APAH Renaissance & Mannerism

Isenheim Altarpiece

Matthias Grünewald. c. 1512-1516 C.E. Oil on wood. Center panels 9'9 ½" x 10'9" overall, each wing 8'2 ½" x 3 ½", predella 2' 5 ½" x 11'2". From the community of St. Anthony, Isenheim, Alsace, France. Musee d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France FORM: On the left side there are red-robed figure standing next to a Corinthian column, in the middle: Christ is centered and crucified, the style is very macabre and dramatic, Christ is hanging down from the cross, the three people on his left are two women looking up in anguish and one person holding the woman in white, on his right side is a red clothed man and a dog, red and blue clothed old and bearded man with a staff, on the pradella (platform or step on which an altar stands) Jesus's dead body is being held by several people next to some sort of opening, possible a grave, on the left side of the right picture, a woman is looking up at a Gothic architecture place to a robed figure, a woman in pink dress playing guitar-like instrument surrounded by smaller figures and instrument, Mary and Christ-child in a landscape, blue sky and bright orange light- unclear what it is maybe sunlight, on the right a figure is rising divinely with a mandorla over bodies FUNCTION: Created to serve as the central object of devotion in an Isenheim hospital built by the Brothers of St. Anthony, was very popular in Germany at the time, intended to facilitate public prayer, was fully opened on special occasions to inspire hope CONTENT: In the left picture the panels are closed and the virgin is swooning into the arms of St. John the Evangelist, John the Baptist gestures towards Christ, the Lamb of God is below him (which is a metaphor for Christ himself)- it is not usually at crucifixion and its inclusion is symbolic, since he is considered as the last of the prophets to announce the coming of the Messiah, Mary Magdalene is crying, on the outside panels, there is St. Sebastian and then the St. Anthony Abbott, in the right picture the panels are open, starts with the Annunciation, Virgin and Child, Resurrection, angels playing music celebrate the birth of the Christ child, resurrection (a combination of Transfiguration, Resurrection and Ascension), both predellas show a Lamentation scene CONTEXT: Isenheim Hospital was run by Brothers of St. Anthony→ St. Anthony was a patron saint of those suffering from skin diseases, he took care of sick and dying peasants at hospital, Christ was painted in such a dramatic and gruesome way to show patients that he too suffered like they are now, similar to the standard of Ur and Last Judgement of Hu-Nefer because the stories depicted in a sequential format and Hu-Nefer also has religious imagery and contains death as the main subject

Adam and Eve

Albrecht Dürer. 1504 C.E. Engraving, 9 7/8" x 7 5/8" FORM: Specialized in woodcuts and intaglio prints (mechanically reproducible media), created in multiples so that ideas and designs could be known in other regions and countries by large numbers of people- similar to the printing press in relation to literacy, German artists could learn about classical art without traveling to Italy, each image was handmade, more kinds of people could afford more artworks, prints are easier to produce and less expensive, traditional, direct contract between artist and patron: FUNCTION: The woodcut tells the viewer more about Germany during the Renaissance rather than the text of Genesis, the poses of the two human figures show the Germans knowledge of classical proportions, Vitruvius: facial proportions- the distance from his forehead to his chin, artist sacrifices naturalism to showcase his mastery of Vitruvian ideals, preparatory drawings show that Dürer originally conceived the figures of Adam and Eve, as two separate engravings of the idealized male and female, Dürer experimented with incorporating the two figures in a single composition, without compromising his attention to ideal form, the religious context behind the nude figures made the nudity more acceptable to his German public CONTENT: Nude figures; Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, frontal bodies standing in contrapposto (classical), shift in hips and shoulders creating a convincing illusion of a body capable of movement but temporarily at rest. Naturalism is shown by the heads turned to gaze at one another, but the distinct configuration of head and body is artificial, Italian Renaissance→ perfect physical proportions of the body, almost symmetrical frontal poses of Adam and Eve in The Fall of Man were carefully calculated to demonstrate idealized, canonical proportions of the nude to a Northern audience unfamiliar with classical norms of beauty, both the proportions and the graceful contrapposto attitude of the figures were inspired by such famous Greek statues as the Apollo Belvedere and the Medici Venus (Classical Greek sculpture), the Humors = human personality- the four animals in lower right are representations of the four humors: 1) Phlegmatic 2) Sanguine 3) Melancholic 4) Choleric, the theory was that every human possessed all four humors and that their personality was based on their predominant humor = how humankind was linked to the natural world, "the medieval doctrine formulated in the 12th century, the perfect equilibrium of these humors in the human body was upset after the Fall, causing one or the other to predominate and make man mortal" (shown in Durer's animals), the animals = symbolic meanings- melancholic: elk (black bile)-despondent, sleepless, irritable, phlegmatic: ox (phlegm)-calm, unemotional, sanguine: rabbit (blood)-sensual, courageous, hopeful, choleric: cat (yellow bile)-cruel, easily angered, feminine CONTEXT: Albrecht Durer (artist) was born in 1471 in the Franconian city of Nuremberg (one of the strongest artistic and commercial centers in Europe during the 15th-16th centuries), his most famous works were prints, father was a goldsmith and his uncle was a painter; artistic family, apprenticed with local painter Michael Wolgemut, his work helped to revolutionize printmaking, elevated it to the level of an independent art form, expanded its dramatic range and provided imagery with a new conceptual foundation, he expressed his personal and cultural concerns within his works, he was proud of his German identity, but also loved Italian and Classical tradition → he visited Italy twice to view great works from the Italian Renaissance, he wrote 4 books of Human Proportion, figures are set off before a dense woodland filled with a wealth of plants and animals, the forest was a German influence, Erwin Panofsky was the first person to decipher the complex and inventive symbolic program contained in Dürer's engraving; Adam grasps a mountain ash (signifying the tree of life), this is in contrast to the tree of knowledge (represented by the fig tree at the center of the composition), Eve plucks an apple from a tree with fig leaves, the serpent places the forbidden fruit in Eve's hand, the parrot serves as the opposite character to the serpsent, representing wisdom, discernment, and the virgin birth of christ, there are 6 other animals: an elk, ox, cat, rabbit, mouse, goat, a small sign (cartellino) hangs from a branch that adam grasps, this identifies the artist as a citizen of the Franconian city of Nuremberg- in Latin (makes it more artsy/unique?), colorful tropical parrots were collectors items in Germany and symbols of art, the call of the parrot was thought to be "Eva-Ave", which was used as a parallel to Eve and Ave Maria ("Hail Mary"-the name of a prayer in honor of the Virgin Mary), Durer's placid animals signify that in this moment of perfection in the garden, the figures are still in a state of equilibrium, the mouse symbolizes male weakness, the mountain goat symbolizes lust and damnation, the serpent symbolizes evil and seduction, and the parrot symbolizes salvation, and is the antidote to the serpent

