Unit 5: Postcards/Images

Unit 5: 2 paintings, 2 sculptures, 2 buildings in classical style

Painting: Holy Trinity. [fresco] Masaccio. (1425) Size: 6.67 x 3.17m. Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Painting: Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement. [tempera on wood] Filippo Lippi (c. 1440) Size: 64.1 x 41.9cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Sculptures: Christ and St Thomas. [bronze] Andrea del Verrochio. (1467-1483) Size:  230cm. Orsanmichele, Florence, Italy

Sculptures: Marzocco, Heraldic Lion. [marble] Donatello. (c. 1420) Size: 135.5cm. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy

Building: Ospedale degli Innocenti. Filippo Brunelleschi. (c. 1420) Florence, Italy

Building: Basilica di Sant’Andrea. Leon Battista Alberti. (1462-1494) Mantua, Lombardy, Italy 

Unit 5: Annotation: Giotto, Lamentation of Christ

 

Bibliography

Biblegateway.com (2011) John 19:38-42, New International Version. Available from: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2019:38-42&version=NIV [Accessed 23 March 2011]

Cennini, C. (1922) 2nd imp. The Book of Art of Cennino Cennini: a contemporary treatise on Quattrocentro painting. trans. by Herringham, C.J. [online] London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. Available from: http://www.archive.org/stream/bookofartofcenni00cennuoft [Accessed 22 March 2011]

Giotto di Bondone. (c. 1304-1313) The Lamentation of Christ. [fresco] [online image] Place: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua. Available from: http://www.bridgemaneducation.com [Accessed 7 March 2011]

Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (2004) The Commission. [online] Available from: http://www.giottoagliscrovegni.it/eng/monum/committenza.htm [Accessed 22 March 2011]

Unit 5: Early Renaissance in Italy

The Early Renaissance in Italy marks the beginning of a new era in art.  It began in early 15^th century and centred in the city of Florence. Numerous factors resulting in the birth of Renaissance in Florence:

• The accumulation of wealth cause a paradigm shift to enjoyment of life from concerns with the afterlife
• The escape of Florence from foreign invasions from Milan and Naples encouraged the people to appreciate their freedom and liberty
• There is a renewed interest in the human body like in the ancient Greek and Roman art and artists were studying the human anatomy from both outside by observation and the insides by dissection
• The use of scientific methods in art allows the artists to be upgraded in the society to the same level of intellectuals

       In 1401, there was a competition held to create trial reliefs for a new pair of bronze doors for the Florentine Baptistry. Artists were asked to submit bronze reliefs depicting the story of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac. This competition showed that the Florentine people wanted the best artist to create quality art to decorate their city and the importance they have put on art and artists in their society.

Some of the famous artists in the Early Renaissance:

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)

• rediscovery’ of linear perspective in 1420 
• linear perspective employs the use of horizontal line, vanishing point and orthogonals to show the relationship of objects of different distances to each other
• this allows artists to paint realistic 3-dimensional looking scenes on a 2-dimensional surface
• revival of classical architecture forms
• providing a model for the construction of the dome of Florence Cathedral (a problem that went on for 50 years)

Masaccio (1401-1428)

• the first artist to use linear perspective in his frescoes (Holy Trinity (c. 1427), Santa Maria Novella, Florence)
• used chiaroscuro (strong contrast between light and dark) as a method for modeling
•  painted figures with realistic gestures and emotions  

 

The orthogonals from the barrel vault ceiling converged into the vanishing point at the base of the cross (Smarthistory.org)

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455)

• winner of the Florentine Baptistery bronze door reliefs competition
• made Porta del Paradiso, bronze reliefs door for the Florentine Baptistery
• figures are realistic, more dramatic and composed with linear perspective

  
Donatello (1386-1466)

• sculpted the statue of David [bronze](1428-1432), Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, the first free-standing sculpture since classical antiquity
• studied Greek and Roman art in Rome and applied classical poses in his sculptures (the use of contrapposto in David made the statue appear alive and dynamic)

Donatello's David in contrapposto

Piero della Francesca (1415-1492)

• used and arranged repetition of geometric lines and shapes to compose a painting in a calculated way (the repetition of arches, circles and squares in The Baptism of Christ [tempera on panel] (c. 1450), National Gallery London)
• applied linear perspective in art and wrote mathematical treatise on them
• applied landscape background in religious paintings (learnt from Flemish artists)
• paintings have layers of meaning beyond the visual experience (social, political)

Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510)

• painted secular mythological scenes (Primavera, c. 1478 and Birth of Venus, c. 1486)
• paintings have allegory pertain to religion and politics
• does not obey linear perspective strictly but figures have graceful and light quality

 

 The Birth of Venus by Botticelli showing graceful, weightless figures

Reflection

The Early Renaissance is a period of rebirth of knowledge. There is a return to classical ideas and improvements on them.  Paintings are done using geometrical and mathematical principles. There is sharing of knowledge which allows this rebirth to continue to the next generations. The ideas that began in Early Renaissance

Bibliography

Botticelli (c. 1485) The Birth of Venus [tempera on canvas] [online image] Place: Galeria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Available from: http://www.bridgemaneducation.com [Accessed on 23 March 2011]

Donatello (c. 1428-1432) David [bronze] [online image] Place: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy. Available from: http://www.bridgemaneducation.com [Accessed on 20 March 2011]

Gold, M (1989) The Early Renaissance. [DVD] United Kingdom: T.V.S. Television Ltd

Honour, H. and Fleming, J. (2009) A world history of art. Revised 7^th ed. London: Laurence King

Smarthistory.org (n. d.) Florence in Early Renaissance [online] Available from: http://smarthistory.org/Florence.html [Accessed on 20 March 2011]

Smarthistory.org (n. d.) Perspective Diagram of Masaccio's Holy Trinity, Santa Maria Novella, Florence [online] Available from: http://smarthistory.org/holy-trinity-santa-maria-novella-florence.html [Accessed on 20 March 2011]

Wright, R. (2010) Renaissance Revolution Episode 3: Piero della Francesca Baptism of Christ. UK: BBC

 

Unit 4: Project 4: Report on a visit to a Gothic church

Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is an Early Gothic cathedral located in the Île de la Cité, an island within the Seine River in Paris. In 1160, when Bishop Maurice de Sully was elected Bishop of Paris, he had a vision to build a new cathedral on the site of the previous St-Etienne’s cathedral which was in disrepair. With the support of King Louis VII, construction began in 1163 and the cathedral was completed in 1351.

Structure and Engineering

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris has a floor space of 4800m². The width of the West Façade is 45 metres and the length of the cathedral is 128 metres. The two towers are 69 metres in height but the highest point is at the spire at 96 metres.

The cathedral was built using stones taken from the quarries along the Bievre and these were transported via the Seine River. A new 6-metre-wide street (Rue Neuve-Notre-Dame) was created to transport building materials such as timber, pieces of lead for the roof and other equipment to the building site.

The construction of a cathedral as large as Notre-Dame de Paris required many people with specialized skills: the master masons (architects), the master carpenters, the master glaziers, specialized workers and labourers (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Model (in one of the radial chapels) showing construction scene of the cathedral

 

Place of Worship

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is a place of worship for the Catholic denomination. It holds daily mass and daily vespers, Eucharistic adoration and Sunday Mass (which is held on Saturday evening). There are also regular music performances of Gregorian chants, organ music and classical holy music. The cathedral can hold a congregation of 9000.

Exterior: West Façade

The entrance to the cathedral is at the West Façade (Figure 2). The width of the West Façade is 45 metres and the height from the ground to the upper gallery is 45 metres and to the top of the tower is 69 metres. There is a large square in front of the West Façade that allows one to appreciate its vastness from afar.

