Unit 3: Early Europe and Colonial Americas, 200-1750 CE

Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 200-400 CE. Excavated tufa and fresco.

- 4 million dead and extend for about 100 miles

- contains the tombs of 7 popes and many early Christian martyrs

- Greek Chapel: named for two Greek inscriptions painted on the right niche; three niches for sarcophagi; decorated w/ paintings in the Pompeian style: sketchy painterly brushstrokes

- Orants Figure: fresco over a tomb niche set over an arched wall (cemetery of a family vault); arms outstretched in prayer; figure compact, dark, set off from a light background; terse angular contours; emphatic gestures; left: painting of a teacher w/ children; right: mother and child (maybe Mary with Christ or the Church)

- Good Shepherd Fresco: restrained portrait of Christ as a Good Shepherd; stories of the life of the Old Testament Prophet Jonah often appear in lunettes; Jonah's regurgitation from the mouth of a big fish is seen as prefiguring Christ's resurrection

- parallels between Old and New Testament stories feature prominently in Early Christian art; Christians see this as a fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures

- named after wife of a Roman consul?

Catacomb of Priscilla

Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 422-432 CE. Brick and stone, wooden roof.

- three-aisled basilica; no transepts

- long tall, broad nave; axial plan

- spolia: tall slender columns taken from the Temple of Juno in Rome, erected on this site; statement about the triumph of Christianity over paganism

- windows made of selenite

- flat wooden roof; coffered ceiling; thin walls support light roof

- bare exterior, sensitively decorated interior (covered with marble veneer): representing the Christian whose exterior may be gross, but whose interior soul is beautiful

- as in Jewish tradition, men and women stood separately; men stood in main aisle, women in side aisles w/ partial view

Santa Sabina

Constantinople (Istanbul). Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. 532-537 CE. Brick and ceramic elements with stone and mosaic veneer.

- "Holy Wisdom"

- combination of centrally planned and axially planned church

- exterior: plain and massive, little decoration

- interior: altar at end of nave, but emphasis placed over area covered by dome; cornice unifies space; arcade decoration: wall and capitals flat and thin by richly ornamented; large fields for mosaic decoration (at one time had four acres of gold mosaics on walls); many windows punctuate wall spaces

- dome supported by pendentives (first time every); 40 windows at base symbolically acting as halo over congregation when filled w/ light

- minarets added in Islamic period, when Hagia Sophia functioned as a mosque; now a museum; marble columns appropriated from Rome, Ephesus, and other Greek sites; capitals avoid classical allusions; surfaces contain deeply cut acanthus leaves

- patrons: Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora; commissioned work after burning of original building in Nike Revolt of 532

Hagia Sophia

Ravenna, Italy. Early Byzantine Europe. c. 526-547 CE. Brick, marble, and stone veneer; mosaic.

- 8-sided church; two concentric octagons

- plain exterior except porch added later in Renaissance

- large windows for illuminating interior designs

- interior w/ thin columns and open arched spaces; dematerialize mass of structure

- martyrium

- banker Julianus Argentarius financed building of

San Vitale

- left: clergy; right: military

- dressed in royal purple and gold

- symmetry, frontality

- holds paten

- slight impression of procession forward

- figures w/o volume; seem to float and overlap at each other's feet

- minimal background: green base at feet, golden background indicates timelessness

- archbishop Maximianus identified, only participant labelled

- halo indicates saintliness, semi-divinity as head of church and state

- Justinian and Theodora actively participating in Mass; position over altar enhances this allusion

Justinian and Attendants (from San Vitale)

- slight displacement of absolute symmetry w/ Theodora; plays secondary role to husband

- richly robed empress and ladies at court

- stands in architectural framework, holding chalice for mass; about to go behind curtain

- figures flattened and weightless, barely a hint of a body can be detected beneath drapery

- Three Magi depicted on hem of dress, drawing parallels between Theodora and Magi

- figures elongated and generalized; floating feet

Theodora and Attendants (from San Vitale)

Early Byzantine Europe. Early sixth century CE. Illuminated manuscript (tempera, gold, and silver on purple vellum).

- style: lively, softly modeled figures; classical training of artists: contrapposto, foreshortening, shadowing, perspective; shallow settings; fluid movement of decorated figures; richly colored and shaded; two rows linked by a bridge/pathway; text placed above illustrations

- technique and origin: silver script now oxidized and turned black; origin uncertain: Constantinople? antioch? maybe done in royal workshop: purple parchment hallmark of royal institution; genesis stories are done in continuous narrative w/ genre details; written in Greek; partial manuscript but illustrations survive; first surviving illustrations of stories from Genesis

- Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well: Genesis 24: 15-16; Rebecca emerges from city of Nahor w/ jar on shoulder for spring water; quenches thirst of camel driver and camels; colonnaded road leads to spring; Roman water goddess personifies spring

- Jacob Wrestling the Angel: Genesis 32: 22-31; Jacob takes two wives, two maids, and eleven children (number of children abbreviated) and crosses a river; Roman-looking bridge; at night wrestles angel, who strikes him on hip socket

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob Wrestling the Angel, from the Vienna Genesis

Early Byzantine Europe. Sixth or early seventh century CE. Encaustic on wood.

