Filippo Calendario

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Filippo Calendario (* before 1315 in Venice ; † April 16, 1355 ibid) was an Italian stonemason , sculptor and architect .

Calendario is one of the most important architects and sculptors in Venice in the 14th century . However, his plastic work had little influence on the artists of his time and subsequent generations of artists.

Life

Calendario is first mentioned in the sources in 1340 and 1341, when he had to pay heavy fines for breach of contract. He was the owner of cargo ships with which he imported stones from Istria, which were used, among other things, to build the lidomole . Around 1350 he lived in the diocese of San Severo. There he was arrested as a participant in Marin Falier's conspiracy and hanged on April 16, 1355 together with 10 co-conspirators in front of the Doge's Palace . His son Nicoletto Calendario was convicted of high treason and died in prison.

plant

Doge's Palace, west facade to the Molo; Balcony window from 1579

As an architect and sculptor, Calendario played a key role in the rebuilding of the south and west facades of the Doge's Palace, which was decided on December 28, 1340 by the city council . The arcade and loggia floors go back to Calendario, including the extraordinary wealth of sculptures for an Italian ruling palace. The Gothic tracery, which later inspired architects of Venetian palace buildings up to the 15th century , also comes from Calendario .

The capitals at the Doge's Palace

The large capitals at the corners of the facades, the picture narration of which extends around the corners of the capital, have an important function for the statics of the building in addition to their obvious decorative significance and are an example of the close interplay between architecture and sculpture in Calendario's work.

One of the large corner capitals on the upper floor shows the fall of Adam and Eve and the tree of knowledge with the snake. The finely carved facial features of these figures appear again and again in numerous repetitions on the smaller capitals. The more recent style criticism and the latest results of research into the construction of the palace confirm the old chronicles that the sculptural decoration was essentially made between 1340, the beginning of construction, and 1355, the execution of Calendario.

  • The fall of Adam and Eve

  • Drunk Noah

  • Noah's sons Shem and Ham

Another important capital on the corner of the Doge's Palace facing the Ponte della Paglia shows The Drunkenness of Noah . Noah , shown as an old man, seems to stumble, he spills wine from a bowl. His son Shem covers his nakedness with a cloth and raises a protective hand. Noah's other son Ham seems pitiless and draws attention to the embarrassing situation.

The capitals of the lower row of columns deal with themes and motifs that were common in the outer zones of cathedrals and mansion buildings at that time, for example monthly representations with the corresponding works, signs of the zodiac , the seven liberal arts , scenes from the Old and New Testaments and from the history of the city etc.

The earliest known personification of Venezia in the tondo on the piazza facade also comes from Calendario .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Giandomenico Romanelli (Ed.): Venice. Art and Architecture, Vol 1 . Könemann, Cologne 1997, p. 158.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Calendario, Filippo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian stonemason, sculptor and architect
DATE OF BIRTH before 1315
PLACE OF BIRTH Venice
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1355
Place of death Venice