Orpheus in Mantua
The primary source, which I found in the Artstor Digital Library, that I will explore further is the engraving seen above of the mythological Greek god Orpheus. The engraving was carved in 1474 by Italian artist Andrea Mantegna and is located in the Ducal Palace in Mantua, Italy on the ceiling of the Camera degli Sposi (“bridal chamber”). The main focus of the engraving depicts Orpheus in a relaxed position playing his lyre to an audience of a couple of young women who seemed to be entranced by Orpheus’s talent (he is a legendary musician, so I expect his performance was fantastic).
Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (whose premiere in 1607 was also located at the Ducal palace in Mantua, Italy) is centered around Orpheus, and what I found to be the most thought-provoking similarity between the Monteverdi opera and the engraving by Mantegna is the utilization of classical Greek religion in the work of these two artists. Although the engraving predates L’Orfeo by over one hundred years, Greek mythology had long since seem its way out of the minds of the religious populace of Italy, where Christianity had dominated in the region since it had become the official religion of the Roman empire in the 4th century. Yet through all of this, we can see a return to classical ideas and concepts through the works of L’Orfeo and the engraving on the ceiling of the Camera degli Sposi.
This return to classical mythology symbolizes a return to heritage in many ways, but I was left with some more questions after discovering Mantegna’s engraving. How was the music of L’Orfeo affected by Greek mythology? What was Monteverdi’s vision for the Greek mythology representation in L’Orfeo? What was Monteverdi’s main inspiration for L’Orfeo and where did he discover and learn about Greek mythology? How did his inspirations for the opera affect the musical choices within it? Did Monteverdi ever see Mantegna’s engraving and how did it affect him if at all? The engraving and the opera convey to us that myth still played a part in the artistic scene of Mantua, but why was it still relevant if Greek mythology was no longer practiced? How did the political climate in Mantua affect the work Mantegna and Monteverdi released?
While the questions left here may be hard to answer or need to be left to speculation, the works discussed here prove that sometimes the best place to find inspiration for art is far, far back in history, and that history is always relevant in the present even if contemporary society is quickly changing. I find it fascinating that Greek mythology was used in these two works and that Orpheus was a popular figure in Mantua throughout this period. The engraving and L’Orfeo may be considered old by our standards today, but their existence and importance in our present marks a chain the links back to the past. And the engraving and L’Orfeo’s existence back then links even further back in time. Art and history can braid between one another to truly create something beautiful, and I think it is important that this should continue, for art and history will always be relevant.
#mus130b