- icon placed in medieval monastery

- Virgin and Child centrally placed; firmly modeled

- Mary as Theotokos; looks beyond viewer as if seeing into futures

- Christ Child looks away, perhaps anticipating crucifixion

- Saints Theodore and George; warrior saints; stiff and hieratic; engage viewer directly

- angles look toward heaven, where descending hand of God comes down to bless scene; painted in classical style w/ brisk brushwork

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George

Chartres, France. Gothic Europe. Original construction c. 1145-1155 CE; reconstructed c. 1194-1220 CE. Limestone, stained glass.

- fire in 1194 forced reconstruction of everything except facade

- dedicated to Mary (Marian shrine)

- Mary's tunic worn at Jesus's birth most sacred relic; escaped fire and seen as signal to rebuild; believed to have healing powers

- right spire from 1160; left conceived in different style: more elaborate and decorative

- importance of church reflected in speed of construction

- enlarged chevet accommodated elaborate church ceremonies

- tall vertical nature pulls eyes to ceiling and symbolically heaven

-dark, mysterious interior increase spiritual feelings

- stained glass enlivens interior surfaces

- labyrinth-like nave; facilitates circumambulation of pilgrims

Chartres Cathedral

- Royal because jamb sculptures depict kings and queens from Old Testament; connection made between French and Biblical royalty

- used by church hierarchy, no commoners

- 19/24 statues survive

- jamb statues stand in front of wall, almost fully rounded

- upright, rigid, elongated figures reflect vertical columns behind and vertical nature of cathedral itself

- rich courtly dress w/ vertical folds

- robes almost hypnotic: concentric composition

- heads: serenity; slightly heavy eyes; benevolent; humanized faces

- heads lined up, but feet of different lengths

- central tympanum: Christ as Judge of the World

- three portals linked by lintels and 24 capitals that contain life of Christ

Royal Portals (from Chartres Cathedral)

Late medieval Europe. c. 1300-1325 CE. Painted wood.

- used for private devotion

- Christ emaciated, drained of all blood, tissue, muscle; body distorted, stunted, stiff

- horror of Crucifixion manifest

- humanizing religious themes

- grape-like drops of blood reference to Christ as "mystical vineyard"

- Mary's face in expression of unbearable grief

Röttgen Pietà

- Mary crowned as Queen of Heaven w/ Christ CHild in lap

- light as manifestation of divine; shades color patterns across grey stone of cathedral

- part of lancet window

- undamaged by fire of 194; reset w/ framing angles on either side of main scene

- bands across surface typical of early Gothic stained glass

Notre Dame de la Belle Verrière (from Chartres Cathedral)

- eight medallions, format derives from stained glass windows

- two vertical columns of four painted scenes

- each scene w/ summary text of event depicted in roundel

Scenes from the Apocalypse (w/ Blanche of Castile)

Bibles moralisées. Gothic Europe. c. 1225- 1245 CE. Illuminated manuscript (ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum)

- moralized bible

- top left: Blanche of Castile, mother and regent to king

- top right: teenage King Louis IX

- Louis and mother on thrones; oversized heads, emphasizing importance; framed by cityscapes; mom instructing (higher status)

- bottom: older monk dictates to younger scribe; scribe outlining roundels seen on Scenes from the Apocalypse

- luminosity of stained glass windows, strong black outlining of forms

- modeling minimal

Blanche of Castile and Louis IX

Late medieval Spain. c. 1320 CE. Illuminated manuscript (pigments and gold leaf on vellum).

- illustrates story of Jewish exodus from Egypt under Moses and subsequent celebration

- to be read at a Passover seder

- fulfills Jewish requirement to tell story of Jews' escape from Egypt as reminder of God's mercy

- narrative cycle of events form Books of Genesis and Exodus

- this one used primarily at home; avoids more stringent restriction against holy images in a synagogue

- generally most lavishly painted of Jewish manuscripts

- two unknown artist (probably Christina); illustrated; Jewish scribe wrote Hebrew script

- style similarities to French Gothic manuscripts: handling of space, architecture, figure style, facial/gestural expression, medium

- painted in Barcelona area of Spain

- 56 miniatures using gold leaf background

- read right to left according to manner of Hebrew texts

Golden Haggadah (The Plagues of Egypt, Scenes of Liberation, and Preparation for Passover)

Padua, Italy. Unknown architect; Giotto di Bondone (artist). Chapel: c. 1303 CE; Fresco: c. 1305 CE. Brick (architecture) and fresco.

- built over ancient Roman arena

- also called Scrovegni Chapel after name of patron: Enrico Scrovegni

- built to expiate sin of usury through which Scrovegni's father amassed a fortune

- some narrative scenes illustrate Biblical episodes of ill-gotten gains

Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel

- Christ as Judge, coming at end of world

- heavenly powers arranged in organized chorus; heads aligned in a row

- twelve apostles arranged symmetrically around Christ

- cross at bottom center divides saved from damned

- on side of saved: Enrico Scrovegni as donor presenting model of church to angels

- right: devil, who eats and excretes sinners

- those guilty of usury/money-related sins (eg prostitution) particularly noted

Last Judgement (from Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel)

- scenes of Jesus's followers mourning death: usually scene contains Mary, St. John, and Mary Magdalene

- St. John throws head back; Mary Magdalene cradles at Jesus's feet; Mary holds Jesus's head

- left: Old Testament scene of Jonah being swallowed by whale and returning to life; parallel w/ New Testament scene of Christ dying and rising from the dead

- shallow stage, figures occupy palpable space pushed forward toward picture plane

- diagonal cliff formation points to main action daringly placed in lower left-hand corner

- modeling indicated direction of light; light falls from above right

- range of emotions: heavy sadness, quiet resignation, flaming outbursts, despair

- sadness of scene emphasized by grieving angels, barrenness of tree

- figures on lower left seen from back and isolate main action

- clear foreground, middleground, and background

- angels assemble in Heaven

- two anonymous figures in back suggests space extends beyond

Lamentation (from Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel)

Basilica di Santa Croce. Florence, Italy. Filippo Brunelleschi (architect). c. 1429-1461 CE. Masonry.

- rectangular chapel attached to church of Santa Croce, Florence

- two barrel vaults on interior, small domes over crossing

- interior w/ restrained sense of color, muted tones, punctuated by glazed terracotta tiles

- Chapter House

- attribution to Brunelleschi has be questioned

- revival of classical columns and motifs

- finished after death of Brunelleschi, so other architects made some parts (eg frame)

Pazzi Chapel

Florence, Italy. Leon Battista Alberti (architect). c. 1450 CE. Stone, masonry.

- three horizontal floors of equal height separated by strongly articulated stringcourse

- pilasters rise vertically and divide spaces into squarish shapes

- strong classical cornice caps building

- rejects rustication of earlier Renaissance palaces; instead uses beveled masonry joints

- first floor pilasters Tuscan (derived from Doric); second are Alberti's own invention (derived from Ionic); third Corinthian

- friezes contain Rucellai family symbols: billowing sails

- square windows on first floor; windows w/ mullions on second and third floors

- original building w/ five bays on left, w/ central door; second doorway bay and right bay added later; eighth bay fragmentary: owners of house next door refused to sell

- patron: Giovanni Rucellai, wealthy merchant

Palazzo Rucellai

Fra Filippo Lippi. c. 1465 CE. Tempera on wood.

- Mary seen as young mother

- model may have been artist's lover

- landscape inspired by Flemish painting; symbolic: rock formations indicate the Church; city near Madonna's head is Heavenly Jerusalem

- motif of a pearl seen in headdress and pillow as products of the sea (in upper left corner); used in scenes of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Incarnation of Christ

- depicted as if in a window in a Florentine home

- humanization of a sacred theme

- detailed drapery and halos

Madonna and Child with Two Angels

Sandro Botticelli. c. 1484-1486 CE. Tempera on canvas.

- Venus emerges fully grown from foam of the sea; faraway look in eyes

- roses scattered before her; created at the same time as Venus: love can be painful

- left: zephyr (west wind) and chloris (nymph)

- right: handmaiden ruses to clothe her

- figures float, not anchored to ground

- crisply drawn figures; pale colors

- landscape flat and unrealistic, simple V-shaped waves

- a Medici commission

Birth of Venus

Donatello. c. 1440-1460 CE. Bronze.

- first large bronze nude since antiquity

- exaggerated contrapposto of body

- life-size work probably meant to be housed in Medici Palace, not for public viewing

- androgynous figure

- stance: nonchalance, contemplating victory over Goliath; Goliath's head at David's feet; David's head lower to suggest humility

- Laurel on hat: David was a poet; refers him as author of a book in Bible

- nudity = refusal to wear armor?

David

Workshop of Robert Campin. 1427-1432 CE. Oil on wood

- left: donors, middle class kneeling before holy scene; wife added later, perhaps because of donor's marriage

- center: Annunciation taking place in everyday Flemish interior

- right: joseph in carpentry workshop; mousetrap represents capturing of the devil

- humanization of traditional themes: no halos, domestic interiors, view into Flemish cityscape

- symbolism: tower, lilies, and water stand for Mary's purity; water is baptism symbol; flowers have three buds, symbolizing the Trinity; unopened bud is unborn Jesus; Mary seated on floor: humility; Mary blocks fireplace (entrance to hell); candlestick: Mary holds Christ in womb; figure w/ cross comes in and through the window: the divine birth

- meticulous handling of paint; intricate details

- steeply rising ground line; figures too large for architecture they sit in

Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece)

Jan van Eyck. c. 1434 CE. Oil on wood.

- theories: wedding portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and wife; memorial to a dead wife; betrothal; conferring legal and business privileges on his wife during an absence

- symbols of weddings: custom of burning candle on first night; shoes cast off indicates they stand on holy ground; prayerful promising pose of groom; dog = fidelity

- two witnesses in convex mirror; maybe artist himself; inscription: "Jan van Eyck was here 1434"

- wife pulls up green dress to symbolize childbirth; not pregnant

- statue of Saint Margaret, patron of childbirth, on bedpost

- man is near window: role as someone who makes way into outside world; woman farther in room: role as homemaker

- meticulous handling of paint; intricate details

Arnolfini Portrait

Albrecht Dürer. 1504 CE. Engraving.

- influenced by classical sculpture; Adam looks like The Apollo Belvedere; Eve like Medici Venus

- ideal image of humans before the Fall of Man

- contrapposto of figures from Italian Renaissance

- four humans in animals: cat (choleric/angry), rabbit (sanguine/energetic), elk (melancholic/sad), ox (phlegmatic/lethargic); kept in balance before Fall of Man

- mouse represents Satan

- Parrot symbol of cleverness

- Adam tries to dissuade Eve; graphs mountain ash, which snakes hate

- Northern European devotion to detailed paintings

Adam and Eve

Matthias Grünewald. c. 1512-1516 CE. Oil on wood.

