Bust of a Woman with an Elaborate Coiffure
12:00 AM
Ye Pirate Bold
Dead Men Tell No Tales
Curated by Sonia Larbi
 |
| Rosso Fiorentino, Bust of a Woman with an Elaborate Coiffure, 1530-1539 |
Added by John Talmann sometime in the 18th century, the story above typifies the daring, adventurous, lusty, and cruel pirate tale. One can just picture the panicked woman riding a spooked horse at full speed by moonlight with a sea-crusted pirate in pursuit. At the time the sketch was produced, there was indeed such as pirate on the loose. In fact, there were two pirates named Barbarossa, brothers, who successfully pillaged and plundered throughout the Mediterranean and even ruled the port city of Algiers for a time. Aruj and his little brother Hizir plagued the treasure ships of Sicily and the battle galleons of their arch enemies - the Christian corsairs. By 1510, Aruj was one of the richest men in the Mediterranean, so no wonder he thought he was entitled to Julia Gonzaga when he arrived in Italy.
The city of Fondi - Fundi in Latin - had been thriving artistically under Julia. Her success in the arts and sciences probably led Barbarossa to believe they were a perfect match. Perhaps this sketch in chalk pays tribute to her patronage and influence in the small town between Rome and Naples. It definitely does not allude to the complete destruction Barbarossa brought upon the populace when he was rejected. Rape, pillage, and revelry ensued, leading to the city's decline. Another victim to the pirate, the city never recovered.
Howard Pyle writes in The Book of Pirates, "Why is it that a little spice of deviltry lends not an unpleasantly titillating twang to the great mass of respectable flour that goes to make up the pudding of our modern civilization?" There is a certain sense of glamour, heroics, and rebellion in the act of pirating. Usually, such escapades are memorialized in the pages of a book. How can a painting capture the chaos of a naval battle, the swagger of a ship's captain, or the glint of treasure? This collection aims to do just that. With seven works, we will explore the world of the pirate of the old.
Pyle continues, "And
such is that black chapter of history of the past -- an evil chapter, lurid
with cruelty and suffering, stained with blood and smoke. Yet it is a written
chapter, and it must be read. He who chooses may read betwixt the lines of
history this great truth: Evil itself is an instrument toward the shaping of
good. Therefore the history of evil as well as the history of good should be
read, considered, and digested."
0 comments