Art History and Criticism DBA Review

Naturalness

"Naturalness" was peasantry, who Rousseau considered closer to nature and less corrupted by society. Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) was a painter of sentimental narratives. In "The Village Bride," is a modest country home in which a father passes his daughter's dowry to his future son-in-law before a notary in the lower right. The scene is filled with sincerity and gentility.

Tiziano Vecelli (Titian) (ca. 1490-1576)

"Sacred and Profane Love," is characteristic of the visual dynamics of the period.

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779)

"The Prayer Before the Meal" by Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) depicts an honest, simple and quiet domestic scene in which a mother and her daughters prepare for a meal in an atmosphere of soft lighting and gentle, muted colors. The action of the piece centers around the youngest daughter who is preparing to humbly thank God for their food under the care and tutelage of her mother. This scene is a far cry from the ostentatious and suggestive "The Swing" composition of Fragonard!

Renaissance

"rebirth"; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome

Dada Movement

("dada" is French for "hobbyhorse") was an artistic and literary movement which ridiculed contemporary culture and traditional art forms. It was born out of the widespread disillusionment caused by World War I, and the resulting collapse of social and moral values that followed. Dada artists produced works that reflected a cynical attitude toward social values and were irrational, absurd, playful, emotive, intuitive, and often cryptic. More of a mindset than a style, Dadaists typically produced art objects in unconventional forms produced by avant-garde methods. Artists employed the chance results of accident as a means of production and materials were ready-made, objects that were taken out of their original context and used in art.

Italian Baroque

(1590-1680) Emphasis: Religious works. Patron: church. Style: Dynamic. Qualities: Drama, intensity, Movement. Caravaggio-Conversion of St Paul, Bernini-The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Architecture: Bernini-St. Peters Cathedral, Borromini- San Carlo,

Saint Peter's

A few years after the completion of Santa Susanna, Maderno was commissioned by Pope Sixtus V to complete Saint Peter's in Rome. Maderno's facade resembles an expansion of the lower level of Santa Susanna, especially the projection of the central portion and the undulating columns that pulls the viewers towards the central axis. Example: The Facade, Colonnade, and Baldacchino.

The "isms"

A time of tremendous political and societal turmoil or transformation determined the new direction in art of the twentieth century. The period is characterized by the many radical changes, from the incredible advancements in science, medicine and technology, to the horrors of multifarious totalitarian dictatorships and global wars.

African Art

African Art ranges from naturalistic, religious, spiritual, and commemorative. Sculptures, masks, and architecture are made from durable, local materials such as stone, terracotta, bronze, hardwood. African Art is often conceptual art and abstract art to represent the concept or purpose to be used during religious ceremonies. Many objects were utilitarian or functional as a representation of a vehicle for energy used for communication with the spirit world. African Art reflects region and the culture of people who create it; the product is as vast and diverse as the continent itself.

Benjamin West (1738-1815).

American artists interpreted the "natural" in heroic scenes, seen in "The Death of General Wolfe" by Benjamin West (1738-1815). The young and mortally wounded General Wolfe is portrayed just after leading the British to victory over the French at the Battle of Quebec in 1759, which gave Canada to the English crown.

Eakins

An American Realist, Thomas Eakins (1844-916), painted identifiable and contemporary subjects just as they appear. In Eakins', "The Gross Clinic," the detailed scene is almost too "real." The famed surgeon Samuel Gross, bloody scalpel in hand, practices in an operating theater of a medical college. Similar to Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp," Eakins' composition is a group portrait. The spontaneity of the piece (characteristic of Realist works) is achieved through the recoiling woman (left), the open passageway in the distance (right) and the sharp contrasts of light and shade.

Derain

Andre Derain (1880-1954), a Fauvist, was also a friend and colleague of Matisse. The artist's style is characterized by striking applications of pure, bright patches of color. In Derain's "Drying the Sails," he has purposely distorted perspective in order to highlight his use of color that marks space, light and shadow. In Fauve fashion, color is not used to describe a literal scene, but to establish expressionistic content

Camera degli Sposi

Andrea Mantegna; A master of perspective, Mantegna had consistent illusionistic treatment of an entire room. In Camera degli Sposi of the Palazzo Ducale in Padua (near Venice), the walls have seemingly dissolved. The ceiling was treated in a novel technique known by art historians as "di sotto in su" ("from below upwards"). Mantegna painted an illusionistic oculus, highlighted by foreshortened cupids. This study would become the prototype for Baroque and Rococo artists when illusionistic ceiling painting reached its high point.

The Momoyama Period

Architectural sculpture was on a par with the unprecedented grandeur and flamboyance achieved in painted screens of the Momoyama period (1568-1615). At this time, constant warfare created a need for many great fortresses. Their interiors were lavishly decorated with screens painted in strong, thick colors against a gold background. The Kano family of artists succeeded in fusing the technique of Chinese ink painting with the decorative quality of Japanese art.

The Northern Renaissance in Germany

Artistically speaking, Germany lagged significantly behind Italy and the Netherlands during the fifteenth century. The early sixteenth century saw an amazing rise of German painting, which surpassed the Flemish school. The Germans corresponding advancements in architecture and sculpture did not last more than a generation.

Neoclassicism in England and the United States -- Sculpture

As fitting as Neoclassicism was for American architecture of the period, it was not popular in sculpture, seen in the portrait of George Washington by Horatio Greenough (1805-1852). Arealistic rendition of Washington's head on an idealized body was inspired by a lost Phidian sculpture of Zeus. The presentation was too much for American tastes and sensibilities of the period and the work was never displayed (in fact, one senator wanted to throw it into the Potomac River).

Correggio works

Assumption of the Virgin, Holy Night, and Jupiter and lo.

Corot

Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875) is not generally considered a realist because his landscapes were more "natural." His lack of sentiment did group him with the movement. Example: The Forest of Fontainebleau and Transnonian Street

Bernini

Baroque sculpture is dramatic, theatrical, energetic and full of movement. Bernini is considered the first master of Baroque sculpture. Example: David, The Rape of Proserpina, Apollo and Daphne, and The Ecstacy of St. Theresa.

Toulouse-Lautrec

Because of childhood injuries that left his legs crippled, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) often felt left out of the aristocratic world he was born in. He frequented the Moulin Rouge, a famous Parisian nightclub named for the red windmill on its roof and depicted many of his friends and favorite entertainers from there. Toulouse-Lautrec's Post-Impressionist style is a highly personal combination of the Impressionists' interest in contemporary subject matter and his own expressionistic color and line. The eerie green light of the interior evokes an unhealthy atmosphere.

Morisot

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) exhibited her work alongside Monet, Pissarro and others and she studied under Corot, and Manet (who was her brother-in-law). Morisot concentrated on domestic scenes with grace and delicacy. Morisot's, "The Piano," is characteristic of many Impressionistic qualities: subject: a captured moment in the everyday (middle-class) life of the artist technique: loose brushwork (for transience, "glance" effect, vivacity) color: pulsating (for transience, spontaneity, lightness, vivacity) figural arrangement: informal (for spontaneity) framing: cropped (for "glance" effect, spontaneity)

Birth of Venus painting

Botticelli painting; The painting was inspired by a poem about the birth of Venus from the contemporary poet Angelo Poliziano. Botticelli's composition is poetic in the depiction of figures and forms caught up in a brisk breeze. Botticelli did not seek perfection in perspective or proportion, seen in the length of Venus' neck, the steep decline of her shoulders and the odd arrangement of her left arm. The lines of this work stress the delicate beauty and graceful harmony engendered in this new creation of the sea.

