Our conversation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper was extremely interesting and the depth behind the work was incredible. I especially appreciated the part about numerology in which we compared the importance of the numbers 4, 3, 7, and 12 and their relevance to things we talked about earlier in the course including the trinity, gospels, cardinal virtues, timelessness, the virgin, months and years, and the seasons. Additionally, our conversation of The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, St. John, and Two Donors, especially with the inclusion of the message “I once was, what you are, and what I am, you will be” from the skeleton on the wall.
Author: Noah Brooks (Page 2 of 3)
In this class we talked about the story of St. Francis, a rich merchant who left his family, and found the most important thing in life is perspective. He saw the benefit of living in poverty and reveled in the perspective it gave him. Francis became canonized less than 2 years after he died, which is incredibly quick in comparison to others. I also enjoyed talking about the alchemy of distillation and purification. We talked about the four stages: conjunction, coagulation, putrefaction, and washing and their relation to the bible.
In this class, we talked about the Limbourg Brothers Original Sin. This work is especially important as it relates to my idea for my midterm project of the outsiders in renaissance art history. The work shows continuous narration, a new type of art we haven’t seen before as the story is told in one picture with different timelines. It parallels Filippo Brunelleschi’s competition panel for the Baptistery.
I enjoyed our discussion of the Annunciation, from the Belles House by the Limbourg brothers. It was surprising that all the brothers passed away and the work was never finished. Their use of the color white was impressive as we spoke about the difficulty of creating shadows since you cannot merely use the color black for such details. The shading was especially impressive and their use of space within the painting set this piece apart from some of the others we reviewed.
The story of Ursula was pretty astounding and I enjoyed the comparison of the story and the painting itself. The small inviting details from the steps leading up to the people to the individuals on the other side of the open railing helped guide the focal point from the audience. The wood piece that demonstrated the story was additionally interesting in its small and intricate details (Ursula is wearing the same clothing).
In class, we discussed multiple altarpieces, however, I found the most interesting part of the class to be our discussion of the background of the reformation. I did not previously know about Martin Luther’s history of being a monk, nor did I realize the level of corruption in this time via indulgences through the church. Our conversation about the doctrine of the original sin from which man can only be freed by faith and grace was interesting as this was an idea I never truly thought in depth about.
One of the most interesting parts of our discussion on 10/5 was our conversation of the Portinari Altarpiece. It was intriguing to explore the connections between Judaism and Christianity and made me want to deeply read into anti-semitism in renaissance art. As we dove into our conversation about the allusions between translucency (the vase) and the Virgin Mary’s virginity while having a child, I began to wonder the other allusions that may’ve occurred in the piece. I especially appreciate the the connection made between this piece and the donkey and the ox in the other panel.
In this class, we compared multiple Madonna Enthroned pieces. It was interesting to discuss the similarities and differences that came as art progressed including the inconology of scrolls and the symbols including different colors and flowers. Similarly, our conversation about communion and religion was interesting to me as I have not been exposed to Catholicism at the level I would like to eventually reach. The depth of details in paintings such as Domenico Veneziano, St Lucy (the center of the painting) was humorous yet also astounding as I would’ve never noticed or understood such a miniscule yet important detail without it being explained.
In class, we discussed a variety of artwork. I was especially impressed by the altarpieces we discussed, specifically our discussion of the iconography of The Trinity. The miniscule details were fascinating ranging from the purgatory to the different classes of people. I especially liked our discussion of the babies baptized through bloodshed as it was information I was not previously disposed to.
In class we talked about the origin of the name museum and its containment of the word “muse,” meaning a place for inspiration and the temple to the muses. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation about the problem with putting emphasis on the individual when observing art as well as the dangers of being off put by an anonymous artist since females were discouraged from creating art in past time periods. Additionally, I related to our conversation of the difficulty in interpreting contemporary art since I personally struggle to understand some of it.