iconos de justicia.pdf

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ICONS OF JUSTICEWERE WE TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO THE PERIOD WE CALL THE RENAIS-sance, othe ity fFlorence,ndthere ccost omepasser-by,fwhat-eversocialclass,andposethequestion, Friend,whenyouare deadandyourmmortaloulgoesbefore odonJudgementay,whatwillitbehold?", herewouldbe nodoubtabout the answer. t would bepromptnduniformnd sound omethingikethis:

MysoulwillbeholdOur Divine Saviourseatedhighupon a throneike judge.Hewill be in thecentre f His apostles.His VirginMotherwillbe seated tohisright,and St. John o His left.At Hisfeet, n angelwith trumpet illbesummoningpsoulsbeforeHim.Then,withHisright and,Our Lordwillbeckon hose ood oulsto come and joinHim in paradise.But withHis left,Our Lordwillcondemn hewicked ouls,whetherhey e princes, opesorpoverini, ohell.Myownsoul willsee thatterrible iery ityawnopen,and blackdemonsrisingup to pull in thesinnerswithhooks ndforks.Allthosepoordamned ouls wouldbe condemned othat nfernal itfor ver. praynot to be one of them!The imagedrawn nthishypotheticaleply efers,fcourse, o acommonplace ictorial omposition, epresentedgain and again inpaintings,culpturesndprints hroughouthemiddle ges andRe-naissance verywherenChristian urope.Such an image f theLastJudgementspartiallyuggestednScripture1utover heyearstwasmuchembellishedyartists nd,bythe fourteenthentury, as soubiquitoushat eople ook or rantedhat twassimplyherealityfheavenly ppearance.Plate I is a well-knownainted epresentationbytheFlorentinertist raAngelico.t waspainted bout1440as awooden ltar-panelndnowresidesn theMuseo San Marco nFlor-ence.Jesus hesupremeudge occupiestheuppercentre,whiletheapostles it venly ivided n eitheride ndslightlyelow.Jesus aisesHis right and and lowersHis left, ndat His right nd left idesre-spectively e seegroups ftheblessed nd thedamned. t s safe osaythat very astJudgementaintedbyartistsnwesternuropefromthefourteenthothesixteenthenturieswas composedn this amehierarchicalesign. raAngelico's astJudgementiffersrom hoseof theTrecento nlybybeingmoreperspectival.he opengraves tbottomentreredepictednaccordancewith heQuattrocentolor-entine assionformathematicalrder. venMichelangelo'smore is-ordered nd dramatic ersion, aintedfor heSistineChapel in the1530sand I540s,followshe ame hierarchicalomposition.I have stressed heubiquity, niformitynd continuityfLastJudgement epresentationsy wayofintroducinghe theme f thispaper,whichstodemonstratehatRenaissance rtistic realism"was1Matthewxxiv-xxv; evelations.

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notonly matter f ookingfresh tnature, r evenofrediscoveringthe ntique. t was also ust s much naccommodationotraditionalmedieval chemataforenvisioning od's finite nd hierarchicallyordered niverse. otonlywere hese raditionalchemata akenforgrantedndcontinuallyuperimposedyRenaissancertists n theirotherwisemore naturalisticbservations,ut ordinary eople,thecasual viewersfboth ife nd art t that ime, ended o nfusehe ldconceptsnto heir priori, mind's ye" conceptionf "what s".Such a visualdialectic etween raditionaloncepts nd objectivephenomenalso served useful olitical urposentheRenaissance,especiallynthe stablishmentf awand ordernthedevelopingour-geoisrepublican ommunitiesikeFlorence nd Siena. Duringthefour-century-longevolutionnmedieval uropefrom grarian eu-dalism o urban apitalism,he dea ofcivitaswasevolvingnto newabstract orma n thepopular magination. eopleof thetime, ar-ticularlyhose eeking ecuritynd prosperityncommerce, eededspiritualffirmationhattheir ersion fcommunalifewas as God-anointed s theoldfeudal ision f ociety. ust s assiduouslys hadthefeudalbarons, hey earched hroughcripturend thepatristiccommentarieso find vidence hattheir ommunitiesere hetruerearthly epresentationf theCityofGod,theNewJerusalem, heremenbest est heirmoral ibrend earn o subordinateelfishnessndpride o BonumCommuneCommonGood),therebyarning eaven-lysalvation.Thus were rtistsrequentlyalledupon ofill pthe public pace"withvisualsymbolsfrepublican ower: pectacles, ageants, ack-drops nd otherpictorial isplays,oconvince hepopulacethat hebourgeois ignoria poke s vicarofGod with hesameauthoritystheemperor. eorgTroescherndHans Fehrhavealready escribedhowLastJudgementaintings erefrequentlyffixedothewallbe-hind he udge'sbenchn aw courts f heHolyRomanEmpire.2 helocal chiefmagistrate ould seat himselfn a highbenchdirectlybeneath hepicture.He wouldbeflankedyhis associates xactly sJesus ppearedntheLastJudgementurroundedyHisapostles. hemessage f these einforcingmages ouldhardly scapetheaccusedbefore he emporal ar of ustice.Hisearthlyudge ppearednot nlyas the pokesmanor heemperor ut as vicar fChrist,nd histem-poral udgement o lessthanan earthly review f his final rial nheaven. n therepublicanommunes f Renaissancetalythis ameschema fdivine rderwas alsoapplied imilarlyothedispensationf

2 Georg Troescher, "Weltgerichtsbildern Rathausernund Gerichtstatten",Walraf-Richartzahrbuch, i (1939), pp. 139-214;Hans Fehr,Kunst undRecht,2vols. (Munichand Leipzig, 1923). See also UrsulaLederle-Grieger,erechtigkeitsDarstellungenn deutschen nd niederldndischenathausern Inaugural-Disserta-tion,Univ. of Heidelberg, hillipsburg, 937); AnthonyMelnikas,The CorpusofMiniatures n theManuscripts fthe ecretumGratiani, vols. Rome,1975).

