Hieronymus BoschPieter Bruegel I (the Elder)

Date1450-1516c.1525-1569

Locations-Hertogenbosch, NetherlandsBorn Breta, Netherlands, travelled to Italy in 1551 c.1554, past Rome to Southern Italy; first dated painting: 1557

Key wordsDiablerie, moralizing, fantastic, didactic religious message, works are a vehicle for expressing thoughts on values and morality?Independent and sovereign of thought? Humanizing spirit, rich in allegory

Subject Matter1. Religious, Old Testament themes, Last judgement, lives of the Hermit Saints and other moralizing religious subjects, life of Christ (childhood and Passion) Hermits: The only group of Saints Bosch depicted independently; depiction often relates to a personal conviction on ethics Last Judgement: Pessimistic view of humankind sinful, damned People blindly pursuing pleasure, leading to eternal damnation Bestial tormentors of hell and of Christ in the Passion scenes2. Moralizing Draws link between folly, sin and socially reprehensible behaviour Depiction of fools (representing social undesirables) and vagrants Emphasis on work and thrift (expressed in the rejection of laziness and squandering3. The use of folklore in service of an elite, bourgeois system of morals and satirical method Inversing the central categories of culture, thus dialectically defining it? Eg. Celebration of folly1. Flemish folklore: popular songs, ballads, proverbs, sayings and metaphors Used in great early works such as The Netherlandish Proverbs (1559), Childrens Games (1560), and Battle Between Carnival and Lent (1559) Also early drawing of Big Fishes Eating Little Ones Tiny figures fill up the composition; multiple narratives played out in the interactions of these figures2. Similarities to Bosch? Subject of human folly Allegorical figures Composition filled with small figures Death and dying? (Bosch: Humans are domed. Bruegel: Only two works related to Bruegels demonology?) Fall of the Rebel Angel: Also depicted by Bosch, but only as a small incidental scene in some depictions of Paradise. From him comes the idea that angels, while still falling, were transformed into hellish vermin

Influenced by/Associated philosophyEschatological thinkingEarly Humanist thinking?But very much shaped by the intellectual outlook of the day, the taste of wealthy and educated patrons. Esp moral outlook, which were expressed in the opposition of nature and culture, savagery and civilization (in literature and art). Folly was associated with the poor (lowest ring of social ladder)Seen as an adherent of the Neo-Stoic philosophy, acquainted with Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More. However, Bruegel was also an educated individualist, was not close to a certain religious group nor indoctrinated with any one philosophyIs influence of Bosch over-emphasized? Not just Bosch alone; the whole Flemish tradition was importantOnly two works bear any relation to Boschs demonology: the Fall of the Rebel Angels, and Dulle GrietItalian influence is limited lacked interest in depicting nudes and sensual nakedness

AimMoralizing, warning against sin and folly

Key worksIn ChronologyTower of Babel (?) Metaphorical meaning: Struggle against tyranny and discordTabletop with the Seven Deadly Sins Corners depict the Four Last Things (Eschatology)Garden of Earthly Delights Ambiguity: Heavenly or diabolicThe Haywain Hay was a symbol of everything worthless and transientThe Stone Operation Futility of trying to make fools wiseFall of IcarusNetherlandish Proverbs (early period) (1559) The first painting to show characteristic marks of Bruegels style Theme: the world turned upside-downTriumph of Death(middle period) (1562) Combines two iconographic traditions: The Italian Triumph of Death and the northern Dance of Death Skilfully organized composition classical influence?Tower of Babel (1563)Hunters in the Snow (late period) (1565) Part of the cycle of frieze The Seasons Emphasis is on the transformation of the landscape with each season

Technique?Waterschilderen Unusual technique involving opaque watercolour or tempera on canvas also practiced by Bosch

PatronageAristocratic Patrons: Commissioned or bought works related to The Last Judgement, Scenes of Hermits, and Garden of Earthly DelightsWealthy upper-middle class: Other works, including watercolour on canvas works (popular technique)Bosch was a sworn member to the Brotherhood of Our Lady; this opened up a network of wealthy bourgeoisie patrons for himDid not make works featuring popular saints exclusively eg. The Virgin, St Anne. This shows that Bosch catered to a very particular group of patrons, and in his works imbued a personal intellectual contributionThere are many reasons to think that Bruegel was a highly educated townsman, who was friends with some of the most eminent humanists of the NetherlandsWorks were collected by the rich and wealthyImportance was s understated in the 17th, 18th and 19th century: people then considered his son Jan to be the superior artistWorks such as Triumph of Death, Fall of the Rebel Angels were perhaps executed for a patron who wanted something is the style of Bosch (role of patron in shaping art produced) (these works represent a departure from Boschs style?)

