Art and Culture Test 2: Image Analysis

(Early Christian) Mosaic of Christ as Good Shepherd

( 425 AD) - The brick surface is set with narrow mortar joints and decorated with blind arcades. - The north entrance shows a mosaic of Christ as the Good Shepherd tending his flocks. - we see Christ now wearing the finest of Roman togas and not the simple attire a carpenter would have worn - Currently in Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna - He is seen greeting the sheep around him. Jesus is seen touching the nose of one of the sheep. This is a very important piece showing the idea of how Christ is evolving together with nature. He is humble and caring, showing the sweet side of nature.

(Roman) Basilica Ulpia

(112 AD) - Ancient Roman civic building located in the Forum of Trajan. - The Basilica Ulpia separates the temple from the main courtyard in the Forum of Trajan with the Trajan's Column to the northwest. - It was named after Roman emperor Trajan whose full name was Marcus Ulpius Traianus. - Had no known religious function; it was dedicated to the administration of justice, commerce and the presence of the emperor. - Dedicated to public use as law courts and a place of business, it became the preferred architectural type for the Christian church - Largest in Rome measuring 117 by 55 meters. - Composed of a great central nave with four side aisles with clerestory windows to let light into the space divided by rows of columns and two semicircular apse, one at each of the ends with the entry to the basilica located on the longitudinal side. - - The columns and the walls were made of marble.

(Roman) Trajan's Column

(113 AD) - The relief on column portrays Trajan's two victorious military campaigns against the Dacians; -The lower half illustrating the first (101-102), and the top half illustrating the second (105-106). - Emphasizes images of orderly soldiers carrying out ceremony and construction. - unclear whether the Column was meant to serve a commemorative function or as a propaganda piece.

(Roman) Temple of Protunus

(120-80 BC) - Ionic order - Its dedication to the God Portunus(divinity associated with livestock, keys, and harbors) —Is fitting given the building's topographical position near the ancient river harbor of the city of Rome. - located adjacent to a circular temple of the Corinthian order, now attributed to Herakles Victor. - The festival in honor of Portunus (the Portunalia) was celebrated on 17 August.

(Roman) Hadrian's Mausoleum

(123 - 139 AD) - Also known as Castel Sant'Angelo - Towering cylindrical building - It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. - The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. - The Castle was once the tallest building in Rome. - The tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian, also called Hadrian's mole, was erected on the right bank of the Tiber. - Originally the mausoleum was a decorated cylinder. Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in 138, together with those of his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who also died in 138. - Following this, the remains of succeeding emperors were also placed here, the last recorded deposition being Caracalla in 217. The urns containing these ashes were probably placed in what is now known as the Treasury room deep within the building.

(Renaissance) Giotto Madonna Enthroned

(1310) - It was painted for the Florentine Church of Ognissanti - Tempra - Celebrated as first renaissance painting outside gothic

(Renaissance) Palazzo della Signori

(1330) - L shaped - Structures include: palazzo vecchio: the town hall Overlooking the square with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy, and it hosts cultural points and museums. - loggia dei lanzi: " The wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines, that Michelangelo even proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza della Signoria. - The vivacious construction of the Loggia is in stark contrast with the severe architecture of the Palazzo Vecchio. - It is effectively an open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art including the Medici lions." - The Tribunale della Mercanzia (Tribunal of Merchandise), a building where in the past lawyers judged in the trial between merchants. - Palazzo Uguccioni, Built for Giovanni Uguccioni since 1550, its design has been variously attributed to Raphael, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo Ammannati or Raffaello da Montelupo. - Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali The Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1871, and is one of the very few purpose-built commercial buildings in the centre of the city. - On the ground floor of this palace is the historical cafè Rivoire. - Other palaces are the palazzo dei Buonaguisi and the palazzo dell'Arte dei Mercatanti.

(Renaissance) Donatello David

(1408-1409) - Marble sculpture, then bronze twenty + years later - Based on David and Goliath - commissioned to carve a statue of David in 1408, to top one of the buttresses of Florence Cathedral, though it was never to be placed there - The young David was seen as an effective political symbol, as well as a religious hero Donatello's bronze statue of David (circa 1440s) is famous as the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity

Donatello St. Mark

(1411-1413) - Marble - Veins are carved and visible - Seven feet, nine inches - Donatello's sculpture differs from medieval works in the way that drapery is used, specifically in that St. Mark's figure is revealed by a realistic draping of linen.

(Renaissance) Limbourg Brothers Le Tres Heures

(1413-1416) - For extravagant patron John, Duke of Berry - Manuscript - Painters died of plague before it could be finished. Finished in 1440's by another artist

(Renaissance) Ospedale delgi Innocenti Bruneschelli

(1419-1427) - Translation: Hospital of the innocents - Originally an orphanage - Colored terracotta medallions by Andrea della Robbia can be seen in the spandrels of the arches, the so-called "Infants", which were put up in 1485. - This desire for regularity and geometric order was to become an important element in Renaissance architecture - Above each column is a ceramic tondo. These were originally meant by Brunelleschi to be blank concavities, but around 1490 Andrea della Robbia was commissioned to fill them in. - The design features a baby in swaddling clothes.

