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{{short description|Croatian-Italian Renaissance painter, miniaturist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox artist {{Infobox artist
| name = Giulio Clovio<br/>Juraj Julije Klović
| bgcolour = #EEDD82
| name = Giulio Clovio<br>Juraj Julije Klović | image = Musée de Capodimonte - Le Gréco, portrait de Giulio Clovio, en 1571-572 -01.jpg
| caption = ], pointing to his '']'', by ].
| image = Julije Klovic 2.jpg
| birth_date = 1498
| caption = Portrait of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, pointing to his ''Farnese Hours'', by ].
| birth_place = ], ]
| birthname =
| death_date = 5 January {{Death year and age|1578|1498}}
| birthdate =
| death_place = ], ]
| birth_place = ], near ] in ], (today in ])
| field = Illuminator, miniaturist, and painter
| deathdate =
| deathplace =
| nationality = ]<ref name="John W. Bradley 368-369">{{cite book | last=Bradley | first=John W. | pages=368–369 | title= The Life and Works of Giorgio Giulio Clovio Miniaturist with Notices of His Contemporaries and of the Art of Book Decoration in the Sixteenth Century | publisher=Kessinger Publishing | location= | year=2004 | isbn=1417946059, 9781417946051}}</ref><ref name="Maria Cionini Visani 8">{{cite book | last=Visani | first=Maria | page=8 | title= Giorgio Clovio | publisher=Laurana | location= | year=1993 | isbn=}}</ref>
| field = Illuminator, miniaturist, and painter
| training = ] and ]
| movement = ] | movement = ]
| works = ] | works = ]
| patrons =
| awards =
| signature =
}} }}
]

'''Giorgio Giulio Clovio''' ({{lang-hr|'''Juraj Julije Klović'''}}) (1498 – January 5, 1578) was a ]<ref name="John W. Bradley 368-369"/><ref name="Maria Cionini Visani 8"/> ] illuminator, miniaturist, and painter, born in ], who worked in ]. He was also a priest. He is considered the greatest illuminator of the ], and arguably the last very notable artist in the long tradition of the ], before some modern revivals. '''Giorgio Giulio Clovio''' or '''Juraj Julije Klović''' (1498 – 5 January 1578) was a Croatian-Italian ], miniaturist, and painter born in the ], who was mostly active in ].<ref>John Van Antwerp Fine, When ethnicity did not matter in the Balkans: a study of identity in pre-nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the medieval and early-modern periods, University of Michigan Press, 2006, p 195 </ref> He is considered the greatest illuminator of the ], and arguably the last very notable artist in the long tradition of the ], before some modern revivals.