NUMBER 894 PAST AND PRESENT



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I. Fra Angelico,Last JudgementMuseo San Marco, FlorencePhoto:by courtesyftheSoprintendenzalle Gallerie, lorenc



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2. Raphael, Disputeover theSacrament Stanza della Segnatura,VaticanPhoto: by courtesyof Alinari/Editorial Photocolor Archives Inc.



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L 3. Unknownartist,Map with Chain,woodblockprint,Photo: theAuthor



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4. Unknown artist,StoryofAntoniodi GiuseppeRinaldeschi nd hisBlasdetail (Museo Stibbert,Florence), circa I505Photo: by courtesyof Aurelio Amendola, Pistoia



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5. AmbrogioLorenzetti,Allegory fGood GovernmentPalazzo PubbPhoto: the Author



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6. Unknownartist, toryofAntonio i GiuseppeRinaldeschidetail (Museo Stibbert,Florence), circa 1505Photo: by courtesyof Aurelio Amendola, Pistoia



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7. Taddeo di Bartolo, Hell (Collegiate Church, Duomo, San Gimignano),circa I396Photo: bycourtesyfAlinari/Editorialhotocolor rchivesnc.



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8. Unknownartist, tory fAntonio i GiuseppeRinaldeschi nd hisBdetail (Museo Stibbert,Florence), circa I505Photo: bycourtesyfAurelioAmendola, istoia



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ICONS OF JUSTICEjustice.Urbanpeace,evenoutside heHolyRomanEmpire,wasun-derstood s a kindofPythagorean armony,n earthly orm fthemusic f he pheres. isturbancef he epublicanrder hould here-fore edepicteds a violationfnatural s wellas civil aw. Crime nthe streetsnd in themarket-placeotonlyupsetthecommune utalso angeredGod who,unlessthewrongwasquickly ighted,mightunleash erribleappeningspontheworld. riminalustice hereforehad a responsibilityeyond he mere pprehensionndpunishingfindividualwrongdoers.t wasalso a matter fthewhole ity quaringitselfwithGod,ofproving hroughublicritual hat he ommunity,likea metaphoricalickperson urging imself f disease ndexcre-ment, ad exorcized ll peace-disturbing,unnatural" lements.Forpurposes fexplicatinghis rgument,et mebrieflyefine hemeaning f"image" norder oseparatet fromheword icon". By"image" I have heremeanttherepresentationfsomethingn themind's ye, uchas thedescriptionfhisownLastJudgementyourhypotheticalenaissance lorentinet thebeginningfthis ssay.Bythe erm icon",onthe therhand, wish odistinguishhosemagesset in very pecific arthlyocations nd timeswherethey an besharedby, nd mpart moral esson o, hepublic. notherwords, nicon s a didacticmage, tsmessage speciallynhanced y tsbeingpresentedna lawcourt, n a church ltar, na public quareoranyotherplace wherepeople congregate nd associateforpoliticalormoral xhortation.Plate 2 is a splendid xampleof what havecalled an icon. t isthe argefresco y Raphaelfrom he Stanza della Segnatura n theVatican, often called the Disputation over the Sacrament, executedabout1509 n whatperhapswas the ibraryoom fPopeJuliusI. WemayobservemmediatelyhatRaphaelhas adaptedto thispaintingthegeneral ompositionalormatftheLastJudgement,hat s withChrist eated nupper entrewith postles nd saintsdividedbelowHim oneitheride.Just s ina LastJudgementcene, heVirginMarysits o His rightnd St. John o His left.Now it shouldbe recalled hat anothermage n the Renaissancemind, very itas pervasives that ftheLastJudgement,asofthegeometricorm f the cosmos.As every tudent f theRenaissanceknows, herewere housandsf uchpicturesncirculation,n manu-scriptndprint s well s three-dimensionaleskmodels,howingheearth s a circle rspherewithin concentricest f ircles rspheres,and oftenwith n image fGod theFather nthronedt thetop, ut-sidetheoutermostircle. uch an image f the osmos, fcourse,m-plieda vertical, ierarchicalelationship.he eye, ikethe oul,risesfromherealm fman nthe entre o the ealm fGodbeyondhe astfixedphere ftheheavens. heubiquityfthismage,with ts implegeometrical eauty, tseasilygraspedmessage f moralascendancy

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anddescendinguthority,s an importanteasonwhy t took o longfor he cientificorrectionsfCopernicus, alileo ndKepler opene-trate hepublic onsciousness. tanyrate,Raphaelbrilliantlyom-binedLastJudgementmagery ith nequally raditionalndaccep-ted mage fthe osmos.Hisresultantompositionchieved tunningaesthetic ower nthecontext fhistime.The paintingwas admirednotonlyfor herealism f ts ubject-matternd the lassicalgraceofitsfigures,ut for tscomposition,hich obeautifullychoed very-one's a prioriconceptionfGod's divinely rdained, eometricallyformedniverse.It is worth xamining aphael'sfrescondetail.Wemaynote hatthe actual architecturalhapeofthewall spaceis semicircular.er-haps Raphaelwasstimulatedocreatehisdesignnthefirstlacefromthisgiven hape.The artist henproceededoenhance his ircularitybypainting cloudbankunderChristwhich rches ntothepicturespace ikehalf latitudinaling mbracinghequadrant fa sphere.Atthetopofthis maginedpherical uadrant,Raphaelpainted heheavenly mpyreanwithGod silhouettedgainsta gold-like ack-ground, ust as He is often mblazoned n Early Christiangildedpanels.Radiatingines,however, escend rom hepeakofthis mpy-rean, ike ines f ongituden a celestial lobe.From his eakoureyefollows straightertical escent hrough od theFather,JesusHisSon, theHolyGhost, inallyo a paintedmonstranceontainingheHostonan altar t thebottomfthepicture. urroundingach ofthevisual caesuraeon thisvertical inking f God and Eucharist recircles, very nerepeatingndechoing he hapeofthewall,whichsymbolizes,sRaphael ntended,he hapeofthe osmos.ncidentallytheorthogonalines f theperspectiveloort bottomonvergenthemonstrance,lightlybovethetopof the ltar. n theChristian elig-ion the altartop s notonly heplaceonwhich he miraculous ran-substantiationf thebreadand winetakesplace,butalso it is thesymbolictone function n whichwas laidthebody fChristn Histomb nJerusalem.he centre fthis ltartop,directly eneath hemonstrance,s also the xact entre fthewallspacewere ttobecon-tinued ound s a complete ircle.Raphaelapparentlyntendedhatthis entre oint ymbolizelso theexactcentre f thecosmos,Jeru-salem,whichwas held n the middle ges to be the "centre"oftheearth, roundwhich ll thespheres f the heavensrotate n eternalhomage o theSaviour.One wonders owPopeJulius imselfirstespondedothis plen-did con. ForsurelyRaphael'smasterpieces an icon, ince t wasde-signed oglorify od'sdivine eometryndwas located n thepope'schambers orthe edificationf notonlyhis holiness ut for ll hisbishops, ardinals nd ambassadors.ndeed,we can imaginePopeJulius tanding eforet,his head ustoverlappinghebottom rame.

