Fairytale Di Firenze
Animals ‘all ‘antica’, set in an imaginary idyll.
We join our protagonists in a dreamlike, allegorical arcadia where time has momentarily ceased; Each fanciful scene presents a still life frozen in time, a temporary shrine to the fleeting transience of nature and the ceaseless cycles of the earth and the universe.
In a storybook world of mountains and castles, turrets and rivers, fanciful forests and hallucinatory hills, the vista before us has a pastel palette; the warm air is sugar-dusted and sweet on the tongue. The spiced scent of carnations and pinks floats faintly on the breeze and the sound of small, chiming bells, choral voices, and clement birdsong can be heard dancing in the distance.
The morning light is gently luminous, softly silvering the rooftops around the realm. Preparations are underway for a celebration; a ‘procession Primavera’ to mark the long-awaited arrival of Spring. While the fantasy floats and joyous decorations will transform the scene temporarily, the landscape will soon undergo a metamorphosis of heavenly proportions, seen just once a year. This is the fantasia from which our tableaus are taken.
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Many portraits from the Renaissance period contained not only symbolic details within the imagery, but hand-painted typeface sharing key information about the sitter and the year the painting was completed. For this collection Sabina chose to include this fictitious information for each of the protagonists, alongside a reference to a key artwork relating to the design.
The Glass Swan
Key reference: The Birth of Venus, Botticelli (1485)
Design text: Anno. 1592. La Nascita del Cigno. Firenze, Aetatis Suae 1.
Translation: Year 1592. The Birth of the Swan. Florence. At the age of 1.
The Medici Cheetah
Key reference: Venus D’Urbino, Titian (1534)
Design text: Ghepardo D’Urbino. A. 1487. Aetatis Suae 9.
Translation: The Cheetah of Urbino. Year 1487. At the age of 9.
The Celestial Steed
Key reference: Procession of the Magi, Gozzoli (1460)
Design text: Anno 1469. Aetatis Suae 7. Il Cavallo di Medici.
Translation: Year 1469. At the age of 7. The Horse of the Medici.
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Crystal/Calcite
Morello/Mint
Celadon/Salt
Iris/Opal
Musk/Maraschino
Mercury/Moonstone
Inspiration
Background/Context
There is much debate about the timespan the Renaissance covers, but its full flowering occurred in the 15th century; a time when the world changed both outwardly and inwardly, looking deeply into the past and the future at once. The span of the earth and knowledge of it were revolutionised, and geographical space became understood as never before. Contrarily, belief in astrology and horoscopes flourished amidst fascination with the planets and the cosmos, while the concept of a Ptolemaic, geocentric universe was revived and widely accepted. The aerial view, once the province of Gods and birds, was now commonplace: a celestial perspective of theworld (Mappa Mundi). The Renaissance was a pre-scientific age where ideas proved more powerful than observation and experiment.
Creatively, Dante, Petrarch and Boccacio’s work shone a path for the evolution of the movement; literature of the period charted changing attitudes to art, and painting evolved through complex crosscurrents of style. Architecture and sculpture went through their own revolutions, many changes heavily influenced by Roman artefacts and ruins uncovered throughout the Italian states. The term ‘All'antica’, meaning ‘in the manner of the ancients’, refers to a style of art, architecture, or literature that seeks to revive the forms and principles of classical antiquity. Ancient celebrations such as Calendimaggio (celebrating the return of Spring) re-entered the public sphere during this era and were reflected in many artworks of the time. Most Renaissance art contains messaging which is inspirational and celebratory rather than condemnatory; it does not follow a religion, but a cult of the natural world.
Alongside traditional Christian stories, therefore, artists of the Italian Renaissance began to illustrate episodes from ancient or pagan mythology, with allegory and symbolism evolving as strong themes; for example, a goldfinch for redemption, a lamb for sacrifice, a skull for mortality; meanings not always obvious to modern eyes. For the artists, depicting mythology was initially challenging as there were no preceding examples, so works would often reference religious art as their foundation; we need only look to Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, for example.
As understanding of the earth advanced in tandem with the rise in mythological magnetism, it resulted in the dichotomy of idealism versus naturalism; a tension in Renaissance art to ‘improve’ upon
the natural world. This opened a portal to landscapes of fantasy; The scene for Botticelli’s Primavera corresponds with Dante’s description of earthly paradise, comparable again with Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. These are no ordinary gardens; they are places where the immortals tread, meadows of paradise, the state between earth and heaven containing anachronous plants, creatures and flowers. Bosch’s famous garden included a giraffe, an elephant and a leopard, as well as a mythical unicorn, representing an exploration of the ‘New World’. Similar fantastical elements can be found in Piero di Cosima’s Forest Fire, and Breugel’s Tower of Babel. ‘The ‘New World’ was Eden, and Columbus was the serpent’ (Jonathan Jones).
