ART 188H Exam 1

Mannerism

Artistic movement against the Renaissance ideals of symetry, balance, and simplicity; went against the perfection the High Renaissance created in art. Used elongated proportions, twisted poese and compression of space. · Mannerism is generally used to describe the art in Italy which directly succeeded that of the Renaissance and preceded the Baroque. Its first widespread use was pejorative, implying an overelaborate distortion, an imbalance, and a neurosis first discerned in the later work of Michelangelo and in the followers of Raphael · "Typical" Mannerist painters were artists such as Parmigianino, with his elegant elongation of the human form, and Pontormo, whose compositions exhibit a disturbing psychological tension. · This essentially negative view held sway until the mid twentieth century when John Shearman propounded an alternative theory whereby maniera ("style" in English) should be equated with skill and the overcoming of difficulty. He cited impressive historical proof of the positive connotations of the term: a sonnet of 1442 listing maniera among the heaven-sent gifts of Pisanello, Vasari, (1552) including it as one of the five qualities which made his century, the sixteenth, superior to the preceding one. · Although "Mannerism" is mainly applied to Italian art, there was also "Northern Mannerism," used to describe the work of north European artists such as Goltzius, Uytewael, and Spranger active in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, whose twisting, intricate compositions reached a large audience through the highly accomplished prints made after them by printmakers such as Müller and Sadeler.

Giotto, "Lamination"

-Giotto puts emphasis on Christ by simplicity of the background and puts Christ onto the left. The landscape is in service of drawing our eye to him by creating a rock slope towards him. He shows Mary's intricate body movements with one knee up and leaning forward with a twisted body. -He is so interested in naturalism that he shows to figures with only their back, they provide no information to the narrative but they frame Christ and Mary, we see them as these figures see them. They create an illusion of space as they are so close to us, they are looking INTO. -The angels above are mourning and shorted which assist in the illusion of space. Each person grieves in a different way. The figure on the right shows gravity with his feet, they do not seem to be floating like past art.

The Maesta by Duccio

-In 1308, Duccio was asked to create a massive painting for the main altar in the middle of the cathedral. The front depicted the Madonna and Child sitting on a throne and surrounded by saints and angels. Originally, the main scene was at the center of a set of stories and figures, united in an elaborate wooden structure of frames covered in gold leaf. The back was painted with a series of scenes from the life of Christ. Duccio demonstrated his unsurpassed skills of storytelling, capturing the imagination of contemporary viewers. -The city had long ago dedicated itself to the Virgin Mary, believing her to be their special protector. The Maestà became the central representation of Sienna's powerful patron as the queen of heaven due to painted images giving faithful viewers a channel of access to celestial figures. The city honored the work by commissioning four artists over the course of two decades to paint altarpieces surrounding Duccio's painting so that the story of Mary's life would unfold as your eye travelled along the chapels. They transformed the heart of the Cathedral into a gallery of the great Sienese artists. -"Siena had a unique style that emphasized decorative surfaces, sinuous lines, elongated figures and the heavy use of gold. Duccio was the founder of the Sienese style and his work was quite different from the Florentine painter Giotto. Giotto emphasized a greater naturalism—creating figures who are more monumental (large, heavy and with a greater sense of accurate proportion) and a greater illusion of three-dimensional space."

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory and Effects of Good and Bad Government

-Siena had its own government, a wealthy independent republic. It was on the way from France and Rome so very big for pilgrimages. In one of the main meeting rooms where the rulers of the city would meet, there is a series of frescos meant to remind the rulers of their responsibilities to be good and just and the dangers of not doing so. -Allegory of Good Government: the door is under the personification of justice and wisdom. She has scales and angels on either side, there is a reward on the left and on the right is punishment. She looks up to wisdom. Below her is a cord that goes from the scales to a seated figure who uses a plane that a carpenter uses to smooth rough spots--she creates a certain degree of equality among the different levels of society--it says concordia (harmony, agreement) where the cords come together and goes through all the figures in the crowd who are held in check by the justice cord. At the head of the line, the cord is held by the personification of the good commune. He is surrounded by virtues (peace is relaxed on armor she took off, fortitude, prudence, magnanimity, temperance, and justice. When everything is held in order, peace can relax. -Effects of Good government in the city and country: Not a biblical scene like most art. This is a place where commerce can flourish, there is plenty, no privation, there is justice and art and culture--a utopia. Paradise was always seen in nature but here, paradise exists in an urban context and man is in control of his society through careful governing. There is a love for architecture where citizens are engaged in commerce, a group of women dancing symbolizing peace and prosperity that comes from good government. There are so many details or common daily activities that the leaders would be able to look at this and see that if they do their job well, that is what the city would look like. In the countryside, there is an observation of the natural world which is new for this time. There is a combination of spring and summer. -Allegory and effects of bad government: The main opposition to justice is a devil looking man with the words tyranny behind him. He is surrounded by Vices: vain, pride, and below is justice who is no longer in power. There are criminal acts enclosed in an architecture of war. There is a city that is being destroyed--walls have holes and windows are broken and fear among citizens. The fields have been burned and a place of neglect and fear and the word terror is on the landscape. It is a promise and a threat to the leaders of Siena.

Cimabue, "Virgin and Child Enthroned"

-The gold background is symbolic for the light of heaven and is a huge eye catcher in the dark church. Illusionism of the Renaissance. We are looking down on the alter steps, up at Mary, and across at the old testament prophets. The sides of the thrown are closer to us, the parts by her shoulders are set back, a velocity that brings us back into space at her feet. -The prophets are in an impossible space under the thrown, they predicted the coming of Christ and are looking back at the old testament that Christianity was built upon -Mary is showed as a leader of the religion as people would pray to her to speak to God. She is pointing to Christ to tell the viewer that he is the pathway to God. -Christ is looking at us with two fingers crossed as though he is blessing us. He does not look like an infant and is a symbolic rendering that he is shown as a man of wisdom and age is a way of expressing that. He is an all knowing God, as a child. -Elongated features of Mary come from Byzantine tradition. Also uses Renaissance, Uses gold lines to articulate folds of drapery but they are three-dimensional and fills out Mary. Beginning of naturalism.

Giotto di Bondone, "Virgin and Child Enthroned"

-This is a Mary like none before, she occupies space, she has monumentally, presence and physicality. She is solid and weighs a lot. Light and shadow seen in her neck and draperies, Christ, and angels. Seems much more sculptural than drawing. She is clearly sitting in the thrown. There is rational space for her to exist in, no linear perspective. -The viewer perspective looks down at thrown feet, and up at the ceiling, we are favored on the left. We are just below Christ and makes room for us as viewers, giving us dignity to the diving. The old testament prophets are brought up and flank Mary. -Suggest that a painting can be a window that we can look through and enter with out eyes. It has emotional power within a traditional composition, Giotto makes room for us. Makes it clear there is gravity, solids. She is in heaven, but she is still here with us.