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ICONS OF JUSTICEWe mayevenimaginehis holiness arefully ositioning imself nthecentral ertical xis so that hisaudience ould seehimstandingdirectly elow thepaintedEucharist,n line with nd receivinghemystic ower f thedescending oly Trinity.It isan intriguinghought, hich do notthink rthistoriansaveexercised nough, hat Renaissancepictorial ompositionalchemes,whatever heiraccompanyingubject-matter,ftenfunctioned spoliticalpropaganda.One could say that almost veryRenaissancepainting,tatue r work farchitectureomposed ymmetricallyndaccording o theproportionsf thecircle, quare,orequilateral ri-angle, subtlyreinforcedhe traditional eocentricnd hierarchicworld-view,nd thereforehe ecclesiastical nd secularauthoritywhich drew its legitimationromthis cosmicdesign.One thinksimmediatelyf Palladio'sarchitecture.his samearchitecturalcono-graphy fpowerwas evenadaptedto post-Copernicaneliocentriccosmologyn the seventeenthentury: ouis XIV and his roi soleilvision fVersailles,or xample.In spite f poradic roletarianprisings uring urperiod,ike heCiompirevoltnfourteenth-centurylorence,r thePeasants'War nsixteenth-centuryermany, nysustained roto-Marxistonscious-nessof abouring-classightswas reallyunthinkablentil he tradi-tionalhierarchicosmic rderwasproven alse y he cientists. hilethemembers fthenewmiddle lassofurbanmerchants admanagedtodepict hemselvess guardians f God's macrocosm ith ank ndprivilegequal tothatof thefeudalnobility,t shardtoimagine hepeasants,wool-carders,eggars nd othermenials fthemiddle gessucceedingwith similar ationalization. ll successful roletarianrevolutionsince heRenaissance avedepended ot nly n their wninternal ctivisttrengthut alsoon thegoodwill, r at leastpassiveindifference,f the othersocial classes not immediatelynvolved.Theseclasses, ike heAmerican ndmany nglish ourgeoisieuringtheFrenchRevolution,ndmanyntellectualsnEurope nd AmericaduringheRussianRevolution,unctionedoneutralizeny oncertedcounter-revolutionaryeaction. hey ent upportf nly yregardingthedemands ftherevolutionariess having he amevaliditywithinthe osmic rameworksthe ldpolitical rder. efore heCopernicanscientificevolution,hat s beforeargemasses fpeopleunderstoodthat the geocentric,ven heliocentricmacrocosmwas an unlikelymodelforearthly olitics, prisingsmongthe ower lassestendedalwaysto founder n thepopularconvictionhatsuchrevoltswere"unnatural", hat hey idnotreflecthe ruehierarchicalrder f heuniverse. egitimate rievancesf the ower lasseshadalways o beaddressedwithin he "natural" social frameworks revealed n thedivinemacrocosm. nly fterwidespread ublicationfGalileo'stele-scopic bservations,ychoBrahe's revelation hat herewereno con-

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centric eavenly spheres", ndKepler's omputationshat hepathsof theplanetswerenon-circular, as absolutefaith n hierarchicalsocial order ndermined.Certainlyrtists layed role nthis hangingonsciousnessboutheavenly nd humanhierarchyfter he Renaissance.Their ownincreasing dventurousness ithpictorial ompositions elpedtoexpand hepublic maginationndappreciationor lternativetruc-tures,notonly ntheworld fpictures ut also intheworld fsocialideas. One needonlyrecall thechargeshurled t theavant-gardepaintersfthe atenineteenthndearly wentiethenturies,hat heirasymmetricalrt offended he "valuesof Christian ivilization",orealizethecontinuing,nachronisticenacityf theoldorder.But let us return o thepastand consider owthis raditional ier-archic and geometricchemata n Renaissancepictures erved hepolitics f aw andordernpre-Copernicantaly,particularlyntherepublican ommunes f Florence nd Siena. Plate 3 is of a well-known opographicaliewofFlorence,heMap with Chain,a verylargewoodcut rint nd laterpaintingfabout I485, perhaps ytheartist osimoRosselli.Hans Baron has already ointed ut that hiscityscape, hich ppears o "realistic"ncomparison ith ther opo-graphical tudies rom arlier imes, tillremains schematic epre-sentation.3 he artist as eitherubconsciouslyrdeliberatelyorcedthesomewhat amblingerimetersf theold walledtown nto cir-cularpattern, ctually nto theform f an ellipse,which s a fore-shortenedircle s seen nthenewRenaissance inearperspective. sBaron went on to show,evenfifteenth-centuryumanists ike theFlorentineatriot eonardoBruniwerewont odescribeheir elovedurbs n justsuchgeometricerms; heymagined oth the crowdedstreets ndopencontado s a series frings entringn the"mightycastle" ofthePalazzo Signoria, he house of Florence's nlightenedgovernment.4 emayobserve similar entric chema n theMapwith Chain,although runelleschi'some,built fter runi'swrit-ing,came more hanthePalazzo Vecchio o be identified ith ivicpride. ndeedBrunelleschi'some, xaggeratedooverwhelmingizeintheMap with Chain,dominatesheupper entref hepictureustas doesthehierarchicallyargerChristnanycontemporaneousastJudgement.Moreover theMap with a Chain also clearlyshows on thefarright or on the eftf ne staken y he nalogy fthedepictedoversized duomo (cathedral) to Jesus in the Last Judgement- theinfamous ratello ellaGiustizia, he LittleMeadowofJustice",ustoutside hecitywalls to theeast,where ublichangingsookplace.darenot laim, f ourse, hat he rtist f heMap with Chainadded

3Hans Baron, The Crisis of theEarly Italian Renaissance (Princeton, 966),p. 202.4 Ibid., pp. 199-204.

