Final Exam Flashcards
title, artist, date, location, medium
Bacchus, Michelangelo, 1496, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, marble
- Bacchus = roman god of wine
- small figure next to him = a faun
- very accurate representation
- The statue was bought for the Medici and transferred to Florence in 1572
- this particular version is an ambiguous rendition of Bacchus; Michelangelo portrays him losing control of rationality due to the wine
- The point: “the loss of inhabitions is inside us all”
title, artist, date, location, medium
Last Supper, Leonardo (da Vinci), 1490’s, Santa Maria delle Grazie, tempera wall mural
- current location: Milan
- Jesus = central figure
- what’s interesting about this particular version of the Last Supper:
- it’s a lively scene, not quiet
- it shows the moment right after Jesus reveals that someone will betray him
***could be part of a comparison essay on our exam!
title, artist, date, location, medium
Madonna of the Stairs, 1491, Museo di Casa Buonarroti (Florence), marble bas-relief sculpture
- sculpted around 1491, when Michelangelo was about seventeen
- Michelangelo’s earliest surviving work
- bas-relief = “a kind of sculpture in which shapes are carved so that they are only slightly higher than the flat background”
- He never used this style again in his career
title, artist, date, location, medium
Donitondo, Michelangelo, 1504, Uffizi Gallery, oil and tempera on wood
-the only finished panel painting by the mature
Michelangelo to survive
- the painting is in the form of a tondo, or round frame (for the bed chamber)
- commissioned by Agnolo Doni to commemorate his marriage to Maddalena Strozzi, the daughter of a powerful Tuscan family
- they were typical Florentine merchants; they weren’t smart, but they had money and they wanted to invest it because it was the cool thing to do
- scene takes place in foreground w/ holy family
- separation between fore and background stands out
title, artist, date, location, medium
David, Michelangelo, 1501-04, Galleria dell’Accademia, marble
- different from other Davids because: Michelangelo’s version shows the moment before the killing of Goliath, not after
- originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral (Duomo)
- instead, statue was placed outside the Palazzo Vecchio, where it was unveiled in 1504
- it symbolized the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states
- David’s eyes were turned towards Rome, as a warning
- statue was moved to the Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence, in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a replica
***Possible comparison essay on exam
title, artist, date, location, medium
Deposition (The Florentine Pieta), Michelangelo, 1550, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, marble
- Michelangelo made many versions of Pietas during his life
- shows Nicodemus taking body of christ down from the cross
- self portrait of Michelangelo
- symbolism of friends taking loved ones “down from the cross”
-According to Vasari, Michelangelo made the Florence Pietà to decorate his tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
title, artist, date, location, medium
Creation of Adam, Michelangelo, 1510, Sistine Chapel (Vatican City), fresco
- pope commissioned Michelangelo to paint this famous fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
- illustrates the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God breathes life into Adam, the first man
- Adam is surrounded by dust, dirt, and earth (shows us his humanity), and is placed on the same level as God
- one of the most replicated religious paintings of all time
title, artist, date, location, medium
Last Judgement, Michelangelo, 1540’s, Sistine Chapel (Vatican City), fresco
- painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel
- painted during the reformation of Martin Luther, when a moral and political crisis was happening
- Depicts the Second Coming of Christ and the final judgment by God of all humanity
- Mannerist style
- lacks harmony and peace represented in traditional Renaissance works
- dark and dramatic in subject matter AND style
title, artist, date, location
New Sagresty, Michelangelo, 1520-34, Basilica of San Lorenzo
- allegory of dusk and dawn
- original touch
- New sagresty came after the old sagresty
- both were special rooms that held graves of the Medici family
title, artist, date, location, medium
Pope Leo X, Raffaello, 1517, Uffizi Gallery, oil on wood
- Raffaello’s art = epitome of High Renaissance style
- Raffaello wasn’t from Tuscany, but he worked a bit in Florence
- One of the two Medici popes
