Learning Goals
After reading the chapter you should be able to do the following:
Identify the works and define the terms featured in this chapter
Describe the emergence of humanism in Italy
Label the leading art centers on a map of Italy, France, and the Netherlands
Describe the process of tempera painting and fresco
Compare Giotto and Cimabue
Describe the structure of an altarpiece
Describe the steps of apprenticeship in an artist's studio
Give a brief description of the life and philosophy of Saint Francis of Assisi
Compare Duccio'sMaestà with Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes
Describe how Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Good Government frescoes were innovative
Discuss the effects of the Black Death on society and art in the second half of the fifteenth century
Describe the International Gothic style using examples from the chapter
Compare Giotto's Annunciation with the Limbourg brothers' Annunciation.
Renaissance Precursors, 13th–14th centuries
Humanist movement; Petrarch; Boccaccio
Artists: Pisano; Cimabue; Giotto; Duccio; Ambrogio Lorenzetti; Orcagna; Simone Martini; Sluter; Limbourg brothers
Dante, Divine Comedy; Saint Francis of Assisi
1348Bubonic plague (Black Death)
1337–1453Hundred Years' War
International Gothic Style
Overview
Much of Europe would continue in the Gothic tradition into the 16th century. It is possible to see the beginnings of the Renaissance in Italy during the 13th Century. This is considered a transitional period between Middle Ages and Renaissance
A number of artists stylistically possess qualities seen in the Renaissance while they are primarily associated with the Middle Ages. These artists primarily relied upon earlier works from Byzantium and the Gothic style for inspiration rather than to Greece and Rome as the Renaissance artists would. These artists representing the transition between the medieval and Renaissance styles include:
- DucciodiBuoninsegna
- Giotto diBondone- used shallow-stage perspective, emotion, modeling of form; reinvented naturalistic painting
Though for much of Europe the Gothic style continued into the sixteenth century, the beginnings of the Renaissance style can be seen rising in Italy during the late thirteenth century. Among the artists whose works represent the transition between the medieval and Renaissance styles are Nicola Pisano, DucciodiBuoninsegna, Giotto diBondone, and Claus Sluter. Stylistically their work possessed qualities that would be seen in the Renaissance period. However, they are still frequently associated with the Middle Ages because, though the Renaissance artist typically looked to Greece and Rome for inspiration, these artists still primarily relied upon earlier works from Byzantium and the Gothic style.
The Early Renaissance was a time of experimentation; it was during this time that artists discovered the mathematical formulas necessary for representing perspective and space accurately on a twodimensional surface. There was innovation not only in architecture and painting, but also in sculpture, where the movement toward an art of realism based upon observation was at the same time interpreted in a Classical mode.
Also known as Proto-Renaissance artists because their work preceded the Early Renaissance by more than 50 years.
These artists demonstrated qualities that would also be seen during the Early and High Renaissance. In other words, the Proto-Renaissance artists foreshadow the Renaissance.
Their seminal work influenced the Renaissance artists
Cimabue
Giotto
Duccio
Nicola Pisano
Lorenzetti
Reminder: Characteristics of the BYZANTINE STYLE:
It is important to remember that the Byzantine style dominated Italian art during the Middle Ages. The style featured:
----- Stiff, linear, and flat figures
----- A lack of human emotion
----- Gold background – emphasizes the “other world” and thus lacks naturalism
----- Figures don’t occupy real space. They seem to float above the ground
Key Terms
altarpiece / a painted or sculpted work of art designed to stand above or behind an altar.arriccio / the rough first coat of plaster in a fresco.
diptych / a writing tablet or work of art consisting of two panels side by side and connected by hinges.
gesso / a white coating made of chalk, plaster, and size that is spread over a surface to make it more receptive to paint and smoother.
giornata / in Italian, a day's work.
intonaco / a final layer of smooth plaster added one patch at a time in preparing a fresco surface.
pinnacles / a slender, vertical architectural element ending in a small spire.
predella / the lower part of an altarpiece, often decorated with small scenes that are related to the subject of the main panel.
sinopie (sinopia) / a brush drawing made in preparation for a fresco painting.
stigmata / marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Christ (from stigma, "a mark" or "scar").
stigmatization / marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Christ (from stigma, "a mark" or "scar").
triptych / an altarpiece or painting consisting of one central panel and two wings.
Precursors to the Renaissance
During the 12th century and into the 13th century, Byzantine art would continue to be a major influence especially in Italy. The classical texts and artist were coming back to the west and their influence would help to germinate the ground for the Renaissance. Depending on the art historian, the 13th century can be considered early renaissance especially in Italy because of the obvious classical visual references. A rise in humanism would surface at this time, this movement inspired by ancient text that would find its way back west. Literacy increases in the general population. Artists would study the works of antiquity. It would become common for artists to sign their work.Precursors of the Renaissance exhibit several important features that will be expanded upon during the Early Renaissance.
- Great interest in human anatomy – proportions are more accurate, more interest in the human form
- Greater amounts of naturalism – they model figures and objects with shadow to convey the illusion of mass. Artists attempt to convey the direction of the light source and use shading accordingly.
