Although I was not in class before break, I have some observations from the class notes. Most recently, we talked about Baroque art in France. One of the most important figures from the lecture was Louis XIV. He created the Palace of Versailles, mostly to display vast wealth and overwhelm the visitor with the king’s power and glory. The palace has a very interesting architecture in that the building goes west to east, making the sun cross the building as it rises then sets. It is interesting as it could appear that the King could be controlling something as big and powerful as the sun. Also discussed was the Portrait of Louis XIV by Rigaud. The many decorations and extravagance in this painting further emphasized the opulence and wealth.
Author: Shayna Purow (Page 2 of 3)
Instead of a traditional lecture today we went to the museum to learn about different printmaking techniques we discussed in class. We first looked at woodcuts, including one by Durer. Some of the details we saw were the uniform lines and varying thickness within some of the lines. Hatching was used to create depth. The lines were uniform because they were created by turning the block the wood was being carved into, not hand.
We then discussed Intaglio, including etchings and engravings. We discussed a tool used for engravings, the burin, and how the pressure of the hand can be used to create varying line thickness. Etchings are different from engravings as they are made using a straight needle over a varnish/coating. The lines created in these prints are often more sketchlike, more wobbly because the line is made by moving the hand and not the whole print. Intaglio is also easily differentiable from woodcuts because of the presence of an edge around the print from the block. We then discussed one final technique where large blocks of gray can be achieved. The melted dots of resin contrast with the black ink, appearing as little white flecks.
I found the class particularly engaging as we were able to see examples of all these techniques in person and learn how to identify the different types of print by looking at them.
Today in class we continued our discussion of the Baroque period, looking at Italy and Spain. Starting in Italy, we looked at the art of Gianlorenzo Bernini, a sculptor but also painter, stage designer, etc. We started our discussion with his David sculpture. For this sculpture, Bernini chose to represent the split second before David releases his slingshot aimed at Goliath. This represents the Baroque ideals of motion and dynamic artwork. This frozen action really engages the viewer as if the slingshot could almost be thrown at them, which was a really cool effect. Another interesting aspect of this sculpture was the attention to detail and focus on David’s face. We then discussed Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa, a sculpture representing a vision she had. Interestingly, there are sculpted viewers on the side. A hidden window pane with yellow and gilded rays captivate the viewer with a strong sense of light, another Baroque idea.
We then looked at a few paintings from Spain during this time, like The Club Footed Boy. The boy is depicted as a beggar with a note asking for alms for the poor as written in the Bible. His pose with his walking stick mirrors both those of Christ carrying his cross and a man with a weapon, alluding to the beggar boy as a soldier of God. However, the boy has a smile on his face.
Today’s class marked the end of our discussion of the High Renaissance in Italy. We ended by discussing the work of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The first piece we looked at was his blind leading the blind piece, representative of Brugel’s style of poking fun at people to show a lesson. Bruegel, initially from the Netherlands, traveled to Italy and was fascinated by the mountainous landscape in comparison to the flat land he came from so the landscape was often an important part of his artwork. This painting in particular depicts a group of blind men falling in a ditch. It represents the idea of an unsure leader and what can happen if people follow one who also does not know what they are doing. The background is a countryside scene with a church. The scene also could be representative of a statement from Christ speaking about the blind. However, Christ’s word was about spiritual blindness, not human blindness. Bruegel knew this, so the meaning of his painting could be making a statement about the church as an institution.
We then began discussing the Baroque period, defined by emotion and the counter-reformation movement. The Catholic Church was “losing business.” As a result, the Catholic Church underwent the Council of Trent from 1545 to 1563. The goal of these meetings was to fight against the advancements of Protestantism. One of the strategies developed was to use images and art to convince people to be Catholic instead of Protestant.
To begin today’s class, we looked at the “Allegory with Venus and Cupid” by Agnolo Bronzino. Bronzino was known for his mannerism painting, one of the characteristics specifically being a confusing composition and characters. This specific painting was commissioned by one of the Medici’s as a gift to the King of France. Some of the characters believed to be in this painting are Father Time, who can be seen holding a clock, while unveiling the scene through a curtain we see. The goddess Venus and her son Cupid are presented in the center of the scene. The figure in the background is holding honey in one hand and a scorpion in the other. Honey represents happiness and love whereas the scorpion represents danger and death. The hands of this figure are reversed, signifying mannerism art which was known for its unusual and puzzling elements. On the one hand, time is revealing love and the amazing things that come with love, but on the other side, we see the dangers of love at times and jealousy that can stem from it.