(Renaissance) Dome of Santa Maria della Fiori

(1420-1436) - From the architectural viewpoint, the construction of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore represented the event that marked the beginning of the Renaissance, that is, the rediscovery of building models from the classical age and the contemporary changes in the organisation of construction sites, with separation of the roles of designer and builder, a system still in use today.

(Renaissance) Façade Santa Maria Novella Alberti

(1420-1470) - Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. - The church was designed by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi. - Building began in the mid-13th century (about 1246), and was finished about 1360 under the supervision of Friar Iacopo Talenti with the completion of the Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and sacristy -The frieze below the pediment carries the name of the patron : IOHAN(N)ES ORICELLARIUS PAU(LI) F(ILIUS) AN(NO) SAL(UTIS) MCCCCLXX (Giovanni Rucellai son of Paolo in the year of salvation 1470). - The interior also contains Corinthian columns

(Renaissance) Massaccio Holy Trinity, Expulsion

(1425-1427) - located in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, in Florence. - One of Masaccio's last commissions before his untimely death at age 27 - Donors are included in frescos, but have never been indentified. - Redisocovered in 1860 - Heavy symbolism of trinity: many, many triangles, as well as a dove above jesus' head.

(Renaissance) Ghiberti Bronze Doors (Gates of Paradise)

(1425-1452) - To carry out this commission, he set up a large workshop in which many artists trained, including Donatello, Masolino, Michelozzo, Uccello, and Antonio Pollaiuolo. - When his first set of twenty-eight panels was complete, Ghiberti was commissioned to produce a second set for another doorway in the church, this time with scenes from the Old Testament, as originally intended for his first set. - Instead of twenty-eight scenes, he produced ten rectangular scenes in a completely different style. - These were more naturalistic, with perspective and a greater idealization of the subject. - Dubbed "The Gates of Paradise" by Michelangelo, this second set remains a major monument of the age of Renaissance humanism. - Seventeen feet tall. Three tons. - Filled with biblical panels: Adam and Eve, Jacob and Esau, and David and Goliath

(Renaissance) Robert Campin Merode Altarpiece

(1427-1432) - Unsigned - Filled with virgin mary iconography - Oil oak panel triptych

(Renaissance) Jan Van Eyck Ghent Altarpiece

(1430-32) - Early Flemish polyptych - The four lower-register panels are divided into two pairs; sculptural grisaille paintings of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, and on the two outer panels, donor portraits of Joost Vijdt and his wife Lysbette Borluut. -The central panel of the lower register shows a gathering of saints, sinners, clergy and soldiers attendant at an adoration of the Lamb of God. - There are several groupings of figures, overseen by the dove of the Holy Spirit.[A]

(Renaissance) Jan Van Eyck Arnolfini Potrait

(1434) - It forms a full-length double portrait, believed to depict the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, Oil - The portrait has been considered by Erwin Panofsky and some other art historians as a unique form of marriage contract, recorded as a painting. - Van Eyck used the technique of applying layer after layer of thin translucent glazes to create a painting with an intensity of both tone and colour. - Van Eyck took advantage of the longer drying time of oil paint, compared to tempera, to blend colours by painting wet-in-wet to achieve subtle variations in light and shade to heighten the illusion of three-dimensional forms.

(Renaissance) Michelozzo Medici-Ricardi Villa

(1444-1484) - Designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo - Designed for head of medici family - The tripartite elevation used here expresses the Renaissance spirit of rationality, order, and classicism on human scale. - The once open corner loggia and shop fronts facing the street were walled in during the 16th century. - They were replaced by Michelangelo's unusual ground-floor "kneeling windows" (finestre inginocchiate), with exaggerated scrolling consoles appearing to support the sill and framed in a pedimented aedicule, a motif repeated in his new main doorway.

(Renaissance) Piero della Francesca Resurrection

(1463-1465) - Piero was commissioned to paint the fresco for the Gothic-style Residenza, the communal meeting hall which was used solely by Conservatori, the chief magistrates and governors, who before starting their councils, would pray before the image. - Piero's Christ is also present on the town's Coat of Arms - "The secular and spiritual meanings of the painting were always intimately intertwined." - Almost destroyed in ww2

(Renaissance) Mantegna Camera Picta

(1465-1474) - Name means painted chamber - The chronological sequence of the paintings has been recently discovered: the painter started from the vault by dry painting in the background small bits particularly those of the oculus and the wreath surrounding it. - Then he moved on to the 'Court scene' where he used a mysterious oily tempera dry laid out on the surface. - The east and south walls followed, with the traditional fresco technique representing heavy curtains. - Finally the 'Meeting scene' on the west wall was painted, always 'a fresco' but in very small bits which confirms an almost ten-year period of work on that part of the chamber. - The commission is far from being explained by scholars. - The traditional interpretation sees the frescos as linked to the election as Cardinal of Ludovico's son Francesco Gonzaga, which took place on January 1, 1462.

