Gallery 5 and 6 DBA Review
Rococo characteristics
A reaction to the "heavy" Baroque, Rococo was noted for lightness, playfullness, and intimacy. Seperating from the religious subject matter of the Baroque, Rococo artists concentrated on the trivial and frivilous.
Francesco Borromini (1599-1667)
Architect Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) was a rival of Bernini but is most renowned for taking Baroque architecture to new heights of drama and dynamism and intensifying the sculptural qualities of architecture; Pieces: - Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Frontane - Chapel of Saint Ivo
Donato d'Angelo Bramante (1444-1514)
Bramante was the architect chosen by Pope Julius II for the most important project of the period: the construction of a new Saint Peter's Basilica. Despite his selection, Bramante saw little advancement of the work and his original plan was altered considerably prior to the basilica's completion in the seventeenth century.
Cole
Cole's work, "The Oxbow," depicts the bending of the gentle Connecticut River. This landscape painting serves as an allegory which is typical of American landscape painters. The right (or east) side of the painting shows a cultivated landscape, while to the left (or west) we see untamed wilderness (complete with a swirling tempest). This is an allegorical representation of the United States in the early and mid-nineteenth century: much of the country's wilderness has been subdued, but much remains untouched.
Fra Andrea Pozzo's (1642-1709)
His work for Saint Ignatius in Rome, the "Glorification of Saint Ignatius" is his finest work. The composition is full of motion, energy, drama and theatricality in characteristic Baroque manner. Pozzo painted an illusionistic continuation of the church's architecture to reinforce the idea that the roof has been lifted away and that the very heavens are opening up over the viewers' heads. At the center is Christ awaiting the ascending saint, while figures representing the four corners of the world look on. Piece: The Glorification of Saint Ignatius
Palazzo Ruccellai
In the Palazzo Ruccellai, Alberti placed a facade over the preexisting Medieval structure. Alberti organized this facade like the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi but the rustication of Alberti's facade is much more subtle. The stories are defined by flat pilasters under full entablatures. The architect used Tuscan capitals on each level, which are equivalent to Doric, Composite and Corinthian capitals. This ornamentation was inspired by the Roman Coliseum without being a copy.
Early Renaissance Art History
Italy in the fifteenth century was not a unified nation, but rather a collection of independent (and often rival) city-states. To glorify their rule, establish civic pride, and ensure an employed (and therefore loyal) populace, the leaders of these city-states poured a great deal of wealth into the arts.
Delacroix
Like Gericault, Delacroix's paintings are dramatic, emotional and visually complex. Delacroix was also a supreme colorist and drew inspiration from the current events of his day. Pieces: - Liberty Leading the People - Lion Hunting in Morocco
Age of the Enlightenment (Extra/ Charcateristics)
Moral themes within narrative paintings dominated the rational period of the Enlightment during the eighteenth century. This reaction to the frivolous nature of Rococo was seen in the naturalism in genre scenes and portraits.
Baroque Period Characteristics
Open compositions, rich colors, the contrast of light and dark, and a naturalistic portrayal characterize the seeds of the Baroque period.
French Architecture
Pieces: - Gallery of Francis I, Fontainebleau - Chateau de Chambord
Romantic Era Architecture
Romanticism in architecture is eclectic and defined by the goal to establish a mood through architecture. The nineteenth century saw a revival of Gothic architecture, which scholars believe rose out of opposition to the Industrial Revolution. The spirituality and Medieval mysticism, which the Gothic represented, appealed to the Romanticists, but the Gothic also represented craftsmanship during an age of mechanized production. Pieces: - Houses of Parliament - Royal Pavilion - Opera de Paris
Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)
Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510) studied under Fra Filippo Lippi, who was once a disciple of Masaccio. Botticelli's works lack the "scientific order" of his recent predecessors but stress grace, delicacy and poetic beauty.
Vigee-Lebrun
The "naturalistic" trend was also evident in portraiture, seen in the "Self Portrait" by Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842). The artist interrupts her work to actively engage the viewer. Vigee-Lebrun's pose, expression and dress are all completely "natural." Vigee-Lebrun was one of the most technically fluent and popular portrait artists of her era. Her works are notable for their freshness, charm, and sensitivity. Lebrun claimed to have painted 877 pictures, including 622 portraits and about 200 landscapes. Of the most famous are the portraits of Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI.
Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806)
The French Rococo painter; Fragonard style is based primarily on that of Rubens but is renowned for his use of color and rapid, vigorous, fluent, compositions which are never tight or fussy. Piece: - The Swing
Neoclassicism Sculpture
The Neoclassicist sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822) carved many portraits of Napoleon and his family. The portrait of Pauline Borghese, the sister of Napoleon, is portrayed as Venus, the goddess of love (the artist had originally suggested executing her portrait as the virgin goddess Diana, but Pauline insisted on Venus, giving some credence to her scandalous reputation). The grace, polish, and purity of line characterize both Neoclassicism and the artist's style.
Northern Renaissance in the Netherlands (History)
The Netherlands in the sixteenth century were disjointed and divided-politically, religiously and culturally-which prevented the period from having much effect on the Flemish school that had developed in the fifteenth century. During the sixteenth centuryis an increased sensitivity to nature and the increasing influence of Italian innovations.
Saint Peter's Colonnade
The Saint Peter's project was finally finished in the middle of the seventeenth century by one of the most important figures of the Baroque period, Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Bernini was an architect, sculptor and painter. In 1656, Bernini began his largest and most ambitious project, the massive piazza (plaza) in front of Saint Peter's. To frame the piazza and to incorporate the Egyptian obelisk (a symbol of Christian victory over paganism) and two fountains designed by Maderno, Bernini built two semicircular colonnades, comprised of four rows of massive Tuscan columns and ending in classical temple fronts. In dramatic Baroque fashion, the encircling colonnades symbolically serve as the embracing arms of the church, welcoming pilgrims to the seat of Catholicism.
Nicolas Poussin's (1594-1665)
The color of Titian and figural forms reminiscent of Raphael were evident in Nicolas Poussin's (1594-1665) work. Portrayed are three shepherds in an idealized landscape deciphering the phrase, "Et in Arcadia ego," ("Even in Arcadia I (i.e. Death) am to be found") inscribed on a tomb as a mysterious female figure watches.