Italo-Byzantine

-figures were strongly outlined against glittering gold backgrounds. -Figures are formed out of abstract but expressive shapes designed to identify various body parts or clothing while creating beautiful patterns. -Each story plays out across the field of representation instead of within it, eliminating the need for a sense of depth.

Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel

-the arena chapel is organized in 3 registers begin at the top and move downwards. It tells a continues story beginning with Christs grandparents, then to Mary's birth and marriage, then on the second register is Christs life or ministry, and the bottom is the passion--the events at the end of Christs life. -Giotto has created an architectural space for Mary and the angel. He also uses architecture by painting two empty rooms with oil lanterns that creates a delicate sense of space of light and shadow, an example of naturalism -Scrovegni is the person who payed for it, he included himself in the image to make himself seen as a better person because his occupation as a money lender as a sin. He is trying to make amends

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds

1. His piece was so successful that many repeated it. He appears in the scene dressed as a shepherd and comes closer to Christ than the donors. He leads the shepherds and is kneeling and bringing eh miracle of the birth of Christ to the attention of the shepherds. His left hand, which points to Christ, is finely drawn and modelled in three dimensions. His right hand, his painting hand, is pointing to his chest and his gesture says "This holy child was painted for you by me" 2. The sarcophagus has an iconographical significance with the phrase by it "While Fulvius was falling by the sword in Jerusalem he said, the urn that conceals me shall bring forth a god". The animal's manger will serve a s a crib for Christ. He combines this reference to the Roman classical age with knowledge of Flemish art and turns them into an integrated whole. 3. He had inspiration from an altarpiece that was seen as a shining comet showing new ways of painting. His altarpiece has the shepherds pushing their way into the picture from the right with harsh, life-like features which is directly drawn rom the other piece. His landscape in the background also displays features from north of the Alps.

Michelangelo Unknown

Michelangelo started off his famous career in high renaissance style and it transitioned into mannerism. High renaissance is known for its perfection of naturalism and accuracy while mannerism is known for distortion, imbalance and exaggeration. To me, this piece still resembles the high renaissance. To begin with, it takes place in a natural setting with grass which is a big aspect of the high renaissance to make the divine figures seem more real. Second, the muscles and shadows of the bodies seem to be very accurate and precise, although the front figure (likely Mary) is seen twisted, it still seems to be a realistic portrayal of how the body moves. The nude figures in the back are a common occurrence in Michelangelo's pieces that show off his profound understanding of the human body, as seen in Michelangelo's David statue. Some of them are even similar stances to David with one leg planted on the ground carrying the body weight and the other at an angle and is relaxed. This piece seems to be optimistic and elegant with the cheerful colors and happy just as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was. Another main aspect of the high renaissance was the accurate portrayal of gravity and weight where as before and in mannerism, bodies may have seemed weightless. Here, the figures seem to be planted to the ground and their force is accounted for. There is still accuracy with the illusion of space and linear perspective that is not seen in mannerism. There is a horizontal beam that takes place as where our eyes should line up with and Mary seems to be the vanishing point so our eyes are drawn to her. Unlike in mannerism, there is no organization and our eyes are not drawn to one specific place. All of these characteristics make me believe this piece is more high renaissance than mannerism.

High Renaissance

characterized by heroic centralized composition, technical mastery of drawing and conception, and a mature humanistic content. · In the Early Renaissance, the figures became so real/human that they did not look like divine figures anymore (Madonna and Child with Angels) · In the Middles Ages, the need to create transcendent spiritual figures, meant a move toward abstraction—toward flatness and elongation · In the Early Renaissance then, a tension arises. To create spiritual figures, your image can't look very real, and if you want your image to appear real, then you sacrifice some spirituality · 15th century though, Leonardo da Vinci creates figures who are physical and real yet, they have an undeniable and intense spirituality. We could say that Leonardo unites the real and spiritual, or soul and substance. · Leonardo's angel is ideally beautiful and moves in a graceful and complex way, twisting her upper body to the left but raising her head up and to the right. Figures that move elegantly and that are ideally beautiful are typical of the High Renaissance. (Baptism of Christ by Verrocchio and Leonardo)

"How Renaissance Perspective Works"

o Linear perspective is a way of accurately recreating the 3-dimensional world on a 2-dimensional surface o Duccio Annunciation of the Death of the Virgin: He struggles with constructing that architectural space in a way that is logical to our eye—it is not a rational space. His goal was not an accurate realism unlike artists in the next 100 years. In the early renaissance, there is an increased interest in rationalism o Brunneleschi discovers linear perspective as a way to accurately represent ancient roman buildings. Alberti codified what he had done, published a book "On Painting" and gives the formular for linear perspective o Elements of one-point linear perspective: artists are looking to create an illusion of reality - Vanishing point: the "floorboards" or any objects must get smaller and denser going towards the vanishing point - Horizon line: drawing lines from the horizon line helps to create intersections that can create the floor tiles/line up objects. The eye level of figures should be approximately at the horizon line. If it is forward or backward, they should still have the heads at eh same level as feet are on different levels. The horizon line should also be at the viewer's level. - Orthogonals: The lines going from the horizon line to line everything up o Artists realize that linear perspective can bring the viewers attention to the vanishing point and begin to use it expressively. Da Vinci uses it in the last supper as a way to focus on Jesus Christ who is the vanishing point. The horizon line lines up with the eye levels, and Jesus is right where all the orthogonals line up

Donatello, St. Mark, 1411-13

o St. Mark is a classical figure—incredible contrapasso that comes through the heavy cloth, his right engaged leg, the drape falls down as if it's the fluting of the column, his left knee presses through the drapery. Sense of absolute stability of the figure and a sense of his movement. o The psychological intensity of this figure makes it seem likes going to move and speak—sense of the dignity of Mark and shows the dignity of man. There is an intensity and focus in his face, the furrow of the brow and the head is cocked slightly and off centered, there is an interior intelligence that comes through. o This is the core of the story of the Florentine Experience in the 15th century—an intensely devout culture but also a culture that is beginning to celebrate human experience, the individual and the idea of the rational.