==Biography== ==Biography==
Giulio Clovio was born in ], a village in ] (today's ]).<ref name="ReferenceA">The Life and Works of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, Miniaturist: with notices of his contemporaries, and of the art of decoration in the Sixteenth Century - by John William Bradley – 1891</ref>
===Origins===
He came from a ] family,<ref name="John W. Bradley 368-369">], pp. 368–369</ref><ref name="Maria Cionini Visani 8">{{cite book | last=Visani | first=Maria | page=8 | title= Giorgio Clovio | publisher=Laurana | year=1993 }}</ref> and he is known as ''Clovio Croata.''<ref>Igor Fisković; (1989) ''Renaissance Art in Dalmatia and Hungary'' p. 100; Balcánica XX, Belgrade </ref>
Clovio was born in ], near ] in ], (today in ]), in what was then the ].<ref name="vasari213">Vasari, Giorgio:.</ref>
Croatian sources claim that his name was probably '''Juraj Klović'''<ref>" ", Croatian Government Bulletin, September / October 1999.</ref> and the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' states that his original name was perhaps Glović,<ref>'']'', Volume IV: article on , by Louis Gillet, Robert Appleton Company, New York, 1908.</ref> while J.W.Bradley speculates that Clovio's surname was Glovičić.<ref>The Life and Works of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, Miniaturist: With Notices of His Contemporaries ... By John William Bradley; on the page 19 it reads:
<br>
I have followed the statement of Sakcinski, the learned compiler of the Lexicon of South Slavonic Artists, who decides on the one I have already given. ... The name Giulio or Julius signed to many of his pictures, and by which in later life he was universally known,...
<br>
The Lexicon of South Slavonic Artists is actually ''Slovnik umjetnikah jugoslavenskih od Ivana Kukuljevića Sakcinskoga U Zagrebu 1858 Tiskom Narodne tiskarne dra Ljudevita Gaja''. On the Page 176 - it reads:
<br>
Klovio Juraj Julio, najslavniji sitnoslikar. Rodio se g. 1498 u Grižanah, neznatnom selu hrvatskoga Primorja, u kotaru vinodolskom. Što mu bijehu roditelji i kako se zvahu, to se žalibože jošte ne zna. Neima sumnje da je njegovo prezime stoprv u Italiji, po običaju onoga
vremena, preinačeno i potalijančeno. U cielom hrvatskom Primorju neima ni jednoga pisanoga spomenika, u kom bi se spominjalo ime porodice Klovio. Naprotiv dolaze u pismih onoga vremena: "Glovičić" i "Glavičić" u Grižanah i u Novom, "Glovon" i "Glavan" u Trsatu, "Glavić" u Bosni, a poslije u Dalmaciji i hrvatskom Primorju.
<br>
Translation: ''Klovio Juraj Julio, the most celebrated miniaturist. He was born in the year of 1498 in Grižane, an unknown village of the Croatian Primorje (Adriatic coastline) in the Vinodol county. What were his parents and what are their names - unfortunately, it is not known yet. There is no doubt that his family name was one-hundred-and-first time - in Italy and according to the customs of those times - altered and italienized. In the whole Croatian Primorje there is no a single written monument in which the name of Klovio family was mentioned. Contrary to that there are - in the writings of that time - "Glovičić" and "Glavičić" in Grižane and in Novi, "Glovon" and "Glavan" in Trsat, "Glavić" in Bosnia, and after in Dalmatia and Croatian Primorje.''
<br>
] is quoted in this book written in the year of 1906:
<br>
Nacrt života i djela biskupa J.J. Strossmayera: izabrani njegovi spisi, govori, rasprave i okružnice by Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, Tadija Smičiklas - 1906 - on the page 251 it reads
<br>
"Najdivnije minijature, najuzvišenije slike svećenici su negda sami slikali, n.pr. naš Clovio, Angeliko Fiesole i brat mu Benedetto i.t.d."
<br>
Translation: The most beautiful miniatures, the most elevated paintings the priests alone painted some time ago, i.e. our Clovio, Angeliko Fiesole and his brother Benedetto e.t.c.
<br></ref>


It is not known where he had his early training, but he may have studied art with monks at ] of Novi Bazar when he was young.<ref>Ralph N James, Painters and Their Works: A Dictionary of Great Artists who are Not Now Alive - 1896 - p. 201-3</ref>
===Career===
], Manchester.]]
]
He is said to have trained in ], and to have studied afterwards at Rome under ], and at ] under ]. He excelled in historical pieces and portraits, painting in minute detail, much of which needs to be seen with a magnifying-glass, and yet contriving to handle his subjects with great force and precision.
He worked in ], ] and elsewhere, with a long active period in ] where he died. He worked mostly for royal and clerical private collectors. His grave is in the ], the church containing ]'s celebrated '']''.


