art history 102 exam 1 notes

art history 102 class notes for first exam.

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author: Giotto
title: Lamentation

made: 14th century

size: large (6×6 feet)

located: chapel (italy)

medium: fresco

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: the artist doesn’t put Jesus in the middle. saints surrounding him. bleu backgrounds, very rocky. cartoonish saints. the foreground people are larger or smaller. colors contrast more. gold background- considered medieval. tree of life- only bare tree in the image, represents Jesus’s lamentation, that he is dead. the tree is located off to the side away from everyone. tree= symbol of the crucification. high on the mountain to represent the rise or rebirth of christ. halos overlap with the heads, the painter had difficulty with realistic paintings.

3D space- christ is half naked on the floor surrounded by his followers/ common people. common people don’t have halos and the saints have halos. the virgin Mary is always right by Jesus.

the people are arranged in a horizontal space with their backs to us creating a 3D space to make them seem like they are coming out of the painting. angel flying/ crying out because Jesus just died. Mary has long blonde hair female characters look the same. Jesus always looks different but is distinguished among the rest of them.

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author: Rogier van der Weyden
title: saint Luke drawing the virgin

made: 15th century

size: small (4×3 feet)

located: museum (Boston, US)

medium: oil and tempera on wood

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: the artist (st. Luke) is wearing a Golden Fleece meaning he is an important person (self-portrait). Virgin Mary and baby Jesus sucking on her breast. he was the first one to paint the virgin. breaking from the medieval traditional art. lack of halos on the virgin and baby Jesus, which makes the painting more realistic. depth into infinite on the landscape. more blue natural environment. separations between the holy family and the painter.

the virgin is sitting on a throne made of gold, proportions of the figures are correct. experimenting on the 3D space, space beyond.

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author: Robert Campin
title: the merode altarpiece

made: 15th century

size: small (3 feet)

located: museum (New York)

medium: oil on panel

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: the annunciation. triptych= 3 panels. Gothic niche. baby Jesus flying with a cross, foreshadows when he dies on the cross. angel (Gabriel) goes to the virgin telling her she will be pregnant with Jesus. the commissioners are on the left peeking into the scene and the door is cracked open. contrasting colors in the clothing. beams which helped with the proportions and the space. (no halos on their heads to make it more realistic.)

st. Joseph was the man on the right, adoptive father of Jesus. wearing a turban used in contemporary Flemish paintings. the Virgin Mary is reading in the scene, meaning she is literate. angels wings with space. Adam and Eve in the background on the image to the right, it has the tree with the apple. gold in the pillar looking over the scene, made of marble. bright contrasting blues in the fabric.

the people are arranged in a three quarter position. the cloak and the headwear they wear shows how important/wealthy they were. fur on cloak, very. cartoonish- self portrait. he paints himself as a noble rather than the artist.

lily=symbol of the virgins purity.

the tow figures are paying tribute to the scene.

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author: Jan Van Eyck (Belgium)
title: the Ghent altarpiece

made: 15th century

size: large (11×15 feet)

located: cathedral

medium: oil on wood

subject matter: religious

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historical period: renaissance

description: it open and closes. gothic painting, Jesus praying by the virgins. interior has brighter colors and exterior is the darker monochrome colors. Jesus is wearing the popes crown, and the crown at his feet is left for the people in the town. Adam and Eve being naked because it was after they ate the fruit: reminder of being pure. the annunciation is the screen with the angels (monochrome) donor area, they are in color decipher who is statue and who is real person. Jesus is called he lamb of god. the cross in the center shows Jesus would be put on it. saints , popes, bishops, and other clerics, kings, nobles, and commoners on the other side. face of the lamb looks human. Christopher- the big person in red on the bottom bigger than the rest of the people.

red= sacrifice for the lamb.

blue= is present refers to heaven.

green= represents light.

adoration of the lamb= outside bottom panels.

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author: Jan Van Eyck (italy)
title: Arnolfini portrait

made: 15th century

size: small (1×2 feet)

located: gallery

medium: oil on wood

subject matter: not religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: working class couple self-portrait. the guy in the mirror is the self-portrait of the painter. artist signature is gothic in between of the two images in the middle because it’s the double self-portrait in the back. the mirror is the most important element, focal point, got small religious elements around; like Jesus on the cross , crucifixion. shows the domestic space. invites the viewer into the painting, illusion of us in the portrait. 3D sense. this is the woman’s room, shoes and house dog symbolizes it’s the woman’s room. they don’t look at eachother, very pale, dressed in wealthy clothing. the man has the hand up as if having to the audience like Jesus does, familiar gesture. she is pregnant. they had convex and concave mirrors.

convex is a distortion to the items in the foreground- fisheye mirror.

concave- fisheye to the person.

dog=symbol of fidelity, often associated with women.