Early Renaissance Architecture History
The economic growth throughout Europe led to the rise of bankers and the middle class, which created a new generation of patrons. Buildings projects moved beyond the demand and funding of the church and were now privately funded residences.
Saint Peter's The Facade
The facade of Saint Peter's lacks the compactness and verticality of Santa Susanna. Maderno had to modify his facade design to fit the pre-existing structure, which was extremely wide. He could not access or incorporate the verticality of Michelangelo's dome because the plan of Saint Peter's had been changed from a central-plan to a longitudinal one because the central-plan had been associated with pagan structures so seventeenth-century church officials wanted to cover all the consecrated ground. This was done by adding three bays
Early Renaissance Art Meaning
The fifteenth century in Italy is traditionally regarded as the beginning of the Renaissance-a French word meaning "rebirth," referring to the resurrection of classical ideals, thought and art that had been "lost" since antiquity. The roots of the Renaissance had its beginnings in the fourteenth century.
Jacopo "Tintoretto" Robusti (1518-1594)
The great master of later sixteenth-century Venetian art; His style may be defined as a combination of Titian (in reference to color) and Michelangelo (the power of his figures and the drama of his compositions). The dramatic power and color so characteristic of Tintoretto's works is consistent in his work. The drama of his compositions is clearly established by the crowded scene, intense foreshortening, strong contrasts of light and shade, deep rich colors, and "Venetian sky." His later works were intensely religious as inspired by the Counter-Reformation. Piece: Last Supper
Rococo Sculpture
The liveliness, sensuality and intimacy of Rococo are also evident in the smallish and more delicate sculptures of the period. Piece: - Satyr Crowinging a Bacchante
Andrea "Palladio" di Pietro (1508-1580)
The most famous Venetian architect of the era; The artist was also a scholar and author as his treatise on architecture influenced Western building for generations. His style was characterized by classical forms, symmetry, and strict proportion, the exteriors of Palladian buildings were often austere. Piece: Villa Rotonda
Paolo "Veronese" Cagliari (1528-1588)
The other giant of later sixteenth-century venetian painting; known for his use of color and recognized by his use of classical architecture as a setting. Piece: The Feast in the House of Levi.
Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770)
The purest exponent of the Italian Rococo; the last of the great Venetian decorators; characterized by lightness, clarity of color and technical skill. Piece: - The Apotheosis of the Pisani Family
Characteristics of Early Renaissance Art
The renewed interest in humanism and the humanistic emphasis on education focused on recognition of the full potential of humanity, both on an individual and a societal basis.
Versailles' Royal Chapel
The royal chapel by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708), great-nephew of Francois Mansart is a rectangular building that includes an apse that is as high as the nave. This creates a flowing curved central space in typical Baroque fashion.
Francois Girardon (1628-1715)
The sculpture of the French Baroque was dominated by the classical style evident in "Apollo Attended by the Nymphs" by Francois Girardon (1628-1715). This group was designed by the artist for the Gardens at Versailles and to please Louis XIV who, like Apollo, was known as the sun-god. Piece: - Apollo Served by the Nymphs
Gainsborough
The works of Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) works are categorized by softness and the colors and feathery brushwork of the Rococo. Despite those influences, Gainsborough's works are identified by their "natural" elements. In the artist's portrait of Mrs. Mary Perdita Robinson, Gainsborough has blended the natural beauty of the landscape with the natural beauty of his sitter. There is a sincere, honest and genteel (i.e., "natural") portrait unlike the haughty portraits of the Baroque or the frivolous compositions of the Rococo.
Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743)
With the presence of an established nobility and a supreme monarch, portraiture during the French Baroque differed from the Dutch, as evident in Hyacinthe Rigaud's (1659-1743) portrait of King Louis XIV, seen as an absolute ruler with pomp and circumstance. The red and gold drapery is a motif of dignity and creates a framework with the marble column to convey the height of the King. Louis is an elegantly angled pose above the standpoint of the spectator, who his attention is graciously given without reducing the stability of his stance. The king's facial expression, distanced inapproachability, closed lips and dark eyes suggest intolerance and indifference. Piece: - Louis XIV
Rachel Ruysch (1663-1750)
a Dutch still life female artist who enjoyed public recognition in her lifetime and her work never sunk into obscurity. Ruysch built a professional career as a painter while simultaneously a "normal" woman of her time and having ten children. Ruysch's specialties were compositions with fruit, flowers and woodlands. Piece: - Bouquet
Michelangelo "Caravaggio" Merisi (1573-1610)
led a troubled life and had numerous and vociferous critics because of his rejection of the Renaissance masters. The artist's style is typical of the Baroque's portrayal of a highly dramatic and theatrical composition, but his technique was revolutionary-tenebrism (from the Italian, "tenebroso," or"shadowy"). Caravaggio's use of unidealized common people as models departed from figural representations of the Renaissance and was a main complaint of his critics. Pieces: - Calling of Saint Mathew - Conversion of Saint Paul - Entombment - Caravaggisti
Santo Spirito
made by Filippo Brunelleschi; Santo Spirito interior space is characterized by proportion, harmony and clarity. The repeating units of rounded arches create a sense of harmonious rhythm. The building is completely proportional as the width of the nave is half the nave's height and the arcade is the same height as the clerestory.
"Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time" Bronzino
"Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time," depicts Cupid fondling his mother Venus as Folly (right) attempts to shower the two gods with rose petals. Time (above, right) and Truth (above, left) pull back the cloaking curtain to expose the incestuous activity. Included is Envy (middle, left) and Fraud (behind Folly), whose body ends with the hindquarters of a lion and the tail of a serpent. The crowded, complex scene with a void near the center, the complicated figural poses and intertwining and overlapping of the figures all represent Mannerist characteristics. This complex and ambiguous allegorical representation illustrates how far the Mannerists were removed from the simple, straightforward themes of High Renaissance works.
Changes in Europe during the early seventeenth century influenced art
- In geopolitics: the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) determined the foundations of the modern European states. -In religion: the Treaty of Westphalia, which brought an end to the Thirty Years War, provided for religious freedom throughout Europe and ended the Catholic Church's reign as the center of Christian authority in the West. The Papacy's aggressive seventeenth-century campaign to re-establish its centrality and authority drove the patronage of art. -In academia: the early seventeenth century saw the widespread acceptance of heliocentrism (secured by the work of Galileo), the invention of logarithms and calculus and the establishment of chemistry, anatomy and physiology as systematic sciences. -In economics: the worldwide exploration and mercantilism of the preceding century caused the globe to blossom into a truly worldwide marketplace in the early seventeenth century, resulting in extraordinary prosperity for Europe in particular.
