october 1st discussion group 7

8/11/2019 October 1st Discussion Group 7

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Ericka Gantick

Katie Goss

Andrew Ling

Sierra Smith

Group 7 Schedule for 10/3/14Meiss Light as Form and Symbol

Any uncertainty with the reading?

Discuss Erickas blog/Katies comment

Review my notes/main ideas of reading

Ask questions for group to answer


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Meiss Light as Form and Symbol Discussion Notes

Perspective & Light

o In accounts of the development of naturalism, there was a modern emphasis on

perspective that had been influenced by the writings of the 15thcentury artists

themselves

o Discussions among artists were motivated not only by a sense of the importance

of perspective for painting, but also by a desire to raise the status of the craft, and

a corresponding insistence on the theoretical and mathematical modes of thought

necessary to it

o If we compare the early 14thcentury work to the first half of the 15thcentury

work, the greatest advance is in the painting of light

o The objects of painting thus acquire a new dimension and they approximate more

closely the objects of the world

o Light contributes a new subtlety to the personalities that appear in the painting

Light extends and deepens consciousness

Ex: features of Giovanni Arnolfini or the apostles in the Tribute

Money

o In nature as in art, light stirs feelings and sustains moods

o The compositions of Jan van Eyck and the Master of Flmalle frequently include

different aspects of light Ex: the presence of candles, fire, and sun all reflect light

Incarnation & Birth of Christ Similes & Metaphors

o Christian mysteries were from the very beginning explained by metaphors of

light

o The sources of light might develop and extend the religious meaning of their

workso Theologians and poets often explained the mystery of the incarnation by

comparing the miraculous conception and birth of Christ with the passage of

sunlight through a glass window

o The Fathers felt it necessary to describe the miracle in greater detail, partly in

order to combat heretical ideas, and partly in order to satisfy the curiosity of the

faithful about these central Christian events

o They spoke of Christ as a light or sometimes fire

o The Virgin was regarded as a window through which the spirit of God passed to

earth

o Earlier symbols of natural forces (rain, dew, florescence) were partly replaced in

the Middle Ages by an image dependent upon arto This simile was interpreted to emphasize the virginity of Mary rather than the

ghostly power of Christ

o Impressed by the great stained glass windows of the cathedrals, theologians

began to say: as light is colored by radiation through stained glass, the Holy Spirit

acquires human form by entering the sacred chamber or temple of the Virgin

o In the late Middle Ages the simile of the ray and the glass appears frequently in

theological treatises, Latin and vernacular poems, in mystery plays, and in hymns


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Annunciation by Broederlam

o In theAnnunciation, the rays, which as usual extend from heaven or God to the

ear of the Virgin, pass through a glass window

The rays are in essence symbols of the Holy Spirit

Windows or other openings are often provided to permit their passage

into the chamber of the Virgino The divine rays which actually effect the incarnation have a natural aspect that

symbolizes and explains the miracle

o In the late Mediaeval paintings the number of ray in theAnnunciationvaries

greatly from 3-12 or more

3 symbolizes the Trinity (very common)

7 symbolizes the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost (wisdom, understanding,

counsel, strength, knowledge, piety, and fear)

o In anAnnunciationby the Virgo Master the rays are supplanted by a beam of light

o In the middle of the 15thcentury, paintings lacked rays

o Their symbolic meaning is entirely consistent with other aspects of the works and

with an attitude of mind shared by the painter and his audience alike Virgin in the Church By Jan van Eyck

o The flow of light through the empty church, the stillness, the rapt mood of the

Virgin, and her abnormal size create a sense of mystery, of a meaning beyond that

immediately comprehended

o Question: Is the wonderful radiance of the windows and the intensity of the light

on the floor just behind the Virgin intended to symbolize the miraculous

conception and birth of Christ?

Answer: Inscriptions on the frame prove that the painting in Berlin is of a

Christmas picture that contains allusions to the incarnation and birth of

Christ and the virginity of His mother

Because of this, we are justified in assuming that he had in mind the similein the 5thstanza and that he symbolized the virginity of Mary by the

radiation of sunlight through the glass, more resplendent here than in any

other of his paintings

o Like Jans paintings, the text on the panel of the Virgin in the Ghent altarpiece is

full of images of light

o This is the only work in which the Virgin is actually related to the light of the sun

o Theologians had even compared Mary, who bore the Light in her womb, to a

church filled with daylight

o In Jans painting, the daylight fills the church as the Divine Light filled the womb

of Mary

o

For a spectator of Jans time, the style of the church and sculpture recalled a greatChristian period, more devout and less troubled than the present

o Jan composes in the style of the 13thcentury Gothic

o His painting is the earliest document we posses, of the actual appearance of the

interior of a Gothic Cathedral

o Not until 200 years after the construction of the churches themselves was a

painter able to capture the qualities of space and light of their interiors


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Discussion Questions:

1. What painting mentioned in the reading stuck out to you most? Why?

2. Why do you think painters used light and a glass window to resemble Christ and

the Virgin Mary? Did these metaphors only exist in religious paintings or inothers as well?

3. Would the use of light in paintings have become as popular if there was no

influence of Christianity?

4. It says that the technique of space and depth was developed before light. By that

do they mean creating shading or shadows, or just the illusion through the sizes

of objects? Lets say that shadows werent used until the use of lightis it a major

technique that the artists used to help portray the light effects?

5.

While the flames in the fireplace of some familiar setting represent Christ, whatcould the shadows casted on the walls of the room represent?

6. It was mentioned in the reading that churches also used light such as in their

stain glass windows and in oculus in dome buildings. These uses of light

obviously also have a religious connotation. Are these uses where these fifteenth

century artists got their inspiration, or were there other examples?

7. Has your perspective on light being used in the 15thcentury paintings changed

since this reading?

october 1st discussion group 7

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