Matteo Palmieri

Matteo Palmieri
Portrait of Matteo Palmieri
Artist Cristofano dell'Altissimo
Year after 1552
Type Oil on wood
Dimensions 60 cm × 40 cm (24 in × 16 in)
Location Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Matteo di Marco Palmieri (1406–1475) was a Florentine humanist and historian who is best known for his work Della vita civile ("On Civic Life"; printed 1528) which advocated civic humanism, and his influence in refining the Tuscan vernacular to the same level as Latin.[1] He was sent as Florentine ambassador to the court of Alfonso of Naples. Vespasiano da Bisticci included him among the illustrious men of his generation whose careers deserved an article in his Vite di uomini illustri del secolo XV.[2] vita.

Biography

Palmieri was born to a middle-class family who held prominent positions in the city. He was educated in Florence and ran a profitable apothecary shop; like his father he pursued a career in civil service, becoming a well known and respected public official between 1432 and 1475 holding many posts and titles. [1]

At the end of his life, he commissioned from the florentine painter Francesco Botticini(1446 – 1498) a monumental Assumption of the Virgin[3] for the church of the Benedictine nunnery of San Pier Maggiore in Florence, where the Palmieri had their chapel; in the painting are the kneeling donor portraits of Matteo and his wife Niccolosa de' Serragli.[4]

Assumption of the Virgin, by Francesco Botticini, 1475-77 (National Gallery, London)

Works

Palmieri firmly believed in the humanist ideal that virtù was a combination of both learning and political action, and so in concordance with his political life, he was also an author.[1] He wrote in both Latin and Italian. Among his Latin works are Liber de temporibus (Book of Epochs), a universal chronicle of the world from the time of creation to his present day; the De captivitate liber (The Capture of Pisa), an account of the Florentine capture of Pisa in 1406; and a biography of Niccolò Acciaioli, translated to Italian by Donato Acciaioli.

In Italian Palmieri wrote a three-book poem La città di vita ("The City of Life") in 1465, which is an imitation of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The poem was unpublished in his lifetime, and upon its appearance in print was condemned by the Church as heretical, thus after his death Palmieri's body was removed from the Church of San Pier Maggiore and an effigy of him was burned.[1]

Palmieri's best known work as a humanist is Della vita civile ("On Civic Life"; printed 1528), composed in 1429 and circulated between 1435-1440.[1] It is a treaties discussing the qualities of the ideal citizen. It is written as series of dialogs in four books, set in a country house in Mugello during the plague of 1430, with Agnolo Pandolfini a rich florentine merchant as the main speaker. Depending for the first dialogue upon Quintilian's Institutio oratoria and for the last three on Cicero's De officiis,[5] it discusses the physical and intellectual development of children, the moral life of a citizen, the contrasting tensions between what is useful and what is honest. As well as classic writers such as Cicero, Quintilian and Plutarch, it draws on Palmieri's own personal experiences as a civil servant. His primary emphasis and advocacy is on the need for a good education and taking an active part in the life of the city.[1] Education at an early age he considered crucial to improve the human capacity to do good for others and the community.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Giuseppe Flavo, Paul Grendler (ed.). "Palmieri, Matteo" in Encyclopedia of the Renaissance, 1999, volume 3, pp. 376-377. ISBN 0684805146
  2. ^ Published as Vite di uomini illustri del secolo xv by Ludovico Frati, Bologna, 1892-93; a translation was reprinted as The Vespasiano Memoirs: Lives of Illustrious Men of the XV Century (Renaissance Society of America Reprint Texts) 1997.
  3. ^ Now at the National Gallery, London.
  4. ^ Rolf Bagemihl, "Francesco Botticini's Palmieri Altar-Piece", The Burlington Magazine 138 No. 1118 (May 1996), pp. 308-314.
  5. ^ Specifics are discussed in Claudio Finzi, Matteo Palmieri: dalla 'Vita Civile' alla 'Cittàdi Vita' (Rome) 1984.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Matteo Palmieri — MatteoPalmieri, Gemälde von Cristofano dell Altissimo, nach 1552 (heute in den Uffizien, Florenz) Matteo Palmieri (* 1406 in Florenz; † 1475 ebenda) war ein italienischer Humanist in der Renaissance. Leben Palmieri stammte aus Florenz und stud …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Andrea Matteo Palmieri — Biographie Naissance 10 août 1493 à Naples Royaume de Naples Décès 20 janvier …   Wikipédia en Français

  • PALMIERI (M.) — PALMIERI MATTEO (1406 1475) D’origine populaire, Matteo Palmieri fit des études humanistes à Florence et participa à la vie publique. Il écrit en latin des textes de caractères historique et biographique, méditant sur l’histoire qu’il considère… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Palmieri — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Charlie Palmieri (1927–1988), US amerikanischer Pianist und Orchesterleiter Cristoforo Palmieri (* 1939), Bischof in Albanien Eddie Palmieri (* 1936), US amerikanischer Pianist Gian Giuseppe Palmieri… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Palmieri — is a surname, and may refer to: *Cristoforo Palmieri *Charlie Palmieri (1927 1988), Puerto Rican American bandleader *Eddie Palmieri (born 1936), Puerto Rican American pianist, bandleader, brother of Charlie Palmieri *Fabrizio Palmieri *Luigi… …   Wikipedia

  • Palmieri — Palmieri,   Matteo, italienischer Humanist, * Florenz 13. 1. 1406, ✝ ebenda 13. 4. 1475; als Inhaber hoher Staatsämter in seiner Heimatstadt hervorragendes Beispiel für die von den Humanisten geforderte Verknüpfung von »vita activa« und »vita… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Palmieri, Matteo — (1406 1475)    Florentine humanist, identi fied like his older friend Leonardo Bruni with exaltation of the active life of the citizen as superior (except for persons embracing a monas tic career) to a life of contemplation. Born into a middle… …   Historical Dictionary of Renaissance

  • Villa Palmieri, Fiesole — The Villa Palmieri, is a patrician villa in the picturesque town of Fiesole that overlooks Florence, Italy. The villa s gardens on slopes below the piazza S. Domenico of Fiesole are credited with being the paradisal setting for the frame story of …   Wikipedia

  • Antonio di Matteo di Domenico Rosselino —     Antonio di Matteo di Domenico Rosselino     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Antonio di Matteo di Domenico Rosselino     The youngest of five brothers, sculptors and stone cutters, family name Gamberelli (1427 78). He is said to have studied under… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Paa–Pam — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”