- placed in monatery hospital where people were treated for "Saint Anthony's Fire," ergotism--disease caused by eating fungus that grows on rye flour; causes convulsions and gangrene

- St. Anthony's Fire explains presence of St. Anthony on first and third views

- first view: Crucifixion: dark background; dead, decomposing flesh; arms almost torn from sockets; lashed and whipped body; agony of body unflinchingly shown; symbolizes agony of ergotism; swooning Mary dressed like nuns who worked in the hospital; when panels open to reveal next scene, Christ amputated as patients suffering ergotism would be; same in predella: Christ's legs seem amputated below kneecaps

- second view: Marian symbols: enclosed garden, closed gate, rosebush, rosary; Christ rises from dead on right--rags changed to glorious robes, showing wounds, which don't harm him now; message to patients: earthly diseases will vanish in next world

- third view: symbols of ergotism: oozing boils, withered arm, distended stomach (not illustrated)

- believed to have healing powers when looked upon

- no landscape or perspective

Isenheim Altarpiece

Lucas Cranach the Elder. c. 1530 CE. Woodcut and letterpress.

- done in consultation w/ Martin Luther

- left: Last Judgement; Moses holds Ten Commandments, represents Old Law, Catholicism; Law of Moses not enough to live a good life; skeleton chases person into hell

- right: figure bathed in Christ's blood; faith in Christ alone is needed for salvation

Allegory of Law and Grace

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1565 CE. Oil on wood.

- one of series of paintings representing the months: this is November/December

- alpine landscape, winter scene

- strong diagonals lead eye deeper into painting

- figures peasant types, not individuals

- high horizon line

- many details; nothing static

- hunters had little success in winter hunt; dogs skinny and hang their heads

- atmospheric perspective

Hunters in the Snow

Leonardo da Vinci. c. 1494-1498 CE. O and tempera

- commissioned by the Sforza of Milan for the refectory (dining hall) of a Dominican abbey

- relationship between the friars eating and a Biblical meal

- only Leonardo work remaining in situ

- linear perspective; orthogonals of ceiling and floor points to Jesus

- apostles in groupings of three; Jesus alone but before a group of three windows that symbolize the Trinity

- experimental combination of paints to yield greater chiaroscuro; paints gean to peel off wall in Leonardo's lifetime and has been restored many times

- great drama of the moment: Jesus says, "One of you will betray me"

- various reactions on faces of apostles; anguish on face of Jesus

- Judas falls back clutching bag of coins, face in darkness

The Last Supper

Vatican City, Italy. Michelangelo. Ceiling frescoes: c. 1508-1512 CE; altar frescoes: c. 1536-1541 CE. Fresco.

- Sistine Chapel erected in 1472 and painted by quattrocento masters, including Botticelli and Perugino, as well as Michelangelo's teach Ghirlandaio

- function of chapel: place where new popes are elected

- complicated arrangement of figures for ceiling, broadly illustrating first few chapters of Genesis, w/ accompanying Old Testament figures and antique sibyls--based on antique sculptures

- three hundred figures on ceiling, no two in same pose; Michelangelo's lifelong preoccupation w/ male nude in motion

- enormous variety of expression

- painted cornices frame groupings of figures in highly organized way

- many figures (ie the Ignudi) are done for artistic expression > enhance narrative

- acorns motif on ceiling, inspired by crest of patron, Pope Julius II

Sistine Chapel Ceiling

- one of five sibyls on ceiling

- wears Greek style turban

- turns head, as if listening

- expression seems sorrowful

- contrapposto

- holds scroll containing her prophecy

- combination of Christian religious and pagan mythological imagery

Delphic Sibyl (from Sistine Chapel)

- few remaining survivors cling to mountain tops

- man carrying drowned son to safety, will only meet his son's fate

- over 60 figures; crowded composition

- sculptural intensity of figure style

- ark in background only safe haven

The Flood (from Sistine Chapel)

- in contrast to ceiling, no cornice divisions; one large space w/ figures more casually grouped

- mannerism in distortions of body, elongations, crowded groups

- four broad horizontal bands act as unifying element: (1) bottom: left: dead rising, right: mouth of hell (2) second level: ascending elect, descending sinners, trumpeting angels (3) third level: those rising to heaven gathered around Jesus (4) top lunettes: angels carrying the Cross and the Column, instruments used at Christ's death

- Christ in center and gestures defiantly w/ right hand; complex pose

- justice deliver: good rise, evil fall

- lower right-hand corner has figures from Dante's Inferno: Minos and Charon

- St Bartholomew's face modeled on a contemporary critic; St Bartholomew holds his skin, symbol of his martyrdom, but the skin's faceis Michelangelo's; oblique remark about critics who skin him alive w/ criticism

- spiraling composition reaction against High Renaissance harmony of Sistine Chapel ceiling; reflects disunity of Christendom caused by Reformation

Last Judgement (from Sistine Chapel)

Vatican City, Italy. Michelangelo. Ceiling frescoes: c. 1508-1512 CE; altar frescoes: c. 1536-1541 CE. Fresco.

