By: Irakli Koçollari Renaissance and Renaissance art
The great painters of the Italian Renaissance offered the history of art and with it the history of human society not only the great mastery of creation, techniques, new genres, but also the great philosophy of new art; conveyed important messages to the generations that would come and change the world. Their art placed for the first time the human at the center of creation, pushing through the storm of creative courage a new era that would contradict the entire conservative tradition of the preceding centuries and universally proclaim the era of humanism.
The subjects of the mind-boggling murals went beyond the familiar offering stunning images, shocking characters and events, past and present, heroes and prophets, philosophers and sinners, executioners and executed, rebels, rebels and subjugated. They all stand there, in the foreground or secondary planes of the works of art. For centuries they continue to communicate with entire generations until our days, with us spectators, visitors and eternal students of the great masters of that era.
Alliances and conflicts, political and religious upheavals, well-known figures and characters of historical importance or anonymous others, that we still don't know or don't know what they say, have been conceived in them. All of it took endless scenes, characters, movements, gestures, glances, plans, conveys endless messages. Some we have understood, others stand defiantly and imploringly before us to rummage within their meaningful silence and solve the puzzles.
And, it happens that in these challenges, in the efforts to find the silent secrets that remain throughout the centuries among the masterpieces of Renaissance art, unknown scenes or characters are identified, which reveal the centuries-old puzzles and thus explain the scenarios of the paintings of early.
Of course, such an occasion is the moment of great human excitement. We also deal with such an event in the lines of this article!
Albanians in medieval Europe
The era of great art - the Renaissance, of the 14th-15th centuries - coincides with major, complex political and military, philosophical, scientific events, with great geographical, astronomical, physical, anatomical, etc. discoveries, in Europe and beyond.
But, the great era of the Renaissance coincides with great shocking events even for the arboreal lands! It was the decades and the century when the Arbris kept pace with Western rhythms, expanded intensive contacts with them, increased commercial, political but also cultural exchanges, etc. But, in these decades, at the end of the XIV century, unfortunately, the world of the tree would be fatally threatened by the bloody Ottoman barbarian invasion. The resistance of the Albanian population was long, bloody and impressive. Wherever the arbri were located, within the borders of medieval Arberia or even beyond, in the ordeal of emigration across Europe, they would stand strong against the eastern invaders and play an important role in the destinies of the peoples of these parts.
On the fronts of the wars in the Arbëro lands, in the Balkans or throughout Europe where they emigrated, they were identified as rare warriors, with unique courage, with the well-known name “Stradioti Albanesi”. Their units turned into elite military units, into formations that decided the fate of the battles on the battlefields. Many of the “di stratioti Albanesi” commanders became the figures of the most famous warriors and strategists in Europe, receiving names, titles, ranks, decorations and flags like few others in the history of the Middle Ages. Mërkur Bua (the most decorated general in the history of medieval Europe), Krokodil Kladha (rebel in the territories of the three peoples, for 40 years in a row), Gjergj Basta (strategist of about 90 battles won on the thrones of Europe, theorist and author of several theoretical military treatises), the capostariots Buziqi, Maneshi, Muriqi, Meksi, Kelmendi, Bohali, Peta, Shpata, Këmbëthekra, Koroveshi, Gjerbësi ... Petro Bua ... and their exploits fill the endless shelves of medieval archives.
Precisely, these characters, because of the feats and traces they left, the emotions they created in the troubled European world, attracted attention, excited and became the subject of many creations in the art of the Italian Renaissance. Great painters and art masters, such as Xhentile Bellini, Lorenzo Lotto, Vitorio Karpaço, Pinturekio and decades later Eugen Delacroix, Camille Corot, Leon Gerome, etc., focused the battlegrounds of the Albanian stratiots with the brush or graphite. Their amazing acts or the portraits of those outstanding men turned into symbols of hope for peoples and their destinies. One of them and perhaps the most worshiped warrior (statiot) even in the Latin world is Petro (Peter) Bua.
Petro bua, the Albanian stratiot adored in Italian art
In recent years, a beautiful previously unknown graphic of this stratiot, Petro Buas, a well-known commander of the Albanian guilds, who created a great name for his matches, has been identified in the Italian Renaissance art funds. on the fronts of the anti-Ottoman wars in the Balkans, in the Peloponnese, but also in the territories of Italy and beyond in Europe.
The graphic found was made by the well-known painter of the Italian Renaissance, the Venetian Gentile Bellini.
But who was Petro Bua (Sword) that attracted the attention of the great Italian master of painting?
The fall of Constantinople and the resistance of the Albanians
At the time when Constantinople was writhing under the last throes of its soul (1453) and the emperor of Byzantium (Demetrius and Thomas Paleologus) had taken refuge in Mistra in the Peloponnese, to finally leave here, towards Italy, no one knew what happened to the peninsula of Morea (Peloponnesia) and its population.
