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8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
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The Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, the Casa degli Omenoni: The Artist and the PublicAuthor(s): Michael P. MezzatestaReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Oct., 1985), pp. 233-249
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural HistoriansStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/990074 .Accessed: 29/08/2012 07:50
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8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
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The
Fagade
of Leone
Leoni's
House
in
Milan,
the Casa
degli
Omenoni:
The Artist and the Public
MICHAEL P.
MEZZATESTA
Kimbell Art Museum
Leone
Leoni's ousen
Milan,
heCasa
degli
Omenoni,
s
one
of
the
city's
mostdistinctiverchitectural
andmarks.
t
has
ong
earnedhe
attention
ndadmiration
of
visitors,
articularlyor
its
unusualfaade
decorated
ithsix
over-life-sized
arbarian
prisoners
ndtwo
half-
length
aryatids
lanking
hecentral
portal.Figures
f
this kindhad
never een een
on
a house r
palaceaCade eforeheyappeared
ere.
Thisarticle
nalyzes
he
sculptural
nd
architectural
ources
of
these
figures
s wellas the
architecturalources
f
the
acade
n
general.
he
Casa
degli
Omenonis
placed
within he context
of
the
three
major
facade
ypes
t
mid-century,
n ordero
further
larify
ts
innovative
qualities. inally,
he
iconology
s
discussed,
ithLeoni's
edication
of
thehouse o
Marcus urelius
een n relation
o the
popularity
f
two
books n
theancient
emperory
thecourt
istorian
of
Charles
V,
Fray
Antonio
e
Guevara.
he
prisoner
otif
s
linked
o
thePersian
Portico,
nd
he
famousriezerelief
howing
ions
attacking
satyr
s
related
o a
similar
devicen
Filarete's
alace
or
the
pseudonymous
architect
nitoan oliaver.t
will
be een hatLeoni
presented
imself
tothe
public
essasanartisthanasa
gentleman
n thesocial
camp
of
the
Hapsburgs.
LEONE
LEONI'S
house n
Milan,
he
Casa
egli
Omenoni,
s
one of the
city's
most
distinctive
architectural
andmarks.
o-
cated
ust
a few
steps
north of
the
Duomo,
it
has
long
earned
the
attentionand
admiration f
visitors or its
unusual
facade
decorated
ith
a frieze
relief
showing
wo lions
attacking
satyr
and
especially
or
the
six
over-life-sized
barbarian
prisoners
nd
two
half-length aryatids
lanking
hecentral
portal Figs.
,
2).1
Imposing igures
of this
sort
never
hadbeen
seen on
a
house or
palace
facade
before
hey
appeared
n the
Casa
degli
Omenoni.
It is not
surprising,
herefore,
hat these
captives
gave
a
new
nameto the street
hey
face: he
Via
degli
Omenoni,
"street
of
the
big
men"
in the Milanese
dialect.2
Yet
in
addition
o
the
place
it
occupies
n architectural
istory,
Leoni's
house is
of
interest or the insightit providesnto the artist'spublicper-
sonality.
This
article
attempts
o
analyze
that
personality,
o
identify
the innovative
aspects
of the
facade,
and to
present
a
more
comprehensive
xplication
of the house's
conology.
In
so
doing,
the Casa
degli
Omenoniwill
emerge
as an
example
of the Renaissance
rtist's
truggle
o
gain
professional
nd
ocial
acceptance, struggle
in which his own
home was a
major
weapon.
The Casa
degli
Omenoni
thus
helps
us to
understand
Leonias an artistand
a man.As
we will
see,
his
home
was both
a
demonstration
f artistic
ngegno
nd
an avowal
of a
code
of
honor which
reveals he artist's
self-perception
ndsocial
as-
pirations.
In
May
of
566
Giorgio
Vasari,
eturning
o
Italy
rom
France,
was Leone
Leoni's
guest
n
Milan.3
Vasari's
isit,
which
lasted
15 days,
must have been
particularly
leasant,
or
he
had the
chance
o
enjoy
the
hospitality
of
a fellow
Aretineand
to see
proof
of his
friend's
uccess-the
new
facade
and
courtyard
f
Leoni's
house.
Indeed,
Vasari
was
impressed
nough
to
include
This articlewas
developed
rom a
chapter
n
my
doctoral
dissertation,
"Imperial
Themes n
the
Sculpture
f Leone
Leoni,"
nstitute f
Fine
Arts,
New York
University,
980,
done
under he
supervision
f
Pro-
fessor
rving
Lavin,
The
Institute or
Advanced
tudy.
would
like
to
thank
ProfessorLavin or
his
kindness
n
reviewing
he
draftof
this
essay.
i. For
he literature n
the Casa
Omenoni,
ee:
Vasari-Milanesi,ii,
540-541;
G. P.
Lomazzo,
Trattato
ell'arte
ella
ittura
culturad
archi-
tettura,
Roma,
1844,
I,
363;
11,
333, 339;
1i,
84;
E. Plon,
Les
Maitres
Italiens u service e
a Maison
'Autriche.
eone eoni
Sculpteur
e
Charles
Quint
t
Pompeo
eoni
Sculpteur
e
Philippe
I,
Paris,
1887,
186-191,
14-
315;
A. Brusconi
Ugo
Nebbia,
La casa i
Leone
eoni etta
egli
Omenoni
(Soprintendenzai monumenti i Lombardia), ilano,1913;Eugene .
Johnson,
"Studies n
the Use
of
Herms
n
Sixteenth-Century
rchi-
tecture,"
M.A.
thesis,
New
York
University,
Institute
of
Fine
Arts,
1963,
35ff.;Ugo
Nebbia,
La casa
degli
Omenonin
Milan,
Milan,
1963;
Virginia
Bush,
Colossal
Sculpture
f
the
Cinquecento,
ew
York,
1976,
266-267;
Maria
Serena
Tronca,
"La
collezione
d'artedi
Leone
Leoni,"
Tesidi
Laurea,
niversita
egli
Studidi
Pisa,
1976-1977;
Nikki
Leopold,
"The Artist's
House in
the
Sixteenth
Century,"
Ph.D.
diss.,
Johns
HopkinsUniversity,
979,7-8,
182-226;
Michael
Mezzatesta,
Imperial
Themes
in the
Sculpture
f
Leone
Leoni,"
Ph.D.
diss.,
New
York
University,
1980,
172-242,
especially
72-173
or
full
bibliography.
2.
Plon,
Leoni,
87-
3.
Vasari-Milanesi,
II,35;
Plon,
Leoni,
88.
JSAH XLIV:233-249.
OCTOBER
r985
233
-
8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
3/18
234
JSAH,
XLIV:3,
OCTOBER
1985
i
?ir
4n
/
%
+
/
i
+i
...
..
.. +
r
. .
m~~~~~~
I+I•++.+"i.,•'
i
'+:
+
++
+
rr
+
-
,:
Ir
B
..+
,
+
+
+
, ?
-
+t
.
.....I
..,
•,
+
•
,
Fig.
i.
Leone
Leoni,
Casa
degli
Omenoni,
Milan,
1565-1566/67.
View of the
facade
Brogi).
-
8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
4/18
MEZZATESTA:
FACADE
OF
LEONI'S
CASA
DEGLI
OMENONI
235
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il? I
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Fig.
2. Casa
degli
Omenoni, wo lions
attacking satyr,
detailof central ectionof the frieze
author).
a
description
of the Casa
degli
Omenoni
in the
1567
edition
of
the Vite. The
passage
is worth
quoting
at
length:
Leoni,
n order
o
show the
greatness
f his
spirit,
he admirablealent
which he had rom
nature,
nd ortune's
avor,
onstructedt
great
ost
and
of mostbeautiful
rchitecture,
n
the contrada
e'Moroni,
house
full of so
many
capricious
nventions hat here s
perhaps othing
else
like
it in
all of
Milan.At
the divisions f the
facade
here
are,
upon
he
pilasters,
ix
prisoners, 1/2
braccia
ach,
all carved
rom
stone and be-
tween
hem,
n
several ichesmade
n
imitation f the
antique,
re
ittle
terms,windows,
and cornices
very
graceful
and distinct rom those
normally sed.All theparts elowcorrespond ith fine order o those
above;
he friezesaredecoratedwith various nstrumentsf the
art
of
design.