The Tempietto

Bramante works; The so-called Tempietto (Italian for "little temple"), borrowed from the classical past (the tholos design of the base and the Doric columns of the peristyle), but the balustrade, the carved drum on which the dome rests, and the ribbed dome are certainly not classical. Present are characteristics of Bramante's works and the essence of the High Renaissance style: proportion, harmony (the niches in the drum echo the columns of the base) and balance (especially between the "heavier" and lower frieze and the "lighter" and higher balustrade).

Dome of the Florence Cathedral

Brunelleschi's most famous work is the dome of the Florence Cathedral. This project was a challenge because the area that needed to be covered by the dome was so vast that no known method of dome construction could be used. Brunelleschi created a new building technique and invented the machines needed for construction.

Japanese Art

Buddhism defined the tradition and roots of Japanese art. Throughout the centuries Japanese art has transitioned from representing the religious and cultural connection to mirror cultural and artistic growth.

Changes in Europe

Changes in Europe during the early seventeenth century influenced art: In geopolitics: the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) determined the foundations of the modern European states. In religion: the Treaty of Westphalia, which brought an end to the Thirty Years War, provided for religious freedom throughout Europe and ended the Catholic Church's reign as the center of Christian authority in the West. The Papacy's aggressive seventeenth-century campaign to re-establish its centrality and authority drove the patronage of art. In academia: the early seventeenth century saw the widespread acceptance of heliocentrism (secured by the work of Galileo), the invention of logarithms and calculus and the establishment of chemistry, anatomy and physiology as systematic sciences. In economics: the worldwide exploration and mercantilism of the preceding century caused the globe to blossom into a truly worldwide marketplace in the early seventeenth century, resulting in extraordinary prosperity for Europe in particular.

Early Sixteenth-Century Venetian Art-- "Colorito" vs. "Desegno"

Colorito: colored or painted Desegno: designed or drawn. The most striking characteristic of the Venetian school is their use of color, and the primary feature of the Florentine and Roman artists is their carefully drawn, sculpture-like figural forms. These terms also highlight the fact that Venetian art stresses "poetic" ideals, while the works of the central Italians tend to favor "intellectual" ideals.

Cubism

Cubism lasted only a few years and did not achieve an international following, but the movement sparked an immense creative explosion that resonated through all of twentieth-century art. Example: Conception, Early Analytical Cubism, Later Analytical Cubism, and Synthetic Cubism.

Michelangelo Buonarroti works

David, Moses, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Tombs of the Medici

Classicism

Deriving from the orderly qualities of ancient Greek and Roman culture; implies formality, objectivity, simplicity, and restraint. Classicism emerged in the early works of architect Francois Mansart (1598-1666) in the Orleans wing of the Chateau de Blois.

5.06 Objective

Despite the repercussions of the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation artistic growth spread through Germany, France, and The Netherlands.

Louis Le Nain (1593-1648)

Different from Dutch light-hearted versions, French genre scenes lacked movement and were a somber reflection of the miserable condition the French peasantry endured during the period. Le Nain saw great importance in the peasant soul, whose life of labor and hard realities had created dignity.

Donatello

Donatello (ca. 1386-1466) was renowned for his use of classical idealism, his wide range of portrayals and his innovations in naturalistic illusionism. Donatello's great skill and range are most evident in his bronze relief, "Feast of Herod" which was made for the baptismal font of the Siena Cathedral.

Maybridge

Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) was a Realist photographer whose most famous work was undertaken to settle a bet for the governor of California on whether or not all four legs of a horse ever leave the ground simultaneously during full gallop. Through a technique known as sequential photography, Muybridge proved that they did, as seen in his studies of sequential motion. Muybridge influenced artists such as Degas and Duchamp and anticipated motion pictures.

Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541-1614)

El Greco's style is characterized by a combination of the Byzantine spirit, Venetian color, Mannerism and Spanish mysticism (which dominated the Counter-Reformation culture in Spain). The artist is also known for his intense emotionalism, movement and use of light, which like Correggio, prefigure the Baroque; example: Saint Mary Magdalene, Burial of Count Orgaz, and Resurrection.

Christopher Wren (1623-1723)

England's most famous architect; The structure (St. Paul's Cathedral) shows the influence of several different styles which became its style. The upper portions of the towers resemble Borromini's lantern on Saint Ivo's and the lower portions recall Palladio. The porticos with paired columns are reminiscent of the east facade of the Louvre, which Wren had visited.

French Baroque Sculpture and Architecture and English Baroque

English Baroque was short lived and classified by clarity of design and minimal evidence of Classicism.

Rococo Architecture

Everything is elegant and stylish, sculpture, goes along with the building, churches avoid stained glass, sculptures are placed everywhere, painted figures on ceilings. Example: Kaisersaaal, Wuurzburg (by Neumann)

Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi was both a significant figure in and an initiator of the Italian Renaissance. Brunelleschi is credited with developing and codifying the first system of scientific linear perspective that revolutionized painting and relief sculpture in the early fifteenth century, and is considered the father of rational architecture.

Neue Sachlichkeit

Following the devastation of World War I, dejected and disillusioned German artists formed a new movement known as the "Neue Sachlichkeit," or "New Objectivity." These artists presented straightforward, hard-edged, honest and sometimes grotesque or satirical paintings and drawings of the brutality of war and the turmoil of its aftermath. One of the leaders of the movement was Max Beckmann (1884-1950). In "The Night," Beckmann represented the horror of a chaotic, post-war society. The cramped scene shows three thugs terrorizing an innocent family.

Millet

Francois Millet (1814-1878) was associated with the Barbizon school but didn't clearly represent the style. "The Gleaners" represent three women picking the last of the wheat scraps after harvesting (an activity of the poorest). In the manner of Realism, Millet presents a detailed depiction of everyday life. Millet strays from the Realist style with his inclusion of sentimentality. The figures are monumentally placed in the foreground, giving them an air of dignity.

Seurat

Georges Seurat (1859-1891) depicts city dwellers gathered at a park on La Grande Jatte (literally, "the big platter"), an island in the River Seine. Using newly discovered optical and color theories, Seurat rendered his subject by placing tiny, precise brush strokes of different colors close to one another so that they blend at a distance. Art critics subsequently named this technique Divisionism, or Pointillism.

Gericault

Gericault was classically trained but rejected Neoclassical norms. Typical of Romanticism's fascination with abnormal states of mind, Gericault, intensely studied the mad and deranged, visiting both mental asylums and prisons. "Insane Woman" represents the suffering of the woman in this portrait, which with her tight lips, red and vacant eyes, and furrowed brow, is not only intense, but frighteningly tangible.

