Art History 201 Midterm 1 Study Guide

Hubert & Jan Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, completed 1432 Father is in the center, virgin and st john, singing angels, Adam and

eve, Christian nights, pilgrims, tons of worshipers, all paying tribute to god

Celebration of Christian religion, where naturalism is the environment in which this takes place in Flanders

God, the holy father, is ruler of heaven and earth, is wearing the finest wool, decked out with pearls, diamonds and rubies, he is giving a blessing; he is totally naturalistic here it is a human god to someone who we can approach; we can imagine kneeling before him

Angels are descending and are all paying tribute to the lamb of god and chalice

The landscape is showing distance and showing recession with blue; this is an idealized Flanders; everything is perfect

Adam and eve and side panels in narrow niches because they need to be redeems, they are nude and are ashamed of their nakedness, they are elongated and there is deep darkness; they cast shadows but show the occupy a 3d space and is brought to life, Adam is stepping out of space and has been given life again

Jan Van Eyck, Arnolfini Portrait, 1434 Arnolifini’s are wearing Flanders produced wool and are about to be married Lots of symbolism Van Eyck places is name on the back wall Additionally in the mirror you can see the backside of the family, but you can also

see him painting He emphasizes real objective because he was their to tough them

Robert Campin, Merode Altarpiece 1425 - 26 Center panel is annunciation, left is the patron panel and the right is joseph Light explodes from virgins drapes, the bench receded into space in a

suggestive way, a window into reality, but has to negotiate with the demands of 2 dimensionality

Artists have yet to invent perspective, for instance the table is tilted up Joseph is oblivious to narrative and is a carpenter ( he became a saint much

later) Joseph busily at work using his tools and is most likely building mouse trap,

can be symbolic of catching the devil Can see though the shutters that this is not taking place in a divine sphere,

but in the urban area of Flanders Lots of symbolism in the center panel the white lily symbolizes virginity and

purity; a small holy ghost is zooming though the window Looks like it can be lived in by the wealthy who could afford it

The Fall of Man, Albrecht Durer, 1504, Northern Renaissance Around the time 1500, there was a general affirmation that man is a measure of all

things the transcendent and the everyday This was a print you could actually purchase & was available to the general public Adam and Eve are Strong characters and the scene takes place in a forest; the

garden of Eden This is the moment before the fall where humankind is celebrated It appeals to the totality of our interests It signifies the transition of the divine to the mortal in which Adam and Eve

become aware of human limitations

Self Portrait, Albrecht Durer, 1500, Northern Renaissance Represents the icon of a renaissance artist It is a pyramid, which represents stability Art has the power to depict divinity that will shape humankind Directly engages with the viewer, showing we rely upon the power of the artist to

articulate a new reality

Isenheim Altarpiece, Mathias Grunewald, 1510-1515 Affirms the power of suffering and overcoming it; emphasized

Christ suffering on the Cross Set up in a hospital to put looking upon by people who have a

terrible disease; eternal life id a possibility for people feeling stone death

Strong emotional response from the other figures Counterfoil to the Ghent Altarpiece Main drama is the agonizing death of Christ through the hand

contortions The inside shows otherworldly devilish creature enticing us with

music as well as a brilliant ascension of Christ as a divine holy figure

Netherlandish Proverbs, Peter Bruegel, 1559, Northern Renaissance There are about 100 parables in the piece, such as don’t cry over spilled sugar Located in a fair townscape We apprehend things in its totality and we should realize our actions come with

consequence We are free to read as much or as little as we wish

David, Donatello, 1420-1460, Italian Renaissance Youthful David conquering Goliath on a moment of triumph after beating all odds He hardly looks powerful, this is one of the first full nude sculptures since Roman antiquity Weight is shifted showing erotic pleasure arrived from conquering The face is covered so we don’t really get a sense of his personality, which means emphasis

is shifted to that of the body This body is relatively feminine with the protruding stomach region Sculpted from bronze, which creates strong highlights on the body, therefore giving it more

emphasis Small 5’ sculpture meant to be placed in a private garden

  