Masaccio, The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel

o Story from the new testament of Christ being confronted by a Tax Collector—he has no money. Christ and the apostles have halos and long clothing. Christ directs St. Peter to get money from the mouth of a fish. Then we see him getting the money in the back and paying the collector in the front. There was a new income tax seen by the Florentines that Christ was condoning the civic responsibility. o Our eye first goes to Christ in the center, not on the left as expected. All eyes are on him, so we look as well. Christ points to Peter who points to the Sea, so then we move left to see Peter opening the fish. Masaccio separates the scene on the left, so we see it as a separate scene—it is accomplished by an atmosphere perspective that lets move back from mountain to mountain as the sky gets lighter. There is a deep illusion of space, the figures are in a believable space from linear perspective. The orthogonals are in the building on the right (there may only be a building because of the interest in linear perspective). Christ's head is the vanishing point in his use of linear perspective so not only is all the attention paid to Christ, but the structure of the painting brings us there. o Christ looks calm and Peter looks annoyed/disbelief. The circular gathering around them—you can see their different reactions—some are apprehensive some calm, but Christ remains central and calm when he performs the miracle—it all activities the story. o Peter looks angry meanwhile right next to him John is passive—Masaccio may have put them together to create contrast. Tries to make it real using light and shadow and the cast shadows on the ground that give a sense of the figures standing and the light hitting them to establish a foreground and background. The representation of the feet shows how planted/grounded they are. The tax collector has one foot in shadow and one in light—such close attention. The halos are foreshortened so they are not just flat gold circles. He takes this symbol of spirituality and treating it like a solid in the world. They have psychological depth, an ennobling of the human experience.

Masaccio, Trinity, 1425

o The subject is the holy trinity: God the Father, The Son (Christ), The Holy Spirit (dove). This is the throne of judgment. Mary gestures to Christ and God and acts as an intercessor between us and the divine. They all occupy the same space. o Outside of that space are a kneeling woman and man who are the patrons of those painting. They are in a position of praise and contemplation. o Below is a memento mori, a reminder of death. We see a tomb with two columns on the sides and a sarcophagus with a skeleton laid on top. Carved into the stone "I was as you are and what I am you soon will be" in Italian. It reminds us that our time on earth is short and death could come at any time and we should be preparing for our salvation. o It had multiple audiences—Dominican clergy of the church and the lay people of Florence that were allowed into this part of the church. People would come to visit their loved ones in the cemetery and see this painting as a connection between the death of their loved ones and their own mortality. o The people would have recognized the changes Masaccio brought—the classicism of the architecture and the naturalism of the figures. Usually Christ and God are placed in an enormous halo which set them in a heavenly space but here, we see ancient roman architecture. We see fluted pastures and other ancient Greek and Roman architecture. There is a barrel vault that's defined by a series of coffers with alternating colors and in the back is a secondary arch—there is a very rational and measurable space that makes sense because he used linear perspective (one of the earliest uses of it). He uses it to create a convincing illusion that this is not a wall but the space of the chapel. o The linear perspective uses a vanishing point (at the eye level of viewer, center of the composition), orthogonals that create the illusion of depth (seen in the edges of the coffers in the ceiling) , and the horizon line (defined by the bottom step). o There is movement from light to dark to create a sense of volume: We see the rib cage lifted up, the muscles in the arms and abdomen, we sense the pull of Christ's weight from the cross. It is a reminder that here, Christ is human and has suffered and died. This interest in naturalistic human anatomy is a key feature of early renaissance. o The perfectly foreshortened (portray or show (an object or view) as closer than it is or as having less depth or distance, as an effect of perspective or the angle of vision) foot on God is a sense that God is standing—epitomized what the renaissance is about—diving figures having all the qualities that human beings have. There is a wonderful conflict between the visual and the actual. Masaccio imagines God as a man, not a force or a power, or something abstract. A man who stands—his feet are foreshortened, and he weighs something and is capable of walking. In medieval art, God was often represented by a hand, as though God was an abstract force or power in our lives—but here he seems so much like a flesh and blood man. This is a good indication of Humanism in the Renaissance. We see God presenting the sacrifice he made on our behalf. o He constructed the curves of the vaults of the ceiling by stretching the length of string from a nail set in the wall and using a styles to carve the arches into the wet plaster. He incised lines in determine the perspective scheme for the work which leads from the vanishing point below. He also created straight lines by snapping a tautly stretched string into the plaster. He made holes to mark the triangular corners of the pyramids. Used a geometric instrument to construct the roundels at the top of the composition. Created a network of large squares as the guide of the Virgin's body and used small squares for head—a challenge in foreshortening. Took at least 28 days to complete the composition.

Nanni di Banco, Four Crowned Saints, Florence, 1408-1414

o These are four ancient roman sculptors who were asked to create a sculpture of a pagan God and refused and put to death. This is the moment they come to realization that death is their fate. These figures are human in their interactions as if there is a negotiation going on between them, thinking about the consequences of the decision they are about to make—it is a very human experience. o The vividness of the interaction as the man on the right is speaking and his mouth is open with a dark and deep shadow. They are all paying attention, we can see them listen in an engaged way. This guild is showing the nobility that stone masons could do. Stone can get what it means to be human. o Several of them stand in contrapposto, especially the one second from the left, we can see his knee press through the drapery and his hip and sense of body. You feel empathy for the figures, the notion of doing things together was essential to Florence. o There is an importance of relationship and group in this sculpture just like in St. Mark there was an importance dignity of the individual—an important part of humanism.

Jan van Eyck, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife

· A lot of disagreement of what this painting represents. The most widely accepted is not a wedding taking place, but it is a double portrait of a married couple. Some think it is a memorial portrait and the woman had passed away · We know the man represented is an Italian merchant who worked in Bruges (thriving economic town) and his wealth is apparent in the portrait—the portrait is ABOUT his wealth. The clothing and furnishing suggest this and is a witnessing of the male giving authority to the woman. · They are joining hands and his hand is up, their shoes are off (may mean a sacred even is taking place) which can have symbolic value, so it seems to not just be a portrait. There is a single candle in the chandelier which is a symbol for the present of God normally. · Feels like they are greeting the two visitors in the mirror, situated where we would be looking at this photo. It is reinforced by the signature above the mirror that says Johannes van Eyck was here—a sense of the artists presence witnessing these figures. · The mirror not only has a greater visual reality depicted (we can see the back of the room as we are looking forward) but we can also see the scenes from the passion of Christ painted on the back pieces of the glass panels in the wooden frame. The figures are TINY but we can still see story in it, there is immense detail painted in clarity associated with northern renaissance. · The hair of the dog is so detailed. We wouldn't expect to see a dog in a formal painting, they are a symbol of fidelity/loyalty. · There is lots of detail in the clothing, there is fur on the clothing, the finest winter wear, even though it is warm out. We see tiny cuts in the green robe and heavy folds that had been frayed out, crisp on the lace around her head—very fashionable. The bulge of her belly does not mean she's pregnant, it was an expression of the fashion. The fruit on window sill could be a symbol of their wealth as oranges were very expensive—may be one of the items Arnolfini imported to as a reference as a source to their wealth. The carpet on the floor was a symbol of taste and wealth. · It is easy to misinterpret as it looks like a bedroom/private space but bedroom were a place you see visitors/symbol of wealth in the 15th century. · Van eych is important because he used oil paints in a new way that creates an luminous quality, a richness of color that tempera couldn't achieve. He applied thin, multiple layers so that each layer is translucent and has deep rich colors. Allows him to produce rich, luminous, subtle light—the way light comes in the room and moves across the faces, hands, furniture, chandelier, oranges, shoes (typical of Northern Renaissance). · Figures are elongated, the room feels narrow and cramped with material objects and lack of interest in human anatomy tells us were not in the Italian renaissance. The love of texture, oil paint, attention to detail is all northern renaissance.