Romanticism Characteristics
-interest in the common man and childhood -strong senses, emotions, and feelings -awe of nature -celebration of the individual -importance of imagination Romanticism exhibited a fondness for the exotic, the primitive, the irrational and the intensely dramatic. An interest in the occult and morbidity, art reflected sensuality with horror and a complete departure from the rational Neoclassical period.
Jan Steen (1625-1679)
A contrast to Vermeer's peaceful genre scenes; The unified coloristic effect is characteristic of Steen's work. Piece: Nickolausabend
Saint Peter's
A few years after the completion of Santa Susanna, Maderno was commissioned by Pope Sixtus V to complete Saint Peter's in Rome. Maderno's facade resembles an expansion of the lower level of Santa Susanna, especially the projection of the central portion and the undulating columns that pulls the viewers towards the central axis.
The Facade of Santa Maria Novella
Alberti's west facade of the thirteenth-century Gothic Santa Maria Novella reflects a general inspiration from San Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque work but the architect gave the Romanesque design a classical flavor with the pedimental cap in the upper portion and the blind arcade with pilasters in the lower. The work is also characterized by Alberti's desire for mathematical proportion. The distance from the base to the tip of the pediment is equal to the width of the base (1:1); the upper portion (not including the decorative scrolls which were ingeniously added to hide the sloping roof over the side aisles) is half the width of the lower (1:2) and so on
West
American artists interpreted the "natural" in heroic scenes, seen in "The Death of General Wolfe" by Benjamin West (1738-1815). The young and mortally wounded General Wolfe is portrayed just after leading the British to victory over the French at the Battle of Quebec in 1759, which gave Canada to the English crown.
Colorito
An early sixteenth-century venetian art term meaning "colored or painted."
Desegno
An early sixteenth-century venetian art term meaning "designed or drawn."
Gros
Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835), like his master, painted several works at the bequest of Napoleon. In "Napoleon at the Pesthouse at Jaffa," Gros records the effects of the plague that broke out during Napoleon's campaign in the Near East in 1799, which devastated both the French and the Turkish troops. Napoleon is fearlessly risking contagion and comforting his afflicted men, who have been confined to a mosque at Jaffa (the horseshoe arches and the minaret in the background is evidence of the mosque). The polarity and lighting of the scene-the Turks, shrouded in shadow, to the left and the French, bathed in light, to the right recall David. Gros' use of an exotic setting, a contemporary rather than a classical hero, and presentations of extreme emotion, suffering and death are breaks with the characteristics of Neoclassicism and will become standard in the Romantic period.
The Northern Renaissance in Germany (History)
Artistically speaking, Germany lagged significantly behind Italy and the Netherlands during the fifteenth century. The early sixteenth century saw an amazing rise of German painting, which surpassed the Flemish school. The Germans corresponding advancements in architecture and sculpture did not last more than a generation.
Neoclassicism Sculpture
As fitting as Neoclassicism was for American architecture of the period, it was not popular in sculpture, seen in the portrait of George Washington by Horatio Greenough (1805-1852). Arealistic rendition of Washington's head on an idealized body was inspired by a lost Phidian sculpture of Zeus. The presentation was too much for American tastes and sensibilities of the period and the work was never displayed (in fact, one senator wanted to throw it into the Potomac River).
Bernini
Baroque sculpture is dramatic, theatrical, energetic and full of movement. Bernini is considered the first master of Baroque sculpture. Pieces: - David - The Rape of Proserpina - Apollo and Daphne - The Ecstasy of St. Theresa
Saint Peter's Baldacchino
Bernini was also responsible for decorating much of the interior of Saint Peter's. His first work, begun in 1624, was a monumental gilded bronze baldacchino (canopy) that stands over 100 feet above the main altar. The spiral columns, partially fluted and covered with vines, display the grandeur and the dramatic energy characteristic of the Baroque period. On top of the canopy are four dynamic angels standing guard at each corner, while in the center anguine brackets elevate the orb of the world surmounted by the Cross (the symbol of the church's triumph since the Early Christian period). The baldacchino is also decorated with numerous bees, symbols of the Barberini family of Pope Urban VII, the sponsor of the project.
Bierstadt
Bierstadt also painted landscapes that served as allegory. In "Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California" there is a variety of terrain: the snow-capped higher mountains that mingle with the majestic clouds and rays of light, the rugged lower mountains strewn with waterfalls, the dense, lush forests and the smooth, clear lake. Such a striking and unique combination of terrain is representative of America as a nation.
Chateau de Blois
Classicism emerged in the early works of architect Francois Mansart (1598-1666) in the Orleans wing of the Chateau de Blois. The linear organization, repeating units and the imposed orders (the first level has Tuscan Doric columns; the second, Ionic; and the third, Corinthian) are a reminder of Italian Renaissance architecture. The emphasis on the center is French Baroque, with the curving colonnades, the protruding walls and the concentration of the ornamentation.
Donatello (1386-1466)
Donatello (ca. 1386-1466) was renowned for his use of classical idealism, his wide range of portrayals and his innovations in naturalistic illusionism. Donatello's great skill and range are most evident in his bronze relief, "Feast of Herod" which was made for the baptismal font of the Siena Cathedral.
Wren
England's most famous architect was Christopher Wren (1632-1723), who was a brilliant mathematician and a chaired professor at Oxford at the age of twenty-nine. Wren executed over 50 churches in a span of over 40 years, including Saint Paul's Cathedral, the original version of which had been destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. The structure shows the influence of several different styles which became its style. The upper portions of the towers resemble Borromini's lantern on Saint Ivo's and the lower portions recall Palladio. The porticos with paired columns are reminiscent of the east facade of the Louvre, which Wren had visited.
French Baroque Sculpture and Architecture and English Baroque
English Baroque was short lived and classified by clarity of design and minimal evidence of Classicism.
