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.
...
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
...
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)
...
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
...
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
...
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)
...
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
...
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
...
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
...
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
...
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)
...
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
...
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
...
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
...
pilaster
an engaged square column (in Alberti's Church of Sant' Andrea facade)