], from the Farnese Hours]]
Clovio arrived at Venice from Croatia at the age of 18.<ref name="vasari213"/> There he became a protégé of Cardinal ] and engraved medals and seals for him, as well as the Grimani Commentary Ms., an important early illuminated book (now ], London). By 1524 Clovio was at ], at the Hungarian court of ], for whom he painted the "Judgment of Paris" and "Lucretia". After Louis' death in the ], Clovio travelled to Rome where he continued his career.
He moved to ] at age 18 and entered the household of Cardinal ] where he was trained as a painter. Between 1516 and ca 1523 Clovio may have lived with Marino in the residence of the latter's uncle Cardinal ] in ].<ref name="Calvillo">Elena Calvillo, Romanità and Grazia: Giulio Clovio's Pauline Frontispieces for Marino Grimani, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 82, No. 2 (Jun., 2000), pp. 280-297, {{JSTOR|3051377}}</ref> Clovio studied under ] during this early period.<ref>Julius Schlosser, Two Portrait Miniatures from Castle Ambras, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 41, No. 235 (Oct., 1922), pp. 194-195+197-198, {{JSTOR|861625}}</ref>
Clovio was a friend of the much younger ], the celebrated ] artist from ], who later worked in ], during El Greco's early years in Rome. Greco painted two portraits of Clovio; one shows the four painters whom he considered as his masters; in this Clovio is side by side with ], ] and ]. Clovio was also known as ''Michelangelo of the ]''. Books with his miniatures became famous primarily due to his skilled illustrations. He was persuasive in transferring the style of Italian high ] painting into the miniature format.
]'' and ''] Adored by the ]'' from the ''Farnese Hours'']]
] stayed with Clovio in Rome during his Italian trip of 1558; he executed a small medallion on a Clovio miniature (]), but the six Bruegels in mentioned in Clovio's will have all disappeared.


He also studied under ].
His most famous work is the ''],'' completed in 1546 for ] ], which was nine years in the making (now ], New York). He is pointing to this work in the El Greco portrait (above). This contains twenty-eight miniatures, mostly of Old and New Testament scenes, but with a famous double-page picture representing the ] procession in Rome. It has splendid silver-gilt covers, although they are not by ], as Vasari claimed. The ] has his twelve miniatures of the victories of the ], and other works. The ] has a manuscript life of Frederigo III di Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, superbly illustrated by Clovio. The ''Towneley ]'' is now in the ] and probably belonged to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Used during services, the book contained six majestic, full-page miniatures opposite miniature depictions of the Evangelists. The illustrations, introduced the relevant readings from the Scripture. They include the ] and the ].


While a protégé of Cardinal Domenico Grimani, Clovio engraved medals and seals for him, as well as the Grimani Commentary Ms., an important early illuminated book (now ], London).
Other illustrations by him are kept in libraries in ], ], ], and ], and other works are in many private collections. A small part of his work is viewable in '']'' ("Palace of Klović"), the art gallery dedicated to him in ].


By 1524 Clovio was at ], at the Hungarian court of ], for whom he painted the "Judgment of Paris" and "Lucretia". After Louis' death in the ], Clovio travelled to Rome where he continued his career.<ref name="Carney">Renaissance and Reformation, 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary (The Great Cultural Eras of the Western World) by Jo Eldridge Carney (editor) Greenwood Press 2001. Clovio Giulio p. 88-89</ref>
According to a description written for publication by Antonfrancesco Cirni, he also designed many of the costumes for the famously elaborate wedding festivities of Ortensia ] in March 1565, which were held in the ] and included a tournament in the Belvedere coutyard. Such duties were often expected of a Renaissance court painter. The costumes are carefully recorded in a series of anonymous ]s, some probably based on Clovio's design drawings.


After 1527 he visited several monasteries of the ]. In 1534 Clovio returned to the household of Cardinal Marino Grimani.<ref name="Carney"/> A year later Clovio may have followed Marino when the latter was appointed as a papal legate to ], where Clovio is thought to have worked on illustrations for the ] Manuscript written by Marino Grimani around that time. Clovio likely returned to Rome by the end of 1538 when he is known to have met with the writer ].<ref name="Calvillo"/>
==500th Anniversary==
Croatia celebrated the 500th anniversary of his birth in 1998. The ] issued a special 200 ] silver coin in commemoration. A monument to Clovio/Klović was also raised in Drivenik. The ] recently made news by purchasing Clovio's ''The Last Judgement'', a painting Clovio gave as a gift to ]. Bernardin Modrić released his film ''The Gospel According to Klović'' in 2006. The Vatican celebrated this anniversary with postal stamps.


