AH

Midterm+Review (1)

Midterm Review

  • A review for a midterm exam covering various art historical periods and concepts.

Renaissance Overview

  • Timeline: c. 1400-c.1600

  • Key Aspects:

    • Assumptions:

      • Interest in antiquity

      • Secularism and Humanism

      • Perception as blissful age of arts and culture

    • Actual Transformations:

      • Introduction of mythological subjects in painting

      • Portrait painting of contemporary individuals as a focus

      • Emergence of a new class with access to commodities

      • Increased availability of ancient texts

      • Challenges to religious dominance (e.g., influence of Lorenzo Valla on the Donation of Constantine)

Renaissance Italy

  • Factors Contributing to the Renaissance in Italy:

    • Rise of Mediterranean trade

    • Re-emergence of cities post-12th century

    • New bourgeois class challenging clergy and aristocracy, investing in the arts

    • Cultural exchanges with the Islamic world

Early Renaissance vs. High Renaissance

  • Key Works:

    • Fra Angelico, Annunciation (1438-1447)

    • Raphael, School of Athens (1509-1510)

Significant Artworks and Artists

  • Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi (1423)

    • Characteristics of International Gothic Style

    • Continuous narrative technique

  • Masaccio, Holy Trinity (c. 1427)

    • Memento mori theme highlighted

  • Donatello, Feast of Herod (1423-1427)

    • Featuring Salome and John the Baptist

  • Donatello, David (1430-1432)

    • Depicts biblical hero David defeating Goliath

  • Filippo Brunelleschi, Florence Cathedral Dome

    • Dome construction period: 1420-1436

Treatises on Art

  • Leon Battista Alberti:

    • On Sculpture: De Statua (1430)

    • On Painting: Della Pittura (1435)

    • On Architecture: De Re Aedificatoria (1443-1452)

Architectural Works

  • St. Andrea, Mantua (1472-1490) by Alberti

  • Temple of Vesta, Rome (c. 300 CE)

  • *Donato Bramante's Tempietto, Rome (1503)

  • Bramante's plans for St. Peter's Cathedral

    • Collaborative designs by Michelangelo and Carlo Maderno

Notable Renaissance Paintings and Artists

  • Leonardo da Vinci:

    • Vitruvian Man (c. 1485)

    • Virgin of the Rocks (1483), showcasing chiaroscuro technique

  • Raphael:

    • School of Athens (1509-1511) focusing on philosophy

  • Michelangelo:

    • Pietà (1498)

    • David (1501-1504)

  • Parmigianino:

    • Madonna with the Long Neck (1535-1540), signifying Mannerism

  • Robert Campin:

    • Mérode Altarpiece (1425-1428)

Northern Renaissance

  • Pieter Brueghel the Elder:

    • Hunters in the Snow (1565), example of genre painting

  • Hans Holbein:

    • The Ambassadors (1533) featuring complex symbolism

  • Albrecht Dürer:

    • Adam and Eve (1504)

  • Lucas Cranach the Elder:

    • Portrait of Martin Luther (1529), pivotal in the Protestant Reformation

Baroque Art and Architecture

  • Major Themes:

    • Re-establishment of Roman Catholic Church authority

    • Emotionally charged, opulent designs in interiors and exteriors

    • Dramatic contrasts of light and shadow (tenebrism)

    • Examples: Gianlorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1645-1652)

Key Artists of the Baroque Period

  • Caravaggio:

    • Conversion of Saint Paul (1601), demonstration of tenebrism

  • Artemisia Gentileschi:

    • Judith Slaying Holofernes (1614-1620)

  • Peter Paul Rubens:

    • Elevation of the Cross (1610)

Conclusion

  • Importance of studying Renaissance and Baroque art for understanding cultural transformation in Europe.