- commissioned by Pope Julius II to decorate his library

- originally called "Philosophy" because pope's philosophy books meant to be housed on shelving below

- one painting in complex program of works that illustrates vastness and variety of papal library

- open, clear light uniformly spread throughout composition

- nobility and monumentality of forms parallel to greatness of figures represented; figures gesture to indicate philosophical thought

- building behind might reflect Bramante's plan for Saint Peter's

- center: plato (w/ features of Leonardo on left, pointing up) and Aristotle

- Bramante, Pope's architect, bald figure of Euclid on lower right

- Raphael in corner at extreme right

- Michelangelo resting on stone block, writing a poem

- overall composition influenced by Leonardo's The Last Supper

School of Athens

Titian. c. 1538 CE. Oil on canvas. 81. Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza. Viceroyalty

- may not have been a Venus; may have been a courtesan

- sensuous delight in skin tones

- looks at viewer directly

- complex spatial environment: figure placed forward on picture plane, servants in middle space; open window w/ paints in background

- roses contribute to floral motif carried throughout

- dog = faithfulness?

- cassoni

- patron Guidobaldo della Rovere of Urbino

- painting became standard for future reclining female nudes

Venus of Urbino

Viceroyalty of New Spain. c. 1541-1542 CE. Ink and color on paper

- named after Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New Spain

- intended as a history of the Aztecs for Charles V of Holy Roman Empire

- created 20 years after Spanish conquest

- shows Aztec rulers and daily life in Mexico

- uses pictograms created by Aztec artists that were later annotated in Spanish

- depicted founding of Tenochtitlan and conquest of Colhuacan and Tenayucan on bottom

- enemy temples on fire while Aztec warriors carry clubs and shields

- small representation of Temple Mayor above eagle

- skulls represent sacrificial victims

- eagle landing on a cactus at intersection of two waterways commemorates division of Tenochtitlan into four quarters

- current Mexican flag has eagle perched on a cactus that rests on a rock, as seen in here

Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza

Master of Calamarca (La Paz School). c. 17th century CE. Oil on canvas.

- angel depicted w/ arquebus (a form of rifle) instead of traditional sword

- military poses derived from European engravings of military exercises

- probably one in a series of angel drummers, buglers, standard bearers, and holders of swords

- drapery of a 17th century Spanish aristocrat; rich costuming

- mannerist influence in stiffness of figure; dance-like pose

- Latin inscription: "Asiel, fear of God"

- angel appears in androgynous stance

- gold embroidered on fabric favored by indigenous people

- may have originated in region around Lake Titicaca in Collao region of Peru

Angel with Arquebus, Asiel Timor Dei

Circle of the González Family. c. 1697-1701 CE. Tempera and resin on wood, shell inlay.

- commissioned by Jose Sarmiento de Valladares, viceroy of New Spain

- displayed in Viceregal Palace in Mexico City

- only known example of art work that combines biombos and enconchados

- two faces of screen: hunting scene and war scene

- hunting scene suited to intimate space for small receptions

- war scene more suited for grander room w/ political importance

- war scene depicts contemporary event of the Great Turkish War 1683-1699; Dutch print used for inspiration

- illustrates a scene of Habsburg power

Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and Hunting Scenes

Miguel González. c. 1698 CE. Based on original Virgin of Guadalupe. Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City. 16th century CE. Oil on canvas on wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

- painting describes event where Mary appeared to Native Americans on a hill called Tepeyac, a shrine sacred to a pre-Columbian goddess

- Mary ordered a Native American convert, Juan Diego in 1531, to tell the local archbishop to build a sanctuary on this site

- Mary made the hilltop flower and Juan Diego brought the flowers to the archbishop; Juan Diego's cloth revealed the Virgin's image

- Virgin of Guadalupe most revered symbol in Mexico; patroness of New Spain

- symbol of Mexico: eagle perched on cactus at bottom center

- in Guadalupe images Mary always stands on a crescent moon; surrounded by sun rays; clouds behind

- Revelations 12:1: "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head"

- surrounded by four roundels depicting apparition to Juan Diego at moment Virgin's image is revealed in his tunic

- brocade Virgin's robes made of enconchados (influence of Asian decorative arts)

- image in demand: many made for export around New Spain

The Virgin of Guadalupe (Virgen de Guadalupe)

Attributed to Juan Rodríguez Juárez. c. 1715 CE. Oil on canvas.

- panel from first known series of casta paintings; may not have been a completed set

- Spanish social hierarchy w/ European ancestry at top; sixteen different gradations of social scale

- Spanish blood linked to civilizing forces; waring lavish costumes

- Africans and Indians rendered w/ respect; showing harmony and mixing of classes

- many Africans and Indians rendered w/ South European features: slim noses, curly hair, almond-shaped eyes

- Spanish colonists commissioned w/ works to be sent abroad to show how caste system of New World works

- not considered art objects but illustrations of ethnic groups

Spaniard and Indian Produce a Mestizo

Jacopo da Pontormo. 1525-1528 CE. Oil on wood

- center of circular composition: grouping of hands

- elongation of bodies

- high-keyed colors; taking into account darkness of the chapel placed in?

- no ground line for many figures; what is Mary sitting on?

- hands seem disembodied

- some androgynous figures

- no weeping, just yearning

- linear bodies twisting around one another

- anti-classical composition

- no tomb, just carrying of Jesus's lifeless body

Entombment of Christ

Rome, Italy. Giacomo da Vignola, plan (architect); Giacomo della Porta, facade (architect); Giovanni Battista Gaulli, ceiling fresco (artist). Church: 16th century CE; facade: 1568-1584 CE; fresco and stucco figures: 1676-1679 CE. Brick, marble, fresco, and stucco.

