art history

Reading strategy highlights

  • Reading strategies for visual art: Focus on dedicated image pages, fresco technique boxes, and closer look narratives.

  • Lecture cues: Emphasizes dedicated image pages (e.g., Andre Bassano), stand-out fresco technique boxes (e.g., Giotto’s buon fresco), and closer look narratives.

  • Strategic reading goal: Identify shifts from late Gothic to Renaissance in form and meaning.

Extra credit video and learning strategies

  • Extra credit video on Blackboard: submit a one-page, double-spaced response for +1 point if submitted within the module week.

  • Course accommodates different learning styles: PowerPoint for visuals, Kenneth Clark’s Civilization series, and Michael Wood’s Art of the Western World.

Chapter objectives (late Gothic to Renaissance)

  • Learning objective 1: Identify changes in art/architecture from late Gothic to Renaissance.

  • Learning objective 2: Understand key artistic/architectural impulses of each period.

  • Focus areas: Church architecture (Gothic vs. 14th-century fresco), new patrons, classical revival (techniques/subjects), and humanism.

Key terms and concepts introduced in Chapter 18

  • Guilds: Craftspeople associations (masters, apprentices, masterwork).

  • Loggia / Rologia: Open-sided architectural structure with classical arches for public space.

  • Buon fresco: Painting on wet plaster for durable color.

  • Grisaille: Monochromatic painting (often gray) to mimic marble sculpture.

  • Maesta (Maestà): Giant altarpiece of Virgin in Majesty, typically gilded panel painting.

  • Panel painting: Large-scale wooden panels (gesso, linen, gold leaf) for altarpieces.

  • Book of Hours (Jeanne d'Évreux): Devotional prayer book, symbol of piety.

  • Courtly love: Elevates Virgin/noble female beauty for aristocratic ideals.

  • Feudalism: Hierarchical system (king, lords/knights, peasants/serfs) with reciprocal obligations.

  • Black Death (1347–1351): Pandemic killing \approx 40\% of population, causing social/economic upheaval.

  • Pilgrimage routes: Camino de Santiago, Rome, Jerusalem (e.g., \sim 500 miles to Santiago).

  • Chartres Cathedral: Gothic cathedral known for exterior program (tympanum, lancet) and interior stained glass; distinct pilgrim experience.

  • Reliquaries & cult of the Virgin: Devotional objects (reliquaries, Book of Hours) focusing piety; Virgin often elongated S-curve.

  • Júdas betrayal & major scenes: Critical moments in Jesus' life depicted in Gothic art, Giotto’s/Lorenzetti’s cycles.

  • Lorenzetti, The Allegory of Good Government (Siena): Late Gothic city depiction with overlapping planes, suggestive depth.

  • Raphael, Stanza della Signatura (Vatican): High Renaissance example with vanishing point, orthogonals, deep space.

  • Giotto vs Cimabue: Shift from flat/frontal to volumetric, light-driven figures with naturalistic space/emotion.

  • Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel: Giotto’s cycle (Annunciation, Life of Christ, Lamentation) showing intense emotion and narrative clarity.

Visual and thematic contrasts: Late Gothic vs Renaissance

  • Virgin imagery:

    • Late Gothic: Elongated S-curve, refined, stylized, small head relative to body.

    • Renaissance (Giotto): Volumetric, realistic light, grounded, three-dimensional presence.

  • Perspective & space:

    • Lorenzetti (Siena): Overlapping planes, no single vanishing point, suggested but not fully realized depth.

    • Raphael (Stanza della Signatura): Clear orthogonals, central vanishing point, proportional balance, deep spaces.

  • Lighting, modeling & emotion:

    • Giotto: Models form with light, soft shadows, volume; emotions via gestures/expressions.

    • Late Gothic: Decorative surfaces, gilding; nature step in Giotto, but distinct from High Renaissance modeling.

The shift in patronage and society (Late Gothic to Renaissance)

  • Sociopolitical: Decline of feudalism, rise of monarchies/papal power, urbanization (Italian city-states), universities.

  • Economic/Patronage: Medici family's rise (bankers/patrons), city branding via art, patronage beyond church/crown.

  • Intellectual: Humanism (human potential, classical revival), interest in antiquity/naturalism.

  • Religious: Concern for reform, personal piety, continued cult of Virgin/relic veneration.

Feudalism and social structure (schematic overview)

  • Hierarchy/Obligations: King, lords/knights (land/protection), peasants/serfs (labor/rent).

  • Land/Economy: Agrarian strips; vassalage evolves to urban wealth/mercantile networks.

  • Black Death impact: Population decline disrupts labor, accelerates social/economic change.

Pilgrimage, relics, and devotional culture in the late Gothic period

  • Pilgrimage routes/motivations: Camino de Santiago, Rome, Jerusalem; seeking salvation, healing, merit (\approx 500 miles).

  • Chartres Pilgrim experience: Portal to narthex, nave, ambulatory (reliquaries); exterior (tympanum, Christ enthroned), interior (stained glass, life of Jesus/Mary).

  • Cult of the Virgin/relics: Virgin in reliquaries, devotional objects (Book of Hours) for piety/status; S-curve, annunciation scenes.

  • Objects & liturgical arts: Relics, reliquaries, devotional books.