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ICONS OF JUSTICEherehisgrimittle etail fthemunicipal allows s a deliberateefer-enceto the ameposition orhell n theLastJudgement,ut t s a factthat heFlorentineovernmentelocated heplaceof xecution nthissite ntheearly ourteenthentury,t just he imewhenFlorentineswere nstitutionalizinghedivine ppointmentf their ity nd alsobeginningoappreciatetspicturesque eauty, specially hen iewedfrom hehills outh f theArno.Once more ntheMap with Chain wemayobserve hat he rtisthasdeliberatelyxaggeratedhe ize not nly ftheduomobutalso ofcertainothercivic structuresf political mportance. he PalazzoVecchio, or nstance,s shownwithin group fbuildingsround rnearthe Piazza Signoria, ll of whichwere ssociatedwith he conicdisplay f ecular ommunal ower: heLoggiadeiLanzi,theMercan-zia,Orsanmichele,nd thePalazzo Vecchio tself. otclearly hown,but mphasized y mplication- as if he rtistwished o make t ookominous is theBargello, riginallyalled thePalazzo delPodesta,orpoliceheadquartersf thecity.Werecognizet,hidden ehind hePalazzo Vecchio, y tstalltower, a Montanina,which ll Floren-tines f thetimewellknewbecausetheyheard ts ugubrious elltollthe curfewvery vening nd,at least once a month,heannounce-ment f an imminentdministrationfcapitalpunishment.The Bargello- the talian namemeans homeofthe ailer"- isnowthenational culpturemuseum. rom hemid-thirteenthentury,when twasbuilt, ntil heeighteenthenturytwas thehome fthepodestdliterallypower"), hechief olicemagistratefFlorence. nthisbuildingwerehoused lso law courts oth ivil ndcriminal,or-ture hambers,nd cellsfor ondemned riminalswaitingxecution.There was also a chapelwhere hecondemned ouldspendhis lastnightnspiritual reparation. nfortunatelyhe nterior f theBar-gellohas beenaltered,o we have ittle dea of tsoriginalayout. heexterior, owever, as remainedmuchthe same. Cold and fortress-like, tsgrey-brownallsareonlyrelieved ya fewgothicwindows.There are no attractive ecorations nywhere n itsfourfacades.Onlythepodestdnsigniaa redcross n a circularwhite ield),istillvisible ver hemassive ntrance ooron theViaGhibellina. o plainindeed s theBargello hatthedistinguishedrchitectural istorianWolfgang raunfelssserted hat t was "in nowaya monument ocivil uthority".5ButBraunfels'sudgementverlooks ther ights nd sounds ncevividlyssociatedwith hebuildingn tsheyday.tsvery usterity asinfact symbolf tsgrim ivicpurpose.What ndeedmust prisonerhavethoughtbout "civilauthority" henbroughtmanacled o theBargellobythe odestd's oldiers? late4 isa detailfrom sixteenth-

sWolfgangBraunfels,Mittelalterliche tadtbaukunst n der Toskana (Berlin,1953), PP. 189-93.

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centuryanel,now ntheMuseo StibbertnFlorence, arratinghestory foneAntonio iGiuseppeRinaldeschi.6twaspaintedbyananonymousrtist,ommissionedpparentlyytheFlorentinehurchof Santa Maria de' Ricci al Corso, n remembrancef a notoriousincidentwhich ccurredate in theevening f20 July150o. Rinal-deschi, cionof a nobleFlorentineamily utwith reputations agamblerndreprobate, asreturningomehalf-drunkrom n even-ing tcards.He wasenragedthavingost, nd whenhe came nsightofthe church nd its ittle utdoor ainting f theAnnunciation ispent-upwrathuddenly xploded.n a display fanger emarkablenthe ontextfhistime, epicked pa pieceofhorse-dungsterco) ndthrewt at thepainted con. A little oysaw thisviolent ction ndreportedt to thepolice.Earlythe nextdayRinaldeschiwas appre-hended ythe odestd's irripolice) nd wasescortedo theBargello.We see Rinaldeschi n thiscontemporaneousicture,hurling hehorse-dung hilegoaded bya smalldevil. We shallnowfollowRin-aldeschi'sunhappyfate,well recordedn Florentine istory,romarrest,ndictment,rial, ndhangman's ope- evento theknees fChrist! hisstoryhallbe ourrhetoricalevice orllustratinghewaythatvisualsymbolsnd schemata ervedFlorentineustice,how themajestyf awwas beheld hroughheeyes f a frightenedulprit.

