1.2 - Art from Venice Flashcards
Throughout the 15th century and into the 16th, venice was one of the most powerful city-states in all of europe. This was celebrated in Vittore carpaccio´s lion of st. mark, painted in 1516 for a government office in the city´s ducal palace.
The lion is the symbol of the city´s patron saint, mark the evangelist. He stands with his front paws on land and his hind paws in the water, signifying venice´s dominion over land and water. behind the lion to the left is the ducal palace, the source of the city´s order and harmony. The byzantine domes of st. mark´s cathedral rise behind it, the basis of the city´s moral fabric, and the giant bell towe that stands on the far left housing the 5 bells of st. mark´s, one of which is chimed to announce the beginning and end of each working day. behind the lion to the right is a fleet of venetian merchant ships, source of the city´s wealth and prosperity.
- Titian (1488/90-1576)*
- favoured paintings with complex iconography. Classified his paintings as poetry. Painted in 1518, his bacchanal derives from classical mythology. He popularized the type of strawberry blond female seen here, portrayed with his sensuous handling of flesh.*
The richness of his paintings is because of his use of an underpainting of red bolus (an earth pigment), rather than the usual green-black underpainting. He also used impasto (thick paint made by mixing the pigment with beeswax). He is associated with the so-called golden glow of venitian painting, achieved by adding a bit of yellow pigment to the final protective glaze applied to the painting.