David by Donatello

By Donatello, c. 1440-1460 C.E. Bronze FORM: 5 feet tall, made of bronze, intimate, beautiful and vulnerable: warm tones of the bronze and small size help the viewer to feel a closer connection, sensuality which contradicts that this is an old testament subject/a biblical representation FUNCTION: Biblical storytelling: intended to represent the story of David and Goliath and tell Christian follows that with challenges, Gods might will help you, you will gain wisdom and strength from God, the citizens of Florence identified with David because they believed that they defeated their enemy- the Duke of Milan, with the help of God CONTENT: Gruesome head of the Goliath vs the beauty and sensuality of young David's form + face, Donatello depicted David's innocence instead of more masculine and frightening in such a gruesome event, the bronze is smooth the seams and the surface and to cut in details (e.g the hair), similar to the Greeks and Romans, theres a sense of intimacy in the nudity, the facial expressions, and the stance of the body (contraposto), David is free-standing: detached from the architecture gives it the freedom to move in the world, show expression, and communicate with you as well as contraposto- creates humanism CONTEXT: Donatello was studying ancient Roman art: displays classical knowledge of contrapposto and large-scale bronze casting of the ancient world, during the Middle Ages so people had not really seen human-scaled bronze figures until the David→ irst free-standing nude figure since classical antiquity (Ancient Greece/ Rome), Donatello displays ancient Greek and Roman art of the naked human body, the middle ages were a period when the focus was on God and the soul and didn't create nude art, also the first free-standing nude figure since classical antiquity, regarding placement it was a public structure, put in a niche high up in one of the buttresses of the Cathedral of Florence and commissioned by the Office of Works for the Cathedral, in the courtyard of the Medici Palace in Florence-private, biblical context; depicts the story of David and Goliath, from the Old Testament, Israel is threatened by Goliath (giant), Goliath threatened the Israelites and demand someone come fight him: but the entire army feared him, David (young shepherd boy challenges to fight the giants: father said was scared for son and try to convince him to not, David knows that he can beat Goliath because he has killed many wild animals that tried to attack his flock= he believes since the Lord saved him from the animals that attacked his flock he will save and help him with Goliath, David tells Goliath: you may come to me with all your swords and a big/strong body but I will take you down because the lord is on my side→ David kills him with a stone throw with his sling and beheads him

Interior, Pazzi Chapel

FORM: Made of Pietra Serena Stone → which was used to create spacial divisions, and resulted in a space with perfect geometry, there are shapes all over, this is shown very clearly in the floor plan FUNCTION: Created to be a "chapter house" (aka a meeting place for monks), this is why a bench lines the wall, it was also a burial site for Pazzi family members as well as a physical representation of the Pazzi family's power, wealth, piety, generosity, and status CONTENT: Corinthian columns, fluted pilasters, pendentives with roundels→ each roundel is made of clay and is glazed (glazing had recently been discovered) and represent the four Evangelists, also contains small barrel vaults and a dome with a halo of windows → similar to the Hagia Sophia, and an oculus → similar to the Pantheon; dominates the space and is located in the center of the chapel, the windows and oculus allow for "divine light" to enter the space, overall, the space feels very constructed, ordered, designed, and rational- mathematics/geometry specifically CONTEXT: Commissioned by the Pazzi family, a part of the Basilica di Santa Croce, an almost completely centrally-planned space- although it does have some barrel vaulted halls/aisles on both sides so it's slightly rectangular, reminisent of the Pantheon's floorplan, is based on the models of ancient Roman temples; a revival of Greek & Roman ideals, is also representative of the Early Renaissance

Palazzo Rucellai

Florence, Italy. Leon Battista Alberti (architect). c. 1450 C.E. Stone, masonry FORM: There are four floors in the building- 1st floor: the Rucellai family's center of business, 2nd floor: the guest rooms and area, 3rd floor: the family's apartment, 4th floor: the servant quarters- it was designed to be hidden, it was created in an effort to emphasize measure & harmony, contains a lot of intellectual and delicate "geometric grace," theme of horizontality, the higher level floors have more intricate & fancy it became, also smaller stones were used as you moved up FUNCTION: The Palazzo Rucellai was created to house the Rucellai family→ but it was also created as a physical representation of the family's wealth, status, power, and importance CONTENT: Includes the Rucellai family seal a diamond ring with three feathers coming out of it several times, almost every piece of the Palazzo's design is pulled from ancient Greek & Roman architectural ideals, contains pilasters, and capitols, Corinthian columns, as well as Ionic, contains tuscan and rounded arches, entablature ("a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the architrave, frieze, and cornice") with friezes→ different than the Medici's Palace which only had a string course with dentils, building included several features for design rather than actual support- ornate architecture, the first floor serves to ground the building, is made of very heavy stone, is surrounded by benches, building contains cross-hatching, large blocks of stone, post and lintel portals ("a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them"), rectangular windows, contains all straight lines- no curvature, kind of looks like a prison, also has the Loggia; caddy-cornered to the Palazzo Rucellai, is a large open space, with rounded arches, corinthian capitals, collonades, pilasters = VERY much based on the ancient Greek & Roman traditions→ represents the joining of the Medici & Rucellai families, possibly created to be used as a wedding venue→ is now a shoe store CONTEXT: Constructed as part of the "building boom" after the Medici family built their own palace, during this time period, palaces were viewed as if they were created for the city's good→ so it brought the whole of Florence much civic pride, the Palazzo was never actually finished -- only 3/4ths of the original plan was constructed, the building was partly based on the Medici Palace; it's three facade design, although the medici Palace was much heavier though and more fortress-esque

