AP Art History - Renaissance in Italy 1500s

TITIAN (Tiziano Vecelli), Pastoral Symphony ca. 1508-1510, Oil on canvas, 3'7" x 4'6"

Giorgione's handling of light and color along with his interest in landscape, poetry, and music (according to Vasari he was an accomplished lute player and singer) also influenced the younger Titian. Long attributed to Giorgione, Pastoral Symphony casts a mood of tranquil reverie. Shepherd symbolizes the poet, pipes and lutes his poetry. Women are their muses - sacred well of poetic inspiration. Voluptuous bodies, softly modulated by smoky shadow, became standard of Venetian art. Fullness of figures - personifications of nature's abundance.

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, Bound Slave (Rebellious Captive), from the tomb of Pope Julius II, Rome, Italy, ca. 1513-1516Marble, 7'1" high

20 statues of captives (slaves) were to be part of pope's tomb - in revolt and exhaustion. Some scholars now doubt attribution and even reject identification of statues as "slaves/captives." Frantic but impotent struggle - Michelangelo based art on conviction that powerful emotional states must be expressed through figures.

TITIAN, Assumption of the Virgin, 1516-1518. Oil on wood, 22' 7 1/2" x 11' 10"

After Bellini died in 1516, Titian was appointed Republic of Venice's official painter. Shortly after, prior (a monk, head of religious house - just below an abbot) of the Franciscan basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa (glorious Saint Mary) commissioned Titian to paint a monumental altarpiece. Ascent of Virgin go Heaven on cloud held up by putti. God the Father is above, awaiting Mary with open arms. Brilliant color amplifies drama. At bottom, over-life-size apostles gesture wildly as they witness event. Fresco not a good choice for Venice because of dampness and salinity of the saltwater streets.

MICHELANGELO, Pieta, ca. 1547-1555. marble, 7' 8" high

Began in his 70s - for his tomb Challenged himself to surpass sculptors of Laocoon - 4 figures/1 block Left leg (criticized) became detached - flaw in marble? Michelangelo abandoned, later permitted assistant to repair and partially finish. Nicodemus, a self portrait, in direct contact with Christ - heretical during Counter-Reformation.

LEONARDO (no picture)

Born in the small town of Vinci in 1452, trained in the studio of Verroccio (David sculpture). A "Renaissance man" and an artist/scientist, Leonardo kept notes/sketchbooks dealing with botany, geology, geography, cartography, zoology, military engineering, animal lore, anatomy, and aspects of physical science, including hydraulics and mechanics. He understood perspective, light, and color through his exploration of optics. Great ambition was to discover the laws underlying the processes and flux of nature. Studied the human body and contributed to physiology and psychology. He believed reality in an absolute sense is inaccessible , humans can only know it from changing images. Through the eyes individuals can grasp reality most directly and profoundly. Around 1481 Leonardo wrote to Ludovico Sforza, heir apparent of the ruler of Milan, and offered him his services, stressing his qualifications as a military engineer since the period was so unstable. He stayed there 20 years.

CHRISTOFORO FOPPA CARADOSSO, medal showing Bramante's design for the new Saint Peter's, 1506 Bronze, 2" diameter

Bramante's design for a massive dome is broken up by 2 towers, domes, and porticos. Medal revived Roman practice of placing building projects on backs of coins with portraits of emperors who commissioned the buildings on the front. Julius II appeared on the front of the Caradosso medal.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna of the Rocks, central panel from altarpiece of San Francesco Grande, Milan, Italy, begun 1483. Oil on wood (transferred to canvas) 6'6 " x 4'

Builds on Masaccio's use of chiaroscuro; modeling with light and shadow and expressing emotional states were Leonardo's goals. Pyramidal grouping sharing the same environment - unified representation of objects with atmospheric perspective, was a manifestation of his scientific curiosity about the invisible substance surrounding things. 4 figures pray, point, and bless - uniting them visually. Infant John's outward glance involves the viewer.

