Scuola fiorentina (XVI) - Ritratto di Accursio giurista
Florentine school, 16th century
Portrait of Accursio jurist
Oil on oval panel, 55 x 42 cm
With frame, 62. 5 x 48. 5 cm
The work in question, a singular example of oil on oval panel inserted inside a golden frame with blue decorations, can be attributed to the hand of an artist belonging to the Florentine school of the 16th century.
The person depicted in question is the well-known Italian jurist and glossator Accursio, also known as Accorso da Bagnolo and in Latin Accursius (Bagnolo, 1184 – Bologna, 1263) , representative of the Bologna school, pupil of Azzone and Iacopo Baldovini. He was born into a peasant family, but probably of not too modest condition, in Bagnolo, a small village of a few houses halfway between Impruneta and Montebuoni, on the hills south of Florence (hence the lemma Accursius florentinus, also reported on the table in spelling golden) . After dedicating himself to various studies he decided to approach jurisprudence, becoming one of its most illustrious exponents: his sons Francesco, Guglielmo and Cervotto were also jurists. At the same time as his role as a teacher in Bologna, he began to dedicate himself to compiling a glossary that commented on the entire body of law: Accursius was, in fact, the author of a collection of approximately 97,000 glosses of the Corpus Iuris Civilis of Justinian, which merged into the one that it was called the Magna Glossa (also called Glossa ordinaria or Glossa magistralis) , the foundation of European common law. The exceptional work carried out on the entire body of the text constituted the ideal synthesis of the Bolognese school of glossators and was considered as a concrete response to the crisis that the movement was going through in that period (the inability to offer original contributions was accompanied, in fact, by technical difficulties, such as overlaps that made reading incomprehensible) . In Germany, in the 15th century, with the creation of the Reichskammergericht (Empire Chamber Court, 1495) , the Glossa received official recognition, becoming the only tool for the official interpretation of the legal corpus.
Accursius' interpretations of Roman law influenced the development of all subsequent European legal codes, including the Code Napoléon or French Civil Code, issued in the early 19th century.
In the table presented here the jurist is portrayed dressed according to medieval fashion, that is, with a fur tunic, under which he wore the guarnacca, a long red dress, a true distinctive sign of this office, and a cap of cloth also with fur. As often happens in the portrait genre, the silhouette of the protagonist emerges from a dark and neutral background, a ploy that allowed the artists to enhance the silhouette of the main subject, concentrating all the viewer's attention on it. Much of the charm of this portrait also consists in having been created entirely with oil colours, which, requiring slower drying times, allowed the artist to make numerous modifications and stratifications during the work, producing on the table greater consistency and thickness.
Accursio's portrait is part of the famous tradition of the depiction of "Illustrious Men", works often collected in series portraying particularly influential personalities and benefactors of the time. Portraits, both painted and sculpted, took on a very important role in Renaissance society, valued by clients as true symbolic objects of their status quo and their earthly fame, as well as their wealth.
To fully understand the historical importance of this character, just think of the numerous engravings circulating at the time, such as that of the engraver and numismatist Enea Vico (1523 – 1567) , belonging to the famous Illustrum iureconsultorum imagines series from Marco's collection Mantova Bonavides or like those preserved in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam; or even think of the portraits painted by the Florentine painter Cristofano dell'Altissimo, one of which at the time became part of the private collection of Duke Cosimo de Medici, now located in the Uffizi Gallery.
Accursio's fame and power grew so much during his lifetime that it also allowed him to create an imposing residence in the new city square (Piazza Maggiore) , which would later be acquired by the government to be transformed into a large food warehouse (Palazzo della Biada) , subsequently enlarged and transformed into the vast Palazzo del Comune, still today called Palazzo d'Accursio. Today Accursio himself and his son Francesco rest in the ark behind the apse of the basilica of San Francesco: the monument was commissioned by his son, who had his father's body moved from the convent of San Domenico where he had been temporarily buried.
The frame is provided free of charge, therefore it cannot be a reason for return or complaint.
For paintings purchased abroad: after payment the procedure to obtain the export license (ALC) will be started. All antiques sent abroad from Italy require this document, issued by the Minister of Cultural Heritage. The procedure could take 3 to 5 weeks from the request, therefore, as soon as we have the document the painting will be sent.