Madonna and Child with Two Angels

Fra Filippo Lippi. c. 1465 C.E. Tempera on wood, 2'11 ½" x 2'1". Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy FORM: Madonna (the virgin mary) and two playful angels, doesn't contain the common gold leaf detailing, but also not solemn and not traditional medieval→ intended to make godly people seem relatable, Madonna is brought forward, "Her shadow is on the frame, she is in front of it, like an actor at the front of a stage," humanist + realistic, Mary looks like an ordinary woman and the angels look like children, the angel in the background has half of his face covered by the other's shoulder- again, realism, slightly somber; almost as if foreshadowing the fate of Mary's son, landscape in background has an atmospheric perspective, earthly, this reflects renaissance humanism, contains a natural idea of sensuality, but also this love realistic/human beauty, importance of decorative components; translucent drapery on Mary's head, this was also important to Lippi's student (Botticelli) FUNCTION: The Medici family were the patrons of this art, wanted it to show piety and show wealth/status, also a decorative piece that educates/reminds of Christ's story, they wanted a humanist image to be able to relate to Mary and Christ→ relatability of biblical figures in order to encourage/establish religion CONTENT: Contains simplistic and minimalistic halos (unlike Giotto or Cimabue) → very thin white or yellow circle, Mary is youthful and beautiful, with a sculpted face, fair skin and blond coiffured (styled) hair, a small mouth, bowed nose; overall very delicate and eurocentric features, her ear is shown through the translucent part of her headpiece→ classical drapery influence?, she has her hands clasped and is leaning forward in prayer, facing down, her eyes seem to be on the smiling angel not Christ, both Mary and Christ seem to be lost in thought, Mary is wearing a headpiece that is both translucent and made of cloth and a green dress with ruffles and buttons, as well as a thin jeweled "crown" below her halo, she is a solid figure- not really a sensual body, more "maternal" and stable, careful folds of drapery around her lap, she sits on an ornate piece of furniture, the angels look playful→ like actual little boys, the angel in the foreground is smiling at the audience, he has one hand under christ and one on his back, the angel in the background has half of his face covered by christ- both angels are holding Christ up as he kneels on them so that he is face to face with his mother, the angel's wings seem wooden (brown) rather than feathery and white, they angels also have golden curly hair and are wearing loose white tunics, careful folds of drapery around the waist, their forms are healthy and cherub-like, Christ is small, fair and blonde like his mother, chubby (healthy), he is looking up at his mother with outstretched arms, he is covered by a cloth around his midsection and lower torso and is kneeling on angels, double frame: the frame of the window is partly the frame of the painting, a landscape is seen through a window by both christ and mary (as well as us, the viewers), it contains cultivated fields, soaring rocks, and a distant city CONTEXT: There was a lot of money flowing into Florence during this time, coming from a growing middle and upper class of merchants and bankers → this meant more indulgences, "Florence saw itself as the ideal city state, a place where the freedom of the individual was guaranteed, and where many citizens had the right to participate in the government," political turmoil?: this freedom was threatened several times, luckily all times it was avoided or they won, "Florentine citizens interpreted these military "victories" as signs of God's favor and protection. They imagined themselves as the "New Rome" -- in other words, as the heirs to the Ancient Roman Republic, prepared to sacrifice for the cause of freedom and liberty," Florentine citizens very proud of their government because it valued/respected the opinions of individuals → this played a huge part in Humanism, the artist most likely trained as a painter in a convent, and had visual experience of Masaccio and Masolino, "It is said that Fra Filippo was so lustful that he would give anything to enjoy a woman he wanted if he thought he could have his way, and if he couldn't buy what he wanted, then he would cool his passion by painting her portrait and reasoning with himself. His lust was so violent that when it took hold of him he could never concentrate on his work." "In 1456 he abducted a nun, Lucrezia Buti, from the convent in Prato where he was chaplain. He was finally permitted to marry her. Their son Filippino was later taught in Lippi's workshop, as was Botticelli." Allegedly, Mary in this painting (and possibly a few of his other paintings) is based on this woman

Il Gesù, including Triumph of the Name of Jesus ceiling fresco

Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Church of Il Gesu, Rome (consecrated 1584, ceiling fresco, The Triumph of the Name of Jesus, by il Baciccio, also known as Giovanni Battista Gaulli, 1672-1685) (your card should be both the church as architecture and the Nave ceiling fresco FORM: A Gesú, which is simply Italian for the name for the mother church, the church was designed by Giacomo da Vignola and Giacomo Della Porta in 1575, triumph of the name of Jesus is a fresco painted in the traditional style, the ceiling fresco done in 1678-1679 by Giovanni Battista Gaulli FUNCTION: Serves as the main and original church for the Jesuits, was an important place for previous and current Jesuits, as it is the mother church, and also served as a model for the future Jesuit churches in terms of architecture and style, the ceiling fresco serves to illustrate the beliefs of the Jesuits -> alled the people to their faith and scared them into not believing, there is strong emphasis to choose this path and not leave or refuse it; adherence to faith CONTENT: Single aisled church, removing others as a space for traffic to clear it up, church has a cruciform floor plan, although the transept is not overly long on either side so it does not bear exactly like a cross in terms of proportions, the church has a dome over the intersection of the large nave and transept, very dark interior, and it is thus chiefly dependent on natural lighting from outside, contains a mix of the rational and Baroque styles, central focus on the altar in the center, renaissance style columns; corinthian, ornate, and made of rich materials- some of them reuse ancient pieces, the reusing of ancient materials is called spolia CONTEXT: Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the newfound Jesuit religion, needed a church to serve as the religion's center, the Jesuit religion was a very dramatic response to the recent reformation; the Jesuits were very against the reformation and focused their teachings on charitable works, education, and missionaries, this was a very tense moment in terms of religion, as the reformation was almost 100 years prior and there were many religious wars going on, it was then funded by Cardinal Farnese, who was the Pope's grandson, the church is located in the center of old Rome- very close to the Pantheon and Roman Forum, similar to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel in the use of ornate ceiling frescos that illustrate famous religious stories and timelines in vivid detail and color and they both have the purpose of propagating the faith + captivating/inspiring followers

