Midterm Images Flashcards
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Michelangelo
1508-1512
- Bel composto - “beautiful composition”, whole environment of art (painting, sculpture, architecture)
- story of the beginning of the Bible - establishes the legitimacy of the papacy visually
- scenes of creation, prophecies, bible stories
- Sistine chapel was for the cardinals - meeting place, liturgical services, etc
- figures are very sculptural, drawing from the Apollo Belvedere & Torso Belvedere
Laocoon and his sons
First century BCE
- hellenistic style
- from Virgils’s Aeneid
- Laocoon is a Trojan priest that warns the Trojans against the horse & is punished by the gods
- trojans take this as a sign that the horse is sacred
- lot of movement & STRONG emotion
- priest, but w/robust musculature
- influential to Michelangelo
- theatricality and proportionate in anatomy
Ignudi
Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
- Like the Torso Belvedere
- very muscular
- massive thighs
- very specific pose
- very influential for Michelangelo
- michelangelo viewed himself as a sculptor instead of a painter
- figures in sistine paintings are very sculptural
School of Athens
Raphael
- In the Stanza della Segnatura
- very linear
- Portraits of famous people as famous artists
- Zoroaster w/celestial globe
- Raphael in black cap next to Zoroaster
- Aristotle & Plato (da vinci)
- Eucllid
- Pythagoras
- all the great thinkers, philosophers, mathematicians, etc. of antiquity
- shows the ability to create the figures of famous people with a nod to the artists
Plan of Rome
Gian Francesco Bordoni
1588
- relates to the Burroughs article about the urbanization under Sixtus V
- new urbanization = new streets, cult of saints
- star shaped in new city plan
- symbol of sixtus’ family
- symbol of the saints
- friendly for the pilgrims (reminiscent of CoR)
- connection of the early pagan christian past to the christian empire
- columns of Trajen & Marcus Arelius = antiquities
- emperors - very good & just rulers, expanded the empire
- covered in papyrus design & decorof battle stories
- sixtus keeps the monuments & adds significant apostles of St. Peter & Paul on top
- Egyptian obelisks moved to important spots in the city
- in front of early christian churches
- pagan aesthetic is adopted & added to (globe or star & cross on top)
- Trident w/3 street split w/obelisk focus
- three streets branch out from the piazza into the city
- repaired aqueduct & made new water fountains/sources
Pantheon, Rome
- key element is the dome
- arches are built in the masonry of the walls
- traditional column front, dome in the back
- 143ft in height & diameter = widest span in antiquity
- shallow dome w/occulous (eye) in center of the room
- Dome is “stepped” to lighten the weight
- also drainage advantage
- made of volcanic stone = very strong but light weight material
- Interior has coffers in the dome for design & also to lighten weight
Il Gesù
Façade by Giacomo della Porta
1575-84 (left)
Plan by Giacomo Vignola (right)
- IHS=greek abbrev for Jesus, symbol of the Jesuits
- Cardinal Alexander Farnese = patron
- date is in Roman numerals MDLXXV
- 1,000+500+50+10+10+5 = 1575
- della Porta’s facade design is classicized
- scroll work at 2nd floor
- not so much sculptural decoration (no angels)
- not recessed side aisles
- layered half moon arches w/cut outs = very odd for the time
- Vignola’s church plan
- large nave absorbs transepts
- multiple altars
- unpainted = undecorated, reflection of the reformation
- small chapels on the side w/ability to travel thru them (side aisles)
Illustrations from Fontana’s Treatise on Moving Obelisks
Plans for St. Peter’s
Bramante (Left)
Michelangelo (Right)
Bramane wanted to do a central plan
- circular design = no beginning, no end = very holy
- divine geometry in nature = harmonious = increased spiriituality
- human can fit/be drawn within a circle
- secondary spaces, compartmentalizes
Bramante Dies, Michelangelo simplifies the plan
- 4 corners of the dome were already built
- important b/c it’s the strength & support for the dome
- has to work with the already made layout
- no compartments
- Giant Order of Pillaster