Rococo Architecture
Everything is elegant and stylish, sculpture, goes along with the building, churches avoid stained glass, sculptures are placed everywhere, painted figures on ceilings. Softness and delicacy. Piece: - Kaisersaal Wuurzburg
Pieces from Early Renaissance Art
Example: -Sacrifice of Isaac (Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghilerti) - The Dance of Salome (Donatello) - Gates of Paradise (Lorenzo Ghilerti) - The Story of Joseph (Lorenzo Ghilerti) - Saint George (Donatello) - Habakkuk (Donatello) - David (Donatello) - The Adoration of the Magi (Gentile da Fabriano) - Tribute Money (Masaccio) - Expulsion from Paradise (Masaccio) - Trinity (Masaccio) - Annunciation (Fra Angelico) - Annunciation (Fra Filippo Lippi) - The Birth of Venus (Botticelli) - The Resurrection (Piero della Francesca) - Jesus Christ giving the key to St. Peter (Perugino) - Camera degli Sposi (Andrea Mantegna) - Lamentation of Christ (Mantegna)
Pieces from High Renaissance
Examples: - Virgin of the Rocks (Leonardo da Vinci) - Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci) - Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci) - Scientific Drawings (Leonardo Da Vinci). - David (Michelangelo) - Moses (Michelangelo) - Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Michelangelo) - Tombs of the Medici (Michelangelo) - Virgin of the Goldfinch/ Madonna of the Meadows (Raphael) - School of Athens (Raphael) - Galatea (Raphael) - Assumption of the Virgin (Correggio) - Holy Night (Corregio) - Jupiter and Io (Correggio) - The Tempietto (Bramante) - The Campidoglio (Michelangelo) - Dome of Saint Peter's (Michelangelo)
Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-1469)
Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-1469) was also a monk but not a devout one, which probably accounts for the informal (i.e., "human") nature of his religious subjects. Lippi's work is also characterized by his use of color and perspective (he may have studied directly under Masaccio) as well as his decorative and psychologically intriguing style.
Northern Renaissance in France
France, which was divided and embattled in the fifteenth-century, was reorganized into a formidable power in the sixteenth century as France's cultural status was reasserted under Francis I (1494-1547).
Louis Le Nain (1593-1648)
French Baroque artists, such as Louis Le Nain (1593-1648) also composed genre scenes. Different from Dutch light-hearted versions, French genre scenes lacked movement and were a somber reflection of the miserable condition the French peasantry endured during the period. Le Nain saw great importance in the peasant soul, whose life of labor and hard realities had created dignity. Pieces: - Peasant Family
Jan Vermeer (1632-1675)
Genre scenes depict everyday life and were popular with the prosperous seventeenth-century Dutch middle-class. Pieces: - Woman reading a letter
Gericault
Gericault was classically trained but rejected Neoclassical norms. Pieces: - Insane Woman - Raft of the Medusa
Antonio da Correggio (1489-1534)
He did not receive much attention, but the artist's use of light and shadow, colors, perspective (especially in regards to foreshortening) and movement would have a profound impact on seventeenth-century artists, so much so that scholars often refer to Correggio's style as "Proto-Baroque" (Baroque will the dominant style of the seventeenth-century European art). Little is known about Correggio's early training, but his style was clearly influenced by Mantegna and Leonardo. Correggio style is original and renowned for the sensuality of his figures and the disruption of Renaissance symmetry (such as the figural pyramid) in favor of naturalism.
Jacques-Louis David
He followed the spirit of the Enlightenment; he believed art should highlight what is moral, virtuous and heroic. Pieces: - Oath of the Horatii - The Death of Marat - The Coronation of Napoleon
Jan Gossaert (1478-1532)
He is also called Mabuse is reflective of the Italian Renaissance influence and revival of ancient sculpture. He was among the first Flemish artists to represent the nude and classical mythology; his forms are solid and heavy, and their surfaces are rendered with smooth precision. Piece: Portrait of a merchant
Diego Velazquez (1599-1660)
He is considered the greatest painter of Spanish Baroque. He served as the official painter for Philip IV and attained the position of chamberlain in the king's court. Pieces: - Water Seller of Seville - Historical Painting - Las Meninas
Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)
He is credited with creating a genre of Rococo painting known as fete galante in which the outdoor merriments of nobility are depicted. "L'Indifferent," exhibits the Rococo light, delicate and frivolous characteristics. The softness and playfulness in the piece with the gentle, shimmering colors and feathery brushwork typify the Rococo period. Piece: - L'Indifferent
Frans Hals (1581-1666)
He is known as a portrait artist, works are characterized by their spontaneity and intimacy and captured the personalities of his sitters. Pieces: - Hille Bobbe
Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)
He is s considered both the founder and the greatest master of the German Renaissance. The artist's style is characterized by linear mastery and expressive power. Durer was influenced by the Flemish school and the innovations of the Italian masters, specifically Mantegna and Leonardo, in proportion and perspective. Durer was the first artist outside of Italy to achieve widespread international praise and he is also credited with elevating graphic art (and specifically engraving) into a high art form. Pieces: - Self-Portrait - Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Adam and Eve - Watercolor - Oil
Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828)
He rejected Neoclassicism and claimed his only inspirations were "nature," Velazquez and Rembrandt. Goya received a considerable amount of recognition early on in his life and was named painter to the king at the age of twenty.
Jose de Ribera (1588-1652)
He served as a link between Spanish and Italian painting, as he immigrated to Naples (then a Spanish possession) in 1616; Piece: The Martyrdom of St. Philip
Raffaelo (Raphael) Sanzio (1483-1520)
He studied under Perugino and had considerable access to both extensive professional knowledge and patronage. Later, while in Florence, the artist was strongly influenced by the work of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Despite the various influences on his work, Raphael developed an individual style. His artwork characteristics are human warmth, serenity, and sublimely perfect figures.
Parmigianino (1503-1540)
He successfully combined the sensuous style of Correggio and the classical elegance of Raphael with distortion of Mannerism. Piece: Madonna of the Long Neck.
Rembrandt, Harmenszoon (1606-1669)
He used chiaroscuro to establish subtle moods and convey the psychological depth and intense humanity of his sitters. Pieces: - Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp - Night Watch - Self Portrait - Return of the Prodigal Son
Jean Clouet (1485-1541)
He was a French Painter; his style is simple, broad, and subtle; his paintings are fresh in color, subdued in modeling, and minute in execution. Piece: King Francis I
Florentine Bronzino (1503-1572)
He was a Mannerist painter who was the pupil and adopted son of Pontormo. Different from Pontormo, Bronzino's compositions lack the emotional intensity characteristic of Pontormo's work. This want of emotion aided the artist considerably as a portrait painter. Bronzino was a highly regarded portrait painter in his own time and influenced European courtly portraits for several generations. Piece: Portrait of a Young Man.
