Medici, Firenze, Rudolf of Prague, Kunstkammer, wunderkammer
"Kunstkammer" or "wunderkammer" are German words and meant respectively "marvels room" and "art room". These words became famous thanks too Julius Von Schlosser who published in 1908 a work on the art titled Die Kunst- und Wunderkammern der Spätrenaissance. These words mean in particular the artistic collection gathered by the prince of Northern Europe at the end of the 16th century mostly The Halsbourg). These collections were encyclopedic collections. They contained many different type of object as different as natural or geological object, religious piece, works of art or antiquities. Every marvel and curiosity was put in it, either the object made by Nature or by the Art. The Italian writter, Francesco Fiorani noticed that "The Kunstkammer was regarded as a microcosm or theater of the world, and a memory theater. The Kunstkammer conveyed symbolically the patron's control of the world through its indoor, microscopic reproduction."
The wunderkammer (Kunstkammer) was used by princes of Northern Europe in order to promote their own power. The wunderkammer displayed family paintings representing 'great men', gilded treasures, monsters and scientific objects and only few privileged people could see this kind of astonishing collection. All these collections were done in order to show the magnificence, the great genealogy and the wealth of the ruler. When he discovered the collection of Charles 1st, Peter Thomas, a scholar of the 18th, stated that " The kunstkabinett itself was a form of propaganda".
Rudolph II is a good example of this, because he tried to establish his authority by controlling all collectors of his days. His chateau of Hradcany in Prague displayed a splendid collection but also a zoo and others odd curiosities. Rudolf's uncle, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria also had a collection, with a special emphasis on portrait with interesting deformities, which remains largely intact as the Chamber of Art and Curiosities at Ambras Castle in Austria.
[...] What is interesting here is to compare the collection of art displayed in the Tribuna with the one of Rudolph II in Prague. Can we consider that the Tribuna is a wunderkammer ? B. Common points between Rudolf's kunstkammer and the Tribuna Primarily, both collections maintained a strong link with the Nature. The collection of Rudolph showed various object of Naturalia (hummingbirds, crabs, lobsters, mammals). The collection displayed in the Tribuna wanted to express the concept of Cosmos, by means of equilibrium and symmetry. [...]
[...] www.oboolo.com The collection of the Medici displayed at the Tribuna and Rudolf II's wunderkammer I. Definition of a wunderkammer A. What is called a Wunderkammer ? “Kunstkammer” or “wunderkammer” are German words and meant respectively “marvels room” and “art room”. These words became famous thanks too Julius Von Schlosser who published in 1908 a work on the art titled Die Kunst- und Wunderkammern der Spätrenaissance. These words mean in particular the artistic collection gathered by the prince of Northern Europe at the end of the 16th century mostly The Halsbourg). [...]
[...] This room was built in order to displayed the collection of Cristina of Loraine. Indeed, she inherited of a huge art collection from her aunt , Catherine of Medici. The stanza was built on the same model as the Tribuna but much more simple. The Tribuna can be considered extensively as a group of four different rooms. The real Tribuna room displayed the most beautiful object of the Italian “golden age”; the armoury exhibited the ducal weapons and armour; the room of globs collection showed scientific objects and tools. [...]
[...] Various sort of object were displayed in the Tribuna: paintings, exotics, precious stone, silver, marble or alabaster. The design of the room was very sophisticated 9. The Tribuna is surmounted by a very rich cupola incrusted by precious stone and pearl and engraved 5 Cf. The Medici. The golden age of collecting, p°72-73 Idem p° 79 to Idem p° 85 to Cf. La Tribuna di Fernando I de Medici. Inventori 1589-1631, prelimirary 9 Cf. Magnificenza a la corte dei Medici: Arte a Firenze alla fine del Cinquecento, p°329 to www.oboolo.com with gold. [...]
[...] Finally, the Tribuna and the Wunderkammer were both prestige places. That means that spectators should be astonished and fascinated by the wealth and the beauty of the collection. The Tribuna and the Kunstkammer were a model and an example for contemporaries. Many artists and important international men came to see the Tribuna as Giovanni Cellini, English diplomat (Sir Roger Newdigate, Lord Burlington) and international artists. Equally, Rudolf's Kunstkammer was taken in example by scientific. There, palaeontologist, archaeologist and biologist can studied directly on the object. [...]
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