4 Northern Medieval Europe Flashcards
How did Mediveal Artists depict concepts? (one way)
Personification — Nike or Victory of Samothrace represents the concept of victory in Medieval art — Liberty is another example of a female figure representing a concept. The attributed of personification can be used in all sorts of concepts — Memling, the last judgement — the Archangel judgement comes to judge us all. Showing the trinity — three heads in one. The diagram below in Trinity from the Book of Hours printed in Paris in 1507 shows the trinity perhaps even better. “The father is not the son, the Son is not the father, the Son is God, the father is God”
What is heraldry?
Heraldry is a system of signs, symbols, and emblems — modern equivalent is traffic signs — can’t identify without knowing systems.
How was heraldry used?
The shapes have meanings. Each shield represents a different family, and slight variations differentiate individual family members. Also used so troops could identify leaders. Heraldry was refined when it was added to tournaments, courts etc. It was created for practice battle purposes but was extended.
Why was heraldry significant?
Heraldry is important for historians — can give insight into when art was made and who it was made for. Example: Duke of Berry’s arms — three fleur de lis on a blue background with an engrailed red boarder. King had changed his arms from a bunch of flour de lis to just 3 to be more Holy, so we know this was later. We also know that the Duke of berry altered his arms with the boarder to differentiate himself from his relative, the king.
What is one way form changed in Medieval art?
Often legends were associated with forms from Heraldry. Merovingian King had a toad — artists copying over and over changed the form from frog to flour de lis. There is a lot of copying involved in Meideval art, and often artists aren’t aware what they are copying, allowing the form to change.
painting
Matthias Grunewald, Madonna and Child, 1515 Naturalism — painting things from life artists become much more interested in this in this time period. has Jesus playing with prayer beads, German, completed 1515. Rosary the word comes from Roses — idea of plucking petals from a rose as you recite your prayers. A red rose is depicted next to Mary in this image. Here it likely signifies spiritual love. Attributes have fluid meanings.
Hans Memling, Last Judgement Altarpiece, 1460s
St. Michael weighs souls with a pair of scales, here ultimate justice is associated with final judgement
Claus Stluter — Head from Statue representing Philip the Bold (Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404) Carved stone)
wanted choose distinct image for himself — choose artists from territories Belgium and Netherlands instead of normal French artists — this head is from Dutch artists. He had to sit for the sculpture to get it right — a bit of a milestone for French art. This kind of portraiture had not existed. Comparing him to other images of him, they resemble each other.
How did portraits from life come about?
Earlier in the 14th century when artists set out to make images of people, they had non concept of actually going to look at them to see their features. Jean Pucelle “Portrait” of Jeanne d-Evreux manuscript illumination (first artist whose works were collected in the way that people collect artist’s works today) — portraits are representations of people, not lifelike images. Getting it “right” is starting to be more important — horticultural decorative qualities are starting to represent plants more and more. When Clause Stluter paints, full fledged portraiture is made important.
When do corrective lenses start to be used by artists?
Pucelle is one of the first artists to benefit from spectacles. He uses them to work on such a small scale. Miniature painters in the 16th century often uses lenses to be able to see properly. The technology was first devised around 1300 in Western Europe and was quickly used by artists. Spectacles are sometimes portrayed on older people who need their sight corrected. These early versions are often foldable so that they can be put in one’s pocket — these are probably the kind of spectacles that Phillip the Bold would have worn.
How do spectacles start to change art?
Unknown painter, King Jean le Bon, paint on wooden panel (French, probably mid 14th c) King has red hair and image has red hair but inscription labeling him as king was added later. Optical aids help the majority of people now — the King isn’t portrayed in spectacles, but he normally wore them. Spectacles help to explain larger changes in art. Sainte-Chapelle, Pairs: each window has up to a hundred scenes. The whole thing is covered in stained glass windows. When the artists designed this in the 1240s, they had no conception of wanting the scenes to be readable by people looking up at them. You have to be quite close for the scenes to be intelligible. This contrasts greatly with Michelangelo who paints his figures in great sizes so that they can be seen from people on the ground.