Matthias "Grunewald" Neithardt (1480-1528)
He was a german Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval central European art into the 16th century. Piece: Isenheim Altarpiece.
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
He was a great intellect (he spoke six modern languages and read Latin and Greek) and an accomplished diplomat, serving the Spanish governors in Flanders. Rubens' work reflects influence of the tense, figural forms of Michelangelo, the color of Titian, the theatricality of Caravaggio and the energy and movement of Carracci with traditional Flemish realism. The artist's style is individual and characterized by its naturalism, color, dynamism and sensuality. Pieces: - Elevation of the Cross - Marie de' Medici - Allegory of the Outbreak of War
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
He was a skilled sculptor and goldsmith who had a competition with Lorenzo Ghiberti for the commission of the bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery. His lines are rigid and angular and his entry is relatively and consistently flat.
Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455)
He was a skilled sculptor who had a competition with Brunelleschi. His lines were smooth and graceful. Ghiberti's composition literally comes out into the viewer's space. His victory in the competition is considered to be the start of the Renaissance by many scholars.
Giovanni da Bologna (1529-1608)
He was a transplanted Frenchman, was a sixteenth-century Mannerist sculptor whose work anticipates Baroque emotionalism; Piece: Rape of Sabine Women.
Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472)
He was a true scholar of architecture. He studied the subject intently and wrote a treatise on architecture ("De re aedificatoria"). His writings were inspired by ancient models and contained innovation, a reflection of his architectural style.
Tiziana "Titian" Vecellio (1490-1576)
He was an Italian painter and is considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. His style had reached maturity, marked by fullness of forms, compositional confidence and chromatic balance. His style also developed its own features, including bold and expressive brushwork. Pieces: - Sacred Porfane Love - Madonna of the Pesaro Family - Venus of Urbino
Fra Angelico (1400-1455)
He was an Italian painter described as having "a rare and perfect talent." Fra Angelico's work demonstrates sincere piety in the dominant ago of humanism. Fra Angelico's style is characterized by its Gothic-like decoration, linear perspective and pious clarity.
Gentile de Fabriano (1370-1427)
He was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic painter style.
Michelozzo di Bartolommeo (1396-1472)
He was an architect who collaborated with Donatello on several projects and was highly influenced by Brunelleschi's style.
Piero della Francesca (1420-1492)
He was an innovative Early Renaissance artist who worked outside the Florentine circle, best known for his use of color, solid figural forms and geometry (he was a talented mathematician).
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
He was born in a small village outside of Florence and considered himself a Florentine, in spite of the fact that the artist spent most of his adult years in Rome employed by the popes. In the spirit of the Renaissance, Michelangelo did not limit himself to one field. The artist was an accomplished sculptor, painter, architect, engineer and poet (though he considered himself primarily a sculptor). His artwork characteristics were religious theme (especially the image of Christ) and his keen eye for light and shadow representing volume and shape in both a sculpture and a painting.
Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)
He was highly influenced by Donatello, evident in his solid and expressive figural forms that are proportionally correct. A master of perspective, Mantegna had consistent illusionistic treatment of an entire room.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)
He was more committed to Neoclassical ideals than David but the "conservative" Ingres would have a significant influence on the "liberal" art of the Romantic period (especially with such works as "La Grande Odalisque"). Pieces: - Grande Odalisque - Apotheosis of Homer
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
He was the first great master of the High Renaissance, an accomplished scientist and engineer. As a young man, Leonardo studied under Verrocchio but he left Florence in his late twenties to work under the patronage of the Duke of Milan, where his artistic career began. His artwork characteristics are his detailed knowledge of anatomy, his innovative use of the human form in figurative composition, and his use of sfumato (the technique of allowing tones and colors to shade gradually).
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543)
He was was a renowned portrait painter. The artist's work shows an interesting combination of Northern detail and linear tendency with the precision and perspective of Mantegna and Leonardo whom he studied. Holbein's portraits are regarded for their convincing realism. Piece: The French Ambassadors.
"Natural Art" in Britain and the United States
In England, the trend towards moralistic themes had a satirical bent. William Hogarth's (1697-1764) series of paintings read like chapters in a book-each displaying a particular social ill. In "Marriage a la Mode," the viewer follows the unhappy marriage between the daughter of a rich and miserable merchant (who wishes to advance socially) and the son of an impoverished but still arrogant earl (who desperately needs the merchant's money). "Breakfast Scene" is the second in a series of six. Hogarth portrayed a biting satirical comment on the immorality of wealthy classes who engage in marriage for social or monetary gain rather than love and companionship.
"Adoration of the Shepherds" Carvaggio
In the seventeenth century King Louis XIV policies and the tightening of the monarchy ultimately led to the French Revolution in 1789. The Catholic monarchs popularized religious art, evident in Georges de La Tour (1573-1652), "Adoration of the Shepherds." The influence of Caravaggio's use of chiaroscuro, the popular realism of the figures and the serenity and calm characterize La Tour's style.
Domenikos "El Greco (The Greek)" Theotokopoulos (1541-1614)
Ironically, the Spanish Renaissance's greatest painter; He was born in Crete (then a Venetian holding) and trained in the Byzantine style. In his twenties he traveled to Venice and studied under Venetian school. From Venice, El Greco visited Rome, were he was exposed to Mannerism. While in Rome the artist became acquainted with several Spaniards associated with the church in Toledo. Soon El Greco moved to Toledo, where he remained for the rest of his life. El Greco's style is characterized by a combination of the Byzantine spirit, Venetian color, Mannerism and Spanish mysticism (which dominated the Counter-Reformation culture in Spain). The artist is also known for his intense emotionalism, movement and use of light, which like Correggio, prefigure the Baroque. Pieces: - Saint Mary Magdalene - Burial of Count Orgaz - Resurrection
Girodet-Trioson
Known for a pre-Romantic sensibility, Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson (1767-1824), was a pupil of David. "The Burial of Atala," is a scene from a popular contemporary novel ("The Genius of Christianity" by Chateaubriand). The story is about a monk (Father Aubry) who helps a native American youth (Chactas) bury his love (Atala, a young Native American Christian girl who, having sworn to remain a virgin, preferred to poison herself rather than succumb to her lusts for Chactas). Characteristic of the Romantic period, there are exotic people (Native Americans) in an exotic setting (the wilderness of Louisiana). The scene is also replete with primitivism, passion and tragedy, also Romantic characteristics. The organization, lighting and sculptural figural forms of this composition are still clearly Neoclassical.