Tilman Riemenschneider (the younger)Lucas Cranach (the elder)Matthias GrunewaldAlbrecht Durer

Date1460 - 15311472 - 1553c.1475 - 15281471 - 1528

LocationHeiligenstadt, GermanyKronach, Germany (Works date from 1501 arrival in Vienna)Wurzburg, Germany (Note: Biography on Grunewald is not clear)Nuremburg; twice travelled to Italy in his youth, once to the Netherlands

Key wordsGothic, draperies, stillnessFocus on Isenheim AltarpieceVersatile in use of various media and subject matter (secular genre scenes and traditional religious themes), responsible for bringing Italian art to the North

Subject MatterRelief sculptures, altarpieces (commissioned many destroyed)Altarpieces, portraits, and religious prints. Nudes and mythological subjects. Mural designs for Saxon palaces7 different, powerful renderings of the CrucifixionThe first to paint autonomous self-portraits, first to raise watercolour to the status of an independent medium, first nude life drawing by any German artistAlso paints himself into many of his paintings

Influenced by/Associated philosophyRiemenschneiders style remained within the confines of the Late Gothic language, hence his works did not have much impact on later artists, who were working in the new idiom of RenaissanceInfluenced by Durer, in medium and subject matter. Protestant reformationPictorial language is rooted in the symbolic imagery of the middle ages, but is at the same time proto-Baroque in its dramatic movement, highly expressive language of draperies and gestures, and strong contrasts of light and shadowItalian Renaissance: Concern with the human figure, draped or nude, and its relationship to space, combined landscape with portrait (Italian/Netherlandish tradition), classical contrapposto, classical subject matter

AimPersonal involvement with the Reformation

Key worksIn ChronologyHoly Blood altarpiece (1501-1505) Scenes were determined by the town council Function: To serve as a reliquary for the drop of Christs blood preserved at the church, that was greatly revered object of pilgrimage Hence iconography of the altarpiece was dictated by the relic: Last Supper Forms concealed by draperies; Riemenschneider believed in the power of facial expressionCardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as St Jerome in his Study (1525) Was commissioned by Cardinal Albrecht to do a series of portraits depicting him as devout and scholarly Cranach seems to have relied on Durers portrait engraving of him as a model for the face (Cranach might not even have seen Cardinal Albrecht)Martin Luther (1525) Attention for individual physiognomy even as he began to develop an increasing tendency towards patternistic design Faces: Fine modelling. Emerge against flatness and severity of the darkly clad upper torso Portraits of prominent political people are strikingly assertive; figure fills spaceAdam and Eve (1526) Influenced by Durer Nudes were initially more robust, but gradually developed away from Renaissance sources towards an anti-classical shape that suggests the return of the International Gothic c.1400 Nudes are slimmer, more adolescent contoursVenus with Cupid, The Honey Thief Same subject painted 22 times Contains moralizing message Straddles between innocence and seductivenessIsenheim AltarpiecePortrait of Artists Mother Ability to grasp and convey an individual personality from a young ageFirst travel to Italy (Venice): 1494-95The Apocalypse (1498): 15 woodcuts Fused the Late Gothic system of figuration with a new treatment of figure and landscape based on first-hand studySelf Portrait (1500) New consciousness of his status as an artist Paints himself as Christ: emblem of ultimate sublimity Represents aspirations for higher social statusAdoration of the Magi (1504) Spatial relation and triangular constructionAdam and Eve, engraving (1504) Following Vitruviuss On Architecture, Adam and Eve was created out of Durers concern to construct the human form using mathematics (ex. Head takes up one-eighth of total height) Robust proportions were abandoned in a later version of Adam and Eve (painting, 1507); figures take on a degree of gothic weightlessnessSecond Visit to Italy (also Venice): 1505-07 furthered his knowledge on linear perspective (later seen in St Jerome in His Study)Virgin of the Rose Garlands (1506) Aimed not only to learn from, but also surpass Italian painters Painting conforms to Italian practice in terms of: subject matter, vibrant colours (Venice), Italian landscape, use of perspectiveMaster Engravings: Knights, Death and the Devil (1513), St Jerome in His Study (1514), Melancholia (1514) Used his knowledge of classical forms on a lofty intellectual level Seen as a unity: Knight, death and the Devil shows the moral way to salvation, St Jerome the theological way, and Melancholia the intellectual wayJourney to the Netherlands: 1520-21 gained recognition from foreign artists

Technique?Had a workshop Wurzburg, employing wood-carvers, stone-sculptors and paintersBy 1507 he had begun to develop his workshopMore or less exhausted the technical resources of the art of his day in his drawings, used ink, brush and wash, metalpoint, watercolour, chalk and charcoal, in painting, used oil and tempera, and in printmaking, used woodcut and engraving equally (the first artist in his day to do so)

PatronageReceived commissions from various town councils; was himself a council member of the town WurzburgEntered the circle of humanists at the University of Vienna c.15021504: Appointed court artist of Saxony by John Frederick Cranach had established a far-reaching reputation. Served on the Wittenburg city council; was one of the wealthiest in the cities. Personal involvement with the Reformation created no impediment to his continuing work for Catholic patronsSudden death in 1528; the importance of the loss was acknowledged in the world of learning

Jan van EyckRogier van der WaldenMatthias Grunewald

Datec.1395 - 1441c.1475 - 1528

LocationMaaseickWurzburg, Germany (Note: Biography on Grunewald is not clear)

Key wordsFocus on Isenheim Altarpiece

Subject Matter7 different, powerful renderings of the Crucifixion

Influenced by/Associated philosophyPictorial language is rooted in the symbolic imagery of the middle ages, but is at the same time proto-Baroque in its dramatic movement, highly expressive language of draperies and gestures, and strong contrasts of light and shadow

Aim

Key worksIn ChronologyIsenheim Altarpiece

Technique?

