In class on Monday we covered the Rococo period (18th-Century Art), mainly covering France and ending by transitioning to England. The Rococo began following the death of Louis XIV in 1715. During the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV, there was a great focus on creating elaborate decorations that created a public face for the king’s power. Following the death of Louis XIV, the aristocrats moved from Versailles into the city of Paris. In Paris, though the city streets were cramped, the aristocrats created grand interior spaces for private use. These homes were decorated in a manner that was lighter in color, more airy in feel, and conveyed a general sense of lightness than the productions under Louis XIV. There was a strong sense of organicness in the interiors.
Author: Charlotte Epker (Page 2 of 3)
We began class by wrapping up our study of Dutch Baroque art. We spent time discussing the different areas of specialization that were prominent among Dutch artists. These included landscapes, church interiors, still-life, and genre scenes. Different artists would focus on different specialized subjects. This reflects the changing art economy, which shifted from largely commission-based to a free market. Specialization allowed artists to differentiate themselves from their competitors. One thing that stuck out to me was the still life by Rachel Ruysch, especially as the painting constructed this “impossible” bouquet. Still-life paintings allowed the artist to combine elements to create an ideal arrangement. In this case, not all of the flowers within Ruysch’s painting would have been blooming at the same time.
We later transitioned into studying Baroque Art in France, taking a closer look at works created to project the absolutism of Louis XIV. The Palace of Versailles is an example of how art and architecture embodied Louis XIV’s sense of absolute power and divine right. I was particularly fascinated by the axis on which the palace was built, and how the movement of the sun was taken into account when placing the King’s bedroom on the central axis.
In class on Tuesday we first covered Baroque Art in France and Holland and then moved North to look at the work produced in the Dutch Republic (The Netherlands). We first considered some background factors that would have been influencing the works produced, such as the Reformation which led to a split in the Netherlands between North and South (Protestant and Catholicism, respectively). We spent a chunk of time talking about the work of Rubens, whose works captured essential Baroque themes such as instantaneous movement and powerful diagonal lines. In our transition to Northern artists, we looked at the works of Frans Hals, including his lively group portrait Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Civic Guard. This work strayed from previous group portraits in that it achieved in making every figure visible, while also creating a composition that was not boring. Like Rubens, Hals also used strong diagonal lines. After Hals, we looked at Rembrandt, who was prolific with his painting of self-portraits. At the end of class, we shifted to the “Little Masters” and the emerging trend of specialization.
In class on Wednesday we visited the Colby Museum of Art to learn about and view different forms of printmaking. The two primary forms of printmaking were relief (woodcut) and intaglio (including etching, drypoint, and engraving). We were able to look closely at the works by talented printmakers which are held within the museum, including those made by Rembrandt and Dürer. Our ability to get close to the prints, even looking at them under a magnifying glass, allowed us to further understand and differentiate the different printmaking styles and the techniques attributed to different styles.
In class today we covered Baroque Art in both Italy and Spain. We began with studying Gianlorenzo Bernini in Italy, an artist to whom we can apply the term “Renaissance man”, as he worked as a sculptor, architect, painter, as well as stage designer. I was really taken by his depiction of Teresa de Àvila in The Ecstacy of St Teresa. This sculptural work was created for a chapel. The sculpture itself is made of white marble, which is illuminated by a secret window placed above the sculpture. There are golden rays that come down from the hidden window, casting a golden radiation towards the sculpture, which against the bright white of the stone, gives the appearance of heavenly light. We can see how Bernini’s work as a stage designer impacted his work, as on either side of the central sculpture there are theatrical boxes with onlookers. This places the viewer in the interesting position of watching people who are watching the exchange between the angel and St Teresa.
We looked at another work at the end of class which also placed the viewer into an interesting dynamic with the subjects of the work. Las Meninas by Velàzquez, a Spanish painter, depicts the artist painting a large canvas in the royal palace. He is surrounded by many figures, including the royal family, their maids, and entertainers. The picture is complex because we are not quite able to place ourselves within the context of the painting, but we still feel as though we are being brought in. Additionally, the mirror on the back wall seems to suggest that the King and Queen are in the room as well, though we only see them as a reflection, not in physical form.
In class, we wrapped up our study of the High Renaissance Period in Northern Europe. We considered works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, including The Blind Leading the Blind. The scene shows a line of blind men leading each other into a ditch, representing a quote from the Gospel of Matthew. The placement of the figures is very thought out, creating a diagonal line from the top left to the bottom right, which pulls the viewer’s eye across the scene. Bruegel leaves a gap between figures in front of the church, placing a subtle emphasis on the presence of the church.
