Visconti-Sforza “Worlds” as Fama
Posted: 03 Mar 2020, 18:51
Mike Howard and I have been arguing over the meaning of the so-called “World” trump for some time, myself arguing that the CY shows the fama (the allegorical woman with winged trumpet above the nimbus cloud and crown) of a prudent ruler – the knight bearing the Visconti standard below in the landscape. Mike has insisted all we have is fama’s winged trumpet and no sign of prudence, ergo just fama.
I’ve been promising a long-winded post about the “World” as the Prudence of a Prince, or rather the prudently ordered dominion shown in the tondo of the various hand-painted “world cards, but I’m not getting around to that anytime soon (its an in depth look at Trecento variant depictions of Prudence and how it developed from there into the Quattrocento). In the interim, I thought I would at least state the fact that in the PMB there is a different card that unquestionably depicts fama, the Chariot; therefore the “World” cannot also be fama, it being pointless to have the exact same allegory twice.
The Chariot is clearly tied to the World in all of the hand-painted luxury decks of the Quattrocento, as after the CY/PMB, the Chariot is a male ruler and clearly the “World” is his dominion. The Chariot’s meaning within the CY/PMB is itself not stable, as clearly the virginal bride on the CY Chariot holding Chastity’s jousting shield, emblazoned with the radiant dove impresa, becomes the established Duchess Bianca in the PMB, holding the orb of rulership and pulled by “two winged horses.” In the CY World's allegorical female holding fame's trumpet appears to be an iteration of the CY Chariot Visconti impresa held out for the groom by the bride on the chariot, her virtue paired with the groom's fortitude, etc., producing fama, that will in turn attend on the groom for marrying into the Visconti and being assigned the Visconti possession of Cremona. In the PMB, the Wolrd instead reflects the fact that the bride has now become a mother and had two children at the time Milan was taken, and thus two putti holding up an idealized image of restored Milan. Accordingly, fama is only asssociated with the "World" in the CY and is clearly moved to the Chariot in the PMB due to the specific change of circumstances involving Bianca.
So on what basis do I make the leap to seeing the Chariot as fama in the PMB? The winged horse Pegasus was associated as a symbol -
One needs to keep in mind the close connection of Pegasus, born from the blood of Medusa, then strikes Mount Helicon (or alternately Parnassos) to create the Castalian spring from which the nine Muses sprung. Usually it is the Muses (especially Clio, muse of history) that spread a hero/prince’s fame (consider Filelfo’s Odes for instance, each encomiastic section named for a Muse; the Ambrosian Republic is instead painted as a gorgon, slaughtered by Sforza from which Pegasus could rise, per Ode 3.4, describing Sforza’s ingresso; but also see Ode III.1.10). Guastella further explicates the development of Pegasus-fama in the hands of Boccaccio, turning Virgil’s negative conception of fama as mere rumor to a positive, from whom it then spread:
VICTORIAM FAMA SEQVETVR / 'Fame will follow victory'
Apparently due to the famous fresco of Vaingloria by Giotto in the palace of Azzone Visconti, in Milan, the forerunner to the iconographic tradition illustrating Petrarch's Triumph of Fame, the Sforza were predisposed to depicting two horses, as shown on the 1379 frontispiece to Petrarch's De Viris Illustribus (BnF MS Latin 6069F), complete with the primary Visconti stemma of the biscione.
Elsewhere the singular Pegasus would take root, as in the Allegorie Triomphe de la Renomme shown below (c. 1520, Francais 22541, fol. 101v), and became a popular motif into the 18th century (e.g., as a monumental statute at Versailles).
In c. 1451, however, the Fulgentius/Boccaccio symbolism of Pegasus was quite rare and would have likely depended on a learned humanist (hello Filelfo). Sforza's lack of imperial investiture placed him in being almost completely reliant on his wife Bianca having been Filippo’s only offspring in his claim to the Duchy of Milan, so Bianca was naturally given a pronounced role in the PMB, where she has gone from bride on the chariot to co-ruler with Francesco, their union indeed producing fama (and equally critical, heirs, as shown on the PMB ‘World’).
Phaeded
I’ve been promising a long-winded post about the “World” as the Prudence of a Prince, or rather the prudently ordered dominion shown in the tondo of the various hand-painted “world cards, but I’m not getting around to that anytime soon (its an in depth look at Trecento variant depictions of Prudence and how it developed from there into the Quattrocento). In the interim, I thought I would at least state the fact that in the PMB there is a different card that unquestionably depicts fama, the Chariot; therefore the “World” cannot also be fama, it being pointless to have the exact same allegory twice.
