Art History Post 1400s Midterm

siena specific characteristics

- Communally oriented and mainly worked for chrurches or givernment as individual artists - Fragile naturalism - Art revolved around the city's center and its devotion to religious life and continued this way even after the four great artists died after the black death

3 important of characteristics of the art produced in florence and siena during the late medieval period

- Major christian influence in the way of minitaure illustrations on bibles, like wal painting produced in Rome, influenced by christian painting styles of the Roman church - After constantinople was raided in 1204 by christian armies, byzantium heavily influenced italian art: bright colours, gold panels, motifs of starburst-like ornaments as seen in Madonna - Gothic architecture Delicate and refined detail Natural lines Fluidity in form - Emergence of fresco painting to cover walls, ceilings of churches, public buildings and private dwellings, mostly in Siena - Encouraged the depiction of narratives and experimentation with space - Usually consisted of biblical scenes - Wooden strip frames and elaborate frames as a means of denoting importance or godliness of a venue

about leonardo

- born illegitmate - father worked for medici - gained appreciation for giotto - joined artists guild - fluorished in the intellectual environment that developed under ludovico who wanted to transform milan into a center of humanist learning to rival florence influenced by - platos timaeus - ptolemy's comsography - vitruvius on architecture - in the high renaissance artists were often considered intellectuals so he was often visited by king francis as he died - human anatomy - mathemtics, geometry - linear perspective naturalism - disesected 30 sorpses

humanism

- correct proportions - feeling the pull of gravity

artistic practice in 15th century flanders

- governed by guilds - commissions include large scale altarpieces as well as smaller objects for private consumption *concern with transcribing the actual aurface appearance of people, objects and environment *sacred symbolism of everyday life

major moments of flemish / early netherlandish art

- perfection oil paint - making oil paint by hand

Grisaille

A monochrome painting done mainly in neutral grays to simulate sculpture

Contrapposto

A style of Greek sculpture where people are depicted standing and leaning so that the person's weight is being put on one side. People are depicted with their bodies curved like an "S"

why did the renaissance begin in florence?

Accumulation of wealth during this period the duke of milan threatened the idea that florence was a place wherethe individual was guaranteed freedom and a place in the government. They were relieved when he passed, to be threatened again by king of naples who also died before being able to conquer florence successfully. Florentine people prepped for war agains the son of the duke of milan who had threatened them earluer. They won and regarded these military victories as signs of gods protection. They imagned themselves as the New Rome, heirs to the ancient republic prepared to sacrifice themselves for freedom and liberty

15ht century flandrs as a part of th eburgundian court

After the death of Duke Charles the Bold in 1477, the Burgundian lands were partitioned between France and the Holy Roman Empire, and many Netherlandish artists lost the court's patronage as a result. Furthermore, the towns of Bruges and Brussels were losing their economic importance to Antwerp, and the painters there favored a quicker method of painting suited for widespread sale on that city's international markets, rather than the slower, more layered and labored technique of their forebears

scientific naturalism

Allowed artists in the early renaissance to begin to demand that society think of them as more than just skilled manual labourers Argued that their work was a product of intellect as uch as their hands Wanted the same status as intellectuals, philosophers, unlike medieval craftsmen that came before them

Baroque

An artistic style of the seventeenth century characterized by complex forms, bold ornamentation, and contrasting elements DRAMA

form

An objects shape and structure in two dimensions or three dimensions Two forms can take the same shape and have difference in colour, texture and other qualities

After watching both videos and reviewing the readings on humanism and on the study of anatomy, write a reflection on how you think Botticelli's "Venus" and Donatello's "David" are reflections of the growing interest in Humanism. Compare them to one other work we've discussed in class (for example, how are these works different or similar to Duccio/Giotto/Cimabue, etc.)

Botticelli's Birth of Venus features an almost life-sized, full length female nude figure, Venus. This is notable not only for the historical background of Venus, but because the body was considered a vessel of temptation and sin, so seeing full nudes of women was especially uncommon. In Venus' complex positioning of her body, almost playfully both erotic and modest in the wrapping of her hair and in how her body is condensed into itself, this painting becomes a way for Botticelli's understanding of the human body. Donatello's David, also erotic, beckons to the humanism found in greek sculpture and celebrated the nude body rather than considering it to be the core of corruption. The position of contrapposto in David gives him a sense of movement. This along with Donatello's choice of having David's leg pushed upward by leaning weight on Goliath's head allowed Donatello to put focus on muscular formation. Both these pieces and Duccio's Maesta are naturalistic. Both Botticelli's Venus and Duccio's Maesta have a focus on pattern and play with light and dark, as well incorporate gold to symbolize importance. Donatello's David and Duccio's Maesta have a civic symbolism that represented to their cities being in god's hands and favor.