Die Brucke

German Expressionist movement that focused on distortions of form, ragged outlines, and agitated brush strokes to provoke powerfully emotional works; started by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; German for the bridge

Matisse

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) elevated color as the primary means to convey meaning, "What characterizes [Fauvism] was that we rejected imitative color, and that with pure colors we obtained stronger reactions [and] more striking simultaneous [ones]." Matisse's colors are applied with broad brushstrokes in large flat patterns or splotches that are often startlingly juxtaposed, seen in "Woman with the Hat." "Harmony in Red" is an interior scene of a maid placing fruit and wine on a dining room table. Matisse has simplified and flattened the forms (the table, missing a front edge, is as flat as the wall, with which it shares an identical pattern), to intensify the sense of warmth and comfort that the contrasting colors convey.

Degas

Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas (1834-1917) did not have an interest in landscapes. Instead, he was fascinated with the effects of indoor lighting. Degas admired the linear perfection of the Neoclassicists and many of his compositions reflect this. Where the line is concerned, Monet and Renoir are at different ends of the Impressionistic spectrum. Degas is known for his many depictions of dancers, a favorite subject he painted throughout his career. Eaxome: The Dance Class and Degas and Pastels

Impressionism

Impressionism began in 1874 when a group of artists came together to show their own works, bypassing the official (and rigid) system of Salon exhibits of the French Academy. Impressionism captures a moment and concentrates on the present, in contrast to the preceding Realists that were concerned with the present. The term describes where the artist has aimed to capture the visual impression made by a scene instead of representation of it. Impressionistic subjects did not come from the Bible, history, mythology, or offer social commentary. Subjects were from the their own middle-class lives-streets on which they walked, bars and cafes that they frequented, and the surrounding countryside where they relaxed.

Start of the Renaissance

In 1401, the Wool Merchants Guild of Florence sponsored a competition for the commission to design the east doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni (the east doors were particularly important as they faced the entrance to the cathedral). Interested artists were required to submit a relief panel of the "Sacrifice of Isaac." Ghiberti's composition had smooth and graceful lines and when he won, people considered it to be the start of this art period.

Picasso Rose Period

In 1904, Picasso settled in Paris and took a studio in a building inhabited by other artists in Montmartre. The distorted despair of the Blue Period gave way to the artist's Rose Period. Picasso's figural representations from this time are more tender and delicate and the artist's palette is clearly lighter, featuring gentle tones of pink, ochre and gray. Picasso's Rose Period compositions still display a considerable void, marginalized figures and a melancholy mood. His favorite subjects during the Rose Period were actors and circus performers. "Family of Saltimbanques" depicts a troupe of saltimbanques (wandering circus performers) who are grouped together, but set apart emotionally in a barren, unidentified landscape.

Natural' Art in Britain and the United States

In England, the trend towards moralistic themes had a satirical bent. William Hogarth's (1697-1764) series of paintings read like chapters in a book-each displaying a particular social ill. In "Marriage a la Mode," the viewer follows the unhappy marriage between the daughter of a rich and miserable merchant (who wishes to advance socially) and the son of an impoverished but still arrogant earl (who desperately needs the merchant's money).

Orthogonals

In Linear Perspective drawing, orthogonals are the diagonal lines that can be drawn along receding parallel lines (or rows of objects) to the vanishing point.

The Kamakura Period

In the Kamakura period (late 12C-14C), the country was governed by the military, which preferred boldness to refinement, action to contemplative atmosphere, and realism to formality. The new class created a demand for paintings and sculptures portraying officials, warriors, priests, and poets. These artists imbued their works with a vigor and attention to realistic detail. Takanobu and his son Nobuzane were the most esteemed portrait painters of the age. Most of the fine emakimono that survive today are from the Kamakura period. These scrolls were usually executed in continuous narrative form with accompanying text and the same figures repeatedly represented against a unified background.

French Baroque Painting

In the seventeenth century King Louis XIV policies and the tightening of the monarchy ultimately led to the French Revolution in 1789. The Catholic monarchs popularized religious art, evident in Georges de La Tour (1573-1652), "Adoration of the Shepherds." The influence of Caravaggio's use of chiaroscuro, the popular realism of the figures and the serenity and calm characterize La Tour's style.

History in Renaissance

Italy in the fifteenth century was not a unified nation, but rather a collection of independent (and often rival) city-states. Dukes, princes, and Popes in Italy provided the fuel for artistic fuel and was a strong influence in the Renaissance.

Sargent

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) depicts the children of his friend and fellow artist in their Paris home. The informal and seemingly random placement of figures was inspired by "Las Meninas" of Velazquez. The work has an air of spontaneity that is characteristic of Realist works.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Landscape painting flourished in the sixteenth-century Netherlands. Pieter Bruegel the Elder landscapes were vigorous, often witty scenes of peasant life. The artist was a skilled draftsman and etcher and used a delicate line to define his figures which are stubby in proportion, but lively and solid. His compositions are often based on diagonal lines and S-curves, creating gentle rhythms and allowing planes of landscape to unfold into the distance. In Bruegel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," the artist depicts harmony of form and space which he brought back from his travels to Italy.

The Paris Pantheon

Later eighteenth-century architects embraced Neoclassicism over the theatrical and often ostentatious designs of the Baroque and Rococo. the Pantheon in Paris design by Jacques-Germain Soufflot (1713-1780). The lines are clear and smooth and the ornamentation is sparse (the walls are blankexcept for the modest garland decoration). The Roman temple facade, Corinthian capitals and the colonnaded dome on the central-plan design all represent the renewed interest in Ancient Rome.

Delacroix

Like Gericault, Delacroix's paintings are dramatic, emotional and visually complex. Delacroix was also a supreme colorist and drew inspiration from the current events of his day. Example: Liberty Leading the People and Lion Hunting in Morocco

Raffaelo Sanzio works

Madonna of the Meadows, School of Athens, and Galatea.

Leonardo da Vinci works

Madonna of the Rocks, Last Supper, Mona Lisa, and Scientific Drawings.

Manet

Manet (1832-1883) is important for his clear presentation of Realist ideals and because of his stylistic techniques greatly influenced the Impressionist painters. Example: Olympia and Luncheon on the Grass

Entombment by Jacopo da Pontormo

Mannerism's lack of balance, proportion and harmony is evident in "Entombment"; This scene is both crowded (there is not even enough space for the head painted above Christ to have a body) and random in the glances and poses of the figures. The figures are out of natural proportion with their smallish heads, elongated limbs and distorted, unstable poses. The torso of the figure under Christ's legs bends where it is impossible for the human torso to bend.

Marc

Marc was more pessimistic than his Russian counterpart. Marc preferred to use animal subjects as he considered them to be more "pure" and his style is characterized by a unique transparency of color.

Cassatt

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was the only American Impressionist who exhibited with the giants of the movement. Degas was especially fond of her work and served as a "de facto" mentor for the artist. Women and children were her most frequent subjects and her style is characterized by the "captured moment," cropped, compressed space of her compositions, and the use of clear, bright colors in the manner of the Impressionist movement. Her brushwork is not as broad or vigorous as other Impressionists. In "The Bath," Cassatt provides a glimpse into the unidealized duties of motherhood. The solidity of the figures is juxtaposed to the flatness of the wallpaper and rug, similar to Degas' "The Tub." This effect is derived from Japanese prints, which had a profound impact on the Impressionists and the Post-Impressionists.