- Greater sense of depth/ recessional space – the artists begin to create the illusion of a three-dimensional world on a two dimensional surface. Early Renaissance artists will take this interest in pictorial illusionism even further.
- Greater expression of human personality and emotionThe great Precursors of the Renaissance were working in Italy during the early 1300’s or 14th century.
Thirteenth-Century Italy
Major Shift in Western European Art: Renaissance A self-conscious revival of interests in ancient Greek and Roman texts and culture.13th Century
Christian painting and sculpture were just beginning to break away from the restraints of the dogma and conventions of the earlier medieval period.Breaking away in order to give greater human emotional content to religious subject matter.
The life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi had been largely responsible for this.
Also responsible were the contacts with French Gothic art.
Nicola Pisano (1220 – 1284)
The marble pulpit of the baptistery of Pisa Cathedral (1259-1260), by the sculptor Nicola Pisano (c. 1220-1278), incorporates elements of both medieval and Classical design. Though the lions at the base of the columns supporting the pulpit are typically medieval, the round arches, Corinthianlike capitals, and rectangular reliefs that enclose the pulpit all have a Classical quality. Pisano's use of the Classical prototype is clearly seen in the organization and treatment of the figures in the relief panels of the pulpit, which are similar to some relief panels found on Roman sarcophagi. One of Pisano's panels in particular, the Nativity, represents figures that are obviously classically inspired in their heavy forms, proportion, posture, and costuming.This is a Baptistry that is carved out of marble. It is located in Pisa. On the pulpit there are characteristics of the following styles: PISANO sculpted a famous PULPIT for the baptistery of PISA. Remember PISANO’S PULPIT at PISA!
Gothic (Columns and Trilobite arches)
Roman (round arches)
Pulpit carved by Nicola Pisano – he proudly signed and dated it March 25, 1259 to March 24, 1260 and added an inscription proclaiming himself the greatest sculptor of his time.
2.Christian subjects and symbolism
Lions refer to Solomon’s throne and here denote the foundation on which the teachings of Christ are built
Panels portray scenes from the New Testament
Figures represent seven virtues
But the forms are clearly based upon Classical models
•ANNUNCIATION and NATIVITY scene. Remind us of sculpture on a Roman sarcophagus
Key Points to Remember
•Pisano was in important sculptor in Italy
•Pisano is known for his strong interest in Classical forms
•Pisano is an important forerunner of the Renaissance
•Work had an impact on Giotto /
12.1 Nicola Pisano- Pulpit (1259-1260)
Marble, 15 ft. high.
Pisa Bapistery. Pisa, Italy.
Photo: WNCC Slide Library
This shift from flat, linear figures to more massive forms is evident in sculptures. The revival of the classical style of art also would also stimulate an interest in the natural world. The carvings are related to the Roman sarcophagi’s in the early Christian period. The classical style was favored by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He brought German and French artists together into his Empire, and this cross fertilization of regional visual traditions would help to create a more dynamic style. The virgin is seen as a high society Roman lady lounging, she waited upon by her subjects, and her appearance is rounded and more massive. Uses shallow space to create and show several different activities in one scene. /
Giovanni Pisano
Nicola Pisano's son, Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250-after 1314), was also a sculptor. His marble panel relief of the Nativity from the pulpit of Pisa Cathedral (Santa Andrea of Pistoia) (1302-13 10), created some forty years after his father's classicized work, is very different in treatment. The elder Pisano's figures seem somewhat heavy and stiff when compared to the animated and "plastic" forms created by his son.Cimabue:
This is the Madonna Enthroned, made of tempera on wood. It has or resembles many characteristics of the Byzantine style including a gold background, the drapery on Mary's robes, the figures are long and thin, and the image of Christ appears as that of a young man.The more traditional Byzantine was still in vogue in Italy. The Italo-Byzantine style wasmore prevalent in altar pieces. Cimabue was the last of the great Byzantine artist. His Virgin and Child enthroned is an altar piece that stands over 12 feet high and is completely cover, front and back, with Byzantine iconography. /
12.3 Cimabue- Madonna Enthroned (c. 1280-1290) Tempera on wood; 12 ft 7 in. x 7 ft. 4 in. Galleri degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy
Photo: LaCour Slide Library.
Fourteenth-Century Italy
Once attention had been drawn to human emotion, it was only natural that interest in the human being himself and in his physical surroundings should follow.The resulting secularization of religious subject matter is apparent in the paintings of the 14th century.
GIOTTO (1267 – 1337)
A.Introduction
1.“I am he through whose merit the lost art of painting was revived; whose hand was a faultless as it was compliant. What my art lacked nature herself lacked; to none other was it given to paint more or better… But what need is there for words? I am Giotto, and my name alone tells more than a lengthy ode.”
2.Born near Florence
3.Drawing images of sheep on a rock
4.Discovered by an artist (Cimabue) who instantly recognized the genius of the young shepherd
5.Giotto went beyond the Byzantine style and painted what he observed in nature. His interest in the natural world resurrected an aspect of Classical antiquity.