early capitalism in 15th century flanders

Bruges is financial center of northern europe - Patronage comes from church and propserous urban middle class Church - Were gonna get religious things Middle class - Subject and function is going to change because its for someone's aprticular home

duccio style

Choice of delicacy to the realness of the figure thorugh light and shading More fragile naturalism which would then become a hallmark of sienese painting bridging th gap between spiritual and physical world

italo byzantine style

Figures would be strongly outlined against gold backgrounds like in byzantine icons and mosaics, directly engaging the viewer Figures were done in expressive, not realistic, shapes. Abstract. Narrative images - each story plays out in the feild of representation instead of in it, elimating the need for a sense of depth

15th century flanders, trading center

Flanders became the site of intensive artistic production Flanders most urbanized region of northern europe in 14th and 15th cent Ports grew in size and number as it became the major center for ttade in northern europe Caftsmen could rely on trade networks that brought raw materials Weallthy citizens were often purveyors of some of th most famous flemish paintings Efflorescence came from the war between france and englaad subsided and fromm the burgundian court

florentine republic

Florence was a Republic in the sense that there was a constitution which limited the power of the nobility (as well as laborers) and ensured that no one person or group could have complete political control Political power resided in the hands of middle-class merchants, a few wealthy families (such as the Medici, important art patrons who would later rule Florence) and the powerful guilds

giotto versus duccio

Giotto's artistic style holds acclaim for its unique scultpural, clear and natural qualities, which, in its lack of great abstraction, creates an emotional experience that is engaging with, and perhaps even inviting, the viewer to enter a traditionally 2-dimensional space. Giotto's figures are monumental and heavy, standing out most in his depiction of Mary: indelicate and weighty. Duccio's style differs is that he engages with a "hallmark of Sienese painting", fragile naturalism, which softens and creates a higher sense of divinity in the depiction of spiritual beings. Where Giotto's style can be observed as quite formal, even despite its stark emotional outcry and pull, Duccio's painting style was rather informal (figures facing different directions, background characters to a scene engaging with the audience), which stood out in the setting of a cathedral, especially in his piece, Maesta.

leonardo da vinci

He trained in florence as sculptor and painter Studies for the Nativity - He studied different poses and gestures of the mother and her infant - Likely in prep for main panel in altarpiece Virgin of the Rocks Made note on actor's posituons Drew what he observed from the world around him - Human anantomy - Plant life - Animal life - Motion of water - Flight of birds - Mechanisms of machines - He invented many devices Drawing techniques - Rapid pen sketches - Carefully finished in red and black chalk - Both work demonstrated fascination with physiognamy and contrasts - Youth and old age - Beauty and ugly

sfumato

Hes not using specific lnes, everythign kind of belnds into the next form

humanism

Humanized gesture in the way he represents this scene In other inrerepeattions we see the disciples all somewhat static They have proportionate bodies Use of gestur

Why was ghibertis panel more successful than brunelleschis panel?

In ghiberti the angel projects towards the lamb and brunelleschi'spieece has the angel projecting toward abraham Linear bodies in brunelleschi's piece and the perpendicular interection adds aggression and boldness In ghibertis theres more of a sense of layered depth that may increase the naturalism In brunelleschi's there appears to be a singular plane Angel is coming from the ide Brunelleschi used sO MUCH METAL which made it a lot more expensive Brunelleschies hasmore depth but ghiberties has more planes of space

disegno

Italian for drawing and design; ventral italian practice of careful design preapration based on preliminary drawings When we look at paintings and frescoas and they have a lot of elemtns based on line shape and form, they have a lot base on Disegno