Trinity

Masaccio's "Holy Trinity," in Florence's Santa Maria Novella is a depiction of the Trinity in a chapel with a coffered, barrel vault: God the Father (behind the Cross), God the Son (on the Cross) and God the Holy Spirit (represented as the dove, just above Christ's head). This work is known for Masaccio's technical skill. Masaccio places the vanishing point of this piece at the foot of the Cross, which in Santa Maria Novella, is at eye-level. He creates the illusion that the upper portion of the fresco (the chapel) recedes, while the lower (the tomb) portion is intensified. The linear one-point perspective is so precisely calculated that it is possible to measure the exact "size" of the chapel.

Flemish, Dutch, French Baroque

New markets for art and architecture were created with the economic growth throughout Europe. Despite the continued dominance of religious works, the rise of genre paintings, paintings of everyday life, grew in popularity. Scientific advancements promoted the evaluation of past scientific advancements and opened the door for new theories.

Madonna and Child Enthroned

One of Bellini's more important later works is the "Madonna and Child Enthroned," which has the "sacra conversazione" theme (saints and martyrs from different eras placed together in a single composition). There is a softness and a radiance that produces a sense of serenity and calm. This atmosphere is not created by the presentation of the figures themselves, but by Bellini's use of color and light. The landscape that appears in the apertures of the architectural framework will become an important element in the Venetian style.

'Natural' Art in France and Italy

One of the great debates during the second half of the eighteenth century was between Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Voltaire believed the answer to society's ills were the progression of science and reason. Rousseau believed that society actually corrupted mankind and the only solution was to rediscover nature. Rousseau's philosophy had a tremendous impact on the art of the period, as artists and patrons alike abandoned the artifice of the Rococo in search of the "natural."

Giovanni Boccaccio (ca. 1430-1516)

One of the primary founders of the Venetian style; Bellini developed the soft, coloristic style that would define Venetian painting throughout the sixteenth century.

Picasso Blue Period

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso (1881-1973) dominated the development of the visual arts during the first half of the twentieth century. During Picasso's Blue Period (1901-1904), which began after a close friend committed suicide in Paris, the artist worked with a monochromatic palette, flattened forms, and tragic, sorrowful themes. Picasso's concern was the plight of the downtrodden which manifested in many canvases depicting the miseries of the poor, the ill, and those cast out of society. Picasso knew what it was like to be impoverished, having been nearly penniless during all of 1902.

Cezanne

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) devoted himself to portraits, still lifes, and landscapes wanting to make something "solid and durable, like the art of the museums." Example: Still Life with Basket of Fruit and Mount Sainte-Victoire

Gauguin

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), like van Gogh, rejected the naturalistic effects and subtly contrasting hues of Impressionism for simplified figures and exaggerated color to convey meaning. Example: Mette Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? Where Are We? Where Are We Going?

Renoir

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was the most sensuous and lightsome of the Impressionists. "Le Moulin de la Galette," shown at the Impressionist exhibition in 1877, depicts a scene with some of Renoir's friends and captures a lively, joyful atmosphere at a dance garden on the Butte Montmartre. The moving crowd of Parisians, bathed in natural and artificial light, is created with vibrant, brightly colored brushstrokes.

Rococo Art

Placed emphasis on the carefree life of the aristocracy rather than on grand heroes or pious martyrs; emerged in France about 1700

Post-Impressionism

Post-Impressionism is an umbrella term used to describe a variety of artists who were influenced by Impressionism but took their art in different directions. Lacking a well-defined style, of Post-Impressionism in general it is less casual and more emotionally charged than Impressionist work. The Post-Impressionists are unified by the period of time their work was created.

Purism

Purism rejected Synthetic Cubism's highly decorative qualities and called for a return to simple, geometrical shapes based on machine forms. This movement fully embraced the mechanical age and looked to the precision and clean lines and shapes of machines for inspiration. Cubism presents generalized cylindrical shapes but Leger conveys pistons and cylinders that capture the energy and rhythm of a mechanized metropolis. Example: Disks in the City by Fernand Léger (1881-1955)

Realism

Realism was a reaction against the strict norms of Neoclassicism and the theatricality of Romanticism in favor of unidealized scenes of everyday life, painted as they are observed. The term"realism" was used by the leader of the movement Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) in describing his own work, "I have never seen angels. Show me an angel and I will paint one."

The Resurrection

Resurrection, from the town hall of Sansepolcro, depicts a figural triangle where Christ's head is the top of the triangle and the sleeping soldiers are the base. This presentation would become popular with later Renaissance artists, Leonardo da Vinci, and Impressionist artists, such as Manet. The geometric form naturally guides the viewers' eye and draws attention to Christ.

From Neoclassicism to Romanticism

Romanticism grew out of the Neoclassical period, fostered by three artists who were all pupils of David: Antoine-Jean Gros, Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.

Joseph Turner (1775-1851)

Romanticism in England and the United States recoiled at the effects of the Industrial Revolution, perceived to be in direct opposition to all that was natural. This led to emotive landscape painting as the dominant genre of the day. An English Romantic painter, Joseph Turner (1775-1851), lamented the effects of industrialization with energy and motion in his compositions. Turner, like his French contemporary Delacroix, drew inspiration from recent historical events, seen in "The Slave Ship."The painting depicts a 1783 incident where a slave ship captain, upon learning that his insurance company would only cover slaves lost at sea (and not those who died along the voyage), had the sick and the dying slaves thrown into the sea. In this painting, Turner has matched the brutality of the event with the turbulence of the sea, the energy of his brushstrokes and the intensity of his colors.

Romantic Era Architecture

Romanticism in architecture is eclectic and defined by the goal to establish a mood through architecture. The nineteenth century saw a revival of Gothic architecture, which scholars believe rose out of opposition to the Industrial Revolution. The spirituality and Medieval mysticism, which the Gothic represented, appealed to the Romanticists, but the Gothic also represented craftsmanship during an age of mechanized production. Example: Houses of Parliament, Royal Pavilion, and Opera de Paris

Rembrandt, Harmenszoon (1606-1669)

Seventeenth-century Dutch master whose skill ranks him among the great painters of all time. Among his masterworks are Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp and The Shooting Company of Capt. Frans Banning Cocq.

Spanish Baroque

Spain had become the largest, most powerful nation in the world during the sixteenth century but power and prestige were lost in the seventeenth century. Despite this, Kings Philip III and Philip IV were patrons of the arts and contributed to the development of Baroque within the region. Example: The Martyrdom of St. Philip

Northern Renaissance in Spain

Spain, under Charles V of Hapsburg (r. 1526-1556) and his son Phillip II (r. 1556-1598), emerged as the dominant European power in the sixteenth century as the Spanish Empire claimed more territory than any other entity.

Neoclassicism in England and the United States -- Architecture

Statesman and scholar Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) pushed to have Neoclassicism adopted as the official architectural style of the United States. Jefferson's fondness for the Neoclassical style is evident in his design for Monticello, his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. The influence of Palladio is combined with the use of wood (instead of marble) and brick, which are distinctly American elements.