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author: Rogier Van der Weyden
title: descent from the cross

made: 15th century

size: large (7×8 feet)

located: chapel

medium: oil on panel

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private association, made for the public
historical period: Belgium

description: lamination of christ. John the evangelist in red, may in blue (lapis lazuli- veery expensive), Adam’s skull next to Mary, Mary magdalen on the right. gothic cathedral, symmetrical, broad movement in the people. artist highlights the cross to show importance. the people are squished together.

adam’s skull is at the bottom because humankind started with Adam, and Jesus died on the cross to save humans. the background is in gold. shadow and light. very narrow made piece. very emotional detailed piece, Mary is in despair. Jesus wearing the crown of thorns. the people look very realistic, no halos because of the gold background. implied that they are taking Jesus off of the cross.

person standing on the ladder in the back creates more space and room behind the cross for the viewer, implies movement. curvature of the figure’s bodies. circular motions of the bodies of mary and Jesus is very important to the composition.

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author: ??? unknown
title: st. Christopher carrying Christ

made: 15th century

size: very big (11×8 feet)

located: library in Manchester, England

medium: woodblock print

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: world (left) versus monastic (right) life christ. his halo has a cross on it. colored by hand. the inscriptions of writing in the piece is to help the viewer understand what they are looking at. baby Jesus holding a cross/globe- divided in 3, Africa, Asia and ____? contrast between active and passive life. on the right there is a church/chapel. it’s not realistic cause the guy is as tall as the building. left side- people working on the farm.

the fish= symbol of christ.

rabbit= symbol of rejuvenation and fertility.

ord= symbol of power.

palm tree= symbol of eternal life; it alludes to the Palm Sunday (the entery of Jesus in Jerusalem on the Sunday before easter, beginning of Holy Week.

Jesus halo= cross orb= symbol of power.

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author: Filippo Brunelleschi
title: dome of the cathedral of Santa Maria del fiore

made: 15th century

size: building size

located: florence italy

medium: stones, marble.

subject matter: religious

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: octagonal, oculus windows. largest building in Italy. very detailed and at the center of town. colors of grey, green, and white stones that the cathedral is made out of. marble, gothic style. the top has empty space so its lighter, built in stairs for functional use while building it.

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author: Lorenzo Ghiberti (italy)
title: The gates of paradise

made: 15th century

size: door so big- large

located: Baptistery

medium: gilded bronze

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: pictural space. Old Testament stories… testament novelty. gothic shape. panels on the doors were made for the doors because its closets to the viewers eyes linear perspective.

mini scenes- positioned the figures for the viewers perspective. depth, high relief, medium relief, and low/no relief. persepctive correct, helps us understand the 3D space.

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author: Leon Battista Alberti (italy)
title: florence facade

made: 15th century

size: building

located: santa Maria novella

medium: marble

subject matter: religious???

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: facade= sculpture/ the oval self-portrait- fake front of a building (decoration). gothic inspired arches; white and green marble. rose window. niches which don’t do anything structurally and is only there for artistic looking/decoration.

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author: Masaccio (italy)
title: expulsion of Adam and Eve from eden

made: 15th century

size: very large (7 feet)

located: church

medium: fresco

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: Adam tempting eve to eat the apple, they both did and were considered the first sin. they lived in paradise. “gate of paradise.” very linear, eve is the center part. woman were exposed all of the time in these paintings, so he reversed it and has the male uncovered and the woman covered. she is looking up at god and wants to take the right steps to get back the trust from god and forgiveness. Adam carried out eating the fruit so he is ashamed holding his hand in his face. the angel in the back is a saint that balances the souls at the end of life, like Gabriel. the angel is expelling the two of them and holding up the sword like he’s going to strike the couple. there is no shadow of the angel, yet there is a shadow for the humans, which separates the saints from the humans.

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author: Donatello (italy)
title: David from the palazzo medici

made: 15th century

size: life size (5 feet)

located: museum

medium: bronze sculpture

subject matter: religious

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: David is posed in the contrapposto pose, in an s shape. pose makes the statue more dynamic. located in the inner courtyard of the palace. biblical story with political message. David and goliath. David went against goliath with a stone, and Goliath’s head is at David’s feet and his foot is standing on Goliath’s decapitated head. Goliath’s head is on a bigger scale compared to David, who looks delicate. he is holding a sword and wears a hat. ancient decorations decorate Goliath’s head, novelty element.

first standing sculpture in bronze.