Entombment of Christ

Jacopo da Pontormo. 1525-1528 C.E. Oil on wood, 10'3" x 6'4". Altarpiece in Capponi Chapel, church of Santa Felicita, Florence, Italy FORM: Painted oil on wood, in a church to the right of the entrance, above the altar, in the Capponi Chapel in Florence, when the viewer returns they are struck with this painting, an example early mannerist style, this is important because the chapel is a cubical, very logical space, that is very much in the Renaissance style and there are Renaissance frescos right next to it that show in annunciation, is made in the mannerist style (art that directly succeeded the Renaissance and preceded the baroque) very elaborate distortion and elongated figures, theres a sense of imbalance, very different than the perfection of the Renaissance → was a response to the Protestant reformation, style was more otherworldly FUNCTION: Was an altar piece, depicts in a favorable way, the well-known scene, the Deposition CONTENT: Main subject are figures- not landscape; more mannerist and not in the Renaissance style, is in a sorrowful style, the fresco beside it shows the beginning of the annunciation of Christ and this shows the ending, there is no depiction of a cross so we are not sure as to whether it is the deposition or the entombment, the figures have unnatural body position of the figure in the left foreground, abandons the high Renaissance pyramid balance→ there is no place for the viewer's eye to rest, there is constant movement, figures have no weight to their body, but have over exaggerated emotions- 'masks" of emotion, not realistic CONTEXT: Located in the Capponi Chapel of Santa Felicita, Florence, the frescos are painted in early mannerist style, but chapel is a cubic space that was designed by Brunelleschi in early Renaissance style, the right fresco (by Pontormo) shows the Annunciation. Powerful juxtaposition; function almost as beginning and end of Christ's earthly existence, in pendentives, roundels showing 4 Evangelists, mannerism is the art of artifice, exaggeration, and emotion→ as opposed to Renaissance rationality, mannerism "highlighted rather than hid the contrived nature of art", artifice manifested itself through imbalanced compositions, unusual complexity, ambiguous space, departures from convention, and innovative portrayals of traditional scenes, At the time, Florence is no longer a republic after the Medici family abolishes it, the protestant reformation was going on, Copernicus' discovery that planets move in orbit around sun instead of Earth→ scientific achievement/innovation, this was a period of revolution; a new sense of spirituality with Reformation and Counter-Reformation

The Arnolfini Portrait

Jan van Eyck. c. 1434 C.E. Oil on wood, 33" x 22 ½". The National Gallery, London, England FORM: Jan van Eyck, 1434 C.E , Oil paint on oak panel, 82.2 cm x 60 cm (32.4 in x 23.6 in) FUNCTION: There are different interpretations of the function of this painting, it is a documentation of a wedding (this explains why it is sometimes called The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait), evidence of a sacred event taking place, the people's shoes have been removed, hands joined together, man raises one hand as if swearing an oath, one candle in the chandelier is a symbol of God's presence, dog is a symbol of fidelity → blesses the marriage with this symbolism, a significant amount of religious imagery; candle in chandelier symbolizes God's presence, there are prayer beads on the wall, next to the mirror, the roundels on the mirror show biblical scenes, significance of Van Eyck's signature- "Jan van Eyck was here"; he was acting as a witness (to the marriage), rather than just signing a work of art, in the mirror's reflection of the room, there are several figures standing in the doorway, looking in on the scene of man and wife- these figures could be witnesses to the wedding ceremony→ this was the leading interpretation of the Arnolfini portrait for a while, but now art historians generally agree that this is likely not a wedding portrait, it is not believed to be a double portrait of an already married couple that is showing off their wealth, Arnolfini was a wealthy merchant from Bruges, which was a thriving economic town in the early 15th century, high fashion, they are wearing furs, heavy clothing, despite warm weather, wife is wearing gathered skirt to make her appear pregnant- she is not actually pregnant, this was the style during this time, oranges were imported + expensive, receiving guests in their lavish bedroom, bedrooms were where people received guests, rather than living rooms → husband's hand may be raised in greeting rather than oath/prayer, the carpet is a sign of wealth and taste, showing off their piety, status as good christians; prayer beads, roundels around mirror, shoes removed CONTENT: A portrait of a husband and wife, possibly Giovanni Arnolfini, art historians are not positive which Arnolfini this is, either way the man depicted is a wealthy merchant who worked in Bruges (prosperous economic town in the 15th century), surrounded by token symbols of their life that give evidence of what may be happening; dog, oranges, removed shoes, prayer beads, biblical imagery in the decorative roundels surrounding the mirror, lavish drapery, carpets, clothing, light streaming in from window, also shows Van Eyck's mastery of light and shadow, soft texture CONTEXT: The Northern Renaissance, the Northern Renaissance and Italian Renaissance are concerned with realism- in different ways, northern lacks perspective and obsession with human anatomy, but pays greater attention to minute detail and softer gradations of color and light, this is because of the glazing technique (layer upon layer of translucent oil paint), creates softer colors, more realistic because translucent and smooth blending and gradations, other Italian painters still used tempera and fresco, the miniscule size of the detailed roundels (half a fingernail) shows mastery of fine detail in even the smallest of scenes, some other examples of Van Eyck's mastery of detail are the dog's hair and the texture of the wife's outer layer of clothing