To beginwith, heveryfactthat Rinaldeschi houldexpresshiswrath ybesmirchingholy con, ndthat heFlorentineuthoritiesshouldbecome oexercised bout suchblasphemingfpictures,mustmake t least prima acie ase for hebelief t that ime hatpicturespossessed emarkableowers. erhaps hefirstnnervingightwhichcaught he yes fourprisoner henbrought eforeheBargellowasthat fthenumerous,ainted,ife-sizedortraitshat urroundedhelowerstorey f theBargello.These were thepitture nfamanti,r"defaming ictures",which romhe atethirteenthenturynwardswereperiodicallyrescoed n theBargello xterior.yFlorentineaw,thepodestdhad to havepaintedhere ncaricature,withfullverbalidentification,derogatoryikeness f nypersonncontemptf ourtregarding judgementfbaddebt, ankruptcy,raud, orgery,ranyother ommercial rime.Alsodepictedwerepublictraitors uchasturncoat ondottieri,ften hownhanging psidedownbyone footlikethefiguren a tarot ard.Manyfamous ainterswerehired o dothese rescoes,uch s Andrea elCastagno,Botticellind Andrea el6 This detail and the others ollowingre partof a nine-part ectangular anel-paintingwhichwasexhibitednnuallynthe hurch fSantaMaria de' Ricciduringthe venerationftheholy mageblasphemed yRinaldeschi. he entire anel s nowintheMuseoStibbertnFlorence,nd hasrecentlyeenpublished yLionelloGiorgioBoccia,GiuseppeCantelli nd FoscoMarsini eds.), I MuseoStibbert, vols. Flor-ence,1976), vpt. i, p. 32; ivpt.2, cat. 6, illus.26-34.The story ftheRinaldeschiaffairhas also beendescribed irst-handythecontemporaneousiaristLuca Lan-ducci:A Florentine iaryfrom1450to 1516,Continued y nAnonymousWriter ill1542,ed. Alice de RosenJervisNewYork,1927),pp. 187-8.




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ICONS OF JUSTICESarto.Unfortunatelyot single xample f his orensicrthas comedown to us.The records f theappearance f these itturenfamantido suggest, owever,hatfarfrom aving drab-lookingxterior,heBargelloat least on itsground evelwas amply overedwith ivelyfiguresndbrightolours.The buildingn thisguisemayeven havebeen regarded s a "negative hurch".With tsgaudyportraitsfmortal inners heBargellomusthavepresentedtself o theFloren-tine itizenrys a sort ftemple fvices,ust s the rdinaryhurcheswith heirdecorationsnd portraitshowingaints nd heroes liketheduomowith tsfrescofthe ondottiereero irJohnHawkwood)wereregardeds templesf thevirtues.Atsomepoint nhis detention inaldeschiwouldhave been takenup thegrand taircase f theBargello nd intoorthroughhegreathall.GiorgioVasari, he ixteenth-centuryiographerf talianpain-ters, ellsus that this alone was decoratedwithfrescoes yGiotto,thegreatmaster f heTrecento. hesubjectwas,accordingoVasari,"the commune eated nthecharacterfa judge,with sceptrenhishand and equallybalanced scalesabove his head. The figures sur-roundedbyfourvirtues".7Unfortunatelyhesefrescoes ave longsincedisappeared. asari lso noted hat he ideaofthis ainting asfrequentlytolen".8We are thus able to examine possible eplica,which ives good dea ofhow"justice", ommune-style,assymbol-ized andpresentedo a RenaissancewrongdoerikeRinaldeschi.Plate5shows he entre nd main ection f three-wallrescoyclebyAmbrogioorenzetti,irca 337, still nsitu nthe ala deiNoveofthe Palazzo Pubblico, iena. Itssubject, sually ntitled heAllegoryofGoodGovernment,sfrequentlyecognizedshaving een nspiredbyGiotto's lightlyarlier argello xample. n anycase t sthemostcelebrated ainted conof ustice urvivingrom he fourteenthen-tury.Nicolai Rubinstein as alreadydiscussed he abstruse cono-graphy f thepaintingn terms fAristoteliannd Thomisticegalcommentariesftheperiod, ut believe hat hefullmeanings stillnotfully ppreciated, specially egardinghecomposition.9n look-ingat thisfresco rom he entre ftheroom, heviewpointhe rtistclearlyntended,ne notices hatthegeneral rrangementffigures7GiorgioVasari,Le vitede'piueccellenti ittori cultori d architettori,d. Gae-tano Milanesi,9 vols. (Florence, 878), i, p. 400. This lost Giottofrescohas been"reconstructed" y S. Morpurgo, Un affresco erdutodi Giotto nel Palazzo delPodesta di Firenze", n Per le nozze di IginoBenvenuto upinocon Valentina inzi,giugno 1897 (Florence,1897),and abstractednRoberto alvini,Bibliografie cato-loghi:Giotto Rome,1938),p. 156.

s Vasari,Le vitede'piz eccellenti ittori cultori d architettori,d. Milanesi, ,p. 400.9Nicolai Rubinstein, Political Ideas in SieneseArt:The FrescoesbyAmbrogioLorenzetti nd Taddeo di Bartolo n the Palazzo Pubblico",Jl. Warburgnd Cour-tauld nst.,xxi (1958), pp. I79-207. See also Uta Feldgas-Henning,The PictorialProgrammeftheSala dellaPace: ANew nterpretation",Jl.arburgnd CourtauldInst.,xxxv 1972), pp. 145-62.

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is asymmetrical.wo figuresre larger han all therest:one at theviewer's ar eft,abelledustitiaJustice),nd the ther,he argestfall and notquitebalancing otheright, beardedmale dentifiedyRubinsteins CommonGood,thepersonificationf theruleofSiena.He isdressednblack andwhite, hecolours fSiena,andat his feetaresucklingwins nda wolf, iena'semblem. mbrogio,ikeGiottoin the ostBargellofresco,ought o embody he abstract dea ofarepublicanignoriana figure ho ooks ike cross etweenmperorandChrist.He is notonlyarger han ll the ther iguresnthe rescobutis surroundedyfemale ersonifications.he three iblicalvir-tues,Faith,Hope andCharity, ly bovehishead,andseatedbesidehim,three n each side,are theclassicalvirtues, romeft oright:Peace, Fortitude, rudence,Magnanimity,emperance,ndJusticeonce gain.Peace s notnormallyclassical irtue,uther ppearancehere s crucial othemeaning fAmbrogio's llegory.CommonGood seems o have beenpainted ff-centre,ecauseAm-brogiowanted ogivemoreroom o thisprincipal igure's ight ide,like Christn theLastJudgement.he artist eeded his xtra paceforvariousotherfiguresxemplifyinghe benefits f Sienesegoodgovernment. y contrasthe wanted to de-emphasizeertain ess-pleasant aspectsof communal esponsibilitynd so squeezedthosesymbolsnto narrowerpaceto CommonGood's left.On CommonGood'sfarright,s alreadymentioned,s the argefiguref ustitia.Aboveherhead is Sapientia Wisdom),who holds a pair ofscales,while ustitiabelowcarefully oldsthepans in exactequilibrium.Miniature iguresrekneelingnthese ans,representingheThomis-tic onceptsfDistributivend Commutativeustice.here s anotherpersonificationf IustitiapaintedbyGiotto n the ArenaChapel,Padua, about I306. Herewemayhave a prototypeorAmbrogio'siconography. mustdigressfor a moment nd pointout that thefeminineender f theLatin word ustitiawas no linguisticccident.From ncientRoman imes ndthroughoutheChristianmiddle ges,iustitiawas held to be a separatenotionfrom heneuterword us(Law). Iustitiawasunderstoods mediatrixetweenhe bsoluteawofGod andman's onduct n earth.us, ikeGod,must eabovecom-promisendcompassion.ustitia, n the ther and,mpliesmediationandmercy,ualities sually ssociatedwithwomen.ustitiasnother-self he aw,but ike heVirginMary inwhose ikeness iotto eemsto havepainted hispersonificationshe sits at theright andofGod. Ambrogio as her seated nhis fresco t theright andofthepersonifiedawofSienawhere,iketheQueenof Heaven n theLastJudgement,ustitiacan mediate between he imperfectctionsofindividuals nd the bsolute emands fCommonGood. BothGiottoand Ambrogio howIustitiadeliberately olding hepans of theirscales n equilibrium. nceagainwe mustunderstandhat justice"