Caravaggio

Italian painter noted for his realistic depiction of religious subjects and his novel use of light

oil painting in the low countries and its spread to southern europe

Jan van Eyck had been incorrectly credited with the "invention" of oil painting. The versatility of oil paint made it an essential factor in realizing the new artistic vision of early Netherlandish painting, which combined extraordinary realism with brilliant color. communicate the reflective properties of different surfaces during 15th and 16th cenutry oil painting in the north grew more economical and rapid

qualities of early netherlandish painting

Make the image vivd and give physicality to things otherwise unseen To achieve this artists investigated a variety of pictorial strategies based on a natural vocabulary with a lot of subtlety and nuance Versimilitude Seen in landscapes, still life, portraits and genre elements that convey the experience of daily life Artists engaed the viewer by depicting figures that serve as metaphors for ourselves In pose, gesture, or in directly addressing the view Representation of mirrors break the barrier between the pictoral picture space and the viewers space, inviting the view into the story of the painting Early netherlandish painting was nourished by a vibrant economy and vibrant international trade Dukes of burguny resided in bruges, antwerp was the commercial hub of europe

Tenebrism

Painting in the "shadowy manner" using violent contrasts of light and dark as in the work of Caravaggio

foreshortening

Prduces the illusiont hat one part of the body is farther away than another even though all the painted forms are on the same plane

italy in the 15th century

Rebirth of classical values and schoalrship through the revival of tests,a rtworks and civic principal fro antiquity Rise of humanism and recentering of huamn capabilities Concern for the development of the individual

florence specific

Rich citizens bought the right to dcorate family chapels where painters in other cities were brought to paint on commission Public funds were used to erect many religious centers including cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore after the urbanization of italian cities brought in more merchantry and money Professional guilds decorated public space priests , nuns and confraternities hired artists to create devotional images and lavish books of hymns Images displayed ones devotion to christ Italo byzantine style

religious 15th century portraiture

Sacred and secular Donor portraits would appear in altarpieces and are essential parts of devotional diptychs and triptychs Smaller works used for worship in the home Tradition of independent portraiture indicated a society that become increasingly secularizes in the 16th century The expressiveness of the character depended on context and artists' sensibility Experiemntation with composition Corner space, the sill, the tromp-d'oiel frame These define the sitters space in relation to the viewer;s and add to the vividness of the sitter's presence Later, people portrayed address the viewer through the quality pf psychological immediacy Bold glance or gesture that reaches our space In the ways of experiemntation, early netherlandish artists pioneered the modern idea or portraiture as the record of an individual's character as well as as his or her appearance

siena

Siena was a thriving city in the 1300s because Location along the pilgramage route to rome Merchants cuncting trade between france and other countries The presence of several banking families

study of anatomy to renaissance artists

Study of human form was very important for renaissance artists, they continued where the greeks and romans left off - Interest in creating images of the human beings where their bodies move in natural ways - Classical artists closely observed the human body - Focus on youthful bodies - Tried to show viewers they understoof systems of muscles beneat skin Humanism: - Correct proportions - Feeling the pull of gravity In the middle ages.. - Little interest in the huma body - Seen only as a vessel for the soul - Bodywas seen as sinful and the cause of temptation - Old testament: apple fromt he tree of knowledge, realize their nakedness, and cover themselves - Christians associate nudity with sin and the fall of human kind

ambrogio lorenzetti, the allegory of good government, salla della pace

Subject: Style: Historical context: Function:

simone martini, the annnuniciation altarpiece from siena cathedral

Subject: - annunication of chirst, gabriel telling mary she is going to brae the son of god Style: - italo- byzantine and naturalism - gold background - elongated bodies - naturalism but still a kind of flatness in the faces and clothing Historical context: Function: altarpiece, frame meant to mimic cathedral architecture

ghiberti, jacob and easau from gates of paradise

Subject: Story about brothers and trcikery Jacob tricks his father into giving the brothrights to jacob instead esau because his mother, rebecca, preferred him Historical context: apart of the gates of paradise for the florence cathedral Function: commission by the guilds of florence Style: - continuous narrative - seven moments of this story on one frame 1. Upper right, god appears to rebecca Why are children fighting my womb and he says that represent two nations and peopel and the younger will supplant the older 2. Next Rebecca gives birth 3. To the rigt esaus has gone hunting and comes back hungry and asks jacob for stew and he says ill give you my stew if you give me your birth right 4. Then Isaac sends easau out to hunt and likes the meat he brings back and when you come back ill give you my blessing Easau is isaacs favourite and jacob is isaacs 5. Rebecca tells jacob that while easau is out hunting she is going to make stew for the father and jacob is going to trick isaac into thinking youre easau and have him give you his bles 6. Isaac blesses jacob not easua, blesses the wrong song - linear perspective - Very clear and distinct forground middleground and background Done thorugh linear persective Creating a mathematical form of perspective Figures in the foreground protrude out further, playing with the plhysical space of how hes casting this Made in the same technique as above, took 27 years to complete the doors alone - figures stand in contraposto

Nicola Pisano, Pulpit for a Baptistery.1259.

