art history renaissance through contemporary core content 4.1
TRANSCRIPT
ART HISTORYRenaissance
through Contemporary
Core Content 4.1
Renaissance Period 1400-1600
Reconciles Christian faith and reason.
Promotes ‘rebirth’ of the classical ideal (of ancient Greece and Rome)
Allows new freedom of thought.
Humanism – emphasis on intellect, education, the importance of the thinking breathing human being!
Renaissance
Artists begin to blend religious and secular (non-religious) subjects
Artists developed linear perspective that created a greater look of space/depth
Key artists: Michelangelo, da Vinci, Donatello, Raphael (The Ninja Turtles)
Michelangelo
He was a sculptor, painter, architect
He preferred sculpting
Famous sculptures: Pieta (Mary holding dying Jesus), David
Famous Paintings: the frescos of the Sistine Chapel
He blended religion and Humanistic elements in his works
Michelangelo
Pieta
Michelangelo - David
Sistine Chapel
Leonardo da Vinci
Painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, inventor, mathematician, astronomer… the Renaissance Man
Famous paintings: Mona Lisa, Last Supper
Use of sfumato
da Vinci
The Baroque Period
Rejects the limits of the previous styles
Restores the power of monarchy and church.
Art is characterized by excess, ornamentation, contrasts, energy, tensions
Artists used dramatic lighting that created a spotlight effect on their subjects – chiaroscuro or tenebroso
The Baroque Period
Chiaroscuro – use of light and shade to create a 3-D effectTenebroso – Italian meaning “in a dark manner”. Artists used contrast of theatrical lighting against dark shadows in their workSubjects included both religious and secular pieces – rise in personal portraits and landscapes in the Netherlands
Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch painter
Master of chiaroscuro
Painted over 65 self-portraits
Subjects had ‘light’ on face and dark background
Rembrandt van Rijn
Caravaggio
Led a rebellious life. Prone to drinking and fights… carried over into artwork.
The church often refused his paintings because they were too violent or showed saints behaving as common people (ex Jesus in a Roman bar)
Master of tenebroso
Caravaggio’s work
Neo-Classical Period
Reacts to the excesses of the monarchy and the ornamentation of the BaroqueReturns to order, reason and structural clarity (of the Classic Greek and Roman styles – hence the name ‘Neo-Classicism’)Artists incorporated clean, clear lines in both painting and architecture – composers similarly placed emphasis on clear prominent melody lines…
Jaques-Louis David
French painterPainted the aristocracy and then Napoleon during the RevolutionDepicted Napoleon in best manner – brave, and regal – art used as propaganda to depict strong leaderSubjects are simple with clear lines, very orderly appearance
Jaques-Louis David
Thomas Jefferson
American President Traveled through Europe and brought back architecture of Greece and RomeBlended styles for formal government buildings – known as Federalist Style Very orderly, symmetrical, dignified Roman arches, Greek pedimentsMonticello – TJ’s homeFarmington home in Louisville
Thomas Jefferson
Monticello – Jefferson’s home
Used triangular Greek pediment, Roman arches and dome structure
Orderly, clear lines, logic of design apparent
Thomas Jefferson influence
Romantic Period 1760-1870
Revolts against neo-classical order and reason
Returns to nature/imagination: freedom, emotion, sentimentality, interest in the exotic and the supernatural
Romantics painted emotional scenes with loose brush strokes and brilliant color
Paintings became more personal, emotional
Scenes were more dynamic and interesting than in real life hence “Romanticising” them
Francisco Goya
Spanish Romantic artist – went through 3 ‘phases’ of artwork Royal painter – earned a respectable living painting the Spanish royal familyPolitical Commentary – He witnessed Napoleon’s troops invade Spain and painted the harsh reality of warfareMental Illness (Black Period) – he drew nightmarish, monster-like figures – some on the walls of his home.
Goya -- Royal Family
Goya – Politics
John Constable
British Romantic painterConcerned with forces of nature so painted landscapesHad the incredible ability to capture the warmth of sunlight, the coldness in shadows and the motion of cloudsHis strong brush strokes and interest on the effects of light paved the way for the Impressionists
John Constable
John Constable
Realism 1820-1920
Speaks the truth. Finds beauty in the commonplace (everyday scenes).
Focuses on the Industrial revolution and the conditions of the working class
Moved away from royalty as subject matter and painted peasants, working men and women
Found the ordinary to be interesting
Gustave Courbet
Painted everyday workers – very controversial
His “The Stone Breakers” and Burial at Ornans” were reviled – who would want a painting of people working or at a funeral !?
Gustave Courbet - Realism
Eduard Manet
He transitioned between Realism and Impressionism
He went from crisp clean lines to blurred edges
His subjects remained common – people on a picnic or waiting for a train
Eduard Manet
Impressionism 1850-1920
Started as a rebellion against RealismArtists tried to capture a moment in time - a snapshot (Camera invented at this time)Tried to show the effects of light and atmospheric conditionsOften painted the same scene at different times of the day to capture the colorsWere the first artists to paint outside because of the inventions of portable easels and paint in tubes
Claude Monet
Quintessential impressionist
Known for ‘waterlily’ series, Japanese Bridge
Painted haystacks, Rouen Cathedral repeatedly but with differing color schemes
Claude Monet
Waterlilies - Monet
Mary Cassatt
American, female painterStudied in France with Degas, Monet, Manet, etc – The ‘great’ impressionistsHer subjects usually included domestic scenes of women and childrenUsed soft pastel colors or bright, happy hues in her workInfluenced by Japanese work in using dark outlines of subjects
Mary Cassatt
Auguste Rodin
Impressionist sculptor
Tried to capture a moment in time
Sculpted movement and action in his figures
Created ‘fragmentary’ sculptures at the end of his career
Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin