Portinari Altarpiece

Question 1

subject?

Answer 1

The central panel of the triptych depicts the adoration of the shepherds. Kneeling angels surround the Virgin and the Child, who is not in a crib but lies on the ground surrounded by an (halo) of golden rays.

Question 1

Location

Answer 1

Commissioned for the main altar of the church, Sant’ Edigo, connected to the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova.

Question 2

Saint Bridget of Sweden?

Answer 2

Unusual representation of the adoration of Jesus is based on one of the visions of Saint Bridget of Sweden.

Question 3

Continuous narrative?

Answer 3

The background shows the same characters repeated in the main subject: the annunciation of the Shepherds ( the angel tells the shepherds of Christ’s birth). Prefigures the adoration of the Shepherds depicted in the foreground.

Question 4

Closed altarpiece?

Answer 4

Kept closed except for special occasions such as holy days and feast days. When closed, the altarpiece depicts the Annunciation (foreshadowing the events of the open altarpiece). The Virgin Mary the Angel are rendered in Gabriel in grisaille (a Medieval tradition), allowing van der Goes to exhibit his considerable artistic skill.

Question 5

Open Altarpiece?

Answer 5

The period viewer would have been stunned by the elaborate details and bright colours of the open altarpiece - providing a guidebook to spiritual revelation.

Question 6

Northern Renaissance style?

Answer 6

Demonstrated by the minute attention to detail, mastery of oil paint, focus on luxurious fabrics, heightened realism (as opposed to the idealised style of the Italian Renaissance) and complex symbolism.

Question 7

Angels in liturgical vestments?

Answer 7

All wear a linen alb. Some wear the liturgical cope, others wear the Dalmatic cope. Worn during the Solemn High Mass by the archpriest and deacons (according to hierarchy).
Reminded the Renaissance viewer of the holy sacrament (the Eucharist) that took place at the altar, where the triptych altarpiece would have been placed.

Question 8

Sheaf of wheat?

Answer 8

Another reference to the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Question 9

The shadowed angel?

Answer 9

Ambiguous representation: bathed in shadow however hands clasped in prayer - interpreted by some as a representation of Satan and a reminder to the Renaissance viewer of the presence of temptation and sin (thus necessitating Christ’s future sacrifice).

Question 10

The ox and the donkey?

Answer 10

Ox raises its head in recognition of Christ - represents those who have accepted him. The donkey tilts his head downward - representing those who live in blindness of Christ.

Question 11

Discarded clog?

Answer 11

Symbolises the removal of a shoe before entering a holy place - underscoring the sacredness of Christ’s birth, despite the lowly setting.

Question 12

Romanesque building?

Answer 12

Symbolises the Old Testament coming to an end with the arrival of Christ

Question 13

Scarlet lilies, white and purples irises, purple violets, red carnations

Answer 13

Represents the Passion - reminding the Renaissance viewer of the promise of salvation made possible by Christ’s sacrifice

Question 14

Apothecary vase

Answer 14

reinforces the altarpiece’s original hospital location

Question 15

Giorgio Vasari Lives of the artists

Answer 15

Favoured a narrative that placed the birth of the Renaissance in Florence. His partisan account made little reference to Northern Renaissance artists, suggesting that they were largley inspired by Italian art as its ideas gradually migrated North.

Question 16

Increasing artistic exchange between northern Europe and Italy in the late 15th c

Answer 16

Due to an increasingly wealthy merchant class that travelled for work and pleasure, as well as the development of the printing press (1420s) which spread new ideas. Northern artists such as Albrecht Durer travelled to Italy and brought his experiences back to Germany.

Question 17

Impact on Italian Renaissance art

Answer 17

When the altarpiece finally arrived in Florence from Bruges at the church of Sant’Egidio, it had a direct effect on Italian artistic production. The shepherds in Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Shepherds painted two years after the Portinari Altarpiece are rendered in similar individualized detail and take the same formation as the van der Goes altarpiece. The Portinari Altarpiece suggests Northern Renaissance artists influenced their Italian counterparts more than Vasari acknowledged.

Question 18

Tomaso Portinari (patron)?

Answer 18

Ran a branch of the Medici bank in Bruges. Tommaso’s ancestor had founded the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. In the 1420s, the Portinari family supported further renovations to the hospital. He commissioned the altarpiece for the main altar of the hospital’s church of Sant’Edigo as a way to simultaneously perpetuate his family’s name in conjunction with the city of Florence and the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. The Portinari Altarpiece stands as a highlight of Tommaso’s career and the public image he hoped for his family name to retain.

Question 19

Left and right panels

Answer 19

Depicts Tomaso and his sons in kneeling donor portraits on the left panel with Saint Mark and Saint Anthony - whose presence makes a connection to the altarpiece’s original hospital location. His wife and daughter are depicted on the right panel with Mary Magdalene and St Margaret - the patron saint of childbirth - emphasizing her duty to continue the Portinari lineage.

Question 20

Hugo ven der Goes (artist)

Answer 20

Master of light and minute descriptive details, secured important commissions from the Burgundian court and associations of Italian business people based in the Burgundian Netherlands.

Question 21

Oil paint

Answer 21

The use of oil paint allows van der Goes to create a sense of extreme realism and verisimilitude. Remained workable for longer than egg tempera (primarily used by Italian Renaissance artists) which allowed him to create greater modulations of colour to add depth.

Question 22

Size and scale

Answer 22

Central panel is 10 feet wide. Size and scale allows for complex iconography and minute rendering of detail.

Question 23

Northern Renaissance influence on Italian Renaissance art

Answer 23

The Portinari Altarpiece suggests that the latter half of the fifteenth century was characterized by increased artistic exchange between northern European and Italian artists. After its display in Florence, there is increased individualism in Italian faces and a
swift rise in the use of oil paint in Italian city-states.