(Renaissance) San Lorenzo, interior, Florence

(1470) - michaelangelo - the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family - Though considered a milestone in the development of Renaissance architecture, S. Lorenzo has a complicated building history. - Even though it was at least partially built under the direction of Filippo Brunelleschi, it is not purely of his design. - The project was begun around 1419, but lack of funding slowed the construction and forced changes to the original design - Despite its history, the building is seen as one of the great examples of the new style. Its more notable features include: - the attempt to create a proportional relationship between nave and aisle (aisle bays are square whereas nave bays are in a 2x1 ratio)., - the articulation of the structure in pietra serena (Italian: "dark stone"). - the use of an integrated system of column, arches, entablatures. a clear relationship between column and pilaster, the latter meant to be read as a type of embedded pier. - The use of proper proportions for the height of the columns the use of spherical segments in the vaults of the side aisles.

(Renaissance) Alberti Church of Sant Andrea interior

(1472) - Commissioned by Ludovico III Gonzaga, the church was begun in 1472 according to designs by Leon Battista Alberti on a site occupied by a Benedictine monastery, of which the bell tower (1414) remains - The façade, built abutting a pre-existing bell tower (1414), is based on the scheme of the ancient Arch of Titus. - Corinthians pilasters - The purpose of the new building was to receive the pilgrims who visited it during the feast of Ascension when a vial, that the faithful argue contains the Blood of Christ, is brought up from the crypt below through a hole in the floor directly under the dome.

(Renaissance) Perugino Delivery of the Keys

(1481-1482) - Fresco - Due to the size of the work, Perugino was later joined by a group of painters from Florence, including Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and others. - The scene, part of the series of the Stories of Jesus on the chapel's northern wall, is a reference to Matthew 16[1] in which the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" are given to Saint Peter - The fresco was believed to be a good omen in Papal conclaves: superstition held that the cardinal who (as selected by lot) was housed in the cell beneath the fresco was likely to be elected. - Contemporary records indicate at least three popes were housed beneath the fresco during the conclaves that elected them

(Renaissance) Botticelli Primavera and the Birth of Venus

(1482-1485) - Depicts Venus arriving at the shore after her birth - The subject is not strictly the "Birth of Venus", a title only given the painting in the nineteenth century (though given as the subject by Vasari), but the next scene in her story, where she arrives on land, blown by the wind. - The land probably represents either Cythera or Cyprus, both Mediterranean islands regarded by the Greeks as territories of Venus. - On two pieces of sewn together canvas - Venus is in contrapposto

(Renaissance) Virgin of the Rocks

(1483-1486) - Triangle, trinity imagery - Jesus not in Mary's lap - No halos - da vinci refused, found them tacky - John the baptist makes an appearance as a child

(Renaissance) Bosch The Garden of Earthly Delights

(1490 -1510) - Triptych - As so little is known of Bosch's life or intentions, interpretations of his intent have ranged from an admonition of worldly fleshy indulgence, to a dire warning on the perils of life's temptations, to an evocation of ultimate sexual joy. - The intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries. - Twentieth-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych's central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost. - Left panel represents adam and eve. Apple imagery follows throughout.

(Renaissance) Leonardo Vitruvian Man

(1490) - From Leonardo's notebooks - Meant to represent the balance of architecture - Mathematical - Falsely used as a symbol of medicine

(Renaissance) Last supper

(1495-1458) - Heavy symbolism in how disciples are reacting. Judas is painted small due to his 'small soul' after selling jesus out - 15 ft x 30 ft - Only wall left standing in church after bombing in ww2

(Roman) Augusts Primaporta

(1st century AD) - 2.03 m high marble statue of Augustus Caesar - wearing a highly decorated cuirass and with his cloak (paludamentum) wrapped around his hips, in the act of addressing his troops. - Seems to be inspired by The Spear Bearer

(Roman) Arch of Titus

(1st century AD) - It was constructed in AD. 82 by the Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus's victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70). - One panel shows the start of Titus' 71 CE victory triumph procession as it passes through the Porta Triumphalis to the Forum Boarium with people carrying stolen goods from the Temple of Jerusalem after the sacking of the city. The goods include a seven-branched candelabra (menorah), silver trumpets, and perhaps even the Ark of the Covenant - Until the modern State of Israel was founded in 1948, Jews refused to walk under it due to an ancient ban placed on the monument by Rome's Jewish authorities. - The ban was formally lifted in 1997 - The other relief panel is carved in three-quarter view and has Titus riding a four-horse chariot (quadriga) and shows him being crowned by a personification of Victory. The goddess Roma stands in front, holding the bridle of one of the horses. The two figures to the right of the chariot are personifications of the people of Rome (naked torso) and the Senate (wearing a toga). - Panels are sig. because it's Roman Sculptor's first full attempt at creating the illusion of space.

(Roman) Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine

(312 AD) - An ancient building in the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. - It was the largest building in the Forum. - Construction began on the northern side of the forum under the emperor Maxentius in 308, and was completed in 312 by Constantine I after his defeat of Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. - last non-Christian basilica built on the Roman forum. - It was built for commercial and administrative purposes. - covered about 7,000 square yards (5,600 square m) and included a central nave that was 265 feet (80 m) long and 83 feet (25 m) wide. - Only about a third of the original structure still stands. - The vaulted roofs and concrete materials caused the Basilica to more closely resemble a traditional Roman bath than a basilica.

