The Golden Age
Dublin Core
Title
Description
The Golden age is part of a cycle of three paintings in the Uffizi, including the other two representations of the Ages of Silver, and Iron. The cause or context the cycle of Zucchi was commissioned is not known based on the limited historic documentary, but the circle could be seen as serving the role of portrait covers. [1]In its appearance, the golden age is the ideal and fantastic period of time when human life is full of happiness and peace in the everlasting spring. It’s emphasized in the painting with the blooming flowers, pervasive soft grasses, streams of water, and vibrant plants in the background landscapes. People don’t know the definition of evil and receive harvest without the need for cultivation, as it can be reflected in the exaggerated plump grapes the male figure holding in the foreground.
“O bell’anni dell’oro” on the top of the painting is the name of a song, a reference to a musical interlude performed for the festivities of the nuptials of Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo. It’s the motto in the painting that emerges in the parchment displayed by two angel figures hovering in the air, and that motto lays the foundation of the cycle’s close connection with the Medici family. [1] The Golden Age myth has proven to be as convincing and effective as ideology in fulfilling the needs of a particular political environment. The Golden Age had gone beyond a period of primordial prosperity for the classical authors. It emphasizes creating the condition of universal morality and justice without punishment or judges. It also celebrates reproduction and breeding of descendants, alluding to the “natural law”, with the painting’s focus on subjects of the pleasant family scene, and depiction of children and animals. How the illusion of the Golden Age helps with political ambitions was to demonstrate to the public that Medici would return along with a return of faith and military strength, as well as artistic accomplishments about liberty, morality, and prosperity. It also reminds the public of the glorious age that people experienced during the previous govern period of the Medici family. [2]
Under the perfect justice, the theme of the painting is also closely associated with internal peace, the “Quiet” and “Tranquillity” associated with Medici’s iconography. [2]The emphasis on peace can be reflected in the depiction of actions in the painting----- a group of women and children dancing in a circle on the right side, another group of women gathering and communicating on the lake bank, and young figures picking and sharing flowers and fruits in the foreground, etc. As subjects mainly about private life and family happiness, they form an overall relaxing and undisturbed tone in the wonderland.
Jacopo Zucchi had studied under Italian artist Vasari and later became his collaborator and work for the Medici. [3] His theme shows a near resemblance to the Metamorphoses by Ovid, a work that the painter is likely to have had the interpretation of his own, integrating the iconographic elements from the literature source. The painting includes some of the artist’s distinctive styles. It shows his inspiration for composition from Vasari, depicting groups of figures scattered along with the steam. The structure of the painting lays its base from the bottom and construct diagonally to create the depth of the space. [1] The gestures of figures are dynamic, distinct, and at the same time rhythmically guiding the viewers’ focus to perceive the painting as a whole.
[1]“The Golden Age | Artworks | Uffizi Galleries.”, Uffizi Galleries, Accessed November 3, 2020. https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/the-golden-age.
[2] Thomas Puttfarken, “Golden Age and Justice in Sixteenth-Century Florentine Political Thought and Imagery: Observations on Three Pictures by Jacopo Zucchi.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 43 (1980): 130.
[3] Edmund Pillsbury, "Drawings by Jacopo Zucchi." Master Drawings 12, no. 1 (1974): 3
Creator
Source
Puttfarken, Thomas “Golden Age and Justice in Sixteenth-Century Florentine Political Thought and Imagery: Observations on Three Pictures by Jacopo Zucchi.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 43 (1980):130.https://doi.org/10.2307/751192.
“The Golden Age | Artworks | Uffizi Galleries.” Accessed November 7, 2020. https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/the-golden-age.
Image Source: Zucchi, Jacopo“The Golden Age | Artworks | Uffizi Galleries.” Accessed November 4, 2020. https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/the-golden-age.
Publisher
Zucchi, Jacopo“The Golden Age | Artworks | Uffizi Galleries.” Accessed November 4, 2020. https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/the-golden-age.