Renaissance-Modern Art Exam 2

Mannerism-Rococo

Pontormo, Pieta, Florence, Italy 1526-28

• Late Renaissance Italy

• extreme upset, very expressive unlike Michealangelo

• quite a different representation because there is much more people and a variety of people.

• unique use of color; bright and light colors, vs. dark in the High Renaissance.

• No use of linear perspective

• Dreamlike, as if floating in the canvas.

• Elongated and contorted position of Christ

• Crammed in, unrealistic use of space, odd nowhere space.

• Pontormo stuck himself in, on the right.

Bronzino, Allegory of Venus, 1546

• Mannerism

• Cupid and Venus

• Extremely detailed musculature

• Man screaming behind Venus & cupid

• weird contorted and elongated poses to show off how well the artist can paint it despite the complex pose.

• eroticism

• very weird use of space

Pontormo, Pieta, Florence, Italy 1526-28

• Late Renaissance Italy

• extreme upset, very expressive unlike Michealangelo

• quite a different representation because there is much more people and a variety of people.

• unique use of color; bright and light colors, vs. dark in the High Renaissance.

• No use of linear perspective

• Dreamlike, as if floating in the canvas.

• Elongated and contorted position of Christ

• Crammed in, unrealistic use of space, odd nowhere space.

• Pontormo stuck himself in, on the right.

Bronzino, Allegory of Venus, 1546

• Mannerism

• Cupid and Venus

• Extremely detailed musculature

• Man screaming behind Venus & cupid

• weird contorted and elongated poses to show off how well the artist can paint it despite the complex pose.

• eroticism

• very weird use of space

Michelangelo, Last Judgement, Sistine Chapel, Vatican 1534-41

• Late Renaissance Italy

• At the end of the world, it will be decided whether you go to heaven or hell.

• elongated, twisted figures to show off details

• no linear perspective

• Christ is depicted differently, muscular, elongated

• St. Bartheomew, a martyr who was typically skinned, is depicted as Michelangelo’s skin.

Parmigianino, The Madonna with the Long Neck, 1535

• Mannerism

• Could just be any mother, not specifically a Holy family.

• Northern Italy

• elongated and graceful Mary

• Baby Jesus, depicted very weirdly, very long.

• The gesture of the hand and neck trying to showcase gracefulness.

Parmigianino, Self-Portrait (In a Convex Mirror)

• Mannerism

• wanted to impress the pope

• requested a carpenter to cut out a wooden sphere of a barber’s mirror

• used oil glazes to produce a surface luster, more mirror like

• the viewer becomes the painter, Parmigiano himself.

• like a real convex mirror, the artist’s face is the center, undistorted, while the hand and sleeve are more exaggerated in size.

• purposeful emphasis on the hand to represent the supreme importance of the painter’s hand in fashioning an artwork

Tintoretto, Last Supper, 1594

• Mannerism

• embed with emotional power, depth of spiritual vision, glowing Venetian color schemes, and dramatic lighting.

• Halos establish the biblical nature of the scene

• engaging viewers w/ the Counter-Reformation ideals and the Catholic Church’s belief in the didactic nature of religious art.

• imbalanced composition and visual complexity largely display Mannerism

• vanishing point is off the page, not on Christ like in Leonardo’s version, creating limitless depth and motion

• Jesus is brought to the viewer’s attention bc of the flaring light

El Greco, The Burial of Count Orgaz, Spain, 1586

• Late Renaissance in 16th Century Northern Europe

• El Greco (The Greek)

• 2 saints came back to Earth to bury Count Orgaz

• Head above the land in front of the crowd is El Greco, staring right at us, the viewers.

• Rational perspective, nothing strange.

• The burial of Count happened 200-300 years ago before the painting was created.

• Elongated figures

• Highly expressive style which foreshadowed developments of the Baroque era in Spain and Italy.

Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece CLOSED

• Late Renaissance Northern

• Commissioned by Church connected to a hospital and at the time there was a disease going around caused by spoiled rye.

• False bottom, doesn’t open

• Legs of Christ are cut off, mirroring the amputations that people afflicted with ergotism would have.

• Gruesome extreme details of Christ, represent the disease in order to get more followers.

Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece OPENED

• Late Renaissance,

• Anunciation, Madonna & Child with Angels, Resurrection

• Linear perspective in high detail

• 3rd panel, new and different rendering of Christ

• Resurrected Christ

• Mannerist Christ, elongated and floating

• Outside, much more somber & full of disease, where the inside is bright, full of hope.

• encouraging the sick patients that they will survive this disease/sickness.

Durer, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1498

• Mannerism

• Wood etching

• Durer does not have to sit around and wait for commissioners to make money

• Artists would now have different money, spare money, and can be a part of the merchant class.

