Art History 281 Exam 1

Lapis lazuli

A stone that creates the shade ultramarine. It turns black overtime due to candle smoke.

Allegory

A story that is told with symbols rather than people. Supposed to give a moral lesson.

Usury

A wicked sin that involved people charging interest.

Scriptorium

A workshop room for writing books. The master scribe would read, while the scribes would listen and copy.

Lamentation

After Jesus is killed, he is buried and resurrected on the following Sunday. Mary Magdalena is gazing at Jesus's feet. Mary is near Jesus's head to kiss him goodbye. The person with long hair is named Saint John. Two men on the right side. The older man with the white hair and beard is Joseph of Aramanthea. He contributed his own tomb for Jesus. The other man is named Nicodemus, whom was a follower of Jesus and didn't want people to know he believed in him. He gave money for the burial. They are Christian donors. Enrico arranged it, since he wanted to emphasize that wealthy people are helping Jesus and have the chance to go to heaven.

Bruges

Biggest and richest town in Flanders. Tallest belfry to indicate their pride.

Sandro Botticelli (grazia + eurhythmia)

Birth name is Alexandra. Botticello means little barrel. Named after Alexander the Great. Lost parents and raised by his older brother. Tempera on panel. Dates 1480. Gabriel leaning forward. Twist of Mary shows dynamic. Robe has flow. Figures are graceful. Eurhythmia.

Palazzo Vecchio

City hall of Florence. Name translates to the old palace. Built around 1300. It was where the government was held. The city council elected people to rule. Big tall tower for defensive purpose. Tower above the entrance. People could drop rocks below to protect themselves from protestors.

Florence

City in Italy located on a river called Arno. Art was important there. Self-contained city with walls around due to cities attacking each other. Became a great trading center. The term Tuscany means a region of low gentle hills hover with grass. It was not good for farming, since soil wasn't rich. It was good for raising cattle and sheep. Wool became a crucial product. They became a big wool-processing center. Had enough money to set up a bank. Became the best bankers.

Padua

City in northern Italy called Padua. It was a rich city filled with merchants and bankers.

Avignon

City of southern France. Famous for castle and bridge from a French tune. The headquarters of the pope when he decided to move from Rome to France in 1309. Became an important center of artists.

Robert Campin

Earliest Flemish master that produced realistic art.

Giotto (gravitas)

Earliest hero of the renaissance. Uncertainty about his appearance. Born around 1260 and died in 1337. Famous for paintings and sculptures. He was also an architect. First artist that had a three-dimensional colorful personality.

Flax & Linen

Flax is blue flowers that produce linen. It is a plant that creates wool.

Lorenzo de Medici

Grandson of Cosmo. Leader of the family. Died in 1492. Italians called him Lorenzo il magnifico, which translates to Lorenzo the magnificent. Spent money to support poetry, music, and art.

Cosimo de Medici

In 1420, forced exile but returned in 1430. Patriarchy of the family. Bribed the government and became the master of the town. Commissioned Donatello for the Statue of David. Thought himself as David. He defeated his enemies that were more powerful than him.

Dynamism

It means energy and movement.

Crucifixion

Jesus sacrificed his own life to bring salvation into humanity. Angels wailing in the skies. On the bottom shows a cave with bones. He was crucified on a hill. The fallen lady that is touching Jesus's feet is known as Mary Magdalena. On the right, Roman soldiers are fighting over Jesus's robe. There is one soldier with the helmet and two little wings. He's pointing upwards. He has a halo since he is Saint Longinus, whom was the Roman officer in charge of the crucifixion. He realized that he is the son of God. He converted into a Christian and preached. On the left, there are Mary and her friends. we see Mary and her friends. Mary fainted in horror.

Quid Tum

Latin phrase that translates to "what's next?"

Linen & Oil

Linen seed oil to paint. Flax has a lot of seeds that could be used for oil. It doesn't dry quickly, which allows longer working period.

Parchment

Material made from sheepskin. Stretched and cut into squares for book pages.

Sprezzatura

Meaning a person does something great by getting their hands dirty. Indicated by head toss.

Sophrosyne

Meaning your mind is clear and you're above it all. Purified individual.

Leonardo da Vinci

Renaissance artist that lived in Italy. Left handed and wrote backwards. Studied naturalism, humanism, and classism.