From he maindoor
hrough
passageway
neenters
courtyard
where,
n the
center
n four
columns,
s
the
equestrian
tatue f Marcus
Aurelius
ormed
n
gesso
from the
original
on the
Campidoglio.
By
thatstatueLeoniwanted o
signal
hathis house s
dedicated
o
Marcus
Aurelius.
As
to the
prisoners,
hat
ancy
hasbeen
nterpreted
y
different
people
n
different
ways.
Beside
hat
horse,
as mentioned
lsewhere,
e
has n his beautiful nd
very
commodious ouse
plaster
asts f as
many
praiseworthy
orksof marble r
bronze,
modern r
ancient,
she could
procure.4
Leoni's
desire o
demonstrate
is
greatness
f
spirit
wasun-
derstandable,
ut
his
decision o do so
through
he
decoration
of his own
home-though
not
unprecedented
n
the
i6th
cen-
tury-was,
nonetheless,
nusual.The
impetus
or
the
project
must
havebeen
Leoni's
uccessful
ojourn
t the
court
n
Madrid
where he
completed
a
group
of
bronze
portrait
tatues
begun
15
years
arlier
nd
orwhich he was
richly
rewarded
ith
2,000
gold
scudi.5
The
renovation
f the
Casa
degli
Omenoni herefore
ccurred
at a high pointof Leoni'scareer. t was, however,a moment
that hadbeen a
long
time
coming.
Leonihad
entered
imperial
service
24
years
before,
n
1542,
as master
f
the mint n
Milan,6
but
it
was
not until late
1547
or
early
1548
that
opportunities
for
major
culptural
ommissions
pened
when he
was invited
to visit
Emperor
Charles
V
at the
imperial
ourt
n
Brussels
n
4.
Vasari-Milanesi, II,
540-54I,
author's ranslation.The Italiantext
reads:
Il
quale
Lione,
per
mostrare la
grandezza
del suo
animo,
il
bello
ingegno
che ha avuto dalla
natura,
ed il
favore della
fortuna,
ha con
molta
spesa
condotto di bellissima architettura
un
casotto nella con-
trada de'
Moroni,
pieno
in
modo
di
capricciose
invenzioni,
che
non
n'& orse un altro simile
in
tutto Milano. Nel
partimento
della facciata
sono
sopra
a
pilastri
sei
prigioni
di
braccia sei
l'uno,
tutti di
pietra
viva;
e fra
essi,
in
alcune nicchie fatte a imitazione
degli
antichi,
con
terminetti, finestre,
e cornici tutte
varie
da
quel
che
s'usa,
e molto
graziose;
a tutte le
parti
di
sotto
corrispondono
con bell'
ordine
a
quelle
di
sopra;
e
fregiature
sono tutte
di
vari
strumenti
dell'arte del
disegno.
Dalla
porta principale,
mediante
un
andito,
si
entra
in un
cortile,
dove nel mezzo
sopra
quattro
colonne &
l
cavallo con la statua
di Marco
Aurelio,
ormatodi
gesso
da
quel
proprio
he e
in
Cam-
pidoglio.
Dalla
quale
tatua a volutoche
quella
uacasa ia
dedicata
a Marco
Aurelio; ,
quanto
ai
prigioni,
quel
suo
capriccio
a diversi
t
diversamente
nterpretato.
ltre
al
qual
avallo,
ome
n
altro
uogo
s'edetto,hain
quella
uabellae comodissima bitazioneormatedi
gesso
quant'opere
odate
di scultura di
getto
ha
potuto
avere,
o
moderne antiche.
5.
Sincethe
publication
f Plon's
monograph
t has
been
assumed
thatLeonineverwent o
Spain.
lonshowed
onvincingly
hat,
contrary
to the assertion
f
Caen
Bermudez,
Leonidid not
accompany
harles
V
to
Spain
n
i556;
Plon,
Leoni,
28ff.
Moreover,
Leonidid
not
heed
Philip's
directive o
go
to
Spain
ssued n 20
January
559;
Plon,
Leoni,
14xff.
However,
Vasari
reports:
Nel
tornare ionedi
Spagna
e ne
porto
due
mila scudi
contanti,
ltre a
molti
altridoni e
favori he
gli
furono
fatti
n
quella
corte";Vasari-Milanesi,
II,538.
As
Vasariwas Leoni's
houseguest
n
May
of
1566,
here s
every
reason o believehis
infor-
mation s correct.
6.
Plon,
Leoni,
8.
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8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
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236
JSAH,
XLIV:3,
OCTOBER
1985
•~ 917 i
i',iL
...
Fig. 3.
FaCade
f the Casa
degli
Omenoni,
Milan.
Engraving
rom
Lattuada's escrizione
i
Milano,
737
(photograph
ourtesy
Clubino
Daddi).
order
o
discussLeoni's
proposal
or
a
bronze
equestrian ortrait
of the
Emperor.
oon
after the artist's
arrivalat the
imperial
court,
Charles
V
andhis sister
Mary,
egent
of the
Low Coun-
tries,
entrusted
Leoni with a seriesof
important
ommissions,
his first
sculptural
rojects.
He
appears
o have been
no less
successful n
winning
the
Emperor's ersonal
avor.
Charles
installed he
sculptor
n
a
palaceapartment
irectly
below
his
own
so that he could watch
Leoni
at
work,
and he
delighted
in
conversing
with him for
hours.7
The
depth
of Charles's
ood
will wassuch haton 2 November
549
Leoniwasmadea noble
andwas
knighted,
honorsnot
lightly
bestowedon artists."
The
projects
e
was about o undertake nd
he favor
he then
enjoyed
prompted
Leoni o
request
rom he
Emperor
he
grant
of
a
confiscated
ouse
n
Milan
ocated
n the center
of
the
city
just
northof the
Duomo,
a
certain"casa
el
prato."
The
request
musthavebeen
approved rior
o Leoni's
departure
romBrus-
sels late
in
1549,
because
by
i55o
he had
already
et
up
his
studio.9No further eferencesreknown untila documentof
July 1565
n which Leoni
petitioned
he Senate
of Milan o
fix
the
house,
which was
then
in a
dangerous
tateof
disrepair.1o
It is from
this
period
hat
the
reconstruction
ust
date,
hat
s,
between
mid-1565
nd
1566/1567-
As
it stands
oday,
the
facade
of
the Casa
degli
Omenoni
remains
ssentially
he
same
as
it
appeared
n the
i6th
century.
Comparisons
ith
engravings
f the
facade
n
Lattuada's
e-
scrizione i Milano
of
1738
and Marc
Antonio dal Re's
Palazzi
Milanese
f
1745
do revealsome modifications
Figs.
I,
3,
4).
Most
noticeable
s a third
tory
above he
cornice,
19th-century
addition.
The
ground
loorremains
nchanged
with the
excep-
tion
of the
lateral
iches,
which havebeenmade nto
windows.
On the
second
story,
seminude emaleherms
hat flanked he
central
portal
as well as
the
framing
pediment
and
stone bal-
ustradehave
been removed.
n
addition,
he
windows of the
secondand
sixth
bays
havebeen made
nto doors
opening
onto
narrow alconies
with the
consequent
oss of the
original
mold-
ings
and
pediments.1
The
faqade
elongs
o
the
type
nitiated
y
Bramante's
alazzo
Caprini
n Rome-a rusticated
round
loor
serving
as a base
7.
Ibid.,
44-45.
8. C.
Dell'Acqua,
Del
luogo
di
nascita
i Leone
Leonie del
Mon-
umentoMediceo
da lui
eseguito
n
Milano,"
Archivio
torico
ell'Arte,
(1889),
asc.
Ii,
78-81.
He
was also
granted
pension,
see
C.
Casati,
Leone
eoni
'Arezzo
cultore
Giov.
PaoloLomazzo
ittore
milanese,
ilan,
1884,
64.
9.
Casati,
Leone
eoni,
7
n.
i.
