...prominent from the 5th century up until the 14th century, extracting influence from ancient Greece. Although, in the early 14th century, the Italian artists began to break out of that style of art and began a new naturalistic style. From the 1300s and on, this new style began to spread its influence throughout Italy, while still retaining some traces of maniera greca .This transition from Greek style, seen in Bonaventura Berlinghieri’s work St. Francis ( Church of San Francesco of Pescia), of c. 1236, to a more naturalistic style used partly in Cimabue’s work Virgin and Child Enthroned ( Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence) of c. 1280, and more clearly and deliberately in Giotto’s Virgin and Child Enthroned ( Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence) of c. 1305-1310, seems to come to a halt, or even revert back to maniera greca, when we look at a work of art done in Russia in the early 16th century. This work of art is known as the Enthroned Mother of God with Saints (The Menil Collection, Houston). Maniera greca is used to describe art that is derived from ancient Greece. Some of the most common aesthetic qualities are deep contrasts of highlights and shadows, gilding, lack of naturalistic qualities, and the use of icons. One of the most popular examples of classic Byzantine style is the work done by Bonaventura Berlinghieri in 1236, St. Francis, which incorporates common aspects of maniera greca. Berlinghieri uses iconography to depict the life of St. Francis, who appears to bear the wounds...
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...In Raphael’s Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints the artist uses lines, composition, and color to draw the viewer’s focus to the Madonna and emphasize their majesty, stability, and importance. The work was made by Raphael in 1504 and it is an oil painting with gold on wood. The main panel is 66 3/4 x 66 1/2 in. (169.5 x 168.9 cm) and it currently resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The painting uses a balanced composition with the saints flanking the Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus, and John the Baptist. This composition creates a single coherent scene for the viewer. The figures dominate the space of the painting forcing the viewer to observe them. They are crowded in the foreground of the painting. The environment behind them is simple and unimportant when compared to the...
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...Enthroned Madonna by Cimabue vs. Enthroned Madonna by Giotto Cimabue, born into the world as Cenni Di Pepo in 1240, was a huge contributing factor in the transition from medieval art into renaissance art. He challenged the artistic norm of the time and provoked a new naturalism, which encapsulated a desire to observe the natural world (Kleiner, 2010). This would be the start of naturalism, leading to humanism, which would ultimately birth the Renaissance. Giotto Di Bondone, was born in 1266 in Florence, Italy. He was a student of Cimabue's and managed to catapult the world into a new exciting time for artistic impression. He broke free from the gothic, byzantine art that dominated the times and managed to not only bring in a new perspective on revealing nature, but managed to teach others how to view the visible world as their source of inspiration (Kleiner, 2010).Giotto was recognized for so many things during his life. The Enthroned Madonna by Giotto will reveal some of the important characteristics he left behind. Cimabue's Enthroned Madonna stands approximately 12 feet tall and was placed above the altar at Santa Trinita Church. It can now be viewed at Galleria Uffizi in Florence. Cimabue's rendition of the Enthroned Madonna was painted on tempura with beautiful illumination from its gold leafing. Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris provide some background to this piece that help us understand the placement of the objects in the painting. They explain that Mary was...
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...The features of Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s fresco, Peaceful City, from Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country, and Duccio’s panel, Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints, differ greatly in many aspects. The allegorical and secular functions present in Lorenzetti’s fresco depicts the city and landscape of Siena rather than a biblical scene which is represented in Duccio’s panel. Unlike Duccio’s panel and various other pieces produced during this time period, Lorenzetti’s panel depicts a secular or political theme rather than religious. Duccio’s panel is composed of great detail and depicts the court of Heaven. Mary and Jesus are the largest figures and the two are arranged in the center of the painting, making them the focus....