La Madeleine
La Madeleine was begun in 1764, but construction was halted due to the French Revolution. Napoleon later charged Pierre Vignon (1763-1828) to convert the church into a Temple of Glory to memorialize the French victories under his command (after Napoleon's death the structure reverted back to a church). The temple is a peripteral temple of the Roman Corinthian order (with columns well over 60 feet high) with a high podium, central staircase and deep porch.
"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Landscape painting flourished in the sixteenth-century Netherlands. Pieter Bruegel the Elder landscapes were vigorous, often witty scenes of peasant life. The artist was a skilled draftsman and etcher and used a delicate line to define his figures which are stubby in proportion, but lively and solid. His compositions are often based on diagonal lines and S-curves, creating gentle rhythms and allowing planes of landscape to unfold into the distance. In Bruegel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," the artist depicts harmony of form and space which he brought back from his travels to Italy. Barely noticeable in the lower right, we have Icarus plunging into the sea, while the rest of humanity goes about its business.
The Paris Pantheon
Later eighteenth-century architects embraced Neoclassicism over the theatrical and often ostentatious designs of the Baroque and Rococo. One of the first buildings to truly reflect Neoclassicism is the Pantheon in Paris design by Jacques-Germain Soufflot (1713-1780). The lines are clear and smooth and the ornamentation is sparse (the walls are blank except for the modest garland decoration). The Roman temple facade, Corinthian capitals and the colonnaded dome on the central-plan design all represent the renewed interest in Ancient Rome.
English Baroque Architecture
Linear design, classic representations, convex and concave walls, and concentration on exterior and interior ornamentation characterize English Baroque architecture.
Florentine Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571)
Mannerism was not limited to painting, as seen in the sculptures of the Florentine Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571). In the artist's "Salt Cellar" is the playfulness of the Mannerist period coupled with the decadence of the material. The figures are not in proportion with the smaller limbs and head, and the contorted positions are indicative of the style exhibited in paintings.
"Entombment" by Jacopo da Portomo (1494-1557)
Mannerism's lack of balance, proportion and harmony is evident in "Entombment" by Jacopo da Portormo (1494-1557). This scene is both crowded (there is not even enough space for the head painted above Christ to have a body) and random in the glances and poses of the figures. The clash of colors and the distinct void in the middle of the work seperates the work from earlier Renaissance works, which would have directed the viewer's focus there. The figural composition in the foreground is that of an upside down pyramid! The figures are out of natural proportion with their smallish heads, elongated limbs and distorted, unstable poses. The torso of the figure under Christ's legs bends where it is impossible for the human torso to bend.
Masaccio (1401-1428)
Masaccio (1401-1428) is considered the first great master of Renaissance painting. Masaccio revolutionized painting with his frescoes from the Brancacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. He uses linear and atmospheric perspective through light and color without outlines. This makes his frescoes even more convincingly lifelike.
Chardin
Narrative paintings with moral themes were continued in popularity in the latter half of the eighteenth century, a continued reaction to the frivolous and risqué Rococo. "The Prayer Before the Meal" by Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) depicts an honest, simple and quiet domestic scene in which a mother and her daughters prepare for a meal in an atmosphere of soft lighting and gentle, muted colors. The action of the piece centers around the youngest daughter who is preparing to humbly thank God for their food under the care and tutelage of her mother. This scene is a far cry from the ostentatious and suggestive "The Swing" composition of Fragonard!
Neoclassicism characteristics
Neoclassicism is characterized by the return to order, clarity, and reason of Greek and Roman art. This was the foundation to change modern society to restore classic ideals and values.
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the movement in European art and architecture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Neoclassicism evolved through a desire to recreate the heroic spirit and art of Greece and Rome, scientific interest, and an opposition to the Rococo style. that was driven by a desire to restore Ancient Roman values within society.
Flemish, Dutch, French Baroque
New markets for art and architecture were created with the economic growth throughout Europe. Despite the continued dominance of religious works, the rise of genre paintings, paintings of everyday life, grew in popularity. Scientific advancements promoted the evaluation of past scientific advancements and opened the door for new theories.
Santa Susanna
One of the earliest structures exhibiting the Baroque style is the facade of Santa Susanna in Rome, designed by Carlo Maderno (1556-1629). Note a sharp sudden verticality along with the projection of the central section of the lower story and the dramatically narrow and sharp scroll buttresses of the upper story. The projecting columns and pilasters draw the viewer to the central axis of the work. The recessed niches contain statuary, stressing the sculptural aspect of the facade These elements characterize the Baroque style.
"Natural Art" in France and Italy
One of the great debates during the second half of the eighteenth century was between Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Voltaire believed the answer to society's ills were the progression of science and reason. Rousseau believed that society actually corrupted mankind and the only solution was to rediscover nature. Rousseau's philosophy had a tremendous impact on the art of the period, as artists and patrons alike abandoned the artifice of the Rococo in search of the "natural."
Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516)
One of the primary founders of the Venetian style; The artist was originally trained in the International Gothic Style (Bellini's father was a student of Gentile da Fabriano) and was later heavily influenced by Mantegna (who was his brother-in-law). Towards the end of the fifteenth century, Bellini started to paint with oils, which offers artists a wider and richer range of colors than tempera or fresco painting. Bellini developed the soft, coloristic style that would define Venetian painting throughout the sixteenth century. Piece: Madonna and Child Enthroned.
El Escorial
Phillip II was responsible for the most significant Northern architectural work in the sixteenth century, a sprawling complex that commemorated his father's wish for a dynastic pantheon. This served as a royal mausoleum, a palace, church, and a monastery. The work was completed under the direction of Juan de Herrera (1530-1597) and its design reflected Phillip's desire for grandeur and simplicity, balance and order. The complex reflects the influence of Italian architecture seen in the facade of the main portal with the superposed orders (i.e., the Ionic temple front over the lower story Doric) and the pediment.
