Art History Quiz 1 Set 1

Arnolfo di Cambio - Florence Cathedral (begun 1296)

??? The Florentine duomo's marble revetment carries on the Tuscan Romanesque architectural tradition, linking this basilican church more closely to Early Christian Italy than to Gothic France.

Duccio - Betrayal of Jesus, (1308-1311)

Before this painting, the artist's paintings were highly composed and reliant upon the ancient tradition of icon painting. In the time around 1300 Duccio took steps toward depicting images in a more naturalistic form. His artworks show how paintings began to evolve into more symbolic, naturalistic, and dramatic scenes, depicting events in life and religion. The paintings of Duccio and Giotto are similar in the sense that their paintings were then, in the sense of more modern words, "special effects" of their time. They show vivid colors with meaning and symbolism, atmospheric characters that exist in space, and composition that is well thought out.

Petro Lorenzetti - The Birth of the Virgin 1342

His mature style is epitomized in the triptych _______________________ his last major work. That he used the decorative detail and familial anecdotes as the theme of a major altarpiece is illustrative of his nonhierarchical, humanizing tendencies. Perhaps the most notable feature of the Birth of the Virgin is its sophisticated handling of perspective and the logical placement of figures within space. The arches and colonnettes of the triptych frame form the foreground of the painted picture space, and one of the figures is painted in such a way that it appears to be standing behind one of the colonnettes. This constitutes one of the most advanced perspective studies of its time.

Nicola Pisano, Annunciation, Nativity & Adoration of the Prophets, 1259 - 1260

Relief panel on the baptistery pulpit - Pisa, Italy - Marble - 2' 10" x 3' 9" - classical sculpture inspired the face types, beards, coiffures, and draperies, as well as the bulk and weight of the figures - The Madonna of the Nativity resembles lid figures on Roman sarcophagi - Mary appears twice each different sizes - The reclining Mary is the focus of the sculpture - Mary's posture and drapery are reminiscent of those of the lid figures on Etruscan and Roman sarcophagi - Scholars have been able to pin point the models of the Pulpit figures on Roman sarcohpagi in Pisa - Worked in a classical tradition.

Claus Sluter - Well of Moses & the Chartreuse de Champmol

There is a lot of complex symbolism in this art piece. Its original name Fons Vitae, a fountain of everlasting life, was supposed to symbolize the blood of Christ flowing over the grieving angels and Old Testament prophets. It also symbolized redemption to all those who would drink water from this well. Sluter used increased naturalism in his sculpture by rendering the prophets with very exact detail. This was possible because he spent a great amount of time observing natural appearance and giving different textures to different parts of the sculpture. Each prophet has his own distinct personality and wardrobe which was rendered with heavy draperies in a life size appearance. Not only were they rendered realistic sculpturally but originally, they were painted which brought them more to life. The only reason naturalism would be considered stunted in this sculpture is because they bring to mind the jamb statues of French Gothic portals. This being said they are still much more naturalistic than their predecessors.

Ambrogio Lorenzetti - Peaceful Country

This artwork was one of the first examples of landscapes in Italian art since antiquity, making it a unique painting for its time. Also it represents a non religious or ruling function, another rare attribute of a painting of this time. This makes it a painting worthy of note compared to the others.In the hall of peace of siena's city hall, lorenzetti painted an illusionistic panorama of the bustling city; The fresco served as an allegory of good government in the Sienese republic.

Giotto - Lamentation of Christ (1304-1306)

This fresco beautifully exemplifies Giotto's break with Byzantine techniques. He creates a highly emotional story with the combination of elements of traditional Byzantine paintings, such as the dimensional layout and iconography, with his stylized faces showing an emotional response to the death of Christ. This realistic depiction of emotion on human faces set him apart from other artists of his day, turning Christ and his followers into real human beings with real emotion.

Bonaventura Berlinghieri - St. Francis Altarpiece, 1235

This painting reflects a more stylized form of the middle ages, the Byzantine style. Many things contribute to this such as the frontal pose of Saint Francis. The use of gold leaf also reflects Byzantine influences because it emphasizes flatness and contributes more to spirituality. This flatness of the figures was done to make them appear more holy and not of this world. Another example of Byzantine influence is the frontal poses of the two angels around the Saint and a lack of modeling in the figures. This lack of modeling was not because artists at this time did not know how to paint realistic. The Byzantine style does not have realistic figures because artists wanted the painting/image to be more sacred, more spiritual. The subject matter of this painting also seems to have influences from Byzantine illuminated manuscripts.

Giovanni Pisano, Annunciation, Nativity, and Adoration of the Shepherds, 1297 - 1301

This version is in striking contrast to his father's thick carving and placid, almost stolid, presentation of the religious narrative - He arranged the figures loosely and dynamically - They twist and bend in excited animation, and the spaces that open deeply between them suggest their motion - In the top left annunciation episode, the Virgin sgrinks from the angel's sudden appearance in a posture of alarm touched with humility - The swiftly tuning, sinuous draperies, the slender figures they enfold, and the general emotionalism of the scene are features not found in Nicola Pisano's interpretation - French Gothic Style - Marble - 2' 10" x 3' 4" - Relief panel on the pulpit of Sant' Andrea - Pistoia, Italy.