Sandro Botticelli, The Bird of Venus

· Fully Pagan, the goddess of love. Nudity in Christianity was usually from suffering. This was one of the first almost full female nudes from a mythical history and she hides her body in a gesture of modesty not of shame. · All figures represent Botticelli's incredibly sophisticated understanding of the human body. The sway of Venus and the complex intertwining of the figures on the left. · Despite there being such a deep space, the canvas seems flat—this is because of the emphasis on pattern, there are flowers everywhere close to the foreground, flowers on the attendant's dress and cloth. The rhythmic contrast from light and dark on the shell seems to push the back forward. The v's in the sea crate a sense of two dimensionality. It depicts a deep space but is so heavily patterned that it reminds us of its own two dimensionality. The figures all occupy the same plane so it reads flatly but although he has an understanding of human anatomy (the figures, drapery) the figures are weightless, they seem to float and don't stand firmly on the ground like we expect renaissance figures to stand. · Venus forms a serpentine shape that would be an impossible way to stand. The artist highlights her hair with actual lines of gold that are also seen in the foliage and trunks of the trees. She tilts her head slightly and her hair blows and surrounds the curve of her body to cover her modesty. · Although there may be meaning behind the painting that connects classical mythology to certain Christian ideals (Neoplatonism) it is still an incredibly beautiful and erotic image. It is a celebration of beauty and love (in a secular and Christian context)

Jacopo Pontormo, Entombment (aka Deposition)

· He takes out many of the symbols that we would expect in a either scene (cross is gone,, tomb is not apparent) it is a spare image of figures. The deposition would usually see a ladder and the cross and internment would see the tomb. He gives us nothing to understand the subject, he is not situated in an earthly setting which is different from the high renaissance. · There is a rejection of the earthliness of the high renaissance, no linear perspective, no earthly setting, the figures are highly stylized and there is elegance, the two figures on the sides are so elongated and the one on the bottom has unnatural positioned legs. The high renaissance has a pyramid composition with stability and balance but here they are moving in lots of different directions, there is no vanishing point for our eyes to rest. It is full of constant movement. We would also expect to see figures with weight to their bodies but Christ doesn't seem to be heavy to the figures carrying him. Mary looks like she is about to faint, the figures seem overwrought, they are not the emotions of a person but the symbol of emotions, like a mask. The art is not based on nature is typical of mannerism— · Florence is no longer a republic and protestant reformation, Copernicus discovering the earth revolves around the sun, Martin Luther. This was a time of revolution. Some see the style of manner expresses a new style of spirituality opposed to the naturalism of early renaissance which comes from the attacks on the church from Martin Luther. The counter-reformation shifts the style of art and breaks with renaissance conventions, this is the first taste of those changes.

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa

· Her smile is so famous, it doesn't clearly tell us what she is feeling so you can read into it. Sigmund Freud saw a mixture of maternal gaze and flirtatious gaze · During the Renaissance, only the elite could get a portrait painted, reserved for Kings and Queens. There is a growth of the merchant class, the fact that a wealthy merchant would hire Leonardo to paint his wife shows how much fortune is being made by bankers, traders, etc during the Renaissance, especially in Florence · This picture is half ___, before, they were always busts from the chest up before this. They would be in profile, bust length, it is a very static position and stiff. Leonardo had the face turn towards us, positioned the shoulders toward us and included hands—the figures is much more natural and relatable and a sense of the personality comes out. This is tremendously influential—he also implemented sfumato (smokey haziness that softens outlines) so that figures don't look to isolated and makes the figure emerge out of the darkness. · We don't know why Leonardo kept a commission painting and why it is the most famous painting in the world, perhaps our culture has a fascination of mysterious women, also the picture was stolen in 1911 and it had headlines around the world and grew in popularity. It has been the subject for other paintings, it was meant to be in a private home but now it is in a huge gallery and such an unexpected fait for a commission. · Northern Renaissance artists had already created portraits of figures in positions similar to the Mona Lisa. Leonardo combined these Northern innovations with Italian painting's understanding of the three dimensionality of the body and the perspectival treatment of the surrounding space.

Workshop of Robert Campin, Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece)

· Increasing interest in commissioning paintings as aids to prayer to use in the home. This is not a grand altarpiece, only about 2 feet tall, can be folded up and be carried to another room. · Looks like the scene takes place in someones home in this area. We see the angel Gabriel and the virgin Mary in a modern context. It may seem to secularize this scene and bring it into the real world, but the opposite is true. It makes them closer to us to make our prayer more profound. The annunciation was painted first on spec, in hopes to be bought. · The donors (patrons who commissioned the painting) are shown kneeling and set within a walled garden, symbolizes Mary's virginity. There is so much detail so we know we are in Northern Europe. (Italian renaissance=rational space and interest in human anatomy) but in the north, they pay attention to everything like plants, birds, nails. · Because artists in the north have oil panting, they can focus on light reflecting on surfaces like metal and paint texture unlike those in the Italian renaissance. The key has a shine and casts a shadow, there is shine on nails and rust on door. The back door has detail and we see a flemished city with lots of detail. · Easily identified as early northern because of the way the drapery is worn by Gabriel and Mary, has sharp folds and complexity of how it falls on the floor. You are struck by how much stuff there is in the small room. An effort was put into the maintain interest in the painting as it would be seen over and over by worshiper. · The shiny pot in the back symbolizes Mary's pureness. There is a small figure holding a cross with gold beams heading right for Mary, it is the holy spirit, but it is not a dove/symbol—it is when God is made flesh and its possible for humans to be saved. The level of realism is astonishing, the smoke off the candle. The objects are symbols. · The perspective is off as the floor is too steep, but the distortions work to create a telescope that brings in a closeness to Mary and Gabriel (aids in private devotion) · The object out the window and next to Joseph are mouse traps which symbolize Christs death. There is wood on the floor with holes in it, and axe that represents the cross that Christ was crucified on.