Subject: The annunciation, nativity and adoration of the sherpards Historical context: No italy at the time because the king of rome died and the independent city states each tried to gain power Function: pulpit - where on performs baptisms Style: : - start of renaissance interest in classicism - gothic influence as taken from tri lobe arches - reelief sculpture and columns which call back to greece and rome

robert campin, merode altarpiece, fifteenth century

Subject: annunciation triptych Historical context: development of oil paint and bruges is financial center of northern europe, church and prosperous urban middle class Function: altarpiece Style: - naturalistic in figures and realistic in background - window/landscape behind joseph Its showing buildings and peopel and shoing there is a bustling city outside the house of mary and joseph This is taking place in contemporary eruope! Not in the correct time period for when this should be set - Sacred realism of everyday life - symbolism - mouse traps associated with trapping the devil - pot is a symbol of mary's and women's empty wombs

boticelli's birth of venus, early renaissance in italy

Subject: birth of venus Venus is born from the ocean when the reprodcutove organs of a titan get thrown in to the water and bubble up and the goddess of love arrives on a clam shell Zephyr blows her to shore Historical context: - neoplatonism - revival of plati's ideas of ideal forms - ancient philosophy and mythology affecting the artists of this time - idea form of the female body Function: could have been physically apart of a bedpost Style: - early renaissance in italy - relating to the concept of humanism in depiction of the body - mythological suvject is direct return to greece and rome, also in subject matter - person to venus' right is in an italian renaissance dresse dress holding a floral cape to cover up venus who stands in the foreground simultaneously covering herself for modesty and callign attention to herself - body creates a serpentine figure - erotic - celebration of beauty and love in secular and christan context - sophisticated understandig of the human body

brunelleschi, dome of the cathedral of florence

Subject: dome of the cathedral of florence Historical context: Planned in 14th century Span nearly equal to pantheon that had been made in the ancient world Amazing engineering achievement Generally with an archway there was a wooden frame work but he did not use this bc there was not enough lumber Function: dome Style: - gothic and roman - Dome puts pressure down and out so the issues was dealing with the pressure not cracking the walls - He made the dome as light as possible, its a double shell theres a staircase that wraps around - Ribs do the weight baring vertically and horizontalls As the dome was being raised up it was locking itself in place, sel fsustaining - Not hemispherical - Has a gothic shape over a classical shape Blind tribunes Very classical compared to the gothic church Like roman triumphant arches

van eyck, arnolfini portrait

Subject: double portrait of a couple already marries or a memorial portrait, merchant who lived in bruge. could be about his wealth. Historical context: - interest in secular objects - wealth enough class of people who can afford to pay an artist like this emerges - rise of a wealthy middle class, more of an open market for art Function: secular piece for decorating in the house. could be a marriage contract or representing the wealth Style: - northern renaissance - naturalistic - mirror in center = greater visual reality - crispiness of lace - elongated figures - hallmarks of early netherlandish painting: details, coulrs, naturalism - fidelity through the dogs iconography oranges indicate wealth

cimabue, madonna enthroned with angels and prophets, florence

Subject: madonna enthroned with angels Historical context: The art is getting ewxhanged because after the crusades the italians brought back a lot of byzantine art Also, trade around the medittaranean, access to water, many wealthy merchants are buying lots of things and selling lots of things Function: it is an altarpiece - Central to the church - Mary is seating in a throne Associated with royalty and power, she has heavenly power not earthly powere as represented by the use of gold - SCALE: She is much larger than anyone in the painting HOW is this supposed to represent mary? Communicator between the people and jesus - Artists were paid so much because that is what one would look at at church, thats the image one isg uided towards, teaching one about their faith during mass Style: - italo-byzantine - understandonng of space from her foot going beyond the frame

jan van eyck, man in a red turban, oil on panel

Subject: many believe it could be a self portraits Historical context: Increasing interest in humanism in italy, this has a different concept about what art really is. Guild: association of merchants or crafts people What that means for art is there is no one social genius artist By van eyeck signign this, hes shwoing off and saying he is not just the guild, he is capable Function: van eyck is sayign he is not just a guild, but he capable as a human being more than an artist Style: - realism and naturalism - Here we can see how he is using oil paint to make it look extremely naturalistic - Lines in the forehead - Shadows - Wrinkled - Texture around the colour The frame - The top: As I Can - The bottom: Jan van Eyck Made me