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ICONS OF JUSTICEin themiddle geswas not a matter f achieving umanrights.nGiotto's ndAmbrogio'snterpretationhesymbolizedrbanpeace.Whatthe cales nthese wopersonificationseally ignifynthebal-ancebetweenndividualrivilegend civic ervice.10Ambrogiospeciallymphasizedhismeaning f"justice"byhav-ingPeace, hisaddedclassicalvirtue,eated n thevery entre f hisfresco. he is exactly pacedbetweenustitia ndCommonGood. InfactAmbrogio's ainting as often eencalledtheTriumphfPeace.As furtherupport or his nterpretationf"justice" nourperiod,Giotto'spersonificationf Iniustitia Injustice),directly cross theArenaChapelfrom isfiguref ustitia, howsbycontrast balefulmalefigure ith ang eeth nd claw-like inger-nails.iottopaintedthecitygatebehind niustitiawithhugecracks n itsmasonry. heground t hisfeetsuntilledndovergrown ithwild rees.God,afterall,hadappointedmanto ridtheworld fchaos andbringttoorder,which s to saythatcitiesmustbe built and governedccording orules.Whatwetoday ppreciates charmingnd"natural", uch asa decayingwall or untended egetation, as thenregarded,t leastwithin he conologyf"justice", s decidedlynnatural ndunjust,that s,atoddswithGod's NaturalLaw.Below the feet f the arger ustitia nAmbrogio's aintings thefigurefConcordiaConcord),whoholds, sRubinsteinirst oted,a cord-a deliberate unon hername- whichhas oneend n thehandof ustitia nd theothern thehandofCommonGood. This cordalso passesthroughhehands ofa groupofSienese citizensbelow,dressednplainrobes.Theyareallclean-shaven,s was the onserva-tive tyle fthetime, nd,while hey azeadmiringlypat CommonGood,their eads are all at the ame evel.The artistic onventionfisocephalyakes ngreaterignificance,owever,ecauseofthe argecarpenter's lanewhichAmbrogio aintednConcordia's ap.Whilethis nstrument ayhave meant he"smoothingfdifferences",sRubinsteinbserved,12tcan also be nterpreteds anallegoricalevel-ler,the ymbol fsocialconformity.On the eft ideofCommonGoodwe seeyet notherord, his imebinding he handsof a number f seedy-lookingrisonersn thecustody f soldiers. erhaps hese iguresiedup on CommonGood'sleftwere ntended o representdiscord".Theyalso stand beneathanotherpersonificationf Iustitiaat the extreme eftof CommonGood,as if heopposed hemore ronouncedigurefthe amevirtueat CommonGood'sfarright.Whereas his atterustitiaholds cales,10For an excellent iscussion f the conographyf ustice, ee LodovicoZdekauer,L'idea della Giustizia e la sua immagineulla arte igurativeMacerata, i909). Seealso Ernst H. Kantorowicz, heKing's Two Bodies: A Study nMedievalPoliticalTheologyPrinceton, 957),P. 1 0.I Rubinstein,Political deas inSieneseArt",p. I84.12Ibid.,p. I86 note57.

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theotherustitia olds swordwhich hebalanceson a grislyeveredhead. The inscriptionsround ustitia o CommonGood'srightmakeclear that he at leastrepresents positive, opeful ersion f"holyvirtue", hat s, "justice"for heenlightened,ell-intendeditizensof Siena. No such nscriptionslaborate ustitia t CommonGood'slefthowever. ather,herposition n thedistaffide and themeagrespaceinwhich he sits uggest lesspositive mphasis. believe hatthis ustitia n factrepresentsriminalustice, he"justice"of thegiustiziati,s prisonersondemnedodeath re called nItalian.Ambrogio orenzettimadetwoother ommentsncapitalpunish-mentnhisfrescoyclenSiena'sPalazzo Pubblico.n thepansof hescales held above Ambrogio's arger ustitiaand also in Giotto'sIustitiafor he ArenaChapel,there re tiny igures ho at one sidecrown heheadsof ertain itizensnd,at the ther,uttheheadsoff.The meaning fthis con,whichfollows contemporaneoustaliancommentaryn ThomasAquinas, s thatthecommune otonlyre-wards tsresponsibleitizens y wayofa symbolicrownbut alsoremoves hat rownthat s,thehead)when citizen roves obe rre-sponsible.13his symbolicikening fa decapitationo a divestitureceremonyearkens acktotheancientRomannotion fpoenacapi-tis,the"punishmentf thehead", or simply capital punishment".Throughouthemiddle gesandRenaissance, unishmentydecapi-tation ased on this ldsymbolismas reservedspecially or ersonsofsuperiorocialrank, hat s,kings, ueens ndnoblemen,ndalsocittadini s superior o contadinin therepublican overnmentsfItaly.Ambrogiomplifiedhisdistinctionnce more.On thewall ad-jacentandperpendicularotheAllegory fGoodGovernmentt theviewer's ights anotherargefrescohowing,s usually ntitled,heEffectsfGoodGovernmentnCity ndCountry. o thefarright fthis, he rtist ainted he itywalldividinghe ity rom he idy on-tado around iena.Justbovethe ity ate,Ambrogioepicted littlewinged ersonificationabelled ecuritas.nher ight and heholdsscrollwithan admonishmentopreserveaw and order; n her efthandshe holdsnot sword ut a gallows, he raditionalunishmentfor aw-breakersrom he ower lasses.We do notknow, fcourse,whether iotto'sostAllegory fJusticepaintedfor the Bargellocontained uch elaborate conographysAmbrogio's, ut surely tsmessagewas the same. In anycase ourcriminal f convenience, ntoniodi GiuseppeRinaldeschi, avingponderedll these hingsn hisheart,wasmoving uickly o trial. t

