Art History Test 6
pietra serena
gray stone contrast against the white walls
orthogonals
lines perpendicular to the picture plane
predella
lowermost level of an altarpiece
notational brushwork/style
visible brushstrokes (think Flaying of Marsyas); painterly; calling attention to themselves as painters
16TH CENTURY VENICE Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi, 1573, oil on canvas, 18' x 42'. Galleria dell'Accademia, Venice -paintings depict Venice as a city of pleasure and pageantry (and great wealth) -elaborate architectural settings and costumes, everyday details, etc. -painted for Dominican monastery of SS. Giovanni e Paolo -architecture seems to be focus of painting -lifelike figures in lavish costumes strike theatrical poses -surrounded by parrots and monkeys -imaginary city of white marble -Church found them serious distractions to the Last Supper (that's how it started) -imagery that was never in the Last Supper -Veronese was brought in front of Inquisition for this painting (changes title to Feast in the House of Levi from Last Supper) -shows that the artist paints figures as they see fit (not just copying others or copying texts; artistic license) -says painters take the same freedom as poets, etc.
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper, wall painting in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy,1495-98, tempera and oil on plaster -fictive space defined by a coffered ceiling and 4 pairs of tapestries that seem to extend the refractory itself into another room -long table placed parallel to the picture plane and to monastic diners who would have been seated below -stagelike space recedes from table to 3 windows on back wall -vanishing point is one point linear perspective behind Jesus' head -Jesus paints scene from story (when announcement made that one would betray him) -symbolic evocation of Jesus' coming sacrifice for salvation of humankind -Judas is in the shadows (first triad to Jesus' right) -careful geometry and stability of pyramidal forms and Jesus' calm expression reinforce sense of gravity, balance and order -pyramidal shape -3 windows=holy trinity -coat of arms is Duke of Milan who commissioned the painting -Leonardo thought painting was superior b/c sculpture was just like a craftsman
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo), ca. 1503, oil on wood panel -24 year-old Lisa Gherardini -silhouetted against distant hazy mountains (mystery reminiscent of Virgin of the Rocks) -gentle smile -Leonardo believed painting was best -eyes turned to look out at us -used lightly tinted varnish to enhance overall smoky haze -expressive complexity -more and more frontal portraits (half-length w/ folded arms) -thin veil covering head (shaved hairline) -had people to make her smile/laugh -Leo represents shift to the artist as an intellectual and thinker and inventor (one way he does that is through imaginative settings) -another mythical landscape -Leo showing off powers of invention (using artist as a mental genius)
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Leonardo da Vinci, Virgin of the Rocks, ca. 1485, oil on wood (transferred to canvas) -contract was just supposed to be Virgin & Child with angels but Leonardo added a figure of the young John the Baptist (balances the composition at the left: pulled into dialogue by cousin Jesus) -stable, balanced, pyramidal figure group -set against a detailed landscape (misty background) -picks out 4 figures with spotlights which creates a strong chiaroscuro -use of sfumato: smoky (subtle, almost imperceptible transitions b/w light and dark); hazy; gauzy veil--> believed best time of day to paint is dusk -Mary's left hand is foreshortening -some very recognizable plants that are seen in some of his sketches and drawings -imaginative landscape with really close scrutiny to detail (plants) -influenced by Flemish art
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Raphael (Raffaello Santi or Sanzio), The Small Cowper Madonna, ca. 1505, oil on wood panel, 23 x 17" -named for the family that owned it -shows indebtedness to Leonardo (teacher) with delicate tilt of figures' heads and brilliant tonalties -pyramid is activated by the spiraling movement of the child and draperies that cling to Virgin's form -stationary figures (very Raphael) -not portrait faces: in a private, solitary moment; clear similarities b/w mother & child (Raphael said he would combine many different perfect aspects from different women) -epitome of idealization -conforms to Renaissance ideals of beauty & perfection -everything idealized: sky, buildings, grass, etc. -clear balance
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Donato Bramante, Tempietto, Church of San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, 1502-10 -means "little temple" -Tuscan columns and Doric frieze -interpretation of principles of Vitruvius and Alberti from stepped base -elegant balustrade -centralized plan and tall drum (section a dome rests on) supporting a hemispheric dome (similar to martyr tombs) -design called for a circular cloister around church but never built -integrates classical order but also improving upon classical periods -round temple: tholos (would also have to be centrally planned) -harmonious -marks the spot of St. Peter's crucifixion (upside down)
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Michelangelo Buonarroti, Pieta, ca. 1500, marble, height 5'8". Saint Peter's, Vatican, Rome -commissioned by a French cardinal and installed as a tomb monument in Old St. Peter's -unusual theme in italy (Mary supports and mourns the dead) -carefully chose stone b/c he saw the statue in marble -Mary holds unnaturally smaller, lifeless body of son -sweetness of expression, technical virtuosity of the carving and smooth modeling -Michelangelo thought sculpture was superior (real physical object) -naturalism of body of Christ (Mary's hand pushing bicep on Jesus's arm) -varying texture (smooth skin v. drapery) -Mary is depicted very young (almost more youthful than Jesus: ageless Virgin Mary)--> trying to show virgins don't age