- double story pillaster that continues all the way up & engaged columns
- verticality
St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome
façade by Carlo Maderno
- classic temple elements
-
required elements (by Sixtus’ demand):
- 5 doors (same as old st peter’s)
- symbolic significance - some only were open on holy days or even holy YEARS
- benedictine logge - balcony in the middle for the pope to greet the people
- 5 doors (same as old st peter’s)
- building has to be carried all the way to the columns
- instead of columns, space (porch), then doors
- view of the dome is sacrificed
- Domenico Fontana & Giacomo della Porta made the dome
The Bean-Eater
Annibale Carracci
1583-4
- lower class man
- clothes, room, beans
- beans are a humble food
- finish on the painting is very rough
- light on the face from the window & the back is in shadow
- Genre painting - range of subject matters, every day scenes
- Carracci is an early adopter of genre painting
Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine
Annibale Carracci
- carracci is known for his religious works
- catherine wouldn’t renounce her faith, they tried to kill her
- tried to stretch her on a wheel
- wheel is symbol connected to catherine
- catherine is accepting a ring from baby Jesus
- “married” to her faith
- she wouldn’t marry a pagan = true to her faith
- SYNTHESIS - taking the best elements of old artists’ styles & seamlessly puts them together
- catherine is dressed elaborately
- braided hair, crown of gold & pearls
- facial features are stylistic of Veronese
- mary is very plain
- plain dress, sandaled feet
- normal “real” face
Loves of the Gods/
Triumph of (Sacred) Love
Annibale Carracci
Ceiling of the Gallery, Palazzo Farnese
1597-1601
- first “baroque” ceiling painting
- commissioned for the Duke Farnese to the niece of Pope Clement = important Papal families connection
- Elements of a pagan subject (vs sistine chapel)
- stories of drunken frollicking & violence and love
- cautionary tales for the future couple
- stories of the gods getting into trouble
- “canvases” = quadro riportato
- 3D looking paintings in grayscale like sculpture holding up the paintings = grisaille
Andromeda
Annibale Carracci
Ceiling of Gallery at Palazzo Farnese
1597-1601
- From Ovid’s Metamorphoses - stories of physical transformations
- paragone - artistic debate about which of the arts is most superior
- specifically here a comparison of sculpture & painting
- andromeda looks like a statue b/c she is beautiful, perfect, & pale
- perseus says her flowing hair and tears made her real
- sea serpent is being turned into stone by medusa’s head
- paintings above are references to the sculptures below (in the gallery)
Perseus and Phineas
Annibale Carracci
Ceiling of Gallery at Palazzo Farnese
1597-1601
- Phineas is angry b/c he was supposed to marry andromeda, shows up at marriage banquet
- perseus turns Phineas & his guys into stone w/medusa’s head
- referring to sculptures below as if the sculptures below were once “real” people, turned to stone
Cardsharps
Caravaggio
1595
- intended for general audience = every day scene
- not emulating a classical style
- painting of regular people
- clothes of 2 guys are attempting to look dandy, but holes in gloves gives it away
- young guy is being duped by the men
- one is over the shoulder, signalling the other
- other is pulling cards from his belt
- very little info of the background
- attention to detail w/oil painting
- shine of satiny clothes, polished nails, glint on the hilt of sword
- many characters had swords b/c caravaggio was kinda violent, got into a lot of fights
Calling of St. Matthew
Caravaggio
Contarelli Chapel
S. Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
1599-1600
- commissioned for a French church for St. Louis that’s in Rome
- 2 power groups vying for control - orders like the Franciscans & the Oratorians that were for the poor vs orders that wanted things that would dazzle the “mysteries” of religion = glory of god & splendor
- Caravaggio was pro 1st party
- Christ & st peter are coming in from the right, christ has just a hint of halo
- light & dark (tenebrism) is very exaggerated, info is lost/hidden
- picture can be split in to