13Concerning he ritualof law inmedieval taly,see AntonioPertile, toriadeldirittotaliano,2ndedn.,6 vols. Rome,NaplesandMilan, I902); Josef ohler ndGiustiniano egliAzzi,Das FlorentinertrafrechtsesXIVJahrhundertsMannheimandLeipzig, 909); RobertDavidsohn, toriadiFirenze, ndedn.,8 vols. Florence,I962); GeorgDahm,Das Strafrechttaliens mausgehendenMittelalterBerlin ndLeipzig, 1931).




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ICONS OF JUSTICEwas held in factat midnightn theday he was arrested.He wasushered efore heOtto, he ightmagistratesf Florencewhoheardsuch criminal ases.The decorationfthe awcourt tselfn theoldBargello snotat all clearfrom herecords. ourt-roomseemnottohave been avishly rrayed.ndeed hey eem o have hiftedroundbit within heBargello nd hadnospecialorpermanentocation.14The legalsystemf Renaissance lorence,fcourse, addeeprootsin ancientRoman aw. Within hattraditionhere xisted form fcourt-roomutofdoors r under loggia pento a public quare.Thejudgesaton a simple aisedplatformurroundedydoctors f aw.Bencheswereranged n front opreserven area clearofthepublic,and a clerkwhorecorded estimonyat directly eneaththe chiefmagistrate. o otherdecoration ave perhaps coat of armsor anallegoricalymbol aspresent. As NiccoloRodolicohaspointed ut,communal alaces n medieval nd Renaissancetaly endedoeschewin their ourt-roomshe sort fpainted consoftheLastJudgementthatwere ommon orth ftheAlps,probablyoavoidanyreminis-cenceof mperial egemony.6Neverthelessheres still oodevidencethateven in Italythe communal aw courtstookpains to remindcriminals hat heir arthlyrialwas a previewftheLastJudgementinheaven. ntheTuscantown fPistoia, ornstance,here till xiststo thisday the stone udges'bench from hepodestd's ourt n thePalazzo Pretorio.t is carvedwith hedate1507, nd onecanstill eehowthe ourtwasdisposed: he udgewouldbe seated nthe entre tthe opofthe allbench,with he lerk elow ndthe udge's ssistantson either ide. What s most nteresting,owever,s thatthedefend-antshad tositon a veryowbenchdeliberatelylacedto the eft fthejudge.The whole omplextill tandsunder he oggiawhich pens othecourtyard,ymbolizingnceagainthatChrist heultimateudgesits ntheopen sky s herenders hefinal erdict n mankind.

There s another amous recento resco y nunknown lorentineartisthowingheFall oftheDukeofA hens. hepaintingncedeco-ratedan interior alloftheStinche, hedebtors' rison fFlorence(only few ity locksfrom heBargello), ongsincedestroyed.hedukeof Athenswas Florence'smost nfamousyrant, ho wasover-thrown nSt. Anne'sDay,26July 343.Thispainting as done bouttwodecades ater s a commemorationftheduke'sfall. tshows t.Anne nthroned eside model fthePalazzo Vecchio.Withherrighthand,she restores heredand white anners frepublican lorence.14Concerning he Bargelloas a backdrop n Florentineegal ritual,see G. B.Uccelli, I Palazzo del Podestd Florence, 865); Luigi Passerini,Curiositd torico-artisticheiorentineFlorence, 866); JanetRoss,Florentine alaces and their tories(London, 1905), pp. 208-34.1sTheodorMommsen, omisches trafrechtLeipzig,1899),pp. 359-63.16NiccoloRodolico and GiuseppeMarchini, palazzi delpopolo (Milan, 1962),p. 67.

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Withher eft,hedismisseshehateddespot,who kulks wayamongthedisgracedmblems f hisusurped ffice. his adaptation fLastJudgementompositiono the mageryf n actual, ontemporaneouspolitical vent s but another xample f theall-pervasive oweroficons n the "minds'eyes"ofmedieval nd Renaissancepeoples.Asimilar daptation f the samecomposition y theSpanish painterPedroBerruguetewhoalsospent ome imenItaly nthe ervice fthe duke of Urbinoduring he ast decadesof the fifteenthentury)shows t. DominicPresidingver nAuto-da-fe.he artist, aintinginthe tyle fFlemish ealism,epictedhis erriblenquisitionalourtas it mustactuallyhave appeared n theQuattrocento:heraisedjudges'platformn thecentre, rialheldoutofdoors, nd even thedressingftheheretic risonersnyellowmitre,r "fools aps", andcapeson whichwere nscribed heir rimes. he artist lsoshowed t.Dominiccondemninghe heretics o be garrottednd burned, ndtheir entences rebeingcarried utwithdeliberateymbolicntentat St. Dominic's efthand. Suchright-left,ierarchicalrrangementfiguredntherituals fcourt-roomsll overContinentaluroperightup to the end of the seventeenthentury. atharine remantle asrecentlyeconstructedne of the most laborate xamples fall, thecourt-roomesigned or henewtownhall of Amsterdamn 648even nenlightened,rotestantolland!17Meanwhile, ackin theBargello,poorRinaldeschi as heardhisowncondemnationromhe ourt ftheOtto.He is to behungby heneck rom nupperwindow ftheBargello. his formfpublichang-ing, he xposurefthe mpiccatogainst he treet acade ftheBar-gello,had become n institutionnFlorence ince1478whenLorenzode Medicimade uch grislyunishmentpopular"during is weep-ingrevenge gainst hePazzi conspirators.incehangingwas a hier-archicallyowerform fcapitalpunishment,tsbeing arried ut nsucha manner rom heBargellowindows ore particularnus, hemore o inRinaldeschi'sase because he came from noblefamily.Notwithstandinghepainand humiliationfthis nding fhismortallife,Rinaldeschimusthavereserved isgreatestear or hehereafter.He was soonto be thrown t theknees fChrist,he on of theVirginMarywhose acredmagehe,Rinaldeschi,ad besmirched ith orse-dung.So that he might reparehimself orthisordeal,our poorcon-demnedwas edoff o the hapel f heBargello.Also heOtto alled ntwobrothersrom special ay confraternitystablishednFlorence