Pietro Aretino Letter to Michelangelo

· It seems as though he had sent Michelangelo his ideas of what the painting should look like and he ignored them. He tried to obtrain his drawings by writing and asking the artist and through common friends and was hurt by having obtained nothing and by seeing his advice ignored. He says that if he had remembered the glory, majesty, and terror that he wrote to him of the picture of the universe, then nature and influences would cease to regret giving him the talents within him. · Aretino was shocked by the nudes in the Last Judgment and blackmailed Michelangelo by hinting at accusations that an inclination for young men and breaking a contract. He published the letter: · He agreed the painting has eminent graciousness and beauty of invention. But, as a Christian, he was embarrassed with the ideas he connected to the goals and ending of their religion. He was angry that the famous Michelangelo decided to display to the whole world an immorality of irreligion only his painting could portray. He is angry he chose the greatest temple built to God to show human beings this way. He hated the immodesty and he represented the subject so awfully. · The pagans made nude bodies cover their privates and now, a Christian who rates art higher than faith decided a royal spectacle martyrs and virgins in "improper attitudes", men dragged down by their genitals, things that even brothels would look away. His art belonged in a brothel not in the highest chapel of the world. He wanted him to be punished and it was the death to his reputation. He wanted him to turn the indecent parts into flames and sunbeams or gilded leaves to imitate the modesty of Florence.

Paolo Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi

· It was meant to be the Last Supper but title got changed. It is hard to find he last supper in this painting. There are a tremendous amount of figures in this and the architecture is so imposing its so grand that the event being rendered is almost lost. He seemed to enjoy the figures around the apostles and Christ much more than the spiritual moment of the last supper. · Dozens of figures are drinking and talking and entertaining, he describe his profession that he paints and composes figures, he wanted to show actions. Even the most important figures are engaged in action: Christ is turning to the figure next to him, St. Peter is carving a piece of lamb, these are the actions of real people and real people are apart of the last supper. · There are figures from Venice, Germans, Patricians, turbans, a sense of enormous wealth and privilege, it looks like a banquet not the last supper which is what concerned the inquisition: Veronese was painting during the Reformation and counter-reformation, people were beginning to question the church and the images of the church. · They were concerned that images have a certain decorum and propriety and not distract the viewer. Images play an important role in the counter- reformation, the attempt of the church to reenergize itself to deal with some of the corruption that weakened it and push forward with Catholicism. · Art had a lot to do with that and it has a lot of things that are entertaining and distracting from what is being depicted, then it is not in service of the church. The inquisition called a Tribunal where the artist was called to answer to a lapse of judgment, the church that commissioned it was fine with the final product but inquisition questioned what the apostles were doing and asked if someone commissioned him to paint Germans and buffoons in the picture, who is responsible for the ridiculous extravagance of this painting? And he said an artist has the same license of a poet and it is from his imagination, he received the commission to decorate it as deemed fit and it was large so he said it needed many figures. They demanded that some of the figures, specifically the dog be changed but he said no and would change the title to the Feast in the House of Levi and it satisfied the church. When Leonardo painted the last supper, it was about removing everything that wasn't necessary to portray and an emotional spiritually powerful way, the moment Christ says one of you will portray me and says take this blood and wine, a critical moment for the church and the sacrament of the Eucharist. Veronese exploded that and put it back into our world and took it out of the timeless world that Leonardo put it in. There is chaos of everyone paying attention to different things the way a dinner party does, a kind of truth different from Leonardo. Maybe it makes the message more palpable by embedding it in Venice in the 16th century.

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, 1508-12

· Line drawing and carving figures out of paint primary, render strength and elegance simultaneously. · The creation of the world, God separating light from darkness · This is a catholic church and we don't see images of Christ, but these images lay down the foundation for the coming of Christ · Libyan Sybil: ancient Pagan who can see the future, the power of her body and elegance with the way she twists and turns. Sense of potential the way her toe reaches down and touches the ground likes she's about to move or stand. A presence and drama, she twists in almost an impossible way. He articulates the muscles in her back. She reaches back to a book of prophecy, a look of knowing and clarity in her face knowing that Christ is coming · Male nude figures: Michelangelo isn't painting separate paintings but creates a complex stage set that creates level of reality. We are at this moment of rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. · The figures on the ceiling during the high renaissance have elegance and nobility while the ones on the wall are far more pessimistic and dark that he painted decades later. The optimism and intellectual and emotional power characterizes the high renaissance in its profound admiration for ancient worlds.

Parmigianino, Madonna of the Long Neck

· Madonna has a tiny head, compared to her very wide hips, her toes are tiny (body is a diamond shape), she is a landscape that Christ sits. Christ is large and splays his body with crazy contortion with his arm falling so far (similar to Michelangelo's pieta with adult christ). Christ looks asleep and dead and the reference explains the mass of her lap (her lap is substantial to hold the adult Christ). · We are no longer in the high renaissance anymore, they had perfected the naturalism they sought after so now in the mannerism stage uses the illusionism to distort and transform the body, a deformation to show the extreme elegance. Mannerism is art taken from art instead of art from nature. · The respect for human anatomy and portrayal is not important to mannerism, it is a willful complicating of the body. It sets up relationships between forms that are absurd (the vase being held up by the angel in comparison to their thigh, the relationship between the massive Mary and the prophet in the right corner that is impossibly far away but also at the feet of her). She holds her hands to her chest with impossible boneless fingers and fails to mean anything—it shows gesture and drama instead of intent. · There is a column on the right that is so deep in space and at such an oblique angle that it seems like a wall but the shadows show individual columns. Mannerism is an intense reaction to the perfection of the high renaissance, it is a flailing reaction against the extreme naturalism. There was nowhere to go except to do something different. There was a very specific and learned audience for these paintings, made as a high intellectual game

Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, 1432

· Polyptych=many panels. It is closed most of the years, at the top are the prophets who predicted the coming of Christ. Below is Gabriel announcing to Mary that she going to birth Christ. There is a cityscape in the back and still life on the right, it suggests to opportunity for Christ's coming. Gabriel holds lilies which are a symbol of Mary's purity and Mary has the dove above her head which represents the holy spirit. · Everything is very concrete and physical but the gold words are apherial and reinforces the flatness of the image but there is a sense of space from the light reflection and city scape in the back. The artists are miniaturists and have attention to detail. Has an awkward linear perspective and drapery that has a life of its own which is different than Italian renaissance which focuses on human anatomy. · Below, the two sculpture figures (still painting) are saints and the painted are patrons. The oil helps the fur to seem real and the skin seems detailed. · When opened, there is an explosion of color from the oil paint. Material beauty by the large figure in the center of God dressed like a king holding a scepter and crown at feet, symbol of power. There is a theme of God saving grace and redeem mankind. An early example of God being remade as the renaissance, a god of forgiveness. · There is an image of a pelican who picks at its flesh to feed the kids, like how god sacrifices. There are angels singing and playing instruments showing the sound of heaven. There is richly carved instruments and each angel wear a different crown with different expressions. The fold in the organ and clothing are very detailed to seemingly unimportant objects but they represent the heavenly and link us to the spiritual. It makes the heavenly world concrete and tangible · On the outside are the panels of Adam and eve with very detailed humanism and seem vulnerable—it is about God reaching out to human in all imperfections. · The lamb is a symbol of Christs sacrifice and has overcome pain and surrounding it are angels holding Christ's suffering and shows the sacrifice for mans redemption. Man come to pay homage. Many figures from the old testament all go towards christ. It is all played out in this glorious and divine landscape with overwhelming visuals, the leaves and window panes are rendered. Shows a divine vision from mans limited image—it is too much for us to process and feels like we are coming face to face with God.

