Francesco del Giocondo

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo (* 1460 ; † 1539 ) was a Florentine silk merchant and politician .

Francesco del Giocondo came from a fairly wealthy family of silk merchants. He also took up this profession. He was married three times in total. His first two marriages (1491 and then from 1493 to 1494 with Camilla Rucellai ) ended when the women died in childbed. Since his marriage on March 5, 1495, he was the husband of Lisa del Giocondo , with whom he had five children. The marriage to Lisa Gherardini gave him no political or financial advantage, which is why it can almost be spoken of a love marriage. Lisa's family brought up only a modest dowry, which also supports the above thesis. In December 1502, Francesco del Giocondo became the father of a son for the second time. In 1503 he and his family moved to a new Florentine quarter.

Lisa del Giocondo's portrait painted by Leonardo da Vinci is now known as the Mona Lisa . Since da Vinci's work on the Mona Lisa can most likely be dated after 1503, it is assumed that Francesco del Giocondo's order for the portrait of his wife is related to the birth of his second son. This was taken as a sign of love and gratitude towards her. The establishment of a new household, which was probably connected with it, was also seen as the reason for ordering the portrait, in accordance with the social customs in Florence at that time.

reception

The historical figure of Francesco des Giocondo found its way into literature and art . The Viennese writer and actress Beatrice von Dovsky wrote the novella Mona Lisa (1912–1913). This poem gave rise to the opera Mona Lisa by Max von Schillings . Max von Schillings, who initially wanted to set Dovsky's poem Lady Godiva to music, was so impressed by her poem Mona Lisa that he decided on this subject at short notice. Beatrice von Dovsky then also wrote the libretto for Schillings' opera.

Francesco del Giocondo is portrayed as a pearl dealer who longs for his wife's former passion and erotic love. With pathological jealousy, he now watches over his wife, whom he accuses of infidelity. He is particularly interested in the mysterious smile in the painting of the Monas Lisa. Depending on the time the opera was written, this desire is often interpreted in terms of depth psychology in the sense of Sigmund Freud's studies . The figure of Francesco del Giocondo experiences a stronger psychologization in that the historical plot is embedded in a framework plot that is present in the present, i.e. H. at the time the opera was written. Francesco del Giocondo appears in a double role: in the prelude and aftermath as Stranger , in the historical plot of the opera as Messer Francesco del Giocondo .

Well-known actors of Francesco in the opera Mona Lisa were Mathieu Ahlersmeyer , Alexander Welitsch and Wicus Slabbert .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Cordula Engelbert: Max von Schillings and his opera MONA LISA . Pp. 8-21. Booklet for the CD release of the opera Mona Lisa on the label cpo.
  2. ^ Regina Doppelbauer: What men desire for a thousand years , pp. 6–12 in: Program booklet of the Vienna Volksoper . Premiere MONA LISA on May 10, 1996
  3. ↑ Martin Kemp / Nikolaus Schneider: Leonardo pp. 231–236. CH Becker Verlag. Munich 2005 (excerpts available from Google Books)
  4. ↑ Klaus-Peter Busse: Art Didactic Action there: Barbara Welzel: Art History- (Critical) Plea for a Basic Subject, p. 157ff.
  5. ↑ Harenberg Opera Guide: Max von Schillings, pp. 754–756. Harenberg Publishing House. Dortmund 1995.
  6. ^ From smiles and murders, performance review at the Braunschweig State Theater. Online music magazine 2005.
  7. ↑ Juliane Vogel: Mona Lisa – The Riddle Woman from the Renaissance , pp. 17–24 in: Program of the Vienna Volksoper . Premiere MONA LISA on May 10, 1996
personal data
SURNAME Giocondo, Francesco del
ALTERNATIVE NAMES di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, Francesco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Florentine silk merchant and politician
DATE OF BIRTH 1460
DATE OF DEATH 1539