Last supper

Leonardo da Vinci. c. 1494-1498 C.E. Oil and tempera, 15'2" x 28 10". Refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy FORM: Da Vinci experimented with a combination of oil and tempera paint, he used lead white as a base instead of traditional wet plaster to achieve more brilliant colors but the paint never adhered to the wall and began immediately deteriorating- failure, he added a double layer of dried plaster to achieve greater detail, other factors of deterioration; its location (side of a cafeteria building), materials, techniques used, humidity, dust, poor restoration efforts, bomb hit monastery in '43, destroying large section of the refectory, air pollution in postwar Milan, tourists and overcrowded viewing, 42.5% of the surface is Leonardo's work, 17.5% is lost, and 40% is the additions restorers, perfect perspective is achieved at Christ's level using linear perspective, this view is 15 feet in the air, a strong sense of depth is conveyed, the vanishing point is located right behind Christ's head draws the viewer's eye to this central figure, Christ's body forms an equilateral triangle, piece has a very unified composition- mathematically correct, and precise, individualized faces and realistic figures with accurate proportions and light and shadow (chiaroscuro), sfumato technique; use of glazes in slightly different tones of color creating an almost imperceptible transition from light to dark, lots of emotion, gesture, and interaction between figures FUNCTION: Monks would eat silently while looking at this painting, meant to inspire/remind of religion, also inspire contemplation about this pivotal moment in the religion, shows unity between the earthly, mortal world and the eternal and divine but also shows the chaos and flaws of humanity and greatness of the divine CONTENT: The twelve apostles sit at a long table placed parallel to the picture plane in a simple, spacious room and are reacting to Christ saying, "one of you will betray me" during seder at Passover- christ's mouth is still open, apostles have highly emotional reactions, in the center, Christ appears isolated and composed while his apostles freak out around him, showing his divinity and ethereal nature, he is reaching for the bread and wine, the sacrament of communion, the calm center has a window framing Christ's head draws attention to Christ with a realistic halo of the window and curved pediment (the only curve in the entire painting) Chaos surrounds him and all lines converge behind him- he is a divine center, the four groupings of figures create a clustered, chaotic sense to the scene, Judas to the right of Christ has head down in shame and holds the bag of silver, he is reaching for the same bowl as Christ→ symbolizes/foreshadows his guilt, Peter is rushing to Jesus, pushing Judas back in need of knowing the betrayer, and he is holding a knife ready to defend Jesus foreshadowing that Peter will sever the ear of a soldier as he attempts to protect Christ from arrest (Peter was known as Christ's protector), John closes his eyes, Simon, Thadeus, and Matthew to Christ's far left demonstrate the force and extent of the impact of the news, Thomas points upward; questioning God, Philip points to himself with a face of grief, James spreads himself out to calm people down, through windows is a lush green landscape symbolizing heaven, which frames Christ→ showing his divinity over all the others, 3 windows, 4 groups of 3 apostles, Christ body forms a triangle- the holy trinity and divinity CONTEXT: Painted on the side of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Da Vinci was born in Florence, was a painter, sculptor, engineer, architect, and scientist, he trained with the prestigious Andrea del Verrocchio, the piece is high renaissance (rebirth of classical ideal of beauty, use of shading, naturalism, and humanism), centralized in Rome, art was commissioned by popes, the lack of a halo distinguishes early renaissance, but it is obviously depicting the last supper, fascination with the body to show beauty of nature and convey the soul, narrative style of painting common where the body and emotion reflects the mind, Da vinci had desire to depict humanity and convey individual emotions and reactions to represent their character and humanity, idealized geometry of Jesus is in line with the Renaissance's rediscovery of Neo-Platonism→ "humanist revival combining Greek philosophy with Christian theology," Plato believed that the mortal realm was imperfect, and the divine can be seen in heavenly, geometric perfection, Da vinci practiced with live models, and therefore had a deep understanding of the observable world which is reflected in the highly individualized and proportionally correct apostles, similar to the Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus

Allegory of Law and Grace

Lucas Cranach the Elder. c. 1530 C.E. Woodcut, 10 5/8" x 1' ¾". British Museum, London, England. Additional copies: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC FORM: Material/technique → woodcut and letterpress, media is oil on wood, dimensions are 72 cm by 88.5 cm FUNCTION: Lutheran saw the law as the side in which financial donations enriched the church and should not be a way to salvation; in the gospel side he believed through your own belief in god should be enough to bring his grace, law paves the way to salvation by preparing the way for grace, God judges and God shows mercy, the Law and the Grace is concerned with two roles that God plays, the judge (condemns human sin), shows mercy (forgiveness), granting unearned salvation to sinful believers → Luther's idea of law is multifaceted and complex relationship to his idea of gospel, law alone will never make salvation possible, law paves the way to salvation, includes events from both the New and Old Testament, concerns two aspects of the relationship between humanity and god, describes events throughout the bible which reveal the dual aspect of god's relationship to people, Cranach's pictorial translation of Luther's unique understanding of salvation- interprets the roles of law, good works, faith, and grace in the human relationship to God CONTENT: Two nude figures appear on either side of a tree that bisects the composition, Law (left) = dying tree, Gospel (right) = living tree, the tree is dead on the side of the Law but vibrant on the side of the Gospel, the altarpiece from left to right, 6columns of Bible citations appear at the bottom of the panel, Left (Law) Side, scene:law and judgement symbolized by a man being forced into hell by Death (skeleton) and Satan (demon), Moses delivers the Ten Commandments, Moses beholds these events; his white tablets standing out against the saturated orange rope and green tree, highlighting the association of law, death, and damnation, held by a figure that appears to be Luther himself (Cranach consistently depicted Luther in his portraits alongside biblical figures), Christ sits in judgement, Adam and Eve partake in eating the forbidden fruit, motifs (left) are meant to exemplify the idea that law alone, without gospel, can never get you to heaven, right (Gospel) Side, scene→ grace and Gospel with Christ's cross crushing Death and Satan, Christ's blood covers those near the cross, John the baptist directs a naked man to both Christ on the cross in front of the tomb AND to the risen Christ who appears on top of the tomb, risen Christ stands triumphant above the empty tomb, acting out the miracle of the Resurrection, nude figure is not hoping to follow the law on judgement day- stands passively, stripped down to his soul, submitting to God's mercy CONTEXT: Destruction of thousands of works of religious art, iconoclasts* stormed through churches, the artist (Lucas Cranach the Elder) was born in what is now Kronac, was an Influential artist in 16th century German art, a printmaker and painter, a representative of the Northern Renaissance, his father, Hans Maler, was a painter and gave Cranach his first lessons, he adopted the name Cranach when he was 30 years old, as court painter of the Elector of Saxony, the patron of Luther, he is remembered as the chief artist of the Reformation, moved to Vienna in 1501→ full of expression and dynamic, later moved to Wittenberg in 1505→ more static style, met the reformed Martin Luther (who is portrayed in his works), he also sold medicine, papers, ran a wine pub, printed books, was elected as mayor three times, met Albrecht Durer in 1524