(Roman) Arch of Constantine

(315 CE) - Stands in Rome and commemorates Roman Emperor Constantine's victory over the Roman tyrant Maxentius on 28th October 312 CE at the battle of Milvian Bridge in Rome. - It is the largest surviving Roman triumphal arch and the last great monument of Imperial Rome. - The arch is also a tour de force of political propaganda, presenting Constantine as a living continuation of the most successful Roman emperors, renowned for their military victories and good government.

Golden House of Nero

(65-68 AD) - Palace in ancient Rome constructed by the emperor Nero, who burned more than 200 acres of land in the middle of the city down previously in 64 AD. - Palace complex which played host to the wild parties of one of Rome's most notorious emperors. - Used the finest marble and decoration such as fine wall-painting and gilded colonnades - The building was also a technical marvel with soaring domes, revolving ceilings, ornamental fountains and even waterfalls running down the walls. - This palace was huge, and people of Rome resented Nero because the economy was already collapsing and he used the country's resources and money to build this own personal home. - This whole area was laid out as a park with porticoes, pavilions, baths, and fountains, and in the center an artificial lake was made. - Under the emperor Vespasian the lake was drained to provide a site for the Colosseum. - On the slopes of the Velia at the east end of the Forum a giant bronze statue of Nero was constructed.

(Roman) Circus Maximus

(6th century BC) - Ancient chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue. - 1st and largest stadium in Ancient Rome. - Could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. - Became the model for circuses in the Roman Empire. - The Circus was Rome's largest venue for ludi (public games connected to Roman religious festivals.) - Most ludi were held annually or at annual intervals on the Roman calendar. Others might be given to fulfill a religious vow, such as the games in celebration of a triumph. - Ludi ranged in duration and scope from one-day or even half-day events to spectacular multi-venue celebrations held over several days, with religious ceremonies and public feasts, horse and chariot racing, athletics, plays and recitals, beast-hunts and gladiator fights. - Also included public executions.

(Early Christian) Gero Crucifx

(970) - Oldest surviving crucifix of its kind produced north of the Alps. - It was commissioned by Archbishop Gero of Cologne (900-976) to adorn the Cathedral of Cologne, where it has remained to the present day. - The life-sized 187 cm long corpus depicts the crucified Lord with an emphasis on His suffering and death - Contrast to Byzantium - Is widely considered to represent a milestone of Western iconography.

(Roman) Pantheon

(A.D 118-125) - It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. - The pediment,(the triangle section above the inscription) is blank today, but there would have been sculpture that acted out the battle of the Titans. - Original use is somewhat unknown, except that is was classified as a temple. - - However, it is unknown as to how the people worshipped in the building, because the structure of the temple is so different from other traditional Roman temples such as in the Roman Forum. - In 609, the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to St. Mary and the Martyrs on 13 May 609.

(Roman) Pont du Gard

(Halfway through 1st century AD) - Aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River

(Roman) Head of Constantine

(c. 280-337) - Huge acrolithic statue of the late Roman emperor Constantine the Great that once occupied the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius near the Forum Romanum in Rome. - Portions of the Colossus now reside in the Courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori of the Musei Capitolini, on the Capitoline Hill, above the west end of the Forum. - The head, arms and legs of the Colossus were carved from white marble, while the rest of the body consisted of a brick core and wooden framework, possibly covered with gilded bronze. - Judging by the size of the remaining pieces, the seated, enthroned figure would have been about 12 meters (40 feet) high. --- The head is about 2½ meters high and each foot is over 2 meters long. - The great head is carved in a typical, abstract, Constantinian style ("hieratic emperor style") of late Roman portrait statues, whereas the other body parts are naturalistic, even down to callused toes and bulging forearm veins. - The head was perhaps meant to convey the transcendence of the other-worldly nature of the Emperor over the human sphere, notable in its "larger-than-life eyes"

(Roman) Colosseum

-

(Renaissance) Giovanni Bologna Rape of the Sabine Woman

- "Rape of the Sabines", an event from early Roman mythology, when Romulus and his male followers were anxiously seeking wives with whom to start families. - The local Sabine tribe refused to permit their women to marry anyone from Rome, so the Romans staged a festival of Neptune Equester, invited their Sabine neighbours, and on a given signal snatched numerous Sabine women, whilst fighting off their men. - The translation of the Latin word raptio as "rape" is misleading, as no physical violation was involved. A more accurate translation is "The Abduction of the Sabine Women". - 13 feet 5 inches tall (4.1 metres), is made from a single block of marble. - It depicts three figures: at the base of the statue, an older bearded nude man kneels on the ground, his left arm raise in self-defence; a second younger nude male, who stands astride the kneeling man, holds a struggling nude woman in his strong arms. - The kneeling man represents the weak elderly husband of the young Sabine woman who is being abducted by the young Roman. - All three are interwoven into the group, through physical contact and through eye contact with each other. - The impression of writhing movement is initiated by the woman's outstretched arms, continues through the muscular figure of the young abductor, clasping the body of his prey, and ends in the raised arm of the dominated husband. - The artist's use of exaggerated gestures, along with his ability to convey a sense of intense energy, characterize his style of Mannerism.