Canonical Hours

Seven official times of the day where you have to pray. It contains all the different prayers to indicate which prayer to pray for a specific time of day.

Birth of Venus

Tempera on panel. Dates 1480. Located in Otzi museum. About 12-13 feet wide. Made to decorate banquet hall for wedding. Goddess of Venus in the middle. Born from the sea foam and blown to land by wind Gods' breath. Standing on a seashell. Copied from a statue called Venus Pudica. Nymph that serves gods and goddesses. To the right, she's putting clothes on Venus. Two Venus. Earthly Venus who wants material things and falls for lust. Divine Venus is pure and loves intellectual things. Expression of sophrosyne. Demonstrates allegory.

*** In this lecture we mentioned a writer who discussed technical innovations that the Renaissance produced which makes it a very different period of history than earlier times like the classical age of Greece and Rome. Who was that writer, and what did he say about the innovations?

That writer was Francis Bacon. In his 1620 book titled Novum Organum (The New System) he observed that his modern age (the Renaissance) was very different from the ancient world of Greece and Rome, because we had the new technology of gunpowder, the compass, and the printing press, allowing Europeans to explore and conquer the rest of the world, and disseminate new knowledge quickly.

*** When comparing Donatello's bronze David with the classical Doryphoros by Polykleitos, we see important similarities like nudity and the use of contrapposto. However, the two statues come off as very different in character or spirit, expressing important differences between the ideals of the ancient world and those of the Renaissance world. Explain how these two statues are different in spirit.

The Doryphoros has an expression of calmness and contemplation, representing the perfect individual who has risen above the emotions of the world, and has achieved god-like sophrosyne (balance of mind); this was the ideal of the ancient philosophers and moralists. The David by Donatello shows an expression of pride and selfsatisfaction mixed with amusement, as if admiring his own talents and success, an expression the Italians call sprezzatura. This is typical of the Renaissance ideal of an individual engaged and active in the world.

Giornata

The Italian term for one days work.

Pietas

The Italian term for sorrow.

Fresco

The method of painting on wet plaster.

Proleptic

This word means predicting something in the future.

Classism

Belief that the ancient world of Greece and Roman produced wonderful models that should be reused.

Arena Chapel

Built and decorated by Giotto in 1305. The chapel is not bigger than a church and serves for the local neighborhood. It is a headquarters of Giotto art. It functions as a church for the local neighborhood. Originally the ancient Greece arena. Became a miniature version of the arena colosseum. Eventually demolished but chapel was saved. Three levels and contains 50 square panels. Dedicated to the life of Virgin Mary and Jesus. The first scene displays Joachim being kicked out of Jerusalem. The middle level shows the early life of Jesus. The bottom portrays the passion cycle with scenes of the end of Jesus's life. Took 600 days to complete chapel.

Medici Palace

Built in 1445. David was made for a non-religious purpose. Placed in a private palace called Medici Palace, which was owned by Medici family. Most richest and powerful family. Three stories. The statue was set up in the courtyard called Cortile of the palace.

Rucellai Palace

Designed by Alberti. Grid formation. Three stories high. Big ledge on top is called a cornice. Organized with grid of ledges and pilaster.

Florin

First coin made since fall of Roman Empire. Introduced in 1252. Became known as ducat, which is another name for florin. Gold and silver had the ratio of 1 to 20. The gold coin was worth 20 silver coins. About 4-5 grams of gold. Size of a nickel. One side has a three petal Lily, since their city symbol was a flower. It was called fleur de lis, which is the French term for Lily flower. Other side shows the saint of Florence named John the Baptist with a halo. Dressed in a fuzzy cloak and raising his right hand as a sign of blessing. God of lamb has a stick in his left hand and at the top is a baby sheep. First to recognized Jesus.

Contrapposto

It means counter position where one thing is going one way and the other is going another way, but they are balancing one another.

Venus Pudica

Latin name for modest Venus. She is hiding her nakedness. Placed in the temple of Venus.

Joachim and Anna

Mary's parents were Joachim and Anna. There are in the Books of Saints, but not in the bible.

Perspective

Masaccio used a new mathematical system that involved a vanishing point. They converge at one single spot, which is the eye level.

Ultramarine

Rich blue that was expensive. Grinned up to mix with the yolk.