Patronage

Compare and contrast Italian and Northern Renaissance art (influence, similarities, and differences)Italian RenaissanceNorthern Renaissance

Focus on sensual nudeNudity: Not as accepted

Rise in artists statusRise in artists status

Qn: How does iconology/iconography fit in?

Notable developments during the French Renaissance include the spread ofhumanismThe French Renaissance traditionally extends from (roughly) theFrench invasion of Italyin 1494 during the reign ofCharles VIIIuntil the death ofHenry IVin 1610. This chronology notwithstanding, certain artistic, technological or literary developments associated with theRenaissancearrived in France earlier (for example, by way of theBurgundycourt or thePapal court in Avignon); however, theBlack Deathof the 14th century and theHundred Years' Warkept France economically and politically weak until the late 15th century.In the late 15th century, the Frenchinvasion of Italyand the proximity of the vibrantBurgundycourt (with itsFlemishconnections) brought the French into contact with the goods, paintings, and the creative spirit of theNorthernandItalian Renaissance, and the initial artistic changes inFrancewere often carried out by Italian and Flemish artists, such asJean Clouetand his sonFranois Clouetand the ItaliansRosso Fiorentino,Francesco PrimaticcioandNiccol dell'Abbateof the (so-called) firstSchool of Fontainebleau(from 1531).In 1516,Francis I of FranceinvitedLeonardo da Vincito theChteau d'Amboiseand provided him with theChteau du Clos Luc, then called Chteau de Cloux, as a place to stay and work.[5]Leonardo, a famous painter and inventor, arrived with three of his paintings, namely theMona Lisa,Sainte Anne, andSaint Jean Baptiste, today owned by theLouvre museumofParis.The art of the period from Francis I through Henry IV is often inspired by late Italian pictorial and sculptural developments commonly referred to asMannerism(associated withMichelangeloandParmigianino, among others), characterized by figures which are elongated and graceful and a reliance on visualrhetoric, including the elaborate use ofallegoryandmythology.

Iconography and saints

Saint Margaret: Patron saint of childbirth. Depicted emerging from a dragons belly St Jerome: Patron saint of the humanists. Hence central figure to some renaissance artists and their circle of humanist friends. Cardinal Albrecht: Commissioned his portrait to be painted as St Jerome, as an embodiment of Christian values

Classical vs Gothic DraperiesThe term classicizing, however, must be qualified, for a fundamental difference exists between the Gothic figure of any period and the truly classical figure style. In the classical figure, whether statue or relief, a completely articulated body can be sensed beneath, and separate from, the drapery. In the Gothic figure no such differentiation exists. What can be discerned of the body is inseparable from the folds of the garment by which it is enveloped.

Themes/subject matters for compare and contrast

Pulpits

Nicola PisanoPisa Baptistery Pulpit1260Nicola PisanoSiena Cathedral Pulpit1265Giovanni PisanoPulpit for Sant' Andrea, Pistoia1301Giovanni PisanoPisa Cathedral Pulpit1302 - 1310

Round arches Classical, sharp cusps GothicScenes include: Adoration of the Magi, Presentation in the TempleSculptures replace columns, more GothicFigures are fluid French GothicPointed arch Gothic Curved relief panelsBrackets rather than arches - classical

Pulpits and their Roman influence

Nicola PisanoFortitudePisa Baptistery Pulpit1260Farnese HerculesGiovanni PisanoPisa Cathedral Pulpit1302-1310Roman Phaedra Sarcophagus1 2ADGiovanni PisanoMassacre of the InnocentsPulpit of Sant'Andrea, Pistoia1301Roman Battle Sarcophagus

Classical: Heroic male nudeIconography: Lion skin and clubAntique; Big but dead lionAngular, anti-classicalRelief sculpture, more shallowHercules not as beefy Visually complex too, but note the diagonal and the triangle + polishing of central head; figures break out of frameVisually complex

Sibyl

Giovanni PisanoPulpit of Sant' Andrea, Pistoia1301Libyan Sibyl

Independence from architecture (greater depth)

Venus Pudica

Giovanni PisanoCardinal VirtuesPisa Cathedral Pulpit1302-1310Roman Venus PudicaBotticelliBirth of Venus1485Uffizi Gallery, FlorenceTempera on canvasMasaccioExpulsion of Adam and Eve

One on right: Personifies Christian virtue of prudenceModesty not shame; Christian value of PrudenceShame not modesty

Mocking of Christ/Flagellation of Christ (Scene from Passion of Christ) + Perspective

GiottoMocking of Christ 1305Arena Chapel, PaduaPiero della FrancescaFlagellation of Christ1455-60TemperaGiottoPresentation in the TempleBasilica of San Francesco, Assisic.1320GiottoChrist Among the DoctorsBasilica of San Francesco, Assisi, lower churchc.1320MasaccioHoly Trinity1427-28Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Composition, linear perspective, individuality, draperies, narrative, figures have weight and are defined by light and shadeNote recession of space and prominent floor tiling

Crucifix

Cimabue Arezzo Crucifixc.1268GiottoSan Maria Novella Crucifixc.1300

An icon, not narrativeStylized, figure bound by linesByzantineRetain dignity in deathHead hangsGreen of deathVolume of flesh; modelling