(Early Christian) Interior, St. James, Compostela

- 1060-1211 - The 1,000-year-old pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is known in English as the Way of St. James and in Spanish as the Camino de Santiago. - Over 100,000 pilgrims travel to the city each year from points all over Europe and other parts of the world. - Home of the relics of St. James in Santiago de Compostela. So many pilgrims have laid their hands on the pillar just inside the doorway that a groove has been worn in the stone.

(Renaissance) Ciambue Madonna Enthroned

- 1290 - Cimabue made this altarpiece for the main altar in the church of the convent of Santa Trinità in Florence. - Unprecedented tension in the profiles and in the attempt to create spatial depth, which is rendered by superimposing the figures and in the concave structure at the base of the throne behind the figures of the prophets. - 3rd structure represents the Madonna enthroned with Child and angels, In the lower part are four biblical figures, symbolizing foundations of Christ's kingdom: the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah under lateral arches, Abraham and King David under the chair of the throne.

(Renaissance) Donatello, St. Mark

- 1411-1413 - Statue of St. Mark was commissioned by the linen guild, one of the poorer guilds in Florence whose patron was St. Mark. - They decided to hire the sculptor Donatello for the commission, who created a larger than life-size work (it is 7'9" tall). - The work itself was placed into a niche that was already in existence in the building called Orsanmichele, and probably because this meant only the front would be visible, the back side of the statue was not completely carved. - Donatello's work was profound, to say the least, as he revived the use of the contrapposto stance in freestanding sculpture. - Donatello starts to change this in large-scale freestanding sculpture by giving St. Mark a much more natural look through the use of contrapposto. - Donatello made St. Mark's head and hands and torso over-sized or elongated a bit so that they compensated for the angle that people viewed this from. Donatello was thus taking the viewing angles of the statue into account in his approach, and this is something that other artists would pick up on in the Renaissance. - the cloth covering his body falls over him like it would fall over an actual body with clothing on it. This way of modeling a body with garments is quite different from the way it had been done at times during the Middle Ages, when artists would depict a body hidden inside a mass of garments.

(Roman) Roman Forum

- A Forum was the main center of a Roman city. Usually located near the physical center of a Roman town, it served as a public area in which commercial, religious, economic, political, legal, and social activities occurred. - Over history has had 3 arches there. - 1st arch commissioned by Agustus in 29 BC. - 2nd: The arch of Titus built in 81 AD - 3rd: Arch of Septimius Severus which was built in 203 AD. - The forum was in use for approx 1400 years with its start in around 800 BC to 600 AD

(Renaissance) Michelangelo St. Peters Dome, Rome

- Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world. - While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. - St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy, the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-reformation and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo.

(Early Christian) Interior, Santa Sophia

- Domed monument originally built as a cathedral in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the sixth century A.D. - It contains two floors centered on a giant nave that has a great dome ceiling, along with smaller domes, towering above. - construction of the Hagia Sophia began in A.D. 532 when the Nika Riots, a great revolt, hit Constantinople. - At the time Emperor Justinian I had been ruler of the empire for five years and had become unpopular. - People were resentful of the high taxes that Justinian had imposed and they wanted him out of office - Also called Church of the Holy Wisdom - The structure now standing is essentially the 6th-century edifice, although an earthquake caused a partial collapse of the dome in 558 (restored 562) and there were two further partial collapses, after which it was rebuilt to a smaller scale and the whole church reinforced from the outside.

(Renaissance) Michelangelo Last Judgement

- Fresco - Depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. - The souls of humans rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ who is surrounded by prominent saints. - Altogether there are over 300 figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes; many were later partly covered up by painted draperies, of which some remain after recent cleaning and restoration. - The reception of the painting was mixed from the start, with much praise but also criticism on both religious and artistic grounds. Both the amount of nudity and the muscular style of the bodies has been one area of contention, and the overall composition another.

(Renaissance) Raphael School of Athens, Galatea

- Fresco completed about 1514 by the Italian painter Raphael for the Villa Farnesina in Rome - The fresco is a mythological scene of a series embellishing the open gallery of the building, a series never completed which was inspired to the "Stanze per la giostra" of the poet Angelo Poliziano. In Greek mythology, the beautiful Nereid Galatea had fallen in love with the peasant shepherd Acis. - Her consort, one-eyed giant Polyphemus, after chancing upon the two lovers together, lobbed an enormous pillar and killed Acis. - Raphael did not paint any of the main events of the story. He chose the scene of the nymph's apotheosis - Galatea appears surrounded by other sea creatures whose forms are somewhat inspired by Michelangelo, whereas the bright colors and decoration are supposed to be inspired by ancient Roman painting. - - At the left, a Triton (partly man, partly fish) abducts a sea nymph; behind them, another Triton uses a shell as a trumpet. - Galatea rides a shell-chariot drawn by two dolphins.

(Early Christian) Chartres Cathedral

- Gothic cathedral located in the town of Chartres, northwestern France. - Generally ranked as one of the three examples of Gothic French architecture - Numerous sculptures and its much-celebrated stained glass. - The cathedral's association with the Virgin Mary (the supposed veil of the Virgin is kept in the cathedral treasury) made it the destination of pilgrims in the Middle Ages. - cathedral contains an immense amount of sculpture, particularly figure sculpture, ranging from large column statues to miniatures. -As the purpose of the sculptures was to preach and instruct, they mainly depict scenes and figures from the Old and New Testaments. - contains 176 stained-glass windows, the feature for which it may be best known. Like the sculpture, the stained glass was intended to be educational.