Tempera

Technique of using egg yolk as the medium. Mix pigment into yolk. The advantage is that it sticks onto the gesso. It dries quickly, so it creates a glossy appearance.

Memento Mori

The term for the reminder of our death.

Quattrocento

The time period of 1400s. Translates to four hundreds. The trio found the style of quattrocento. Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Masaccio.

*** The Latin term _________________ is used to express the sense of heaviness that Giotto wanted to convey in his paintings. Among the materials he was expected to use for an altarpiece was the color called _______________ , made from grinding up a semiprecious stone called __________________ which came from Persia. An altarpiece was not just a decorative painting but was expected to "work" as part of the Mass; when the priest says the Latin words ______________ , the people in the church could "see" how the bread and wine changed to the body and blood of Christ, thanks to the altarpiece. Both the naturalism and the emotionalism seen in Giotto's works can be explained in part by the influence of St. _______________ , who believed that nature was good, not evil, and that a Christian should feel as well as believe the Gospel.

1. Gravitas 2. Ultramarine 3. Lapis Lazuli 4. Hoc Est Corpus Meum 5. Francis of Assisi.

*** A man who was typical of the Renaissance "can do" character was _________ . Among his many activities and professions was that of an architect, and he designed a palace in Florence for the _______________ family which is distinguished by a strong grid design on the facade. His portrait medal includes his personal emblem or symbol, which is a ____________ , and his personal motto, which is _______________ in Latin, meaning __________ in English.

1. Leon Battista Albert 2. Rucellai 3. Flying Eyeball 4. Quid Tum 5. What's Next?

*** We discussed a new painting technology based on _______________ instead of egg yolk as the medium. The new medium was squeezed from the seeds of the ______________ plant, which was cultivated for the production of __________ cloth, especially in Flanders. Among the masters who took advantage of the new medium was ___________________ , who lived in the city of _____________ , and whose self-portrait we looked at. This is inscribed on the frame by the artist himself with the date _____________ .

1. Linseed oil 2. Flax 3. Linen 4. Jan Van Eyck 5. Bruges 6. 1433.

*** Among the images shown in today's lecture was a painting of the dead Christ mourned by his family and friends, a scene that is called __________ in Italian. This included two characters who contributed their property and wealth to the burial, namely ______________ and ______________ . There is also another friend of Jesus easy to recognize, namely _____________ , who always sits or kneels next to the ____________ of Christ. She is especially honored in the nation of ______________ because they believe she traveled there and converted those pagans to Christianity, which explains why so many girls are name _______________ in that country.

1. Pietà 2. Joseph of Arimathea 3. Nicodemus 4. Mary Magdalene 5. Feet 6. France 7. Madeline

Flanders

A region of low rolling farmland that has rich soil for growing crops. Disadvantage of being flat, which caused Germans to invade France by going through Flanders.

Donatello (sculptor)

Birth name was Donato, meaning duck. Nickname was little Donald. Created the statue of David.

Masaccio (painter + dynamism)

Birth name was Tommaso, which is an Italian version of Thomas but shorten to Maso. Nickname called Big Tom. Painted the Trinity Fresco. First to use perspective painting. Died before 30 due to malaria.

Leon Battista Alberti

Citizen of Florence. Dates 1450. Portrait and his name in Latin. His symbol was a flying eyeball with wings. It suggests the power of sight and freedom. The motto was quid tum. Designed a palace for the Rucellai family. Introduced the grid system. Book published in 1435. It was about painting and perspective.

Groat Coin

Common coin during Middle Ages. Small coin of silver and the size of a modern dime. Weighed 1.5 grams. Wrinkled and easy to bend.

Ognissanti Altarpiece

Created by Giotto. Dates 1310. Tempera on wood panel. About 12 feet high and took one year to complete. The church is called all saints, which translates into ognissanti. Displays Virgin Mary with the child Jesus on her lap. Saints and angels around the throne singing. Jesus raises his left hand in blessing. He raises the wine and bread above his head and says this is my body in Latin. This phrase was hoc est corpus meum. Thin sheets called gold leaf around the virgin and saints. Represented gold light of heaven. Steps was the invitation to the viewers. Virgin Mary's robe is dark, but it was originally ultramarine.