Madonna and Child

DuccioCrevole Madonna1283GiottoOgnissanti MadonnaUffizi Gallery, Florence1310Giovanni BelliniMadonna and Child ('of the little trees')1487VeniceLeonardoMadonna of the Carnation1478OilLeonardoBenois Madonna1478-80OilRaphaelBridgewater Madonna1507-08Oil on canvas

(Gothic) Hierarchical order(Renaissance) Importance of form and draperyNote softness of hands, vulnerability of gestureCrossed legs, foretelling crucifixionSpiral; more complex interlocking of figures (see sketch)Spiral; more complex interlocking of figures (see sketch)

Other Giotto comparisons

GiottoPresentation of the Virgin in the TempleArena Chapel, Padua1305Taddeo GaddiPresentation of the Virgin in the Temple

NativityPassion

David (Donatello (2), Verrocchio, Michelangelo)

DonatelloDavid (Marble)1415FlorenceDonatelloDavid (Bronze)1460FlorenceVerrocchioDavid1470FlorenceMichelangeloDavid1503Florence

Classical: Tight curls of hair, contrappostoFirst depiction of David before slaying GoliathThe peak of classical influence

Equestrian (Donatello, Verrocchio, Durer)

DonatelloGattamelata1447Piazza del Santo, PaduaVerrocchioColleoni Monument1481-95St Mark's Square, VeniceMarcus Aurelius

Rise of individual; secular themeTechnical supremacy

Adoration of the Magi

BotticelliAdoration of the Magi1460sLondon National GalleryTempura on poplarBotticelliAdoration of the Magi1475Oil on panelUffizi Gallery, FlorenceLeonardo da VinciAdoration of the Magi1481Uffizi Gallery

Contrast mediumsIntricate compositional plan; figures grouped to form unity; interlocking

Virgin Adoring the Christ Child

BotticelliVirgin and Child1490Giovanni BelliniMadonna of the Meadow1500

Venetian: Rich coulours, landscape

Agony in the Garden

Giovanni BelliniAgony in the Garden1465Andrea MantegnaAgony in the Garden1465

Clouds more realistic

Altarpiece: Sacred conversation, Diptych, triptych, polyptych

Giovanni BelliniSan Giobbe Altarpiece1485VeniceOil on panel

Pieta

MichelangeloPieta1498RomeGiovanni BelliniPieta1505Venice

Annunciation

BotticelliAnnunciation1490Leonardo da VinciAnnunciation1472-75Uffizi Gallery, Florence Oil and tempera on panel

Aerial perspectiveLeonardo: Indefinite landscape. Verrocchio: Dry, clear

Last Supper

Leonardo da VinciThe Last SupperSanta Maria Delle Grazie1495-98Andrea del CastagnoLast Supper1447Fresco

Psychological intensity Juda twisting his head abruptlyStillness; standard depiction

Portrait (Mona Lisa, Arnolfini)

Leonardo da VinciLady with an Ermine1483-90RaphaelDonna Velata1516Oil

Refinement of technique compare to Benois Madonna

Madonna and Child (Ognissanti Madonna, the ugly one, the linear gothic one, Leonardo)Landscapes (Giorgione)Nudes

Also consider in terms of recurring themes1) Narratives2) Figures3) Compositions4) Styles5) Techniques6) Symbols

What are the distinguishing features of:1) Tempera, Oil, Fresco2) Stone, Marble Bronze3) Gothic, Classical, Early Renaissance, High Renaissance, (diff between North and South) International Gothic, Mannerist, Baroque

Artists timeline: Consider1) Major events: Black Death, Medici Expulsion from Florence (impact on patronage), Reformation and counter reformation etc

Notes: Things that need relooking/too lazy to summarize

Read Arnolfo di Cambio independently consider why he would be the first renaissance artist if more of his works had survived? Reclining roman figures: The Issac Master, Arnolfo di Cambio For Giotto, make sure to recognise which scenes each panel refers to. Relook at frescoes in the church of San Francesco, Assisi Figure out which St John is which!! Botticelli's Mystic Crucifixion and Mystic Nativity?

Essay plans

Difference between Medieval and Renaissance art?

MedievalRenaissance

Note: Differences in formal qualities are directly related to the dissimilarities in the world view of the two cultures. Different world views call for different forms of visual representation. (Important: Ideology changes arts formal qualities)

IdeaMiddle ages: 3rd to 13th Century

art and learning were centered on the church and religion.

Medieval art: subject to the direction of the Church; they accepted its general values, which emphasized the spiritual and had no interest in the material; and for this reason they made no demand that artists should imitate the outside world. Their duty was rather toevolve the appropriate symbol to convey the moral and religious lessons of he Church. When the term Renaissance was created so was its counterpart the Middle Ages. The investigation of ancient Greek and Roman cultures by Renaissance scholars led to the formation of a humanistic culture that radically renewed the very foundations of knowledge and of life. The new focus of interest in these two ancient cultures was responsible for the direction taken by artists, a direction that changed the look of painting.Influence of secular humanism: Not religious, and humanism meaning placing the study and progress of human nature at the center of interests.

