Author: Nora Callanan (Page 2 of 3)

In today’s class, we focused on Baroque art in France, with the epitome of this style being Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles. This style of art intertwines and enforces the concepts of absolute monarchy and divine right, which were ideas pioneered by Louis XIV. Louis called himself the “sun king” because his power stretched across the land and was felt by all, just like the sun. The front facade of the palace was original before Louis remolded and expanded it, but the back garden side is entirely different and done in the classical style. This facade hearkens back to Renaissance-style architecture with the three levels each with its own unique characteristics that are able to blend together to create a harmonious facade. It is very symmetrical and balanced, which highlights the classical influence. This symmetry and order extends into the gardens which are thoroughly manicured into elaborate designs with designated paths intersecting through the lawns.

All aspects of the place are meant to glorify Louis, from the layout of the palace to the decorative elements. Louis’ bedroom is in the very center of the palace, and the axis of the complex runs east to west, just like the sun. In the Hall of Mirrors, mirrors are placed exactly opposite giant windows so that the light from the sun reflects and multiplies across the room, overflowing it with light. This was a deliberate design choice meant to demonstrate the power of Louis through the use of sun imagery.

We focused today on Baroque art from Flanders and Holland, who despite being neighbors, created drastically different art. The Northern part of the Netherlands, known then as the Dutch Republic or now as Holland, was Protestant. While the southern part of the Netherlands, the Spanish Netherlands or Belgium, remained staunchly Catholic. Also the great trade and shipping empire created by the Dutch Republic lead to the development of a wealthy middle class that was able to purchase art from the open market. This is not as much a feature seen in the South where art was based on commission.

The most influential painter from this area was Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens had traveled to Italy and was greatly influenced by the works he saw from artists such as Titan, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio. When he returned to Flanders he incorporated a lot of the distinctive features of these artists into his own works. The Elevation of the Cross features a traditional triptych design, similar to the Merode Triptych which was made almost 200 years prior, and is ment to harken back to the “good ol days” of the Catholic Church before the Reformation. The scene shows a true snapshot image of the moment as Christ, after being nailed to cross, is raised up. The men lifting him strain their muscles dramictly and twist their bodies in Michelangelo like contortions. The left panel contains the friends and followers of Christ, who are contrasted by the right panel which shows the soldiers and thieves that are also being crucified with Christ.

For class today we took a visit to the art museum to take a look at some original prints from the 16th-19th century. We explored many of the different techniques used to create these prints such as woodcut, engraving, and etching. Woodcut is the oldest of the techniques we looked at, which involves carving away the negative space of a design and all the area left raised would be covered in ink. Woodcut has some disadvantages though, such as not being able to use cross-hatching and not being able to have varying widths within the same line. The next technique developed eliminated those problems, which is the process of engraving. This involves using a special tool called a burin, which has a beveled tip so the amount of pressure applied would allow for varying line thickness. Also instead of wood, engravings used a metal sheet which would be first carved and then put into a bath of acid which would deepen the lines, and the rest of the plate was protected by a layer of varnish coating. Ink would then be rubbed into these lines and the rest of the plate would be cleaned off so ink only remained in these lines. The plate would then be pressed into the paper, leaving a distinctive plate mark. The final technique we looked at was etching, which is a process similar to engraving in that it is also an intaglio. It also uses a metal sheet put into a bath of acid and then ink rubbed into the lines, but the process of creating these lines is very different. Rather than a burin, etchings use a thin, sharp needle which creates a sketch-like effect rather than the defined lines a burin would create. The lines are not as precise as in engravings and often waver.

Continuing our conversation on Italian Baroque art, we spent a large portion of today’s class discussing the works of Bernini. Bernini is most famous for his sculptures, but he was also an architect, painter, playwright, and stage designer, and elements from all these fields are seen in his art. Bernini worked for several popes, cardinals, and bishops, but his most important papal project was aiding in the finishing of St. Peters Basilica, a construction project that had been going on since the Renaissance.

