Author: Lucy Rayback (Page 3 of 3)

Class began with emphasizing that Northern European artists were focused on representing a convincing reality – whether through sculptures, or paintings (both religious and secular). Jan van Eyck was a Dutch painter whose work I found especially engaging during class. He was one of the earliest painters to sign and date his work, helping artists today identify and track his pieces. Throughout his career, van Eyck was a painter for the Duke of Burgundy and part of his court. This gave van Eyck the freedom to paint what he wanted as he wasn’t living off commissions. The Arnolfini Portrait was fascinating to dissect when looking for “disguised symbolism.” The details of shoes, fruit, little statues, and even which side of the room the figures stand on, show that van Eyck put much thought into his portraits. Even his suspected self portrait has details such as wrinkles that make his subject appear real.

Hans Hemling continued this idea of a convincing reality with his diptych of prayer to Mary and child. He created an image where The Virgin comes into your space as a result of prayer. He even creatively uses mirrors to show space and the reflection of saint and human together. This tactic is similar to one used by van Eyck in the Arnolfini Portrait, where he shows extra figures not in the painting’s perspective through the reflection of a mirror. The detail, precision, and vision it took to add those details to these works of art is amazing.

In class today we began by finishing our discussion on 13th and 14th century Italy. Specifically, we examined the “advancement” of art through Cimabue and Giotto’s similar paintings of the Madonna and Child. Some constants between the pantings include a gold background symbolizing heaven, a central Madonna clothed in a stark blue holding her child, and angels surrounding the throne she sits on. However, Cimabue used an abstractness when designing his figures and the spatial relations were off. Giotto, only about thirty years later, focused on creating a logical space inside the image and painted cloth that draped beautifully. His touches gave the painting an entirely different perspective, where a viewer can look into the scene. This truly emphasized for me the impact that depth can have on an image.

Transitioning to 15th century Northern Europe, manuscripts were popular among the upper class patrons who could afford them. The large books acted as calendars and depicted small, hand-painted scenes. One such buyer was John, Duke of Berry who was an art collector in France. He was especially interesting as he used his manuscript as an inventory of his assets, showing tapestries, castles, serfs, and even himself in rich clothing. As evidenced with his manuscript, artists at the time were focused on painting a convincing reality.

Class today focused on art in 13th and 14th century Italy. This was the beginning of the Renaissance, a period of rebirth of ancient Roman and Greek ideals which manifested in a new appreciation for art. Florence and Siena especially were prominent cities for the arts, including with their architecture. The campaniles and battlements were especially interesting because of their uniqueness when compared to modern buildings. The tall towers and strong, fortress appearance of the town halls, including rustication with pietra forte, were a symbol of power for the prideful cities. Today, town halls or other buildings in a city’s center square are built with fewer embellishments and make less of a statement.

Altarpieces were some of the earliest Renaissance works because churches could afford to commission the paintings and had the space to display the large panels. One analyzed in class was St. Francis by Bonaventura Berlinghieri. The large portrait of St. Francis, part of the Mendicant Order and canonized in 1228, depicts him in the center with the wounds of Christ and surrounds him with scenes from his life. The large tempura panel hung behind the altar in the Church of St. Francesco where the priest would face during the transubstantiation for the body of Christ during communion. Because of this, altarpieces contained religious scenes or figures, including St. Clare or the famous image of Enthroned Madonna and Child by Cimabue. These works of art enhanced the religious belief and were symbols of faith for early Italy.