Michelangelo, David, 1504

· Seen as a perfect example of high renaissance. Old testament story where David takes on a giant and does so without any armor and defeats him with the help of god (slingshot and rock). · The body is in a classic position with the weight on the right leg and left is free, his body is relaxed and his eyes dart to his left. His body is about to swivel and follow the head movement as if he's about to fight goliath. · Michelangelo had dissected the human body and understood the structure, so David looks so real. It is an idealized body, but we can begin to see ourselves in this statue. · The story of David became the story of Florence, a symbol of the republic of Florence in opposition to Tyranny, this was a brief moment of the flourishing of these democratic ideas. Sort of refers to Hercules who was the savior of Florence as well. · He takes on the type of sculpture that ancient Greeks and romans did and he surpasses it showing Florence has surpassed them as well.

Raphael, Madonna of the Goldfinch (1505)

· St. John holds a goldfinch (symbol of the passion of Christ/his suffering) to Christ which foreshadows his future. Christ puts his foot on his mother's that shows the tender loving. · Christ looks all knowing and less childlike. He communicated his divine power by his elegant stance. There is a foreshortening in his head but there is a child like sense in John. · The Madonna is not on a thrown like in the past. She sits on a rock in a field and says divinity is all around us, in this time period nature has taken on the expressions of God. · There is a pyramid composition with a sense of stability and balance which is apart of the high Renaissance. The interlocking of gestures and glances, all enclosed in Mary's structure of body brings everything together. Mary is portrayed as babysitting as she reads

Barbara Lane, "Requiem aeternam dona eis: The Beaune Last Judgment and the Mass of the Dead"

· The Beaune Last judgment is universally accepted as the painting described in an inventory of 1501 as the main altarpiece of the ward chapel in the hotel-Dieu · The hospital was built there probably as a result of the famines that had spread throughout Burgundy in recent years. · Like most patients who entered hospitals in this period, the inmates at Beaune had little chance of leaving in anything but a coffin. Its layout indicates that the need for a fast, efficient method of disposing of the deceased had been anticipated. · The ward was separated from the chapel by a pierced screen, through which the patients witnessed the ceremonies performed at the altar. When they did so, they saw the Last judgment altarpiece, whose enormous size must have been determined by the need for it to be visible to the entire ward. The images in the polyptych offered the patients the hope that their earthly pains would be cured and the promise that their prayers would bring them redemption. (healing saints could also be seen to protect from the plague) · Rogier's overwhelming Last judgment reminded the patients and the donors of the salvation they could expect through participation in the daily oblation performed in the chapel · There are a number of subjects that would have conveyed a similar message. A review of some of the precedents and sources of the altarpiece suggests that the choice of its theme related to the funerary purpose of the chapel. In contrast to these terrifying, chaotic images, the Beaune Last Judgment exudes calm and control. Its sense of order derives from its clear separation between the realms of heaven and earth and its wide division between the end panels of Paradise and Hell · Christ, raised so high above the other figures that the central panel extends upward to accommodate him, seems to orchestrate the careful balance and slow progression of movement throughout the painting. Immediately below him, St Michael weighs diminutive personifications of virtue and sin. To Christ's right, a few blessed souls tentatively approach the doors of Paradise, while the agonized damned at his left fearfully descend into a Hell whose only demons are the torments of the mind. · Its radiant gold background, spanning almost the entire width of the altarpiece, defines the celestial sphere toward which the resurrected dead look for judgment. Curving inscriptions on either side of Christ summarize the promise of the Requiem Mass. The white inscription to his right reads from bottom to top, echoing the ascent of the rising scale: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." In contrast, the red words on his left descend toward the damned: "Depart from me you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." · In contrast to earlier Last Judgments such as those illustrated above, the central focus of the Beaune altarpiece is St Michael rather than the judging Christ. Garbed in a gleaming white alb and an elaborate cope of red and gold brocade, the archangel dominates the foreground of the center panel. His alb comprises the largest area of white in the painting, hypnotically attracting the viewer's glance. Bridging the gap between the earthly and celestial worlds, he is the only holy figure who occupies the earthly realm. As VeroneeVerhaegen has noted, he takes a small step forward, as if to enter the viewer' space, and his piercing gaze directly out of the picture seems to imply that the one to be judged is the worshipper himself · But St Michael also helped alleviate their spiritual anxieties. As the central focus of the Last judgment, his image assured both the donors and the patients in the ward that he would lead them to Paradise as promised in the Requiem Mass.

Erwin Panofsky, "Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait"

· The author believes this a painting of a marriage. He says that it could have been a secret wedding. There are three main "words and action" required for a legitimate marriage which all are shown in image: 1) an appropriate formula pronounced by the pride and groom and then confirmed by raising his hand. 2) generally, a ring placed on the finger of the bridge. 3)the most important—the joining of hands. · The council of Trend said you needed two or three witnesses and a priest. Medieval literature has many cases in which the validity of a marriage could be neither proven nor disproved for want of reliable witnesses. This explains why his signature says, in the authors opinion, "Jan van Eyck was here" meaning the portrait cannot be the artist and his wife. His signature works as a witness for the wedding legally and the portrait is a pictorial marriage certificate. He signed both as artist and as witness. · we can safely adopt the " orthodox theory " according to which the two people portrayed are Giovanni Arnolfini and Jeanne de Cename, the circumstances of their marriage are peculiarly consistent with the unusual conception of the " artistic marriage certificate." Both of them had absolutely no relatives at Bruges, so that we can understand the original idea of a picture which was a memorial portrait and a document at the same time, and in which a well-known gentleman-painter signed his name both as artist and as witness. · "I cannot help feeling that the whole arrangement is, to some extent, reminiscent of those slab-tombs which show the full-length figures of a man and a woman in similar attitudes, and where the woman is usually made to stand upon a dog, here indubitably used as a symbol of marital faith" · In fact, a burning candle-symbol of the all-seeing wisdom of God-not only was and often is, required for the ceremony of taking an oath in general, but also had a special reference to weddings. · nor is it by accident that the back of the armchair standing by the bed is crowned by a carved wooden figure of St. Margaret triumphing over the Dragon, for this Saint was especially invoked by women in expectations of a child; thus the small sculpture is connected with the bride in the same way as the burning candle is connected with the bridegroom.