The Baldacchino is a structure built at the central point of the cross plan of the basilica. The structure serves as a decorative canopy over the altar where mass would be performed, but the structure not only serves as decoration but is also a grave marker. Undernether where this structure sits is where St. Peter was buried, so this structure serves to also honor the memory of St. Peter, to whom the church is dedicated. The previous monument to mark St. Peter’s tomb included twisted columns, so Bernini chose to include those in his new design as well. On the upper ledge of the canopy are two putti, one holding the papal tiara and the other holding a set of keys. The papal tiara is the symbol of the pope and the keys represent St. Peter, who is said to have been given the keys to heaven, so both these symbols reinforce the authority of the pope. Throughout the structure are images of bees which reference the coat of arms of the Barberini family which Pope Urban VIII, who commissioned this work, is from.

In today’s class, we discussed Italian Baroque art and highlighted the primary artist from this period, Caravaggio. Caravaggio was most famous for his use of tenebrism, which is a technique that contrasts bright lights against a dark background. This effect is meant to create a dramatic light, almost like a spotlight, on important figures in the scene. It is important to look for which figures Caravaggio chooses to place in the light versus in the shadows. Caravaggio’s Calling of Matthew is a prime example of the use of tenebrism to add drama to a scene. The scene occurring in this work shows Jesus coming into a run-down tavern to call upon Matthew, a corrupt and wealthy tax collector, to change his ways and begin following Christ. There is a cellar light above the head of Christ which illuminates Matthew and his companions. The face of Jesus is also illuminated but the rest of his body starts to fade into the shadows. An important feature of the work is Christ’s outstretched hand which mimicks the hand of Adam reaching out to God in the Sistine Chapel. This not only implies Christ as the new Adam, but he is also giving new life to Matthew just as God gave life to Adam. This is a very dramatic and stylized scene, but Caravaggio imbues the work with immense realism. The tavern setting and modern clothes of the figures allow viewers to relate and understand the scene in front of them. Like many artists, Caravaggio aims to place the viewer into the biblical scene.

In today’s class, we focused on the High Renaissance in the North, with particular emphasis on the work of Albrecht Düer. Düer was without a doubt the most famous and influential artist of this period for his developments in the art of printmaking. In training as a goldsmith, Düer learned many of the techniques he would use in his printmaking process. He began with the medium of woodcuts, which were a relief process that required carving very thin, even lines into a block of wood. This block would be then used as a stamp to mass-produce images of this design. Because these works could be mass-produced Düer ensured that all of his works contained his monogram, so that no matter how far they traveled whoever looked at his prints knew who made it. This new age of printmaking was very profitable, not just for Düer, but for all artist as it allowed them to mass produce their works and sell them in a open marker. Now, artist no longer relied solely on commission or having a court position.

Düer’s most famous work is his engraving Adam and Eve. He uses ideal vitruvian proportions for his figures, and they are also opposite compliments with Adam having wide shouders and a small wait and Eve having small sholders and a wide waist. Both figures are also molded of Roman statues that Düer would have seen during his travles to Italy. Düer’s includes are large amount of hidden symbolism, similar to early Northern art tradition. The image of a parrot is supposed to represent the Virgin and connect her with Eve. The seemingly random animals scattered around the scene are symbols of the tempterments from Galeninc medicine. Düer is trying to implay that in the Garden of Eden the temperments were balanced and there was no illness, and it is only after the fall that sickness effects humans.

After wrapping up our discussion of the High Renaissance with Michelangelo’s Pieta, we began looking at the Late Renaissance and Mannerism. There is a distinct change, partially the art of Michelangelo, which separates the period of the High and Late Renaissance. The Late Renaissance and Mannerism come about from the artists of the High Renaissance reaching the peak of ideal humanist art. In accordance with Neoplatonic belief, artists in the Renaissance were trying to reach the idea of humanist art, and they essentially did by the time of Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Once they reached these ideals they strived for of realism, balance, dynamism, and more – the idea of breaking these rules became more intriguing than building upon them. While artists of the Early Renaissance were constantly trying to improve on the work of artists before them Mannerist artists strived to almost go against their predecessors and aim to create something unique and visually interesting.

Michelangelo’s frescos on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are primary examples of Late Renaissance art. When comparing Michelangelo’s figures to any other High Renaissance artist it is glaringly obvious how different they are. Michelangelo’s figures take up these strange, contorted positions, that might appear natural because of Michelangelo’s masterful skill, but when looking upon closer examination are almost impossible to do. Beyond that, they are so muscular, even the women, that they don’t look like real figures, but statues almost. All the High Renaissance artists strived to make their figures look as lifelike as possible, but Michelangelo does not attempt that here and instead focuses on using these figures’ bodies and faces to convey emotions and meaning.