Dead Christ, Andrea Mantegna, 1501, Northern Renaissance We are looking at him from the foot of the bed; the figure is foreshortened

and is not exact perspective, if it were, the feet would be much larger We travel of the body which is materially present Divinity is moving from conceptual to physical Perspective establishes relationship given rational space The drapery over the corpse enhances the drama and shows us there is a

real human body inhabiting it Emotionality is shown by the mourners looking over the dead Christ

The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, 1485 Celebration or erotic creativity, everything is “fruitful” Strong emphasis on the human body Everything is in motion for example the shell zipping through the

water, this helps convey a sense of visual poetry Revels what it means to be all too human Venus is on a Shell being blown to the island of Cyprus and is about

to be clothed Shifting of weight is similar to that of antiquity also these are Greek

gods which show a revival of antiquity

David, Michelangelo, 1501, Italian renaissance It was a commission for the cathedral of Florence, therefore it was meant to be a

public piece of art; it was enormous in size It was made as a type of creative engagement piece in which the viewer is meant to

walk around the sculpture to interpret it in it’s entirety A body in anticipation and at ease yet somewhat tense This is before the fight with Goliath, David is thinking about what he is going to do Head and hands are large in proportion because the viewer is observing it from below He is in isolation, which relates to human embodiment of the mind We can see his facial features, such as a furrowed brow Strong musculature and almost has the body of one of god-like figures from antiquity,

body of an ideal resilient man

Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo, 1508-12 No one knows the actual meaning all of the panels are a mixture

of old and new testament biblical stories There are two realms, God the father is moving through space

towards Adam the creation The painting is handling similarly to his sculpture with strong

musculature The extended fingers create tension between the two; leaves the

viewer wondering what the result of God’s action will be This touch will give life to Adam as well as life to all of mankind Passage of the Divine spark The female close to god may either be Eve awaiting her creation

or Mary

The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci, 1495 Currently in a poor condition due to a combination of oil paint

mixed with tempura paint of a wet surface; which has caused the painting to flake

Monastery dining hall in which Jesus is going to be betrayed right after supper by Judas; the scene is contained

Jesus is announcing this and everyone is pointing fingers at each other making accusations

It is as if structures of man have made him even more holy; for instance the three windows act as a halo above him and allow us to make him the main focus

This is a psychological chain of events and the painting is set up so that we are a part of the dinner

The three walls make this painting act like a triptych Jesus instituting the Eucharist, the bread and wine that will

become his blood and body

The School of Athens, Raphael, 1509-1511- References to palaces in the Vatican itself- Religion dependent on philosophy - Two figures Plato (pointing to heaven) next to Aristotle (pointing towards earth)- Two worlds philosophy of heaven on the left and philosophy of earth on the right; together create wisdom

- Raphael placed himself into the painting at the bottom right - Painting to guide the pope to make the right decisions- Similar in ways to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel; physical power and dramatic grouping of figures

- The architecture frames the occurrence and the arches allow emphasis to be placed on Aristotle and Plato (similar to Leonardo’s Last Supper)

- Humanist Classical thinking is being combined with that of the Church - Raphael includes himself to show that artists are on par with the great intellectuals

Giorgione with Titan, Pastoral Symphony, 1508 Visual display is a type of poetic for the eyes Lady at fountain pouring water in, another naked lady playing flute, two clothed him

gazing at each other, where are they? He wants us to be swept away by the aura it has, he avoids precision Avoid brilliant color Lacks clarity; the women could possibly Muses – ancient female divinities who inspire

the arts Forms rendered in a soft chiaroscuro technique; soft and blending into the background

Venus of Urbino, Titian, 1538 One of the first times we don’t have a mythical creature to display of riches of

being human She is just enticing us; an icon of a painting itself appealing use through the eye She is on an elongated diagonal Curtain is background, dark colors makes us focus on whiteness of body, ends to

reinforce placement of the hand Contrast between fold of sheets and the smoothness of the figure Caress the figure with our eyes, instead of cupid we have a lap dog, service is the

background going to storage perhaps to bring her clothing All nature is artificial (potted plant) except for the human body