- left side has figures that looks like the card sharps = real
- right side has figures dressed like old biblical = historical
- christ’s extended hand looks like the hand of God from creation of Adam, sistine chapel
- Guys are surprised = truth
- some don’t look = ignorance
- identity of matthew is not sure
- caravaggio liked to be deliberately vague
Judith and Holofernes
Artemisia Gentilischi
c. 1620
- Inspired by Caravaggio, especially with the use of tenebrism
- likes the biblical story of Judith & Holofernes b/c it’s a strong female heroine
- Artemisia was raped by Agostino Tassi & it made her paint a lot of strong heroines & victims
- anatomy is soft - general is not as muscular
- “real”-women are having to work at holding him down & beheading him; clothes are all disheveled, blood everywhere
- symbolic
- women are overpowering the man both real & spatially
- sword makes a cross = biblical reference
Conversion of St. Paul
Caravaggio
Cerasi Chapel
c. 1600
- was known as saul, a persecutor of Christians
- blinded by a bright light/God as punishment
- tell the people what he saw, that he’s a believer, sight is restored
- Dramatic movement
- paul has fallen off of horse & reaches out w/closed eyes in blindness
- horse & servant look confused
- dramatic light
- tenebrism - no background, looks like paul is in spotlight
- strong diagonal
- part of 3 images about one’s faith
Assumption of the Virgin
Annibale Carracci
Cerasi Chapel, Rome
1600
- Known as “classical baroque” or “academic baroque”
- emphasis on tradition & color
- smoother finish like Raphael
- the “non-divine” people have very surprised looks
- shows real reactions, really dramatic, they’re shocked
- bridging the abstract idea of virgin ascending into Heaven & the reality of how ppl would react
- facial types are varied and real
- figures are twisting & moving
- Mary has fuller, rounder face, simple hairstyle, simplle flowing clothes
- Body is huge in the painting - looks like she’s going to hit the frame (with direct view)
- altar piece w/two caravaggio paintings on each side (crucifixion of st peter & conversion of st paul)
- all 3 tell story of person’s faith -
- even if you are a great sinner you can change/be saved (paul)
- ultimate sacrifice for one’s faith (peter)
- if you are good, you will rise up w/the angels to god (virgin)
Salome with the head of John the Baptist
Guido Reni
1630-35
- beautiful woman, very peaceful & serene
- classical face, soft light
- john’s head on a plate isn’t gruesome
- looks like he’s sleeping
- saucer hides the gruesome, no blood or cut
- taking something gruesome & making it pretty, serene
Aurora
Guido Reni
Casino Rospigliosi, Rome
1613-14
- tied into meanings of the specific family
- aurora is the personification of dawn
- first representation of Aurora as an icon of time/dawn
- putti are blowing winds at the edges
- Apollo in chariot is moving the sun across the sky
- A new day, a new time
- Represents a new “dawn”/era under the Rospigliosi family
- Women around Apollo are based on sculpture relief of the Borghese Dancers
- horses layered in very similar coloring, also referencing the style of how depth was created in sculptural reliefs
Aurora
Guercino and Agostino Tassi
Villa Ludovisi, Rome
1621-23
- aka Triumph of Aurora
- guercino was the main artist, Tassi was the architectural specialit
- aurora is also an icon of dawn & time
- the “Hore” or Hours are in front
- di sotto in su = from below, upwards, looking at the underside of the horses, the chariot, aurora looks over the side
- ceiling programs are a “panegyric celebraation of the Ludovisi Family”
- new dawn/new era under the Ludovisi papacy
- small building in painting represents the Ludovisi vinyard
- Lunettes on eitheer side of the painting
- personification of day (Il Giorno) is classicized, mythological. dynamic visually w/light consistent w/middle painting
- personification of night (la notte) is not nice, exhausted looking woman, open book on lap with closed eyes = ignorance & spiritual destitution. symbol of what has come before & what the dawn will fix. architecture is same as day but dilapidated & cave like. dawn & others peek in
Allegory of Fame
Guercino and Agostino Tassi
Villa Ludovisi, Rome