]
==Bibliography==

{{commonscat|Julije Klović}}
Clovio later became a member of the household of ] with whom he would be associated until his death. It was during his time with Farnese that Clovio created one of his masterpieces, the ]. Other well-known works from this period include the illustrations for the Towneley Lectionary.<ref>Lilian Armstrong, Review of The Towneley Lectionary Illuminated for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese by Giulio Clovio: The New York Public Library Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations Manuscript 91. Described by Jonathan J.G. Alexander. The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 140, No. 1146 (Sep., 1998), p. 626, {{JSTOR|888022}}</ref>
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Clovio, Giorgio Giulio}}

* Renaissance and Reformation, 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary (The Great Cultural Eras of the Western World) by Jo Eldridge Carney (editor) Greenwood Press 2001. Clovio Giulio p.&nbsp;88-89
From 1551 to 1553 Clovio is known to have worked in ]. During this time he painted a miniature of ] (England, Welbeck Abbey, Private Collection).<ref>Janet Cox-Rearick and Mary Westerman Bulgarella, Public and Private Portraits of Cosimo de' Medici and Eleonora di Toledo: Bronzino's Paintings of His Ducal Patrons in Ottawa and Turin, Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 25, No. 49 (2004), pp. 101-159, {{JSTOR|1483750}}</ref>
* Histoire des arts industriels an moyen age et a l'epoque de la Renaissance: 2:e ed. by Charles Jules Labarte - 1866 - Clovio (Giulio), miniaturiste italien, p.&nbsp;256-8

* The Life and Works of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, Miniaturist: with notices of his contemporaries, and of the art of decoration in the Sixteenth Century - by John William Bradley - 1891
==Contact with other artists==
* Painters and Their Works: A Dictionary of Great Artists who are Not Now Alive by Ralph N James - 1896 - Clovio Giulio - p.&nbsp;201-3
Clovio was a friend of the much younger ], the celebrated ] artist from ] ], who later worked in ], during El Greco's early years in Rome. Greco painted two portraits of Clovio; one shows the four painters whom he considered his masters; in this, Clovio is side by side with ], ], and ]. Clovio was also known as ''Michelangelo of the ]''. Books with his miniatures became famous primarily due to his skilled illustrations. He was persuasive in transferring the style of Italian high ] painting into the miniature format.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}
* Memoirs of the early Italian painters, and of the progress of painting in Italy by Jameson (Anna) - 1859 Clovio Giulio-p.&nbsp;269-270

* Maria Giononi-Visani, Grgo Gamaulin Clovio. Miniaturist of the Renaissance. Alpine Fine Arts Collection. London 1993
] was a personal friend of Giulio Clovio,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and stayed with Clovio in Rome during his Italian trip of 1553.<ref>Charles de Tolnay, Newly Discovered Miniatures by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 107, No. 744 (Mar., 1965), pp. 110-115</ref> Breugel executed a small medallion depicting ships in a storm on a Clovio miniature of the ] (]),<ref>Claude Henri Rocquet, Bruegel, or, The workshop of dreams, University of Chicago Press, 1991, p 51</ref> but the six Bruegels mentioned in Clovio's will have all disappeared.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}

==Major works==
]'' and ''] Adored by the ]'' from the ''Farnese Hours'']]

===''Soane Manuscript''===
Clovio illuminated the Commentary of Marino Grimani on ]'s ]. This work is now in the ] in London. The commentary consists of 130 vellums. Two large miniatures are included, as well as richly decorated borders. The miniatures depict the conversion of St Paul.<ref>], pp. 245-253</ref><ref></ref>

===''Farnese Hours''===
His most famous work is the ''],'' completed in 1546 for ], which was nine years in the making (now ], New York). He is pointing to this work in the El Greco portrait (above). This contains twenty-eight miniatures, mostly of Old and New Testament scenes, but with a famous double-page picture representing the ] procession in Rome. It has splendid silver-gilt covers, although they are not by ], as Vasari claimed.