Rococo
Rococo art and architecture emerged in France about 1700 and spread throughout Europe in the eighteenth century. Characterized by lightness, grace, playfulness, and intimacy, Rococo's colorful and fragile decoration concentrated on trivial subjects and pastoral poetry in art. The term "rococo" was coined by combining "rocaille" (pebble) and "barocco" (Baroque), to negatively refer to the taste fashionable under Louis XV. Rococo was a development a reaction against the Baroque style. Rococo and Baroque had complexity of form but Rococo replaced the dark colors and heavy decoration with light pinks, blues, greens, and white.
From Neoclassicism to Romanticism
Romanticism grew out of the Neoclassical period, fostered by three artists who were all pupils of David: Antoine-Jean Gros, Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.
Turner
Romanticism in England and the United States recoiled at the effects of the Industrial Revolution, perceived to be in direct opposition to all that was natural. This led to emotive landscape painting as the dominant genre of the day. An English Romantic painter, Joseph Turner (1775-1851), lamented the effects of industrialization with energy and motion in his compositions. Turner, like his French contemporary Delacroix, drew inspiration from recent historical events, seen in "The Slave Ship."The painting depicts a 1783 incident where a slave ship captain, upon learning that his insurance company would only cover slaves lost at sea (and not those who died along the voyage), had the sick and the dying slaves thrown into the sea. In this painting, Turner has matched the brutality of the event with the turbulence of the sea, the energy of his brushstrokes and the intensity of his colors. The sharpness of color and the power of his brushwork carry the emotional force equally with the identifiable forms in his work. Turner would have a tremendous impact on the development of modern art leading ultimately to twentieth-century abstract art, where forms are eliminated altogether.
Fuseli
Romanticism incorporated interest in morbidity and the occult. "The Nightmare" by Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) depicts a beautiful woman sensually draped over bed and sleeping as an incubus ominously perches over her (a demon who sexually preyed on sleeping women). A ghostly horse with piercing eyes, known as a Mara, waits in the shadows (Mara was a spirit who suffocated victims in their sleep). The composition is a departure from the intellectual and rational norms of the Neoclassical.
Romanticism
Romanticism is a term used to describe the art movement in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (roughly 1750-1850). Primarily a reaction to the reason and strict forms and rules of Neoclassicism, the style emphasizes the emotional, the mystical and the spiritual over the reasonable and the rational.
Sofonisba Anguissola (1527-1625)
She was one of six painter sisters from Cremona In Northern Italy, and the first female in the history of European art to achieve international fame. Her works exhibit the muted colors, contour lines and elegance of Mannerism to which Anguissola added her own innovative sense of charm and intimacy. Piece: Self-Portrait
Spanish Baroque
Spain had become the largest, most powerful nation in the world during the sixteenth century but power and prestige were lost in the seventeenth century. Despite this, Kings Philip III and Philip IV were patrons of the arts and contributed to the development of Baroque within the region.
Northern Renaissance in Spain
Spain, under Charles V of Hapsburg (r. 1526-1556) and his son Phillip II (r. 1556-1598), emerged as the dominant European power in the sixteenth century as the Spanish Empire claimed more territory than any other entity.
Neoclassicism Architecture
Statesman and scholar Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) pushed to have Neoclassicism adopted as the official architectural style of the United States. Jefferson's fondness for the Neoclassical style is evident in his design for Monticello, his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. The influence of Palladio is combined with the use of wood (instead of marble) and brick, which are distinctly American elements.
The Baroque Style
The Baroque style is characterized by an emphasis on unity among the arts. The baroque artist achieved harmony in painting, sculpture, and architecture which were brought together in new spatial relationships, both real and illusionary. All trends in baroque art engage the viewer, both physically and emotionally. Naturalistic illusionism and dramatic light characterized painting and sculpture. Baroque architecture absorbed the fluid, plastic aspects of sculpture.
The Dutch Baroque
The Dutch were extremely prosperous in both trade and colonization and soon became the financial center of Europe with a school of art that was independent and prolific in developing its own style and subjects. The Dutch Baroque was differentiated by a lack of religious art which was two-fold: Protestant northerners were skeptical of the potential political abuse of religious art and artistic patronage was given by the prosperous middle-class instead of the church or an absolute ruler. Main themes of the Dutch Baroque were genre scenes ("everyday" life), landscapes, portraits and still life presented in an honest and less formalistic manner.
Age of Enlightenment
The Enlightenment in the eighteenth century was an extraordinary expansion of knowledge rooted in the scientific and intellectual developments of the seventeenth century. Natural law, universal order and human reason influenced all of eighteenth-century society and art.
"A Philosopher lecturing on the Orrery" Joseph Wright (1734-1797)
The Enlightenment's scientific exploration is evident in Joseph Wright of Derby's (1734-1797) "A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery." The work shows learned and ordinary people marveling at a planetary model, whose bands represent the orbits of the planets. The light in the piece comes from a lamp that serves as the sun in the model and illuminates the faces and the minds of the listeners.
Darby and Pritchard
The Industrial Revolution impacted the world of art with the introduction of iron and steel as an artistic medium. The iron bridge at Coalbrookdale in England prefigured the wide-spread skeletal use of iron and steel in the nineteenth century. The first iron bridge in history was conceived by Abraham Darby III, owner of a significant cast-iron business, and architect Thomas F. Pritchard, whose design is similar to the aqueducts of ancient Rome.
Neoclassicism in England and the United States
The Neoclassical emphasis on rationality, civic pride and love of country, which was so meaningful in revolutionary France, was just as popular in revolutionary America.
Canaletto
The eighteenth century "naturalness" came in a variety of forms, and "veduta" (views) paintings were some of the most popular. One of the most acclaimed of the "vedutisti" (scene painters) was the Venetian Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768) whose works are characterized by their detail and mastery of light and shadow. Saint Mark Canaletto started to "dilate" space as if he were viewing it through a wide-angled lens. The panoramic effect was achieved by lowering the line of the horizon. Over half the canvas is occupied by sky to increase the solemn portrayal.
High Renaissance History
The end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth was an extremely tumultuous period in Italy. The peninsula suffered foreign invasions from France and the Holy Roman Empire and there was internal upheaval and an unprecedented level of corruption in the Catholic Church. The later malady led to the Reformation and the Catholic Church's Counter-Reformation. The Counter-Reformation impacted art because the Catholic Church commissioned works during this time to add a visual element to their campaign against the Reformers. The High Renaissance did not last very long, approximately twenty-five years but the amount and the quality of art produced was remarkable. No one particular style characterizes the art of the High Renaissance. Instead a continuation and mastery of the techniques and innovations from the Early Renaissance.
