Attributed to Giorgio Vasari Arezzo 1511 - 1574 Florence

Giorgio Vasari, in an attempt to give prestige to the artistic community of Florence, conceived of the idea of founding an academy for painters, sculptors and architects, much on the lines of the existing literary Accademia Fiorentina (degli Umidi) which had been in existence since 1540.  Under the patronage of Cosimo I, and with the aid of a number of the most important artistic and intellectual figures of the day (including Vincenzo Borghini who formulated the constitution of the institution and who would be Luogotenente from 1563-5) the Accademia del Disegno was given official recognition on January 13, 1563.

The inscription on the reverse of the present painting would seem to indicate that the present painting was conceived of as a stemma or emblem for the Accademia, and the iconography would seem to support that.  The goddess Diana is shown in the skies above the city of Florence in the distance, where the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore and Giotto's campanile are visible.  The bearded recumbent figure of the River Arno accompanied by the Florentine Marzocco (or lion) occupies the entire lower section of the composition.  Most intriguing however are the central two figures.  A winged Fame, identifiable by the trumpets next to her, is shown by the figure of a bearded nude man, draped all'antica.  While it is hard to be sure, it seems possible that this may represent Giorgio Vasari himself, the founder of the Academy (the physiognomy is similar enough to the Portrait (or Self Portrait) of Vasari in the Uffizi to support this speculation, see illus. in U. Baldini, Giorgio Vasari, Florence 1994, p. 208). 

That designs for a stemma or impressa were undertaken is documented.  The Accademia del Disegno, as the heir of the Compagnia di San Luca, a sort of religious cofraternity of artists in Florence, continued to use the symbol of the winged ox as its emblem until 1597.  However, attempts were made from the foundation of the institution to adopt a new device.  In a letter of February 1, 1563 to Cosimo I, Vasari minutely details the meeting of the members of the new academy the day before, confirming to the Grand Duke that he had been named "Principe e Signor Nostro e Capo di tutti."  He continues to describe other events, and noted that the meeting was suspended with unfinished business.  This included the selection of a new emblem; the designs submitted by the various members were numerous and, as Vasari hastens to point out, unusual "con moltj stranj e beglj capriccj.  (cf. ASF, Cart. Medici, 497, 907)."  The point is reiterated in his own autobiographical Vita where he notes that the ideas for the emblem were "bei cappricci e le più stravaganti e belle fantasie che si possino imaginare (cf. G. Vasari, Vite, ed. C.L. Ragghianti, Milan 1942/50,  pp. 658-59)."  The various designs were intended to be included in a book and then passed to the Grand Duke for inspection, although this may never have been done (see T. Reynolds, The Accademia del Disegno in Florence: its formation and early years, Ph.D. Diss, Columbia University, 1974, p. 117).  Certainly the drawings which have been connected to the project were elaborate in their conception, such as two by Cellini, one of the Ephesian Diana (see an example in the British Museum, inv. 1860.6.16.8) and another of an Apollo (Munich).  The present panel differs from the Cellini drawings in its medium but also in its conception, more suitable for an allegorical painting rather than a seal.  In the end, the design that was used was not adopted until 1597, and is a simple device of three interlocking laurel wreaths, one for each of the disciplines to which the Accademia was devoted: painting, sculpture and architecture.