch the light and produce deep shadows, and the figure is completely bare of any added decorative adornments.24 The result is an unprecedented monumentality quite alien to the tradition of the gold- or silversmith. Nevertheless, if we can imagine the bust in its probable original setting upon an altar,2s its gilded surface presumably illuminated by candles, the figure of Rossore must have produced the effect of preciousness demanded of reliquaries throughout the Middle Ages. At the same time, the figure, in the naturalism and intensity of its ex- pression, must have been extraordinarily evocative of an- cient portraiture, many examples of which were cast in bronze, as was well known in the Renaissance. Indeed, the Rossore bust brings to mind a statement concerning an- tique sculpture made by Donatello's friend, the humanist and collector of ancient art, Poggio Bracciolini: "I am greatly delighted by sculptures and bronzes made in memory of the excellent men of old. I am forced to admire their genius and art since they render a mute and lifeless thing as if it breathed and spoke; often, indeed, they represent even the emotions of the soul so that a thing which can feel neither pain nor joy looks to you as if it laughed or mourned.'"26 Implicit in Poggio's statement is an appreciation of the skill of the ancient portraitist, whether working in marble or bronze, and it is quite possi- ble that the choice of bronze on the part of Donatello and his patrons was dictated by its association with antique portraiture.

Donatello's unique gilt-bronze reliquary, then, while rooted in the long tradition of head and bust reliquaries, represents a tremendous break with the medieval tradi- tion. The impression made by the Rossore on a generation accustomed to the colorism and inaccessible aloofness of a

figure such as the Saint Zenobius (Fig. 4) must have been profound. For, while we are prepared to read most earlier reliquary busts as "objects" with human form, Donatello's bust, with its individualized features, naturalism, and expressiveness, is insistently human - but because of the mantle which drapes the figure and spills onto the table or support, behaves as if it were an object! Ironically, in representing this saint - who refused to venerate objects of'gold and silver that "can neither blink ... nor open their mouths to speak" - Donatello sought, in Poggio's words, to "render a mute and lifeless thing as if it breathed and spoke." Standing before this presence, the worshipper must have been easily induced to appeal to the saint, following the advice of the closing words of the "Passion of Saint Rossore" in the Magnum Legendarium Austriacum: "Those who call on him obtain good things. ..." But the gilt surface together with the drapery device restore the balance in a work that surpassed all earlier reli- quary busts in its spiritual and psychological realism, thus reminding the viewer that it is the venerated object con- tained within, and not the container itself, that is the in- strument through which God works miracles and through which the intercession of the saint is obtained.

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Bibliography

Braun, J., Die Reliquiare des christlichen Kultes und ihre Entwicklung, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1940

Falke, 0. von, and H. Frauberger, Deutsche Schmelzarbeiten des Mittelalters, Frankfurt am Main, 1904

Falke, 0. von, and E. A. Meyer, Bronzegerite des Mittelalters, Berlin, 1935

Janson, H. W., The Sculpture of Donatello, Princeton, 1953

Razzoli, R., La Chiesa d'Ognissanti in Firenze, Florence, 1898

Souchal, F., "Les Bustes reliquaires et la sculpture," Gazette des beaux- arts, 1966, 205-16.

White, J., Art and Architecture in Italy: 1250-1400, Baltimore, 1966

24 See n. 1.

25 Razzoli, 59f.

26 Delector enim admodum sculpturis ac caelaturis in memoriam priscorum excellentium virorum, quorum ingenia atque artem admirari cogor, cum rem mutam atque inanem, veluti spirantem ac loquentem re-

dunt, in quibus persaepe etiam passiones animi ita repraesentant, ut quod neque laetari, neque dolere potest, similem ridenti ac tristanti conspicias; Poggio Bracciolini, Poggii Epistolae, ed. Tommaso de Tonelli, Florence, 1832-1861, repr. Turin, 1963, 348; passage trans. in Krautheimer (as in note 15, 303).