Test 1 Flashcards
Rennaissance Period
1400 - 1700
Jan van Eyck, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife, oil on wood panel
This is a double portrait set in the bedroom of a Flemish house although the subjects were from Italy.
Subjects may or may not be Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami. Although we know the painting is of Goivanni Arnolfini, there was another Giovanni Arnolfini that was alive during this period. This also may not be Cenami, but instead Arnolfini’s first wife.
Arnolfini was a wealthy merchant. There are many expensive things which reflect that such as the way they are both dressed, the woman’s jewelry, and the chandelier.
Thought to document a civil wedding ceremony. This is due to the fact that there are the necessary two witnesses shown in the mirror on the wall and that van Eyck signed his name as “Jan van Eyck was present”.
Limbourg Brothers, February from Trés Riches Heures, colors on parchment
From the Book of Hours, a private devotional book made for the brother-in-law of the French king, the Duke of Berry.
One of the first depictions of a cold environment.
Shows peasants being taken care of and living happily on the Duke’s land but with class distinctions, such as the peasants warming themselves and exposing their genitals by the fire.
Shows naturalism and depth with human experiences and minute details.
Donatello, David, bronze
From the Biblical story of David and Goliath where the Isrealites fought the Philistines.
The image is from after the defeat of Goliath with David holding a sword with a foot on Goliath’s head.
The nudity in the sculpture harkens back to classical sculpture. The cast bronze looks back to Ancient Greece.
Standind in a contrappasto positions on a victory wreath. Contrapposto - a stance with weight on one leg and slightly turned that makes the figure look like he could possibly walk away.
Commissioned by the Medici family and placed in the courtyard of Palazzo Medici. As David is the symbol of Florence, the Medici family used the sculpture as a symbol that they are the defenders of Florence.
Massacio, Trinity, fresco
Main subject of the painting is the image of God the father, God the son, and God the holy spirit.
It is an iconic image reprsenting an abstract idea rather than a story.
The skeleton represents that this is a funerary chapel.
This was the first large scale painting to successfully show linear perspective, the mathematical system used to create illusion of depth.
Masaccio, The Tribute Money, fresco
Masaccio altered the entire course of Western painting in 6 years even though he didn’t come from an artist family.
Represents a continuous narrative which shows multiple scenes of a story within the same painting.
Shows the Biblical story of Jesus and his disciples being told they need to pay the temple tax in the middle, Peter catching a fish with a coin its mouth on the left, and then Peter paying the tax on the right.
Masaccio was one of the first masters of linear perspective, the mathematical system used to create illusion of depth. He also used atmospheric perspective, where as you move into the background, the painting becomes hazy and dull.
There is a consistent use of direct shadows. The fresco was even painted next to a window so that the shadows would be correct with the sunlight.
Boticelli, Primavera, tempera on wood panel
The painting was commissioned for a Medici wedding, possibly the wedding of Lorenzo Medici.
It depicts the unfolding of spring or primavera.
Characters represented are from classical mythology. It shows Zephyr kidnapping the nymph Chloris to marry her and transform her to Flora. In the middle is the image of Venus and Cupid, the god of May.
The images may correlate to popular dances in Florence at the time.
The painting shows a combination of the pagan classical world with Christianity. This shows Neoplatonism which reinterprets Plato’s works to fit with Christianity. Venus is also shown as a precursor to the Virgin Mary.
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, tempera and oil on plaster
Combined oil painting with the fresco technique, and as such it was rapidly deteriorating.
Shows the communion of the Eucharist, which bread and wine represents the body and blood of Christ, the celebration of Passover, and the revelation of Christ’s betrayal.
The painting shows linear perspective, the mathematical system used to create illusion of depth, with Jesus in the center of orthogonal lines. Jesus is the center of a balanced composition with a pair pyramidal composition for Christ’s body.
The painting shows monumental figures figures where the figures are larger than the setting. The figures are also idealized as they are shown mostly as Caucasian rather than Jewish.
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel
Prior to the Mona Lisa, most subject of portraits were unknown, done in profile, similar to Greek coins, and with not a lot of depth. Status was shown through jewelry and hair styles. Standards of beauty were shown such as a plucked hairline and eyebrows, porcelain skin, veils, and long hair.
Portraits were usually done for special event such as a birth, wedding, or death.
Unlike most portraits of the time, Mona Lisa was done in the three-quarter pose with her hair down and a background landscape done with a atmospheric perspective where as you move into the background, the painting becomes hazy and dull.
Mona Lisa was painted in sfumato or a hazy or smoky quality. It also shows chiaroscuro for the contrast between light and dark such as heavy shadows.
Raphael, School of Athens, Fresco
Raphael wieht to Rome to redecorate the papal apartments for Julius II. This was done at the same time as the Sistine Chapel and they both seem to share visual styles.
Located in the Room of the Signature with the theme of knowledge. The room was originally the Pope’s library.
Represents the school of Plato in 4th Century Greece. The philosophers in the fresco have been identified and are modeled after contemporary artists.
Linear perspective, the mathematical system used to create illusion of depth, is used to drive attention to the two central figures, Plato and Aristotle. Plato represents the theoretical and abstract in philopsphy and Aristotle represents the material forms of nature or science and morals.
Michaelangelo, David, marble
Michelangelo was a contemporary of Leonardo and was trained as a painter but identified as a sculptor. He was interested in the human body and the classical style. He lived at Medici Palazzo to learn about the classical world.
Michelangelo’s David was commissioned by the city of Florence as a symbol of good defeating tyranny. David was the symbol of the city of Florence.
The head is larger proportion so that the stoic face could be read easily. His hands are larger proportionally because his name translated out to mana fortis meaning the strong hand of God.
Done in the contrapposto pose with the weight on one leg and slightly turned that shows the figure has the ability of movement.
Michaelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, fresco
The Sistine Chapel was built by Sixtus IV, but the ceiling was commissioned by Julius II, the Pope at the time.
The ceiling uses illusional architectural framework. Everything is painted to separate the different images in the ceiling.
The ceiling shows Biblical history from the Old Testament. The central spine shows 9 scenes from the book of Genesis. The triangles show stories from the Old Testament as well as the ancestors of Christ.
In the center is The Creation of Man which shows God reaching out about to give life to Adam. Figures around God are possibly people yet to be born. The female is believed to be Eve or possibly the Virgin Mary, with the baby next to her being Jesus. The red cape could represent the heart or the womb.
The pope is represented throughout the ceiling buy acorns and oak leaves as they translate to his pre-papal name.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling in three stages while standing on scaffolding. He started out with 5 assistants but as he could not work with them with finished it by himself. As a sculptor, he absolutely hated the project.