How does looking evolve in Northern Medieval Europe with Kneeling figure of Phillip the Bold?
Cluse Sluter, Kneeling figure of Phillip the Bold with St. John the Baptist from the main portal of the Charteuse de Champmol Dijon, Carved stone (probably 1390s) Very big, immense figures. Phillip is kneeling in prayer, praying in front of a figure of the virgin and child on the other side of the door. The gap is a part of the portal. If you want to enter the church, you come between them. You start to participate in the scene itself, getting different views of the kneeler and virgin, sensing the relationship. It suggests an optical aspect and artfully incorporates the space to evoke a sense of looking.
compare
Claus Sluter’s portrayal of virgin and child vs. Matthew Paris’ virgin and child:
Mary becomes more approachable to the viewer — the frame around Paris’ version separates artist and viewer from Mary but we move between Sluter’s figures. This is very different from earlier french churches where statues and saints stand by themselves against church, such that you look at each in turn. Sometimes they interact with each other, but they are always things to be viewed, never to be passed through or interacted with.
The Charteuse de Champmol at Dijon
(diff details & dates for diff parts)
Claus Sluter: Well of Moses featuring Moses and King David (C de C, Dijon, Carved Stone (c.1395-1405): The monks would look at this and walk a certain route through the chapel as part of their daily ritual of contemplation. The angels are all in attitudes of extreme grief — grieving for Christ. These sculptures are clearly informed by real images of grief. Moses is depicted with horns. The horns were a mistranslation from the bible, but it was a convenience from the bible to signify Moses. His face has wrinkles and may be an actual portrait of a real person, selected to pose for the statue.
What was the general consensus on conformity in the middle ages?
in the middle ages, it was conformity that was sought — guild system, standards, often copying as precisely as possible
In the thirteenth century and earlier, artists sat out to work in the “best” style — no one talented artist would have been incentivized to distinguish himself
Describe the early life of the Limbourg brothers
First hear about Jean and Herman in Paris bc they were apprenticed to goldsmiths. They had to leave Pairs in their teens because of plague. They returned to the Netherlands and had to return through the area around Brussels which was at war with their home. They were caught and thrown in war for 6 months. They thought they could get through without trouble. They were released because they had a famous uncle.
The next time we hear about them they are working at the house of the doctor of the duke of burgundy. They were working on copying a Bible Moralisèe of the Duke’s and worked on it for two years. They got to the beginning go the book of exodus. Each miniature took them about a day and a half to copy. They used their imaginations to update everything. They introduced skies and a perspective called arial perspective (when things go more grey when they go towards the horizon). They are interested in mixing pigments and coming up with new kinds of affects. They were in the doctor’s house because they used pigments which he used. The style of some of the figured imitates aspects of Sluter’s such as the sturdy looks of draperies.
One brother is more interested in nudes and one does more costumes and is more focused on slimmer figures. The main figures for both of them are both painted in a glossy, gleaming white — not a griselle white like Pucelle — likely a technique that goldsmiths learned at the time in Paris, a glossy white enameling . Only Jean is known to have received training in goldsmithing.
What was the Très Riches Heures?
Très Riches Heures — final book: full of huge whole page pictures, a new inventions for a devotional book. January (1408ish) includes Duke of Berry. There is some documentary evidence suggesting Duke of Berry joked with brothers. Paul, the oldest brother dealt with the patron. He was maybe treated like a prince which is crazy. There is some evidence they exchanged new year’s gifts. The brothers one year gave him beautifully bound book that turned out, once Berry tried to open it, to be a block of wood. He was 50 years older than these 20 year old brothers. They have jokes in their paintings — this relationship is pretty unusual. Page 4 of January loves contemporary costumes. He isn’t very good at space, relying on superficial layering. Paul, the one who wasn’t trained as a goldsmith, is likely this artist. The duke in this image is portrayed as a portrait. the fire screen behind him acts as a kind of halo. Duke had Châteaux all over France — at least one brother came with him and included pictures of them in book as a way of flattering Duke. One Chateau is the setting for the temptation of Christ. The beautiful Chateau is part of the temptation, very flattering. The Duke was supposed to fight the English but he was more into decorating his pad and joking with his artists.