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author: sandro botticelli (italy)
title: birth of Venus

made: 15th century

size: big (5×9 feet)

located: gallery

medium: tempera on canvas

subject matter: mythology

commissioned: private
historical period: renissance

description: venus= goddess of beauty in ancient roman culture. Venus is in the contrapposto pose. hour is the girl in the pink, and zephyr and chlorine two figures on the left.

she is ashamed of the nudity so she is covering her body. Venus is slender and the contour that outlines the highlights of the muscle on her body. hour is in the middle of bringing the cloth over to Venus to cover her up. she is standing on a seashell that is proportional to her body. depth to the painting, the painter didn’t care about the perspective, he only paid attention to the proportions in the people. the couple in the air love each other because of their pose. beauty in this time period meant woman being plump to be beautiful. Venus uses her hair to cover her private areas.

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author: Piero della Francesca (Italy)
title: flagellation

made: 15th century

size: very small (1 feet)

located: museum

medium: oil and tempera on wood

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: Flagellation (the work depicts the moment in Christ's Passion when he was whipped before Pontius Pilate.) statue of ancient pagan god. Jesus in the middle. 3 men in ancient and renaissance costumes. perspective focus. signed by the artist, gold ancient statue the main focus. constructed space with classical roman architecture with the pillars and capitals. vanishing point in the left/middle off tot the side. uses no special lighting effects, everything is equal. architecture should be shadowed but it’s not.

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author: Andrea mantegna (italy)
title: foreshoterned christ (lamination over the dead christ)

made: 16th century

size: small (2 feet)

located: museum

medium: tempera on canvas

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: Mary, Jesus, and St. John the evangelist. Jesus dead, holes in his feet and hands. he looks like he was sculpted out of marble. perspectively, it is a bit off because of the body is very compressed. Jesus is the center, its easier to comprehend the body on the side then in the frontal view. the bust looks more robust than the rest of the body. personal/intimate.

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author: ????? Benin, Nigeria
title: pendant of queen mother idia

made: 16th century

size: small (not even a foot)

located: museum (New York)

medium: ivory and iron

subject matter: mundane (I think) not religious

commissioned: private
historical period: ??? renaissance

description: edo people, the mudfish is engraved in the crown. made for a king of Benin. stylized Portuguese, white part is associated with the god of sea Olokun. it is a mask used for ceremonials, spiritual ruler of the edo people. ivory is super expensive, multiple cultures in this piece.

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author: Leonardo da vinci (italy)
title: last supper

made: 15th century

size: huge (13×26 feet)

located: church

medium: oil and tempera on plaster

subject matter: religious

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: in a refectory, the last dinner before Jesus was crucified. 12 people were invited to this last supper, magical numbers 4 squares and 3 (apostles arranged in groups of 3) triangles. symmetrical painting, Jesus offering his body= bread and blood= red wine. the vanishing point comes from Jesus head.

eucharist=holy communion. linear perspective, Jesus wearing red and blue.

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author: Leonardo (france)
title: Mona Lisa

made: 16th century

size: small (1 ½ feet)

located: museum

medium: oil on canvas

subject matter: mundane /not religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: woman of the gioconda family, playful one. elegant, attraction aspect is the gaze of the woman looking at the viewers. no linear perspective, the background is focused landscape, graduations and hues in blue. she is elegant and relaxed, crossed hands. she looks to us but keeps us at a distance. the shadow and highlights of her face and mouth area is very significant and shows the important part of the painting. uses the chiaroscuro technique- very hazy painting.

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author: Michelangelo (italy)
title: pieta

made: 15th century

size: bigger than life size

located: church

medium: Carrara marble

subject matter: religious, not a religious scene.

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: Mary and Jesus after he died. Michelangelo’s signature in the folds of the fabric. the figures are in a triangular structure. LAMINATION. Virgin Mary holds Jesus' dead body. the virgin looks very young, the virgin, is pure and perfect. looks like an ancient sculpture, veil on her head. the back is not finished, the front is well detailed, Jesus’s head has a hole in it where they added a halo to him. expensive marble. his head is pointed up at the sky as if looking at god. it is unrealistic cause Jesus would fall off of Mary’s lap easily. her legs are ajar to look like the birth of Jesus.

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author: Michelangelo (itly)
title: David

made: 16th century

size: very large (17 feet)

located: gallery/ museum

medium: marble

subject matter: religious

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: David, contrapposto pose, very narrow. there is no sword so it’s not the end sequence. he’s holding the sling over his shoulder, and in his hand, he is holding the stone, before he hits goliath. he is looking for goliath. his muscle structure looks more realistic. the rock in the back was placed to give the sculpture support but was also detailed.

if the viewer is standing in the same spot as goliath, the viewer becomes goliath.