- In contrast to Raffaello’s works depicting classical, idealised Madonnas and figures from antiquity, this portrait shows the subject in a realistic manner
title, artist, date, location, medium
Pope Julius II, Raffaello, 1510, Uffizi Gallery, oil on wood
- pope Julius came right after pope Leo X
- commissioned majestic grave for himself in Rome
- nicknamed the “warrior pope”
- apparent in his older, more bitter depiction
title, artist, date, location, medium
Madonna in the Meadow, Raffaello, 1506, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna), oil on wood
- managed to elaborate on landscape like da Vinci, but still have Boticelli - like elements
- triangular composition
- two children (cousins):
- St. John the Baptist (left)
- Jesus (right)
-Mary’s dress = symbolic:
- blue symbolizes the church
- red symbolizes Christ’s death
- the Madonna symbolizes the uniting of Mother Church with Christ’s sacrifice (blue + red)
title, artist, date, location, medium
School of Athens, Raffaello, 1510, Apostolic Palace (Vatican City), fresco
- ecclectic (derives ideas, style and taste from a broad and diverse range of sources)
- shows Plato (middle left), Aristotle (middle right), and some of the most important philosphers of Western World
- 2 sculptures in the background:
- one on the left = god Apollo (god of light, archery and music)
- one on the right = Athena (goddess of wisdom)
-this particular painting is seen as Raffaello’s masterpiece and the perfect embodiment of the classical spirit of the High Renaissance
title, artist, date, location, medium
Deposition, Rosso Fiorentino, 1521, Pinacoteca Comunale di Volterra (Italy), altarpiece
- Mannerism (dark, dramatic elements)
- Fiorentino and Pontormo = the main artists of the mannerist style
- considered Fiorentino’s masterpiece
- initially painted for the Duomo
- In contrast to the frozen grief of other depositions, this one appears as a hurried and complicated operation, while the figures below have simple and forceful expressions of quiet grief, with powerful expressions hinted at by hidden faces
***could be a comparison essay on the test
title, artist, date, location, medium
Wedding of Mary, Rosso Fiorentino, 1523, San Lorenzo, oil on wood
- less dramatic than some of his other works
- St. Mary and (surprisingly young) St. Joseph are pictured
- fiorentino was a follower of Savonarola
- hence his different interpretations of some biblical stories
title, artist, date, location, medium
Madonna (aka Pala of Spedalingo), Rosso Fiorentino, 1518, Uffizi Gallery, tempera on wood
- Fiorentino’s most famous painting
- common subject, but element of eeriness in this version
- Creepy-looking St. John (on right) = realism
- Fiorentino followed Savonarola, who said:
- “follow example of Saints in their life and their suffering”
- commissioned by a man who later rejected the painting and teased Fiorentino for his devil-like depictions of the saints
- Fiorentino eventually fled because he felt misunderstood
title, artist, date, location, medium
Emmaus Supper, Pontormo, 1530, Uffizi Gallery, oil on canvas
- Mannerism
- dark background/strange creepy figures
- painted for group of monks as a ‘thank you’ for giving Pontormo shelter during this dark time (German control) in Florence
- subject:
- two apostles who are joined by a mysterious stranger while walking together toward the town of Emmaus after death of Jesus
- three travelers stop to eat at Emmaus & stranger reveals himself to be Jesus, proving his resurrection
title, artist, date, location, medium
Visitation, Pontormo, 1528, SS. Annunziata (Florence), fresco
-Fiorentino & Pontormo were aliens of their time
- they took over the art world with their strange styles
- they came out of nowhere
- subject = visitation between Mary and her cousin (St. Elizabeth)
- A perfect example of Pontormo’s early style
- Haunted faces and elongated bodies are characteristic of his work
- touching and eerie at the same time
title, artist, date, location, medium
Salt Cellar, Cellini, 1540’s, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna), enameled gold sculpture
- Cellini was a gifted goldsmith
- for king Francis I of France
- depicts a male figure representing the sea and a female figure that represents the earth
- small vessel for salt is placed next to the male figure & temple-shaped box for pepper is placed next to the female figure
- was given as a gift to the Hapsburgs
title, artist, date, location, medium
Cosimo I, Cellini, 1540’s, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Bronze
- Cellini represented him as a Roman general
- Cosimo did not like how Cellini portrayed him
- he thought it was too detailed
- expression was too tough