For a
complete
discussion f the cir-
cumstances
urrounding
he
grant
of the
house,
see
Mezzatesta,
Im-
perial
Themes,"
174ff.
Io.
Casati,
Leone
eoni,
4-25.
ii.
Neither
of the
engravings
s
completely
ccurate.
attuada,
e-
scrizionei
Milano,
, Milan,
1738,
443,
implies
hat the
prisoners
re
caryatids,
implifies
he enframements
f the blind
windows on the
piano
nobile,
nd does
not show the
satyr
alling
out of the frieze.He
also
compresses
he
fagade
nduly.
Marc
Antoniodal
Re doesnot show
the
prisoners
s
caryatids
ut
represents
hem
nude with their arms
folded across heir chestsso that
they
no
longer
appear
s barbarians.
He
eliminated
he rustication
n the
ground
looranderred
n
depicting
the
satyr
n the frieze.
He also
elongated
he
proportions
f
the
piano
nobile.
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MEZZATESTA:
FACADE
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OMENONI
237
???-r
r,,,,u
cr-r-4-
EM
d?X)
I I
. ~(llfy
~Ef="
?--*rr*V
cc,
rn
P./
--un ru?-
-?-
,
~
c.---. ~
,- -r ?- ?t
;~Z I_~5CI
~~~CI
'?I-?*
,l,.?-
?s
?.
-:..i7p
Fig.
4.
Fagade
f the
Casa
degli
Omenoni,
Milan.
Engraving
rom
MarcAntoniodal
Re,
Palazzi
Milanesi,
1745
(photograph
ourtesy
Clubino
Daddi).
for
an
articulated
iano
nobile.
ndividual
lements,
of
course,
differ
considerably,
most
notably,
he recessed
olumns
placed
in narrow
lotscut nto the
wall,
the
blind
windowswith
spindle
enframements,
nd he
layering
f thewall
surface,
ll
of which
derive rom the
ricettof
Michelangelo's
aurentian
ibrary.12
Leoni's
only
earlier
architectural
experience
was the
design
of
Giangiacomo
e'Medici's
omb
n
the
DuomoofMilan
1560-
i563),
3
buthe had
obviously
tudied rchitecturen
some
detail.
Vasari
noted
that
Leoni
devised
niches, ermini,
windows,
and
cornices
"tutte
varie
da
quel
che
s'usa,"14 and,
n
fact,
his de-
tailing
s
quite
distinctive,
with sources
anging
rom the
en-
framements n
the ancientPorta
Borsari
n
Verona
o the chi-
meraeon
GaleazzoAlessi's
Villa
Cambiaso,
Genoa
(i548).15
Although
Leoni selected
his architectural
ocabulary
clec-
tically,
the overall
mpression mparted
by
the
facade
s
re-
markable
n
its
unity,order,
and
decorative estraint.Yet one
12.
For he
Laurentian
ibrary,
ee
James
Ackerman,
heArchitecture
ofMichelangelo,
ondon,
961,33-44,
Figs.
16,
17,
18a.Leoni
stopped
n
Florence
n
156o
on
his
way
back
o Milanfrom
Rome.While
there
he
certainly
aw the
Laurentian
Library.
13.
For
which,
see
Plon,Leoni,
50ff.
14.
See n.
4.
15.
Vasari
lludes o an
antique
ource n his
description,
e
fra
essi
[the
prisoners],
n
alcune
nicchie attaa
imitazione
degli
antichi,
ono
terminetti, inestre,
cornici
utta
varie
da
quel
che
s'usa,
e
motto
graziose."
This
type
was used earlieron
the
facade
of the
Palazzo
Cancellerian
Rome,
whereLeoni
also
could
have
observed
he
refined
use of rustication
n the
ground
loor
and
the
continuous
one
artic-
ulating
he
bases f the
pilasters
nd
windowsof
the
piano
obile,
motif
Leoniusedon the
facade
nd n the
courtyard.
he
articulationf
the
courtyard
ichesseems
o derive rom he
windowsof the
piano
nobile
on the
Cancelleria.
or
Alessi's
himerae,
ee Galeazzo lessi
l'archi-
tettura
el
cinquecento
Atti
del
convegno
nternazionale
i
studi,Genova,
16-20o
Aprile1974),
Genoa,
975,
435, Figs.
281,
282.
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8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
7/18
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-?:?:
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?r,
: ?
P?
a~
Q t
;? f:i
?: r~a
:?r
':i ? ~ jeii% :~;: ?:-k i--:t-.l-~':"
r
.6:
:1?-4
.I,? . I
'f
)? ~:X
tl: ?r
r"
?;? 1". I II , e3 ~-?S?~-I~E-'"::,' ~ h?:l:?
" ?I :~? I- aaay~~;~ g~::: I-
ii
r:~"~o~?;
~
j_ "~,
;m
~?~
..
h *-
*I;
45;c,;4"t ,,
;i:
?I?~;.?.. ?IL ;X?
c i
II -?*
r* 9; i
; ,li
)"?~d$?
f :ii
T
i
~
~1Lb
.EZ
?
'","r-~ , ?,?12".: j
Sd;e
*LI,- r-r-
*-1S~i
il~ ~_
r:
c
4
Fig.
5.
Casa
degli
Omenoni,
barbarian
risoner
n the
faCade
author).
cannot
escape
the conclusion
that,
though
much
thought
went
into
the
architectural
design,
Leoni
approached
the task as
a
sculptor,
for the most obvious features
of the
Casa
degli
Ome-
noni
are
the six
prisoners
decorating
the
pilasters
of the
ground
floor
(Figs.
5-7,
10-12)
and the two
supporting
figures
flanking
the
entryway (Figs.
8,
9).
The
prisoners
are
identified
by
an
inscription
at the
top
of each
pilaster
reading,
from
the left:
SVEVVS,
QVADVS,
ADIABENVS,
PARTHVS,
SARMATA,
MARCOMANVS.
Lomazzo reportedin i585 that Antonio Abondio had carved
the
figures
of
the
fagade,16
ndoubtedly
from models
supplied
by
Leoni.
They
are
powerfully expressive
sculptures nspired
by
ancient Roman statues
of barbarians
nd
are
among
Leoni's
most
impressive
achievements.17
Each
prisoner
is varied in the treat-
ment
of
dress,
physiognomic
type,
and
placement
of the
hands,
and
each
possesses
a bulk which
separately
presents
a
potent
-r?-~-~,
~?
c,?:
f:kr?' ~i~2?E
r-1,
~W
~24~ ;1;
"p~
r:
~
i;
Jlt
~:~ %~be;"~i ~~ ~"~'
i; a~
" e;?
t.
'?; ir
~I"~B
-r;
-;s ~
-:i r~p?
~il~i
"
?B,I :"r
r-r~I?=?
a
-ir?--~I
r4-?
k
?.9
iB
~u
;.?r~i ?
jipr? ~??
1~
Fig.
6. Casa
degli
Omenoni,
barbarian
risoner
n
the
facade
author).
confrontation
with
the
viewer.
Collectively,
these dramatic
sculptures
dominate
the
facade.
These
prisoners
have
frequently
been
called
caryatids
but,
in
fact,
they
do not
possess
any
architectonicfunction.
Their
heads
are
positioned
below the entablature
and
actually
ean
away
from
the wall
surface.
It has
been noted
that
they
represent
a
com-
bination
of
Michelangelo's
herms
on
the
Julius
Tomb and
bar-
barian
prisoners
of the
type
found
on
the
Arch of
Constantine."8
This is
correct,
although they
neither
grow
organically
out
of
the herm shaft at waist level, as do most herms, nor are they
placed
neatly atop
the
shaft as
on the
Julius
Tomb.
Rather,
they
overhang
it,
being brusquely
truncated
below the knees so
that
they
appear uspended
on the
pilaster.19
n
fact,
the
captives
may
be read as
"applied
herms,"
for
the
tapered
herm
shaft
overlays
the Doric
pilaster,
its
base
literally
embedded
in
the
pilaster's
base
molding (e.g., Fig.
5)-
i6.
Lomazzo,
Trattato
(i973),
361;
also
reported
y
Paolo
Morigia,
La Nobilita
i
Milano,
Milan,
1595,
472,
and
Carlo
Torre,
I
Ritratto
i
Milano,
Milan,
1674,276.
