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Location: Girolamo Savonarola Historical Profile
Discussion: 7 February 1497 - Bonfire of the Vanities
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Kittywake09 |
7 February 1497 - Bonfire of the Vanities
Feb 7 2012, 6:45 AM EST
Bonfire of the Vanities refers to the burning of objects that are deemed to be occasions of sin. The most infamous one took place on 7 February 1497, when supporters of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy, on the Mardi Gras festival. Such bonfires were not invented by Savonarola, however. They were a common accompaniment to the outdoor sermons of San Bernardino di Siena in the first half of the century.The focus of this destruction was nominally on objects that might tempt one to sin, including vanity items such as mirrors, cosmetics, fine dresses, paintings, playing cards, and even musical instruments. Other targets included books that were deemed to be "immoral," such as works by Boccaccio, and manuscripts of secular songs, as well as artworks, including paintings and sculpture. Although it is widely reported that the Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli burned several of his paintings based on classical mythology in the great Florentine bonfire of 1497, the historical record on this is not clear. The art historian Giorgio Vasari said that Botticelli was a partisan of Savonarola: "he was so ardent a partisan that he was thereby induced to desert his painting, and, having no income to live on, fell into very great distress." Writing several centuries later, Orestes Brownson, an apologist for Savonarola, mentions artwork only by Fra Bartolomeo, Lorenzo di Credi, and "many other painters," along with "several antique statues." Art historian Rab Hatfield argues that one of Botticelli's paintings, The Mystical Nativity, is based on the sermon Savonarola delivered at Christmas Eve 1493. Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
Bonfire of the Vanities
Book-Burning
Florence
Girolamo Savonarola
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offwithherhead |
1. RE: 7 February 1497 - Bonfire of the Vanities
Feb 7 2012, 9:19 AM EST
What a loss for the art world. Botticelli's artwork is amazing (http://theborgias.wetpaint.com/photos/album/162479/Sandro+Botticelli?offset=0&maxResults=50) and I can only imagine the wonderful pieces that were lost to the bonfires. Wonder if they are going to show the Bonfire of the Vanities on the show. Do you find this valuable? |
juliana-angela |
2. RE: 7 February 1497 - Bonfire of the Vanities
Feb 7 2012, 5:38 PM EST
"I hope they do - it would make a great spectacle and a fine opportunity for Steven Berkoff to chew the scenery! Do you find this valuable? |