- principal church of Jesuit order

- column groupings emphasize central doorway

- tympanum and pediment over central door

- slight crescendo of forms toward center

- two stories separated by cornice; united by scrolls

- framing niche acts as unifying device

- interior has no aisles, meant for grand ceremonies

Il Gesù Facade

- originally dedicated to Saint Paul

- rededicated to Virgin Mary in gratitude for military victory in Bohemia in 1620

- Turkish standards captured in Siege of Vienna in 1683 on display

- single wide nave; one of side chapels houses Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

- first story: six Ionic pilasters; emphasis placed on center of facade

- round and triangular pediments; broken pediments; swags and scrollwork

Santa Maria della Vittoria (from Ecstasy of Saint Teresa)

Rome, Italy. Francesco Borromini (architect). 1638-1646 CE. Stone and stucco.

- named so because on square in Rome w/ four fountains

- unusually small site

- alternating convex and concave patterns and undulating volumes in ground plan and facade

- facade higher than rest of building

- interior side chapels merge into central space

- interior dome oval shaped and coffered

- walls treated sculpturally

- shades of white; avoided colors used in many Baroque buildings

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

Versailles, France. Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart (architects). Begun 1669 CE. Masonry, stone, wood, iron, and gold leaf (architecture); marble and bronze (sculpture); gardens.

- reorganization and remodeling of hunting lodge into elaborate place

- center of building was Louis XIV's bedroom, or audience chamber, from which all aspects of design radiate like rays from the sun ("the Sun King")

- corresponds to Louis XIV's political and economic ambitions

- building centered in vast garden and town complex radiating from

- subdued exterior decoration on facade; undulation of projecting members is understated

- Hall of Mirrors: 240 feet long; barrel-vaulted painted ceiling; light comes in from one side and ricochets off largest panes of glass that could be made at the time; flickering use of light in architectural setting; ceiling paintings illustrate civil and military achievements of Louis XIV

- Gardens: classically and harmoniously arranged; formal gardens near palace; more wooded and less elaborate paintings at distances farther away; Baroque characteristics: size, long vistas, terminal views in fountains and statuary; mile-long canal crossed by another canal forms main axis of gardens; only fountains near palace played all the time; others turned on for the king if he walked through the gardens

The Palace at Versailles

Cornaro Chapel, Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Rome, Italy. Gian Lorenzo Bernini. c. 1647-1652 CE. Marble (sculpture); stucco and gilt bronze (chapel).

- sculptural interpretation of Saint Teresa's diary where she tells of her visions of God, many involving an angel descending w/ arrow and plunging it into her

- natural light redirected onto sculpture from window hidden above

- marble handed to reveal textures: skin is high gloss, feathers of an angel are rougher, drapery animated and fluid, clouds roughly cut

- carved from single block of marble

- figures seem to float in their space, w/ rays of God's light symbolically illuminating scene from behind

- Saint Teresa's pose suggests sexual exhaustion, feeling consistent w/ her description of spiritual ecstasy in diary entries

- stagelike setting w/ patrons, members of Carnaro family, sitting in theatre boxes looking on and commenting

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

Caravaggio. c. 1597-1601 CE. Oil on canvas.

- one of three paintings illustrating life of Saint Matthew in chapel dedicated to him by Cantarelli family

- light comes in from two sources on right, creating a tenebroso effect on figures

- diagonal shaft of light points directly to Saint Matthew, who points to himself as if unsure that Christ would select a tax collector, depicting a moment in time

- Christ's hand gesture similar to Adam's on Sistine Chapel ceiling

- Foppishly dressed figures in latest Baroque fashion

- narrow stage for figures to sit and stand on

- only slight suggestion of halo on Christ's head indicates sanctity of scene

- sensual figures, everyday characteristics

- naturalist approach to the Baroque

Calling of Saint Matthew

- on ceiling in main nave of Il Gesu, Rome

- monogram of Jesus's "IHS" in brilliantly lit sea of golden color

- figures tumbling below name; some carved in stucco, enhancing 3D effect

- some cast long shadows across barrel vault

- some painted figures no stucco, but maintain vibrant 3D illusion

- as if ceiling were open to sky and figures spiraling around Jesus's name

- di sotto in su

- damned cast into hell; saved rise heavenward; a Last Judgement

- influence of Bernini's dramatic emotionalism in the style; Gaulli was Bernini's pupil

Triumph of the Name of Jesus (from Il Gesù)

Diego Velázquez. c. 1656 CE. Oil on canvas.

- group portrait of artist in studio at work; steps back from canvas and looks at viewer

- Velazquez wears cross of the Royal Order of Santiago, elevating him to knighthood

- central: Infanta Margarita of Spain with her meninas (attendants), a dog, a dwarf, and a midget

- behind: two chaperones in half-shadow

- doorway: Jose Nieto? head of queen's tapestry works (hence his hand on a curtain)

- king and queen appear in a mirror; what's the mirror reflecting? canvas? painting?

- alternating darks and lights draw us deeper into canvas; mirror simultaneous reflects out into our space

- dappled effect of light on shimmering surfaces

- painting originally hung in Philip IV's study

Las Meninas

Peter Paul Rubens. 1621-1625 CE. Oil on canvas.

