Bonaventura Berlinghieri, Saint Francis Altarpiece, 1235

• Tempera on wood panel, the altarpiece honors Saint Francis of Assisi.
• 1235
• Depicts St. Francis wearing the costume later adopted by all Franciscan monks; a coarse clerical robe tied the waist with a rope.
• The saint displays the stigmata, marks resembling Christ’s wounds that miraculously appeared on his hands and feet.
• Flanking Francis are two angels, whose frontal poses, prominent halos, and lack of modeling reveal the Byzantine roots of Berlinghieri’s style. So, too, does the use of gold leaf, which emphasizes the image’s flatness and spiritual nature.
• Narrative scenes along the side panel provide an active contrast to the stiff formality of the large central image of Francis.
• Upper left, taking pride of place at the saints right, Francis receives the stigmata. Directly below the saint preaches to the birds.
• Highlights the increasingly prominent role of religious orders in late medieval Italy.
• Represents Francis’ idea that he could get closer to God by rejecting worldly goods, and to achieve this he lived a strict life of fasting, prayer, and meditation.
• Four of the six narrative scenes depict miraculous healings, connecting Francis even more emphatically to Christ.

Cimabue, Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets 

• Tempera and gold leaf on wood. 1280
• Naturalism; close observation of the natural world.
• For Santa Trinita (Holy Trinity) in Florence, the Benedictine church near the Arno River built between 1258-1280, roughly contemporaneous with the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella.
• The composition and the gold background reveal the painters reliance on Byzantine models.
• Also used the gold embellishments common to Byzantine art for the folds of Madonna’s robe, but they are no longer merely decorative patterns.
• In his panel they enhance he three dimensionality of the drapery.
• Cimabue constructed a deeper space for the Madonna and the surrounding figured to inhabit that was common in Byzantine art.
• The Virgin’s throne, for example, is a massive structure and Cimabue convincingly depicting it as receding into space.
• The overlapping bodies of the angels on each side of the throne and the half-length prophets who look outward or inward from beneath it reinforce the sense of depth.

Giotto di Bondone, Madonna Enthroned

• Tempera and gold leaf on wood; 1310
• Regarded as the first Renaissance painter. A pioneer in pursuing a naturalistic approach to representation based on observation.
• Painting for the high altar of Florence’s Church of the Ognissanti (All Saints). Although still portrayed against the traditional gold background, Giotto’s Madonna rests within her Gothic throne with the unshakable stability of an ancient marble goddess.
• Giotto replaced Cimabue’s slender Virgin, fragile beneath the thin ripplings of her drapery with a weighty, queenly mother. In Giotto’s painting the Madonna’s body is not lost, it is asserted. Giotto even shows Mary’s breasts pressing through the thin fabric of her white undergarment.
• Gold highlights have disappeared from her heavy robe. Giotto aimed instead to construct a figure with substance, dimensionality, and bulk.
• This painting marked the end of medieval painting in Italy and the beginning of a new naturalistic approach to art.

Giotto di Bondone, Lamentation

Hubert and Jan Van Eyck,GhentAltarpiece

·         Oil on wood, 1432, Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium

·         Nearly 12 ft tall; this retable is one of the largest of the 15^th century.

·         Jodocus Vyd and wife Isabel Boluut commissioned this polyptych as the centerpiece of the chapel Vyd built, Saint Bavo Cathedral.

·         Two of the exterior panels depict the donors kneeling with hands clasped in prayer gazing at statues of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist.

·         When opened, the altarpiece reveals a painting of humanity’s redemption through Christ.

·         In the upper register there is God the father, wearing the pope’s triple tiara with a worldly crown at his feet.

·         To God’s right is the Virgin, as the Queen of Heaven, with a crown of 12 stars on her head. Bejeweled appearance; rich garment, 12 stones on crown, gold foil used throughout painting. Expensive, rich materiality.

·         To God’s left is Saint John the Baptist.

·         To either side is a choir of angels, with an angel playing the organ beside St. John the Baptist. Rich sensual experience, hearing is evoked from music. Sensual pleasure.

·         Adam and Eve are on the far panels, they just got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Clutching apple. Covering themselves. After sin. After the fall. Frail humanity and the divine 

·         Panel in the lower register show the community of saints coming from the four corners of the earth to the altar of the lamb and the octagonal fountain of life.

·         This altarpiece celebrates the whole Christian cycle from the fall of man to the redemption.

·         Used oil paint to show precise detail in everything, very meticulous.