Artists statusThe painter was a craftsman who performed a practical function under the direction of the ChurchArtists signed their work and authors wrote autobiographies and memoirs stories about themselves.They also made self-portraits

Key valuesHarmony, proportion, and unity in Medieval art had been tied to the divine

Figures were perfectly still; figures of greatest importance were depicted largest. Idea was to convey the spiritual, hence depicting symbols of the spiritual in favour of imitating the secularkey words in Renaissance scholarship and rhetoric: harmony, proportion and unity. This led to an emphasis on achieving the perfect proportion of human figures, establishing rules of scientific perspective and applying them to painting, and creating composition stability through compositional devices (Golden ratio, symmetry, triangular composition etc)

Distinguishing featuresSymbolic elements

Stylized figuresit was the first age in the history of civilization to discover itself as an age or to be conscious that they were living in a new era of human history.

Narrative

Figures and their relationship to one anotherSaints wore halosMedieval art was hierarchic. (Used hieratic scale)Lines defined forms, hence flatFigures of greatest importance are largest. The figures importance was fixed by religious tradition. All other figures are of diminishing size regardless of their placement in the painting

Follows basic principle of scientific perspective as figures get further, they get smaller

Forms are increasingly modelled in light, sense of real spaceAs Humanism became more popular during the Renaissance, ordinary people grew to be the same size as saints in paintings and saints began to look more like ordinary people. For example, halos became fainter and eventually disappeared during the Renaissance.

Pictorial setting and spaceFlatness: Medieval settings were deliberately shallow in depth. Application of gold leaf to the background areas conveyed a combination of messages: its purity and preciousness served as a sign of religious faith, a symbol of the beauty and atmosphere of heaven, and its presence served to remind the viewer of the existence of the painted surface or picture plane.Before the invention of the scientific perspective, most attempts at representing space look a little bit off

As Renaissance artists experimented with new Humanist ideas, the natural landscape began to appear as a background in paintings. Saints left their golden atmosphere to occupy the same gardens, forests and buildings that everyday people lived in.The concern with depicting a real landscape was spurred by Albertis Della Pittura, says that the picture plane should be treated as though it were an open window through which visual rays passWhen the painted surface became an open window, the illusion of depth, the placement of figures on a ground plane in naturalistic relationship to one another and to the environments in which they were portrayed was possible. The new rules of perspective were invaluable tools to artists, enabling them to give buildings and interior scenes a three dimensional quality.

Depiction of space in which figures existLandscapes were not depicted, because emphasis was on God, and God was not of time or spacepicture did not have to represent life as experienced by human beings, hence did not require natural surroundings or realistic panoramas. In fact, painters wanted to avoid any analogy to human experience and to enhance the other worldliness of the scene (focus on depicting the spiritual, the sacred, the holy realm)Medieval view: Information acquired through the five senses was suspect. Man was viewed as a puny and confused mortal. True knowledge could only be gained through faith. Life was illusory, hence the pictures were representations of religious experience, not of human experience.Humanism: Shifts focus to the rise of the Renaissance man grounded in real or secular world.

Important to depict them standing on terra firma within a matural setting.

The painted world: stage set for significant human action that took place in a world that matched the natural environment of man.

Medium:In the Middle Ages, egg tempera was used most widely. Mixing egg yolks with pigments made egg tempera and artists made their own paints. Egg tempera dried quickly and created a flat, rough surface.Oil paint was invented in the early 15th century and created great excitement among Renaissance artists. Oil paint dried slowly, and was translucent, meaning light could shine through the paint. The characteristics of oil paint allowed artists to build layers of color and create paintings with the appearance of greater depth.

Example of worksBonaventura BerlinghieriSt Francis AltarpieceChurch of San Francesco, PesciaEarly 13th Century

Static, unmoving St Francis: A very important saint. Established the whole order of the Franciscans Central St Francis displays his wounds: On his hands and feet: Received the miracle of the stigmata from Christ, hence symbolising his direct affliation with Christ In the six small scenes on either sides of him, they are scenes from St Francis life, but are also very much parallel to Christs life Top left: St Francis receiving the stigmata, represented symbolically (medieval tradition) Note the proportions: Little St Francises next to the big, central St Francis, little houses juxtaposed against big people Shaved head, brown sack cloth, bare-footedness symbols in which St Francis lived his life to be closer to Christ, humble, close to nature, without artifice Later representations which were more classically beautiful, more naturalistc were in some senses at odds with what Francis actually represents. Maybe this is a truer representation?GiottoMocking of ChristArena Chapel, Padua1305

The narrative of an event playing outSense of spaceExpressions of Christs tormentors

Giovanni BelliniSt Francis in Ecstasy1480Oil on panel

A scene showing St Francis in religious ecstasy, possibly receiving the stigmata. The Seraphim is not present, Francis is not wearing a gold halo, there are no golden rays interpreting biblical story in fully naturalistic way (renaissance)In place of the gold rays, we get this sense of golden light coming from the upper left, flooding the landscape in warmth, browns and golds. Sense of the momentary Francis stepping away from his desk, sandals not on, sense of real time (not present in medieval) Idea: Nature is enough to represent the divinity. No need for Seraphim and gold rays and all those fancy things. There is still that sense of transience, of Gods love flooding down on St FrancisInfluence of Northern Renaissance? Idea of imbuing the natural world with religious meanings and symbols. For example, Francis barefoot here is a reference to Moses walking barefoot in front of God. Grapevine: A reference to the eucharist to the wine, the blood of ChristAttention to the carpentry of the desk. We can understand the carpentry, the construction the spiritual overlaying the natural. Wild plants, animals, all recognisable speciesFrancis: Only a small part of a vast landscape. Previously unseen. Not diminished by scale, but enhanced by his placement in this full world, which is appropriate considering Francis association with nature. Francis made divine by the landscape aids our understanding of his saintlinessLook at direction of diagonals: Follows from upper left to lower right. Connecting the source of light to St Francis