duccios maesta, siena, italian late medieval

Subject: mary and child enthrones and surrounded by saints and angels Historical context: holy object of the people of the time - duccio writes an inscription asking mary to bring him to heaven Function: altarpiece and for education - Siena and florence were at war and siena came out victorious, this painting was made to thank mary Style: - semi naturalistic in clothings drapery, he understands the play of light and dark to create a 3d space and the throne projects backwards - polyptych, multiple panels - predella, the panel on the bottom we see in a lot of altar pieces from this time - front and the back, Back was only available to clergy so the life of christ was only visible to the important religious

leonardo, the last supper

Subject: moment after christ tells his apostles one of them wil betray him Wave of emotion amongst the apostles Specific to each apostle Historical context: Function: commissioned to make this in the refactory where monks go to east because while theyre eating theyre remembering why theyre there and what this food means, Style: - humanism - sfumato - disegno composition: - Renaissance scenes - Intense linear perspective focusing with the vanishing point on chirsts head - Vanishing point connects to the horizon line - Have the lines in the ceiling and diagonal lines on the sides of the walls - Purposeful use of linear perspective Atmospheric perspective Not shown with a halo, instead diinity is shown thorugh center framing. Light comes from behind him to display divitinty, metaphorical halo. - Compositionally he is the center and cealry mde out to be the center of divinity Pyramidal composition - In jesus - His hand goes to the same bread that judas is reaching for, outing judas as the one who will bertray him

leonardo, mona lisa

Subject: portrait of wife of francesco del giocondo Historical context: Thorugh the 19th century this is not an important paoitning, not famous. ,only becomes famous after it got stolen in 1911. Before this portrait portraits were typically in strict profile, looking back to ancient coins Actually more like portraits we assocate with northern european portraits like those done by jan van eyck and the arnolfini portrait Experimenting with what a portrait could be We do not see smiles in portraits until we get the camera bc portraits are meant to be serious Function: commissioned protrait most likely for decoration in the hosue, secular Style: - sfumato - chiaroscuro - no lines in her eyes, hazy shading in her lips - pyramidal composition from the top of her head to her elbows - alein like landscape that dows not look like it belongs in the real world - not a specific place we can find - landsacep above head is mountainous and and below is soily - connected landscape with his interst in the body - cloud = intellect, roads = veins - her veil keeps with renaissance fashion - oil paint - italian high renaissance

ghiberti's sacrifice of isaac, st. john baptistery

Subject: sacrifice of isaac Historical context: competition held by the cathedral for new bronze doors Function: competition entry Style: - both are in the quatrefoil shape, associated with gothic architecture and gothic churches - less dramatic - bronze - foreshortened and separated angel - rocky mountain unifies the scene and flows down from the left to the right

Brunelleschi's Sacrifice of Isaac

Subject: sacrifice of isaac Historical context: competition held by the cathedral for new bronze doors Function: competition entry Style: used more bronze The angel is grasping abrhamas hand and literally stops him in the very moment the knife meets isaacs throat Intensity with isaacs head pushed back, violence in process Twisted and distrted body, loin cloth Diagonoal composition which is more energized and violent Scary! The guilds agreed More like separate parts cast separately

rogier van der weyden, deposition from the cross, oil

Subject: scene when life is removed from the cross Historical context: Function: altarpiece Style: - naturalistic - early netherlandish/flemish - the compostiton - two bodies in a diagonal line in a similar position shows connection between the characters - sorrow and lifelessness - emphasising emoitons like van eyck but not as intense - woman by christs' feet is very uncomfortable to create symmettrical compsotion - quotes italo bynzantine style of painting how is it flemish? - the fashion, headwraps - use of bright colours - intense details - elongated facial features - abstractions in the body - over emphasising paleness

ghiberti, gates of paradise, east doors of the florence baptistery

Subject: series of stories form the book of genesis Historical context: florentines believed their baptistery was a classical roman building. - commissioned by the wealthiest of the guilds of florence Function: east doors of the places people would be baptized next to the cathedral Style: - renaissance notion that the artist is capable of creating an entire world in a space - idea of picture as a window in the renaissance - ghiberti developed perspective - big! the others were more gothic in their designs and quatrefoils - relief sculpture

