Northern Renaissance and Others Visual and Contextual

Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) Visual

present on left, past in middle, future on right
the piece is very detailed
no concerns with perspective or anatomy
center is Annunciation
Archangel Gabriel tells Virgin Mary that she will have a child, aka Jesus
Flemish contemporary culture (house, tables, etc) is used
to be more relevant and relatable
painting uses a lot of religious symbolism
lily represents purity of Virgin Mary
3 buds of lily plant symbolizes Holy Trinity
Mary is shown on the floor, which shows her humility
she is blocking the fireplace which represents Hell
extinguished candle represents presence of God
Holy Spirit (baby carrying cross) is painted
towels and water are baptism symbols
mouse traps are allusion to crucifixion of Christ
oil paint creates translucent colors

Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) Contextual

triptych, portable
centerpiece and right piece were completed and sold
left piece have the donors painted in later
Netherlands are known for detail

The Arnolfini Portrait Visual

hands are joined together which symbolizes marriage
woman is wearing wool ermine fur dress and lace shawl
man is wearing velvet
they are wearing expensive clothing
they are rich
woman is NOT pregnant
there are oranges, symbolize wealth
only wealthy people can afford imported oranges
religious symbols are used
back shows Saint Margaret, aka Saint of housewives and childbirth
single candle lit indicates presence of God
woman wears no shoes because this is a sacred event
dog is at their feet, represents fidelity and loyalty
back mirror has rosaries
only Catholics have rosaries
12 scenes in the mirror frame
Passion of Christ, last 12 hours before Christ is crucified
mirror shows reflection of man, woman, and possibly the artist
artist signs his name right above the mirror
says van Eyck was here

The Arnolfini Portrait Contextual

double portrait of wealthy merchant and wife
some think it is a wedding portrait

Adam and Eve Visual

etching is full of contradictions
tropical bird in the German forest?
sign says artist’s name in Latin, which should be in German
Eve is plucking an apple from a fig tree…
classical form, aka contrapasso
Durer used classical models to represent concept of ideal beauty
four humors are shown in etching

Adam and Eve Contextual

depicts ideal image of Adam and Eve before Fall of Man
Eve eats the apple, leading to the Fall of Man
Germans believed that each human possessed humors
4 animals represent four different humors that were all balanced
everything was in balance before Fall of Man
after Fall of Man, you experience one humor
dominant humor
elk - melancholic
ox - phlegmatic
cat - choleric
rabbit - sanguine
this engraving was mass produced
more people can see it
direct contact between patron and artist allows for mass production
mechanical reproduction of prints

Isenheim Altarpiece (Closed Altarpiece) Visual

when closed, a distorted withering Christ is shown
he has spots over him like a skin disease
hands are injured
the Virgin is fainting, held by St John the Evangelist
on right is John the Baptist
Christ is shown suffering to help patients with the skin disease
they can relate to him

Isenheim Altarpiece (Open Altarpiece) Visual

after Christ is taken off the cross, they put him in a tomb
Christ resurrects from the tomb
hopeful scene
left shows Annunciation of Christ
Gabriel tells Mary about her conception
next scene shows Baby Jesus and Mary
gothic bandstand with musical angels
right is resurrection
Christ is rising like a fireball with colors of red, orange, etc

Isenheim Altarpiece (Predella) Visual

shows lamentation of Christ
Mary is lamenting Christ after he has been crucified and taken off the cross

Isenheim Altarpiece Contextual

the altarpiece can close and open!
polyptych
more than 3 sections
bottom piece is called predella
created for Monastery of Saint Anthony in Isenheim
hospital that treated skin disease called St. Anthony’s Fire or ergotism
you get disease by eating fungus infected rye/cereal
ergotism causes hallucinations, convulsions, skin infections, and gangrene
LSD uses the same fungus
St Anthony is the patron saint of those suffering from skin diseases

Allegory of Law and Grace Visual

a tree divides the image visually
on left side, the tree is bare
on right side, the tree has leaves
left side is Law side, right side is Gospel side

Allegory of Law and Grace (Law Side) Visual

reflects God as judge and condemer of human sin
skeleton and demon are chasing the naked man
Moses is holding laws, aka 10 Commandments
God is judging Eve and Adam
message is that following the law alone won’t get you into heaven
following law will lead you to hell

Allegory of Law and Grace (Gospel Side) Visual

god is forgiving
John the Baptist talks to a naked man, showing him Christ’s crucifixion and tomb
shows him ascension of Christ
naked man represents soul

Allegory of Law and Grace Contextual

originally a painting done in 1529
they made a woodcut of the painting
single most influential image of the Protestant or Lutheranism Reformation
Catholic practice involves donating money or paying for art to get into Heaven
Luther believed you should just be good to get into heaven
Luther believed that some religious art is okay if it teaches a correct lesson
acceptable piece of Protestant art
artist provides a pictorial translation of Martin Luther’s belief of path to salvation
Luther believed that salvation is granted to God’s grace and sacrifice

Hunters in the Snow Visual

painting is from a bird’s eye view looking down at the village
limited color palette, used to portray coldness of winter
moment in time where dogs and hunters are returning to village after an unsuccessful hunt
they don’t have food
behind them is a fire, the burning/singing of a pig’s hair
in the distance, people are ice skating and curling (hockey game) and tobogganing
village people are playing
atmospheric perspective is used to create depth
alps are included (even though the alps are not in netherlands…)

Hunters in the Snow Contextual

Pieter Bruegul painted six scenes of daily life in different seasons
aka genre scene

Frontispiece of the Codex of Mendoza Visual

schematic diagram of Tenochtitlan
according to legend, Aztecs settled where they saw an eagle standing on a cactus
place is in middle of Lake Texcoco
Aztecs build a city with canals on the lake
blue lines are canals
war shield below the eagle
temple on top, aka Templo Mayor
10 men represent the 10 Aztecs that discovered the eagle on the cactus
beside each man is a glyph (pictograph) of their names
man left to eagle has no top knot and has a bloody ear
blood from ear is sacrifice to gods
skull rack on right symbolizes sacrifices
plants
bottom is a battle scene with hierarchy of scale
Aztecs are bigger than their enemies

Frontispiece of the Codex of Mendoza Contextual

codex is an antique manuscript
purpose was to record information about the Aztec empire
contained info on leaders of Tenochtitlan
talks about tribute paid to Aztecs
general account of life in Aztec empire
commissioned by Viceroy Mendoza of New Spain; artists were indigenous and images were annotated in Spanish by priests
Viceroy Mendoza originally sent it to King of Spain (Charles V)
French pirates stole it…
Mexico City is where Tenochtitlan is

Mosque of Selim II Visual

has mosque and 2 colleges (madrases) to study Islam
squinches are muqarnas covered squinches
same thing as pendentive
row of windows like Hagia Sophia (floating dome)
inside mosque is the Muezzin's platform
Muezzin leads prayers and chants
unusual to have platform directly under the dome
pencil (thin) fluted minarets
Islamic inscriptions and calligraphy
Allah is indivisible
prophet Muhammad is god’s messenger

Mosque of Selim II Contextual

Erdine was favorite place of Selim II
first major city that Europeans would reach when traveling to the Ottoman empire
Selim is trying to demonstrate power
mosque is built on tallest hill in the area
Sinan uses a central plan to meet Islamic practice
bigger and taller than Hagia Sophia
Islamic dominance over Christianity
Christian men were put into military
Sinan was in military and learned engineering and became godly architect