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Florentine school, 16th century
Portrait of Accursio jurist
Oil on oval panel, 55 x 42 cm
With frame, 62. 5 x 48. 5 cm
The work in question, a singular example of oil on oval panel inserted inside a golden frame with blue decorations, can be attributed to the hand of an artist belonging to the Florentine school of the 16th century.
The person depicted in question is the well-known Italian jurist and glossator Accursio, also known as Accorso da Bagnolo and in Latin Accursius (Bagnolo, 1184 – Bologna, 1263) , representative of the Bologna school, pupil of Azzone and Iacopo Baldovini. He was born into a peasant family, but probably of not too modest condition, in Bagnolo, a small village of a few houses halfway between Impruneta and Montebuoni, on the hills south of Florence (hence the lemma Accursius florentinus, also reported on the table in spelling golden) . After dedicating himself to various studies he decided to approach jurisprudence, becoming one of its most illustrious exponents: his sons Francesco, Guglielmo and Cervotto were also jurists. At the same time as his role as a teacher in Bologna, he began to dedicate himself to compiling a glossary that commented on the entire body of law: Accursius was, in fact, the author of a collection of approximately 97,000 glosses of the Corpus Iuris Civilis of Justinian, which merged into the one that it was called the Magna Glossa (also called Glossa ordinaria or Glossa magistralis) , the foundation of European common law. The exceptional work carried out on the entire body of the text constituted the ideal synthesis of the Bolognese school of glossators and was considered as a concrete response to the crisis that the movement was going through in that period (the inability to offer original contributions was accompanied, in fact, by technical difficulties, such as overlaps that made reading incomprehensible) . In Germany, in the 15th century, with the creation of the Reichskammergericht (Empire Chamber Court, 1495) , the Glossa received official recognition, becoming the only tool for the official interpretation of the legal corpus.
Accursius' interpretations of Roman law influenced the development of all subsequent European legal codes, including the Code Napoléon or French Civil Code, issued in the early 19th century.
In the table presented here the jurist is portrayed dressed according to medieval fashion, that is, with a fur tunic, under which he wore the guarnacca, a long red dress, a true distinctive sign of this office, and a cap of cloth also with fur. As often happens in the portrait genre, the silhouette of the protagonist emerges from a dark and neutral background, a ploy that allowed the artists to enhance the silhouette of the main subject, concentrating all the viewer's attention on it. Much of the charm of this portrait also consists in having been created entirely with oil colours, which, requiring slower drying times, allowed the artist to make numerous modifications and stratifications during the work, producing on the table greater consistency and thickness.
Accursio's portrait is part of the famous tradition of the depiction of "Illustrious Men", works often collected in series portraying particularly influential personalities and benefactors of the time. Portraits, both painted and sculpted, took on a very important role in Renaissance society, valued by clients as true symbolic objects of their status quo and their earthly fame, as well as their wealth.
To fully understand the historical importance of this character, just think of the numerous engravings circulating at the time, such as that of the engraver and numismatist Enea Vico (1523 – 1567) , belonging to the famous Illustrum iureconsultorum imagines series from Marco's collection Mantova Bonavides or like those preserved in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam; or even think of the portraits painted by the Florentine painter Cristofano dell'Altissimo, one of which at the time became part of the private collection of Duke Cosimo de Medici, now located in the Uffizi Gallery.
Accursio's fame and power grew so much during his lifetime that it also allowed him to create an imposing residence in the new city square (Piazza Maggiore) , which would later be acquired by the government to be transformed into a large food warehouse (Palazzo della Biada) , subsequently enlarged and transformed into the vast Palazzo del Comune, still today called Palazzo d'Accursio. Today Accursio himself and his son Francesco rest in the ark behind the apse of the basilica of San Francesco: the monument was commissioned by his son, who had his father's body moved from the convent of San Domenico where he had been temporarily buried.
The frame is provided free of charge, therefore it cannot be a reason for return or complaint.
For paintings purchased abroad: after payment the procedure to obtain the export license (ALC) will be started. All antiques sent abroad from Italy require this document, issued by the Minister of Cultural Heritage. The procedure could take 3 to 5 weeks from the request, therefore, as soon as we have the document the painting will be sent.
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Time, Location
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