===''Towneley Lectionary''===
The ''Towneley ]'' is now in the ] and probably belonged to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Used during services, the book contained six majestic, full-page miniatures opposite miniature depictions of the Evangelists. The illustrations introduced the relevant readings from the Scripture. They include the Nativity, the ] and the ].<ref>], pp. 254-260</ref>

===''Colonna Missal''===
], Manchester]]
This work is now in the ] in Manchester.<ref>Donato Mansueto, The Italian emblem: a collection of essays, Librairie Droz, 2007, p 182, n. 56</ref> The Colonna Missal was made for Cardinal Pompeo Colonna. There had been some debate about the identity of the artist. Some had attributed the missal to Raphael (about 1517). It has also been suggested that the work may belong to Vinzenzio Raimondi.<ref>The John Rylands library, Manchester: a brief record of twenty-one years' work (MCM January MCMXII), The University press, 1921, pg xiv </ref> It is now generally attributed to Clovio.<ref>Baltrusaitis, J., En busca de Isis, Siruela, 2006, 9788478444601, </ref><ref>John Rylands Library and Guppy, H., Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, v. 6, Manchester University Press, 1922, </ref>
]

===Other===
The ] has his twelve full-page miniatures of the victories of the ],<ref name=EB1911>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Clovio, Giorgio Giulio |volume=6 |page=563}}</ref> and the ] Book of Hours, which was originally commissioned by Cardinal Marino Grimani and includes 4 miniatures by Giulio Clovio.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_20927 |title=British Library Catalogue |access-date=17 February 2021 |archive-date=21 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221113804/http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_20927 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The ] has a manuscript life of Frederigo III di Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, superbly illustrated by Clovio.<ref name=EB1911/> Other illustrations by him are kept in libraries in ], ], ], and ], and in many private collections. A large exhibition of his works was held in 2012 in '']'' ("Palace of Klović"), the art gallery dedicated to him in ].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.galerijaklovic.hr/sites/default/files/katalog_pdf/katalog.pdf | title=Julije Klović – najveći minijaturist renesanse |trans-title=Giulio Clovio — the greatest miniaturist of the Renaissance | language=hr, en | last=Poklečki-Stošić, Jasminka | access-date=2013-08-02}}</ref>

According to a description written for publication by Antonfrancesco Cirni, he also designed many of the costumes for the famously elaborate wedding festivities of Ortensia ] in March 1565, which were held in the ] and included a tournament in the Belvedere courtyard. Such duties were often expected of a Renaissance court painter. The costumes are carefully recorded in a series of anonymous ]s, some probably based on Clovio's design drawings.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}

==Death and burial==
Giulio Clovio died in Rome on 5 January 1578. His tomb is in the ], the church containing ]'s celebrated '']''.

==500th anniversary==
Croatia celebrated the 1998 500th anniversary of his birth. The ] issued a special 200 ] silver coin in commemoration. A monument to Clovio was also raised in Drivenik. The ] recently made news by purchasing Clovio's ''The Last Judgement'', a painting Clovio gave as a gift to ]. Bernardin Modrić released his film ''The Gospel According to Klović'' in 2006. The Vatican celebrated this anniversary with postal stamps.

==Legacy==
Today, Giulio Clovio is celebrated in ] and ]. He was born in the Kingdom of Croatia and stated his ] identity.<ref name="John W. Bradley 368-369"/><ref name="Maria Cionini Visani 8"/> But, for most of his life he worked in Italy, and is therefore often referred to as an ] painter.<ref> Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.</ref><ref> ''Treccani, il portale del sapere.'' Web. 27 Apr. 2011. {{in lang|it}}</ref>

==Sculptures==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="5">
File:Julije Klovic Z Car 2007.jpg|Statue in ]
File:Juraj Julije Klović (1498-1578).JPG|Bust in ], ]
File:Julije Klovic Grizane 0907.jpg|Monument in ]
File:Juraj Julije Klović, kip u Zagrebu.jpg|Statue in front of ], Zagreb
</gallery>

==See also==
* ]


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book | ref = Bradley | last=Bradley | first=John W. | title= The Life and Works of Giorgio Giulio Clovio Miniaturist with Notices of His Contemporaries and of the Art of Book Decoration in the Sixteenth Century | publisher=Kessinger Publishing | year=2004 | isbn=978-1-4179-4605-1}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{commons category|Julije Klović}}
], ].]]