Hunters in the Snow, Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1565 C.E. Oil on wood, 3'10 ½" x 5' 3 ¾". Kunsthistorisches Museum. Vienna, Austria FORM: Dimensions: 117 cm by 162 cm, contrapposto, dynamic movement, figures with their back towards the viewer -- draws eye into the scene, away from the foreground, lots of contrasting colors -- draws eye around the composition, sharp forms, less gentle blending, subtle use of atmospheric perspective in the back-most mountains and hills FUNCTION: Represents both the negatives and positives of winter, sheds light on the activities of everyday life (back then at least), reaction to the renaissance themes of nobility and religion→ creating art that depicts the world as it is seen CONTENT: Part of a six-part series of images called seasons of the year, figures, and houses painted in warm, earthy tones -- contrasting from the cold blues and grays used to represent the elements, homogenized figures, none of which show their face--represent the poor, "nameless", hunters return from what might have been an unsuccessful hunt, both figures and dogs bend down and sulk, looking exhausted, small figures in the background dot a pair of frozen lakes, seemingly enjoying the winter, figures dance about the ice, interacting with each other and small objects, mood in the foreground -- solemn, sense of despair, figures in bottom left third sag, trudging through the snow, left-most figures huddle by the fire, desperate for warmth, almost every visible figure has a downward gaze, architecture was where nature and civilization meet, rows of houses fall away into vast fields of snow, the viewers eyes are drawn across the painting diagonally by the positioning of the subjects and statically placed lines, NO linear perspective→ Aerial perspective, starting at the bottom right as these figures are largest and appear closest to the viewer, these figures appear to be coming back from an unsuccessful hunt, they don't have much in the way of food and appear to be trudging through the snow with despair, they are hunched over and appear to be defeated, because faces are not depicted, emotions are inferred by their stances; they are positioned, facing towards a small village and frozen pond, the viewer's eyes instantly shift onto the frozen pond were the peasants appear to be enjoying the winter, the immediate shift between the hunters and the other peasants indicate that Bruegel wanted to contrast these two groups of people, this was probably to contrast the two sides to winter, these figures appear to be playing a version of hockey and iceskating and do not have the give of the same negative feelings that the hunters do, theres a village in the background on the left, its pretty empty and probably is meant to keep the viewers eyes on pond, moving up into the mountains→ probably indicating that this is in the Alps, around modern day Switzerland, the birds are also pointed at the pond and help focus our eyes on the subjects. Themes; everyday life and mannerisms, social commentary, beauty in simplicity/nature CONTEXT: Painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565- he is best known for his landscapes and his focusing on the life and mannerisms of peasants, this is fitting considering the content of this work, also probably the reason this work's patron picked Bruegel → was commissioned by Nicaels Jonghelinck (The patron was from Antwerp in modern day Holland), a secular painting, is one of six works in series entitled Months of the Year, there are only six works instead of twelve and only 5 still exist, created in/during the Northern Renaissance, Holland is an extremely flat country, yet there are mountains in the background. Similar to the Bayueax Tapestry and Seated Boxer in its representation of everyday activities and realistic social commentary

School of Athens

Raphael, 1509-1511 C.E. Fresco, 19' x 27'. Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican, Rome, Italy FORM: The figure in the foreground of School of Athens is writing on a marble block that's tilted at an angle towards the viewer. Because of this angle, it can't depend on the central vanishing point, which was determined using one-point perspective. Therefore, Raphael added a left vanishing point and a right vanishing point, both on the same Horizon line with the central point (which follows the rules of perspective.) The writing block is the only object in the composition that uses these two vanishing points, because the viewer is not perpendicular or parallel to it, all of the other figures and objects rely on one of the two perspective points, people are grouped on the left and right, leaving the middle space relatively empty. This serves to balance the linear perspective at the bottom of the painting to balance the sharp orthogonals at the top of the painting, just like da Vinci's The Last Supper, Raphael divided the figures into groups, but they are individual, and move fluidly amongst one another, the architecture uses linear perspective, most visibly in the orthogonals in the pavement and in the receding cornices moulding around the wall of a room just below the ceiling, he also used Greek models for calculating the proportions, which were later adopted by the Romans and then Renaissance humanists. FUNCTION: The four frescoes Raphael created for Pope Julius's Stanza della Segnatura, or library, were arranged to represent the classical topic of the books on the shelves below, Raphael demonstrated Renaissance perfection on a massive scale, and his work reminds us of the harmonious proportions and idealized figures of antiquity, his School of Athens is also a tribute to the wisdom of the ancient philosophers, and a prayer that their knowledge will pass onto the holy Pope, and the artists and citizens of Italy. CONTENT: All of the great thinkers and philosophers of antiquity are gathered here in this classical space, surrounded by Roman architecture. Plato and Aristotle are the central figures. The central vanishing point is the space just between them at hip level, and the viewer's eye is drawn to them as they engage in discussion and stride forward towards the viewer, Plato was actually Aristotle's teacher; we can identify him by his book the Timaeus in his hand. Plato focused on the ethereal and theoretical, so he points upwards to the sky, and wears red and purple robes, which symbolize fire and air. On the other hand, Aristotle focused on the physical and observable, so he gestures towards the ground, and wears blue and brown robes, which symbolize water and earth, on the left side, there are the philosophers who focused on the theoretical, ethereal issues of philosophy. This includes Pythagoras, who believed in a reality that transcended reality. On the right side, Aristotle's side, there are the philosophers, such as Euclid, who focused on the physical and concrete, Euclid is modeled on Raphael's friend Bramante, the architect who Pope Julius II commissioned to create a model for the new Saint Peter's, Bramante's design for the new Saint Peter's was based on perfect geometry of squares and circles. The same is true of the architecture painted by Raphael; as we can see, he used coffered barrel vaults, pilasters, there are classical sculptures of Apollo, god of Sun, Music, and poetry, Aristotle's home; we can see Athena, god of war and wisdom, the more human and practical affairs, Raphael's work opposed the Medieval idea of an authority passing down knowledge. He glorified the history and sharing of knowledge, and emphasized his subjects' grace and wisdom. The patrons of the day would've understood and recognized all the figures in the work without their being labeled, the coffered ceiling, which uses the rules of perspective, is a tribute to man's dominance over nature, Diogenes is on the stairs and is writing on the tilted marble block is Heraclitus, writing quietly to himself. Heraclitus has Michelangelo's features, who was known for his lonely and impersonable affect→ so Raphael has appropriated the personas of some of these philosophers to include some aspects of his current surroundings. Heraclitus was added after Raphael had completed the frescoe, Raphael stands to the right in a black cap, with some of the most important philosophers of antiquity, including Ptolemy and Zoroaster, Raphael includes himself as a skilled and capable intellectual CONTEXT: This work was created during the High Renaissance in the Stanza della Sengatura in the Vatican in Rome. While Raphael was painting these frescoes, Michelangelo was a few blocks away painting the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. Rome and Italy as a whole were still experiencing much cultural growth and prosperity, just years before the Protestant Reformation would shake the vitality of the Italian Renaissance and its artists. The Reformation brought about an uncertainty about salvation, and the means by which to reach it, which was reflected most notably in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel alter wall painting in the 1530s, Raphael's School of Athens were created just before the Reformation struck, and testify to greatness of pagan wisdom as well as the "vastness and variety" of the papal library, "The School of Athens" was originally titled "Philosophy" because the bookshelves under it were to hold Julius II's collection of philosophy books, 4 walls in the Stanza della Segnatura showcase the four branches of human knowledge: Philosophy, Theology, Poetry, and Justice. On the ceiling, four allegorical figures represent these four branches. Raphael's ceiling, which is modeled after Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, contains four allegorical figures representing the four branches of knowledge, religion, or theology, was seen as an [philosophy's equal at this time, which is important to remember with the Protestant Reformation just around the corner, Raphael drew his inspiration for the impressive architecture in his School of Athens from the surrounding Roman ruins, such as the Baths of Caracalla, and the Basilica of Manutius and Constantine, he drew many preliminary sketches on a smaller scale to perfect the details of his fresco. He first created a large drawing, called a cartoon, which was almost the size of the final work and was used as a wall mural. Next small pinholes were punched along the lines of the cartoon, which was hung on the wall where Raphael painted the work, and powdered charcoal was pushed through the holes to create an impression of the drawing- charcoal lines helped Raphael to accurately execute the final fresco, especially because he had to paint such detail in such a short amount of time

Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli c. 1484-1486 C.E, Tempera on canvas, Florence, italy FORM: Venus stands almost casually, but not in contrapposto→ has a flexible, skeletal structure shown by her almost surreal body, lots of folds and lines that intersect with one another (waves, seashell, clothing), this is ndicative of movement → sourced at the two air spirits creating wind on the far left FUNCTION: Served a dual purpose= mythological and educational, to educate on the mythological story of the "birth of Venus" the Greek goddes of love CONTENT: Venus (Roman goddess of love and romance) is depicted standing atop a white shell, she has golden hair, pale skin, and is entirely nude, but the artist made it so that her lower body was covered- to maintain modesty so as to not offend his audience/patron, accompanied by an attendant with a cloth to cover her (far right), Zephyr and Aura, wind sprites, blowing wind from the far left CONTEXT: The painting depicts Venus, the Roman goddess of love- images of nude women were only tolerated in two contexts: educational or mythological (at this time), this painting was made in the context of both so it was relatively acceptable, but still, painting her naked was a "radical statement" because it was not in a Christian context→ which leads us right into the Renaissance movement

Venus of Urbino

Titian. c. 1538 C.E. Oil on canvas, 3'11" x 5'5". Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy FORM: Oil on canvas, layered oil paints to depict the variety of lighting in the painting, lots of different rich colors to create a sense of contrast, completed in 1538 FUNCTION: The Duke Urbino Guidobaldo II Della Rovere wanted a gift for his new wife and therefore commissioned Titian to paint this, the painting also reflected how a wife should be to the husband in a household as a sexual, respectful individual, she also was depicted as a motherly figure for her future children, this painting was created to be looked at by many people --> Titian made the painting as beautiful as possible CONTENT: A majority of the painting is taken up by a nude female who is known as a Venus, she was named a Venus so that it would be more appropriate to paint her nude, the woman has a direct gaze that meets the eyes of the viewer→ draws people into the painting, makes someone want to focus on her and not the rest of the painting, the background is equal in color with a darker backdrop on the left and a woman and a child lighter background on the right, the body of the Venus is very different than a real body as the torso of Venus is very large while her feet are very small and unreal, this Venus was a symbol of beauty during the time and that is why she is usually depicted nude, the dog in the background represents fidelity while the child and maid represents motherhood; he uses a wide variety of colors that really emphasizes the importance of colors and lighting, has a very different in style as the lines as the Venus has curves and the rest of the painting is straight lines, incorporates the Roman time period by using a column and a window that is not using glass and shows that the artist is trying to revert to a style of art that emphasized human beauty, the small tree in the background that looks perfect and ready to grow to represent the future of the marriage CONTEXT: This is an example of perfect Venetian art, he movement of art in Venice was shown with its deep rich colors and use of shadows and use of lights, glazing techniques were used to create subtle changes in gradient and level, lots of different colors were available in Venice due to the amount of trade so lots of paintings could be made with a variety of colors, took place during the 15th century to the end of the 16th century, Venice during this time period was a stable republican government that allowed lots of trade and had the ability to invest in artists, Venice was able to invest in the artwork because of the trading style of the city which generated wealth for the city, similar to Madonna and Child in its depiction of the female and realistic perspective with a background scene