Figure 2 West Facade of Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris

At ground level, it is divided into three sections with a portal in each. The Portal of the Last Judgment is in the middle and had a slightly higher apex. The northern (or left) third contains the Portal of the Virgin and the southern third (or right) contains the Portal of Saint Anne. There are four buttresses, two at the ends of the wall and two between the portals. Each buttress has a niche that has a statue in it: St Stephen, St Denis, allegory for the Synagogue and the Church. Above the portals is a row of sculptures of 28 figures known as the Gallery of the Kings. These figures depict the 28 generations of the King of Judah. Above the Gallery of the Kings, is the Upper Gallery. In the middle third is the statue of Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus flanked by the statues of Adam and Eve. Just behind these statues in the large West Rose Window that is placed like a halo to the Virgin Mary. On each side of the West Rose Window are double pointed windows and above them rises the Northern Tower and the Southern Tower. The towers of Notre-Dame de Paris are unusual because they do not have spires or steeples. The construction of the towers was halted when the builders realized that West Façade is already ‘perfect’ without the towers. The interaction between the horizontal and the vertical lines provides harmony in the visual of the Façade. One could see that the West Façade appears to have 9 rectangles in a 3 x 3 arrangement with the missing rectangle on the upper middle filled by the sky. The axis of the façade centres on the West Rose Window accentuating the statue of Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Exterior: Flying Buttresses There are flying buttresses supporting the vault of the cathedral (Figure 3). The buttresses are perpendicular to the high walls of the clerestory along the nave and chancel at the north and south sides but radiates around the apse on the east side like spokes from the centre of a wheel. Figure 3 Flying Buttresses at the nave (left), chancel (middle) and apse (right)   The buttresses looked like little bridges that linked the high walls with the vertical buttresses at the low walls. The ones at the nave are shorter, while the ones at the chancel and apse are longer. One can imagine that the numerous flying buttresses around the cathedral appear to be like the rib cage of a big dinosaur, supporting the interior. Interior The nave is 12 metres in width and 68 metres in length and flanked by double aisles. The height of the vault of the nave is 33 metres compared to only 10 metres for the aisle vaults. The nave vaults are sexpartite while the aisle vaults are quadripartite. Above the aisle is the gallery and higher up above at the elevation at the nave is the clerestory with stained glass windows. The crossing is located almost in the centre of the building. The transepts are only 4 metres in length and do not project beyond the radial chapels. This makes the floor plan of the cathedral more quadrilateral in shape rather than the traditional cross. Figure 4 The vertical space above the crossing One could appreciate the great vertical vessel (Figure 4); the columns arising vertically flanked by windows of the gallery and stained glass windows of the clerestory, the line being continued by frames of ribbed stones, arching gracefully towards the centre into a pointed arch. The chancel consists of the choir and double ambulatories. The choir has a width of 12 metres and length of 36 metres. One could appreciate the difference in the designs of the capitals in the chancel (built 1163-1182) with that in the nave (built 1180-1200). The leaves of the capitals in the chancel are massive and concave and appear to sprout out of the capital; while the leaves of the capitals in the nave are smaller and more detailed. The long horizontal space formed by the nave, crossing and choir makes the cathedral look airy and spacious. There are radial chapels along the ambulatory as well as the aisles. Sculptures, Decorations and Commemoration The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is dedicated to Virgin Mary. There are as many as 37 representations of Virgin Mary in the cathedral in the form of sculptures, bas-reliefs and stained glass. The more famous ones are: Virgin Mary carrying Baby Jesus at West Façade The Pieta in the choir Virgin Mary at the Pillar near the altar Crowned Virgin at the Portal of the Virgin at West Façade Our Lady Medallion at West Rose Window   The Pieta white marble sculpture at the choir was a gift of King Louis XIII and sculpted by Nicolas Costou in 1723. The Pieta is flanked on the right by the statue of King Louis XIII (sculpted by Coysevox) kneeling down offering his crown and sceptre to Virgin Mary and on the left by his son King Louis XIV (sculpted by Guillaume Costou) in the same posture but without the crown and sceptre. However, one can only look at this choir centre piece through the grills along the apse. The northern and southern perimeter of the choir is surrounded by coloured bas-reliefs showing scenes from the life of Jesus Christ; the Christmas Gospel in the north and the post-resurrection period in the south. There are many sculptures that depict saints and previous archbishops to commemorate them. One of these is Saint Denis sculpted by Nicolas Costou (Figure 5). Other commemorations include tombs for martyred archbishops and a stained glass depicting Bishop Maurice de Sully. Figure 5 Statue of Saint Denis by Nicolas Coustou   The radial chapels have different functions. Some are dedicated to particular saints and visitors can choose their favorite saint and enter that particular chapel to pray.  Others have booths for confession and displays that provide information to visitors. One of the radial chapels has a wooden model of the cathedral (Figure 6) and models of figures working at the construction site. Some of the walls are hung with paintings depicting biblical scenes. Figure 6 Wooden model of the cathedral   There are three rose windows in the cathedral (Figure 7); the West Rose Window (9.7 metres in diameter) depicts the daily life of the people; the North Rose Window and the South Rose Window (both 13.1 metres in diameter) show the celebration of Mass. There are also stained glass decorations on the pointed windows at the level of the clerestory above the apse, choir and nave. Figure 7 Stained glass windows: West Rose Window (left), North Rose Window (top), East stained glass windows above the apse (right), South Rose   The treasury, located south of the chancel, houses the Relics of the Passion which includes a piece of the Cross, a nail of the Passion and the Holy Crown of Thorns. Restoration By the beginning of the 19th century, the cathedral had lost much of its original Gothic features and was in great disrepair. This is partly due to authority-sanctioned alterations (removal of stained glass windows and repaving of the floors) and partly due to looting and damage sustained during the French Revolution (destruction of statues of the Kings of Judah, saints and archbishops). In 1844, Lassus and Viollet-le-Luc undertook the task of restoring the cathedral to its former glory. Among the restorations and additions made are: The erection of the spire above the roof of the crossing The replacement of the statues in the Gallery of Kings at West Facade The relocation of some statues (Virgin of the Pillar was moved from the Portal of the Virgin to the southeast pillar of the crossing) The addition of gargoyles at the Galerie de Chimeres at the West Facade Wall painting and décor of chapels Restoration of stained glass window panels However not all these restorations were congruent with the Gothic appearance of the cathedral in the 12th and 13th century. Viollet-le-Luc took a lot of liberty that did not absolutely conform to the original designs of the cathedral. He even had the statue of Thomas, patron saint of architects modeled after him. Conflict between Visual Delight and Devotion There are several conflicts between visual delight and devotion in the Notre Dame de Paris. As one enters the cathedral through the portal at the West Façade into the narthex, one is unable to see directly into the nave because it is blocked by a concert stage that is used during musical performance (Figure 8). Therefore one cannot see the choir from the narthex and vice versa and is unable to appreciate the full length of the nave, crossing and choir. Figure 8 Stage blocking the nave from the narthex   Another is that the lower part of the West Rose window has been blocked by the great organ. The pipes are very tall and obscure the lower panels of the stained glass. Conclusion The visit to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is an excellent way to learn about Gothic architecture. One is able to better appreciate the actual size of the cathedral, the spatial beauty of the interior as well as the details of the elements of Gothic architecture by seeing it in three-dimension. Bibliography Anon (1921) Inside the Cathedral of Notre Dame [online] Available from: <http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/paris-travel-7.shtml> [Accessed 17 March 2011] Ayers, A, (2004) The architecture of Paris [online] Stuttgart/London: Edition Axel Menges Available from: <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=0eJxj9Xos_UC&printsec=frontcove r#v=onepage&q&f=false> [Accessed 17 March 2011] Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris (n. d.) The West Facade [online] Available from: <http://www.cathedraledeparis.com/The-west-facade> [Accessed 7 March 2011] Cedron, R. (n.d.) Historic overview: Notre-Dame de Paris. Available from: <http://elore.com/Gothic/ History/Overview/paris.htm> [Accessed 6 March 2011] Coloni, M. (2003) Notre-Dame de Paris at the crossroads of cultures. Strasbourg: Editions du Signe Hamlin, A.D.F. (1916) A history of ornament ancient and medieval. [online] New York: The Century Co. Available from: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/32277090/A-history-of-ornament> [Accessed 18 March 2011]