===International=== ===International===
* {{Britannica|9024457}}
*
*
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831215155/http://www.rkd.nl/rkddb/detail.aspx |date=2007-08-31 }}
* *
*
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* *
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* (named Julius Clovius Croatus in the stamp)
* .
* (named Julius Clovius Croatus in the stamp)

===Croatian===
*
*
*
*
*


===Italian=== ===Italian===
* * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203014932/http://www.copia-di-arte.com/a/clovio-giorgio-giulio.html |date=3 December 2019 }}
* *
* * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213154046/http://www.storiarte.altervista.org/vasarielenco.htm |date=13 December 2020 }}
*
* *


===Croatian===
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. -->
*
| NAME = Clovio, Giorgio Giulio
*
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =

| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
{{High Renaissance}}
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1498
{{Portal bar|Painting|Visual arts}}
| PLACE OF BIRTH = ], near ] in ], (today in ])
{{Authority control}}
| DATE OF DEATH = January 5, 1578

| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clovio, Giorgio Giulio}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Clovio, Giorgio Giulio}}
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
]

]
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]

Latest revision as of 18:47, 12 December 2024

Croatian-Italian Renaissance painter, miniaturist

Giulio Clovio
Juraj Julije Klović
Portrait of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, pointing to his Farnese Hours, by El Greco.
Born1498
Grižane, Kingdom of Croatia
Died5 January 1578 (aged 79–80)
Rome, Papal States
Known forIlluminator, miniaturist, and painter
Notable workFarnese Hours
MovementHigh Renaissance
Engraving of the Cabinet des Estampes Enea Vico after Giulio Clovio (1522).

Giorgio Giulio Clovio or Juraj Julije Klović (1498 – 5 January 1578) was a Croatian-Italian illuminator, miniaturist, and painter born in the Kingdom of Croatia, who was mostly active in Renaissance Italy. He is considered the greatest illuminator of the Italian High Renaissance, and arguably the last very notable artist in the long tradition of the illuminated manuscript, before some modern revivals.

Biography

Giulio Clovio was born in Grižane, a village in Kingdom of Croatia (today's Croatia). He came from a Croatian family, and he is known as Clovio Croata.

It is not known where he had his early training, but he may have studied art with monks at Rijeka of Novi Bazar when he was young.

Clovio's patron, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, from the Farnese Hours

He moved to Italy at age 18 and entered the household of Cardinal Marino Grimani where he was trained as a painter. Between 1516 and ca 1523 Clovio may have lived with Marino in the residence of the latter's uncle Cardinal Domenico Grimani in Rome. Clovio studied under Giulio Romano during this early period.

He also studied under Girolamo dai Libri.

While a protégé of Cardinal Domenico Grimani, Clovio engraved medals and seals for him, as well as the Grimani Commentary Ms., an important early illuminated book (now Sir John Soane's Museum, London).

By 1524 Clovio was at Buda, at the Hungarian court of King Louis II, for whom he painted the "Judgment of Paris" and "Lucretia". After Louis' death in the Battle of Mohács, Clovio travelled to Rome where he continued his career.

After 1527 he visited several monasteries of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine. In 1534 Clovio returned to the household of Cardinal Marino Grimani. A year later Clovio may have followed Marino when the latter was appointed as a papal legate to Perugia, where Clovio is thought to have worked on illustrations for the Soane Manuscript written by Marino Grimani around that time. Clovio likely returned to Rome by the end of 1538 when he is known to have met with the writer Francisco de Hollanda.

Attributed to Giulio Clovio (Italian, 1498–1578). Crucifixion, ca. 1572. Tempera on parchment, 9 1/8 x 5 5/8 in. (23.2 x 14.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of A. Augustus Healy

Clovio later became a member of the household of Alessandro Farnese with whom he would be associated until his death. It was during his time with Farnese that Clovio created one of his masterpieces, the Farnese Hours. Other well-known works from this period include the illustrations for the Towneley Lectionary.