"The Tribute Money"

The "Tribute Money," depicts the Biblical account of Matthew 17:24-27 where Christ is confronted by a tax collector upon entering the Roman town of Capernaum. In the center of the work is the tax collector standing in front of Jesus and His Disciples; art by Masaccio

Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842)

The "naturalistic" trend was also evident in portraiture, seen in the "Self Portrait" by Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842). The artist interrupts her work to actively engage the viewer. Vigee-Lebrun's pose, expression and dress are all completely "natural." Vigee-Lebrun was one of the most technically fluent and popular portrait artists of her era. Her works are notable for their freshness, charm, and sensitivity.

Ashanti

The Ashanti (Asante) are a people who live mostly in the country of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Before European colonization the Ashanti had a large empire in West Africa. The Ashanti are known for renowned metal work in gold. Bronze and brass were used for ritual urns, kuduo, and gold weights-human or animal figurines of known subjects were represented. Example: Ashanti (Asante) sword ornament and Ashanti (Asante) gold weight

Baluba

The Baluba are of the Bantu peoples in Central Africa who are noted for their natural resources such as gold, ivory, and copper and their trade of pottery and masks. The Baluba are known for their carvings of their wooden ancestral figures that were ceremonial masks and symbols of kingship. These masks influenced Cubist artists, such as Picasso. Stools supported by carved kneeling female figures are representative of seated female figures holding bowls and hemispherical kifwebe masks. Example: Wooden Mask and Baluba Tribal Sculpture

The Baroque Style

The Baroque style is characterized by an emphasis on unity among the arts. The baroque artist achieved harmony in painting, sculpture, and architecture which were brought together in new spatial relationships, both real and illusionary. All trends in baroque art engage the viewer, both physically and emotionally. Naturalistic illusionism and dramatic light characterized painting and sculpture. Baroque architecture absorbed the fluid, plastic aspects of sculpture. Example: Santa Susanna

Dogon

The Dogon are a West African people settled in the great bend of the River Niger. Their sculpture is characterized by free-standing ancestor figures in which the cylindrical shape of the torso is emphasized. The Dogon softwood masks have bold abstract forms and decorative high-relief in cubistic forms. Distortion is stylistically used to stress spiritual significance which is relevant to the purpose of the work. Example: Dogon Sculpture

The Dutch Baroque

The Dutch were extremely prosperous in both trade and colonization and soon became the financial center of Europe with a school of art that was independent and prolific in developing its own style and subjects. The Dutch Baroque was differentiated by a lack of religious art which was two-fold: Protestant northerners were skeptical of the potential political abuse of religious art and artistic patronage was given by the prosperous middle-class instead of the church or an absolute ruler. Main themes of the Dutch Baroque were genre scenes ("everyday" life), landscapes, portraits and still life presented in an honest and less formalistic manner.

Ruben's Works

The Elevation of the Cross, Life of Marie de Medicis, Samson and Delilah, Massacre of the Innocents.

Age of Enlightenment

The Enlightenment in the eighteenth century was an extraordinary expansion of knowledge rooted in the scientific and intellectual developments of the seventeenth century. Natural law, universal order and human reason influenced all of eighteenth-century society and art.

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797)

The Enlightenment's scientific exploration is evident in Joseph Wright of Derby's (1734-1797) "A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery." The work shows learned and ordinary people marveling at a planetary model, whose bands represent the orbits of the planets. The light in the piece comes from a lamp that serves as the sun in the model and illuminates the faces and the minds of the listeners.

Fang

The Fang are a populous complex of African peoples living in the region of the Northern Gabon. They are especially noted for mortuary heads and figures that represent their primeval ancestors and the people they are to protect. Their wooden sculptures, reliquary guardian figures, would be attached to the box that contained the bones of the deceased. Speculation about their purpose ranges from the sculpture being an abstract representation of the deceased to their purpose being to protect the spirit of the deceased from evil. Example: Wooden Funerary Mask and Reliquary Guardian Figure

The Fujiwara Period

The Fujiwara period was when the Yamato-e tradition of painting originated and grew in popularity. Kanaoka (late 9C) was the first prominent native painter and his techniques continued for centuries. "Tale of the Genji," written in the early eleventh century by Lady Murasaki, is represented with rich color, flowing lines, and delicate designs reflect the extreme sensitivity and refinement of the court during that period.

Why did the High Renaissance end?

The High Renaissance style did not abruptly stop in 1520, but what art historians consider later Renaissance art did differ considerably from the High Renaissance ideals.

Pissarro

The Impressionists presented eight shows between 1874 and 1886, and the only artist to exhibit at each one was Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). Pissarro's style is characterized by his careful, craftsman-like quality and is considered more detailed than other Impresionists. With softer brushstrokes, Pissarro depicted a moment of middle class people, buildings, carriages, trees and kiosks in the streets of Paris.

Darby and Pritchard

The Industrial Revolution impacted the world of art with the introduction of iron and steel as an artistic medium. The iron bridge at Coalbrookdale in England prefigured the wide-spread skeletal use of iron and steel in the nineteenth century. The first iron bridge in history was conceived by Abraham Darby III, owner of a significant cast-iron business, and architect Thomas F. Pritchard, whose design is similar to the aqueducts of ancient Rome.

The Muromachi Period

The Muromachi period (1392-1573) brought a renaissance of Chinese-style ink painting. The Zen sect of Buddhism, which enjoyed a growing popularity in the early Kamakura period, received the continued support of the new rulers. Ink painting was accepted as a means of teaching Zen doctrine. Such priest-painters as Josetsu, Shubun, and Sesshu are the most revered of Japanese landscapists. Their works are characterized by economy of execution, forceful brushstrokes, and asymmetrical composition, with emphasis on unfilled space. During this period sculpture began to lose its Buddhist inspiration.

Neoclassicism in England and the United States

The Neoclassical emphasis on rationality, civic pride and love of country, which was so meaningful in revolutionary France, was just as popular in revolutionary America.

Northern Renaissance in the Netherlands

The Netherlands in the sixteenth century were disjointed and divided-politically, religiously and culturally-which prevented the period from having much effect on the Flemish school that had developed in the fifteenth century. During the sixteenth centuryis an increased sensitivity to nature and the increasing influence of Italian innovations.

Ophelia -- Millais

The Pre-Raphaelites did not find their inspirations in contemporaneous scenes, but in Biblical, classical, literary, or historical sources. "Ophelia," was painted by one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, John Everett Millais (1829-1896), is the depiction of the tragic drowning suicide of Ophelia from Shakespeare's play "Hamlet." The flowers floating on the surface of the water are not just decorative and naturalistic, but selected for their traditional symbolic meanings (in the fashion of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood): Poppies: death Daisies: innocence Roses: youth Violets: early death Pansies: love in vain Fritillaries: sorrow

Realism works

The Stone Breakers and Burial at Ornans

Yoruba

The Yoruba people inhabit southwestern Nigeria and are the largest and one of the most artistically prolific ethnic groups in West Africa. The Yoruba are known for their wood carving that focus on secret societies and religious cult objects. The sculpture of Esu (Eshu or Elegbara), represents the "The Trickster" who is the negotiator between the negative and positive forces in the body and assists in strengthening the power of herbal medicines. Esu is responsible for delivering messages and sacrifices from people to their Sky God. He is the spirit (deity) of chance, accident, and unpredictability.

Expulsion from Paradise

The casting out of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24) from the Brancacci Chapel demonstrates Masaccio's use of light and shadow to create depth. The realistic presentation of the figures in motion and their intense psychological anguish not only represent the biblical story but enable the viewer to be engaged in the emotional turmoil.