Vitruvian man (1499)

Created by Leonardo da Vinci. Illustration page from a drawing notebook. About 12 inches high and 6 inches wide. Shows naked man related to circles and squares. Man forms sides of a perfect square. Spread of legs and hands forms a circle. Humanism is the importance of individuality. The need to perfect oneself. Includes Leonardo's face and named Vitruvian man due to the artist Vitruvian.

Book of Kells (800)

Created in 800 AD by Irish monks. Image of Saint Matthew. Symbolic and made to look realistic, which is the term naturalism. Comparison between abstraction and naturalism. Frame is self-contained. Decorations packed like a box. Metaphor to portray medieval life. Fingers are long and face resembles a triangle.

Trinity Fresco

Dates 1425. Fresco painting for church called Santa Maria Nonella. Translates into the new version of Mary. About 20 feet high. The Lenzi family owned this altarpiece. Named Trinity, since God is divided into three parts: The father, son, and Holy Spirt. The man with the halo is the God of father, whom is the creator of the world. Jesus is the God of son that redeemed humanity for their sins. The necklace on the collar of the Father is the white dove, also known as the Holy Spirit. Comes down from heaven to give grace. Mary (left) and John (right) are near the cross. People in the front are Ms. and Mr. Lenzi. They are the donors and observing the holy scene. There is a skeleton lying under the altar. Represents a dead family member. Inscription translates into what you are. I was once. What I am. You will be soon. Reminds us that the living will die soon. Death on bottom. Living in the middle. Divine on top.

Merode Triptych

Dates 1425. Oil painting by Robert Campin. Triptych is a three-panel painting. About 2 feet high. Made as a private altarpiece for a merchant. Annunciation scene. Gabriel the angel appear to inform Mary she is pregnant. Jesus came down from heaven. God becomes the flesh of the body. Little baby floating in the air and the light coming towards Mary. Right side is where Joseph is doing wood work. Left side are two people kneeling. Doorway leads into the house. Couple looking inside. They are donors and this is a portrait. Man standing by the gate represents their favorite servant. Table has a vase with white lilies, which is associated with Mary's purity. Jesus comes down to light the candle. Mary is position is humble.

Francis Bacon

English novel man. Great founder of modern science. Wrote a book called Novum Organum, which translates to new system. Published in 1620. Named three innovations that made the renaissance different from ancient times: gunpowder, compass, and printing press.

Tournai

Flemish town had walls to protect from enemies. Residential area inside and river for trade. Big cathedral and bell tower called belfry. To mark the hours of day.

*** The theme of kissing came up in lecture today. Explain how this theme was developed or expressed in the pictures we talked about.

Giotto depicts several scenes of kissing in his frescoes of the Arena Chapel. The kiss of Joachim and Anna when they meet again at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem is considered the first romantic kiss in art since ancient times. Even more important, it is proleptic, that is, it foretells or reminds us of a later and more tragic kiss, which also shows up in the Arena Chapel, namely the Kiss that Judas gives Christ in order to betray him and mark him for arrest.

Plato

Greek philosopher lived 400 BC. Wrote about earthly and divine love. The goal is to get out of earth and go to the God world. Believed that a wise man is someone who doesn't get excited and affected from bad things.

Cimabue

He discovered a boy named Giotto, who was originally from a farm family. His father was a sheep farmer and he was a shepherd boy. He encountered a man named Cimabue, who was known as the most famous painter in Florence. He was walking in the pasture and saw Giotto drawing a sheep on a rock. He went to his father and said that his son had talent, so he made him into his apprentice. Cimabue's prediction was right, since Giotto became the greatest artist in Florence.

Rejection of Joachim's Sacrifice

He tried to give a lamb to god but was told he couldn't. They said Joachim and Anna had wicked sins, since they didn't give birth. He was grabbed by the robe with two fingers. They were infertile and blamed. This panel took 9 days to complete.

Pillars of Hercules

Hercules was the hero that fought monsters and saved people from evil. The cover of Bacon's book shows an illustration of Hercules with two columns set side by side. He was traveling to find monsters and discovered Strait of Gibraltar. Unable to go further and warned travelers by placing columns to mark the end of the world. Non plus ultra sign.