Who would be the authority now that would have the courage to call and lead the people in the bloody wars against the Ottoman invasion? Peloponnese and Greece had nowhere else such an authority!
Unfortunately, Greek historiography is silent about this fateful moment of the Greek emperors of Byzantium! Precisely, in these times of horror, Petro Bua, an Albanian from the Peloponnese, appears, who asks the Albanians of these parts (who were a majority population at that time in the Peloponnese), to choose their leaders! And the Albanians did this. The history written about these events considers this act as a revolt or uprising, when in fact they, the Albanians, were evaluating the inglorious departure as a complete and final failure of the Greek despots.
The Byzantine and contemporary historian of the event, Sfranzes, clearly writes that "in fact, in these times, all the Albanians of Morea were in revolt and insurrection. Meanwhile, the Venetian military, according to the documents of the Venice Archive, clarify that "these insurgents had a force of thirty thousand warriors".
Another Byzantine historian of the time, Leonik Halkokondili, identifies these events with the role and presence of an important figure, that of the Albanian Petro Bua, characterizing him as "a harsh man with the behavior of a disobedient (meaning - unruly)" - a characteristic that Greek historians have accepted as a given and without subjecting it to any analysis, simply because Petro Bua was an Albanian.
But, unlike Halkokondili, the many Venetians who knew Petro (Peter) Buan closely offer us other considerations, underlining that he was a "man of pure and courageous character, determined warrior".
The genealogy of the Albanian Petro Bua
Petro Bua came from the famous family of the Albanian prince Gjin Bua Shpata. His great-grandfather was precisely that famous lord of the territories of southern Arbëria, Arta, Achaia, etc. In fact, his family's surname was Bua, but as the Greek historian of the last century, K. Biris, notes, the title "Shpata" was bestowed upon the Buajs by the famous Albanian prince, Karl Topia, at that time lord of Durrës and central Arbëria. This happened after the three Albanian princes, Gjin Bua Shpata, Karl Topia and Gjin Zenebishi, in alliance with each other, won the bloody battle against the Byzantine-Turkish-Florentine alliance in Angelokastrë - Aetolia, Acarnania.
Years later, Pavlo Bua Shpata, the grandfather of Petro Bua, is found settled in the Peloponnese after having handed over Nafpaktos to the Venetians. After these events, it seems that the noble family of Spataj is finally found in the Peloponnese and Attica (Greece), together with a large number of Albanians, an emigration that at that time the emperor of Byzantium, Manuel II, supported.
Around the middle of the 15th century, a grandson of Pavlo Bua, Petro Bua, appears in the Peloponnese as the head of the tribe, even of a large fief.
He appears in the Venetian archives, as the only commander among the princes of the Peloponnese who had not agreed to sign submission to Sultan Murat, that is, who had not accepted the invasion!
After the fall of Constantinople and the death of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Palaeologus, in 1453, the Albanians of Morea ("albanesi di Morea") led by Petro Bua rose up in armed revolts against the two Despots of Morea, Thomas and Demetrius II, for the tributes of large unpaid by them. Even in the following years, this large Albanian force of 30 thousand people under the command of Bua, continued the bloody resistance against the Ottoman invaders on the battlefields, keeping Morena free and unsubjugated by the Ottoman invaders for years. Thirty thousand Albanian warriors considered him their leader.
In 1459, Petro Bua appears again in Venetian documents, and they even define them as the "capo" of all the insurgent Albanians of Morea. Not only that, but he, along with another rebel, Manuel Ralin, is on a list that, along with twelve other princes, fought alongside the Venetians on the Isthmus in August 1463. From 1464 to 1467, Petro Bua is further found in many Venetian documents that reflect continuous battles and fighting on the anti-Ottoman fronts.
In the queue of this same documentation, there are also his own manuscripts, which shows the culture of this well-heard Albanian. Petro Bua had no son and therefore Venice for his contributions, as a successful commander on many fronts of the Venetian wars, recognized as sons his three nephews Nikola, Petro and Condol Merkur Bua, another famous warrior, perhaps the most decorated general on the war fronts of Europe.
In the following years, invited by the Venetians, Bua made at least three trips to Venice as their ally, and together with them he participated with the troops in a series of battle fronts, leaving deep impressions in the eyes of the Latins. For his special merits in the continuous wars and anti-Ottoman resistance, as well as contributions to the Venetian alliances, in 1476, the Venetian Senate received him with special honors in the Doge's Palace "and handsëcalled him aë shpërblim të big në money".
In 1478, again the Doge by decision declared it "Knight of honor" and according to the special protocol, they gave him a cloak made of gold, in red color".