17.
They
were
also
strongly
nfluenced
y
the
sculpture
f Baccio
Bandinelli;
ee
Mezzatesta,
Imperial
hemes,"
86ff.
i8.
Pope-Hennessy,
talian
High
Renaissance
nd
Baroque culpture,
London,
970,
86.
19.
Ibid.
-
8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
8/18
MEZZATESTA:
ACADE
OF
LEONI'S
CASADEGLI
OMENONI
239
r
n?:i?~~:.fEd~li
: t."
i
~
":?
I
.
:o
S
I
?i: 2;1 B
-
L,
z~c
:1?u~.
yi: -
;: '
nri
r
\ it
~D:
h:
a
:* :Y
sii i
i._
i::
?Ic-,~~
i~
"i c"r pPPf~::
wt
i:;
..
1?a
"~'~""~e3a" ~lsBSb~D^~IF~'T;::` i--..
?;I
i:; ;; In
?? I, ?-ti?
.,-~
A
?. ,?
:-~???'
i~?iii ? I;';"U* ~iQ~i(
I,
Fig.7. CasadegliOmenoni,barbarianrisoner n thefacadeauthor).
The use of
herms
on
palace
fagades
was unusual.
Around mid-
century they
had been
employed
only by
Alessi
on
the
Palazzo
Marino
(i555)
and in
1562
by
Vincenzo
Seregni
at the Palazzo
dei Giureconsulti
in Milan.20
Their abundant
disposition
on
the
Palazzo Marino
represented
the first
appearance
of herms
in
r~:~-I-~P?)*77;r*~MIC~ ~?r~?*
??? TEC
~p"'
1,2
i"
ii*
"''Y
~ 1..
,?
;$
Z I ~
i ;i
tt-
f i: . lir
-r " L-:?fl?,r
~ " Ili~
z
:i *
Fig. 8. Casadegli Omenoni,half-length igureflanking he central
portal
author).
Milan,
and their debut
must
have been
particularly mpressive
and effective
in
calling
attention to the
palace's
owner and
ar-
chitect.2z
This
example
may
well
have
influenced
Leoni.22
How-
ever,
his
response
was
very
different.
Both
Alessi's
and
Seregni's
herms
are
only
"herm
heads";
hey
are
smaller
n
scale,
function
architectonically,
and
have a
subordinate
position
within the
overall
decorative
program.
Leoni
created
a dramatic
new
type:
monumental,
three-quarter-length,
nontectonic
barbarian
erms
that
were the
focus of the
facade.
The half-length, nude male figures that flank the doorway
are also novel
(see
Figs.
8,
9). They
may
also relate
generally
to
Michelangelo's
herms
on the
Julius
Tomb,
but Leoni
en-
larged,
undressed,
and
moved them
out
from the wall so that
they
sit on a
small
platform
supported
by
a corbel decorated
with a
lion's
head,
an emblem
of
the
artist.
In
placing
these
20.
Johnson,
"Herms,"
30ff.
See
this
study
on
the use
of herms in
the
i6th
century.
The first
tectonic
use
of herms in a Renaissance villa
was
by
Giulio
Romano in the
courtyard
of the Grotta of the Palazzo
del TU(c.
1530)
and later at the Villa Giulia where they articulatethe
area around
the
loggia
and
nympheum.
Even
as
late
as the
1570s
the
use
of herms was limited
to
only
a few villas in and around Rome. In
Lombardy,
however,
they
proliferated
argely through
the influence of
Alessi
and
Tibaldi;
see
Johnson,
"Herms,"
28-34.
Leoni
undoubtedly
knew the
colossal Pan
caryatids
that
decorated
the
garden facade
of the
loggia
of the Casino
of
Pius
IV,
for work
was
far advanced
by
1560;
see Graham
Smith,
The
Casino
ofPius
IV,
Prince-
ton,
1977,
ioff.
The Palazzo
di Giustizia in Mantua
is
decorated
with 12
giant
triton-
head herms
on the
upper
story.
This
palace,
long
attributedto Giulio
Romano,
is
now
dated to the
x7th
century
and
is
given
to Anton Maria
Viani.
Forthe current
ibliography,
ee
G.
Fusconi,
"Il
repertorio
e-
corativo
nelle architetturamilanese
dell'Alessi,"
Galeazzo Alessi e
l'ar-
chitettura el
cinquecento,
88,
491
nn. 8-12.
21.
Johnson,
"Herms,"
32.
22. Aurora
Scotti in "Per
un
profilo
dell'architettura
milanese
(1535-
1565),"
Omaggio
a
Tiziano,
Milan,
1977,
104,
suggested
that Alessi
and
Marino
may
have
been
encouraged
by
Leoni to decorate
Palazzo
Marino
so
richly.
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8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
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240
JSAH,
XLIV:3,
OCTOBER 1985
xp
I
1
~gj:-*
~I
?*
?.- .?:? -,~
a
rU~_
"~Q~:: a I
:2;
~ne?
?~i9
:?
.. T~SSVc,
ti
"
d
??M
r. i
Cip
:~r??
`? I i
n"
;r
-r ~.?-??-
.i)
1
'i?w
Fig.9. CasadegliOmenoni, alf-lengthigurelankinghe central
portal
author).
figures
on a
platform
away
from the wall
surface,
Leoni
may
have been
inspired
by
one of the
triumphal
rches
he saw in
Antwerp
rected or the
entry
of
Philip
II
(Fig.
13).2
Here
pairs
of female
half-length
aryatids
ere
placed
on either
ideof the
portal
at the level of the
springing
of the arch.
Unlike these
women
and
Michelangelo's
erms,
who
carry
he
entablature
on their
heads,
Leoni'smenarebent
orward,
earily
upporting
the
balcony's
weight
on the
upper
back.
The
prisoners
n the
facade
f the Casa
degli
Omenoni
were
bound o attract ttention, speciallynMilanwhere hefacades
of
patrician
houses
were,
for the most
part, simple
and
un-
adorned.24
Only
Bramante's
asaFontana
late
149os),
with
its
four monumentalrescoed ictivebronze tatues
n the second
i-i
~d~
I
:?
~ ""i;;
~~i"'~-?
i;i'
~-~~??-
-il
?a
c-
ik~"
?:P_-
I;YHC'~?;?-'
:2:S
Fig.o. Casa egliOmenoni,arbarianrisonernthefacadeauthor).
story,
provided prototype
f
similar
caleand
programmatic
complexity.25
Although
he decoration
f
Leoni'shouse was
unusual,
he
practice
f
embellishing
acades
was
in
itselfnot uncommon
n
Italy
and he Casa
degli
Omenoni
houldbe
seen
n
the context
of that radition.
rom he late
Middle
Ages,
stucco,
or
graffito,
was
employed
o cover
facades
with
incisedornamental
eo-
metric
patterns.
At
the
beginning
of the
16th
century,
here
arose
a new
tendency
oward
figural
compositions
basedon
antiqueartisticandliterary ourceswhich quicklysuperseded
the
decorative
eometric
motifsof the earlier
eriod.26
23.
Northern
riumphal
rches
lso
appear
o have
been
he source
forthe
strange
reatures
lanking
he
Nativity
elief
on the tomb
of
Giangiacomo
e'
Medici
n
the
Cathedral
f
Milan;
ee
Plon,
Leoni,
150.
24.
From
466
private alaces
ere
erected
hat
ncorporated
he
latest rchitectural
orms nd
utilized
greater
egree
f decoration
n
the
fagade,
hough othing
o elaborate
sthe Casa
egli
Omenoni.
For
consideration
f
theearlier
ombardraditionf
palace
rchitec-
ture,
eeSusan
.
Caroselli,
The
CasaMarlianind
Palace
uilding
in Late
Quattrocento ombardy,"
h.D.
diss.,
Johns
Hopkins
Univer-
sity,
1980,
4-47.
25.
For
a
discussion
f the
CasaFontana
nd
references,
ee
Mez-
zatesta,
"Imperial
hemes,"
x9xff.
26. Forthe earlier
ypes,
see:
A.