Protestant Reformation: The Counter-Reformation

· The church had lost lands, souls. The violence was against people and things, the architecture was an important focus on the violence against the Church. Luther's followers were concerned that images were being abused and were being praised instead of praising what was within the image. To create is taking usurping God's responsibility and is creating a falsehood/idol. · They began iconoclasm, destruction of images. One of the great tragedies in art, an untold number of paintings and sculptors were destroyed. The protestants took over a catholic church and stripped it and left it a pristine space. · Luther is going against the church: faith alone is the path to salvation (not good works), scripture is the way to understand God (not listening to the teachings of the Church). The church excommunicated him, they held the council of Trent with the highest councils of the church. They wanted to reconcile with the Protestants but did not show up, reconciliation was impossible. The outcome was they reaffirmed the doctrines: good works have a role in the church and affirmed purgatory and good works, affirmed transubstantiation and it affirmed the power of the higher ups in the church and said scripture wasn't enough. · The council said images of Christ, Mary are to be replaced and retained especially in the church, they said they belong because the honor that is shown them refer to what they represent, if they are praying to a statue of Mary, they are praying to Mary herself. Art was a way to illustrate the stories of the bible to illiterate. · The church reaffirms doctrines, they campaign to spread the teaching of the Catholic faith around the world, an effort to stamp out heresy (Spanish inquisition, index of forbidden books) · Le Gro created a sculpture in Rome that shows the figure of religion (Roman Catholicism) is about to attack to figures (hatred and heresy who is fighting with a snake) who is falling on a book with Luther's name, heresy=Luther. An angelic figure rips out pages from Luther's book. Each side saw each other as the devil, there was no middle ground. The divisions reshaped the countries of Europe. Southern Europe are Catholic and northern are protestant, there is violence that erupts constantly. · The protestant reformation set the stage for the modern world: Not listening to a single authority, listening to your own conscience

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper

· The painting is read as the reaction to Christ saying one of you will betray me. There are so many reactions across the table. Christ is reaching towards wine and bread, so it could also be this is the institution of the sacrifice/holy communion. He is also reaching for a bowl just as Judas does (the betrayer) and he is pulling away as he reaches for the bowl (this is how Christ identifies the betrayer as he dips in the bowl with him). · We know this is the last supper and an important moment without any of the divine features from the early Renaissance. The figures are monumental and too crowded for the table that creates a energy and chaos that surround the perfection and geometry of Christ—he forms an equilateral triangle and his head is in the center of a circle, the window frame behind him reads as a halo. Human beings follow their faults around that divine center. Leonardo thinks about the math, science, integration. He simplifies everything and focuses on their gestures and by making there being no room at the table it separates our world from Christ and the apostles, there is no way for us to enter that space. · By putting Judas with all the apostles, he uses the table as a barrier between our world and the apostles. · Christ is serene, his eyes are down. On the left there is a group of three with Judas and is facing away from us in shadow and his neck is turned reminding us he is going to hand himself that night. Peter (protector) rushes in with a knife and seemingly says who is it I need to protect you. St. John looks resigned and closes his eyes. On the far right, Leonardo uses the body to reveal the soul and internal nature. Leonardo creates four groups of three and knits the figures together by overlapping them and creating tension between them. Philip and James Major and in opposition, one throws his arms out and one bringing his hands together. In earlier last suppers, the figures remained separate and calm but here there is a unified composition (characteristic of High Renaissance). · There is such divinity of Christ in the center, his calm, all the perspective lines bring us towards him. Perfect representation of the High Renaissance—it finds a way of creating a sense of eternal and perfect within the chaos that is the human experience, uniting the earthly and the divine.

Michelangelo, Creation of Adam, from Sistine Chapel ceiling

· This painting forms part of the Sistine chapel's ceiling and illustrated the biblical creation narrative which God gives life to Adam, the first man. The image has become iconic of humanity and is one of the most replicated religious paintings of all time · God is depicted as an elderly white-bearded Caucasian man wrapped in a swirling cloak while Adam is completely naked. It gives the impression that God, the giver of life, is reaching out to Adam who has yet to receive it; they [God and Adam] are not on "the same level" as would be two humans shaking hands, for instance. · Many hypotheses have been formulated regarding the identity and meaning of the twelve figures around God. Now widely accepted, the person protected by God's left arm represents Eve, due to the figure's feminine appearance and gaze towards Adam, and the eleven other figures symbolically represent the souls of Adam and Eve's unborn progeny, the entire human race. Consequently, the figure behind God has also been suggested to be the Virgin Mary, Sophia (the personification of wisdom mentioned in the Book of Wisdom), the personified human soul, or "an angel of masculine build" · In Michelangelo's final fresco on the ceiling, Adam is physically beautiful, but spiritually still incomplete.[30] The sketch prefaces this story, as it is also incomplete in the sense that the only complete component of the drawing is Adam's twisted torso. Adam's other limbs bleed off of the trimmed page in immature form[24]. However, the work is not "unfinished," as it reached its purpose for Michelangelo, which was to work out the details of the torso in the medium of chalk, so he was confident in the composition when he began the actual, permanent fresco panel. He studied the male torso and represents an idealization of the male form.

Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban (Self-Portrait?)

· Thought to be a self portrait, he is looking directly at us. The frame has an inscription at the top that his personal motto "as I can". This comes from a motto that scribes often but at the end of a manuscript, usually is longer. It means this is the best I can do, I wish I could do better. He chose to only use the first part, which seems far from humble. The I can sounds like a play on words with his name Eyck. · Seems like he is showing off what he can do as a show piece to sell his abilities to possible patrons. He shows how real he can paint, there is an interest in making the painting so believable in the northern renaissance. · There is a sense of self-conscious from the way he looks directly out at us—or even a mirror. · You can see the detail of his stubble and red veins in his eyes (possible from staring at himself) make it so intimate. He is not idealizing himself—he shows the age of the human body like his drooping cheeks, wrinkles, saggy skin. · There is also a sense of the history, he wraps his hat into a turban, as reference to ancient world/east. This is also shown in the Greek letters on top and mix of Greek and Arabic in the date. This was very unusual, he signed his name on the bottom in Latin as "made me" and specific date, 1433 on the 21st of October, its unusual and shows he is aware of time and his place in history. The typeface he uses is an archaic typeface recognized as old fashion. He used history in a conscious way to prompt the viewer think historically and think of the passage of time. The letters on the frame are also painted but appear to be carved—another good illusion. He is looking at us through history.