(Early Christian) S. Constanza

- Imperial mausoleum in Rome that was later dedicated as a church - The Mausoleum of Santa Costanza is named for Constantine the Great's daughter Constantia, who was married to the emperor Julian the Apostate (ruled 361-63)but it was actually built for her sister Helena, who died in 360-61. - Early accounts (such as the Liber Pontificalis) record that Constantine built a funerary hall here on the imperial estate at the request of Constantia - this is the long building now in ruins next to the mausoleum. - The funerary hall was dedicated to the virgin martyr St. Agnes and resembled others built by Constantine in this period, who was married to the emperor Julian the Apostate (ruled 361-63)

(Roman) Ara Pacis

- Is an altar in Rome dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of Peace. - The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honor the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hispania and Gaul, and consecrated on January 30, 9 BC. - The altar reflects the Augustan vision of Roman civil religion. - The lower register of its frieze depicts work meant to communicate the abundance and prosperity of the Roman Peace - The monument as a whole serves a civic ritual function whilst simultaneously operating as propaganda for Augustus and his regime, easing notions of autocracy and dynastic succession that might otherwise be unpalatable to traditional Roman culture.

(Early Christian) Tympanum, Gislbertus, Last Judgment

- Jesus at the center portrayed as powerful, ideal, and balanced. - On the left we see angels helping to push lucky souls up into Heaven looking elongated and otherworldly. - This was meant to emphasize their status as above mere humans. - Medieval European Christianity gave people a very negative view of humanity, and especially the human body. -People are shown as frail, flawed, and weak. - The human body was seen as the gateway to temptation and sin. - connection between imperfect bodies and sin is even more apparent in the demons on the right of the piece. - Demons laughing as they drag the damned into Hell- their bodies shown as skinless, flayed with exposed ribs. - Their limbs are overstretched and their faces are twisted and deformed to reflect their embodiment of sin and despair. - Connection between beauty/deformity and holiness/evil was common in medieval religion and art, but gave way to a more idealized view of humanity and the body in the Renaissance.

(Early Christian) Mosaic of Justinian and Theodora

- Justinian is posed frontally in the center. - - He is haloed and wears a crown and a purple imperial robe. - He is flanked by members of the clergy on his left with the most prominent figure the Bishop Maximianus of Ravenna being labelled with an inscription. - To Justinian's right appear members of the imperial administration identified by the purple stripe, and at the very far left side of the mosaic appears a group of soldiers. - This mosaic thus establishes the central position of the Emperor between the power of the church and the power of the imperial administration and military. - Like the Roman Emperors of the past, Justinian has religious, administrative, and military authority. - Another panel shows Empress Theodora solemn and formal, with golden halo, crown and jewels, and a train of court ladies. She is almost depicted as a goddess. As opposed to the V formation of the figures in the Justinian mosaic, the mosaic with Empress Theodora shows the figures moving from left to right into the church. Theodora is seen holding the wine.

(Early Christian) Basilica of Constantine

- Large, roofed hall in Rome, begun by the emperor Maxentius and finished by Constantine about ad 313. - This huge building, the largest of the Roman basilicas, covered about 7,000 square yards (5,600 square m) and included a central nave that was 265 feet (80 m) long and 83 feet (25 m) wide. - Construction began on the northern side of the forum under the emperor Maxentius in 308, and was completed in 312 by Constantine I after his defeat of Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

(Renaissance) Della Porta Façade of Il Gesu

- Latin-cross-plan church with side chapels and a dome over the crossing of the nave and the transepts—became the archetype of many Catholic churches built in the Baroque period and was the source of the so-called Jesuit style of architecture. - On the nave ceiling is a fresco—The Triumph of the Name of Jesus, executed in 1678-79 by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, also known as Baciccio - that is one of the masterpieces of Baroque decorative painting.

(Early Christian) Interior, Durham Cathedral

- Marks a turning point in the history of architecture. - The pointed arch was successfully used as a structural element for the first time here in this building. - Semi-circular arches were the type used prior to the adoption of the structural pointed arch — the limitations of which is that their height must be proportionate to their width. - The use of stone 'ribs' forming pointed arches to support the ceiling of the nave was an important achievement, and Durham Cathedral is the earliest known example. - Ribbed vaults enabled masons to achieve greater height. This was important because one of the aspirations of cathedral builders was to build monumental buildings that would reflect the glory of God. - Height was one of the most desirable ways of doing so - to build a cathedral that would soar into the sky, visible from a long way off, was the cathedral builder's ideal.

(Early Christian) Notre Dame Paris

- Medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris, France. - The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. - The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass serve to contrast it with earlier Romanesque architecture. - Among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress. - Not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave but after the construction began, the thinner walls grew ever higher and stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. - In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern. - Gargoyles placed on outside designed to run water off.