The Chariot is clearly tied to the World in all of the hand-painted luxury decks of the Quattrocento, as after the CY/PMB, the Chariot is a male ruler and clearly the “World” is his dominion. The Chariot’s meaning within the CY/PMB is itself not stable, as clearly the virginal bride on the CY Chariot holding Chastity’s jousting shield, emblazoned with the radiant dove impresa, becomes the established Duchess Bianca in the PMB, holding the orb of rulership and pulled by “two winged horses.” In the CY World's allegorical female holding fame's trumpet appears to be an iteration of the CY Chariot Visconti impresa held out for the groom by the bride on the chariot, her virtue paired with the groom's fortitude, etc., producing fama, that will in turn attend on the groom for marrying into the Visconti and being assigned the Visconti possession of Cremona. In the PMB, the Wolrd instead reflects the fact that the bride has now become a mother and had two children at the time Milan was taken, and thus two putti holding up an idealized image of restored Milan. Accordingly, fama is only asssociated with the "World" in the CY and is clearly moved to the Chariot in the PMB due to the specific change of circumstances involving Bianca.
So on what basis do I make the leap to seeing the Chariot as fama in the PMB? The winged horse Pegasus was associated as a symbol -
...comes from the allegorization in Fulgentius, Mythologiae 1.21 of Pegasus as the Fame that attends Virtue: ‘Pegasus, said to have been born from the blood of Medusa, is established as a figure of fame (in figura famae); for when virtue has cut off fear, it generates fame; hence Pegasus is also said to fly, since fame is winged.’ (Phillip Hardie, Rumour and Renown: Representations of Fama in Western Literature, 2012: 622).
One needs to keep in mind the close connection of Pegasus, born from the blood of Medusa, then strikes Mount Helicon (or alternately Parnassos) to create the Castalian spring from which the nine Muses sprung. Usually it is the Muses (especially Clio, muse of history) that spread a hero/prince’s fame (consider Filelfo’s Odes for instance, each encomiastic section named for a Muse; the Ambrosian Republic is instead painted as a gorgon, slaughtered by Sforza from which Pegasus could rise, per Ode 3.4, describing Sforza’s ingresso; but also see Ode III.1.10). Guastella further explicates the development of Pegasus-fama in the hands of Boccaccio, turning Virgil’s negative conception of fama as mere rumor to a positive, from whom it then spread:
But, you protest, the PMB has an illogical two Pegasuses. To that let me introduce the “smoking gun”: Caterina Sforza-Riario, countess of Forli, issued a medal after her husband was killed (so c. 1488-90) that has a reverse of Winged Victory in girdled tunic driving to the right, a cart drawn by two prancing winged horses. She holds in her right hand a palm-branch. On the side of the cart there is a shield with the Sforza biscione. Lest there be any confusion of the meaning here, the reverse states:Beyond the allegorical screen of the Pegasus figure Boccaccio evidently sees a positive conception of fama, mainly understood as honourable renown. While still closely linked to the worldly, temporal dimension, this kind of fama comes from virtuous, wise, and meditated deeds performed by illustrious heroes (those typically celebrated by the poets); as such, it is strongly opposed to the ‘infamy’ generated by reckless initiatives. Although words and writing still constitute the main vehicle for this renown over time, the virtue that Boccaccio speaks of once again recalls the conception of worldly glory….
Boccaccio’s interpretation, in conclusion, is part of a long and complex vein of tradition that, starting from the very passages by Fulgentius and the Vatican Mythographers that we have examined, and later on integrated with images of ancient numismatic heritage, would eventually introduce the image of Pegasus as a figure of good (or clear) Fama that men can conquer though illustrious feats. (Gianni Guastella, Word of Mouth. Fama and its Personifications in Art and Literature from Ancient Rome to the Middle Ages. 2017: 350).
VICTORIAM FAMA SEQVETVR / 'Fame will follow victory'
Apparently due to the famous fresco of Vaingloria by Giotto in the palace of Azzone Visconti, in Milan, the forerunner to the iconographic tradition illustrating Petrarch's Triumph of Fame, the Sforza were predisposed to depicting two horses, as shown on the 1379 frontispiece to Petrarch's De Viris Illustribus (BnF MS Latin 6069F), complete with the primary Visconti stemma of the biscione.
Elsewhere the singular Pegasus would take root, as in the Allegorie Triomphe de la Renomme shown below (c. 1520, Francais 22541, fol. 101v), and became a popular motif into the 18th century (e.g., as a monumental statute at Versailles).
In c. 1451, however, the Fulgentius/Boccaccio symbolism of Pegasus was quite rare and would have likely depended on a learned humanist (hello Filelfo). Sforza's lack of imperial investiture placed him in being almost completely reliant on his wife Bianca having been Filippo’s only offspring in his claim to the Duchy of Milan, so Bianca was naturally given a pronounced role in the PMB, where she has gone from bride on the chariot to co-ruler with Francesco, their union indeed producing fama (and equally critical, heirs, as shown on the PMB ‘World’).
Phaeded