Western Humanities Exam 3

What events loosen the authority of the Catholic Church during the 14th century?

1) 100 year of war between France and England, 2) The Black Death- wiped out 30% of the population in Europe, 3) The Great Schism and Babylonian Captivity of the Pope- rival claim to the papacy

What was the historical style during the 14th century?

Proto-Renaissance for all art except architecture. It was a combination of medieval styles, foreshadowing the rebirth of Greco-Roman styles (the Renaissance).

Tempura

painting with egg yolks as a vehicle for the paint

What was the architecture style during the 14th century?

Late-Gothic

Sacred Late Italian Gothic:

- No flying buttresses
- Solid walls with fewer Gothic windows
- Clear glass
- Colorful stone and mosaics
- Classical elements of horizontal lines, geometric shapes, and pediments.

Ars Nova- Music of the 14th century

- Composer: Guillaume de Machaut
- Isorhythm: elaborate rhythmic devices
- Composers were not longer servants of the church
- Official split between sacred and secular
- Duple time introduced
- First to compose the complete polyphonic setting of mass ordinary- Messe de Notre Dame (Mass of Our Lady)

Chaucer's Canterbury tales

- Writer and diplomat
- Comparisons with Dante
- 30 characters representing a broad range of English society.
- Chaucer uses physical details to help develop his character. Describe how the outward appearance reflects the inner personality.
- Much of the humor is based on irony, the discrepancy between what appears to be true and what is actually true.
- Tone is the attitude Chaucer takes toward each character such as serious, playful, admiring, mocking, or objective.
- Poking fun at customs and behaviors with the intent to improve society.

Christine de Pisan

- First female professional writer in the West
- Extremely popular during her life
- Wrote over 15 books, prayers, and psalms.
- Combats misogynist writing.
- Self-help for women
- Retires to a convent.

Humanism:

optimistic view that humans can be perfected through education and then improve society

Renaissance Thought

- Emphasis on man
- Tendency to express uniqueness of the individual
- Fundamental Classicism- elegance, neatness, and clarity of style
- Revives philosophy of ancient thinkers

Petrarch

- Transition into the Renaissance
o Interest in self
o Writes for personal fame and glory.
o Tension for desire of heavenly goals and worldly fame
o Praise of woman as perfection of human beauty
o Longing for the unattainable
- Given title of first poet laureate since antiquity
- "Ascent of Mt. Ventoux"

Il Canzoniere or Rime Sparse

- 366 poems
- Influence of Laura. Dies in 1348. Laura likened to Christ.
- Compare with Dante's heavenly descriptions of Beatrice.
- Petrarchan sonnet
o Octave and sestet: abba abba cde cde

Contributing Factors to the Renaissance

- Begins in Florence
- Continuing Humanism (Fall of Constantinople in 1453) Picco della Mirandolla- 900 theses, Ficino- Neoplatonist
- Patronage
o Medici Family
- Artist importance of the individual
- Printing press and papermaking
o Aldine press in Venice.
- Florentine guilds- representative government
- Center of European banking system
o Banco- counter or table where money is exchanged
o Florin- standard coin in Europe

Artists create Illusion

- Interest in depicting the world that we see
- Interest in naturalism- faithful representative of the observable world
- Interest in capturing the visual phenomenon. Illusion. How to create a 3D world on a 2D space?
o Linear perspective
§ Uses architecture.
o Aerial perspective
§ Uses landscapes.
o Foreshortening

Florentine (Early) Renaissance Characteristics

- Clarity of line
- Mathematically precise perspective
- Uncluttered arrangements
- Close observation of real people
- Concern for psychological states

Linear Perspective

- Vanishing Point- point on horizon line
- Horizon line- best at eye level
- Things get smaller moving back in space
- Orthagonals- the diagonal lines that meet at the vanishing line.
- Captures viewer's attention.

Foreshortening:

- seeing a long object head on so that it looks compressed.
o An object coming out toward us or receding into the background.

Aerial Perspectives

- Forms in the distance are less clear
- Forms in the distance are paler and more blue

Fra Savonarola

- "You fill the churches with your own vanity. Do you think the Virgin Mary went about dressed as she is in paintings? I tell you she went about dressed like a poor person with simplicity and her face so covered that it was hardly seen. The same is true of Saint Elizabeth."
- "You would do well to destroy pictures so unsuitable conceived. You make the Virgin Mary look like a wh*re. How the worship of God is mocked!"

Leonardo da Vinci

- Renaissance Man
- Notebooks
- Inventions
- Naturalism
o Not gonna put halos or angles because he wants to portray what is seen in the real world
- Art

Michelangelo's Influence of Neoplatonism:

Releasing the form from the stone. (Ideal forms)

Renaissance Music

- No template from Greco-Roman Period
- Sometimes imitated Classical poetry meters.
- Choral Polyphony
o Most important innovation.
o Medieval choruses only used for solo parts.
o The idea of a family of blending, equally balanced voices is new for the Renaissance.
o Musical Elements
§ Blending
§ Balance
§ Pleasing harmony
o Visual Art Elements
o Clarity of line and mathematical perspective
o Balance and symmetry
o Restraint- uncluttered arrangement
- Imitative Counterpoint
o All voices share equally in the musical material.
o A short theme is passed from voice to voice.
- Declamation
o Match the emotion of the text with the expressive quality of the music.
- Expansion of musical space to nearly 5 octaves
o Mirrors the scientific interest with the immensity of the universe.
- Growing secularization and tension
o The cantus firmus (formerly Gregorian chant) sometimes borrowed from secular melodies. I.e., The "chanson mass" from the secular chanson.