6.Compare Giotto’s Madonna and Child to Cimabue’s Madonna and Child – How does Giotto’s compare to Cimabue’s?
B.The Arena Chapel – background
1.Padua, a small town 25 miles southwest of Venice
2.An AVARICIOUS (greedy) father – ReginaldoScrovegni
3.A REPENTENT son – EnricoScrovegni
4.A new chapel built on the site of an old Roman arena and thus called the Arena Chapel
5.The walls needed art!
C.Inside the Arena Chapel
1.One of the most remarkable fresco cycles in Western Art
Displaced the Byzantine style
Established painting as a major art form for the next 600 years
Restored the naturalistic approach invented by the ancients and largely abandoned in the Middle Ages
2.Three registers
•The life of Mary
•The life of Christ
•The Passion of Christ
3.Last Judgment on the western wall
D.Examples
1.The Kiss of Judas
•Narrative – Judas, one of Christ’s Twelve Apostles, has betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver. He leads the authorities, who are angry with Christ for his teachings, to arrest Jesus while he is alone with the other apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane
•Judas told the authorities that he would greet Christ with a kiss in order to identify him for arrest
•Giotto has the startling power to organize the excitement of a scene around a central image. For example, torches blaze and weapons whirl. But at the heart there is only a tragic stillness as Jesus looks into the mock-friendly eyes of his PERFIDIOUS (treacherous) disciple Judas. “Judas, must you betray me with a kiss?”
•The betrayer and betrayed confront each other in a moment suspended in time. Note Jesus’ searching gaze. He silently communicates both foreknowledge that he is being betrayed and understanding of Judas’ heart
•Notice how the gesticulating priest on the right is counter-balanced by the apostle Peter on the left, who, in his anger, has cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest
2.The Lamentation (Gardner 531)
Real People, Real Emotions
Mary’s almost fierce despair
Mary Magdalene looks solemnly at the wounds in Christ’s feet
Saint John makes a wild gesture of despairing grief as he flings back his arms
Philosophical resignation of two disciples at the right
And in the sky, 10 wildly passionate angels express their overwhelming grief
Real space
The canvas or wall is a flat space. The artist’s task is to create a convincing illusion of real people occupying real space. The rocky ledge forms a long diagonal plane that leads the viewer to the painting’s focal point – the heads of Christ and the Virgin
Note the tree in the background, Its barrenness and isolation suggest that all of nature shares in the sorrow of the Savior’s death. Yet, it also carries a symbolic message: it refers to the Tree of Knowledge, which the sin of Adam and Eve had caused to wither and would be restored to life through the sacrificial death of Christ
First step toward the development of CHIAROSCURO – the use of dramatic contrasts of light and dark to produce the illusion of fully rounded or sculpted figures
3.Last Judgment
•A traditional scene with very distinctive touches:
•Christ the Judge is in the center surrounded by a rainbow mandorla or oval of light
•The saved are to his right and the damned to his left
•Let’s take a close look at Satan and Hell
•Who is the tiny white-robed figure?
•Let’s also take a close look at the figures at the base of the cross
Boccaccio: "Giotto... brought the art of painting out of medieval darkness into the daylight"..."master of clarity and illusionism."
Giotto
Giotto restored an interest in naturalism to the depiction of the human figure. Giotto is famous because his paintings depict REAL PEOPLE OCCUPYING REAL SPACE (meaning that they look like they are firmly on the ground and there is a sense of foreground and depth) and showing REAL HUMAN EMOTION.Giotto
The Florentine painter Giotto diBondone (c. 1267-1337) went to even further extremes than Duccio in his treatment of space. As seen in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Giotto's fresco painting The Lamentation (1305-1306) represents a very different manner of depicting space within a painting. Instead of flattening out the forms as areas of decorative space, Giotto treats the composition as if it were a theatrical scene upon a stage, with the viewer as audience. In effect, the space of the picture plane begins with the viewer and then seems to recedecon¬tinuously into the picture, drawing the viewer along. Though the illusion of looking "through a window" into a scene is a common one for us today, during the fourteenth century it was considered to be quite revolutionary. This effect, combined with Giotto's treatment of his figures within the painting as emotional, feeling beings, produced an image with a powerful impact.
Madonna Enthroned
Giotto created illusions of 3D space, the draperies correspond to the body’s movement and are more naturalistic. The use of shadows (not gold lines like Cimabue) allow for a more believable image and the reality of the infant Christ (he is portrayed in better proportion).Giotto was discovered by Cimabue and became one of his best students. But even though Cimabue was considered a master of art, it was Giotto’s work that is often credited with the transition to the renaissance. Generally speaking, Giotto’s figures more massive and actual attempt to take up space. This is ground breaking work, an artist actually trying to replicate nature on a flat surface. His Virgin and Child Enthroned still has some similarity to Cimabue: Mary’s features still that of the Italo Byzantine, the pointed arched throne, gold background, Christ child adult looking (though more child like in appearance than Cimabue) and the enigmatic face as well as the employment of the hieratic scale.