We wrapped up our discussion of the Early Renaissance by looking at Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, which is a hallmark work of this period. Botticelli is moving away from the strive for realism that his counterparts were obsessed with. This is partly due to the mythological scene he is depicting – he is not worried about capturing real life because this scene is not real. This painting shows the moment after Venus was born out of the sea foam and is floating toward land on a shell. Botticelli uses some atmospheric perspective when creating the landscape background, but his focus with this work was creating a beautiful and harmonious scene. It is also important to note the significance of having a nude figure in this work. Nude figures are not completely unheard of in this period, but they were often depictions of Eve and come with obvious moral overtones. Here, Venus is nude to show off her perfection and to highlight her as the goddess of love and beauty. Venus is one of the only figures both in Antiquity and in the Renaissance that is almost always depicted nude.

Moving into the High Renaissance, we began with arguably the most remarkable artist from this period, Leonard da Vinci. Leonard was much more than an artist though and was interested in engineering, mathematics, medicine, and much more. One of the first works of his that we looked at is his Vitruvian Man, where he drew inspiration from the writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius. His central idea with this work is that man could be perfectly inscribed in a circle and square, with their centers being at his naval.

His work from this class that most interested me was the Madonna of the Rocks. I was initially drawn to the idea behind it of envisioning how Jesus and John the Baptist met, and Leonardo’s vision of them meeting as small children in this quite peculiar landscape. I was intrigued to learn that this rocky setting comes from references to the Song of Songs from the Old Testament, but then also references to the New Testament with the manger scene and the cave where Jesus was buried and rose. Leonardo’s question he was trying to solve with this piece was how to create symmetrical, but also dynamic composition. His solution was the pyramidal pose with figures anchoring each point of the triangle. This creates a very balanced and stable composition but also makes it visually interesting.

We spent the majority of today’s class discussing the Brancacci chapel, whose interior walls were covered in frescos created by Masaccio. The commissioner of this chapel, whose name was Pietro Brancacci (Peter), requested Masaccio to paint scenes from the life of his namesake, St. Peter. The most notable of these panels depicts the scene known as the “Tribue Money” from the gospel of Matthew. This is not a popular scene in Christian art, so Masaccio used solely his creativity and a thorough reading of Matthew’s gospel to create this scene. St. Peter is depicted 3 times in this panel as part of a continuous narrative. The are three primary moments happening in this one scene: 1. Jesus speaking with the tax collector and telling Peter to go collect the money 2. Peter collecting money from the mouth of the fish 3. Peter giving the money to the tax collector. The organization of these scenes forces the viewer to start in the center of the fresco, look to the far left side, and then pass through the center again to look at the final moment at the far right side of the fresco.

The striking and vivid colors of the figure’s clothes make them stand out against the grey landscape. Masaccio uses atmospheric perspective by making the background landscape bluer and more hazy than the figures in the foreground. The architectural details in the frescos reveal the orthogonal and transversal lines used also to create linear perspective. Masaccio uses elements of landscape and architecture to frame important figures and scenes.

In class today, we began discussion of the Early Italian Renaissance. We started with talking about the “studia humanitatis”, which refers to the study of the humanities or human-made works. This study had a particular focus on works from Classical antiquity. This idea of humanism is seen extensively throughout this time period, from the art they created to how their governments were organized. Florence was a republic to reaffirm the idea that they were the heirs of the Roman Republic. Florence was a particularly interesting city because it was not controlled by a monarch or aristocracy but by powerful bankers and merchants. The guilds also played a powerful role in the political, social, and artistic life of the city.

The wool merchant’s guilds held a competition for who would create the bronze doors for the Baptistery of Saint John. Filippo Brunelleschi entered this competition but ultimately ended up losing. This led him to abandon sculpting and began studying architecture. Brunelleschi traveled to Rome to study ancient buildings. He was heavily inspired by the Pantheon, which is an extremely rational and perfectly portioned building. He took everything he learned in Rome to create the dome for the Cathedral of Florance. It has a double shell, with an inner dome for support and an outer dome as an attractive covering. The conception of this dome is entirely based on numerical relationships. Just like the Pantheon, this building is extremely rational and well-balanced.