We then transitioned back to Italy to study Baroque art in the 16th and 17th centuries. Two major elements influenced artists during the period – the conscious reaction against Mannerism and the counterreformation. The Protestant Reformation, which began in the North, led to religious division throughout Europe. Many people abandoned their Catholic faiths for the reformed models, prompting the Counterreformation, which was launched by the Council of Trent. During the Counterreformation, the Catholic church attempted to rebrand to fight the advances of the Protestants and their reformation. Among this series of rebranding were new guidelines for representing religious subjects in art, including the Trinity, Mary, and Saints.
We began today’s class by finishing the lecture on Mannerism. We looked at the works by Agnolo Bronzino, including Allegory of Venus and Cupid. The painting was given as a gift from Cosimo to the King of France, and elements within the work can be viewed as symbols of syphilis, which the King of France suffered from. The work would have certainly served as a conversation piece, as a group could endlessly discuss the meaning of the rather strange assortment of characters and symbols.
We then transitioned to a discussion of the High Renaissance in Northern Europe. It was first important to note that there is a rather vague distinction between the High Renaissance and Mannerism in Northern Europe. There was a wide range of art being produced in Northern Europe at the time, with some artists continuing medieval work, while others adopted the styles of Italian Renaissance men. The protestant reformation had a significant impact not only on religion in Northern Europe but also on the art that was being produced. We began considering the printed works of Dürer and comparing his mastered printmaking technique with past works.
Since today was my day to type up class notes for our shared doc, I feel as though I’ve already been able to begin reflecting on our class today! We picked up where we had left off with the High Renaissance, finishing our discussion of sculptural works by Michelangelo. We didn’t talk much about Awakening Prisoners, but this is a work I have been able to see in person. I loved how Professor Plesch used the idea of extracting the idea from within the marble to describe this work, because that if exactly how it is laid out within the gallery in Florence. It sits among a series of other Prisoners, each one progressing more and more away from the solid stone and into its human form. We wrapped up the Renaissance section by recapping the main themes (ideal forms, harmony, balance, and pyramidal form) before moving on to Mannerism.
Some of Michelangelo’s later works were reflective of the new concepts included in Mannerism. The Creation of Adam section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling stood out to me, especially since it is an image that is so easily recognizable and iconic to the Sistine Chapel. I visited the Vatican last year but was unable to go into the Sistine Chapel as it was the week leading up to Easter and all tickets were sold out. It is certainly a work I would love to return to see at some point in my life. In the mannerist works, we see a departure from the order and harmony of the Renaissance. Instead, artists focus on decorative elements, elongation of forms, and overall complexity.
In class, we resumed our study of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. I really enjoyed our breakdown of all the elements within this painting, especially since it was a work I saw it in person when I visited Florence last spring. It is one of the iconic works of art that is very recognizable, so I feel it is often considered for its presence in its entirety. I liked how we paused and took the time to not only on the composition as a whole but each individual element, from the trees in the background to the floral designs of the dress and cape that the Horae holds. I liked the idea that the painting was a representation of spring, and that immediately made me associate the work with the sensations of a spring day. Moving on to the next chapter we began our discussion of some of the great artists of the High Renaissance, such as Leonardo da Vinci. Through Leonardo’s works, across both works of art and architecture, we see him return to the goal of understanding structure. Leonardo was constantly seeking to understand and solve problems through his art. I was particularly fascinated with the mathematics and order behind The Last Supper, as Leonardo expertly arranged characters and elements into groupings of 3 and 4, while still directly attention to Christ in the middle of the scene. We ended class by looking at some of the frescoes of the Stanzadella Signatura in the Vatican, specifically the School of Athens scene. I hope we can continue to discuss this work in our next class, as I find it to be such an interesting work of art that signifies the new status of artists in the renaissance.
In class on 2/21 we continued learning about Italian art in the 15th century. We began with learning some background information on Masaccio and his path toward being a master artist. We spent a large chunk of time discussing Masaccio’s frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel, specifically the Tribute Money frame. I really appreciate how in-depth we go when discussing particular works, spending 15 minutes on a particular work of art, and dissecting all the important elements. In the case of Tribute Money, we talked about how the particular subject matter reflected knowledge of the bible and how Masaccio applies a continuous narrative. Continuous narrative is when the same figure is presented multiple times (and at different times) in a scene. In the case of Tribute Money, Peter is depicted three times, which allows Masaccio to tell the progression of the story of the tax collector in one frame. I enjoyed learning about how Masaccio presented the holy trinity in the scene with the tomb. The spacing and placement of the characters were particularly interesting, as they signaled the hierarchy that the characters fall into. We ended class by starting to talk about furnishings, which we will continue to learn about this afternoon.