From 1551 to 1553 Clovio is known to have worked in Florence. During this time he painted a miniature of Eleanor of Toledo (England, Welbeck Abbey, Private Collection).

Contact with other artists

Clovio was a friend of the much younger El Greco, the celebrated Greek artist from Crete Heraklion, who later worked in Spain, during El Greco's early years in Rome. Greco painted two portraits of Clovio; one shows the four painters whom he considered his masters; in this, Clovio is side by side with Michelangelo, Titian, and Raphael. Clovio was also known as Michelangelo of the miniature. Books with his miniatures became famous primarily due to his skilled illustrations. He was persuasive in transferring the style of Italian high Renaissance painting into the miniature format.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder was a personal friend of Giulio Clovio, and stayed with Clovio in Rome during his Italian trip of 1553. Breugel executed a small medallion depicting ships in a storm on a Clovio miniature of the Last Judgment (New York Public Library), but the six Bruegels mentioned in Clovio's will have all disappeared.

Major works

Adoration of the Magi and Solomon Adored by the Queen of Sheba from the Farnese Hours

Soane Manuscript

Clovio illuminated the Commentary of Marino Grimani on St Paul's Epistle to the Romans. This work is now in the Sir John Soane Museum in London. The commentary consists of 130 vellums. Two large miniatures are included, as well as richly decorated borders. The miniatures depict the conversion of St Paul.

Farnese Hours

His most famous work is the Farnese Hours, completed in 1546 for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, which was nine years in the making (now Morgan Library, New York). He is pointing to this work in the El Greco portrait (above). This contains twenty-eight miniatures, mostly of Old and New Testament scenes, but with a famous double-page picture representing the Corpus Christi procession in Rome. It has splendid silver-gilt covers, although they are not by Benvenuto Cellini, as Vasari claimed.

Towneley Lectionary

The Towneley Lectionary is now in the New York Public Library and probably belonged to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Used during services, the book contained six majestic, full-page miniatures opposite miniature depictions of the Evangelists. The illustrations introduced the relevant readings from the Scripture. They include the Nativity, the Resurrection and the Last Judgment.

Colonna Missal

An illuminated page from his Colonna missal', 1530s, John Rylands Library, Manchester

This work is now in the John Rylands Library in Manchester. The Colonna Missal was made for Cardinal Pompeo Colonna. There had been some debate about the identity of the artist. Some had attributed the missal to Raphael (about 1517). It has also been suggested that the work may belong to Vinzenzio Raimondi. It is now generally attributed to Clovio.

Judith Beheading Holofernes, drawing, silwerpoint or charcoal, 322*238 mm, 1550–1560., Zagreb, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts - Department of Prints and Drawings

Other

The British Library has his twelve full-page miniatures of the victories of the Emperor Charles V, and the Stuart de Rothesay Book of Hours, which was originally commissioned by Cardinal Marino Grimani and includes 4 miniatures by Giulio Clovio.

The Vatican library has a manuscript life of Frederigo III di Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, superbly illustrated by Clovio. Other illustrations by him are kept in libraries in Vienna, New York City, Munich, and Paris, and in many private collections. A large exhibition of his works was held in 2012 in Klovićevi Dvori ("Palace of Klović"), the art gallery dedicated to him in Zagreb.

According to a description written for publication by Antonfrancesco Cirni, he also designed many of the costumes for the famously elaborate wedding festivities of Ortensia Borromeo in March 1565, which were held in the Vatican and included a tournament in the Belvedere courtyard. Such duties were often expected of a Renaissance court painter. The costumes are carefully recorded in a series of anonymous etchings, some probably based on Clovio's design drawings.

Death and burial

Giulio Clovio died in Rome on 5 January 1578. His tomb is in the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, the church containing Michelangelo's celebrated Moses.