But the fame and name of Petro Buas has been quite widespread for his deeds, not only in the time he lived, but also in the decades that followed. Thus, in the well-known poem by the Albanian Manol Blesi, published in 1561, entitled I Fatti e le Prodezze di Manoli Blessi, Strathioto, and në të secondën titled Barzaletta – de Quattro compagni de Albania zuradi de andar per il mondo alla ventura, capo di loro Manoli Blessi da Napoli di Romania, we find verses dedicated to the well-known arboreal stratiotes (Albanesi) who fought for years in the Italian territories and further across Europe. Among them, the author also lists Petro Buan, as a capostratiot, who certainly left his mark on the fronts of the wars in those parts. In these verses Blesi writes:
Where is Shtino and Kanaci?
Mexico, Lopsi and Barbati?
What about Andruc the mustache?
Petro Bua and Stamati?
In the period between 1467 and 1489, Petro Bua, as a commander of the Albanian stratiots, became one of the most well-known figures of distinguished warriors in the Republic of Venice and beyond in Italian opinion.
After 1501, he is no longer mentioned in archival documentation or from other sources, which means that he must have died at an advanced age.
Sketch of Petro Bua by Xhentile Belini (1480)
The painter Xhentile Belini and the Albanian architect Petro Bua
Of course, to such a warrior, where the eyes of hope of many people in the Balkans and beyond, in Venice, the Ionian Islands, the Dalmatian coast, etc., were turned, there was no way not to turn attention, along with adoration and inspiration. of the artists of the time, moreover in the spaces of the Renaissance.
And indeed, it was the famous painter of the Italian Renaissance, Gentile Bellini, who worked on that detailed and quite beautiful sketch of Captain Petro Bua, which has been found in recent years. Bua is standing, with a cape (mantle) on his shoulders, which resembles a tallagani or guna of the tradition of Albanian comitas. He has a defiant, half-turned stance, with one shoulder higher than the other, on which he bears the weight of his cape, with a gaze fixed on the one who works his portrait, frowning, if not menacing, with a moustache. long and a characteristic crest on the head.
We still don't know where the famous Italian painter met the Albanian hero of the battlefields!? Who introduced and brought this Albanian to the painter to work on? We also do not know if the sketch was simply and only a work of the master or together with it it will have served the painter as a bocet to then throw it on the colored canvas? If he painted it, where can it be, in a gallery or a personal art gallery? We also do not know if the painter worked only this variant or also other sketches of Petro Buas? These and many dilemmas still remain unknown and unanswered.
A surprising and exciting surprise!
Visiting a while ago the Italian Renaissance art funds and the monuments where a large part of them stands, suddenly to our surprise, we came across the Cathedral of the city of Siena in Italy, in its main hall, in one of the central murals titled "The Debate of Saint Catherine", made in 1491, a figure that defiantly looks back at the visitors, as if communicating with them!
To our surprise, we found that this central character of the mural was the same character as the one in the sketch made by Xhentile Belini! He maintains the same position, the same cape, one shoulder higher than the other, one hand covered by the other cape, while the other, the left hand released in a free position. It is the same portrait, of the man with a defiant look, with a mustache, proud but not threatening... The facial features are the same as those found in Belini's sketch! So, it is the same man...! It is the Albanian Petro Bua himself!
But, now, Petro Bua in this mural composition is made with colors, in large sizes, and the cloak he wears thrown over his shoulders is clearly visibleshtë në tintë të red, worked në ar. So, it is that cloak that the Doge of Venice gave him, a garment of nobility that not everyone had, but only a few people of high rank and special honor.
This picture was created by another famous painter of the Italian Renaissance, Bernardino di Betto di Biagio, otherwise known in the whole art world with the nickname Pinturiki, as he himself wrote his name and signature! While in the literature written about him, he is found under the name Pinturikio.
Pintureki's painting
We don't know if Pikturiku personally knew the Albanian fighter Petro Bua, or if he worked on it based on Bellini's well-known sketch?! If so, we also do not know how and under what circumstances the Painter obtained the right to reproduce Bellini's sketch, in an important mural, and immortalized it in the Cathedral of Siena?!
There are other figures in Pinturas's mural, but the one that catches the eye is that of a Turk with a turban on his head. From verifications, it is learned that he is the brother of Sultan Murat - known by the nickname "The Conqueror". He was friends with the Duke of Siena and had visited this city several times in those years. As can be clearly seen in the painting, the Turk has fixed his gaze on the Albanian Petro Bua, the opponent of the Ottoman Empire until death, the man who fought for the freedom of his enslaved people. Bellini has also made a sketch of this Eastern visitor unacceptable to Petro Bua.
Even other characters in this picture have turned their eyes to the Albanian fighter, which shows that he had attracted the attention of the Latin public. The painting speaks volumes with many other details that it offers.
However, in the Cathedral of Siena we now have the complete image of a famous Albanian from the years 1460-1480, of a warrior who left his mark on the fronts of wars and political developments, in the Balkan region and beyond in the XNUMXth century.
Why not, this is one more reason for the Cathedral of Siena to be a unique attraction for Albanians to visit, hoping that other unknown values of Albanians will be found in the Italian land and art, with which our country there were traditionally early connections and exchanges. /ExLibris/