- narrative continuing from ground floor
- personifications of honor & virtue
- angel bringing 2 crowns - laurel & ducal
- Bird is a phoenix, symbol of rebirth and also in mythology the bringer of the sun/dawn
- colored in red & gold - colors of the ludovisi family
- Aurora heads east on chariot, conquers night, and the virtuous triump is shown in Allegory of Fame
- 3 rays of light connect 2nd & ground floors, while also referencing the family tree
Apollo and Daphne
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
1622-25
- cupid makes apollo fall madly in love with daphne
- daphne is fleeing from him & asks her river god father for help
- father transforms her into a laurel tree
- apollo still loves the tree, hugs it and kisses it and says that her leaves will decorate the heads of leaders & gives it his youth & immortality (making it an evergreen)
- laurel is symbol of immortality for rulers, etc
- sculpture is of moment when apollo is gaining on daphne & she is transforming
- hands turning into branches & leaves, feet/toes are growing roots
David
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- right in the moment of release - twisted pose
- thinking face (furrowed brow & pursed lips) & physical movement (twisting for the wind up) = balance = action of body & mind
- armor at his feet = spoils of war = victory/triumph over goliath
- beginning POV is at the feet w/military elements = seen as military defeat/triumph
- moving around the statue, long diagonals of the leg & drapery
- 360 narrative by twisting the coposition
- The way we see the statues now (removed & placed elsewhere) is not how they were meant to be seen
- Kenseth thinks more like 200 or 180 degree view
- visual models - polyphemus & borghese gladiator
- textures are awesome
- thought to be a bit of a self portrait
Costanza Bonarelli
Bernini
1635
Portrait of Louis XIV
Bernini
1665
Portrait of Scipione Borghese
Bernini
Define the term, and give an example of a piece of art.
quadro riportato
Definition: is the Italian phrase for “carried picture” or “transported paintings”. It is used in art to describe gold-framed easel paintings or framed paintings that are seen in a normal perspective and painted into a fresco. The ceiling is intended to look as if a framed painting has been placed overhead.
Example: Ceiling of the Gallery, Palazzo Farnese
Annibale Carracci
Loves of the Gods/
Triumph of (Sacred) Love
1597-1601
Define the term, and give an example of a piece of art.
di sotto in su
Definition: means “seen from below” or “from below, upward” in Italian
Example: Aurora
Guercino and Agostino Tassi,
Villa Ludovisi, Rome
1621-23
Define the term, and give an example of a piece of art.
panegyric
Definition: a formal public speech, or (in later use) written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing.
Example: ceiling paintings in the Villa Ludovisi (like Aurora), praising the family & the new “dawn” or era of the papacy.
Define the term, and give an example of a piece of art.
paragone
Definition: Italian, meaning comparison, is a debate from the Italian Renaissance in which one form of art (architecture, sculpture or painting) is championed as superior to all others.
Example: “Andromeda”
Annibale Carracci
1597-1601
Ceiling of Gallery at Palazzo Farnese
Define the term, and give an example of a piece of art.
grisaille
Definition: A method of painting in gray monochrome, typically to imitate sculpture. Decoration in tones of a single color and especially gray designed to produce a three-dimensional effect.
Example: Ceiling of the Gallery, Palazzo Farnese
Annibale Carracci
Loves of the Gods/
Triumph of (Sacred) Love
1597-1601
Define the term, and give an example of a piece of art.
tenebrism
Definition: from the Italian tenebroso (murky), also called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro (extreme contrasts of light and dark) and darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image.
Caravaggio, a Baroque artist, is generally credited with the invention of the style & Artemisia Gentileschi was a big user also.
Examples: Calling of St. Matthew
Caravaggio
Contarelli Chapel
S. Luigi dei Francesi
Rome
1599-1600
Judith and Holofernes
Artemisia Gentileschi
c. 1620
