Raphael

Raphael, School of Athens, fresco, Vatican, Rome 1510-1511

• Commissioned by Pope Julius II for library

• Originally called Philosophy

• One painting in set of works illustrating the vastness/variety of the papal library

• Influenced by composition of Leonardo’s The Last Supper

• One uniform light throughout composition

• Two greatest philosophers in ancient Greek thought-Plato & Aristotle

• Discussing the source of their inspiration

• Gathering of ancient philosophers and scientists from different eras talking and sharing ideas

• Plato’s inspiration came from the heavens-points upward– Those concerned with mysteries of the world

on his side

• Aristotle’s inspiration came from the earth-hand out, facing down– Those concerned nature and human affairs on

his side

The Small Cowper Madonna, Raphael, oil on panel, 1505

• Classical style

• His landscapes lack the sfumato that Leonardo used.

• style is calm, harmonious, and restrained.

• His figures are graceful fluid forms.

The Venetian School

• Artists in Venice were fascinated with light, color, texture, and mood.

• They established a school of painting that stressed sensuous forms with sophisticated color harmonies.

The Tempest, Giorgione, oil, 1506-

1508

• Intense debate about meaning

• Soldier staring at breast-feeding woman

• Broken columns, half-done arch

• Emerging landscape tradition

Titian• Used strong color as his main expressive

device. Brought oil painting to Venice

• he covered the surface of the canvas with red for warmth.

• Then he painted both background and figures in vivid hues and toned them down with thirty or forty layers of glazes.

• daring compositional arrangements

Pastoral Symphony, Titian, 1510, oil on canvas

• Pastoral=relating to countryside

• Landscape itself is one of the main subjects

• Two musicians and two nude women– One aristocratic musician, one peasant– One woman pouring water in well, one playing

flute

• Thought to be an allegory on the invention of poetry

Sleeping Venus, oil on canvas, Titian, 1538

• May not have been Venus, may have been a courtesan– Looks at us directly, unashamed, provocative

• Theory of marriage, wedding night– Dog symbolizes faithfulness

• Roses contribute to the floral motif carried throughout the work

• Painting became a standard for future reclining nudes

Women Patrons of the Arts• Wealthy women at this

time started to become avid supporters of the

arts

• Isabella of Spain painted by Titian

• She was a patron of writers, composers,

artists

Mannerism• New style that developed in Florence and Rome

in the 1520s

• Associated with death of Rafael and the sacking

of Rome by Charles V of Spain in 1519

• Reformation-Martin Luther voicing his complaints about the Catholic church.

• Lots of chaos

• HR- beauty, proportion, balance, natural, elegant=return to the classical

• Mannerism was anti-Classical

• Awkward, elongated, emotional, clashing colors, strange perspective

• Defied uniformity and balance

Descent from the Cross, Jacopo

Pontormo, oil on panel, 1528, Mannerism

• Figures crowd the composition around the frame of the picture leaving a void in the center.

• There is no clearly defined focal point

• Christ’s body is elongated and twisting

• Figures have elongated bodies with small heads.

• Shallow space; acidic colors

Madonna with the Long Neck. Parmigianino, oil on wood,

1535, Mannerism

• Elongation

• Crowded on left, but not right, space is irrational

• Asymmetrical

• Columns are similar to Madonna’s long neck

• Small figure at base is strangely out of proportion; role in the painting is uncertain.

• Pose of Mary and Jesus is reminiscent of the Pieta

Agnolo Bronzino,

Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time,

1546

• Commissioned by Cosimo de Medici of Florence to Francis I of France

• Allegory-many meanings

• Cupid kisses mother Venus– Eye on her golden apple– On a pillow reflecting idleness– Venus removes arrow from his quiver

• Folly throws flowers

• Masks are falseness; doves are love

• Vanity (right of Venus) has beautiful face but body is an animal

• Envy (left) is green-interpreted as syphilis

• Truth (top left)

• Time (top right)

• Crowded, complex composition

Portrait of Artist’s Brother and Sisters, Sofonisba Anguissola, 1555

• First well-known influential FEMALE artist

• From a large, wealthy family

• Studied under two master painters

• Impressed Vasari and Michelangelo

• Primarily a portrait artist

• used the strong colors and smooth finish familiar in Mannerist portraits.

• First of the genre painters- painted scenes from everyday life

The Last Supper, Tintoretto, oil on canvas, Venetian Renaissance

• Asymmetrical balance

• Two light sources, one real, one supernatural– Glowing translucent angels– Each of the apostles, minus Judas, has a

halo. Jesus’ halo is most brilliant light source

• Christ is in the center, yet powerful diagonals pull the eye into the distance

• Elongated figures

• Light casts long shadows

• Ghostly drama, deep perspective, gives the idea of limitless depth and motion

• The overall effect is very spiritual, which reflects Tintoretto’s religious nature

• Interesting working method

Abduction of the Sabine Woman,

Giovanni da Bologna, 1583marble

• Rape-abduction not sexual violation

• First men of Rome abducted their wives from neighboring Sabine families

• Carved from one piece of marble

• Spiral movement pre-cursor to Baroque

• Negative space

• Symbolism of the Medici family (young man) taking Florence (the woman) away from the preceding government (old man)