·         Oil on wood, 1434

·         Portraiture, commissioned by Arnolfini, italian by birth, quite wealthy, him and his new wife. 

·         Purely secular image. Document of his marriage. Legal testament to this marriage.

·         Not a baby bump, All the rage to have the dress bunched up in the front.

·         Holding hands; mutual romance

·         Hand up, vow, vows exchanged.

·         In bedroom, with a bed. Marital bed. The finial is a tiny statue of Saint Margaret, the patron saint of childbirth. Oranges on the chest may suggest fertility.

·         The little dog. Not a working dog. Simply a lap dog. Source of aesthetic pleasure. 

·         Identity as wealthy consumers. Fashionable shoes, uncomfortable heels, don't work in them,don't  walk very fast in them. Wooden sole

·         Chandelier brass or gold. Only one candle burning. Less functional, more for fashion.

·         Mirror; size of a half dollar. Aspect of their wealth. Surrounded by the story of the crucification. Mirrors were expensive. Hard to transport. Very rare, very delicate. Convex mirror, denies vanity. 

·         Northern Europe luxury items would include spiritual themes. People loved luxury goods, but cared about virtue. 

·         To show wealth and sophistication. Also, to record and sanctify this marriage.

·         Effort by Van Eyck to make a perfect illusion.  Exquisitely painted; carefully distinguished textures and depicted the light from the window on the left reflecting off of many surfaces. Inscribed Ven Eyck’s name above the mirror. Early work of self promotion.

·         Oil on wood, 1425

·         Scholars best guess that this is his work. 

·         Flanked my two side panels; Englebrecht and wife, and other of joseph.

·         Middle class interior. Biblical scenes in domesticated spaces. 

·         Englebrecht? why would he be interested in being in a private work? Seeing yourself praying everyday. Remind you to do this. Wanted to see their beliefs and practice confirmed. Shows truth. Helped organize their life. Marking themselves as witness to the annunciation. Tying themselves to spiritual truth. 

·         Visible to visitors. Shape your identity to social circles. 

·         Joseph in his workshop. Window to a flemish city. Portrayed as a carpenter, axe, rod, saw, tools of the trade. Emphasis his career. At work on a mousetrap. Trap for evil, snare for evil. Public square, gallows. Scene associated with punishment and justice. 

Rogier Van Der Weyden, Deposition

·         Center panel of a triptych from Notre-Dame hors-les-murs, Louvain, Belgium

·         Oil on wood, 1435

·         Instead of creating a deep landscape setting, Rogier compressed the figures and action onto a shallow stage with a golden back wall, imitating the large sculpture shrines popular in the 15^th c. Expressed maximum action within a limited space.

·         Taking the deceased Christ down from the cross. Lifeless, light body. Skinny, skin is drawn tight, suffering. Mary seems to be sharing Jesus' pain. No color in her face. She appears lifeless. 

·         Tears in their eyes. Fine details. Saint John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene are present.

·         Commissioned by the archers guild of Louvain. Rogier acknowledges the patrons by incorporating the crossbow (the guild’s symbol) into the decorative tracery in the corners.

·         Crossbows. Arms. Corner of painting. Entire piece looks like a cross, which is part of a cross bow. 

·         Refers to patrons, but also the materiality of death. Loss of muscular strength. 

Martin Schongauer, Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons

·         Engraving comes into its own by the mid 15th c.

·         metal plate, thin sheet of copper. Artist would use BURINS, to cut a design into the plate. Woodcut blocks would break down after a while. Engravings could do ten times or more work than woodcut. 

·         Use of cross-hatching, sets of engraved lines at right angles to describe forms.

·         St. Anthony was a hermit. 3rd c. Saint. Inspiration for monks of the modern era. Simple lifestyle, giving up worldly things. Gave up all comforts. Lived in isolated. Ascetic. Lived in tombs and while he was there he battled demons (evil and sin).

·         1480; Sense of pain and suffering of what St. Anthony's life was like. Grueling battle. 

·         Looking down, hovering, suspended to show body being torn in opposite directions. Suspended because he is utterly hopeless. He is stuck. Suspending in an ongoing moment of pain that detaches him from the outside world. 

·         Monsters are a mixture of reptiles, sea creatures, insects, most horrifying animals being put together to make the ultimate beasts. Fine details to show specific features. 

