Fourteenth-Century Art in Europe

13th and 14th Century Power

Most of Europe's political and cultural power rested with the landholding aristocracy.

Italian Political Structure

Individual city-states competing for political influence and wealth.

Early Italian Urban Labor

Trade and paid labor for urban artisans had been long established.

Major Italian City-States

Florence, Siena, Pisa, and Venice.

Italian Power Concentration

Concentrated in the hands of leading merchant families.

Merchant Families' Wealth Source

Trade, manufacture, or banking.

Foremost Italian Art Patrons

Wealthy merchant families and civic leaders.

Absence of Centralized Authority

Allowed merchants and civic leaders to patronize artists.

Papacy Location in 14th Century

Moved to France.

Impact of Papacy Moving to France

Underscored French King's power and enhanced appeal of the Gothic style.

Architectural & Sculptural Source

Roman and Early Christian art.

Byzantine Presence in Italy

Mosaics in Ravenna, Sicily, and Venice.

Influences on Italian Art

Roman/Early Christian art, Byzantine mosaics, French Gothic, and Humanism.

Humanist Focus

Ancient works of literature, history, and searching for beautiful, correct forms.

Prominent Italian Gothic Theme

A concern for the individual.

Individual Man's Worth

Individual man has worth, matters, and his actions have consequences.

Mendicant Orders in Italy

The Franciscans and the Dominicans.

Franciscan Theology

St. Francis saw God in the beauty of nature.

Dominican Values

Valued classical learning.

International Monastic Orders

Such as the Cistercians.

Cistercian Contribution

Brought techniques and visual innovations of French Gothic to Italy.

Cistercian Architecture

Large unadorned stone vaulted halls representing architectural simplicity.

Mendicant Mission

To preach, resulting in large urban churches.

Mendicant Church Plan

Basilica-plan churches with a large nave and wooden roof.

Mendicant Church Example

Church of Santa Croce in Florence.

Florence Cathedral Towers

Features no towers; features a campanile as a separate structure.

Mendicant Church Art Purpose

Meant to be legible to the viewer with narrative scenes.

Narrative Scene Inspirations

Roman art forms or Northern Gothic styles.

Wide Space Preference Result

Construction of monumental pulpits with narrative/symbolic images.

Monumental Pulpit Sculptors

Nicolo and Giovanni Pisano.

Pisano Pulpit Locations

Cathedral and baptistery of Pisa.

Late 13th/14th Century Tuscan Painters

Represented nature more than artists of earlier medieval periods.

Tuscan Naturalism Results

Representations of light on 3D forms and spatial illusions.

Tuscan Art Techniques Goal

Intended to involve the viewer more than before.

Naturalism Champions

Duccio and Giotto.

Italian Painting Beginnings

Different from the rest of Europe.

"Greek Manner" in Italy

Direct exposure to and adaptation of ancient Roman and Byzantine art.

Byzantinizing Tradition Synthesis

Influenced by the Gothic style, resulting in a synthesis.

Drive for Naturalism

Direct study of the physical world and desire to imitate empirical findings.

Sacred Religious Narrative

Now vividly represented in art.

Giotto's Artistic Style

Austere pictures, recognizable earthly spaces, full of gravity, monumental figures.

Duccio's Artistic Style

Delicate figures placed in believable boxes of space defined by architecture.

Lorenzetti Brothers' Contribution

Synthesized Florentine and Sienese developments with wide vistas.

Early 14th Century Spatial Experiments

Amounted to a revolution in art.

Picture Plane Treatment

Treated like a window to be looked through.

Illusionistic Mass Achievement

Achieved with light and shading.

Impact of the Black Death

Killed almost two-thirds of the population in the 1340s.

Reaction to Black Death

Many in Italy returned to medieval anxiety and spirituality.

Turmoil in 1363

Return of the plague, political elite clashing with the papacy, and working-class uprisings.

Restoration of Wealthy Power

Restored in 1381 after social and economic turmoil.

Florence in the 15th Century

Overcame disasters to flourish as an economic, political, and cultural leader.

Venetian Architecture Influence

Trade with the Far East and Middle East.

Venetian Architecture Features

Open arcades and decorative surfaces.

Venetian Architecture Example

The Doge's Palace.

Government Buildings in Florence and Siena

Fortified buildings like Palazzo della Signoria and Palazzo Pubblico.

Venetian vs Florentine Architecture

Venice is open and airy; Florence/Siena buildings are fortified.

Milan Architecture Influence

Influenced greatly by the French Gothic style.

Milan Interior Preferences

Wider interior spaces resulting in double aisles.

Milan Architectural Rejection

Rejection of flying buttresses.

14th Century Western Europe Taste Arbiter

The royal court in Paris.

Hundred Years' War Effect

Significantly weakened the power of the nobility.

Rivals to Paris

Duchy of Burgundy, England, and the court of Prague.

New Artistic Outlets

Private funding by wealthy and powerful patrons.

Manuscript Illumination Trend

Private prayer books became popular among wealthy patrons in late 13th century.

14th Century Sculpture Character

Intimate by character.

Preferred Sculpture Materials

Precious materials including gold, silver, and ivory.

14th Century Religious Sculpture

Became more emotionally expressive and smaller in size.

Secular 14th Century Themes

Tales of love and valor carved on luxury items.

England's 14th Century Status

Prospered despite the Black Death and Hundred Years' War.

English Art Patronage

Royal family, nobles, and bishops were generous patrons.

English Pictorial Needlework

Used colored silk and gold threads for highly detailed images.

English Gothic Style Name

The "Decorated Style".

Exeter Cathedral Significance

One of the most complete Decorated Style buildings.

Decorated Style Elements

Colonnettes, moldings, and vault ribs.

Style Following Decorated Style

The Perpendicular Style.

Perpendicular Style Features

Rectilinear patterns, sharp angular shapes, simple stripped-down patterns.

Holy Roman Empire in 14th Century

Existed more as an ideal fiction than a fact.

German Political State

Divided into multiple states with regional associations and princes.

Holy Roman Emperor Selection

Elected by Germans, focusing on family fortunes.

German Mysticism Inspiration

Famines, wars, and plagues inspiring a mystical religiosity.

German Devotional Images

Inspired worshipers to contemplate Jesus' first and last hours.

Charles IV of Bohemia Crowned

Crowned king of Bohemia in 1347 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1355.

Charles IV's Capital

Established in Prague.

Prague's Contemporary Status

Replaced Constantinople as the "New Rome".

Architect Family Called to Prague

The Parler family (called in 1353).

Parler Family Project in Prague

Turned St. Vitus Cathedral into a "glass house".

Parler Family Architectural Dominance

Space concept, luxurious decoration, and intricate vaulting dominated central Europe for three generations.

End of Prague's Artistic Leadership

By the 15th century.

Franciscan St. Francis Focus

Saw God in the beauty of nature.

Cistercian Architecture Goal

Simplicity using large unadorned stone vaulted halls.

Florentine Palazzo Vecchio Style

Fortified government building contrasting with Venice.

Duccio's Geographic Origin

Siena.

Giotto's Geographic Origin

Florence.

Lorenzetti Brothers Synthesis

Synthesized Florentine and Sienese painting developments.

Date of Black Death Outbreak in Notes

The 1340s.

Death Toll of Black Death

Killed almost two-thirds of the population.

English Needlework Materials

Colored silk and gold threads.

St. Vitus Cathedral Location

Prague.