Il Duomo

Italian name that translates into dome. Designed in 1419. Basilica Plan. Biggest and richest building. Famous for dome. Long rectangular portion (nave) and a crossing. Squared off area called apse. Seek a plan to complete the dome. Brunelleschi explained with an egg and was hired. Four methods for his success: More pointed dome for less force and weight. Rib dome carries weight. Hollow two-shell dome to lessen load. Top of dome has a lantern that adds stability, while the eight little arms unifies ribs.

Grazia

Italian term that derives from the old expression of when someone does you a favor. It stands for appreciating their good graces. Shorten to graces (grazie). It means smooth and divine.

Joachim among the Shepherds

Joachim decided that he will run away in the mountains. He asked a couple of shepherds if he could stay with them. They were skeptical and thought he was a criminal, but accepted him once their dog befriend him. Giotto made the people bulky to give a sense of gravitas.

Meeting at the Golden Gate

Joachim heard the news and returned. One of the shepherd carried his stuff. Joachim and Anna embraced and kissed. The begging woman dressed in black is a widow. She is the prediction of the future. Mary will soon live a sorrow life. She will become a widow, since Jesus is also her husband of God.

The Arrest of Christ

Judas is kissing Jesus to indicate who to arrest. He was signaling the high priest. Soldiers came to arrest Jesus. As soon as the police arrested Jesus, his apostles ran away. One of them named Peter tried to help him by attacking the priest. He cut off his ear. Jesus told Peter to put away his sword and cured the man's ear before he was taken.

Gravitas

Latin term for heavy. The person of weight. You could trust the person if they have gravitas.

Calvary

Latin term for the hill near Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified. It was also the place where Adam died. The skull belonged to him. Jesus was called Adam and was sacrificed to correct the mistake of the first Adam.

Statue of David

Located in Bargello Museum. Dates 1435. Bronze. About 4 ½ feet tall. Zigzag contrapposto. Expresses sprezzatura. Represents young boy as the Old Testament named David. Hollow technique called lost wax. In the Book of Kings, David kills a giant named Goliath. David volunteer to fight. King Saul gave him armor, but he placed his trust in God and fought naked. Used a sling, long strip of rope with a stone. Knocked down the giant and took his sword to cut off his head.

Peso Coin

Money of the renaissance. Shows the head and tails of the Spanish peso. Consists the King of Spain's head and other side has the coat of arms. Bigger than the groat. About the size of a silver dollar. It weighs 30 grams.

Book of hours (Breviary)

Most common religious book. Completed with ink and watercolors. About 12-14 inches high. Size of a medium book. Four page illustrations called calendar pages. Images of the activities during that month. Each calendar page has an arch that indicates the particular zodiac sign for that month.

Domenico Veneziano

Name translates to Dominic in Venice. Tempera on panel. Painted The Annunciation. The moment when God became man. He sacrificed himself to correct the sin of Adam and Eve. The angel came to Mary and said hail Mary full of grace the hold is with thee, which is the term vobiscuia. Mary is humbled. Tiles indicate the orthogonal and transversal lines. Garden and a gate. Jesus called himself the door in one passage. Only he can get into heaven.

Marriage of Arnolfini

Oil on wooden panel. Painted by Jan van Eyck. Dates 1434. Painting of an Italian couple about to be married. The man is the manager in Florence named Giovanni Arnolfini. The woman was Giovanni Cenami. Private ceremony but married with two witnesses. About to pledge loyalty. Mirror in background shows Jan Van Eyck and his brother Hubert. Above the mirror it says Jan Van Eyck was a witness. The common name for a dog was Fido, meaning faithful in Latin. Arnolfini was in a holy place hence the removal of shoes. Cenami had to run and clean the house hence the broom.

Raising of Lazarus

One of Jesus's miracle. When he gets to his place everyone is crying and said that Lazarus died. Jesus said he was just asleep. They brought his tomb and made a sign of waking. Jesus told him to wake up and said that he needed to see him. Lazarus was wrapped up as a mummy and came out of his tomb. Everyone was astonished. His sisters are on their knees to thank Jesus.

Enrico Scrovegni

One of the richest man. He hired Giotto to paint his family chapel called Arena Chapel. Built for the purpose of guilt. Enrico was a banker and charged interest for loans. The church believed people should give without expecting anything in return. Enrico took a big portion of his profit and hired people to create churches. Wanted to make God rich and didn't want to go to hell.