Related: Is Giotto a renaissance or medieval painter?Difference between Renaissance in Florence vs in Venice?FlorenceVenice

Time1400-1600 AD

LocationFlorence is in central Italy. Venice is further up North, near to the sea. Both have a celebrated school of painting: The Florentine School and the Venetian School, with distinct differences in formal qualitiesJust a note: Influence of Renaissance in Italy was not even. Note that a unified Italy didnt exist back then. The humanistic flourishing and artistic innovations of the Renaissance are slow to reach the south, where aNorthern Gothic stylepredominates well into the fifteenth centuryFor Titian and the Venetian painters, colour was an important element of art, and its use expressed the essential difference in the cultural climate of Venice from that of Florence. A city of art, music and trade, rather than that of science and banking, the main European trading center for the rich and colourful products of the East, Venice had developed a more sensuous and pleasure-loving attitude to life. These qualities are expressed in her art through a senuous and poetic use of colour, light and atmosphere.

NoteRenaissance as a whole: Famed for classical erudition, naturalism and beauty. General aim is same: Want to produce naturalistic images, and considered painting a liberal art. However there are regional differences. Artists from different parts of Italy approached the representation ofnaturedifferently and, as a result, produced works that differ not only in execution and appearance but in their very conception. Renaissance was also characterized by rivalry and competition. Stylistic preferences in each region can be attributed to several historical, cultural and geographic factors

Florentines focused on painting as an intellectual exercise requiring the artist to manipulate what he observed in the natural world.Venetian painters strove for naturalism above all

Artists involved (chronology)GiottoLeonardo da Vinci(14521519)MichelangeloGiogiorneTitianJacopo Tinteretto

Visual differenceFigures delineated clearlyEmphasis on perspectiveCooler tones due to pigments used in frescoPainterly qualityEmphasis on colour and interaction with lightColour tend towards warm

Disegno vs ColoritoDisegno, from the Italian word for drawing or design, involves both the ability to make the drawing and the intellectual capacity to invent the design.was viewed as the essential beginning of artistic endeavor, the primary means for making art approximate nature.dispute arose between the partisans ofMichelangeloand those ofTitianas to whether disegno (Michelangelo) or colorito (Titian) was superiorGiorgio Vasari, a Florentine artist and writer, describeddisegnoas the father and foundation of all the visual artsColorito colouring is a term usually applied to 16th-century Venetian painting in which colour is employed in a dominant manner, for sensual expressive purposes and as an important compositional element.It was deemed fundamental to conceiving painted images charged with the look of life. Florentine color was frequently more vivid than the palette used in Venetian paintings; typically Venetian, however, was the process of layering and blending colors to achieve a glowing richnessColore was championed by Lodovico Dolce, an Italian theorist of painting

Mediumfresco andtemperapainting required careful planning and the production of numerous preparatory drawings.Painters produced sketches, studies, andcartoonsto aid the execution of finished pictures, especially frescoes.during the Renaissance period, drawings were increasingly viewed as a manifestation of the artistic process ofinvenzione the formulation of the artists creative idea. Drawings became valued for showing the inner workings of a great artists mind and were collected and preserved by early connoisseurs.The humid climate of the lagoon city also madefresco painting, common in other parts of Italy, impractical. The plaster deteriorated quickly in the damp air, so when the technique ofoil painting became available to them in the late 15th century, Venetian painters readily embraced it. Not only was the new medium more durable, but it allowed painters to fully explore the stylistic possibilities of oils, in particular rich colors and naturalistic effects of light.

Application of drawing and colour/ difference in techniquethe act of drawing was not only the art of using line to define form: it was the artistic underpinning of a work whereby an artist could express his inner vision. Florentine painters therefore used drawing to study movement,anatomy, and the natural world, and they developed compositions in detailed drawings before transferring them to surfaces prepared for painting.

The intellectual Florentines were mainly interested in shape, volume and space; they used colour only to distinguish one area from another, each area being clearly bounded by an outline. Florentine pictures could be regarded simply as coloured drawings, since they were first composed and drawn in monochrome and only afterwards was the colour applied by glazing over the drawing and underpainting.

Because of this deliberate process of drawing, and the central importance of the artists idea (as opposed to his observation of nature) in the creation of a work,disegnowas viewed as an intellectual, rational approach to painting.good draftsmanship was regarded as a prerequisite for good painting

In finished paintings, the guiding principle ofdisegnois manifested in definition of form and line. (see Raphael)Rather than beginning with careful drawings, Venetian painters often worked out compositions directly on the canvas, using layered patches of colored brushstrokes rather than line to define formVenetian drawings show an interest in how light will affect a body and how color will describe it in a painting.