Useful Art History Website: University of Leeds Online Course: Introduction to Formal Analysis

I find that the internet is full of websites that are useful for the study of art history. One of them that I came across is University of Leeds Online Course: Introduction to Formal Analysis. This course was written by Dr Matthew Treheme, a senior lecturer in Italian in the Department of Italian, School of Modern Languages and Culture in University of Leeds.

The course is meant for students who are getting acquainted for the first time in formal analysis of paintings in the course of their studies. It starts with the introduction of elements in formal analysis: colour and line, space and perspective, modeling and plasticity, composition, medium and light.  Then it concentrates on the specifics in the analysis of paintings of different genres: human figure, landscape, still-life, action and narrative, and portraiture

       What I like about the course is that it is highly interactive. Each point is taught with an example from a painting. The student is encouraged to look at the paintings and give his/her opinion before clicking on Dr. Treheme’s answers. By thinking about the painting, I was able to consolidate what was being taught. This experience was more interesting and useful than reading a list of things to look for in formal analysis from a book. I was also introduced to many interesting paintings from Dr Treheme’s examples and also learnt new art terms such as cangiantismo, force lines, violettomania.

       I think this is a good site to have a look to learn more about formal analysis of paintings. I hope Dr Treheme would add some knowledge on analysis of sculptures in the future.

Link: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/italian/analysingpaintings.htm