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...Jan Van Eyck was one of the most popular and important artist during the Renaissance. He born sometime before the year of 1395 in Maaseik, Belgium and died on July 9, 1441 in Bruges, Netherlands. He introduced the idea of oil painting. Most of his paintings consisted of undercover religious signs within portraits and religious subjects. Jan Van Eyck has a high social standing due to working in court. He worked for two courts, one was for John of Bavaria and the other was for the duke of Burgundy. Jan Van Eyck had numerous famous paintings such as the Ghent Altarpiece, Arnolfini Portrait and much more. Another one of his famous art pieces that was essential in the Renaissance period was the Virgin of canon van der Paele. This painting was...
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...Introduction to Art History – Study Guide and Image List for Final Exam Gothic Architecture in France – the opening of the wall into windows; the use of the rib vault, the flying buttress, stained glass, and increased verticality. The way structure and aesthetics were thought to merge in geometry. The role of Abbot Suger in Saint Denis and the beginning of the Gothic style. The symbolism of light. Renaissance Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture – Re-birth of classical culture; the continued development of naturalistic techniques, especially perspective; the High Renaissance achievement of Leonardo da Vinci, followed by Michelangelo and Raphael. Baroque – A continuation of the Grand Manner; in Italy, a naturalism employed for dynamic effect often in support of Counter-Reformation aims, the same bombast is used in support of the French kings and, with more Calvinist sobriety, for the new rulers of Holland where realistic tendencies tended to outweigh the idealistic approaches of the Italians. Rococo a late outgrowth of Baroque. Neo-Classic Painting – In the work of David, an idealizing style associated with the French Revolution, a heroic art looking back to classical ideals and values, and Renaissance like stability and balance of composition. In the work of his followers a less political, even conservative style. Romantic Painting – In the work of Gericault and Delacroix, the use of loose expressive brushstroke, vigorous color and light, and sometimes controversial contemporary...
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...The Classical Period The Classical Art Period consisted of ancient Greek and Roman art and fell between the years 900 BC and 31 BC. During the Classical Period, Athens and Sparta were dominant cities in the Greek region. These cities were suspicious of one another, but managed to live peacefully together until the 5th century, BC. Cultural and political differences between the two cities caused a rivalry to form. The rivalry was eventually quelled after a brutal war which ultimately ended in the demise of both cities and the rise of Macedonia as the dominant power in the region. Eventually, the social structure in the Classical Period became somewhat of a democracy and an open society which we have emulated in the United States (“History of Greece: Classical Greece”, 2014). Many other wars occurred over the course of the Classical Period, and this culture of war contributed to the realism of the art of the time. The brutality of war and the effects it had on Greek society inspired artists to focus on man, rational thinking, and logic (“History of Greece: Classical Greece”, 2014). Greek artists in the 5th century, BC began to realistically imitate humans and animals through art (Boardman, 2012). These Greek artists gained a better understanding of anatomy and the human body’s mechanics, giving them the ability to realistically render the human form in multiple positions without appearing awkward. Logic was valued over emotion in sculptures. This means that facial expressions...
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...agony in the Garden (Oil on wood) Raphael – Madonna and child enthroned with saints. (Oil and Gold on wood) Pietro Buonaccorsi – The holy family with the infant Saint John the baptist (Oil on wood) Bronzino – Portrait of a young man. (Oil on wood) Bachiacca – Madonna and Child (Oil and gold on wood) I chose these artworks because I am fascinated with the perception they had about “Rebirth” and their method to express it throughout art with their contemporary scientific knowledge. I also chose them to get the opportunity to learn more about this style (Renaissance) because I find it one of the most interesting styles ever to roam through the earth. -Raphael – The agony in the Garden (Oil on wood), Renaissance This piece shows Christ praying in the garden before his arrest with his disciples asleep around him. The small angel holding the chalice was an afterthought, replacing an earlier idea to have the chalice sit alone on the rocky hill. Raphael used not many colors in this masterpiece. Colors are low key rather than high key. There is more happening on the right side of the painting meaning that it has more visual weight but the contrast created with the colors of the disciples clothing it draws your attention to the other corner of the canvas. The focal point of this piece is the image of Christ praying. The mood of the work is peaceful, the peace before storm. -Raphael – Madonna and child enthroned with saints. (Oil and Gold on wood) Raphael painted this...