Sandro Botticelli, La Primavera (Spring)

· Venus is in the center looking directly at us. The figures are parted so we have an unobstructed view of her so we can enter into the space. The trees around her part so we can see the sky like a halo around her. It is architectural reminder that usually in the renaissance we would see Mary in a ecclesiastic environment but here is Venus in a natural environment. He is embarrassing a Pagan subject and other elements from ancient Greek and Roman culture. · The three figures on the left are common in roman sculpture as a way to show the body from three different angles. On the left is the God of war, mars, who is at peace in his garden and put his weapon away, he may be pushing away the clouds coming in from the left to create a sunny day in paradise. On the right is the God of wind who is abducting Chloris, next to her if Flora who is planting the flowers to create spring. Cupid is above to unleash his arrow. · Typical of Botticelli, the figures are elongated and standing in impossible position, all things we don't expect from the Renaissance. It is the opposite of many traditions of this time, it is not a painting about linear perspective ( a little of atmospheric perspective in the traces of landscape) this is a very frontal piece that references a literary set of ideas. It has no specific meaning. · Daffiness quality of drapes and tassels on the graces, they are beautiful and detailed. Their hands come together creating a wonderful complexity and visual invention. It is possible a neo-platonic treatise or mediation on different kinds of beauty. Venus is beautiful, she tilts her head to one side, holds up her drapery, motions with her hand and looks directly at us, its impossible not to want to join her in the garden.

Michelangelo, Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel

· What a daunting task: to visualize the endgame of earthly existence - and furthermore, to do so in the Sistine Chapel, the private chapel of the papal court, where the leaders of the Church gathered to celebrate feast day liturgies, where the pope's body was laid in state before his funeral, and where—to this day—the College of Cardinals meets to elect the next pope. · Christ is in the top center and around him are saints and old testament figures and below is the blessed (left) and the damned (right). This is the most dramatic and powerful image in the Catholic tradition, this is the end of time and Christ is a powerful judge who faces towards the damned smiting them. He points to his wounds, Mary is crouching powerless to him and looking at the blessed and gives to Christ the damned. The blessed rise from their graves are pulled up by angels. · Michelangelo's figures are so dense and powerful/muscular, even the spirits have to be held up with effort. The angels don't look very much like what we expect of Angels, they are clearly male and powerful, their heads are too small for their bodies. In blowing the trumpets they look almost as though they're going to explode with the powers of that takes well they have to wake the dead. · The physicality is unexpected, we would think they would have no mass or weight but the opposite is true, there is a struggle. There is an interest in physicality from Michelangelo. · The angels are seen pushing the damned into hell. The damned man has a psychological intensity, as though he cant believe his fate and is in the moment of recognition. · The figures on the ceiling are elegant and noble but on the wall, the figures are intentionally ugly and awkward with wrong proportions and muscles look overdrawn. Christ's torsa is out of scale with his head and height. He no longer looks at the body in the way of the high renaissance (recognition to perfect proportion), he is willing to distort the body for the religious message and symbolism. · The church had been challenged by Martin Luther and the church was in great turmoil, Michelangelo's early optimism is gone and is full of pessimism, best seen in St. Catherine who is ungainly and on the ceiling, Eve is beautiful and her body is proportionate. · St. Bartholomew is holding his skin but the face is a self portrait of Michelangelo, possibly showing how he is scared of the fate of his own soul, it looks like he is about to be dropped into the damned. · Many praised the work as a masterpiece. They saw Michelangelo's distinct figural style, with its complex poses, extreme foreshortening, and powerful (some might say excessive) musculature, as worthy of both the subject matter and the location. The sheer physicality of these muscular nudes affirmed the Catholic doctrine of bodily resurrection (that on the day of judgment, the dead would rise in their bodies, not as incorporeal souls). · Others were scandalized—above all by the nudity—despite its theological accuracy, for the resurrected would enter heaven not clothed but nude, as created by God. Critics also objected to the contorted poses (some resulting in the indecorous presentation of buttocks), the breaks with pictorial tradition (the beardless Christ, the wingless angels), and the appearance of mythology (the figures of Charon and Minos) in a scene portraying sacred history. Critics saw these embellishments as distractions from the fresco's spiritual message. They accused Michelangelo of caring more about showing off his creative abilities than portraying sacred truth with clarity and decorum. Religious art was the "book of the illiterate" and as such should be easy to understand. · The Last Judgment, however, was not painted for an unlearned, lay audience. To the contrary, it was designed for a very specific, elite and erudite audience. This audience would understand and appreciate his figural style and iconographic innovations. · Michelangelo sought to create an epic painting, worthy of the grandeur of the moment. He used metaphor and allusion to ornament his subject. His educated audience would delight in his visual and literary references. · Originally intended for a restricted audience, reproductive engravings of the fresco quickly spread it far and wide, placing it at the center of lively debates on the merits and abuses of religious art. While some hailed it as the pinnacle of artistic accomplishment, others deemed it the epitome of all that could go wrong with religious art and called for its destruction. In the end, a compromise was reached.

Transcript of the Trial of Veronese

Inquisition: Shouldn't painters only add figures in keeping with the subject and the most important people portrayed? Do you freely follow your imagination without restraint, without good judgment? Do you think it is appropriate that the Last Supper of Our Lord includes jesters, drunks, Germans, midgets, and the like? Do you not know that Germany and other places are infested with heresy and that in such place they commonly fill their paintings with sacrilegious images, that denigrate the Holy Church and spread evil to the ignorant? Veronese: Your Honor, that would be evil. I can only repeat what I previously stated, That I have followed what others, better than me, have done. Inquisition: What has been done by those better than you? Which things? Veronese: In the Pope's chapel in Rome, Michelangelo rendered Our Lord, Jesus Christ, his Mother, Saint John and Saint Peter, and the court of heaven, all nude, including the Virgin Mary, in the midst movements without decorum. ·Inquisition: Don't you understand that in a painting of the Last Judgment, clothing would not be worn, that there is no reason to paint clothes? Among those figures there is nothing except what befits the spiritual—there are no jesters, no dogs, no weapons, or any such silliness. Do you think this comparison, or any other that this example or any other justifies the way you painted your picture, and are you still certain that the painting appropriate to its subject? Veronese: Your honor, I do not mean to defend it, but my intent was only good. I did not consider these issues enough, thinking that since the buffoons were outside the place where Our Lord sits, it was proper. · In the end, the judges decreed that the artist must correct his painting within three months from the day of the reprimand, in accordance with the judgment of the Holy Tribunal, and that the additional costs would be paid by Veronese.