What happened to the Limbourg brothers when their first employer died?
When their Duke died they found employment with the Duke of Berry. They work for him for the rest of their careers — he died in 1416 and all three brothers died the same year likely in an outbreak of plague. The first manuscript they make it the Belles Heures. (1405-08) Sluter tomb — don’t see the faces of the monks but still sense feelings — flight out of Egypt altered to only show Mary’s back but still emphasizes relationship between Mary and child. One brother liked cluttered scenes with lots of figures who don’t relate well to setting. This third artist is likely the one who collaborate with the other two for the Duke of Burgundy — Herman. One of the three artists is very interested in contemporary French costumes.
Tres Rich Heures, Limbourg Brothers 1412-1416 (this image is of February)
Peasant scene in February is likely artist who pioneered footprints. The spacial definition is good. The road leads out eye in the distance to the town in the distance. Costume and pageantry aren’t as important as smoke and naturalistic elements. Some argue that a social point about peasant life is being made. Others argue that it is meant to be a joke about how the peasants live. March and July also use a birds eye perspective and show Chateaux of the duke of berry. They include references to legends. They know what pleases and amuses the duke and have traveled around a lot. The courtly and peasant scenes are kept separate except for in August when the falconers go in front of skinny-dipping peasants. The joke is probably on the courtiers who would rather have a swim and must be uncomfortable. The social and joking elements are linked.
Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece (Exterior), 1432, Belgium
Hubert died during the creation of the Altarpiece and it is believed that Jan finished his brother’s work.
Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece (Interior), 1432, Belgium
Hubert died during the creation of the Altarpiece and it is believed that Jan finished his brother’s work.
Ghent Altarpiece close up:
Shows commissioner Joos Vijd and his wife Elizabeth either side St. John the Baptist carrying a lamb and St. John the Evangelist.
Lamb economy… money from wool used to make altarpiece. Christ is the ‘Lamb of God’
Close up on Ghent Altarpiece: Annunciation. Shows Archangel Gabriel telling the Virgin Mary that she will have God’s son. Space between them strange. It is strongly believed that Jan Van Eyck put in the middle panels to make sense of Hubert’s work. Based of paintings of an artist Robert Campin he visited.
The upper panels contain separate lunettes showing prophets and Sibyls looking down on an annunciation scene. The prophets Zachariah on the left and Micah on the right refer to prophecies of the coming of Christ. On the right the Cumaean Sibyl gazes down at Mary, hand held in empathy over her own womb
Ghent Altarpiece Interior…Middle top.
2nd Image of John the Baptist and Virgin Mary. Middle figure must represent christ (holy trinity) the lamb underneath them represents christ also. Mistakes in altarpiece suggest this was painted by 2 people.
Scene depicting Lamb of God. Dove of Holy Spirit above. Male and female Martyrs, pagan writers, Jewish prophets and male saints gather round in Adoration. Jerusalem in background. Botanical scenes around. Features plants from all over the world blooming all at the same time- paradise.
Ghent altarpiece: Fountain of life in Centre. Left wings depict the Judges on horseback or ‘warriors of christ’. Could contain the portraits of the artists. On the right of the fountain are prophets, apostles and church figures.
ghent altarpiece – Adam and Eve realistic- used life model. Fruit and maple leaf suggest these were done by Jan who travelled to the Mediterranean (only place to find these). Adam’s foot out of frame- realism… Above the figures story of two brothers. One of them is murdered by the other out of jealousy.
The Syon Cope, 1300, England
Ceremonious cape used in Church.
It is likely that the embroidery was the work of women. However the design was a man’s responsibility.
Jean Le Noir and Bourgot Le Noir, Annunciation from the Petites Heures of Jean de Berry, 1375-80, France
The manuscript illuminator Jean Le Noir is known to have worked with his daughter, Bourgot.
Gerard Horenbout, The Virgin among Virgins page from the Grimani Breviary, 1515-20, Netherlands.
18 year old daughter illuminated a page for Dürer for one florin. Albrecht Dürer is patronising: ‘It is so wonderful that a woman can do so much.’