GENERAL

- heroic gestures, demonstrative spiraling figures

- mellow intensity of color, inspired by Titian and Caravaggio

- sumptuous full-fleshed women

- 21 historical paintings allegorically retelling life of Marie de'Medici, Queen of France, wife of Henry IV

- splendid costumes suggest opulent theatrical production

- allegories assist in telling story and mix freely w/ historical people

SPECIFIC

- Henry IV smitten by portrait of intended, held by Cupid (god of love) and Hymen (god of marriage)

- Jupiter and Juno look down; symbolic of marital harmony; they express support

- royalty considered demigods; approval of mythological gods in concert w/ their beliefs about themselves

- portraits exchanged before the marriage

- married by proxy in 1600

- behind Henry: personification of France: female figure w/ masculine helmet and manly legs; whispers to Henry to take love over war

Henri IV Receives the Portrait of Marie de'Medici

Rembrandt van Rijn. 1636 CE. Etching.

- only image of Rembrandt w/ wife in an etching

- 30 year old Rembrandt w/ new bride

- not wearing contemporary dress; fanciful dress

- images of Saskia abundant in Rembrandt's output, source of inspiration

- martial harmony, Saskia as a muse inspiring him

- wife and mother of four

- Rembrandt drawing/etching

- painted 50 self-portraits; 32 self-portrait etchings; 7 self-portrait drawings

- not for general sales; private purposes

Self-Portrait with Saskia

Johannes Vermeer. c. 1664 CE. Oil on canvas.

- small number of Vermeer works in existence

- except for two landscapes, works portray intimate scenes in interior of Dutch homes

- viewer looks into private world with seemingly small gestures take on [significance greater than what first appears]

- woman seem unaware of viewers' presence

- light enters from the left and warmly highlights textures and surfaces: garments, wood table, marble checkerboard floor, jewelry, painting, etc.

- moment in time: stillness and timelessness

- moment of weighing and judging

- behind: painting of the Last Judgement, time of weighing souls

- balance has nothing in it; pearls and coins on table waiting to be measured

- balancing reference perhaps to unborn child

- allegory

- vanitas: gold should not be a false allure

- geometric lines focus on central point at pivot of balance

- dressed in fine clothing: fur-trimmed

- maybe a Vermeer family member posed for painting; theories that it may have been his wife, Caterina

Woman Holding a Balance

Rachel Ruysch. 1711 CE. Oil on wood.

- contruct of perfect specimens all in bloom at same time

- asymmetrical/artful arrangement

- probably used illustrations in botany textbooks as basis for painting

- in a phase where artist produced still lifes in a woodland setting

Fruits and Insects

Conques, France. Romanesque Europe. Church: c. 1050-1130 CE; Reliquary of Saint Foy: ninth century CE, with later additions. Stone (architecture); stone and paint (tympanum); gold, silver, gemstones, and enamel over wood (reliquary).

- built along pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela

- build to handle large number of pilgrims; wide transepts, large ambulatory w/ radiating chapels

- massive heavy interior walls, unadorned

- no clerestory; light provided by windows over side aisles and galleries

- barrel vaults in nave, reinforced by transverse arches

- cross-like ground plan

Church of Sainte-Foy

- largest Romanesque tympanum

- Christ as strict judge, dividing world into those going to Heaven and those going to Hell

- Christ's welcoming right hand, cast down left hand

- dividing line runs vertically through cross in middle of composition

- archangel Michael and devil at Chris's feet, weighing the souls

-Hell w/ damned on right; saved on left; people enter church on right and exit saved, on left

- subject reminds pilgrims of point of pilgrimage

- 124 figures originally richly painted, densely packed together

- saved moe towards Christ, Mary, and Saint Peter in lead

- paradise, on lower level, portrayed as heavenly Jerusalem

- left triangle: arches of Conques Abbey w/ dangling chains: Sainte Foy interceded for those enslaved by Muslims in Spain; she herself kneeling before giant hand of God

- lower right level: devil presides over chaotic tangle of tortured condemned sinners

- inscription on lintel: "O Sinners, change your morals before you might face a cruel judgement"

Last Judgement (from Church of Sainte-Foy)

- reliquary of young girl martyred in early fourth century; refused to sacrifice to Roman gods in pagan ritual

- relics of body stolen from nearby town and enthroned in Conques in 866

- one of earliest large scale sculptures in Middle Ages

- jewels, gems, crown added over the years by faithful

- child's skull housed in mannish looking enlarged head

Reliquary of Sainte-Foy (from Church of Sainte-Foy)

Romanesque Europe (English or Norman). c. 1066-1080 CE. Embroidery on linen.

- actually embroidery

- commissioned by Bishop Odo, half-brother of William the Conqueror

- story (in Latine) of William's conquest of England in Battle of Hastings in 1066 and after

- probably designed by man, executed by women

- fanciful beasts in upper and lower registers

- borders sometimes comment on main scenes, or show scenes of everyday life

- color used in non-natural manner; different parts of horse colored variously

- neutral background

- flatness of figures; no shadows

- narrative tradition going back to Column of Trajan

- 75 scenes, over 600 people

- 230-feet long; continues narrative tradition on Medieval art

- uncertainty over how this work was meant to be displayed

- stylized and elongated everything

- last scene lost; probably William's crowning

Bayeux Tapestry

Early medieval Europe. Mid-sixth century CE. Silver gilt worked in filigree, with inlays of garnets and other stones.