French Architecture

The court under Francis I was also fond of Mannerism. The king commissioned Florentine Mannerists Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540) and Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570) to decorate his royal palace at Fontainebleau. A crowded combination of painting, fresco and stucco sculpture variously arranged in characteristic Mannerist style.

Early Renaissance Architecture

The economic growth throughout Europe led to the rise of bankers and the middle class, which created a new generation of patrons. Buildings projects moved beyond the demand and funding of the church and were now privately funded residences.

High Renaissance in Italy

The end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth was an extremely tumultuous period in Italy. The peninsula suffered foreign invasions from France and the Holy Roman Empire and there was internal upheaval and an unprecedented level of corruption in the Catholic Church. The later malady led to the Reformation and the Catholic Church's Counter-Reformation. The Counter-Reformation impacted art because the Catholic Church commissioned works during this time to add a visual element to their campaign against the Reformers. The High Renaissance did not last very long, approximately twenty-five years but the amount and the quality of art produced was remarkable. No one particular style characterizes the art of the High Renaissance. Instead a continuation and mastery of the techniques and innovations from the Early Renaissance.

Later Sixteenth-Century Venetian Art-- Tintoretto

The great master of later sixteenth-century Venetian art was Jacopo Robusti, better known as Tintoretto (1518-1594). His style may be defined as a combination of Titian (in reference to color) and Michelangelo (the power of his figures and the drama of his compositions). The dramatic power and color so characteristic of Tintoretto's works is consistent in his work. The drama of his compositions is clearly established by the crowded scene, intense for shortening, strong contrasts of light and shade, deep rich colors, and "Venetian sky."

Mannerism

The later Renaissance style, Mannerism, is characterized by a reaction against the balance, proportion and harmony of the High Renaissance and a reflection of the turmoil of the early to mid-sixteenth century. This was the age of unprecedented corruption in the Catholic Church, the Reformation and the merciless Inquisition of the Counter-Reformation. The Mannerists purposefully painted unbalanced, distorted and crowded compositions often with strangely elegant figures featuring elongated body parts and contorted poses as a political, religious and cultural statement of revolt.

Realism

The later half of the nineteenth century was a period of tremendous transformation, historically and philosophically. During the Second Industrial Revolution Western civilization became increasingly urbanized and industrialized, there was a renewed emphasis on science and empiricism, and Western thought moved away from the spiritual that mankind could find answers to humanity's greatest questions and concerns. These factors led to an interest in modernity, or the state of being modern, which led to the rise of Realism.

Rococo Sculpture

The liveliness, sensuality and intimacy of Rococo are also evident in the smallish and more delicate sculptures of the period. The work of Claude Michel, called Clodion (1738-1814), was influenced by Bernini seen in the open, vivid and dynamic "Satyr crowning a Bacchante." The piece exudes sexuality and is generally more intricate and delicate (standing not quite two feet high) then Bernini's sculptures.

Andrea di Pietro known as Palladio (1508-1580)

The most famous Venetian architect of the era was Andrea di Pietro, known as Palladio (1508-1580). The artist was also a scholar and author as his treatise on architecture influenced Western building for generations. example is Villa Rotonda.

Nicolas Poussin

The most recognizable feature of the French Baroque was the use of classical elements. The color of Titian and figural forms reminiscent of Raphael were evident in Nicolas Poussin's (1594-1665) work. Portrayed are three shepherds in an idealized landscape deciphering the phrase, "Et in Arcadia ego," ("Even in Arcadia I (i.e. Death) am to be found") inscribed on a tomb as a mysterious female figure watches.

Monet

The name for the movement comes from a painting exhibited by Claude Monet (1840-1926) in 1874, entitled "Impression: Sunrise." A critic referred to the work as "impressionistic," meaning "unfinished" and "unpolished" to belittle the art. This was considered a harsh attack in the rigid formalism of the French Academic style. Monet was pleased with "impressionistic" as a description of their work and claimed the term as their own, as it denotes speed and spontaneity that Impressionistic works are characterized by. Example: Impression: Sunrise, Woman with a Parasol, and Manet Revisted

Rubens and the Flemish Baroque

The northern portion of the Netherlands (which was mainly Protestant) broke free from Spanish control in the seventeenth century and established the Dutch Republic (roughly equivalent to the modern state of Holland). The Catholic southern portion of the Netherlands, Flanders (now Belgium), remained firmly under Spanish control and resulted in the Flemish Baroque sharing similarities with the Spanish Baroque.

Neoclassicist Sculpture

The portrait of Pauline Borghese, the sister of Napoleon, is portrayed as Venus, the goddess of love (the artist had originally suggested executing her portrait as the virgin goddess Diana, but Pauline insisted on Venus, giving some credence to her scandalous reputation). The grace, polish, and purity of line characterize both Neoclassicism and the artist's style.

Versailles Royal Chapel

The royal chapel by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708), great-nephew of Francois Mansart is a rectangular building that includes an apse that is as high as the nave. This creates a flowing curved central space in typical Baroque fashion.

The Edo Period to the Twentieth Century

The school of painting started in the Edo period (1615-1867) by Koetsu Hon'ami and Sotatsu Tawaraya and continued by Ogata Korin and Ogata Kenzan represented a return to the native tradition of Japanese painting characterized by the union of literature, calligraphy, and painting. A great demand for miniature sculptures in the form of ornamental buttons (netsuke) arose at this time, and great masterpieces of carving were produced. Dutch engraving found its way to Japan in this period and influenced such painters as Okyo Maruyama, the leader of the naturalist school, who created pictures with Western perspective. As the period progressed so did a new type of art in the form of wood-block prints that typically depicted scenes from everyday life. These works were known as Ukiyo-e (pronounced "oo-kee-oh-ay"), which translates as "pictures of the fleeting floating world." The major Ukiyo-e painters are Harunobu, Kiyonaga,Utamaro, Hokusai, and Hiroshige. Japanese color-print designers eventually won worldwide recognition and influenced European artists as Degas, Whistler, Toulouse-Lautrec, and van Gogh.

Der Blaue Reiter

The second major group of German Expressionists, "Der Blaue Reiter" ("the blue rider"), was founded by Russian born Vassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) and German Franz Marc (1880-1916) in 1911. "Der Blaue Reiter" comes from a combination of Kandinsky's fondness for blue and Marc's affinity for horses. "Der Blaue Reiter" works were more lyrical, romantic and abstract. Their spontaneous, avante-garde expressive style provided visual form to feelings. Kandinsky was one of the first artists to work in total abstraction, seen in "Small Pleasures." All recognizable forms are gone in favor of a vivacious arrangement of quickly moving color, lines and shapes. The color is free from the constraints of description and identity; space is open and boundless, not limited by horizon and baselines; the forms reflect the artist's intuition and expression rather than predetermined shapes. Kandinsky turned away from visible reality for a spiritual reality.

Sixteenth-Century Venetian Art

The sixteenth century was a tumultuous time for the Venetian Republic with all of Western Europe, including the Papal states, allied against her and the Turks pressing from the East. As the sixteenth century progressed, Venice gradually passed Florence in artistic preeminence, and the Venetian school of artists developed into a vibrant influential force in European art.