Renaissance composer- Dufay:

- Dufay- one of the first to replace the cantus firmus with a secular melody (familiar folk tune).
o Chanson (Track 17) becomes Chanson Mass (Track 18)
o Homophonic Hymn (melody plus supporting harmony) (Track 19)

Renaissance composer- Josquin des Prez:

- Josquin des Prez- strongest application of imitative counterpoint, choral polyphony, and declamation. Sistine Choir.
o Renaissance motet- balance, order, overlapping voices, symmetry, declamation, imitative counterpoint (Track 14)
o Frottola- setting of humorous or amorous poem for 3-4 parts, simple fold quality, nonsense syllables (Track 15).
o Declamation (Track 16).

Renaissance composer- Palestrina:

- Palestrina- "Father of Catholic Music". Directed all music for the Vatican.
o Pope Marcellus Mass (Track 20)- rejects secular cantus firmus.
§ Great examples of expanded space and choral polyphony.

Ficino

- Priest and Platonic scholar and writer of the Theologica Platonica.
o Friend of Cosimos (Founded the Platonic Academy).
o Translated into Latin all of Plato's works.
§ "Platonic love"- the spiritual bond between two persons joined together in the search for the true, the good, and the beautiful
- humanist writer/ philosopher

Pico della Mirandola

§ Friend of Lorenzo's and companion of Ficino.
§ Believed all learning could be synthesized to basic truths.
· 900 Theses- summation of all current learning and understanding.
· Human nature has no limits. Not flawed by original sin.
- humanist writer/philosopher

Castiglione

- Aristocrat and intellect. Versatile writer who serves in diplomatic corps of Milan, Mantua, and Urbino.
- The Courtier examines the well-rounded individual. Discussion of the essential ingredient of grace.
o Sprezzatura

Sprezzatura:

- Sprezzatura: effortless mastery of grace. Make things look easy.

Erasmus:

- Christian Humanist
- Concerned with corruption, ignorance, and hypocrisy in Catholic Church
- Brilliant intellectual and playful
- Challenging perspectives and avoiding medieval though patterns
- Interested in classical models.
- Praise of Folly- Praise of More
o Powers and pleasure of folly.
o Reevaluate and challenge folly.
o "Christian Fold"
o Using satire to challenge authority and examine personal piety.

Machiavelli

- Humanist diplomat exiled from Florence.
- Rejected Christianity and immersed himself in Roman classical models.
- Avoided style and intellectual patterns on the Medieval
- Writes the Prince

The Prince- Machiavelli

o First purely secular study of political theory in the West
o Pragmatic use of power for state management
o Balance
o View of human nature
o Pragmatic realism
o Ends justify the means.
o Concrete examples from history

Michelangelo and the High Renaissance

- Influence of Neoplatonism
o Ideal forms
- Thought the human body was the best form to replicate.
o Influenced his architecture (trapezoid)

Patronage of the Catholic Church

- Pope Julius II
o Demands Michelangelo to finish works of art for him.
o Michelangelo designs and works on his tomb.
o Demands that Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, Michel is like whaaaaat I don't wanna do that, im not a painter, im a sculptor, and it's on the ceiling, how would I paint that?

Organization of the Sistine Chapel

- Three levels and symbolism
- Classical- 3 parts to society in Plato's Republic
o Lowest- 8 Border triangles= Appetites
o Middle- 12 rectangles= Will
§ Sibyls- classical seers
o Highest- 9 central rectangles= Intellect
§ Ignudi- classical angels
- Christian- Trinity & Biblical References
o Lowest- 8 border triangles= Old Testament Stories
o Middle- 12 rectangles= Old Testament Prophets
o Highest- 9 central rectangles= Creation from Genesis and Noah

Palace of the Senate

- Clock Tower
- Balustrade- railing on the top
- Overhanging Cornice- jutting roofline
- Stringcourse- masonry (brick/stone) that divides the levels.
- Pilasters- flattened columns
- Ornamental Pediment- above the windows

High Venetian Renaissance

- Characteristics different from Southern Renaissance
- Foreshadows baroque style.
o More secular- cosmopolitan and eastern influence
o Emphasizes nature and landscapes, oftentimes creating a mood.
o Uses oils for greater texture, vivid colors, and chiaroscuro.
§ Chiaroscuro: dramatic use of lights and darks
o Complex composition progresses from foreground to middle ground to background.
o Dynamic lines and dramatic lighting chiaroscuro influence the coming baroque style.

Veronese:

Feast in the House of Levi- increased secularization

The Last Supper:

o Technical and symbolic linear perspective.
o Use of radical symmetry.

Madonna of the Rocks:

- triangle

The David:

o Michelangelo is inspired by Donatello's David statue.
o Elements of Neoplatonism
§ Pure form
§ Michelangelo is releasing the pure form.
§ Influenced by the Medici's and Plato.
o 18 feet tall.

Giotto- Madonna Enthroned:

o Father of Western Painting- Realism
§ Perception of space
§ Volume
§ Movement
§ Human expression

Michelangelo- Moses:

o Horns? Mistranslation of the bible, Michelangelo is a devout Christian who looked to he bible and literally sculpted what was said.

Michelangelo- Night:

From the tomb of Giuliano de 'Medici

Raphael- Madonna of the Meadow:

o Human warmth with divine
o Pyramidal configuration
o 2d modeling
o Aerial perspective

St. Peter's Dome:

Represents the heavens.