donatello's david

Subject: story of david and goliath. goliath is a giant who is defeated by david thorugh slingshot. we see the stone in david's hand. Historical context: palazzo medici as patron first full size bronze male nude scultpure that was done since antiquity - Artists and scientists performed dissection, even despite it being against the catholic church, to better understadnt he body - Renaissance artists were anxious to gain specialized knowledge of the inner workings of the bhuman body which would allow them to paint and sculpt the body in many different positions Function: Florence was in war with milan and they just won and florence was teh underdog. The image of david becomes symbolic for the victory of florence at the time. Medici are saying they also share in the victory because they believe they are florence Symbolism to florence of their victory The Medici showing that they are the wealthiest in florence Style: - scientific naturalism - to make art more naturalistic, artists used science like linear perspective and study of anatomy and geometry - senuslaity in aving his hand on his hip overt sensuality over the contraposto is at odds with civil symbolism - made with bronze and copper, like in antiquity

nicola pisano. annunciation, nativity and adoration of the shepards

Subject: story of mary being visited by gabriel and the birth of christ Historical context: this was done in pisa in a baptistry in a time when italy is not one whole country, highly catholic commuity, pisa is a city state Function: commubicating a story to the public and paying homage/respect to mary. Education to the people going into the baptsistry. Showing a baptism where the baptism happens makes sense Style: - influenced by classics art - figures are shown wearing togas and draped maericals associated with greece and rojme as well as laurel wreaths - naturalistic in proportion of arms and legs - late medieval - continuous narrative -

Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece

Subject: the annunciation . center figure is god the father wearing a hat that represents the papacy. Historical context: *coveted by nazis during reformation Function: made for a private chapel Style: - naturalistic - atmospheric perspective - patrons shows kneeling in the act of prayer - glistening oil paint, explosion of colour and detail - open windows with buildings in the back - set in contemporary time period - line: eye goes to god and down to scene of jesus and diagonal lines bring our eyes to jesus - adam and eve are not idealised bodies - polyptch - elaborate frame - pelicans would pick at their own bodies, showing gods sacrifice - detail suggests divine vision only seen by god

religious 15th century early netherlandish painting

The picture frame was used as a thershold into a world that hadnt before been put into paint Large altarpieces ere the focus of public religious practice, but paitnings for private worship were also important Pictures that gave their owners privileged access to the realm of the sacred Patrons included courtly people of the dukes of burgundy, merchants, confraternities and members of religious orders

proportion and scale

The relationships in terms of size of the parts of the person or objects The 'bigness' of a figure can determine its importance

leonardo and his drawings

Travelled to milan to work with the duke where he painted Virgin of the Rock and the last supper In 1503 he began the cartoon of the Battle of Anghiari - Scenes of ferocious fighting - For the Great Council Chamber of the Palazzo Vecchio French king, francis 1, invited him to his court "Greatest draughtsman" Used varieties of mediums, all of which masterfully - Silverpoint, pen and ink, black and red chalks Driven by scientific curiosity - Studied the world around him in the minutest detail - botanical and anatomical studies - In his drawings an dpaintings he created figures which lived, breathed, moved and gave expression to their emotions Military Machines, sketch

giotto personal style

Volumetric figures as opposed to linear Raw human emotion rather than stylized or prettied human emotion He transformed the flat earth perspective in painting into a functional space with depth in his paintings Focus on naturalism, clarity, and ralistic scultpural quality Represented holy figures as majestic but in an earthly realm Adds sculotural relief to figures Mary that occupies space, monumentality and physicality totally different Indelicate unlike that of duccio She weighs alot and is solid, size of her body Turn created by transition fro high lights to shades Her knees come forward creating an illusion of space Makes room for viewers and indidivuals to experience dignity in desig and divinity Suggesting that painting can be a kind of window to enter art with our eyes Emotional power within traditional composition thorugh use of gold and medieval elemtns but allowing human to inhabit the divine world

How do the paintings of van Eyck compare and contrast to art in Siena and Florence we discussed on Monday?

