Category: Uncategorized (Page 48 of 48)

I found the material covered in the class to be extremely interesting. The comparison of sections of the Pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery to earlier Greek statues and works stood out. When considering the layout of churches, I hadn’t considered the positioning of the altar and the purpose of an altarpiece. Additionally, the placement of the depiction of Jesus, in Enthroned Madonna and Child, in relation to the host serves as a good example of the use of altarpieces. When examining these paintings from the early 12th century, I noticed the toned down colors of the paintings, and as it shifts into the 14th century, the colors become more vibrant, and the people become more lively. This shift makes sense when considering the shift in culture and time.

We also briefly touched on the political factors that surrounded art and architecture. Primarily the Piazza della Signoria, a town hall in Florence. In order to put up the town hall, buildings owned by the Uberti family were demolished. The Uberti family opposed the rule of the Pope, and this was a display of strength to show what happens to those who supported the emperor. The structure also contained militaristic design to make it seem more imposing.

In our first day of AR112, we learned about different architecture displayed throughout the Italian peninsula. We touched on different designs such as large bell towers being prevalent throughout the peninsula, as well as large squares being consistently spread out throughout the area. It’s important to note that because Italy was not unified until the 19th century, there were tons of city-states that made up the peninsula, each one having its own sense of pride and nationalism. As stated above, large bell towers were created throughout many cities in Italy. These towers created a sense of pride and safety for your hometown. If a citizen could see the tower, they felt safe and apart of their community. If they could not see the bell tower anymore, they felt more lost and unknown. This sense of attachment to community created many rivalries between towns that still exist to this day.

We also learned about the importance of Saint Francis within Italy. Francis wrote the song “The Canticle of Brother Sun” in 1224 which was significant because it was one of the first works ever written in Italian, rather than Latin. Saint Francis grew up within a wealthy family, but saw beggars throughout his hometown, and ultimately shifted from his rich lifestyle to a poor one. He joined the beggars and promoted his ideas. His followers became known as “Franciscans.” This group differs itself from monks, as they interacted with all different types of people. After Francis died in 1226, he was recognized as a saint just two years later in 1228, the quickest to ever be named a saint after their passing. I enjoyed learning about the importance of Saint Francis and the significance of different architecture throughout the Italian peninsula in our first class.

A few days ago I had my first art history class since 2020! It was a nice way to pick up right where I had left off. I was genuinely surprised when Professor Plesch said that we wouldn’t need to memorize pieces, but I feel that making flashcards for pieces and ideas won’t hurt for this course.

Anyway, I appreciated the pace and the depth of Professor Plesch’s lecture. It was electrifying, in a way, and I had never really considered the Renaissance to be a regional resurgence in appreciation and reverence for Roman material culture. From the reading in the book, I learned that the Renaissance, as we think of it today, occurred only in those city-states where the artistic influence of early Christian and Roman aesthetics could be co-opted and that Gothic influences were an important factor in Italian art in this time (especially in the north of Italy, around Milan).

I really liked learning about the campanilismo. I never really knew Italy to be a place where identity and unity with your birthplace was so important, and I never knew it would have pertained to staying within the sight-line of your town’s bell tower! I’m excited to continue learning about crucial pieces of art history, and the quirky contextual facts that go along with understanding the wider atmosphere in which a piece of art was created.

In today’s lecture, we started with the geography of the Italian Peninsula during the 13th and 14th centuries, a period marked by remarkable cultural and economic developments. Despite the lack of political unification, there existed a certain geographical unity among the regions of Italy. Contrary to the popular notion of the Renaissance as a complete “rebirth,” we explored how it was more of a resurgence of ancient Greek knowledge and ideas. It was intriguing to think about who shapes history and how biases can seep in through the lens of the victors and the powerful.

We also discussed important geographical locations like Florence and Siena at that time. It was interesting to see how art and architecture were impacted by their value for individuality. When we were observing how this cultural importance flowed into the architecture, we discussed the role of Campanile (bell towers) in displaying the city state’s Campanilismo (sense of pride for town). I feel that whenever I have visited Mughal sites back in my country, I have seen multiple structures and paintings built with a similar intent i.e. to display power and influence. We delved into the distinctive features of Piazze (town squares) and how they comprise government buildings, churches, religious processions, and public executions and pondered over the relation of such elements with their location. For example for public executions were a civic and religious event at that time and being held in the square communicated a strong moral message to the local community there. When discussing Piazze we focused on Piazza della Signoria and Piazza del Campo. Additionally, we studied the Town Hall of Florence, Palazzo dei Priori, and how it was rapidly built within 11 years. The story of this town hall felt crucial to discuss as it revealed the role of politics and the power of the victorious political party in that period.