Marabottini,
olidoro
a
Caravaggio,
Rome,
1969,
Io4ff.;
Gunter
und
Christel
Thiem,
Toskanische
assaden-
Dekorationn
Sgraffito
ndFresko
4.
bis
17.Jahrhundert,
unich,
1964,
27ff.
On the
development
f
the new
tradition,
ee
Lodovico
Foscari,
Affreschi
sterni
Venezia,
Milan,
1936,
23;
Thiem, Toskanische,
2;
Marabottini,
olidoro,
04;
Gunter
Schweikhart,
assadenmalerei
n Ve-
rona
om
14.
bis
zum20.
Jahrhundert,
unich,
973,
30.
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MEZZATESTA:
FACADE
OF LEONI'S CASA DEGLI OMENONI
241
1;9"
41 41
Fig. i. CasadegliOmenoni,barbarianrisoner n thefacadeauthor).
This
development
was characterized
by
two
major
trends: he
frescoed
facade
decorated with
military
scenes
inspired
by
clas-
sical authors and
painted
in
imitation of ancient
sculpture,
a
type popularized
by
Polidoro da
Caravaggio
in
Rome
in
the
early
520os
Fig.
I4);
and
facades
decorated with all'antica
sculp-
ture
in
stucco or
stone,
such
as
Sanmicheli's Palazzo
Bevilacqua
in
Verona,
which is
embellished
with busts of
Roman
emperors
on
the
keystones
and
winged
victories
in the
spandrels
(1530s;
Fig.
15).
Although differing in their individual characteristics, hese
facade
types
are
united
by
their
return to ancient
art as a
source;
by
their
frequent
intention to re-create
an
ancient
edifice in
terms of ornament
and/or
structure;
and
by
the
classical
subject
matter of the
decorations,
which
invariably
refers
to
the
concept
of ancient
Roman virtus
with the
suggestion
that
it
was an
attribute of the owner of the house.27
Indeed,
it
is
this
latter
aspect
of
the
facades
that is
perhaps
most
significant,
for the
I
9?.
1 I d.
?u; ??
r r.r~a~iP~gC~
tlJ-~
~~2*1
ldr
rm
t ;k
j:I :%
I 1:
' ~?
*i?
I , '?
i ?
I:
WC ' ?
.1
~; g:;
;:::
" 9
4~' "*?i(YZ
" s?,-;
i;
i "
,:ii
jr~:::
Ir1
r
Fig.
12.
CasadegliOmenoni,barbarianprisonern the
fagade
author).
artistic and ethical values
of
ancient
Rome had
become a touch-
stone
of
contemporary
culture. The new intellectual
criteria of
Renaissance
society
placed
a
premium
on the moral
examples
supplied
by
the
virtuous
ancients. For those who had
the
re-
sources,
the
decoration
of
their
houses'
facades
was both
an
aesthetic
choice and a social
statement,
a
declaration
placing
the
owner
in
the forefront of the
revival
of
Roman virtus.
Leoni,
of
course,
was well
aware of
the
artistic and social
prestige
associated
with the
antique.
In
Rome
in
i56o
he dem-
onstratedhis intense interest in ancient art by obtaining Pope
Paul
IV's
permission
to make
plaster
casts of several
important
ancient
statues,
among
them
the
Capitoline equestrianportrait
of
Marcus
Aurelius;
at
great
expense
he
had
the
statues labo-
riously
transported
by
mule to
Milan.28
Whether Leoni
had
already
been
contemplating
the
restoration
of
his house
at
this
point
is unknown.
But,
as we have
seen,
within
a few
years
the
Marcus Aurelius statue had
not
only
been
installed
as
the cen-
27.
Fora more
complete
discussion f these
points
with
referenceo
specific alaces,
ee
Mezzatesta,
Imperial
hemes,"
I90-204.
28.
Celio
Malespini,
Ducento
ovelle,
Venetia,
1609,
228;
Lomazzo,
Trattato,
II, 4.
-
8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
11/18
242
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r,-
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Fig.
13.
Triumphal
rch reatedo
greet
Prince
hilip
I
on
his
entry
into
Antwerp,
549.Engraving
rom
Cornelius
cribonius,
a tresad-
mirable,
resmagnifique
t
triumphante
ntrie
du
treshault
t
trespvissant
rince
Philipes...,
1550
(author).
terpiece
of
the cortilebut also
provided
he
central heme
of
the house's
program.29
Indeed,
he
importance
f the
Marcus
Aurelius
ast
was
high-
lighted
by
the
base
omposed
f four
columns hatLeonidevised
for
it,
an
arrangement
artially
isible
hrough
he house'smain
portal
n
Marc
Antonio
dal
Re's
engraving
f c.
1745
(seeFig.
4).30
The four-columned asewas an
attempt
at
archaeological
exactitude,
or in
the late
i2th
or
early
13th centuryMagister
~.L~~t; ,? _"?I-"--L~T.-i~?.~-"c:l:?'4:~~~r~??~j;-~Bri?_:7:C_
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i r~9as~ urt~rr~ r~ ~
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,, ~-4~5~ ~"* IU~ ? ""-~-: i;
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1??,
;
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- ---
r?
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iZ.
L
~, ~alhT-; ~d~ P r:
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I i
P'
:"i
*;a~-~sr PIBP??RII~""??)????L?~;t;t-~i
~_r~~~"Ji
I
":I~:?~sl~BICIIIICIl??r ?- *
Fig.
14.
Polidoro a
Caravaggio,
rawing
f the facade ecoration
f
ahouse
nPiazzi ei
Caprettari,
ome,
52os
Biblioteca
eale,
orino).
Gregorius
elated
n the
Narracio
e
mirabilibus
rbis hat
the
statue
originally
was
set on
four
gilt
bronzecolumnsbefore he
altar
of
Jupiter
n
the
Capitoline
Hill.31
Leoni's
llusion
o this
arrangementndoubtedly
on
admiration
or ts
archaeological
accuracy.
imilarly,
dentification
y
inscription
f the
six
pris-
oners
on the
fagade
s tribes
conquered y
Marcus
Aurelius,
n
association
vident o those
people
amiliarwith
the
life
of
the
Emperor
n
Julius
Capitolinus's
opular
Historia
Augusta,
was
29.
See
above
p. 235
and
n.
4.
30.
Vasari oted hat
t
was,
"sopra uattro
olonne";
ee
n.
4.
Carlo
Torre
n
II
Ritratto,
76,
describedhe
arrangement
sfollows:"a
rim-
petto
allaPorta
nell'Apartamento
i
dietro
eggevasi
opra
n Ballatoio
l'Aurelio Cavallo."
31.
For his
early
raditionswell as a
consideration
f
thestatue's
placement
uring
he
Middle
Ages,
ee
Philipp
ehl,
"ThePlacement
of
the
Equestrian
tatue
f
Marcus urelius
nthe
Middle
ges,"Journal
of
the
Warburg
nd
Courtauld
nstitutes,
7
(x974),
62-367,
sp.366
n.
21.
-
8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
12/18
MEZZATESTA:
FACADE
OF LEONI'S
CASA
DEGLI
OMENONI
243
IrIs
-4fr
i?~iL~WB
6w
%alt
E1T-:AA
o i l
SO,~
no
n 5
1? --
IA
Fig.
15.
Michele
anmicheli,
agade
f Palazzo
evilacqua,
erona,
1530S
Brogi).
no less effective n callingattention o Leoni'sclassical rudi-
tion.32
These
captive
barbarians
appear
s
trophaic
mblems
f Mar-
cus Aurelius
ndhis virtus.
They
exist
as
proof
of the
greatness
of
the
Emperor
nd
the
grandeur
f
empire,past
and
present.
The connections
between the Roman
Empire
and the
Holy
Roman
Empire
were well
known andwere a
popular
quation
in the
Emperor
CharlesV's
imperialpanegyrics.
Leoni,
as im-
perial
culptor
nighted y
Charles
V,
naturally
ccupied place
in
that
equation.