Venus Cupid Folly & Time, Bronzino, 1546 Figures are too white Venus has taken her sons arrow which has given her passion for her son; forbidden

eroticism Time is taking back the coving, revealing the scene Moderation is too rational and controlled, mannerists wanted to appeal to our most

excessive fantasies Artist is no longer the illustrator of a patrons will, but one free to create the most

powerful moving images; the artist is able to triumph over all Moral may be that folly and pleasure blind one to the jealousy and fraud of sensual

love, which time is revealing Elongated figures and bright blue background to place emphasis on what is occurring

in the foreground

The Calling of St Mathew, Caravaggio, 1600 Introduction to the baroque art – a belief in art as a type of emotional address He introduces theater in art, drama Could be anywhere, the here and now, wanted to introduce religion into our here Core set of values no longer accessed to the elite, but accessible to any ordinary

person Caravaggio was always wanted by the police, but his talent was no longer in

question Environment we could identify with, we don’t see a clarity we would see to expect Light falls right on middle incidental figure Christ’s body is in the back hidden by another character reaching over to call the

tax collector Hand pointed out like Adam reaching out in Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel

Mathew is completely unaware; unveiling through time of emotional awarenessLots of diagonals and dark and light to create emotion and increase the drama that is

taking place Things are struck instantly making them more theatrical Source of light is unknown no even emanating from the Christ figure We are stumbling across an event that could happen multiple times in multiple places

The Entombment of Christ, Carravagio, 1603 Christ figure is hardly one of admiration, a weighty corpse, struggling with weight of the

dead body, not enlightened Most dramatic is where we stand, we are in the crypt about to be dumped upon with the

corpse of the savior Emotional reality, we anticipate the next motion, casting body into arms, it is a narrative

through times, it is an enfolding story No longer bright colors, but exaggerated light and dark colors to create emotion

David, Bernini, 1623

Wanted a David that is more dynamic, more baroque Sculpture in motion in white marble, figure is about to unleash, the stone is about to be released,

the narrative is at its emotional peak Muscles strained to the upmost as if this is it Furrowed brow, mouth shows concentration Michelangelo’s is thinking things through while this is motion; anticipation vs action Shows our motion is allows us to see emotion in the figure

Rubens, Elevation of the Cross, 1600-Agitation made visible, it is in motion to suggest emotional turmoil -Christ is being pulled up, a strong diagonal -Everything about it is to be unstable to suggest motion -Look at the horse turning into our arena; whereas the rider points to Christ, all the figures are contorted-Very much like Caravaggio, we are looking at the painting from below -Highlights a brilliant light, falling on Christ’s body and on the shoulder of the man holding him up-It comes from his careful study of antiquity -Uses antiquity for irrationality and contortion-Laocoon and sons inspired him to show strength of man ; antiquity inspired

Rembrandt, Blinding of Samson, 1636-Beginning of career-His lover Delilah betrays Samson the great Israelite -Insight and blindness combined here -It takes place in a cave in darkness; we see a brilliant contrast between the philistines who is about to plunge into the eyes on a bound Samson- Light doesn’t pick up the blind element; instead it highlights the knife, which is the anticipation of the event-it isn’t a celebration of the disgusting but it helps use prepare for the next step that is about to unfold -Slashing diagonal that follows the blade

Rembrandt, The Company of Frans Banning Coq, 1642-Middle of Rembrandt’s career-A yearly parade to show distinction, this scene is getting ready for the parade -This is not orderly; he is showing us the creative chaos of preparation-A type of naturalism at play; there are multiple attentions -Compared to School of Athens, where everything is in order and contained, whereas here everything is tracing in and out-Light is shown irrationally, some things are highlighted while others should be -Light is forgone to help show emotionality

Vermeer, The allegory of painting, 1670-75-Curtains are pulled back for us and we are the spectator -Girl is standing for her portrait ready to be painted -We have a recognizable interior, could be his own house and the same properties of his other paintings