Moreover, Venetians painters relied on a direct observation of nature, accurately studying her tones and colours, rather than geometry and perspective used by the Florentines. They unified their compositions not by line but by tone and colour

Slow-driving quality of oil allowed for spontaneous composition of paintings paintings are more painterly, more experimental

Drawing vs Colour exemplifiedMichelangeloStudies for a Libyan Sibyl c.1510Red chalksibyl for the Sistine Chapelceiling in red-chalk strokes remarkable for their consistency and powerDetailed planning, drawing, careful shading and contouring to define volume of figures and spatial depth

RaphaelPala Colonnac. 1504Oil and gold on wood

colors, while beautiful, were secondary to clarity of form and flowing lines

evident in the crisp, undulating lines of the draperies and the stark shadows cast on the steps of the throneicy blues of the landscape background, in contrast with the warmth of that in TitiansVenus and the Lute Player, reflect the Florentine color palette derived from pigments used in fresco.TitianVenus and AdonisOil on Canvas

a mass of golden touches represents the pearls and highlights in the goddess's blond hair, and the subtle modulations of tone across her back suggest flesh without sharp edges.

Titian Venus and the Lute Playerc. 1565Oil on Canvas

typical of his mature styleEmphasizing the lush, erotic atmosphere, Titian has softened forms through his painterly brushstrokes especially in the landscape background and given the interior space a warm glow (note the radiance of Venuss skin and the sheen of the velvet drapes above). Venetiancolorewas often characterized as sensual and natural.

LegacyThe artists and theorists involved in theparagonehad an impact on European painting for many generations.Italian Mannerist painters, like the FlorentineJacopo Pontormoand VenetianvJacopo Tintoretto, exaggerated the styles of artists like Michelangelo and Titian, creating an even greater distinction between the two regional schools of painting. An offshoot of the debate, between classicism and naturalism, continued in Baroque Rome, between theCarracci familyof painters, especiallyAnnibale, andCaravaggio.Through teaching and practice at theartistic academiesof Europe, thedisegno/colore paragonepersisted well into the 19th century.

Difference/Similiarities between Italian Renaissance and Northern RenaissanceItalian RenaissanceNorthern Renaissance

General Similiaritiesboth have a Biblical theme and both of them depict and explore the shape of the human body.defining feature of Renaissance thinking is the belief in human beings as not only rational, sentient and able of making moral judgements, but also as the centre of God's creation. This explains why Renascentists painting both depicts Biblical themes and the perfect human body.Powerful guild system: self-policing policy, most of the money exchanging hands - when works of art were commissioned and paid for - went to Guild After 1450, both Italy and northern Europe had access to printed materials members.Definitive artistic centres: Florence in Italy, Flanders in the North (up to the end of 15th C)

Spread of RenaissanceGerman artists, in particular,frequentlyheaded off to Italy and spent months (or even years) moving about visiting with the Italian artists and studying their techniques, themes and materials. Word spread rapidly upon these artists' respective returns, and it wasn't long before most Northern artists were incorporating new ideas into their work.Furthermore, the printing press had recently been invented, with the result that etchings and engravings were now widely available (and highly portable). Images of Italian Renaissance art were spread far and wide

LocationLocation: Italy (Concentrated in Florence)Location: Countries North of Italy: Germany, France, England, and the Low Countries

Motivesocial changes in Italy were inspired, as we've seen, by Humanism. Italian artists, writers and philosophers were driven to study Classical antiquity and explore man's supposed capacity for rational choice.

In Humanism: the individual man and his potentials are keyIn the north (possibly in part because the north did nothaveworks of antiquity from which to learn), change was brought about by a different rationale.Thinking minds in the north were more concerned with religious reform, feeling that Rome (from whom they were physically distanced) had strayed too far from Christian values. In fact, as northern Europe became more openly rebellious over the authority of the Church, art took a decidedly secular turn.Different viewNorthern Renaissance was also influenced by Humanism, which spread through universities and the printing press

PatronageItaly had numerous Duchies and Republics which gave rise to a wealthy merchant class that often spent considerable funds on art.Sponsored paintings, sculptures and architectureArtistic Center: Florence. Main patron: Medici family patronage minded. Wealthy - , education standards improved and people began delving into the past. There was a strong focus on humanism and antiquityThe north had fewer centers of free commerce than did Italythe only notable similarity between northern Europe and, say, a place like Florence, lay in the Duchy of BurgundyThe Burgundian Dukes were excellent patrons of the arts, but they were more interested in sponsoring illuminated manuscripts, tapestries and furnishingsArtistic centre: Flanders (a part of the Duchy of Burgundy). It had a thriving commercial city, Bruges, which (like Florence) made its money in banking and wool. When people became wealthier, education standards increased and people became more interested in the arts (similar to Italy). Bruges had cash aplenty to spend on luxuries like art. At the end of the 15th C, the Duchy of Burgundy was absorbed, and artists lost their ducal patrons. Germany then took over the place as hub of Renaissance art

ReligionReligion: Mostly CatholicReligion: German lands and the Netherlands began to embrace Protestantism; even before Martin Luther, there was some degree of questioning the rituals of the Catholic Church

TimelineBegan 14th Century with the works of GiottoEnded 16th Centuryideas began spreading throughout Europe only during the late 15th century.