Hugo van der Goes, two panels from an altarpiece made for Trinity College Church, Edinburgh, 1475
Women as patrons: Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scotland. To create a worldly status she commissioned an altarpiece by a leading Netherlandish painter.
Hugo van der Goes, The Portinari Altarpiece, Italy, 1475-1482
Portraits of Tommaso Portinari with wife, Maria and three of his children.
He was a busy man and it is likely that his wife dealt with the commission.
Jean Le Noir, The Three Living and the Three Dead, Psalter and Hours of Bonne of Luxembourg, 1349, France
During 14th century, women at courts in western Europe commissionined illuminated manuscripts tailored to their devotional needs.
Claus Sluter at the Chartreuse de Champmol, Dijon, France, late 14th- early 15th century.
Duke of Burgundy rarely in Dijon. It was left to his wife Margaret of Flanders, Duchess of Burgundy, to provide creative guidance to the artists on a daily basis.
The Battle of Auray, miniature from a manuscript of Froissart’s chronicles, 1470-75, Netherlands.
Noble women developed skills in commissioning art and managing artists during the later middle ages when more wars took place.
Abbey Church, detail of Philibert’s tomb, 1505-1536, Brou, France.
Most of this work was commissioned and supervised by Philibert’s wife Margaret of Austria. Her portrait is in one of the stained-glass windows.
Christine de Pisan presents a book to the Queen of France, 1413, France.
Her writing brought about more positive attitudes to women using pictures to emphasise her view that women might be associated with education and visual culture.
Christine de Pisan presents a book to the Queen of France, 1413, France.
Her writing brought about more positive attitudes to women using pictures to emphasise her view that women might be associated with education and visual culture.
Rogier van der Weyden, Last Judgment Altarpiece, exterior view, 1440s, Beaune, France
Guigonne de Salins is depicted as an equal partner with her husband Nicolas Rolin.
Rogier van der Weyden, Last Judgment Altarpiece, interior view, 1440s, Beaune, France
Because of Eve in Genesis, women were often associated with sinfulness. However, this Last Judgment shows the same amount of men as women being sent to Hell.
Rogier van der Weyden, Altarpiece of the Seven Sacraments, early 1450s, Antwerp.
New interpretations of marriage enabled women to be depicted on equal terms with men.
Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Double Portrait, 1434, NG London.
Whoever they are, it seems reasonably clear that their relationship is an intimate, loving one. Showing them holding hands, like lovers, seems to underline this. (woman is equal)
Master of the Housebook, A Loving Couple (German, c.1475)
Philipp von Hanau- Munzenberg. After death of wife he lived with his mistress Margaret, who bore him three children. The picture may have been executed as a token of the couple’s love for each other. (woman represented as an equal)
Rogier van der Weyden, Deposition Altarpiece, early 1430s, Prado, Madrid.
Pose of the dead christ as he is taken down from the cross is mirrored in the feinting Virgin Mary. Woman equal to men.
Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child, early 1450s, France
Although the changes led to liberation for some women, it opened the way for a new kind of exploitation on the visual sensuousness of the female body. Artists were obliged to confront female sexuality by the early 16th century.
Albrecht Dürer, self-portrait (aged 19), Ink drawing, 1491
Dürer’s earlier self-portraits reflect his mood. Capturing emotion contributed to his eventual style. As a teen he depicted fluctuating feelings through facial expressions and body language.
Self-Portrait Oil (1500)
As Dürer got older he preferred to present himself as more composed. Facing forward, Durer resembles the figure of God on the Ghent Altarpiece. Dürer compares himself to Christ. He implies that there is a divine nature to his creativity in the portrait.
Albrecht Dürer, Willow mill, 1506 watercolour.
The watercolour technique was brought about by Durer; it immediately became immensely popular. It enabled artists to capture different times of day in art very quickly…as well as representing changeable emotions he could now represent changeability of weather.
The Four Apostles, oil on wood, 1526
Durer’s art changed under the influence of Lutheranism. By 1526, Durer was attempting to reject the long practised iconographical altarpiece, replacing it with sober depictions of the Apostles. He begins to personify the four humours in figures, particularly melancholy.