The
prisoners
n
the
facade,
he
plaster
ast
of Marcus
Aurelius
n the
courtyard,
ndthe
dedication
f the
housewere
public
tatements
hich
not
only
proclaimed
eoni's
present
mperial
ies but
also
garnered
he
prestige
associated
with the
monuments
nd
glory
of ancient
Rome.
These facts
alone,
however,
neither
fully
account
or the
dedication
or do
they
explain
all the
implications
nd visual
ramificationsf theprogram. he questions emainwhy Leoni
chose
to dedicate
he Casa
degli
Omenoni
o
Marcus
Aurelius,
why
he selected
barbarian
risoners
o
decorate
he
facade,
and
what
is the
complete
nature f
the
program.
Marcus
Aurelius
s
perhaps
est
known
as the
philosopher-
emperor
and author
of
the
Meditations,
he
popular
ollection
of
philosophic
pothegms
n the Stoic
way
of
life.
However,
the
appeal
f the Meditations
ay
be traced
ess
to the
i6th
than
to
the
I7th
century.
n
fact,
n the
cinquecento,
Marcus
Aure-
lius's
renown
was
primarily
he result
of one
man,
the court
historiographer
f Charles
V,
Fray
Antonio
de Guevara
1480?-
I545).33
Guevara
wrote
and dedicated
o
Charles
V
two books:
he
LibroAureo
de
Marco
Aurelio
nd
the Relox
de
Principes.
he
former
appeared
n
1528
and
purported
o be
a translation
f
the Greek
manuscript
f the Meditations.
n
fact,
t is a more
or
less
imaginary iography
asedon
JuliusCapitolinus's
istoria
Augusta.
he Libro
Aureo eviews
he
Emperor's
ntire ife with
special
attentiondevoted
o
his
outstanding
irtues,
especially
his senseof
justice
and
clemency
andhis continual
oncern
or
the
well-being
of the state.
The book
was conceived
n the
tradition
f the
Speculum
rincipum
Mirror
or
Princes),
du-
cative tractsdesigned o producegood rulers,but it alsopre-
sented
a
richly
drawn
portrait
f Marcus
Aureliusnot
only
as
an
emperor
but
also as
a man with
personal
problems,
fact
that contributed
o the
book's
popularity.34
The
Relox
de
Principes
s three imes
as
ong
as the
LibroAureo
but
actually
ncorporates
lmost
all of its
chapters
nto
a con-
siderable
ody
of
new
material.
Like
the
Libro
Aureo,
he
Relox
is a
moral,
didactic reatise
n
the
tradition
of the
Mirror
for
Princes.
he book
is a
comprehensive
resentation
f
Guevara's
political
deals
whereinMarcusAurelius
s held
up
as
an
example
for
any
man
who
aspires
o
a virtuous
Christian
ife.35
Both books
were
enormouslypopular hroughoutEurope
during
he
i6th
century.
n
Italy
alone from
1542
to
i6oo,
an
edition
of
the
Libro
Aureo r the
Reloxwas
published
t
a
rate
32. None of the earlysources dentifies he barbarianss anything
other
han
prisoners.
lon records
he
inscriptions
ut doesnot
discuss
them
further.
Nebbia
n La casa
degli
Omenonin
Milano,
,
21ff.,
refers
to
the
captives
only
as tribes
once dominated
y
Rome.
Johnson
n
"Herms"
onnects
nly
the
Quadi
and
Samartiwith Marcus
Aurelius.
Pope-Hennessy
ppears
o have been the
first scholar
o link all
six
prisoners
ith tribes ubdued
y
the
Emperor;
ee
High
Renaissance,
6.
In
fact,
five are
mentioned
n the most famous
ancient
biography
f
Marcus
Aurelius,
uliusCapitolinus's
ife of
the
Emperor
n the Historia
Augusta,
n
edition
of
which,
edited
by
Erasmus,
ppeared
n
1518:
he
Suebi,
Quadi,
Samarti,
Marcomani
all
Germanic
ribes),
nd
the Par-
thians.
The
Adiabeni
werevassals
f the Parthian
ingdom
nd
as such
were
almost
always
nvolved
n its warswith
Rome.The tribe
s men-
tioned n
JuliusCapitolinus's
ife of
Septimus
everus
n relation
o his
Parthian
arsand Leoni
may
have made he
connection
ere.
33.
The
influence f Guevara
nd his
books has been discussed
n
detail
by
the author
n "Marcus
Aurelius,
Fray
Antoniode
Guevara,
and
he
Ideal
of the Perfect
Prince n the Sixteenth
Century,"
TheArt
Bulletin,
6
(I985),
620-633.
34.
Augustin
Redondo,
Antonio eGuevara
(i48o?-i545)
et
'Espagne
de
son
Temps,
e
la carridre
officielle
ux
oeuvres
olitico-morales,
eneva,
1976,489.
This is the fundamental
tudy
of Guevara's
ife and
work.
35.
Redondo,
Guevara,
o6ff.,
532ff.
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244
JSAH,
XLIV:3,
OCTOBER
1985
-P
E
RPS
AE
CA
-'P
TIV I.
.
.c*\
[
Fig.
6.
Daniele a
Barbaro,
econstructionf the
Persian ortico. n-
graving
romda Barbaro's
556
edition
f
Vitruvius's
e
architectura
(Harry
ansom umanitiesesearch
enter,
he
University
f
Texas
at
Austin).
equivalent
o one almost
every
8
months.36
he vastdiffusion
of these works
is
a measure
of
the wide
appeal
of
Guevara's
political-moral
reatises.
The LibroAureo
and
the Relox de
Principes
ave
a new di-
mension o the
personality
f Marcus
Aurelius,
opularizing
he
Emperor
s
the
ideal
prince.
As the
best
of
all the
pagan
Roman
emperors
e
represented
he
supreme xample
of
ancient
virtus.
His life
and
writings
provided
an
elevatedstandard f com-
portment
ot
only
for
the
ruler
but
alsofor all men
who
sought
to
lead
a
Christian
ife.
It
seems
likely
that the
Casa
degli
Omenoni
standsas
an
example
of
that
new
popularity,
or in
dedicating
is house to
Marcus
Aurelius,
Leoni
probably
eferred
o
the
image
of Marcus
Aurelius
popularized
y
Guevara. n so
doing,
he associated
himself with this most
virtuous
of
ancient
emperors.
At the
same
ime,
because oth
bookswerededicatedo Charles
V
and
because
of
Leoni's
position
as
imperial
culptor,
he artisten-
joyed
a second
lattering
ssociation.Leoni's
public
profession
of a
personal
ode of honor
and virtuemust
have been imme-
diately
recognizable
nd
highly
esteemed
among
the
nobility
of Milan.
The
dedication
o Marcus
Aureliuswas
alsoreflected
by
the
barbarian
prisoners
n
the
facade,
ribes
vanquished y
the Em-
peror.37
he
captives
ormed he
prelude
o
the
equestrian
en-
terpiece
and
established
he
public
tenor of
the
program.
Bar-
barian
prisoners
had
appeared
arlieron the frescoed
palace
faqades
f
Polidoroda
Caravaggio.
owever,
hey usually
tood
alone,
or
when
grouped
were
placed
n
pairs
before
a
trophaeum,
as on
the
facade
of
the
house at
Piazza
dei
Caprettari
see
Fig.
14).38
Their
use on the
Casa
degli
Omenoni
recalled he
trium-
phal
monumentsof
ancient
Rome,
such
as
the
Arch
of Con-
stantine,
where four
prisoners
tood in
series n
the attic zone
of
each
ace.But
Leoni eems o
have
been
inspired
y
a
different
source,
Daniele da
Barbaro's
1556
llustrated dition of
Vitru-
vius'sDe
architectura.39
he
text described he PersianPortico
erected
by
the
Lacedaemonians
fter heir
victory
over
the Per-
sians:"in quel porticoposeroi simularchide i prigionicon
l'ornamento
arbaro
el
vestire,
he
sostenevanol
tetto."40The
accompanying ngraving
hows a
portion
of
the
portico
with
two
caryatids
f
the
familiar
Roman
type
(Fig.
16).
The
typo-
logical
relationship
o Leoni's
prisoners
s
evident
(cf.
Fig.
i).