Allegorical, symbolic art soon became an essential pawn in the political game of the wealthy and influential. The omnipotent Medici family commissioned many of the era’s finest works, instructing the artists to use subtle symbolism, such as details from family crests, positioning of certain patrons, and colour messaging to communicate ideas to an often illiterate audience. For example, Benozzo Gozzoli’s ‘Procession of the Magi’ (1459); a masterclass in delicately distinct propaganda.
Direct References
Under the rule of organised Lorenzo di Medici (1469-92), the city of Florence (Firenze) held an annual carnival, for which he wrote the songs, Canti Carnascialeschi. They were composed to be performed in choral form during carnival festivities, accompanying the procession of floats with mythological themes. The songs explore the quintessential theme of Lorenzo's philosophy: the exhortation to fully enjoy life's pleasures (the senses, beauty, love) while being aware of their fleeting nature. Alongside the breathtaking floats, the celebrations included banners, trophies and standards, triumphal processions and wild marvels, such as flying angels, or a chariot drawn by unicorns (1453). Regardless of murkier political motives, the carnival represented the vestiges of medieval folkloric tradition that aimed to clear away the spirit of dead vegetation, celebrate the rebirth of nature and remind spectators of the irrational forces of earth.
Another favoured Medici spectacle, a jousting tournament, was held in 1469 to celebrate Lorenzo’s ascension to power; the revival of medieval jousting at this time points to the ongoing gentrification of the Medici and their circle. He won the tournament, took over the state and was married the same year. Lorenzo’s joust featured spectacular ephemeral decorations made by the leading artists of the day: his banner for the occasion was painted by Andrea Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci’s master. Similarly, in 1475 to honour Florence’s recent alliance with Venice, and as commemorated in Poliziano’s poem, ‘Joust’ (Stanze per la Giostra), Lorenzo’s brother, Giuliano di Medici, paraded through the city streets on his trusted steed Orso, flourishing a banner painted by the famed Botticelli.
A similar Renaissance extravagance, although this time in Nuremburg, Germany, was the Schembart Carnival held between 1449-1539. The carnival had its roots in dancing butchers (performing a Zümertanz), but over the years developed into a dramatic display complete with elaborate costumes, large ships on runners (known as hells), castles and dragons, huge houses, giants, flaming artichokes, and other fanciful forms, all burnt at the end of the carnival. It reads as though drawn from the pages of a children’s tale, and richly illustrated manuscripts known as Schembartbücher, one of which is held at the Bodleian library in Oxford, detail the striking costumes and carnival’s very existence.
Aside from the works mentioned on the preceding page, there were several additional artistic references for this collection. Originally mis-attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci, Pisanello’s Codex Vallardi (1380 – 1450), housed at The Louvre, is a collection of 378 folios of intricate and awe-inspiring pen and ink drawings, mainly consisting of animal sketches. It was intended as a book of working studies providing models, guides and templates for his assistants. Pisanello’s works are considered ‘jewels of the Quattrocento’. Conrad Gessner’s Historia Animalium (1551), known as his ‘Magnum Opus’, was a Renaissance descendent of the Medieval Bestiary. After Aristotle’s work of the same name, and alongside texts by ancient naturalists such as Pliny the Elder and Aelian, it was the first modern zoological work attempting to name all animals known to man, relying heavily on educated accuracy and ‘physio-logos’ (reason of nature). The radiant sketchbook of Stephen Schreiber (1494), a fifteenth century monk testing details and layouts for illuminated manuscripts was also an influence; Wonderful half-finished pieces painted on parchment containing piercing colours, contorting animals and fantastical beasts.
Finally, an eternal reference; the works for Albrecht Dürer so succinctly surmised here: ‘Dürer lived in a world ‘caught between medievalism and the renaissance, Catholicism and the Reformation, provincialism and cosmopolitanism’. (Stephanie H. Weisman).
Process
View the collection illustrations in progress, and see how the drawings transform into detailed and intricate scarf designs. Sabina creates a story for each collection, as shown below, which is then illustrated and narrated through her elaborate handiwork.
The Campaign
Shop the Collection
A range of beautiful fabrics, shapes, and sizes are available for each design, from classic silk twill to our sumptuous signature wool and silk blend. Each piece is printed and hand finished by artisans in the UK.
