In this class, we talked about manuscripts, focusing on the Duke of Berry. He loved art so much that he collected it and kept an inventory of what he had. He didn’t want to be a king or ruler, he wanted to be a collector of arts. He had a court and he would recruit artist to work for him, making art for him, challenging them by showing them earlier arts he had in his inventory to inspire them to do better. He had many book of hours, even though he didn’t need that many to pray. In a feudal system, he gave a book to his nephew. He thought of himself highly and had art works done of him meeting saints. It is interesting that someone powerful and rich was able to do such things, I didn’t think that this was possible. He was obsessed with “collecting” the Limbourg Brothers. They were known for their blues and whites. The brothers relationship with the duke was interesting because they presented him a gift, which was a part of a plan, but he enjoyed it. They were good buddies. In the art works done for him, you can see how expansive his property and wealth was. He owned people to animals to land. One of his book of hours, January, from the Très Riches Heures of John, Duke of Berry, before 1416. Chantilly: Musée Condé, was never finished but I’m sure it would have been amazing, because the stars and zodiac were at the top of the book, like a sky.

In this class, we talked about the book of hours. They were used for praying throughout the day and on special days. These books were heavily decorated, showing the status symbol of the person owning these books. They can be gilded or have portraits. It was considered a luxury book telling about the life of the people at that time.

In Thursday’s class we discussed an extensive collection of Giotto’s work. We noticed that his paintings incorporated both fresco style and paint done a secco, which he did to bring greater pigmentation to the a secco colors. While I am sure all the works looked quite vivid when they were first done, the secco paint (often the strong blue) has chipped off with time. The blue was used in almost every one of these paintings to make up the entire background of the work. His backgrounds were simple and allowed the viewer to focus exclusively on the people, plants, and buildings in the foreground of the scene. Giotto also controls the gaze of the viewer by placing groups of figures or elements of nature that draw the eye to the focus of the scene. This is done expertly in his depiction of the Lamentation, where the composition of figures is quite lopsided and makes the viewer feel like they are falling into the grief at the bottom of the painting, where we see the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, and others cradling Christ’s dead body. The emotion in this work is powerfully portrayed—we see that Mary’s face has changed from earlier scenes as it is so contorted by her grief and that you can still feel the deep pain of the mourners whose backs are facing the viewers. The slumped shoulders and bowed heads are such a clear indication of grief and pain in body language that those figures are just as moving as Mary’s face, which is remarkable.

In class, we discussed the Limbourg Brothers’ Original Sin. In the painting, we see a continuous narrative depicting the scene from the Garden of Eden. First, Eve is told by the snake to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge. Then, Eve is shown offering the fruit to Adam, but Adam appears quite resistant, while Eve is depicted as a temptress (a common characterization of Eve, especially during this time). This idea is reinforced by the snake’s resemblance to Eve’s face. What was particularly fascinating about this painting is the final narrative scene, which depicts Adam and Eve being expelled from the garden. Their exit from Eden to the real world parallel’s their exit from the painting to the rest of the empty page. This one of many ways artists of the time tried to involve the viewer in their works.

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.

In our class on Tuesday, I really liked our discussion focused on the Limbour Brothers take on the Original Sin. I liked the symbolism between the stark difference of colors between the garden of Eden and then the pure white perimeter, showing that the world is stark and empty compared to the paradise of God. I also thought it was interesting that Eve was portrayed as the “bad guy”, with pressuring Adam to eat the fruit. This could relate to any conceptions at the time that women are temptresses. Speaking of Eve, I thought it was interesting that her body was depicted similar to the Canon at the time. I like how through art we can learn about the ideals in the past and what was considered beautiful, as it changes so much through distinct time periods.

This week, I was fascinated learning about the Limbourg Brothers’ Original Sin, as there are many unique aspects and symbolism. Firstly, the continuous narrative is different from the paneled altarpieces we have seen. Also, Eve’s physical aspects mirror the beauty standard for women at the time: pear shaped and high breasted. The archangel is red, which initially made me think it was the devil. Rather, the angel was bright red because it was burning with God’s love. However, the aspect that was most interesting for me was how the Limbourg Brothers chose to represent the divide between Eden and the real world. When Adam and Eve are forced out, they enter a seemingly empty abyss of white. The ground around Eden is littered with mountains, small in comparison to the central focus of the scene. I enjoy this juxtaposition of scenes as it highlights a clear divide between paradise and the real world. 

In Tuesday’s class, we continued our discussion on narratives in Renaissance art. We defined continuous narratives as we’ve seen with the painting of St. Ursula and the Portinari altarpiece with our examination of Original Sin. I found the Limbourg brothers’ choice to reflect Eve’s features in the serpent quite fascinating, specifically when juxtaposed with the decision to still depict her within the beauty standards of the time. I was particularly interested in the adoption of the familiar Greek/Roman pose of defeat in Adam, as I am currently studying Roman sculpture in AR111, and just finished with the Greek unit. More interestingly in this piece was the metaphor implied by the border of the painting, which Adam and Eve cross in the last part of the narrative, walking out into the empty page. Thus, the implication is that they step from the domain of the heavenly Garden of Eden to the world of the viewer, which cleverly plays with the narrative from the Bible. Additionally, we explored the function of art through our discussion of the sermon of Micheal da Carcano in 1492. The functions, as deemed by Micheal and later defined in more modern terms, are Didactic Function, in which they teach you something, Emotional Function, in that they are meant to inspire emotion, and Mnemonic Function, in that they help to commit certain facts or scenes into the memory of the viewer.

The artworks we discussed in class on Thursday all differed in mediums, but are unified through their function as a continuous narrative. We learned through Michele de Carcano’s sermon that artwork of the Virgin and saints became popularized for three functions: Didactic (Many humans of the time are not literate and would not have been able to read scriptures), Emotional (Humans are moved in different ways. They might be touched by a painting rather than a sermon), and Mnemonic (Humans might not remember what they hear but they will of what they see). These functions are employed in Original Sin from the Book of Hours where the story of Adam and Eve is told through four different scenes moving from left to right. The Limbourg Brothers painted great detail of the fountain and entrance to the Garden of Eden, in addition to depicting both entirely gold. In this case, the Limbourg Brothers use the mnemonic function, specifically the ornate fountain and entrance, to leave a lasting impression on the viewers. Continuous narratives have the ability to tell a story while using the least amount of space and resources possible.

In this class, we examined the Scrovegni chapel, which contains registers along its walls that depict stories relating to the Virgin. The entire wall above the exit is devoted to the Last Judgement. The prominence of this scene and the way in which it looms over anyone leaving the chapel invoke a strong message about sin and punishment. This mirrors Enrico degli Scrovegni’s personal journey, in which he sought to atone for his father’s sins by funding work on the chapel. This reminded me of Raphael’s Deposition, which conveys a similar context of its patron’s lamentation for past wrongdoings. We also discussed the Original Sin painted by the Limbourg brothers. They incorporated an aspect of their past into the work by making golden structures prominent, reflecting their time as apprentice goldsmiths. The brothers displayed significant changes from the styles we have previously seen by incorporating a continuous narrative as well as leaving the background bare.