(Renaissance) Vasari Uffizi Corridor and Courtyard

- One of the most important Italian museums, and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best known in the world, and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance. - After the ruling house of Medici died out, their art collections were gifted to the city of Florence under the famous Patto di famiglia negotiated by Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heiress. - The Uffizi is one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public, formally becoming a museum in 1865. - (internal courtyard) is so long and narrow, and open to the Arno at its far end through a Doric screen that articulates the space without blocking it, that architectural historians treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe. - Vasari, a painter and architect as well, emphasised its perspective length by the matching facades' continuous roof cornices, and unbroken cornices between storeys and the three continuous steps on which the palace-fronts stand. - The niches in the piers that alternate with columns filled with sculptures of famous artists in the 19th century.

(Renaissance) Giorgione The Tempest

- Originally commissioned by the Venetian noble Gabriele Vendramin - On the right a woman sits, suckling a baby. The woman has been described as a "Gypsy" - Her pose is unusual - normally the baby would be held on the mother's lap; but in this case the baby is positioned at the side of the mother, so as to expose her pubic area. - A man, possibly a soldier, holding a long staff or pike, stands in contrapposto on the left. He smiles and glances to the left, but does not appear to be looking at the woman. - The painting's features seem to anticipate the storm. - The colors are subdued and the lighting soft; greens and blues dominate. The landscape is a not a mere backdrop, but forms a notable contribution to early landscape painting. - The painting has a 'silent' atmosphere which continues to fascinate modern viewers.

(Renaissance) Bronzino Allegory of Venus

- Purposely designed as a complex, erotic allegory that included a range of iconographic symbols and emblems from the world of mythology. - At the same time, its composition provides Bronzino with ample opportunity to demonstrate his virtuoso figure painting and portrait art. - he picture symbolizes the consequences of unchaste love. Its main figure - Venus, goddess of love - (identified by her doves and by the golden apple given to her by Paris) disarms her son Cupid (identified by his wings and quiver) by taking away his arrow as they embrace incestuously. Both are nude. - Other characters embody concepts associated with the dangers of physical love. - The nude child ("Pleasure") showers Venus and Cupid with rose petals oblivious to the pain (of love) from the thorn that pierces his right foot. - Behind him, a creature ("Deceit") with the head of a girl but the body of a beast offers - Venus a sweet honeycomb with one hand while hiding the sting in her tail with the other. - Meantime, behind Cupid (left) is a dark screaming figure who symbolizes either "jealousy" or perhaps the effects of "syphilis", which had reached epidemic proportions by the mid-16th century. - The figure in the top left of the picture represents "Oblivion" (depicted with a hollow head that cannot remember anything) is trying to draw a veil over the events below. - However she is stopped from doing so by the balding man ("Time") with the hour-glass on his back (top right) - an allusion perhaps to the fatal long term effects of syphilis, or simply to the transience of all physical pleasure. - The latter interpretation fits with the symbolism of the hour-glass, a common memento mori that reached a high point in the Vanitas painting of the 17th century.

(Renaissance) Michelangelo David,

- Represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence. - Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was placed instead in a public square, outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence - Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the Medici family. - The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome. - The statue was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a replica.

(Roman) Villa of Mysteries

- Roman villa on the outskirts of Pompeii, southern Italy, famous for the series of frescos in one room. - Depicts initiation of a young woman into the cult of dionysus (the god of wine). -ritual ceremony aimed at preparing privileged, protected girls for the psychological transition to life as married women. - The frescoes in the Villa of Mysteries provide us the opportunity to glimpse something important about the rites of passage for the women of Pompeii.

(Renaissance) Michelangelo Pieta

- St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. - It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. - The statue was commissioned for the French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères, who was a representative in Rome. - The sculpture, in Carrara marble, was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but was moved to its current location, the first chapel on the right as one enters the basilica, in the 18th century. - It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed. - Depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. - Mary is represented as being very young for the mother of an approximately 33-year-old son, which is not uncommon in depictions of her at the time of the Passion of Christ. - Various explanations have been suggested for this. - One is that her youth symbolizes her incorruptible purity, as Michelangelo himself said to his biographer and fellow sculptor Ascanio Condivi.

(Early Christian) Chi Rho page, Book of Kells

- The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript of the four Christian gospels. - It was made in Ireland, or possibly England, about AD800, by monks belonging to the Columban movement. - In the Middle Ages it was kept in the Abbey of Kells in County Meath. - Page illuminates the Gospel according to St Matthew, chapter 1, verse 18. - The page dwells almost entirely on the name of Christ, or rather on its traditional abbreviation into the "Chi-Rho" symbol. - Chi and Rho are two letters of the Greek alphabet, the first two letters of "Christ". - Chi gives a hard Ch sound. Rho is an R. Chi is written as an X. Rho is roughly a P. - Book meant to be ornament, had many misspellings/mistakes. Not meant to actually be "read" but to be looked and marveled at.