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Michelangelo, David, 1501-4, marble, height 17'. Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence -high atop a buttress of the cathedral but then so admired it was put in the city center -embodies antique ideals of athletic male -not a triumphant hero -knits brow and stares into space -truly conveys that he is a mere youth confronting a gigantic experienced warrior -parallels 5th century b.c.e. classical nude -at this moment he is getting ready for battle (slingshot over battle) -contrapassto -wavy, energized hair -sense of drama -Florence equated with David b/c they were also the underdogs
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Michelangelo, ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (especially The Creation of Adam and The Temptation and Expulsion of Adam and Eve),1508-12, fresco. -initially supposed to just be trompe l'oeil coffers but then Mich. went to town -running completely around the ceiling is a painted cornice with projections supported by pilasters decorated with "sculptured" putti -heroic figures of nude young men -shallow bands of fictive stone span the center of the ceiling -Creation of Adam: heroic body, outstretched arm, created in God's image -all painted on smooth plaster -creates illusion that there is a marble framework (grisaille) -chronological scenes (starts with God Creating the World over altar) -interesting about fresco is Jesus is not anywhere --> represented with prophets who promised the coming of Jesus -nude male scenes throughout ceiling: ignudi (nude male youths) --> unclear why they are there --> males rest on oak leaves b/c Pope Julius's family emblem was oak and oak leaves (painting also immortalizes Pope) --> like David translated into painting: hyper muscular -had to remove some grime but some people think it was too much of a restoration (majority think the colors should be really bold) -Adam is superhuman, super-heroic (God is also very powerful) -Adam & Eve: snake turning into women (Eve always too blame!) -before & after (Adam's stomach is turning into flab, no longer mirror image of God) --> condemned to die, sinful and doomed to life of suffering and death until Jesus comes
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HIGH RENAISSANCE ITALY 1500 Raphael, School of Athens, fresco in the Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican, Rome, 1510-11, 19 x 27' -in this room there are 4 branches of knowledge (this one is philosophy) -summarize ideals of Renaissance papacy in a grand conception of harmoniously arranged forms in a rational space -Plato and Aristotle take center stage -surrounding them are mathematicians, naturalists, geographers, etc. -immense barrel-vaulted interior -grandeur of building is matched by monumental dignity of philosophers themselves -dynamic unity that is a prime characteristic of High Renaissance art -different than Mich. (less strong movement) [paintings mainly about harmony, balance, etc.) -see effect of Pero.'s teachings: especially in Marriage of the Virgin
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NO Andrea Palladio, Villa Rotunda (Villa Capra), Vicenza, Italy, 1560s -most famous and influential villa -part a retreat -main living quarters on 2nd level and lower level is for kitchen, storage, etc. -inspired by Pantheon -use of central dome on domestic building was innovation (used in England and US for years to come) -has temple facades on all four sides of the building -wanted to have a countryside on all four sides of the building (central-planned building)
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NO CLOSED: Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece, ca. 1510-15, oil on wood panel. Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France. -closed on weekdays -grisly image of Crucifixion in a darkened landscape -described horrific character of Christ's tortured body -scientific to signal death -Baptist and lamb hold a cross and bleed from breast into a golden chalice (allude to baptism, Eucharist, etc.) -in predella below, Mary and friends prepare body for burial (common sight in hospital) -a lot of people there had "St. Anthony's Fire" which was caused by mold on grain (often fatal) -in Bible it says the sky became dark when Jesus died -people could identify w/ pock-marked Jesus -rag like loin cloth -on the outside is St. Sebastian and St. Anthony (disease fighters) -at the bottom scene is entombment
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NO OPEN FULL: Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece, ca. 1510-15, oil on wood panel. Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France. -reveal the sculpture and was reserved for special festivals of St. Anthony's -meeting of St. Anthony with hermit St. Paul -also when St. Anthony is attacked by demons (horrors of diseased patients) -meeting of 2 hermits in desert glorifies monastic life and in wilderness Grunewald depicts medicinal plants used in hospital's therapy
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NO OPEN: Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece, ca. 1510-15, oil on wood panel. Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France. -events of joy: Annunciation, Nativity and Resurrection (appropriate for Sundays and feast days) -inner scenes are illuminated by phosphorescent auras and haloes; stars glitter in night sky -technical virtuosity inspires euphoria -heavenly and earthly realms joined in one space -3 distinct types of angels in foreground -range of enthnic types in heavenly realm emphasize global dominion of church -missionaries expanding -when opened the whole mood changes -all about Jesus's resurrection -patients in the hospital can look forward to this (gives patients hope of the afterlife) -have to think about how it functions in original context
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pilaster
an engaged square column (in Alberti's Church of Sant' Andrea facade)