-one of a series of bust-length sculptures that Cosimo commissioned from the leading sculptors of the day
title, artist, date, location, medium
The Rape of the Sabine Women, Giambologna, 1570, Loggia dei Lanzi, marble
- original = in the Loggia
- what makes it so unique: 360 degree spiral-like structure
- subject: Greek soldiers have no women, cannot start civilization without women
- took women/raped them
- killed the men (husbands)
-all of the sculptures in the Loggia have something to do with killing and violence
title, artist, date, location, medium
Perseus, Cellini, 1550’s, Loggia dei Lanzi, Bronze
- Perseus holding the head of Medusa, the mythological monster who turns people into stone
- he used knowledge and cunning to kill Medusa without looking her in the eye
- Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, commissioned the work
- political; portraying himself as a knowledgeable Perseus
title, artist, date, location, medium
Portrait (of Cosimo I in Armour), Bronzino, 1540’s, Uffizi Gallery, oil on wood
***I’m not sure if this is the specific portrait our professor is testing us on. She said the title was “Portrait,” but Bronzino made many portraits in the 1540’s. Here are some notes, just in case:
- Bronzino = late mannerist artist
- Cosimo I was a very important leader during this time
- he wasn’t as open-minded as other Medicis
- he brought stability and control
- this = the time when Vasari was commissioned to build the Uffizi
- Bronzino = painter of Cosimo I and the court
- his style is wonderfully controlled; he controlled his emotions
title, artist, date, location, medium
Eleonora of Toledo, Bronzino, 1540’s, Uffizi Gallery, oil on wood
- frozen, orderly structure
- one of his most famous works
- considered one of the most distinguised examples of Mannerist portraiture
- Painting depicts Eleanor of Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I, sitting with her hand resting on the shoulder of her son
- this gesture, as well as the pomegranate motif on her dress, referred to her role as mother
title, artist, date, location, medium
Cappelle Principi, early 1600’s, San Lorenzo
-Perfect example of Baroque architecture
- overly decorated/extravagant
- dramatic contrast between light and dark materials
- provokes sense of being overwhelmed (idea that you need to feel small in front of everything - awe stricken)
- Medici family ask Michelangelo to create this place in the early 1500’s, and in the 1600’s they added their chapel
- dome on this chapel = second largest in Florence
title, artist, date, location, medium
Calling of St. Matthew, Caravaggio, 1599, San Luigi dei Francesi (Rome), oil on canvas
-Baroque
- element of darkness
- spotlight effect = dramatic
- subject:
- St. Matthew = tax collector who met Jesus
- Caravaggio was very realistic in his representation of people, especially the poor people he often painted
- the light is symbolic of Jesus entering the indoor space/ “calling” St. Matthew
title, artist, date, location, medium
San Gaetano, early 1600’s, Florence
- one of the few Baroque churches in Florence
- facade = simple
- interior = overly ornate; highly decorated and dark
- the church was built for the Theatine order, who obtained funding from the noble families in Florence, including the Medicis
- built at the site of a Romanesque church
title, artist, date, location, medium
David, Bernini, 1623, Galleria Borghese (Rome), marble
- Bernini = most famous Baroque sculptor
- David is a subject we’ve seen many times, but this is new
- intense motion (360 degree spiral like Giambologna Rape of the Sabine Women)
- intense emotion (biting lip)
***could be on a comparison essay
title, artist, date, location, medium
Song, Lega, 1860, Galleria dell’Arte Moderna (Palazzo Pitti), oil on canvas
- everyday scene
- a time when artists began to leave studios and went into the world
- light enters through window
- beautiful Tuscan countryside
- bourgeois (middle class) began in this century
- these people could afford to buy art, all of a sudden
- they wanted to be represented as graceful and nice
title, artist, date, location, medium
Head, Rosso, late 1800’s, Palazzo Pitti (?), wax on plaster
- form as we knew it was disappearing
- investigation/experimentation of materials
- Rosso lived in France for part of his life
title, artist, date, location, medium
Dynamism of a Dog, Balla, 1912, Albright-Knox Art Gallery (New York), oil on canvas
- style: futurism
- aka: a style of the fine arts developed originally by a group of Italian artists around 1910, in which forms were used to represent rapid movementand dynamic motion.
- investigtion of movement clearly represented in both an interesting and funny way
