In this class, we talked about the last bit of Matthias Frunewals, Insenheim Altarpiece. We moved into the last piece of the altarpiece, the sculpture by Nicolas Hagenau, and discussed its medium. The figures are placed in gilded wood. We talked about the artworks on both sides of Hagenau’s artwork. In Meeting of St. Anthony with the Hermit Paul Temptation of St. Anthony, we see the different figures that St. Anthony had to face. It is interesting because here, you can see St. Anthony looking up, as if on his death bed, and trying not to fall into temptation. He is also asking God, “where are you, why have you abandoned me,” a question almost everyone asks. There are so many gruesome-looking devils there with St. Anthony. We also talked about relics and how they are valuable. In the Altar of the Holy Blood, there is some blood from Jesus, and the city that requested this to be done must have done that for tourism. Pilgrims would come and see the blood of Jesus. It is interesting to think that there are forged relics just for profit, playing with pious people and believers.
Author: karla domingues (Page 2 of 2)
In this class, we discussed Hugo van der Goess’ Portinari altarpiece. It is interesting how he included a portrait of the commissioner and his kids. In this painting, we get to see how detail-oriented Florence artists are, and how much they love puns. Goes is able to be very detail-oriented due because he was using oil painting. For example, we are able to see that the flowers the artist chose have meaning, and the amount of petals/flowers he chose for each different type of flower. We see that in these types of altarpieces, they diss other religions. for example, the donkey is eating, not paying attention while the ox is paying attention. The donkey is in a way meant to represent the jews. Something really cool, even to this day, is that behind the ox, the devil is lurking. As I try to make the figure out, I can’t really make it figure out but it goes into play of a greater plan. The devil mustn’t know about Jesus and that he is meant to die for our sin, making him a victim of God’s plan. it is interesting how humans are always blaming the devil for their bad actions and temptations, when it’s all human thought and our deep thoughts. Christ’s nativity is his coming to the world in order for him to die for our sins, making it all God’s plan and the Devil just has to go with it. Matthias Grunewald, Insenheim altarpiece is truly an amazing piece. It opens up two times and each shows a different panel and story. Its purpose is to serve as salvation for sickly people who were being taken care of at the church. Again there is a lot of description and meaning behind the choices of items, like the toilet tin, the glass “kettle”, the bed, and the bath “tub”.
in this class, we talked about different altarpieces. We talked about the iconography of the Entombment of Jesus. In Robert Campins’ Entombment Triptch, there is an overflow of emotions. There are angels and Mary who are displaying a lot of emotions. It is interesting how in the painting, the landscape unifies the painting, like telling a story. In Rogier van der Weydans’ painting, Entombment, you can see how Mary’s positions reflects the position of Jesus. It is as if she can feel Jesus pain and empathy toward him. Both, Mary and Jesus, are very similar from the body placement to their hand placement. In this painting, Rogier is breaking symmetry and making the viewer see this picture. What I mean by this is that he is not displaying anything else before and after Jesus death, he puts the people in this coffin like space and we see the death of Jesus. It is interesting to see the difference between frescos and oil painting because we get to see more details and it gives the artist more to say.
In this class, we talked about Cimabue, Enthroned Madonna and Child and compared it to Giotto, Madonna Enthroned, and other artists. It is interesting how the painting moved away from lines and the painting moved toward more depth artistry. Also, it moved from less gold to more color, lighting, and shading. We talked about the role of the Virgin in the Church, how she represented the church as a whole and her throne was the physical space of the church. Overall, there was color and depth to the painting that came after Cimabue’s Enthroned Madonna and Child. Toward the end of the class, we started talking about Campin Entombment Triptych.
In this class, we talked about the word iconography. The meaning of iconography is the study of images, the study of the way the subject matters, or how a certain subject that matters is represented. We also talked about different terms like polyptch, ex voto, predella, and the process of a fresco. We also talked about how artist moved from gilded scenes to natural scenes. When everything is gold, it doesn’t look natural and it makes the viewer wonder how supernatural the art piece is. We talked about the father – the son – and the holy spirit and how they are pictured in different art pieces. We talked about Enguerrand painting – Coronation of the Virgin and the meaning of all the different images present in the painting. There was a contract between the patron and the artist and the artist had to meet the need and demands of the patron, but they had some freedom in painting it. We talked about where the souls go and how they get there, in other words- the bible. There is a complex chronology of souls and where they go when people die. For example, after Jesus died on the cross, those who died before him go to heaven, but certain people/souls. It is very complex but I find it interesting on the matter of souls and how it connects to Enguerrand’s Coronation of the Virgin.
In this class, we talked about museums and their purpose in society. Something interesting about art and museums is that art pieces don’t belong in museums, especially renaissance art. As we study different art pieces of the time, they each had a purpose in the church. They were altarpieces before they were displayed in museums. Putting these altarpieces in museums is like caging a penguin in the zoo. Though its surroundings may look similar to its natural habitat, it is not in its natural habitat. Though we may put these altarpieces in museums and surround them with alike pieces, their function won’t be displayed; being used in ceremonies. The ethics, hard work, planning, and such that go into a museum are very interesting and hold a lot of questions. How do artists decide how much a piece is worth and who gets to keep it? Where do we stop and start time on these pieces?
In this class, we talked a little bit about the middle ages. Before the middle ages, we had the classical ages and the Renaissance came after the middle ages. We also talked about the different groups in Europe, like the Barbarians, Vandals, and Huns. We also talked about Giotto and how he believed that we should bring the arts back to life, or how it was coming back to life. The art was always there, but it’s to the eyes that “determines” if the art has life or not. What I think about this is that the renaissance art movement was to revive something that was dead, but it was always there. Another interesting topic is that the word “masterpieces” is controversial because it establishes the “norm” of art, or the standard of art when there shouldn’t be a standard. It also limits people and artists of certain art styles and interpretations.
Here are some of the takeaways that I took from the class. It’s interesting how art pieces, how we now call them, transformed throughout the years. Going from having a purpose – altarpieces – to hanging in art museums as an aesthetic, has transformed how people view art. Along with change, the word renaissance itself has changed throughout time. Renaissance, meaning rebirth, has been used to describe people and movement, and innovations. It is important when studying art pieces that we put ourselves in the time period; refocusing our lenses. It’s interesting also that time is divided and given a name. Giorgio Vasari tried to promote Italy, really, Florence, as home to the best artist. This created a problem because there was no diversity and people starting looking at Italy as home to the best art and artist, narrowing people’s minds. (9.9.21)