• Free to create whatever he wants

• People at this time were very nervous that the world would end at the year 1500, or at the very least something very bad.

• 4 horsemen come to Earth to reek havoc, Conquer, War, Death, and Famine, causing Christ to come down and start the Last Judgement

• Famine’s emaciated horse and man, running over a bishop.

• Very dramatic

Holbein, The Ambassadors, 1533

• Late Renaissance Northern

• Carefully selected objects, globe, lute, books, and measuring tools for astrology/astronomy, made to show that they are renaissance men and well-traveled, things they’ve collected by traveling.

• fancy clothing, curtains, fur-trim, tiles, show off wealth

• similar to the portrait of mother in fanciest clothes with her son

• Warped skull, looks normal at an extreme angle when viewing the painting.

• Vanitas

• The items in the image are fleeting, the lute can break, the book can have ripped pages, and wealth will not follow you in death.

Vanitas

A reminder that things of this world are fleeting. Not going to stay the same, not always about death.

Bruegel, Peasant Wedding

• Northern Late Renaissance

• major change, no holy people or wealthy people

• naturalistic perspective

• still only made for the wealthy and force them to see peasants’ daily lives

• giving the same holy treatment as in all the extreme detail in holy or wealthy paintings to peasants

• bride behind the green curtain

• groom is helping serve the meal

• musicians, people chatting, pretty busy and casual

• peasants also get married, letting the wealthy know

• make the peasant class seen

Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew

• Italy Baroque

• father of Baroque, leader of this movement

• Tenebrism

• God came to call Matthew to surface, do these holy things to become a saint

• Nothing glamorous, ordinary, everyday scene until the appearance of Christ and St. Peter.

• Matthew pointing to himself, “Me? You’re coming for me?”

• Regular clothes of the 16th century, besides Christ & St. Peter, appearing from the past.

• Adding some emotion, after mannerism.

• Droopy point like Michelangelo

• Slightest suggestion of a halo.

Baroque

Portuguese word for “irregular pearl,” strange, grotesque, contorted, beautiful, fascinating,

• dramatic, theatrical, exuberant

• appeals to the senses, evokes emotion, the art of persuasion

• Gentileschi, Judith Beheading Holofernes

• Baroque

• General of Nebuchadnezzar, who was trying to conquer neighboring towns around the area and sends Holofernes to do so.

• Judith, a beautiful widow, caught Holofernes’ eye and kept inviting her to his tent. She eventually accepts and beheads him with his own sword.

• Soon before this painting, Artemisia was raped by her art teacher and her parents allowed her to take him to court for property damaged and were able to win the case. Won only in name, as the public eye viewed her as a temptress.

• Tenebrism

• Handmaiden is important to Artemisia as her handmaiden had witnessed her rape but did not come forward.

• Very unlady-like, putting lots of effort, strain to her face, gripping his hair.

• slight foreshortening, adds in more drama, and heightens the act.

• scene of revenge

• Successful female artist at the time

Bernini, David, 1623

• Italy Baroque

• dramatic stance compared to the other David statues

• The moment of actually throwing the stone

• More expression on the face of determination

• At this moment, the Church declared a decree of decorum and decreased the amount of nudity, even added cloths of decorum to other paintings that were previously nude.

• still has perfected Renaissance body

Bernini, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, Santa Maria Della Vittoria, Rome, 1645-52

• 17th Italy Baroque

• St. Teresa had a vision, and an angel pierced her w/a golden arrow, sending her in a state of ecstasy.

• “The pain was so great, I wished it would last forever, sweet, endear embrace of God.” psychological pain,

• Controversial statue, sensual, erotic, and sexual expression on St. Teresa.

• Angel is depicted as mischievous, while is in ecstasy.

• Very dramatic and theatrical

• Gold rays pouring down on them, adds tenebrism

• stained glass above the statue as well, real-life light and tenebrism

• “celestial explosion”

Velazquez, The Maids of Honor, 1656

• 17th century Spanish Baroque

• Political, King & Queen are tiny

• portrait painting, a whole bunch of characters, and a giant canvas on the left w/ Velazquexz in the act of painting the King and King, as well as us, the audience.

• We the audience are put in the position of the King and Queen of Spain

• Mirror in the center, reflecting the King and Queen, an ode to Van Eyck.

De Cortona, Allegory of Divine Providence, 1633-39

• 17th Century Italy Baroque

• giving depth to the sky

• figures spilling out towards the audience

• story being shown was the belief that at this moment a new pope was being chosen and the divine heavens did a divine intervention to crown the pope.

• Crest of Bees represents Pope Urban

• over-the-top theatrical presentation, making it baroque.

Rubens, The Raising of the Cross, 1610-11

• Flemish, Northern Baroque

• 15 ft (H) x 20 ft (w)

• Tritypch

• elongated, huge body of Christ, diagonal, and cuts through the middle of the painting.