ANDREA PALLADIO, plan of the Villa Rotonda (formerly Villa Capra), near Vicenza, Italy, ca. 1550-1570

Central plan included 4 identical facades with porches, resembling a Roman Ionic temple - similar to Pantheon. Each porch had a different view of surrounding landscape - central dome was a reception area where visitors could turn in any direction for their preferred view. Villa Rotonda embodies self-sufficiency and formal completeness most Renaissance architects sought. Palladio influence was stronger and more long lasting than any other architect in England and colonial America.

MICHELANGELO, Last Judgment, altar wall of the Sistine Chapel (FIG. 22-18), Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1536-1541Fresco, 48' x 44'

Christ as judge Just figures ascend, damned figures descend Bottom - dead awake, assume flesh on left, demons torment on right. Martyrs below Christ, Saint Bartholomew - skinned alive holds knife and skin with portrait of Michelangelo. Hope - elect (saved souls) near Christ, far right figure with cross (Good Thief or saint martyred by crucifixion. Michelangelo was criticized for using creatures from Dante's Inferno - Charon ferrying the damned and Minos who is shown as one of the judges located in the underworld, whose portrait is the Vatican's Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, most vocal critic of nudity in the work. Cesena asked the Paul III to make Michelangelo remove the image, who replied, "If he had placed you into the purgatory, I would have attempted getting you out of there, but he put you into the hell - my power does not extend that far".

RAPHAEL, Galatea, Sala di Galatea, Villa Farnesina, Rome, Italy, 1513. Fresco, 9' 8" x 7' 5"

Commissioned by Agostino Chigi, wealthy banker who managed Vatican's financial affairs, to decorate palace on Tier River with scenes from classical mythology. Based on poetry by Poliziano, who also inspired Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Galatea is escaping her uncouth lover, cyclops Polyphemus. Spiraling composition of figures and Galatea's pose

TITIAN, Venus of Urbino, 1538. Oil on canvas, 3' 11" x 5' 5"

Commissioned by Guidobaldo II - duke of Urbano the next year Title (given later) elevates the status to classical mythology. Based on earlier painting by Giorgione. Titian established compositional and the standard for paintings of reclining female nudes. Rounded body contrasts with clear vertical of curtain, dividing fore- and background. Lapdog where cupid should be (if this were Venus). 2 servants searching for garments in chest. Division of space into smaller units; reds gauge distance and are implied diagonal - as opposed to real one of figure.

RAPHAEL, Philosophy (School of Athens), Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace, Rome, Italy, 1509-1511. Fresco, 19' x 27'

Commissioned by Julius II's for his papal library in the papal apartments, where he signed official documents. Julius II wanted to be recognized as a spiritual and secular leader, Theology and Philosophy frescos face each other. Massive vaults recall coffered barrel vaults of the Basilica Nova (306 - 312 CE), finished by Constantine, and approximates Bramante's design for the interior of Saint Peter's. Colossal statues of Apollo and Athena, patrons of the arts and wisdom, oversee interactions of figures in ellipse who display calm reason, balance, and measure - the heart of philosophy. Plato holds his book Timaeus, with his left hand - the vanishing point, and points to Heaven - his inspiration, with his right hand. Aristotle carries his book, Nichomachean Ethics, and gestures toward the earth - his observations of reality. Heraclitus, in the foreground, is probably a portrait of Michelangelo. Raphael on extreme right by astronomers Zoraster and Ptolemy.

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, Italybuilt 1473, Fresco, 128' x 45

Creation along crown of vault Hebrew prophets and ancient sibyls who foretold coming of Christ on thrones on either side of creating frescos. Old Testament scenes in 4 corner pendentives Ancestors of Christ in triangles above windows Nude youths in corners of central panels Pairs of putti in grisalle (monochrome painting in shades of gray to imitate sculpture) support painted cornice surrounding central corridor. Renaissance ideas about Christian history: conflict between good and evil, energy of youth and the wisdom of old age.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, The Fetus and Lining of the Uterus, ca. 1511-1513. wash, over red chalk and traces of black chalk on paper, 1' x 9"

