leonardo: high renaissance: the virgin of the rocks monalisa · the virgin of the rocks ......
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High Renaissance:Leonardo:
The Virgin of the Rocks
Painting as an instrument of
knowledge
relationship human-nature
Monalisa
Michelangelo:
David
Classicism and politics
Sistine Chapel
the artist as genius - the artwork
as divine creation
Raphael:
the School of Athens
the history of knowledge
a rational choice
Durer
Reformation and the
Reproduction of the work of art
Leonardo da
Vinci, Virgin
of the Rocks,
ca. 1485, oil
on wood
new High-Renaissance concept of artist-
genius
botany, geology, geography, cartography, zoology,
military engeneering, animal lore, anatomy, and aspect
of physical science, including hydraulics and mechanics
Leonardo da
Vinci, Virgin
of the Rocks,
ca. 1485, oil
on wood
Painting as instrument of
knowledge
reality continuously changing
Leonardo’s great ambition discover
the laws underlying the flux of
nature
1474 1508-191483
1506
Connoisseurship: A term derived from the
French word connoisseur, meaning "an expert."
and signifying the study and evaluation of art
based primarily on formal, visual, and stylistic
analysis. A connoisseur studies the style and technique
of an object to deduce its relative quality
and possible maker.This is done through visual
association with other, similar objects and styles.
- natural context in
stead of architectures
of early Renaissance
- natural details
painted, with scientific,
rigorous approach
-figures are now part
of it!
- no geometry
- atmosphere and
light
Leonardo da
Vinci, Virgin
of the Rocks,
ca. 1485, oil
on wood
oil paints and sfumato technique
Sfumato: the technique of allowing tones and
colors to shade gradually into one another,
producing softened outlines or hazy forms
Atmospheric Perspective: optical
rather than mathematical approach.
2 principles:
1) farther back = blurrier, less
detailed, and bluer
2) color saturation and value contrast
diminish
- pyramidal grouping (as
Masaccio’s Holy Trinity)
- unity among figures is also
“psychological”
- “movements of the soul” or
“soul’s intentions”(moti
dell’anima)
Leonardo da Vinci, Virgin
of the Rocks, ca. 1485, oil
on wood
Leonardo learned from Rogier van der Weiden:
-oil paint
- interest for “psychological” portraiture
However…
Leonardo da
Vinci, Mona
Lisa, ca.
1503-1505,
oil on wood
status psychology
(aristocratic, modest and devout as every
upper-class lady was supposed to be
considered),
Vs. individual psychology: complex and
unique personality
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona
Lisa, ca. 1503-1505, oil on
wood
-gaze to the observers
-smile: actually ambiguous expression,
complex dynamics of reciprocal gazes
Depicting expression: corners of the
mouth and corners of the eyes
deliberately indistinct / soft shadow
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, ca.
1503-1505, oil on wood
Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper, ca. 1495-1498,
fresco (oil and tempera on plaster), Refectory,
Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
collective psychological reaction
A storm of “movements of the souls”
Michelangelo: several
activities, but foremost
sculptor
Michelangelo
Buonarroti,
David, 1501-
1504, marble,
17’
Michelangelo Sculptor
symbol of the city of
Florence
after the expulsion of
Medici, symbol of
republic that had defied
tyranny
Theme already
represented by
Donatello
However, instead
of the elegant
adolescent of
Donatello
Ththis is solid
and muscular
Michelangelo
Buonarroti,
David, 1501-
1504, marble,
17’
Donatello, David, ca.
1440, bronze, 5’ 21/4”
M. goes back to
Nicola Pisano
And to the
expressive
effect of his
medieval
exaggeration
of head and
hands/feet
Michelangelo
Buonarroti,
David, 1501-
1504, marble
Michelangelo
represents an
unusual moment:
Not the victorious
and arrogant David,
after having killed
Goliath
But the moment just
before the fight
When his whole
body, as well as his
face, is tense with
gathering power:
Michelangelo
Buonarroti,
David, 1501-
1504, marble
Michelangelo vs.
Leonardo (2
main
differences):
L. human-nature
M. obsessed with
human figure
L. understand the
universe by
means of
observation
M., truth is in the
artist’s mind
Michelangelo Buonarroti, ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel, Rome, 1511-1512
In 1508, commission by the
Pope Julius II
1) inexperience with the
technique of fresco
2) The ceiling’s
dimensions (ca. 5,800
square feet)
3) the vault’s height (70
feet) and curve
3 problems:
Michelangelo Buonarroti,
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,
Rome, 1511-1512
Subject matter: Creation,
Fall, and Redemption of
humanity
Formal: does not “break”
the ceilings, no illusionistic
representation of space
muscular figures = human soul (as we
saw with David)
their sculptural presence that build
the composition/space
Subject matter: the creation of
Adam (humanity)
There is nothing in the picture to
divert attention from the main
subject:
Adam is lying in a barren
landscape
From the other side the
Creator is approaching
wrapped in a mantle blown by
the wind like a sail
Adam is so powerfully
muscled that even in
repose we sense
the energy that will be
released once God
touches him
2 interpretations about the figures
surrounding Him:
-angels
-souls waiting for their creation (Eve/Virgin)
The Creator stretches out His
hand not even touching
Adam’s finger
the power of this gesture of creation
corresponds to the act of art-making
Adam is like a block of marble waiting to
receive life from the artist’s hand:
The creation is reinterpreted as the
powerful dialogue between artist and
artwork
Raphael, Philosophy (School
of Athens), Vatican Palace,
Rome, 1509-1511, Fresco
While M. was working at
the Sistine Chapel, the
younger Raphael was
painting the pope’s
apartments
This is the papal library
Raphael painted on the four
walls Theology, Law,
Poetry, and Philosophy
which corresponded to the
image that the pope Julius II
wanted to give of himself:
as both a cultured
individual (Classical
themes) and a wise
religious authority
(Christian themes)
Subject: great philosophers and
scientists of the ancient world
Roman vaultsperspective directs attention to
Plato and Aristotle shown as the
forefathers of 2 approaches
Left: trascendental ideas
Raphael, Philosophy (School
of Athens), Vatican Palace,
Rome, 1509-1511, Fresco
Right: nature and human affairs
Knowledge
comes from
the world of
ideas
No, it can be
reached only by
studying this
world
2) diversity of moods and
personalities
Raphael, Philosophy (School
of Athens), Vatican Palace,
Rome, 1509-1511, Fresco
symmetrical composition is
made dynamic
3) bodies: structural value of
Michelangelo
Raphael, Philosophy (School
of Athens), Vatican Palace,
Rome, 1509-1511, Fresco
Portrait of
Michelangelo
Albrecht Durer, Adam and Eve,
1504, engraving, 9 7/8x 7 7/8
-German Renaissance
-Nuremberg: publishing
center
-made a fortune by
publishing his own prints
-engraving: metal plates
-son of a goldsmith
-traveled to Italy
-classical influence +
northern analytic realism
-symbolic landscape
Albrecht Durer, Four Apostles, 1526, oil on
wood panel, 7 1/2 x 2’ 6”
-admirer of Martin Luther
-Peter in the background, John
in the foreground
-Luther’s German translation of
the New Testament