• Mannerist bodies, contorted, twisted bodies

• very muscular, even the horse and baby

• Very detailed like the Northerner paintings

• Tenebrism, Christ is the brightest figure.

De Heem, Still Life With Exotic Birds

• Flemish, Northern Baroque

• Still life is popular again during this time

• Wealth and exotic items being displayed

• Popular to show off your wealth by obtaining exotic items, seashells, oysters, exotic birds (Parrots), lobster, and papaya.

• High skill portrayed in the oysters, feathers of the parrot, the citrus, silver embellishment item.

Claesz, Vanitas Still Life

• Dutch, Northern Baroque

• glass is turned over, as if it is going to fall off

• walnut, not on a tree anymore, fleeting

• skull, human life is fleeting

• the music will stop at some point, not always playing

• clock mechanism, time will stop for you at some point

• Vanitas underlying in most still lives, fruit, birds, broken glass, all of these are fleeting

• full rendering of the window being reflected in all the objects

• Silverball reflection, no reason for the ball to be there other than to show off painting skills, conversation w? Van Eyck, Parmigianino with the convex mirror, and Velezquez, Claez in the reflection.

Hals, The Jolly Toper, 1628-30

• Northern Baroque

• Toper is a drinker, a drunk. A jolly drunk

• Average middle-class man, not many paintings w/a middle-class man

• controversial bc why would the wealthy want a painting of a drunk middle-class man

• This is a man who drinks “beyond his thirst”

• Not perfectly renders, not painted as crisply

• Hals is more than capable of doing so, purposefully chooses not to.

• Bottom part of the glass looks unfinished

• Using a very limited color palette

• Left hand also looks unfinished

• Tilted hat, caught him during a gestural moment of him telling a story

• The rendering of his face looks the most unfinished, rough look, vivid brush strokes, beard and mustache as well.

• It makes sense to depict the drunk in this way, as he is not sophisticated at this moment.

Leyster, The Proposition, 1631

• Northern Baroque

• Well-known and respected female painter within her lifetime.

• teaches painting and has her own studio.

• tenebrism, candle would not be able to illuminate that much, has to be an outside light source.

• during this time proposition is very likely, prostitution.

• Very large man leaning over her, a watch of coins in his left hand.

• Right hand on her shoulder, more menacing than seen at first glance.

• woman is doing her best to be unfazed and continuing to sew.

• extension of Leyster’s own political commentary

• unamused facial expression on the woman’s face.

Rembrandt, Self-Portrait, 1658

• Dutch, Northern Baroque

• Emerging from the darkness, towards us, the audience

• tenebrism

• Brim of the hat casts a shadow on his face

• darker-colored cloak on top of his bright clothing

• portraits having a sense of dignity, more human-like and engaging

• His trademark are very very dark paintings with figures that emerge from the darkness

• extreme detail, the folds of his clothing, and the wrinkles on his face.

Le Brun, Hall of Mirrors, Versailles

• French Baroque

• the light from the windows will bounce around as it reflects

• at night, candles would have illuminated the room

• room was made to show off his power and appearance

• mirrors were massive signs of wealth, 240 ft of mirrors

• the very least estimate of the building of the Palace of Versailles is $2 billion.

• Palace of Versailles is a mix of classical and decorative details.

Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, 1664

• Northern Baroque

• tenebrism, more realistic portrayal of light

• head-piece and trim of her garment are white and highlight her face

• Last Judgement scene painting behind her

• The painting frames her face.

• She’s holding a set of scales, that match the weighing of the souls in the Last Judgement

• Revealing a bit of a baby bump

• believed that she is weighing the soul of her baby

• Paintings are often as described as delicate w/ details

• portrays intimate scenes where the figure has no idea there’s an audience peering into their lives.

Fragonard, The Swing, 1767

• Rococo

• Fantastical, lots of details in the leaves, a hazy background

• man in front of her is a potential suitor or lover, silly sticking off her shoe but actually showing off her undergarments.

• statue of Cupid having a finger to his mouth, keeping a secret

• slight eroticism

• decorative

• painting only for the wealthy, portraying times of fun, playful, pleasures of life, and indulgence of wealth.

• The wealthy loved paintings like this

Quadri Riportati

Painted frames to appear as an easel painting

Quadratura

Painted architectural framework

Di sotto in su

From below to above, considering the viewer.

Caravaggisti

Follower of Caravaggio

Femme-Savant

An educated, cultured, and accomplished woman

Sprezzatura

Manners, for manners sake! Effortless sophistication.

Mannerism

An experimentation with proportions, ideal figures, and unusual compositions including:

• elongated limbs

• extreme detail and beauty (drapery! hair)

• expressiveness (whole body and small gesture)

• complex subject matter, eroticism

• complex subject matter