500th anniversary

Croatia celebrated the 1998 500th anniversary of his birth. The Croatian National Bank issued a special 200 kuna silver coin in commemoration. A monument to Clovio was also raised in Drivenik. The Croatian government recently made news by purchasing Clovio's The Last Judgement, a painting Clovio gave as a gift to Pope Clement VII. Bernardin Modrić released his film The Gospel According to Klović in 2006. The Vatican celebrated this anniversary with postal stamps.

Legacy

Today, Giulio Clovio is celebrated in Italy and Croatia. He was born in the Kingdom of Croatia and stated his Croatian identity. But, for most of his life he worked in Italy, and is therefore often referred to as an Italian painter.

Sculptures

See also

References

  1. John Van Antwerp Fine, When ethnicity did not matter in the Balkans: a study of identity in pre-nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the medieval and early-modern periods, University of Michigan Press, 2006, p 195 Google Books
  2. ^ The Life and Works of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, Miniaturist: with notices of his contemporaries, and of the art of decoration in the Sixteenth Century - by John William Bradley – 1891
  3. ^ Bradley, 2004 (reprint), pp. 368–369
  4. ^ Visani, Maria (1993). Giorgio Clovio. Laurana. p. 8.
  5. Igor Fisković; (1989) Renaissance Art in Dalmatia and Hungary p. 100; Balcánica XX, Belgrade
  6. Ralph N James, Painters and Their Works: A Dictionary of Great Artists who are Not Now Alive - 1896 - p. 201-3
  7. ^ Elena Calvillo, Romanità and Grazia: Giulio Clovio's Pauline Frontispieces for Marino Grimani, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 82, No. 2 (Jun., 2000), pp. 280-297, JSTOR 3051377
  8. Julius Schlosser, Two Portrait Miniatures from Castle Ambras, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 41, No. 235 (Oct., 1922), pp. 194-195+197-198, JSTOR 861625
  9. ^ Renaissance and Reformation, 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary (The Great Cultural Eras of the Western World) by Jo Eldridge Carney (editor) Greenwood Press 2001. Clovio Giulio p. 88-89
  10. Lilian Armstrong, Review of The Towneley Lectionary Illuminated for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese by Giulio Clovio: The New York Public Library Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations Manuscript 91. Described by Jonathan J.G. Alexander. The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 140, No. 1146 (Sep., 1998), p. 626, JSTOR 888022
  11. Janet Cox-Rearick and Mary Westerman Bulgarella, Public and Private Portraits of Cosimo de' Medici and Eleonora di Toledo: Bronzino's Paintings of His Ducal Patrons in Ottawa and Turin, Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 25, No. 49 (2004), pp. 101-159, JSTOR 1483750
  12. Charles de Tolnay, Newly Discovered Miniatures by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 107, No. 744 (Mar., 1965), pp. 110-115
  13. Claude Henri Rocquet, Bruegel, or, The workshop of dreams, University of Chicago Press, 1991, p 51
  14. Bradley, 2004 (reprint), pp. 245-253
  15. Sir John Soane's Museum catalogue
  16. Bradley, 2004 (reprint), pp. 254-260
  17. Donato Mansueto, The Italian emblem: a collection of essays, Librairie Droz, 2007, p 182, n. 56
  18. The John Rylands library, Manchester: a brief record of twenty-one years' work (MCM January MCMXII), The University press, 1921, pg xiv Internet Archive
  19. Baltrusaitis, J., En busca de Isis, Siruela, 2006, 9788478444601, URL
  20. John Rylands Library and Guppy, H., Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, v. 6, Manchester University Press, 1922, URL
  21. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Clovio, Giorgio Giulio" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 563.
  22. "British Library Catalogue". Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  23. Poklečki-Stošić, Jasminka. "Julije Klović – najveći minijaturist renesanse" [Giulio Clovio — the greatest miniaturist of the Renaissance] (PDF) (in Croatian and English). Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  24. "Giulio Clovio." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
  25. "Clovio, Giorgio Giulio." Treccani, il portale del sapere. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. (in Italian)

Sources

  • Bradley, John W. (2004). The Life and Works of Giorgio Giulio Clovio Miniaturist with Notices of His Contemporaries and of the Art of Book Decoration in the Sixteenth Century. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4179-4605-1.

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