Although
he
eliminated heir
supportive
ole,
Leoni
also
oined
his
captives
o the
building,
unlike he
prisoners
f
the Archof
Constantine
who stand
before the
architecture. n
addition,
when barbarian
tatues
were used on
triumphal
arches
hey
usually
decorated he
attic zone.
Similarly,
when
frescoed
bar-
barians r
herms
appeared
n
palace
aqades,
s
at
PalazzoMarino
36.
Fora
listing
of the Italian
ditions,
ee
P. Lino G.
Canedo,
"Las
Obras
de Fr.
Antoniode
Guevara,"
rchivo
bero-Americano,
,
no.
44
(1946),
467-472,
493-497.
37.
See
above
p. 238.
38.
See
above
p.
241.
In the
Sala Grande
f the
Palazzo
Doria in
Genoa
two under-life-sized
culpted
barbarian
aryatids
upport
he
mantel
of
the
fireplace;
ee
Venturi,
Storia
ell'arte,
,
i,
Fig. 374.
An
antique
barbariantatue
may
have been
placed
on
the
facade
of
Palazzo
Valle-Capranica
n
Rome;
ee
Hiilsen,
Das SkizzenbuchesGio-
vannantonio
osio mStaatlichen
Kupferstichkabinettzu
erlin,
erlin,
933,
5,
no.
17a,
. 6v.
However,
his
figure
was armed nd
wasnot
a
prisoner.
39.
Bush,
Colossal
culpture,
67.
However,
Bush adduces he
1567
edition.The
fagade
was well
under
way
or
completed
y
thatdate.
40.
I
dieci
ibridell'architetturai
M. Vitruvio
radotti
t
commentatia
Monsignor
arbaro,
inegia,
1556,
zi.
The entire
entry
reads:
Similmente
Lacedemonij
ottoPausania
igliuolo
d'Egisipolide opo
il fattod'armi i Plateahavendo on
poca
gente
superato
l numeroso
essercitode'
Persiani,
&
con
gloria
rionfato;
e
i
denari rattidelle
spoglie,
&
della
preda
n
luogo
di trofeo della vittoria1
posteri
a-
bricarano
l
portico
Persiano imostratore
ella
ode,
&
della
virti~
e
Cittadini,
&
in
quel
porticoposero
simularchri e i
prigioni
con
l'ornamento
arbaro el
vestire,
che sostenevano
l
tetto,
havendo
con meritate
ontumelie
a
lor
superbia
astigato.
A
fine che
i nimici
cagione
havessero i
temere
li
effettidella
ortezza
oro,
& Cittadini
guardando
n
quelloesempio
divirt-idella
gloria
ollevatialladifesa
dellaPatria
'eccitassero
randemente,
a dove
ne i
seguenti
nni
molti
cominciaro
porre
e statuePersiane he
sostenevano
li
archi,
&
i
loro
ornamenti,
&
indi
trassero
rgomento
di
accrescere
ell'opere
maravigliosa
arietadi
maniere,
di
simiglianti
storiealtrene
sono,
delle
qualibisogna
he L'Architetto
e sia
ben
informato.
-
8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
14/18
MEZZATESTA:
FA(ADE
OF LEONI'S
CASA
DEGLI OMENONI
245
~ ? ~?-?ri 14;?
AS.x'g
N
??.??:
d'
/ IAP
n;?
.
e
k
'lot
,
p
SM
hli
Fig. 17.
Anonymous,
ourt
ball in the
great
hall
at
Binche,
c.
1545
(courtesy
f
Christie,
Manson
and
Woods
Ltd.).
or
Palazzo
dei
Giureconsulti
n
Milan,
they
were restrictedo
the
upper
stories.
This reflecteda
tendency
of
Italian
palace
decorationhat
viewed the second
tory
as the
place
o receive
figural
decoration.
By
arranging
is seriesof
prisoners
n the
ground
loor and
by
presenting
hem
on a monumental
cale,
Leoni introduced new
pattern
of
sculptural isposition,
ne
which derived
directly
rom the PersianPortico.
But the PersianPortico
does not
account
or the most
re-
markable
aspect
of Leoni's
prisoners:
heir brutal
amputation
belowthe
knees.This
fragmentaryuality
nd
he fact hat
hey
seem to be
suspended
n
their
shafts
recall the classical
ro-
phaeum,
he battlefield
trophy
wherein the
spoils
of war-
breastplates,eapons,
elmets,
nd
hields-were
hung
on
lances
as
an
anthropomorphic
mblemof the
vanquished,
symbol
of
victory.
This
type
hadbeen
adopted
arlier
y
Renaissancertists
in
palace
decoration,
hough
on
a
much
smaller cale
and as
frescoed r stuccoed
lementswithin
a
larger
decorative hole.
The monumental
ize and
rophaic uality
et Leoni's
men
apart
and
suggest
one source
n
particular.
acques
DuBroeucq,
he
architect
f
Mary
Queen
of
Hungary's
alace
at
Binche,
ntro-
duced
rophies
n
the
window
wall of
the
great
hall
(c.1545).4
In
an
anonymous
drawing
of the
x6th
century, rophaeums
composed
of a
cuirass,
hields,
swords,
and a
helmet
with
a
mask-like
ace
are visible
flanking
each
window
(Fig.
r7).
DuBroeucq'srophies
differ
significantly
rom earlier
Renais-
sance
xamples.
They
were solated
rom he
overall
decorative
41.
The
palace
at Binchewas built
under
DuBroeucq
etween
i545
and
1549.
For this
project,
ee Robert
Hedicke,
acques
uBroeucq
on
Mons.
in
niederlandischer
eisterus
der
ruhzeit
es talienischen
influsses,
Strasbourg,904,
6off.
For
he
anonymous rawing,
ee
AlbertVan
de
Put,
"Two
Drawings
f
the Fetes
at
Binche
for Charles
V
and
Philip
II
in
1549,"Journalf
the
Warburg
ndCourtauld
nstitutes,
(1939-1940),
49-55.
For he
palace
t
Binche,
ee
also Christiane
Loriaux,Jacques
u
Broeucq
1505-1584),
Gembloux,
197x,
9ff.
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8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
15/18
246
JSAH,
XLIV:3,
OCTOBER 1985
context
n
which the
preceding
ypes
were oundandwere
made
the dominant
feature;
they
were
presented
in
series;
they
were
colossal;
and
they
were
placed
on herm shafts rather than on
crossbars
or stakes.
Leoni,
who
visited
Binche late
in
1549,
must have been in-
fluenced
by
these unusual
herms,
particularly
their
dominant
setting,
serial
arrangement, huge
scale,
and
fragmentary
form.
In
fact,
Leoni
combined
these elements and their
placement
on
herm
shafts
with the
barbarian
risoner ype
of
Vitruvius's
er-
sian
Portico,
although eliminating
the latter's
supportive
role.
In so
doing
he created
a
new
type:
monumental,
living,
non-
tectonic,
barbarian
herm-trophaeums.
Through
the form
of
the
barbarian-trophaeums
nd their
relationship
o the Persian
Portico,
Leoni
conveyed
a
message.
As
Vitruvius
wrote,
the PersianPorticowas
erectedwith the
spoils
of
victory
andstoodas a
symbol
"of the honorandof
the
virtueof the
citizens";
he
barbarians
epresented
pride
asti-
gated"anda warning"thatenemiesmighthave reason o fear
the
effects
of their
[the Greeks'] trength."42
s the Persian
prisoners
were a
publicexpression
f
the "virtu"
nd
the
"glo-
ria"
of the
Greeks,
o
the
captives
n
the Casa
degli
Omenoni
expressed
he virtue and
glory
of
Leoni
no
less than
a
mute
warning
to his enemies. The
downcast
glances
and
pathetic
expressions
f
the
vanquished
arbarians
ignal
their absolute
defeat,
a
defeat
mandated
y
the
superior
"virtu"of
their ad-
versary.
imilarly,
he
half-length
aryatids
lanking
he central
portal,
with their inksto
triumphal
rches,
were
equally
ffec-
tive
in
establishing
triumphant
one
(see
Figs.
8,
9, 13).
ThatLeonichoseamilitarymetaphorortheprograms itself
highly revealing.