Disegno, drawing or design, represented an artist's conceptualization and intention - their distinctive style, which led to widespread recognition. The terms in literature praising artists included: invention, innate talent, imagination and originality. In late 15th century less expensive paper made of fibrous pulp was available for the printing industry, so artists experimented more and drew with greater freedom using pen and ink, chalk, charcoal, brush, graphite, or lead. Previously they used expensive parchment or vellum and their drawings were detailed and meticulous, executed with a silverpoint stylus. Federico Zuccari (1542 - 1609) director of the Roman painting academy, stated that drawing is the external physical manifestation (disegno esterno) of an internal intellectual idea of design (disegno interno).

New Saint Peters'sBRAMANTE & Michelangelo, the Architects (no picture)

Donato d'Angelo Bramante (1444- 1514) trained as a painter, became generation's most renowned architect. Under influence of Brunelleschi, Alberti, and maybe Leonardo, who favored architecture of classical antiquity, Bramante developed the High renaissance form of the central-plan church. Julius II selected him as first architect of the New Saint Peter's -- wanted to gain control of all of Italy and rival the Rome of the caesars. St. Peter's would serve as a martyrium to mark apostle's grave and Julius II hoped to install his own tomb. His plan had 9 interlocking crosses, 5 of them supporting domes. Bramante boasted he would put the dome of the Pantheon over the Basilica Nova (Basilica of Constantine). During Bramante's lifetime, only crossing piers and lower choir walls were completed. After his death, passed from one architect to another, and to Michelangelo in 1546 - a work of dedication, thankless and without pay. Pope Paul III felt a sense of urgency to complete New St. Peter's since Church was under attack.

GIORGIONE DA CASTELFRANCO, The Tempest, ca. 1510Oil on canvas, 2'8" x 2'5"

Giorgione, an influential student of Bellini, who only lived 33 years, is credited with developing poesia, or painting meant to operate similar to poetry. Both classical and Renaissance poetry inspired Venetian artists - discerning narratives or subjects is virtually impossible. Stormy skies and lightening Man with halberd (combination spear and battle-ax, but not a soldier) was painted over a seated nude woman (X-rayed). Perhaps Giorgione did not have a definitive narrative in mind. Uncertainly contributes to painting's intrigue.

The High Renaissance in Italy (no picture)

High Renaissance lasted from 1495 - the deaths of Leonardo ca Vinci in 1519 and Raphael in 1520. Interest in classical culture, perspective, proportion, and human anatomy dominated16th century art. No single artistic style characterized this period- regional differences especially between central Italy (Florence and Rome) and Venice. Humanistic scholars and art patrons adopted Plato's view of the nature of artistic creation in general: "All good poets . . . Compose their beautiful poems not by art, but because they are inspired and possessed. . . . For not by art does the poet sing , but by power divine." Thus, the notion of "fine arts" and the exaltation of the artist-genius originated during the Renaissance. Artists first became international celebrities, i.e. Leonardo di Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Mona Lisa, ca. 1503-1505. Oil on wood 2' 6" x 1'9"

Identity is still debated, but Vasari stated in his biography of Leonardo that she was Lisa di Antonio Maria Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine. Mona is a contraction of the Italian ma donna, "my lady." Not solely as an icon of status, as earlier portraits - she is wearing no jewelry, or attributes of wealth. Renaissance etiquette dictated a woman should not look directly into a man's eyes. She engages the audience psychologically. Mysterious uninhabited landscape prime example of Leonardo's famous sfumato (misty haziness). `

MICHELANGELO (no picture)