·         1401, Gilded Bronze. Competition to design the seconds set of doors at the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Depiction from the Book of Genesis when Abraham is ordered by God to sacrifice his son Isaac as a demonstration of devotion. Angel intervenes and stops Abraham from killing his son with a knife.

·         One of the two finalists in the competition. Lost 

·         On the verge of killing Isaac, Abraham lunges forward and the angel stops him. Faithfully represents the elements in the biblical narrative. Violent movements and high emotion.

·         In bronze. 4 leaf pad. Isaac is on the center line.

·         Focus is on the moment when the sacrifice is stopped. Vertical to the horizontal features. Isaac's body is contorted. 3 angles in his body, great tension. Suggests pain and discomfort. Suggests the severity of the situation.

·         Shows Abrahams dedication and conviction. Facial features, focused gaze. Total commitment to the action. Energy of the angel. Unified landscape. Jumble of elements.

Lorenzo Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401-02

·         1401, Gilded Bronze. 

·         Teenager when he made this. Apprentice in Pesaro when he finds out about the competition.

·         Emphasizes grace and smoothness. Abraham is in a typical Gothic pose with an out thrust hip and seems to be contemplating the decision he is about to make. Abraham’s body is balanced and at rest. Ancient Greece; Poised

·         Figure of Isaac is beautifully composed, recalls Greco-Roman statuary and the classical nude. Ghiberti had a deep interest in the bodies’ muscular system and skeletal structure. Isaac’s body is very defined and muscular.

·         Body is not very contorted. Doesn't communicate pain or agony. Basically frontal. Kneeling on the altar. Aware of whats happening. Presenting a body as something to look at. 

·         3D, Angel is coming toward viewer. Pictorial sense of space.

·         Bronze, medium that flourishes during this period. 

·         Competition becomes central to renaissance art; new and different.

Donatello, David

·         Bronze, 1440; made to display in the courtyard of the Medici palace in Florence.

·         Donatello reinvented the Classical Nude; his subject was not a Greco-Roman God but of David the youthful biblical slayer of Goliath who had become the symbol of Florence.

·         Releaxed, classical contraposto stance.

·         Younger, less mature body. Teenager or even a boy. Reiterates that he was the underdog. Fits the original story. Slender, several long curves. 

·         Looking down. Possibly at the head of goliath. Body is an object to be looked at. Passivity. 

·         Sexual appeal; pose is inviting. Looking down, "look at me",  nothing is left for mystery. 

·         Feather from goliath's helmet is pointing toward his genitalia. Evoking the theme of touch. Sensitive touch. 

·         Smooth glossy body contrasts to rough detailed head. Purposefully smooth, sensual. Hair rests on body. Caresses the skin. 

·         Goliath helmet, emblems of love. triumph of love. Embodiment of erotic love. 

·         Pitched to a male audience. Male sexual exchange was a primary part of this culture. 

Andrea Verrochio, David

·         Bronze, 1465; made for the Medici family in Florence.

·         Life was a mystery but we do know he worked as a gold smith. He painted and sculpted. 

·         Contrasts strongly with its narrative realism with the quiet classicism of Donatello’s David.

·         Sturdy, wiry young apprentice wearing a leather doublet who stands with a jaunty pride.

·         Interested in faithfulness to the story. He is a boy. Sense of his youth; not much muscle mass. Very lean and scrawny in places. Adolescent.

·         Body language suggests confidence and satisfaction. Not a blank gaze but not focused. Moment of delight. Pleasure in victory. Not contraposto? 

·         Explores naturalism.

Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Battle of Ten Nudes

·         Engraving, 1465

·         Shows Pollaiulo’s interest in the realistic presentation of human figures in action.

·         Took delight in showing violent action. Conceived the body as a powerful machine and liked to display its mechanisms such as knotted muscles. He developed a figure so lean and muscular that it appears Ecorche (as if without skin). Every muscle is tense.

·         Guide to the male body and how it moves through space. Variety of poses and from numerous viewpoints. Identical poses showing front and back. Different perspectives. Some are similar poses, but slightly different. To give viewer a visual of the small differences. 

·         Although figures are hacking and slashing with no mercy they still seem stiff and frozen because Pollaiulo depicted all the muscle groups at maximum tension

·         Engraving produced thousands

·         Not so much interest in specific bodies, but just generic idealized bodies. 

·         Rather than illusionist, its a diagram.

·         Dark background to make subjects stick out. 

·         Includes placard with his name on it.