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
The exterior is divided into three levels. The first story displays heavy rustication, while the second and third present increasingly smoother stone. The height of the stories also decreases with ascending levels These two traits give the building a sense of increased lightness as the eye moves upward. This trend is countered by the massive cornice that dominates the upper level and provides balance to the building as a whole. The Palazzo Medici-Riccardi is built around a colonnaded courtyard evident of the influence of Brunelleschi-from the rhythmic rounded arches to the general clarity of space.
Mannerism
The later Renaissance style, Mannerism, is characterized by a reaction against the balance, proportion and harmony of the High Renaissance and a reflection of the turmoil of the early to mid-sixteenth century. This was the age of unprecedented corruption in the Catholic Church, the Reformation and the merciless Inquisition of the Counter-Reformation. Politically, this was also the age of the Italian Wars, when all but three of the Italian city-states lost their independence (even Rome itself was sacked in 1527) and a period of serious economic gloom. The Mannerists purposefully painted unbalanced, distorted and crowded compositions often with strangely elegant figures featuring elongated body parts and contorted poses as a political, religious and cultural statement of revolt. Style: lack of balance, proportion and harmony. Mannerism rejected the idealized concepts of the Renaissance through elegant, figural distortion, distorted and crowded compositions, and contorted positions. These playful portrayals contrasted with the seriousness of the corruption in the Church, the Reformation, and the Counter-Reformation.
Versailles
The most famous project of King Louis XIV, however, was the conversion of the royal hunting lodge at Versailles into one of the grandest palaces in the world. Under the direction of architect Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), a virtual army of artists descended on Versailles in 1669. The plan included making Versailles a small city that included a massive palace and a vast park and numerous satellite buildings including government offices, military barracks, servants' quarters and a chapel. The Galerie des Glaces, or Hall of Mirrors overlooks the great park and extends nearly the length of the central portion of the palace. Yards of ceiling paintings, marble, stucco decoration andmirrors characterize the theatrical Baroque ornamention.
French Baroque Elements
The most recognizable feature of the French Baroque was the use of classical elements. Piece: - The Shepherds of Arcadie
Rubens and the Flemish Baroque
The northern portion of the Netherlands (which was mainly Protestant) broke free from Spanish control in the seventeenth century and established the Dutch Republic (roughly equivalent to the modern state of Holland). The Catholic southern portion of the Netherlands, Flanders (now Belgium), remained firmly under Spanish control and resulted in the Flemish Baroque sharing similarities with the Spanish Baroque.
Sixteenth-Century Venetian Art History
The sixteenth century was a tumultuous time for the Venetian Republic with all of Western Europe, including the Papal states, allied against her and the Turks pressing from the East. As the sixteenth century progressed, Venice gradually passed Florence in artistic preeminence, and the Venetian school of artists developed into a vibrant influential force in European art.
Italian Baroque
The term "Baroque" comes from the Portuguese word "barocco" meaning "rough" or "irregular" and was used to describe misshaped pearls. The word was first employed as an art term by eighteenth-century Neoclassicists who found the art of the preceding period (the Baroque) distasteful. Today, the word has lost all its negative connotations and is used to describe Western art roughly corresponding to the seventeenth century (ca. 1590-1725).
Early Sixteenth-Century Venetian Art Characteristics
Their use of color, and the primary feature of the Florentine and Roman artists is their carefully drawn, sculpture-like figural forms. These terms also highlight the fact that Venetian art stresses "poetic" ideals, while the works of the central Italians tend to favor "intellectual" ideals.
The Pazzi Chapel
made by Filippo Brunelleschi; The architect's plan included a central square capped by a round dome on pendentives. Brunelleschi included extensions at either end that are exactly half the width of the central square (again, in perfect proportion), while the dome itself is defined by twelve ribs and twelve oculi. The interior of the chapel is decorated with Corinthian pilasters, ornamental arches and roundels (round panels) featuring the Twelve Apostles (above the blind arches) and the Four Evangelists (on the pendentives). The interior space is graceful, balanced and harmonious.
The Florence Cathedral
made by Filippo Brunelleschi; This project was a challenge because the area that needed to be covered by the dome was so vast that no known method of dome construction could be used. Brunelleschi created a new building technique and invented the machines needed for construction. Brunelleschi devised a thin double shell. The outer shell is defined by eight massive ribs (visible on the exterior) and the inner shell, by sixteen smaller ribs. Between the shells, horizontal buttresses connected the supporting ribs.
Sant'Andrea in Mantua
made by Leon Alberti; In the facade is the stylistic combination of the Roman temple front with the Roman triumphal arch and the expected proportional relationships (e.g., the height of the facade from the base to the entablature is equal to the width). The colossal pilasters cover three stories; this ornamentation would be widely adopted by High Renaissance and Baroque architects. The interior organization depicts the architect's break with the centuries-long tradition of Christian church design that favored a nave flanked by side aisles (Alberti felt that the side aisles disrupted the interior space). This design, with its uninterrupted space, coffered barrel vault and vaulted side chapels, which naturally draws comparisons to the Basilica of Constantine in Rome would also have a tremendous impact on the following art historical periods as well.
Annibale Carracci (1560-1609)
received his training at an art academy in Bologna, the first of its kind in Western art. Carracci was trained in the "classics," the Renaissance masters, and his style reflects the influence of this period within a Baroque style. Pieces: - The Palazzo Farnese - Detail of the Ceiling of gallery
Greuze
"Naturalness" was peasantry, who Rousseau considered closer to nature and less corrupted by society. Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) was a painter of sentimental narratives. In "The Village Bride," is a modest country home in which a father passes his daughter's dowry to his future son-in-law before a notary in the lower right. The scene is filled with sincerity and gentility. The father graciously blesses the couple, who tenderly take each other's arms. Meanwhile the bride-to-be is caressed by her loving mother and embraced by her sister.
Perugino (1450-1523)
was a member of the Umbrian school of Italian painting and later trained under Verrocchio in Florence. By the 1480's, the artist had gained sufficient acclaim to warrant a call to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV to decorate the Sistine Chapel (along with several other artists such as Botticelli).