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author: Raphael (italy)
title: school of Athens

made: 16th century

size: super large (19 feet)

located: palace

medium: fresco

subject matter: mythology

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: apostolic place= belongs to the pope as head of the church. reconciliation between the two great princes of philosophy, older plato (metaphysics) and Aristotle (physics and moral philosophy). Pythagoras (mathematical harmonies) writing, using a diagram greek theory about harmony.

portrait of Michelangelo- guy sitting with arm propped on stone slab in the front.

Euclid (geometry), Zoroaster (astronomy), ptolemy (geography). man behind them is a self portrait of raphael. Athena= goddess of wisdom statue on the right in the back.

Raphael’s abbreviated signature= RUSM- which is located on the red mans golden neck area, bending over.

symmetrical work, contrapposto.

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author: Michelangelo (italy)
title: creation of Adam

made: 16th century

size: bigger than life size. large (9 feet)

located: chapel

medium: fresco

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: creation of Adam, taken place in the garden of eden. incarnation. Adam is passive, he is logging and proud of himself. there is movement in god’s hair, like he is flying down to create Adam. shape behind Adam is a brain. very bright colors, pink was a favorite color for men. sacred conversation.

colorito= art theory based on color.

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author: Titian (italy)
title: Venus of Urbino

made: 16th century

size: large painting not life size tho (3 feet)

located: gallery

medium: oil on canvas

subject matter: mythology

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: Venus was the prettiest lady in Urbino. local beauty of the city. courtesan dress in the back- woman would wear. Venus is not intimidated, she is exposing herself, but she sets her own parameters holding flowers. small dog on the bed with her- symbol for loyalty: to like a husband. she is wealthy. we don’t know who she is getting ready for. pavement to create depth, no contour lines on the body, only lines in the back. red Is the royal color- lots of red in the painting.

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author: Pontormo (italy)
title: the deposition

made: 16th century

size: life size

located: church

medium: oil on panel

subject matter: religious

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: mannerism maniera= way of painting. warm colors and pastel pink and blue color palette. pink= mannerism. blue= divine. novelty, Jesus being carried by the people, his death, he is arched in an unnatural state. the figure crouching n tip toes is the most impossible pose of all. figures in a triangle formation, layering of the people. the lone guy in the back is the artists’ self-portrait. Mary is unnaturally bigger than the rest of the figures.

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author: Michelangelo (italy)
title: the last judgement

made: 16th century

size: more than human size (mural)

located: church

medium: fresco painting

subject matter: religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: characters- Virgin Mary, Jesus in the middle, St. Peter, saints surround them. charon the boatman, borrowed from an ancient greek myth and from Dante’s inferno. the elect rise and the damned fall. detail of the early painted copy of the last judgement- Naples.

he put his self-portrait in the painting. this painting started the nude figures. wearing blue means important.

Christian doctrine the last judgment or (the second judgement of christ) is a future event, when the dead and the living will be judged and consigned to heaven or hell. the last war for christians so they could be saved.

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author: Albrecht Durer (germany)
title: Self-Portrait

made: 16th century

size: small (2 feet)

located: museum

medium: oil on panel

subject matter: mundane with undertone religious

commissioned: private
historical period: renaissance

description: self-portrait which was based on many Jesus christ’s benediction portrait. this type of front view was very rare in this time period, because he is staring at the viewer. he looks like he’s leaning on the table, he’s wearing fancy clothing. artist signature and date written on it, he basically became the god of artists, that he is the solution and the best visual language in a vulnerable position. Sfumato= smoky contours.

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author: Lucas C Ranch the elder (Italian)
title: judgement of Paris

made: 16th century

size: small (2 feet)

located: museum

medium: oil on wood

subject matter: mythological

commissioned: public
historical period: renaissance

description: a beauty contest between mercury (hermes) introduces the 3 goddesses. Juno (Hera), Venus (Aphrodite), and minerva (Athena). Paris is the one in the armor. Paris chooses Venus which starts the trojan war. cupid is in the top left, focus mainly on the figures and the story instead of the landscape scenery. the materials were close to non-existent in this painting.

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author: Hans Baldung Grien (germany)

title: Three Ages of Woman and Death

made: 16th century

size: small (1 foot)

located: museum in Vienna

medium: oil on wood

subject matter: mundane with undertones religious.

commissioned: public

historical period: renaissance

description: being a child- to a woman- to an old woman- to death. the hourglass in the dead figures hand represents the time and it running out. the young woman is looking in the mirror, gesture of vanity. the old woman is reaching towards death, to stop time. the landscape looks more imagined than real. the child has an apple in front of it, from Adam and Eve.