Sacred and Profane Love

The striking use of color (especially in the drapery), the rich, poetic landscape and the characteristic "Venetian sky" with its striations of cloud and sky categorize Titian's work.

The Nara Period

The stylistic tradition of Japanese art was firmly established with the introduction of Buddhism in the sixth century. The teaching of the arts through the medium of Buddhist monasteries and temples progressed under Korean monks and artisans, who created Buddhist sculpture and pictures representing divinities, saints, and legendary figures. During the Nara period (710-784), clay figures and statues made in the dry-lacquer process (lacquer applied to a solid core of wood or lacquered cloths placed over some kind of armature) were popular. Representations of Buddhist deities and saints in wood and bronze became more massive figures in the eighth and ninth centuries to reflect the style of the T'ang dynasty in China. uring the Nara period, the traditional technical methods of Japanese painting were established. The work was executed upon thin or gauzelike silk or soft paper with Chinese ink and watercolors. It was then mounted on silk brocade or its paper imitation and rolled upon a rod when not in view. The hanging scroll is called kakemono. The long, narrow horizontal scroll (emakimono), unrolled in the hands would illustrate a narrative with progressive scenes. Example: Daibutsu and Mural

Venus of Urbino Titan. c. 1538 C.E.

There is an intimacy here of domestic simplicity that places the whole composition in a warm, human, temporal reality.

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

This group of English painters and poets united in 1848 in reaction to what they considered to be the rote, stale and stagnant state of British art. The brotherhood looked away from the increasingly industrial age in which they lived to the beauty, sincerity and relative simplicity of Italian painting prior to Raphael (whom they saw as the fountainhead of academism). Despite fondness for simplicity, the movement's style was highly meticulous in detail, with Realist techniques.

The Feast in the House of Levi

Unlike Tintoretto's, Veronese's crowded compositions are controlled and ordered. Characteristic of the period is artist's use of color (second only to Titian in range and depth) and the ubiquitous "Venetian sky."

Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was the most revolutionary Post-Impressionist with expression, color, form and brushstroke. Van Gogh suffered severe depression, personal tragedies, epileptic fits, mental breakdowns and eventually suicide. Van Gogh's color expresses his emotions and response to the world. His brushstrokes of thick, opaque paint almost seem drawn. His interacting colors and forms and strong expressive line influenced nearly every artistic movement that came after him, including Symbolism, Fauvism, and Expressionism. Example: The Night Cafe, Starry Night, and Irises.

Homer

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is an American painter whose style is characterized by its directness, realism, objectivity, and splendid color. Homer did not consider himself part of the Realism movement but his works reflect the style and he was quoted as saying, "When I have selected the thing carefully, I paint it exactly as it appears." Example: Sharecroppers

Hyacinthe Rigaud's (1659-1743)

With the presence of an established nobility and a supreme monarch, portraiture during the French Baroque differed from the Dutch, as evident in Hyacinthe Rigaud's (1659-1743) portrait of King Louis XIV, seen as an absolute ruler with pomp and circumstance. The red and gold drapery is a motif of dignity and creates a framework with the marble column to convey the height of the King. Louis is an elegantly angled pose above the standpoint of the spectator, who his attention is graciously given without reducing the stability of his stance. The king's facial expression, distanced inapproachability, closed lips and dark eyes suggest intolerance and indifference.

predella

a step or platform on which an altar is placed; example is The Adoration of the Magi

Jan Gossaert (ca. 1478-1532)

also called Mabuse is reflective of the Italian Renaissance influence and revival of ancient sculpture. He was among the first Flemish artists to represent the nude and classical mythology; his forms are solid and heavy, and their surfaces are rendered with smooth precision; example: Portrait of a merchant

Futurism

an Italian literary and artistic movement, embraced the age of the machine by seeking to convey the dynamism of twentieth-century life. The Futurists had a political agenda as their works glorified war, which they saw as the only effective cleansing agent for society's ills. Futurists advocated for the complete annihilation of the old guard, which included the destruction of museums and libraries.

Proto-Cubism

an intermediary transition phase in the history of art chronologically extending from 1906 to 1910

Fauvism

began in 1905 at the Salon d'Automne. Here, a hostile critic, seeing a Renaissance style piece of sculpture amidst a collection of revolutionary paintings, exclaimed, "Donatello au milieu des fauves!" ("Donatello among the wild beasts!"). The painters ironically responded by taking "fauves" as the name of their movement. The Fauve works are "ferocious," or wild in color, brushstrokes and distortion. Fauvism is essentially an expressionistic movement employing shockingly bold, often contrasting color, rough brushstrokes and unnaturalistic drawing and perspective. Building on the innovation of van Gogh and Gauguin, the Fauves further freed color from its descriptive role by using it as a means to convey structure and expression and aesthetics. Fauvism was short-lived as an organized movement, lasting five years, but its influence on the evolution of twentieth-century art impacted each successive style that followed.

Raffaelo Sanzio (1483-1520)

better known as Raphael, studied under Perugino and had considerable access to both extensive professional knowledge and patronage. Later, while in Florence, the artist was strongly influenced by the work of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Despite the various influences on his work, Raphael developed an individual style.

Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806)

characterized by delicate hedonism in "The Swing." Fragonard style is based primarily on that of Rubens but is renowned for his use of color and rapid, vigorous, fluent, compositions which are never tight or fussy. This portrays the frivolous nature of Rococo's subject matter, a contrast to the Baroque period.

Jesus Christ giving the key to St. Peter

depiction by Perugino; In the foreground Christ is handing the keys of the Kingdom to Peter between a frieze-like display of Apostles and contemporary figures. The golden key, pointing toward Christ, is the key to Heaven, while the lead key, pointing down, is the key to Hell. The figures are graceful, elegant and highly idealized. In the middle space are scenes from the life of Christ (the depiction of the "Tribute Money" at the left), followed by a central-plan structure that is flanked by two offset, identical triumphal arches modeled after the Arch of Constantine.

"The Nightmare" by Henry Fuseli (1741-1825)

depicts a beautiful woman sensually draped over bed and sleeping as an incubus ominously perches over her (a demon who sexually preyed on sleeping women). A ghostly horse with piercing eyes, known as a Mara, waits in the shadows (Mara was a spirit who suffocated victims in their sleep). The composition is a departure from the intellectual and rational norms of the Neoclassical.

Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825)

followed the spirit of the Enlightenment; he believed art should highlight what is moral, virtuous and heroic. Example: Oath of the Horatti, the Death of Marat, and the Coronation of Napoleon.

Romanticism

is a term used to describe the art movement in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (roughly 1750-1850). Primarily a reaction to the reason and strict forms and rules of Neoclassicism, the style emphasizes the emotional, the mystical and the spiritual over the reasonable and the rational. Romanticism incorporated interest in morbidity and the occult.

Correggio

is an important sixteenth-century figure in the history of art. During his own day, Correggio did not receive much attention, but the artist's use of light and shadow, colors, perspective (especially in regards to foreshortening) and movement would have a profound impact on seventeenth-century artists, so much so that scholars often refer to Correggio's style as "Proto-Baroque" (Baroque will the dominant style of the seventeenth-century European art). Little is known about Correggio's early training, but his style was clearly influenced by Mantegna and Leonardo. Correggio style is original and renowned for the sensuality of his figures and the disruption of Renaissance symmetry (such as the figural pyramid) in favor of naturalism.

Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)

is considered both the founder and the greatest master of the German Renaissance. The artist's style is characterized by linear mastery and expressive power. Durer was influenced by the Flemish school and the innovations of the Italian masters, specifically Mantegna and Leonardo, in proportion and perspective. Durer was the first artist outside of Italy to achieve widespread international praise and he is also credited with elevating graphic art (and specifically engraving) into a high art form. Example is Self-Portrait and Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Masaccio (1401-1428)

is considered the first great master of Renaissance painting. Masaccio revolutionized painting with his frescoes from the Brancacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.

Diego Velazquez (1599-1660)

is considered the greatest painter of Spanish Baroque. He served as the official painter for Philip IV and attained the position of chamberlain in the king's court. Example: Water Seller of Seville and Historical Painting.

Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)

is credited with creating a genre of Rococo painting known as fete galante in which the outdoor merriments of nobility are depicted. "L'Indifferent," exhibits the Rococo light, delicate and frivolous characteristics. The softness and playfulness in the piece with the gentle, shimmering colors and feathery brushwork typify the Rococo period.

Neoclassicism

is the movement in European art and architecture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Neoclassicism evolved through a desire to recreate the heroic spirit and art of Greece and Rome, scientific interest, and an opposition to the Rococo style. that was driven by a desire to restore Ancient Roman values within society.

Frans Hals (ca. 1581-1666)

known as a portrait artist, works are characterized by their spontaneity and intimacy and captured the personalities of his sitters. In "Hille Bobbe" is an individualized portrait, that reflected the distinct, informal personality of the sitter as she is slouched over a chair and staring off the corner of the composition.

Paolo Cagliari called Veronese (1528-1588)

known for his use of color and recognized by his use of classical architecture as a setting.

Michelangelo Merisi known as Caravaggio (1573-1610)

led a troubled life and had numerous and vociferous critics because of his rejection of the Renaissance masters. The artist's style is typical of the Baroque's portrayal of a highly dramatic and theatrical composition, but his technique was revolutionary-tenebrism (from the Italian, "tenebroso," or"shadowy"). Caravaggio's use of unidealized common people as models departed from figural representations of the Renaissance and was a main complaint of his critics. Example: Calling of Saint Matthew and Conversion of Saint Paul.

Annibale Carracci (1560-1609)

received his training at an art academy in Bologna, the first of its kind in Western art. Carracci was trained in the "classics," the Renaissance masters, and his style reflects the influence of this period within a Baroque style. Example: The Palazzo Farnese

Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828)

rejected Neoclassicism and claimed his only inspirations were "nature," Velazquez and Rembrandt. Goya received a considerable amount of recognition early on in his life and was named painter to the king at the age of twenty. Example: The Family of Charles IV and Saturn Devouring His Children

vedutisti

scene painters

Jose de Ribera (ca. 1588-1652)

served as a link between Spanish and Italian painting, as he immigrated to Naples (then a Spanish possession) in 1616. In "Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew" Ribera portrays the saint being hoisted up, just moments before his terrible death (the Apostle was skinned alive).

Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)

studied under Fra Filippo Lippi, who was once a disciple of Masaccio. Botticelli's works lack the "scientific order" of his recent predecessors but stress grace, delicacy and poetic beauty.

Parmigianino (1503-1540)

successfully combined the sensuous style of Correggio and the classical elegance of Raphael with distortion of Mannerism.

Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770)

the last of the great Venetian decorators. Tiepolo's "The Apotheosis of the Pisani Family" is emblematic of the artist's style that is characterized by lightness, clarity of color and technical skill. This ceiling fresco is conceived as a trompe-l'oeil opening onto a silvery-blue sky, whose endless depths are defined by various towering cloud formations.

veduta

views

Florentine Bronzino (1503-1572)

was a Mannerist painter who was the pupil and adopted son of Pontormo; Different from Pontormo, Bronzino's compositions lack the emotional intensity characteristic of Pontormo's work. This want of emotion aided the artist considerably as a portrait painter. Bronzino was a highly regarded portrait painter in his own time and influenced European courtly portraits for several generations.

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

was a great intellect (he spoke six modern languages and read Latin and Greek) and an accomplished diplomat, serving the Spanish governors in Flanders. Rubens' work reflects influence of the tense, figural forms of Michelangelo, the color of Titian, the theatricality of Caravaggio and the energy and movement of Carracci with traditional Flemish realism. The artist's style is individual and characterized by its naturalism, color, dynamism and sensuality.

Perugino (1450-1523)

was a member of the Umbrian school of Italian painting and later trained under Verrocchio in Florence. By the 1480's, the artist had gained sufficient acclaim to warrant a call to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV to decorate the Sistine Chapel (along with several other artists such as Botticelli).

Architect Francesco Borromini (1599-1667)

was a rival of Bernini but is most renowned for taking Baroque architecture to new heights of drama and dynamism and intensifying the sculptural qualities of architecture. Example: Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Frontane and Chapel of Saint Ivo.

Piero della Francesca (ca. 1420-1492)

was an innovative Early Renaissance artist who worked outside the Florentine circle, best known for his use of color, solid figural forms and geometry (he was a talented mathematician).

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

was born in a small village outside of Florence and considered himself a Florentine, in spite of the fact that the artist spent most of his adult years in Rome employed by the popes. In the spirit of the Renaissance, Michelangelo did not limit himself to one field. The artist was an accomplished sculptor, painter, architect, engineer and poet (though he considered himself primarily a sculptor).

Andrea Mantegna (ca. 1431-1506)

was highly influenced by Donatello, evident in his solid and expressive figural forms that are proportionally correct; a master of perspective.

Donato D'Angelo Bramante

was the architect chosen by Pope Julius II for the most important project of the period: the construction of a new Saint Peter's Basilica. Despite his selection, Bramante saw little advancement of the work and his original plan was altered considerably prior to the basilica's completion in the seventeenth century.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

was the first great master of the High Renaissance, an accomplished scientist and engineer. As a young man, Leonardo studied under Verrocchio but he left Florence in his late twenties to work under the patronage of the Duke of Milan, where his artistic career began.

Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768)

whose works are characterized by their detail and mastery of light and shadow. Saint Mark Canaletto started to "dilate" space as if he were viewing it through a wide-angled lens. The panoramic effect was achieved by lowering the line of the horizon. Over half the canvas is occupied by sky to increase the solemn portrayal

Fra Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709)

work for Saint Ignatius in Rome, the "Glorification of Saint Ignatius" is his finest work. The composition is full of motion, energy, drama and theatricality in characteristic Baroque manner. Example: The Glorification of Saint Ignatius

Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)

works are categorized by softness and the colors and feathery brushwork of the Rococo. Despite those influences, Gainsborough's works are identified by their "natural" elements. In the artist's portrait of Mrs. Mary Perdita Robinson, Gainsborough has blended the natural beauty of the landscape with the natural beauty of his sitter. There is a sincere, honest and genteel (i.e., "natural") portrait unlike the haughty portraits of the Baroque or the frivolous compositions of the Rococo.