Subject MatterClassical mythologyReligious ScenesDomestic interiorsPortraitsReligious scenesNorthern Renaissance is sometimes classified as late gothic and also had stronger focus on religion.

StyleSymmetrical, balanced, harmonious, centralised, good sense of mass, the use of linear perspectiveConcerned with the scientific principles behind composition (i.e., proportion, anatomy, perspective)Attention to surface detail, naturalismHeld on to Gothic art and architecture much longer than Italy did, well into the 16th Centurymore concerned with what their artlookedlike. Color was of key importance, above and beyond formDetail was also important (eg. Careful rendering of individual strands of hair)

MediumFresco, tempera, oilMarble sculptures due to presence of marble quarriesPredominantly oil on panel Jan van Eyck (court painter to the Duke of Burgundy) is largely credited with developing oil techniques: layering paint in glazes to create light and depth of color in his paintingNorth isnt known for frescoes. The climate isnt conducive for curing themNorthern Renaissance shows a higher diversity of visual art forms, such as engravings and woodcuts. As Protestantism gained ground, paintings were much less likely to be created specifically for places of worship, as unlike Catholics some Protestants believed that worshipping icons/religious imagery is idolatry

FormsItalian renaissance art tended to show the body in an idealistic wayItalian was classical (drapery tends to cling to the body, revealing the perfection of all the idealized bodies, lots of nude people)Northern renaissance art hid the body in a medieval fashionNorthern was medieval

PerspectiveLots of linear perspectiveLinear perspective not implemented as rigorously

Landscape

SymbolsNorthern art had an immense amount of symbols in it

The end (both around same time)Sacking of RomeRaphael died in 1520The Italian High Renaissance gave way to MannerismThe great Northern Renaissance artists Drer and Grnewald, were contemporaries of Raphael and Michelangelo. Drer and Grnewald both died by 1528Northern High Renaissance dwindled and disappeared due mainly to the region's religious struggles, as well as the aforementioned deaths.Also gave way to Mannerism

ExampleMichelangeloCreation of AdamSistine Chapel

emphasis falls on Adam rather than on God; the painting seems to be about 'Adam receiving the spark of life from God' rather than 'God giving the spark of life to Adam': the human being, as rational and sentient, is bearer of a spark of divinity

Anatomically correct picture of a brain behind God giving spark of intelligence to human?

MichelangeloDavid1504Carrara marble

more focused on form (the biblical hero stands over 5m tall) than iconography of objects to create an overall effect.The heroic male nudeStatue shows David at the instance where he has decided to fight Goliath Head of Goliath is completely eliminated, unlike previous representations by Donatello and Verrocchio. Focus is placed entirely on the magnificence of the human form, and Davids anxious expression (neck is tense, brows drawn)S-curve of the torso amplified by the turn of the neck. Contrapposto distinct feature of antique sculpture. One leg straight, the other relaxed and relaxed and forward, and the contrasting position of the armsstrong focus on body form, proportion and anatomy and epitomizes Italian Renaissance using biblical or Greek mythical figures as subjects, grandness in size and focus on formAlbrecht DurerAdam and Eve1507

God is not presentBodies are also ideal forms by the same beauty standards, but not as glorious as Michelangelos Adamcolors are slightly more muted, nudity is slightly concealed with leaves; they are depicted holding not God's spark of divinity, but the apple that brought about their downfallNote on this: can the difference in depiction (Michelangelo glory, Durer shame) be associated with different kinds of theology and religious worship: the belief in the inherent goodness of human beings, or their inherent sinfulness; the belief in the worship of icons as an important part of Christianity or as idolatry; and then map those differences along the lines of the cultural/theological line of thinking that caused the separation of Protestantism from Catholicism (man as inherently sinful can this be associated with the works of Bosch and Bruegel?)

Jan van EyckArnolfini Portrait1434Oil on oak panelAmazing details for a relatively small paintinggeometric orthogonal perspective that makes it more realistic as if a true depiction of an eyewitness accountconvex mirror that can reveal intricate detailscolors used to show light and depth.very realistic and highly focused on minute details

Related essay question: What did Durer do for Northern Renaissance art?Contributions made by Durer

Albrecht Drer made two trips to Italy specifically to study its art. He sparked what we now call the "High Renaissance" in the North by contributing in three major areas, by bringing Renaissance ideas and techniques to the North

Understanding of linesFirst, Drer's sojourns to Padua and Venice didn't exactly leave him with a complete understanding of how those places used color, or even thoroughly at ease with nudes. But! He definitely understood the use ofline. (really) (Anyone who has ever seen his woodcuts and/or engravings will attest that Drer was a true master of the use of line.) As the Northern artists had a long tradition of using and understanding line, Drer's works (full of line as they were) told Northern artists all they needed to know about that which the Italian artists were trying to accomplish. Phrase this better. Why is this full of so much rubbish?

Etching and EngravingDrer was a prolific publisher of his graphic works. He made prints far more often than he painted, hisgraphic workswere both widely available and rapidly circulated

Artist as superstarDrer also understood that theelevated statusItalian artists were now enjoying was highly desirable foranyartist. He was instrumental in bringing that Renaissance concept northward, too.