(Renaissance) Michelangelo Sistine Ceiling

- The ceiling's various painted elements form part of a larger scheme of decoration within the Chapel, which includes the large fresco The Last Judgment on the sanctuary wall, also by Michelangelo. - Central to the ceiling decoration are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis of which The Creation of Adam is the best known, having an iconic standing equaled only by Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the hands of God and Adam being reproduced in countless imitations. - The complex design includes several sets of individual figures, both clothed and nude

(Renaissance) Palladio Villa Rotunda

- The design is for a completely symmetrical building having a square plan with four facades, each of which has a projecting portico. - The whole is contained within an imaginary circle which touches each corner of the building and centres of the porticos. - The design of the building is completely symmetrical; it presents a square plan with identical porticoes projecting from each of the façades. At the center of the building, a dome emerges over a central, circular hall. Palladio was concerned with harmony and mathematical consonance and used the square and the circle as essential, yet elegant forms.

(Renaissance) Titian Bacchanal, Venus of Urbino

- The oil painting was a gift from the Duke to his young wife and has been said to be a model of what the Duke expected from his wife's behavior. - The young Venus reclines on a bed in an opulent Renaissance palace. - She is sensuous, and gazes at the viewer kindly. -Her beautiful features are further enhanced by Titian's color treatment of her figure. She appears in contrast to the dark background in warm and light tones. - A small dog is huddled near Venus' feet symbolizing the importance of fidelity in marriage. - In the background a maid looks down upon a young child playing. This may have been intended to symbolize motherhood. - Titian effectively created a painting that fulfilled the purpose of its commission by depicting the ideal Renaissance woman and her most important attributes. - It was unique to move Venus to an interior domestic location, and to omit classical ornamentation of any kind. - commissioned piece for the Duke of Urbino Guidobaldo

(Renaissance) Correggio Jupiter and IO

- The scene of Jupiter and Io is inspired by Ovid's classic Metamorphoses. - Io, daughter of Inachus, the first king of Argos, is seduced by Jupiter (Zeus in Greek), who hides behind the dunes to avoid hurting the jealous Juno (Hera in Greek). - Jupiter was often tempted by other women and took on various disguises in order to cover his various escapades, one time taking the form of a swan, another time of an eagle, and in this painting he is not becoming something else so much as enveloping himself in a dark cloud, even though it is bright daylight. - He is embracing the nymph, his face barely visible above hers. She is pulling Jupiter's vague, smoky hand towards herself with barely contained sensuality; this is a sensual painting, depicting one of the many loves of the god. -

(Roman) Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

- The statue is an over life-size depiction of the emperor elegantly mounted atop his horse while participating in a public ritual or ceremony - The statue stands approximately 4.24 meters tall. - A gilded bronze statue, the piece was originally cast using the lost-wax technique, with horse and rider cast in multiple pieces and then soldered together after casting. - The emperor's horse is a magnificent example of dynamism captured in the sculptural medium. - The horse, caught in motion, raises its right foreleg at the knee while planting its left foreleg on the ground, its motion checked by the application of reins, which the emperor originally held in his left hand. - The horse wears a harness, some elements of which have not survived. The horse is saddled with a Persian-style saddlecloth of several layers, as opposed to a rigid saddle.

(Roman) Baths of Carcalla

- This huge eleven hectare (27 acre) large complex housed bathing facilities that could accommodate more than 1,600 people at a time. In total the baths welcomed between 6,000 and 8,000 visitors each day. - Named after the emperor Caracalla who reigned from A.D. 211-217. - His father Septimius Severus commissioned the baths and after his death the project was completed by his son Caracalla in 216 A.D. - The Baths of Caracalla like all bathhouses in ancient Rome included three fundamental bathing rooms. - These rooms consisted of the frigidarium (a cold pool), the tepidarium (a lukewarm pool) and the calidarium (a hot pool). These baths could have held up to 1600 bathers who were free to reposition from one pool to the other at their leisure. - The walls and floor of both the tepidarium and calidarium were heated by a system called the hypocaust. - The floor was raised and spaces were left between the walls to allow for hot air from a massive furnace to circulate through.

(Early Christian) Rose Window, Chartres

- To the Medieval viewer, stained glass windows were like books in Gothic Cathedrals, each pane told a story and each window was like a book of stories, usually pertaining to the bible. - Though there were also often references to history, past and current rulers, saints, the seasons or local stories as well. - The small lancet (long, thin windows) windows at either side of the main rose window would indicate who the patron was - Each color was significant as well, as mentioned earlier blue was a symbol of the Virgin, also red was a symbol for the Blood and Passion of Christ.

(Early Christian) Ceiling of Peter and Marcellinius catacomb

- Underground religion for the first three hundred years of its existence. - The earliest surviving artwork produced by Christians was buried in the catacombs far from the average Roman's view. - This catacomb painting is from the fourth century. - Jesus maintains a position of centrality and dominance, but grouped around him are images that are carefully chosen as Old Testament prefigurations that are hierarchically arranged.

(Renaissance) Bramante Tempietto

- small circular chapel erected in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome on the supposed site of the martyrdom of St. Peter. - It was commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and was built in 1502 after designs made by Donato Bramante. - The design was inspired by a particular type of classical temple—and specifically by the temple of Vesta at Tivoli—built on a circular plan and surrounded by columns. -- Bramante added a dome (since altered) and chose the Doric order for the structure's decoration. - Remarkable for its elegantly simple reinterpretation of classical forms, the Tempietto is regarded as one of the finest examples of High Renaissance architecture.