While the artists of Florence and Siena share similarity with the art produced by Early Northern Renaissance artist, Jan van Eyck, in the use of elaborate colour, the use of gold and interactivity with the viewer, there are differences in how these aspects of their art were achieved. Jan van Eyck was able to visually overwhelm the audience with his use of colour. Unlike painters in Florence and Siena, this was achieved by van Eyck in his use of thinned out layers of oil paintings, which give a sense of life and light to his pieces. In the vein of visually overwhelming qualities in his art, van Eyck's works, especially his Ghent Altarpiece, gives a unique and holistic view of all scenery. With his immense attention to detail, in the inclusion of window panes and people in the far backgrounds of painted images and attention to texture in cloth and hair attainable through oil paint, the artist creates an impact on the viewer that is sweeping. Van Eyck's notable and remarkable inclusion of such detail conveys the enormity of the holy realm by forcing viewers to embrace the all-knowing and all-seeing nature of god and his court. Unlike paintings from Florence and Siena, there is a blurred central focus to the piece because van Eyck seeks to cover the canvas with physical symbolism. Whereas artists in Florence and Siena often used gold to exhibit wealth or draw attention to divinity, van Eyck is careful in his use of gold for the sake of creating an image that the viewer can out themselves in the setting of, indicating wealth through material objects and holiness through light, wings and indulges the imperfections of the human form. Another key difference is in the gaze of the figures in the paintings of Jan van Eyck. In works by both Giotto and Duccio, central figures have a tendency to gaze directly at the viewer, especially holy figures such as Mary and Christ. In van Eyck's pieces, however, while not completely without, there appears to be limited direct contact between key figures at the onlooker. Instead viewer engagement is achieved through verisimilitude, including portraying figures that served as metaphors for the onlooker themselves in physicality.

gothic northern europe and bynzatine, turkey, styles

abstract, less realism

Canon

an established set of principles or code of laws

composition

arrangement of forms in space - shapes and lines connecting them

italian high renaissance

artist as creative genius synthesis of - imitation of antiquity - observation of nature and optics - ideal of balance, symmetry, stability historical context - emergence of rome as center of artistic renewal and innovation undr powerful popes, patronage at st peters and the vatican palace

space

bounded or boundles container for objevy

italy in 13th and 14th century renewed interest in

classicism

complement versus secondary colour

complemetary - one colour absorsb light the other reflects secondary - reult from mixing priimary colours

mass and volume

density and eight of matter space that organizes, contains

Regional style

differences in style between different places at the same time

perspective

distance, placmenet from which a piece is looked at

gothic bodies

elongated

byzantine bodies

flat

relief

furnished on other objects

italy in 13th and 14th century major artists

giotto, duccio, martini, lorenzetti

early netherlandish art terms - guilds - i conography - portraiture

guilds - association of merchant or scholars in medieval and renaissance europe iconography - identifying and studying the subject matter and symbols in works of art portraiture - a kind of art that repesents a particular person, real person!

italy in 13th and 14th century key concept

humanism

italy in 13th and 14th century outcome of northern italian republics forcefully asserting themselves

increased art productions and new visual traditions

material or medium

instrument

italy in 13th and 14th century time of shifting politics

king of siciliy frederick II die, leaving a power vacume in southern italy republics fighting with each other siena and florence are having physical battles with each other

interest for secular elemts

landscapes still life themes from daily experience began to compete with religous imagery

subtractive light

light reflected form pigments and objects

italy in 13th and 14th century styles

naturalism, italo-byzantine, goth

freestanding sculpture

one that can be walked around

line

path of a point moving in space, line of sight

hue

property giving colour its name compnents: lightness or darkness, brightness or dullness

italy in 13th and 14th century historical points

republics in italy, black death

Naturalism

resembles real life in an idealized way

classicism

rome and greek culture

Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac competition background

st. john baptistery, florence cathedral, florence Competition panel beginnign of renaissance Cloth guild of florence commissioned a second set of doors for baptistry in florence Enormous bponze doors Baptistry most important place in florence They held a competition, the pieces remaining of the artists entered in the competition are by bruneleschi and ghiberti Sacrifice of isaac All panels had to be contained in a quatrefoil - gothic shape In the story god commands abhraham to scarfifice isaac his son was a miracle and now god commands him to kill his son, moment of crisis and faith He takes isaac to the mountain and puts a knife to his throat when an angel appears and stops him and provides a lamb

carving and casting

subtractive and additive techniques Carving is subtractive, reducing of an original material Casting is additive

16th century early netherlandish religious painting

tension develops between sacred and the secular Some artists turned to inspiration from abroad and travelled to italy to absorb the lesson of italian art Writings, prints, and drawings by da vinci circulated antwerp and raphaels design for tapestries sense of grace and love of renaissance interest in secular elements

technique

the process that an artists handle the material bit with

contour line

when a line defines an objects outer shape