We then transitioned to the High Renaissance in Northern Europe. The Protestant Reformation played an enormous role in Northern Europe during this era. We then spoke about Albrecht Durer, one of the most famous and important artists from this period. He is referred to as the “German Leonardo” as he had lots of different artistic talents like printmaking and painting, like Leonardo was so multi-talented. Both of their works are extremely well known to this day. One of Durer’s most famous pieces we discussed is “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” part of a larger series of woodcuts made in 1498. Printmaking allowed Durer’s work to be mass produced more easily transferable across villages, which helped to expand his popularity. The four horsemen consist of death, famine, war, and conquest, who all kill creatures as they ride away. We also discussed some of his other pieces, how he signed them all, and his potentially narcissistic personality.
We began class by discussing again the idea of the universal man, a man with many different interests and developed skills in many fields. One classic example of a renaissance man would be Michalengelo. He believed in neoplatonism, or the belief that the world is imperfect but ideas could be perfect and were attainable without waiting for the afterlife. Because of this belief, Michelangelo’s favorite medium was stone because he could create something perfect out of stone, something rough and full of flaws.
We then discussed some of the characteristics of Mannerism, like elongated figures and androgyny. We looked at some of Michalengelo’s later work and how it showed the beginning of a divergence from renaissance ideas. The change to mannerism could have been because of a time of upheaval in Florence and the continual sacking of Rome.There is also more of an emphasis on the decorative element and less on a clear and realistic composition, as well as less primary colors and more colors that don’t exist in nature. We then looked at a few examples such as the Madonna of the long Neck
Today’s class we mainly focused on the high renaissance in Italy, although we started class with a brief discussion of Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” We made the important distinction that this scene is not actually how Venus is born since she is already born in the portrait. We discussed last class the actual birth of Venus. Botticelli’s painting is depicted in his naturalistic style and shows Venus being pushed to shore by Zephyr, the God of the West wind. The flowers in the air represent the flowers of Venus. Venus is the goddess of spring so there is a lot of floral and spring-like surroundings.
Our discussion then shifted to the High Renaissance beginning with Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo was a painter, architect, sculptor, engineer. Leonardoa’s work was all about problem solving, and I find it super interesting the true breadth of his work since the majority of people only know him as a painter. He developed the relationship between patterns in small parts of something and the connection to the overall larger part, the concept of macrocosm and microcosm. We then discussed “Madonna of the Rocks” which is pictorial, graphic, and speculative. Within this scene, baby Jesus, St. John the Baptist, Mary, and the angel are all connected with one another. He presents these four figures in a pyramidal shape, which is much more stable than a symmetrical work. We also viewed a few more world in the triangular nature which showcased the balance more so than the rigidness of symmetrical pieces.
In today’s class, we discussed The Tribute Money by Masaccio. Massaccio was commissioned by a man named Peter so a lot of his work included Saint Peter for a private chapel. This was another example of a work that included multiple scenes in one painting which was really interesting. It also represented current events at the time it was painted and the characters were wearing modern clothing. One aspect that I thought was super interesting (although not necessarily relevant to the content of the piece) was the placement of the giornate and Massacio trying to hide them. The framing of the work was really interesting as your eye did not jump from left to right but instead started in the center where Jesus was. We also talked about gesturing, and how Peter was mimicking the gesture of Jesus. There were also great examples on linear and atmospheric perspective in this painting which continued from previous lectures.
We also discussed some of the difficulties behind portraying the Holy Trinity in a piece of art.
This past class we discussed Quattrocento, the 15th century. There was an uptick in the study of literature, art and ideas during this time. Due to the development of moveable type and the print press, more books were made. However the original costs were still expensive due to the high cost it took to make paper.
The city of Florence was filled with guilds of differing professions, unions for apprentices to hone their craft, including wool, silk, sculpture, judges, etc. The guilds were responsible for the making of public art pieces and displays for buildings. The wool guild held a competition to choose an artist to make bronze doors for the Baptistery of Florence. Brunelleschi lost, but found greater success in the area of architecture.
We then spoke about linear perspective, which was super interesting to me as an art major as this was something I had learned in a previous class but applied in a new context.
During this last lecture we continued our discussion of northern Europe with a focus on a few artists in particular. One of these artists was Jan Van Eyck and his painting “The Arnolfini Portrait”. I really enjoyed looking at all of the examples of hidden symbolism such as the shoes left around the room representing that the figures were on holy ground, as well as the presence of the fruit representing fertility. I also really appreciated the use of the dog as a double symbol of both loyalty and wealth. The dog stuck out to me specifically because the meaning of the dog would be slightly different today, not as much of a status symbol, which the use of fruit could likely have a similar meaning as in the 15th century painting.
The concept of disguised symbolism was very interesting to me because to have these hidden meanings inside a painting felt very clever and revolutionary. I can also see aspects of disguised symbolism in paintings now but also in books and non-visual art forms.