Polykleitos

Sculpted Doryphoros in 1450 BC. Contrapposto. Blank expression. Expresses sophrosyne. Donatello copied the technique.

Jan Van Eyck

Self-portrait he made himself. Dates 1433. Frame inscribed with his name and the date in Latin. Completed on October 21st. Psychological effect of his eye's following you. From Belgium and spoke Flemish: mixture of German and French.

Mary Magdalena

She was the female friend of Jesus. People believed that she was a prostitute, but Jesus accepted her. Mary's loose hair indicated that she is a prostitute. Became the female apostle and preached. It was believed that she turned the French into Christians.

Brunelleschi (architect)

Studied at Rome and brought back knowledge. Built the cathedral of Florence called Il Duomo.

Francis of Assisi

Tempera on panel. An alter piece made in the town of Assisi for the church. Most important saint during medieval time. He wanted to become a good Christian rather than a good merchant. He dressed as Christ and helped the poor. Wore a undye robe and went barefoot. He mimics the wounds of Jesus by having holes in his hands and feet. The Pope prevented him from going to jail. The Pope had a dream about a church being saved by Francis before it crumbled. It was a message from god that he should support Francis. The scenes on the sides portray his miracles. The town was filled with atheists and said that religion was for birds. He went to the birds and preached. They listened. People were amazed and decided to convert. He made naturalism more acceptable.

*** We discussed an artist who had a great impact on the art of sculpture by discovering (or rediscovering) a technique for making statues. Who was that artist, what is the technique called, and what exactly is the process?

That artist was Donatello. He rediscovered the ancient technique of lost-wax casting in bronze, which he used to make his statue of David. This involves creating a clay statue first, and then covering it with a thin layer of wax. Then another layer of clay is placed over this, forming an outer shell. A hole is made at the top, and then molten bronze is poured into the hole; the wax in the middle layer is melted away through an opening at the bottom, and the bronze replaces the wax. After the bronze is cooled and hard, the sculptor scrapes away the clay outer shell and clay inner core, leaving a hollow statue made of bronze.

*** We discussed a particular artist and some of the stories or legends told about him. Name that artist, and tell me at least two of the stories about him that were mentioned.

That artist was Giotto, and he was the first artist since ancient times to have a recognizable and memorable personality. One story relates how he was discovered. As a shepherd boy working on his father's farm, he would draw the sheep with a piece of chalk on a rock. One day Cimabue, the most important artist in Florence in those days, was walking through the pasture and saw Giotto doing these drawings. He was amazed at the boy's "native talent," so he went to Giotto's father and asked to take the boy into his workshop as his apprentice. In other story, the Pope of Rome looked over his shoulder while Giotto was painting a bishop saint, who wore the usual Bishop's hat called a miter. The Pope said he always wondered why bishops where a hat with two points on the top, and Giotto said "I think they represent the two peaks of our Christian faith, the Old and the New Testaments." Impressed by the painter's knowledge, the Pope asked him why there were two ribbons attached to the hat that hung down behind the back. Giotto replied it was because our modern bishops don't care about either the Old or the New Testament, and throw them both behind them." Illustrates Giotto's belief that a great artist should be considered equal to other great men, even Popes and Kings. Finally, a third story is a famous joke indicating Giotto's sense of humor, where one of Giotto's friends stated "Your paintings are so beautiful, but your children are very ugly. How could that be?" Giotto responded, "That's easy to explain, I make my children in the dark."

*** Among the things discussed today was a familiar mark or symbol that we use when we write about money, and how that symbol originated and developed. What is that symbol, and how did it originate and develop according to the lecture?

That symbol is the dollar sign ($) which originated in the legend of the Pillars of Hercules, the two-column monument set up by the legendary hero at the Straits of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea met the Atlantic Ocean, considered the western edge of the world in ancient times. Hercules added a banner between the columns proclaiming "Non Plus Ultra" (No More Beyond) to warn sailors not to venture out into the ocean. After the discovery of the Americas, the Spanish king and queen adopted the pillars as part of their royal coat of arms, changing the inscription on the banner to "Plus Ultra" (More Beyond). This was part of the imagery on the Spanish silver peso, which was the model for the American silver dollar. The sign for the peso (and dollar) used by merchants, bankers and bookkeepers was a simplified symbol of the pillars and their banner: a pair of vertical lines (often reduced even further to one line) joined by an S-shaped curve.