Masaccio, Tribute Money

• Fresco, 1424, Brancacci chapel
• Depicts an episode from the gospel of Matthew. As the tax collector confronts Jesus, Jesus directs Saint Peter to the shore of Lake Galilee. Peter finds the tribute coin in the mouth of a fish and returns to pay the tax.
• Masaccio divided the fresco into three parts; In the center Jesus is surrounded by his disciples and telling Peter where to go. The tax collector stands in the foreground, his back to the spectator with his hand extended. At the left, Peter is retrieving the coin. To the right, Peter is thrusting the coin in the tax collector’s hand.
• The light is coming from the left and reveals some forms and conceals others.
• Placed the whole group in a spacious landscape instead of a confined stage space.
• The vanishing point where all the orthogonals converge is at Jesus’ head.

Masaccio, Holy Trinity

• Fresco, 1424 in Santa Maria Novella
• Barrel vaulted chamber reminiscent of a Roman triumphal arch, the Virgin Mary and Saint John appear on either side of the crucified Christ. God the Father emerges from behind Christ, supporting the arms of the cross and presenting his son to the worshiper as a devotional object.
• The dove of the Holy Spirit hovers between God’s head and Christ’s head. Included two donors of the painting who are kneeling in front of the pilasters framing the chapel’s entrance.
• Below is a tomb containing a skeleton. The inscription in Italian means, “I was once what you are, and what I am you will become.”
• Illusionism of the Holy Trinity is breathtaking.
• The vanishing point of the composition is at the foot of the cross, with this point at eye level. At 5 ft above floor level, the vanishing point pills the two views together, creating the illusion of a real structure transecting the wall’s vertical plane.
• The tomb appears to project forward into the church, the chapel recedes visually behind the wall. Appears as an extension of the spectator’s space.
• The ascending pyramid of figures leads viewers from the despair of death to the hope of resurrection and eternal life through Christ’s crucifixion. 

Sandro Botticelli, Primavera

• Tempera on wood, 1482; made for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (one of Lorenzo the Magnificent’s cousins)
• Venus stands just to the right of the center with her son Cupid hovering above. Drew attention to Venus by opening the landscape behind her to reveal a portion of sky that forms a kind of halo around the goddess of love’s head.
• To her right, who seem to be the target of Cupid’s arrow are the dancing Three Graces.
• At the right, the blue ice cold Zephyrus, the west wind, is about to carry off and marry the nymph Chloris, whom he transforms into Flora, goddess of spring (wearing a rich floral gown)
• Far left, the enigmatic figure of Mercury turns away from all the others and reaches up with his staff, the caduceus, perhaps to dispel storm clouds.
• The sensuality of the representation, the appearance of Venus in springtime, and the abduction and marriage of Chloris all suggest the occasion for the painting was young Lorenzo’s wedding.
• Painting also sums up the view the Neo-Platonists’ view that earthly love is compatible with Christian theology. In reinterpretation of classical mythology, Venus is the source of love provokes desire through Cupid. Desire can lead to lust or violence (Zephyr) or through reason and faith (Mercury), to the love of God.
• Read from right to left, served to urge newlyweds to seek God through love.

Altarpiece

Contrapposto

Humanism

Guild

Altarpiece: a panel, painted or sculpted, situated above or behind the altar.

Contrapposto; Italian term for counterpose. Used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight of one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This gives the figure a more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed appearance. Leg that carries the weight is called the engaged leg and the relaxed leg is the free leg.

Humanism; In the Renaissance, emphasis on education and on expanding knowledge. Exploration on individual potential.

Guild: an association of merchants, craftspersons, or scholars in medieval and renaissance Europe.

Fresco Painting

Tempera

Oil Painting

Engraving

Fresco painting; Painting on lime plaster, either dry or wet. Pigments are mixed with water and become chemically bound to lime plaster. Very durable.

Tempera; Pigment mixed with egg yolk, glue, or casein. Also refers to paintings done in this medium. Very long lasting.

Oil painting; Painting using oil based pigments. Replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe during the height of the Renaissance.

Engraving; the practice of incising a design on to a hard usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. 

Linear Perspective

Horizon Line

Vanishing Point

Orthogonals

Horizon line; the level your eyes are at, an imaginary line to which things recede.

Vanishing point; a point on the horizon where parallel lines appear to meet.

For example, railway tracks going into the distance: you know the two tracks are parallel to each other and remain the same distance apart, but the further away they get, the closer they appear to become to each other.

Orthogonals; perspective lines that point to the vanishing point; orthogonal lines are perpendicular to one another.