The Venetian palazzo, or palace, that originally housed this room was built by the Gradenigo family in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries. In 1473, the building was acquired and renovated by Nicolò Soranzo, who had made his fortune in trading goods from the East. At the time of his purchase, Soranzo was procurator of Venice, a secular post second only to that of the doge, the ruler of the Venetian republic.
This room was on the second floor of the palazzo, the most prestigious location. The stone elements of the room's fireplace may date from the original twelfth--thirteenth-century palace, while the wood carving with twisted columns, small capitals, and thick foliage is probably from the period of Soranzo's rebuilding. Later owners made their own changes. The Van Axel family (who lent the palace the other part of its name) and their descendents lived there from 1652 to 1920, when the building changed hands. In the 1920, the room was renovated -- the rare seventeenth-century wool and linen brocade from Utrecht that flanks the alcove was chosen as part of the redecoration. In 1929 the room was disassembled, and the principal elements were brought to the Museum.
The room is installed with Italian decorative arts and Venetian paintings from around 1500, when Nicolò Soranzo was the owner.
The architectural elements in this gallery characterize those made for palaces in Renaissance Florence. The sculpture surrounding the doorways--two depicting flying angels holding coats of arms (a motif adapted from ancient Roma tomb decorations) and one showing the cross of the captain of the people (a symbol of Florence)--come from unidentified buildings. The doors leading to gallery 300 consist of wood frames from the 1300s.
The rest of the room contains modern reproductions of interior elements inspired by the Palazzo Davanzati, a palace built in Florence in the mid-1300s that today functions as a museum. These included patterned floor tile, leaded windows, a niche with shutters, a vaulted ceiling, and hooks for hanging tapestries.
The works in this gallery reflect themes found in Florentine art of the 1400s: people and events from antiquity, symbols of the city such as the biblical David and Saint John the Baptist, portrayals of the Virgin and Child, and the resurgence of perspective in painting and architecture.
The tall white marble archway in this gallery is a work of the Roman Renaissance, closely allied to the early Rovere tombs and altars in Santa Maria del Popolo, done by Andrea Bregno and his assistants. The other doorway is of a type invented in Florence by the followers of Brunelleschi, a tabernacle with fluted pilasters Inscribed on the lintel (in Latin) is the phrase, 'Enter and you will be happy.' The marble chimneypiece, with later additions and a central frieze attributed to Lorenzo di Mariano, is from the Piccolomini Palace in Siena. The ceiling, adapted from Roman vaults with their square coffers ornamented by rosettes, is from the Convent of San Domenico, Pesaro.
Fiske Kimball, Museum’s director from 1925 to 1955, conceived many of the period rooms as vehicles display selected works of the different arts in association, in varied groupings. This gallery features majolica of Urbino, marriage chests and other furniture, and tapestry. Located over one doorway is an imposing Armorial Shield Supported by Angels, while a pair of gates with a lunette connect this gallery to gallery 352.
This gallery features both painting and sculpture exhibited with articles of furniture and architectural elements from 16th-century Italy, including a chimneypiece and a section of a painted and giltwood ceiling. The floor, of red tile, is reproduction.
“The Philadelphia Museum of Art.” Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum 30, no. 164 (1934): 3–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/3794667.
Kimball, Fiske. “Six Antique Rooms from the Continent.” Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum 24, no. 122 (1928): 3–9. https://doi.org/10.2307/3794615.
Taylor, Francis Henry. “Late Gothic Architecture in the Museum.” Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum 25, no. 131 (1930): 3–9. https://doi.org/10.2307/3794449.
Taylor, Francis Henry. “The Middle Ages in the Museum.” Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum 26, no. 136 (1930): 3–7. https://doi.org/10.2307/3794372.