Amidst our discussion of this particular town hall we learned how works of art are sometimes “attributed” to artists when it isn’t a hundred percent clear as to who made them. Following the theme of how architecture can be used to display power we talked about rustication and how Pietra Forte (strong stone) was used to get a message across even though there are stronger stones that exist. Along the same note, we observed how crenellations and battlements were also constructed into this town hall. This all reiterated how despite not having practical purposes, these features were still included to assert their political standing.

We also explored independent Baptisteries and the Italian ethos of combining the civic and the religious. We also examined the architecture of the Baptistry. We discussed how the Nicola Pisano Pulpit and its capital and eagle lectern are positioned and structured, taking note of how the eagle’s wing and body was a thoughtful and clever choice for holding a book. We also delved into humanism and how a renewed interest in antiquity was becoming evident upon examination of the art pieces. An example we discussed for this was of how the figures on the sides of the arches represented Christian virtues through ancient heroes.

Furthermore, we discussed the relationship of the mendicant orders with the development of arts in 13th and 14th-century Italy by focusing on Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Claire and their role in the creation of the orders. We studied “Receiving the Stigmata” and “Preaching to the Birds” and noted the medium – tempera – that was used. We learned about how the reason why this figure and the artwork are so important is tied to where the panel was positioned over an altar. We also noted how the figures vastly improved over seventy years given how the shadows, highlights, landscapes, and proportions were more natural. We further discussed how altar pieces became relevant in religious practice as interior architectural changes happened. To understand this, we discussed how the “Enthroned Madonna and Child” and its positioning right above the priest’s hands (from the audience’s perspective) during the process of Transubstantiation is an instance of how art helped people understand Christian dogma. We ended the lecture by discussing Maniera Greca – Italo-Byzantine style. I liked how the altar piece of “Enthroned Madonna and Child” expressed the idea of how Virgin Mary is the church by making her throne look like a building.

Today was our first class of AR112. The course is a survey where we will be looking at a wide range of western art from the renaissance all the way to today. I am excited to take a course with this wide variety as it will be my first time taking this type of survey. I have previously enjoyed deeper dives into specific periods but I think this course will be great for developing my general art history knowledge. 

An interesting part of our studies that we started with was establishing that the country of Italy did not actually exist until the 19th century. This is important because we will be studying a lot of art that took place in what is now modern Italy but was not Italy at the time. 

One thing that became clear through class is religion’s significance throughout this survey. There are some things I need to learn about outside of class to be appropriately prepared for this class. Generally, I am very excited about the prospects of this course.

The introduction to the textbook discussed the significance of art, and its function. Must art be aesthetically pleasing, and is everything around us art? I think the idea of art being a functional thing that exists in our daily life connected strongly to the birth of the altarpiece–that the value of art is also connected to the ideas it conveys and the wit with which it’s delivered. Are altarpieces witty? Maybe not, but they certainly convey a functional idea with aesthetic and technical skill. They connected the physical world with the divine–something that churches at the time were very interested in.

Beyond altarpieces, our book introduces architecture as telling a story. Churches are especially symptomatic of this, as many cathedrals were built with the intent of trying to catch a glimpse of perfect eternity and give it to churchgoers. Also the auxiliary intents of demonstrating wealth, skill, and building a place people are willing to watch a tedious ritual in. Just as different sects’ ideals differ, so too do their religious buildings. The architectural difference between a protestant church in a strip mall and St Paul’s Basilica is partially due to dogma. Each place tells a story of what is valued, the circumstances it ‘lives’ in, and the people telling the story.

In 13th century Italy, we can see the architectural difference between a state at peace and a state at war. Florence’s Palazzo della Signora is a fortress, easily defendable and ready to fight. The Doge’s palace, however, is resplendent with open spaces, arcades, and is characterized by little defensibility in general. Both of these buildings are art, and similarly valuable to history–but they serve unique functions and tell very different stories.

2-7-2024 

Today in class we discussed that art is not as simple as making a wall more interesting, and to understand what the art is doing and why it was created you have too look at it in the context of everything. For example, in Italy as discussed in class today, the four things surrounding a square or center of an Italian town are a church, monumental building and executions, all the things, boiled down are government, state and the people of this place… all these things have an affect on art because they affect the people and the economy and the politics that in turn decide who and how much art is being made. 

We also discussed the way buildings can have meaning.The use of Strong Stone(a name of stone, not a description) for the construction of a new town hall in Florence gave the idea that the new government was strong, and the building had architectural similarities to a castle such as crenelations. 

The church as an idea is also represents as the virgen Mary…inside the church, the alter that the virgen Mary sits on in the piece of art over the alter often looks like a building. Signifying this same idea. 

The shift from a more frontal dead on view of saint Francis to the more contrapposto pose of marry in the large house shaped alter pieces is interesting to consider a similar Trend from sculptures in Egypt shifting to sculptures in Greece.