Leonardo wrote, "Painting is a matter of greater mental analysis, of greater skill, and more marvelous than sculpture, since necessity compels the mind of the painter to transform itself into the very mind of nature, to become an interpreter between nature and art." Michelangelo considered sculpture superior since it shares in the divine power to "make man." Artists find their ideas in the natural world, reflecting the absolute idea, which is beauty. He observed that the artist must find their idea - the image locked in the stone. By removing excess stone, sculptors extricate the idea from the block. He set aside Vitruvious, Alberti, and Leonardo - who sought the perfect measure, and felt artist's inspired judgment could identify other pleasing proportions. This artistic license to aspire beyond "rules" derived from the pursuit of fame/success humanism fostered. Although Michelangelo later claimed he owed nothing artistically to anyone . . . he was an apprentice of painter Ghirlandaio, but left prior to completing training. Made detailed drawings of Giotto and Masaccio, studied sculpture under one of Lorenzo the Magnificent's favorite artists, Bertoldo di Giovanni (Donatello's collaborator), and when the Medici fell in 1494, he fled to Bologna where the sculptures of a Sienese artist, Jacopo della Quercia impressed him.

DONATO D'ANGELO BRAMANTE, plan for the new Saint Peter's, the Vatican, Rome, Italy, 1505 and MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, plan for Saint Peter's, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1546 (D = dome, A = apse, P = portico)

Michelangelo also believed central plan was ideal form for church. Michelangelo believed buildings should follow anatomy of human body, organized around a central axis. Instead of 9 interlocking crosses, Michelangelo designed a compact domed Greek cross inscribed in a square and fronted with a double-columned portico. Converted Bramante's crystalline complexity into massive, cohesive unity.

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, Pieta, ca. 1498-1500. Marble, 5' 8 ½" high. Saint Peter's, Vatican City, Rome.

Michelangelo in early 20s, in Rome, French cardinal Jean de Bilheres Lagraulas commissioned for Old Saint Peters. Now on view in new church, but is out of scale in large interior. Only signed work (on Mary's sash) - "Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this," regretted his pride later. Transformed marble into flesh, hair and fabric with unparalleled sensitivity. Not in proportion - Mary is 6" 6"; ageless beauty because of her purity.

Michelangelo Buonarroti, interior of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1508-1512 Fresco, 128' X 45'

Michelangelo reluctantly accepted commission from Julius II when work on his tomb was suspended. Vault's height - approx. 70' and curve posed problems. Inexperience at fresco painting, had to redo the first section because of faulty preparation of intonaco, last coat of plaster, applied in sections while still damp with colors ground in lime-water mixture). Completed in less than 4 years Frescos incorporate his patron's agenda, Church doctrine, and Michelangelo's interests - the creation (from Genesis), fall, and redemption of humanity. More than 300 figures

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, David, from Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy, 1501-1504. Marble, 17' high.

Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1501. During Medicis exile in 1495, Florentine Republic ordered Donatello's David moved from the Medici residence to the Palazzo della Signoria to join Verocchio's David - civic symbols (a cunning victor over a larger enemy). Michelangelo was invited to carve another David statue for the Signoria out of a block of marble left from an earlier commission. David is depicted not after victory, but before the encounter - watching his approaching foe. Connected to unseen presence. Tension/energy in reserve, that permeates Michelangelo's later figures. Strong anatomy hints at triumph (large hands and feet, swelling veins, tightening sinews

ANDREA PALLADIO Villa Rotonda, and Northwest view, near Vicenza, Italy ca. 1566-1570

Name from Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, appropriate for architect schooled in classical tradition of Bramante. Reputation from villa designs build on Venetian mainland. Most built for aristocratic farmers (similar to later American plantations) who developed swamps into productive land because their fortunes were declining. Villa Rotonda built for Italian monsignor (a title of honor bestowed on some priests by a pope) for social events. Located on a hilltop as a kind of belvedere (literally beautiful view; an architectural structure with a view of the sea or countryside.

RAPHAEL, Marriage of the Virgin, from the Chapel of Saint Joseph in San Francesco, Città di Castello, Italy, 1504 Oil on wood, 5' 7" x 3' 10"

Observe similarities between Raphael's work and his teacher, Perugino's (1481 - 1483), Sistine Chapel. Centrally planned temple features Brunelleschian arcades. (Loggia of the Osedale degli Innocenti, Florence, begun 1419) RAPHAEL The Marriage of the Virgin

TITIAN and PALMA IL GIOVANE, Pietàca. 1570-1576. Oil on canvas, 11'6" X 12'9"

Oil on canvas, replaced wood as typical medium for Western tradition. Intended for altar of burial chapel in Santa Maria Gloriosa. Unfinished - died of plague, assistant completed. Mary Magdalene runs forward, angel - by Palma echoes form in reverse. Kneeling Saint Jerome has features of Titian. Statues of Moses and Hellespontine Sibyl Diagonal movement - favorite composition. Votive painting - Titian and son (also died of plague) pray before another Pieta Impasto - Baroque painters - Rubens and Rembrandt would later adapt.