One cannot
help
but sense n the martial nd
admonitory
one of the
facade
a reflectionof Leoni'sview of
life
as
a continuous
attle.43
ndeed,
hroughout
is
career,
Leoni
was
readilyprone
o
violence,
his
outburstsueled
by
a
chronic
insecurity ngendered y
the
poverty
of
his
youth.
Leoni's ife
is marked
by
numerous
onflicts,
he earliestof which
can
be
traced o
1536
when,
while
working
n the mint at
Ferrara,
e
was accused
f
counterfeiting
ndwas forced o
flee
and
o
seek
the
protection
of
his influential elativePietro Aretino.Two
years
ater,
Leoni
was n
Rome
serving
at the
Papal
Courtwhere
he and BenvenutoCellini
developed
nto bitter
enemies,
heir
animosity
inallyexploding
n a
public shouting
match
n
the
Camera
Apostolica.
The
grudge
reached climaxwhen Leoni
unsuccessfullyttempted
o
poison
Cellini while
the latterwas
imprisoned
n
the Castel
Sant'Angelo.
New
charges
of coun-
terfeiting
eveled
against
Leoni
in
1540
by
the
papal
eweler
Pellegrino
di Leuti resulted
n Leoni
attacking
and
horribly
disfiguring
he man with a
dagger,
an
attack or
which he was
sentenced
o have his
right
handcut off.
Only
the last-minute
intervention f
powerful
riends
spared
Leoni,
although
he new
sentence
might
havebeen considered ven worse:an indefinite
period
hained o
an
oaras
a
galley
slave n the
papal
leet.Even
after
he wasreleased
nd
hadestablished
imself n
Milan,
Leoni
remaineddefensiveand
belligerent,hiring
an assassin n
1545
to
kill an assistant ho refused
o
returnwith
him
fromVenice.
Yet,
perhaps
ven more
shocking
was the knifeattack n
1559
on
his
house
guest,
Orazio
Vecelli,
the son of his close
friend
Titian. The violent
and
suddenassault ccurred
t
dinner
and
seems o have been motivated
by anger
over Orazio'scontacts
with Leoni'sMilanese lients.
n
his
willingness
o resort o
the
sword,
Leonirevealed
temperament
ealous
of
personal
ain,
one
that was
ready
o
defendhonor and
privilege
against
any
threat,
real or
imagined.44
Yet
in
choosing
captive
barbarians,
eoni
signaled
hat the
battlewas
over,
the
enemy
defeated
and
humbled,
with
peace
and art
reigning
within his house.
In a
sense,
Leoni's
personal
struggle or securityandrecognitionwas over. Frompoverty
and
a
term as a
galley
slave,
he hadbeen
knighted
by
the
Holy
Roman
Emperor,
iven
a
home,
and
been
publicly
associated
with the
greatest
mperors
f ancient nd
modern
imes,
Marcus
Aureliusand CharlesV.
The
Casa
degli
Omenoni thus stood
as
a kind of
templum
irtutis.
eoni
had
created
his own Persian
Portico n Milan.
One
more eature
f
the Casa
degli
Omenoni's
facade
emains
to be considered:he frieze
decorating
he second
story (Figs.
2,
18).
In
the
center,
Leoni had carved wo lions
attacking
a
satyr
who falls backward ut
of
the relief
plane,
his
headdan-
glingin the pedimentof the windowbelow, his left armdes-
perately
lutching
he entablature
see
Fig.
2).
The
lions,
epon-
ymous
emblems f Leone
Leoni,
attack he
satyr,
beastat once
evil
and
vicious.
The
concept
alludes o the
triumph
of virtue
over
vice,
a familiar
heme
in
Renaissance
rt and literature.
Here
virtue's
victory
takeson
a
chilling
finality
as the
attack
upon
the
satyr's
genitals
s not
simply
a horrible
punishment
but
the
ultimate
defense
against
he
satyr's
procreation
f
ma-
licious
progeny.45
ntoniode Guevara
laimed hat
the
greatest
thief
was one who robbed
man's
reputation,
or
"a
reputation
attacked
s forever ullied."46 he
relief husstands
s a
dreadful
warning,
a cave
eonem,
o those
who
might
considersuch a
felony.
Leoni
may
have had a
specificprototype
n
mind when he
designed
the
satyr
relief. In Filarete'sTreatise n Architecture
(x461-1464),
he
facade
of
the
magnificent alace
of the
pseu-
donymous
architectOnitoan Noliaver was decoratedwith a
relief over the main
portalshowing
the
allegorical
igure
of
42.
See
n.
40
for
the
Italian
ext.
43.
Plon,
Leoni,
91.
44.
These
episodes
re
recounted
n
Plon,
Leoni,
-5,
IIff.,
30ff.,
35-
36,
143ff.
45.
Plon,
Leoni,
9i.
46.
"Il
taglio
della ama
non si saldera
mai n
tutta
a
vita";
Guevara,
Libro i Marco
urelio
on
'horologio
e'
Principi,
inegia,
562,
2V.
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8/19/2019 Mezzatesta M.P., ''the Façade of Leone Leoni's House in Milan, The Casa Degli Omenoni; The Artist and the Public''
16/18
MEZZATESTA:
FACADE OF
LEONI'S CASA
DEGLI OMENONI
247
i ~
~ z
?cr ,~u)iS?Iil'
:? . ~???
~"''~bl ~ -------- '~ ~"J~i~i
i
~I
Fig.
i8.
Casa
degli
Omenoni,
detailof the corniceand rieze
author).
Virtue
(a
winged
man
standing
on a diamond and
holding
a
laurel and date tree) with Vice in the form of a nude satyr
beneath him. A
portrait
bust of the architect was also
present
along
with an
inscription
detailing
Onitoan Noliaver's achieve-
ments.47
Leoni
may
have been
inspired
by
Filarete's
overdoor.48
nstead
of
the
unwieldy
armed
warrior,
however,
Leoni
selected
lions,
thereby combining
two
parts
of
Filarete's
program
n one device.
As
the lion is
a
symbol
of
virtue,
he referred
to virtue's
victory
over
vice
(satyr),
and he
replaced
the bust
of Onitoan
Noliaver
with a
punning
self-reference based
on
his
personal
emblems.
II.IINWI~I~~-. -..
r~'~
:`'~~~"`
~s,~ i
t ,x
~c~?
f~
b
~ a ~:
~ ?
:'~~?r~p
i.;
.,,rc?~ls*?:~
:?r :S:'46~P~~
ir??~r.?-?:
?~.?
~ a i
j
I::
i
5~-?11
~~i~
i:?9r.J~
?I
.. Ifil
?? ? 'P:r
r~g~E~Bi~8i
/Ik1:
1
:;;:~ib~98ll~i$;r~~nIIIIII~Crrtl.,~,~iPs ~~2P;lt i-i. ~ i
:: W ~rjaA~Q ?::
: ~-~ ?%g~?~
WR.
-------u.Lic:l? ̀ :::?:::8861~1~ i
: P'?:~P~c;b~lsr-a"lssnr" I I?I~"~~~"~~"'"`;~":"""" ~4L?:::
~ba~ls ~:38i6~ 6
:~B~'l~p~PLR~d~-.~i~~ rsr~a~i~sa~
a?t
5
::
1::::i
:m
k
?::
iQ
::Z :i?~?: i::
ih
~.:1:;22
I"i
5: " ?:
.~x?e:::
:~t :
?::~iC(i
:??l?ilii~s~?r
5sji:s.-,~ I:li ~ :: :?:?:?
-?iP~?:i?.-S~ :R-?
??';r~~-1.
L
~?:? ??-
:I
I~
k:
I? :b:r:
r?;:n?~o
4
?:?r :~: :'TbE~itdlk~i~:
:;::.
~Sj
:: ~?sq
?: :k 8:~n
?:?~~?I::' :i n
?`
-?-- ~
:o
?,; I? :. rlepLqp~;~:
Fig.
19.
LeoneLeoni's oat of arms
appearing
n his
grant
of
nobility
and
knighthood (Archivio
Storico
dell'Arte,
,
fasc.
1I
[1889],
81).
But t