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...Giorgio Vasari (1511-74), painter and architect, born near Florence, and employed by the powerful, Florentine family, the Medici. In 1550 and then in 1568 he wrote a multi-volume book, The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Vasari’s art historical narrative, seemingly a record of the lives of certain Renaissance artists, is the account of how art gradually achieved perfection, by building upon the achievements of the past in order to ultimately attain that perfection at the beginning of the 16th century. A process Vasari himself confirms in The Lives when he says, Having very carefully turned all this over in my mind, I have come to the conclusion that it is inherent in the very nature of these arts to progress step by step from modest beginnings, and finally to reach the summit of perfection.” Vasari’s work was the first systematic history of art, and, as such, it represents an important milestone in the history of Renaissance art. It is important to recognize the structure he gave his book, for it is revealing about the kind of historical narrative that he wanted to create. Vasari wrote biographies of individual artists, thereby acknowledging the distinctive achievements of each. He then organized these separate lives into three distinct periods, introduced by prefaces in which he described the common characteristics of their artworks and also placed their work—as he sees it—into a larger narrative about what happens to art over time. Vasari’s...
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...remarkable stories, but it is also a significant part of the architecture. It is unlikely to find original stained glass windows that are still intact, and so it is not surprising that Chartres Cathedral, 50 miles southwest of Paris, is renowned for its well-preserved stained glass. Chartres began construction in 1194 and continued to assemble until 1250, and so the Rayonnant style remains somewhat cohesive throughout the cathedral. Chartres has three rose windows, created around 1235, which show some of the most stunning examples of high gothic intricacy and tracery. The north rose window depicts the glorification of the Virgin, and through its incredible complexity and striking painted glass, it shows the viewer a fragment of history. The north rose window of Chartres captures the attention of the viewer through its bold colors and elaborate story of the Virgin that explores the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are five large lancet windows below the rose window. When the viewer looks up, these are the windows seen as the eye travels up,...
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...Raphael, and The Stanza Della Segnatura Raphael Sanzio was one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance. Raphael painted and designed many brilliant pieces of work and the stanzas inside the Vatican. He was a master at such necessities of modern art such as depth and perspective and the use of light and shadow, and was the turning point styles of paintings like the use of Madonnas in paintings. Through his short life, Raphael would make some of the most awe-inspiring, beautiful, and influential works of art during the Italian Renaissance. Raphael whose full name was Raphael Sanzio, (also known as Raphael Sanzi), was born on April 6th, 1483. He was born in the town of Urbino, Italy, where he would spend his childhood life until he was 11 years old. His father, Giovanni Sanzio, was a painter for the court of Federigo da Montefeltro, and as well as being a painter, he was a bit of a poet. As a young boy, Raphael learned the basics of painting and art from his father. However, he would not live with his father very long; as his mother did several years before, Raphael's father died when Raphael was 11. After his father died, Raphael went to the town of Perugia to be an apprentice of the painter Pietro Perugino. Perugino was a well-respected artist during the Italian Renaissance. He had painted works in the Vatican, and he also created masterpieces like Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter and The Deposition. For the ten to eleven years that...
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... which is now known as modern Belgium. In the composition, three saints surround the enthroned Madonna. These three saints, according to tradition, died as martyrs for refusing to renounce their Christian faith in the early centuries of Christianity. On the left, Saint Apollonia, a virgin martyr, holds the pincers used to pull her teeth, Margaret is holding the leash of the dragon that swallowed and killed her. Saint Margaret, refused to marry the pagan governor of Antioch, was imprisoned and devoured by Satan, who came in the form of a dragon. Catherine of Alexandria, a virgin saint, is the kneeling figure, where she is pictured contemplating the palm tree branch, which is a common emblem to symbolize martyrdom. The Christ Child, places laurel leaves upon Catherine’s head, hence the title. The crown placed upon Catherine is made of laurel leaves, a symbolism of its own. The cherub above her head clutches the lightning bolts used to destroy her own torture device, the spiked wheels. The Crowning of Saint Catherine is revered as one of the most beautiful religious pictures created by Rubens within the United States. Seated upon the thrown, which is covered in beautiful and lush foliage, the Virgin Mary holds Jesus upon her lap. This scene varies drastically from the traditional imagery of Saint Catherine, but still depicts this somber yet peaceful moment of the crowning of Catherine. Virgin martyr Saint Catherine was tortured on spiked wheels when she refused the advances of...