Counter Reformation and Art (no picture)

Paul III (r. 1534 - 1549) was pope when there was widespread dissatisfaction with the Roman Catholic Church. The Last Judgment was among his first papal commissions. In the early 16th century Reformers (ch. 23) led by Martin Luther and John Calvin in the Holy Roman Empire, challenged papal authority, regarding the sale of indulgences (pardons for sins, reducing the time in purgatory), nepotism, and high Church officials pursuing personal wealth. Protestants believe in a personal relationship between an individual and God, eliminating the need for Church intercession. They believed religious imagery encouraged idolatry and distracted the faithful from their goal. Catholic church mounted a campaign to counteract the defection of its members. Popes had long been aware that visual imagery had power to construct and reinforce ideological claims as well as cultivate piety. During the Council of Trent in 1564 to review controversial Church doctrines, a month before Michelangelo's death, it was decided The Last Judgment fresco should be "amended". Daniele da Volterra, an acquaintance of Michelangelo was hired to paint loincloths and veils on all figures.

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, Moses, from the tomb of Pope Julius II, Rome, Italy, ca. 1513-1515 Marble, 7' 8" high.

Pope Julius II's commission (after David) for tomb - original 1505 design included 28 statues in a freestanding two story structure. Pope interrupted- funds diverted to rebuild Saint Peter's; with sporadic resumptions of work. After Julius II's death in 1513, reduced to a simple wall tomb with 1/3 of planned figures. In San Pietro in Vincoli, where pope served as cardinal - a disappointment. Michelangelo considered it his best work. Head is turned and shows anger when his people were worshipping the Golden Calf - the false idol they made. Horns because of mistranslation of Hebrew Scriptures into Latin by St Jerome:"keren" in the Hebrew language can mean either "radiated (light)" or "grew horns." Not since Hellenistic times - pent up energy, emotional and physical.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, Last Supper, ca. 1495-1498 Oil and tempera on plaster, 13' 9" x 29' 10" Refectory, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Portrays conjunction of "One of you is about to betray me" (Matt. 26:21) with the Eucharist, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me. . . . This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you" (Luke 22:19-20). Jesus is isolated - the calm eye of swirling emotion of disciples. Curved pediment of window arches above his head, serving along with the diffused light, as a halo. Jesus' head is the focal point of all converging perspective lines. Disciples are in 4 groups of 3, the placement of Judas breaks with traditional iconography. He is in green and blue, face in shadow, holding a money bag in his hand. Leonardo acted as a stage director, reading the Gospel story carefully, and casting his model/actors in their roles. The disciples' emotional responses include fear, doubt, protestation, rage, and love. Leonardo's experiment to mix oil and tempera applied a secco, so the painting would look more like an oil painting, failed. The paint quickly began to flake and the humidity of Milan quickened the process. 80% of what is visible today is the work of restorers, not Leonardo.

BELLINISan Zaccaria Altarpiece, 1505Oil on wood transferred to canvas16' 5" x 7' 9"

Sacra conversazione, popular theme from 15th century, saints from different epochs occupy same space and converse with one another or the audience. Attributes aid identification: Saint Lucy with tray and plucked-out eyes; Peter with his key and book; Catherine with palm of martyrdom and the broken wheel (after she was bound upon it, it was shattered by Heaven, the flying fragments killed her executioners); Jerome with a book (translated Bible into Latin). Angel plays viol at bottom. Serenity/ spiritual calm from use of color and light.