Pieta

The Italian word for sorrow.

*** The subject of money and economic history came up in the lecture, and two types of coins were compared. What were those coins, and what exactly was said about them?

The coins mentioned and compared were the groat and the peso. The groat was the typical silver coin of the Middle Ages, the size of a dime and weighing 1.5 grams. The peso was the typical silver coin of the Renaissance and later, the size of a silver dollar and weighing 30 grams. Both coins were approximately one day's wages for their time periods.

*** Among the stories mentioned during this lecture was one that involved a grocery item. Tell me that story.

The grocery item in this case was an egg. When Brunelleschi came before the committee charged with hiring an architect to build the "impossible" dome for Florence Cathedral, they asked him how he expected to do it. He asked for an egg, and then challenged the committee members to make it stand on end. None of them could do it; "nobody can do that," they said. But Brunelleschi took the egg and smashed it down on the table top to flatten its bottom, making it stand up that way. The committee protested, "If you told us you were going to do that, any of us could have done it." "Yes, but you didn't," said Brunelleschi. "If I tell you how I'll build the dome, any of you could do it without me." Though annoyed by Brunelleschi's boldness, they hired him for the job, perhaps expecting that he would fail and embarrass himself.

The Last Judgement

The west wall of the chapel. The scene faces towards the sunset. It signals the end of the day. The end of the world where Jesus comes back and judges all the living and dead. Right hand sends people to heaven. Left pushes people to hell. This brings awareness to people to beware how they act. Jesus is near the window with the angels and saints. The angels are holding the cross. Enrico is offering the model of the chapel to Mary. It is called the donor portrait. River of fire and people coming out of their tombs. The other side shows Satin eating and torturing people.

Eurhythmia

The word for beautiful rhythm.

Illumination

The word for ornamentation where the book is not just text, but it also has pictures and watercolors.

*** We mentioned in the lecture a certain type of activity which was considered a wicked sin by the medieval and Renaissance Church, but which can help explain why so many expensive and beautiful religious buildings and works of art were produced at that time. What is that sin called, and how does it relate to art?

This sin was called usury, which was the practice of charging interest on loans. Charging and earning interest, of course, is an important part of the modern capitalist economy that emerged in the Middle Ages. Merchants and bankers who became rich in part by charging interest tried to ease their guilt and "square themselves with God" by donating a portion of their profits to religious and charitable causes, including building churches and monasteries, and hiring artists to decorate them with beautiful statues, paintings and other crafts. A good example of this practice is the Arena Chapel built by the Paduan banker Enrico Scrovegni, who hired Giotto to decorate it with frescoes showing the life of the Virgin Mary and Christ.

*** We discussed a painting that showed a banquet scene. Tell me about this painting, including who painted it, who it was painted for, and its subject matter.

This was the January page of the Tres Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry, painted by the Limbourg brothers. Its shows the Duke himself presiding over the New Year's Day feast, welcoming visitors and well-wishers. A steward or seneschal with a staff stands nearby to manage the crowd and keep order at the feast. People wear bright, colorful costumes. There is a tapestry on the wall showing fighting knights, plenty of gold vessels on the table, and a pair of small dogs allowed to run free on the tabletop.

Non Plus Ultra

Translates to there is nothing beyond and you can't go further.

Unction of Anna

While Joachim was away, Anna was worried so she prayed to god for help. An angel came and told her not to worry, since she is pregnant and will give birth to Jesus. The servant spinning the wool was thought to be the development of the child in the wound.

Jean Duke of Berry

Young brother of the French king, whom was rich. He loved art and spent his money to support artists, poets, and musicians. In 1415, he commission the Book of Hours from a firm ran by three brothers named Limbourg brothers.

Les Tres Riches Heures

‎Gouache on parchment. The month of January is a banquet scene. Man in blue pattern is the Duke of Berry. Man in red cape is a cardinal. Man with long stick is the Stewart, whom is in charge of the banquet. Battle scene tapestry background. Dogs used as running napkins. Gold vessel is a saltcellar for the purpose of storing. The wagon represents the charier of the sun going through the zodiac.