Sistine Chapel ceiling and altar wall frescoes

Vatican City, Italy. Michelangelo. Ceiling frescoes: c. 1508-1512 C.E.; altar frescoes: c. 1536-1541 C.E. Fresco. Interior, Sistine Chapel. Vatican, Rome. Built 1475-1481; ceiling painted 1508-1512; end wall, 1536-1541. Ceiling 45' x 128'. -The Delphic Sibyl. 11'5" x 12'5" -The Flood. 9'2" x 18'7" FORM: Regarding the Sistine chapel itself; every surface--ceilings, floors--are covered in mosaic and fresco. Regarding the deluge; Highly modeled figures whose facial expressions and dynamic poses reveal the sadness and desperation depicted in the scene, figures interact with each other, many hold each other in their arms or on their backs, also, some figures reach for each other or past one another FUNCTION: The Sisitine chapel was where the College of Cardinals decides who the next pope will be. The Delphic Sybil; the sibyls were said to be future-seers of pagan times who saw the coming of Christ → this validates the Christian faith because the coming of Christ was foretold long before Jesus was even born, also shows a theme of foretelling present in Christian artwork since the Middle Ages; sibyls foretold the coming of Christ, the Old Testament foretold the coming of the New Testament, Mary foretold the death of her son. The Deluge; Makes viewers question God's justice → and ask; why would he destroy the whole population of Earth, spare Noah and his family? CONTENT: ceiling vault completely covered in fresco, nine Old Testament scenes separated by painted architecture revolutionary painting style where the figures were so realistic that they looked like sculptures, brilliant, rich colors were used, Michelangelo's style involved "carving figures out of paint," figures are massive; have gravity, weight and presence, they are figures of idealized beauty shows the relative religious optimism of the time; as compared to when Michelangelo paints The Last Judgement above the altar and his style has become more cynical and Mannerist- emphasized musculature and anatomy, the emphasis on anatomy displays drama and power despite the piece being rather peaceful, a complex "stage" of connected yet separate scenes; artistic theatre, strong visible presence of Ancient Roman and Greek sculptural style, no images of Christ, but the scenes lay the stage for the coming of Christ, the richly colored, monumental figures help convey the emotional impact of the scenes to the viewers gazing up at them from the floor, overall layout contains nine biblical scenes from Genesis that move across the ceiling lengthwise begins with God dividing light from dark and moves on chronologically 1. Noah is drunk and disgraced, 2. The Great Flood/Deluge, 3. Noah and his family make a sacrifice after the flood, 4. Adam and Eve are tempted + sent from Eden, 5. God creates Eve, 6. God creates Adam, 7. God divides the water from the Earth, 8. God creates the sun and planets, 9. God divides light from darkness, scenes are framed by a painted architectural framework and are flanked on both sides by prophets and sybils that sit within the painted architecture in the spandrels, separate from the depicted scenes but connected ideologically, sybils were pagan soothsayers that foretold the coming of Christ, sitting on the architectural framework of the four architectural corners of each nine biblical scenes are male nude figures, called ignudi, scenes from the Salvation of Israel painted in the pendentives, her body has a circular composition→ signifies grace, balance, and harmony of proportion, she has a "sculptural weight"--looks as though she is actually coming out of the walls due to the painted contour (contrapposto) of her skin and muscle, has idealized anatomy, appears to have incredible strength, yet she also possesses a sense of calm elegance→ sprezzatura: a deceptive ease, shows close attention to human anatomy, some believe that she was modeled after a man, biblical as opposed to sexual beauty, like in Botticelli's Venus, physical space of the water and sky separate the 4 parts of the narrative, on the right, a group of people find makeshift shelter from the rain, on the left, people scale a mountain to escape floodwaters, In the center, a small boat teeters, about to capsize due to the rising waters, In the background, men work to build the ark, the filling of the space with figures makes the event seem chaotic and removes some of the emotional intensity of the narrative from a distance CONTEXT: Michelangelo began work on the frescoes in 1508 for Pope Julian he continued work on it for 4 years, but took a break in 1510, and the frescoes painted after this time are palpably different--compare the complex narrative of The Deluge, which uses smaller figures, to the more idealized, monumental figures in God creates Adam, the vault frescos are undeniably some of the most important images every painted--they turned into an "academy" for painters, meaning that up and coming Renaissance artists would visit the chapel in order to try to study and imitate the monumental weight, harmony, strength, anatomical perfection, and elegance of Michelangelo's figures, the chapel has recently undergone a controversial cleaning in which soot and grime from years of the chapel's use were cleaned off to try to bring back the rich colors of Michelangelo's vision, this piece was painted after Michelangelo took his break in 1510, so they show his new style of monumentality, some believe that all the sibyls are modeled after the ancient sculpture the Belvedere Torso

Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece)

Workshop of Robert Campin. 1427-1432 C.E. Oil on wood, center 25 ¼" x 24 7/8"; each wing approx. 25 3/8" x 10 ¾". The Cloisters Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York FORM: Overall (open): 25 3/8 x 46 3/8 in., central panel: 25 1/4 x 24 7/8 in. Each wing: 25 3/8 x 10 3/4 in. → main scene looks like a living room of someone living in Northern Europe, lots of detail (e.g shimmering nails, shadows, rust, shows age of doors, in the background you can see men on horseback and a town scene- realistic scene, focus on light by using oil paint for texture- unlike the Italian Renaissance, realism that is expressed uniquely, space of the room doesn't make sense because perspective hadn't really been put into place yet, not mathematically accurate, table is a double perspective: creates a telescoping that draws the viewer in FUNCTION: The piece can be folded up and transported, created to maintain an interest in physical objects to spiritual ideas, used for private devotion- religious purposes CONTENT: Mary and Gabriel (Angel) are in the center, seen through a modern context; intended to draw the viewers closer to the biblical characters and make prayer more intimate, Gabriel has just appeared to Mary to tell her she will give birth to Christ, drapery has sharp folds that fall to the floor and obscure their bodies, the shiny pot represents Mary's purity/virginity, many objects in the room are related to incarnation, the small figure holding a cross coming through the window heading towards Mary is the holy spirit→ this is unusual because it is usually a dove, but this is one of the first times that God takes human form, the donors are on the left, the Patrons-a man and his wife are kneeling, the walled garden (hortus conclusus)- refers, once again, to Mary's virginity, Joseph is on the right and is making tools in a workshop (he is a carpenter)- this reminds the viewer of how handmade the painting is (wooden canvas), prosperous city scene through window (e.g mousetrap for sale outside window) CONTEXT: The artist (Campin) was a very successful painter with apprentices and assistants, Newfound prosperity in Northern Europe caused commissions to increase (this is exemplified by the bustling city scene depicted in the artwork), The Annunciation was painted first, then the left side pieces were added