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, Creation of Adam detail of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1511-1512Fresco, 9' 2" x 18' 8"

Spark of life transferred to Adam. Lord as ruler of Heaven in the classical, Olympian sense - High Renaissance joined classical and Christian traditions. Virgin Mary, Christ Child at knee - Adam's original sin eventually led to the sacrifice of Christ, which made possible the redemption of mankind. Movement along arms, focal point is off center (replaced straight architectural axes found in Leonardo's compositions with curves and diagonals. Adam's body is concave, God's with billowing tunic is convex. Michelangelo's style: reclining positions, heavy musculature, twisting poses. 12-year cleaning - controversy that initially shocked art historians.

TITIAN, Isabella d'Este, 1534-1536 Oil on canvas, 3'4" x 2'1"

Titian was also a portraitist - 50 paintings survive. Emphasive his psychological reading of subject's head and hands. Marquess of Mantua, daughter of the duke of Ferrara, sister of Alfonso d'Este (Titian painted Bacchus and Ariadne for his ducal palace), was prominent art patron after she married (at 16) Franceso Gonzaga, marquis of Mantua. Enlisted agents who scoured Italy for paintings, sculptures ceramics, glassware, gems, cameos, medals, classical texts, musical manuscripts, and musical instruments. Detail and complexity of her contracts reveal insistence on control over the artworks. Painted when Isabella was 60, but depicts her in her 20s - at her request. Titian used an earlier likeness, but portrait is not a mere copy - distinctive portrayal of posed and self-assured patron.

GIOVANNI BELLINI Saint Francis in the Desert, ca. 1470-1480. Oil and tempera on wood, 4' 1" X 4' 8"

Trained in International Style by father, a student of Fabriano, did not develop his own style until later in life, after father's death. Early works, i.e. Saint Francis in the Desert show influence of brother-in-law Mantegna. Antonello da Messina (a Sicilian painter who must have encountered Flemish painting) came to Venice in 1475 and introduced colleagues to oil paint. As a result of contact with Antonello, Bellini abandoned Mantegna's harsh linear style and developed a coloristic manner that would characterize Venetian painting for a century.

MICHELANGELO, Saint Peter's ,Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1546-1564. Dome completed by GIACOMO DELLA PORTA, 1590

Unified design with colossal order 2 story pilasters. After Michelangelo's death, his original dome design was replaced by Giacomo della Porta's for a higher dome. Michelangelo might not have approved.

16th Century Venetian Art & Architecture

Venice and the Papal States were only Italian sovereignties to retain independence during the 16th century, France or Spain dominated all others. Venice reached its height of commercial and political power as Mediterranean port in 15th century. Ottoman empire was a constant threat to control the eastern Mediterranean. The European powers of the League of Cambrai (formed by Julius II, who coveted Venetian holdings on Italy's mainland) which also included Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire) attacked Venice. Despite challenges, Venice developed a flourishing, independent, and influential school of artists.

16th Century Venetian Painting vs. Central Italy (no picture)

Venice: Colorito (colored or painted) - focused on color and application of paint. Among the earliest to use oil painting in Italy; as a result, known for rich colors. Interest in recording effect of Venice's soft-colored light on figures and landscapes. Painted poetry of the senses and delighted in nature's beauty and pleasures of humanity. Florence and Rome: Disegno (drawing and design) - careful design preparation based on preliminary drawings. Painted intellectual themes - the epic of humanity, the masculine virtues, the grandeur of the ideal, and lofty conceptions of religion involving the heroic and sublime.

Lysippos, Apoxyomenos (Scraper). Roman copy of a bronze statue of ca. 330 BCE. Marble 6' 9" high. and Epigonos (?), Gallic chieftain killing himself and his wife> Roman copy of a bronze statue from Pergamon, Turkey ca. 230 - 229 BCE. Marble 6' 11" high.

Without strictly imitating antique style, Michelangelo's David displays tension of the Lysippan athletes and psychological insight and emotionalism of Hellenistic statuary Differs from Donatello's and Verocchio's creations in the same way later Hellenistic statuary departed from Classical predecessors.