- cloisonné and chasing techniques

- zoomorphic elements

- small + portable

- decline of classical tradition

- probably owned by rich Merovingian woman; meant to go w/ her to afterlife

- fish below center of each pin

- all surfaces covered; decorations adjust to shape

Merovingian looped fibula

Early medieval (Hiberno Saxon) Europe. c. 700 CE. Illuminated manuscript (ink, pigments, and gold on vellum).

- written by Eadrith, bishop of Lindisfarne

- unusual: made by one person, not a team

- Latin w/ annotations in English between lines; English added around 970, called Anglo-Saxon miniscule

- one of oldest surviving manuscript of Bible in English

- uses Saint Jerome's translation of the Bible: "The Vulgate"

- 130 calf skins used

- colophon discusses making of

Lindisfarne Gospels

- cross depicted on page filled w/ horror vacui decoration

- dog-headed snakes intermix w/ birds w/ long beaks

- cloisonné style used in bodies of birds

- elongated figures lost in maze of S shapes

- symmetrical arrangement

- black background makes patterning stand out

- mixture of traditional Celtic imagery and Christian theology

Cross Page from the Book of Matthew (from Lindisfarne Gospels)

- traditional symbol associated w/ St. Luke: calf (sacrificial animal)

- identity of calf acknowledged w/ "imago vituli"

- St. Luke identified by Greek words using Latin characters: "Hagios Lucas"

- heavily bearded Saint Luke gives weight to authority as author, but appears younger man

- sits w/ legs crossed holding scroll and writing instrument

- writing his gospels

Saint Luke Portrait (from Lindisfarne Gospels)

- "incipit": opening words of Saint Luke's gospel: "Quoniam Quidem ..."

- numerous Celtic spiral ornaments; step patterns appear in enlarged O

- lower right corner: naturalistic detail of cat who has eaten eight birds

Saint Luke Incipit Page (from Lindisfarne Gospels)

Córdoba, Spain. Umayyad. c. 785-786 CE. Stone masonry.

- doubled arched columns, brilliantly articulated in alternating bands of color; voussoirs

- light and airy interior

- horseshoe-shaped arches traditional in Visigothic Spain and Roman architecture

- hypostyle mosque; no central focus, no congregational worship

- original wooden ceiling replaced by vaulting

- complex dome over mihrab w/ elaborate squinches

- columns spolia from ancient Roman structures

- relatively short columns made ceilings low; doubling of arches enhances interior space; perhaps influenced by Roman aqueduct in Merida, Spain

- kufic calligraphy on walls

- built on site of church; after Christian reconquest center of mosque used for church

Great Mosque

Umayyad. c. 968 CE. Ivory

- calligraphic inscription in Arabic identifies owner, asks for Allah's blessings, and tells function

- container for expensive aromatics

- gift for caliph's younger son, most likely as a coming-of-age gift

- ivory objects given as gifts to members of royal family at important time in their life

- horror vacui

- vegetal and geometric motifs

- eight medallion scenes showing pleasure activities of royal court: hunting, falconry, sports, musicians

- from Muslim Spain

Pyxis of al-Mughira

William Hogarth. c. 1743 CE. Oil on canvas.

- one of six scenes in suite of paintings

- narrative paintings; later turned into series of prints

- highly satiric paintings about aristocratic English society and those who would like to buy their way into it

- shortly after marriage, each partner has been pursuing pleasures without the other: husband has been out all night w/ another woman (dog sniffs suspiciously at another bonnet); broken sword means he has been in a fight and probably lost (may also be a symbol for sexual inadequacy); wife has ben playing cards all night, steward (at left) indicating by his expression that she has lost a fortune at whist (he holds nine unpaid bills in his hand, one was paid by mistake); turned-over chair indicates violin player made hasty retreat when husband came home

The Tête à Tête from Marriage à-la-mode

Granada, Spain. Nasrid Dynasty. 1354-1391 CE. Whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gilding.

- palace of Nasrid sultans of Southern Spain; preserved by Christians to commemorate victory

- light, airy interiors; fortress-like exterior

- built on hill overlooking city of Granada

- contains palaces, gradens, water pools, fountains, courtyards

- small, low bubbling fountains in each room to provide cool temperatures in summer

Alhambra

- thin columns support heavy roofs; feeling of weightlessness

- intricately patterned and sculpted ceilings and walls

- central fountain supported by protective lions; animal imagery permitting in secular monuments

- part of walls chiseled through to create vibrant light patterns within

Court of the Lions (from Alhambra)

- sixteen windows at top; light dissolves into honeycomb of stalactites that dangle from ceiling (simulate heavens; good acoustics)

- abstract patterns, abstraction of forms

- 5000 muqarnas refract light; carved in stucco onto ceiling

- highly sophisticated and refined interior

- perhaps used as a music room or for receptions

Hall of the Sisters (from Alhambra)

Edirne, Turkey. Sinan (architect). 1568-1575 CE. Brick and stone.

- extremely thin soaring minarets

- abundant window space makes for brilliantly lit interior

- decorative display of mosaic and tile work

- inspired by Hagia Sophia, but centrally planned

- octagonal interior, w/ 8 pillars resting on square set of walls

- open airy interior contrasts w/ conventional mosques that have partitioned interiors

- part of complex including hospital, school, library, etc.

- Sinan chief court architect for Suleiman the Magnificent

- transitions from square ground plan to round dome achieved by inserting smaller domes into corners

- huge piers support dome

Mosque of Selim II