17 KatharineFremantle, The Open Vierschaar of Amsterdam's eventeenth-Century own Hall as a Setting or heCity'sJustice", udHolland, xxvii i962),pp.206-34.See also the nterestingeventeenth-centuryork, acobDoppler,Theatripoenarum uppliciorumt executionum riminalium derSchauplatzesderLeibes-undLebenstrafenLeipzig, 1693).

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ICONS OF JUSTICEforustthepurpose f"comforting"risonersentencedodeath.Wesee thebrothers erenPlate6,another etail rom heMuseoStibbertpanel.They ameto theBargello ressednblackrobes ndhoods ndwereknowns theCompagnia ei Neri r"BlackBrotherhood".heyalsobrought ith hem ittle olypicturestavolette)withwhich heyhoped o ease thefears fthe fflitto,s theyuphemisticallyalled hecondemnedrisonerntheir harge.The chapeloftheBargello s stillextant. t was dedicated othePenitentMagdalene,of specialsignificancen the Rinaldeschi asebecause 22ndJuly,hedayofRinaldeschi'scheduledxecution, asalsothe nnualfeast-dayftheMagdalene, nd thepodestd ormallycontributedomethingo thepublic elebration f thisholy vent. ntheMagdalenechapeloftheBargello,Rinaldeschiwould have seenfrescoed ll across he ntrance all a largeLastJudgement.hishadbeenpainted y followerfGiotto nd was still uitevisiblenRinal-deschi'stime. n its bottom egister,he artist epicted,withbluntTrecento aturalism,heDevil,manedwith lame-likeeard ndhair,squatting own n a position ordefecating. nfortunatelyorourmodern xamination,his rude mage fhellhas beenmuchdefacedbytime, uta similar resco till xists n the duomoofnearby anGimignano.t is bytheTrecento ienesemaster addeo di Bartolo,circa 1396 Plate7), and shows terrifyingequence fpunishmentsawaitingheunshriveninner, hofirstmust ass nto nfernoywayofSatan's anus.We see thecondemned ere nthetopregister,eingdefecated yLucifer. ach wears a mitra nscribedwithhis sin. Inthelowerregisters e observe heir ndividual ates.Especiallyun-pleasant s thatof the usurer n thecentre, ver whosepronebodysquatsa demondefecatingoins ntohismouth. uchassociations fexcrement iththe tortures fhellwere common n thedoomsdayimageryfthemiddle gesand theRenaissance ndcertainly ouldhavegiven ittle omfort opoorRinaldeschiwhoseown sinwas thethrowingfexcrementt a picture ftheVirgin.Emergingrom his raumaticonfrontationith atanintheBar-gellochapel,Rinaldeschi as now ed to his astearthlyppointment.At seveno'clock n theevening fSt. MaryMagdalene'sDay 1501Antonio i GiuseppeRinaldeschiheblasphemer as fitted ith henooseanddropped ut ofan upper-storeyargellowindow verlook-ingtheViaGhibellina.His last ight s a livingmortalwasonceagaina paintedcon.Plate8,another etailfrom heMuseoStibbert anel,showsRinaldeschiuspended rom centrepostnthewindow ver hegrand ortone.Abovehisbody, brotherromheCompagnia eiNerileansoutholding tavoletta. hiswas tobeheld gainst heface f heafflittoo thathecouldkiss hepainted rucifixions his astvital ct.The brotherouldremove hepicturenlywhenhe wascertain,nthewordsof thecontemporaneous anual of nstructionsorhisoffice,

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that he suspendedfflitto asdepartedothe therife".18 he artistoftheMuseoStibbertanelhadgoodhopes orRinaldeschi's eavenlyredemption,orhepainted pairof ngels uccessfullyrivingffwodemons s they arry loft tiny raying udefigure,he ondemnedman'sdepartingoul.Thus didthedangling orpse fRinaldeschi ecome tself n iconof justice, choing hepitturenfamantin the wall below.For theFlorentineitizenswhocame towatch, he ncient argellowascon-secrated gainas a monumentocivil uthority.erhapsbecause oftheir pecialsensitivitieso thevisualarts,Florentineslso recon-firmed heirfaith n the form fthedivinemacrocosm.Aestheticsalways eemed o ead them oethics.Rinaldeschiheblasphemer asnowproperlyisplayedmong hepunishedinnersnthe ity's an-theon of giustiziati. lorentine itizens ould return o theirbedsknowinghat heir eloved ivitashadabsolvedtself fcomplicityoinsult hedivine rotectress.heVirginMary, heywere ssured,wasnowassuaged, nd thegoodfortunes fthenoblecommune n theArno hould ontinuenpeace.Boston University Samuel Y. Edgerton,Jr.

18See thequotation rom heLibro di varienotiziediCompagniadi Santa Mariadella Croceal Tempio, nSamuel Y. EdgertonJr., A Little-KnownPurposeofArt'inthe talianRenaissance",ArtHist., i (1979), pp. 48-9.

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