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... Final Paper A Comparison and Contrast of the Mother Goddess Figure Introduction This paper compares and contrasts the Virgin Mary and the Egyptian mother goddess Isis. A mother goddess is a deity or persona that represents motherhood, fertility, creation or one that embodies the bounties of the Earth. The Virgin Mary and Isis each represent perspectives of what is called the Sacred Feminine or Divine Feminine. Upon first glance, it appears that the similarities between the Virgin Mary and Isis are nothing more than a coincidence. I however, think The Virgin Mary and Isis are the same entity merely altered to fit different cultural needs. Author and psychic medium, Jessica Jewett, best describes this on her web page, “The supreme mother of the universe; she is loving, wise, courageous and sacrifices herself and her family of the benefit of mankind. In modern Christian culture, this description fits the Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, but three thousand years ago and longer, this description also fit the most powerful Egyptian goddess, Isis.” (Jewett) I will be using their origins, symbols, titles, functions in religion, and seasonal festivals to compare and contrast The Virgin Mary and Isis in attempts to show how they are one in the same. Origins/Births Both Isis and The Virgin Mary are similar in the fact that they are considered divine mothers and venerated as a “life-giver”. They both had male offspring, Jesus and Horus, both of whom...
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...Jean Fouquet: Etienne Chevalier Presented by St. Stephen Van Eyck's realism soon enjoyed international renown. In Italy, Bartolomco Fazio extolled the Flemish artist in 1455/56 as the "prince of our century's painters". In France, too, where Burgundian art was already well known, the new style quickly won favour, becoming known as "la nou-velle pratique". Traces of its influence can be felt in the work of Enguerrand Charonton, and in the celebrated Pieta of Villeneuve-les-Avignon, painted c. 1470 by an anonymous master of southern France. The donor, whose face is realistically represented, is shown kneeling in an attitude of prayer at the bottom left of the Pieta. His white robe, as well as the attribute of oriental architecture (the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem) against a gold background, suggest he has travelled as a pilgrim to Jerusalem. The artist has given powerful dramatic expression to the grief of the mourners, and the intention to introduce the donor into their company seems obvious enough. Nevertheless, the gaze and gestures of the donor have not (yet) made any impression on the holy figures themselves, so that he remains outside their gestural narrative. Although part of the painting, the donor thus seems somewhat isolated within it. His gaze is intended to be directed towards the events taking place, but in order meet his patron's demands, the artist has painted him looking less into the centre of the painting than diagonally out of it. Etienne Chevalier's...
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...Introduction Welcome to the Cornell Fine Arts Museum. Has anyone visited here before? Great! Well let me tell you a little bit about the museum. This is a teaching museum, which means our mission is to educate the community. We give tours from k-12 and adults. We have free admission for all, so you are always welcome to come back! We currently have 5,000 objects. We are the only museum in central Florida to hold antiquities and American art. For this exhibition, we have selected works from our permanent collection and that’s what we will focus on today. Before we go into the gallery, I want to state the museum etiquette that is important to follow. Please do not get too close to the artwork so you don’t accidently touch them. And also, you may take photos, but please no flash! Now follow me into the Clive gallery so we can get started! The Clive gallery is divided into 4 sections: Religion Redefined, Gesture and Pose, A Sense of Place, and History and Myth. We decided to call this collection Conversations. I want to encourage you to think of what these four sections what they mean. We can do this by comparing and contrasting between works within each section and outside of each section. In each section, I will focus on 2 to 3 pieces Gesture and Pose Lets start at the gesture and pose section: Here we can learn a lot about what a pose or style of clothing says about the time period the suitor lived or who they were. Gustave Brion ...
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