Renaissance Art Flashcards
What kinds of religious and liturgical shifts in Christianity took place during the period we now call the Renaissance? How did these changing practices manifest themselves in painting, sculpture, and architecture?
Italians rediscovered the writings, philosophy, art, and architecture of the ancient Greeks and Romans and began to see antiquity as a golden age which held the answers to reinvigorating their society. A new emphasis on Humanist thinking: more value on reason, science, and the individual.
How did the institutional rise of banking come into conflict with religious ideals and shape artistic patronage in Italian city-states during the Renaissance?
Usury was considered a sin by the church. However, it allowed for people to rise to wealth and power through their own ability and commission works of art. The artists got a more flexible role.
Why was the rendering of naturalistic forms and spatial depth increasingly important in the visual arts? In what ways does the importance of human perception and pictorial presence come to inform art making?
The rendering of naturalistic forms and spatial depth was more important because people during the Renaissance became increasingly interested in the natural world and science. This led to the development of both linear and atmospheric perspective. These allowed for more realistic portrayals.
In what ways does the importance of human perception and pictorial presence come to inform art making?
It led to the development of both linear and atmospheric perspective. These allowed for more realistic portrayals.
Be familiar with different forms of rendering perspective and their larger significance.
Developed linear perspective, which allowed for simulation of three-dimensional forms in space. Could make pictorial spaces seem like extensions of outside space. Atmospheric perspective: variations in color and clarity - things further away are less clear and bright, imitating a natural atmospheric haze. These ways of rendering perspective allowed for more realistic renderings of space, which made sense given the new interest in worldly experiences.
How does oil painting impact the making of art during the fifteenth century? What possibilities does it allow?
Oil painting dried more slowly and thus allowed for more versatile works and a higher level of realism and detail. Was more flexible, as it allowed for the artist to make adjustments to his paintings.
The rise and importance of portraiture in the Netherlands during the 15th century
There was more emphasis on the individual. In addition, there were people who got rich due to their own efforts and could afford to commission portraits, such as Arnolfini.
Virgin and Child Enthroned
Cimabue, for the high altar at Santa Trinita, Florence. 1280 CE. Tempera and gold on wood panel. Elements of the throne project, creating spatial ambiguities. Innovative characteristics for the time: the chair has a very mimetic quality – it looks orthogonal. In addition, the old men have individualistic features. There is a progression towards mimesis. A transitional work between Medieval/Gothic and Renaissance.
Maestà altarpiece
Duccio di Buoninsegna. Siena cathedral, 1310 CE. Tempera and gold on wood panel. Duccio was the foremost painted of Siena; he and his workshop created a large altarpiece that was created from many wood panels that were bonded together before ainting. On the front, the virgin and child are flanked by 20 angels and 10 saints; on the back, episodes from the later life of Christ. More realism than Romanesque.
Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel Frescoes
Giotto di Bondone. Padua. 1300. Commissioned by the Scrovegni family. They were part of the banking center. There was a conflict between the churches and the bankers, because bankers were essentially making money off of money. However, these people wanted to be associated with the church so they basically commissioned chapels to prove their devotion for the religion. The assumption is that if you’re giving money back money that you earned sinfully, things get balanced out – the economy of salvation. Giotto had a narrative and pictoral style. Drew his viewers into the experience of the events, allowing them to imagine them in relation to their own lives.
The Tribute Money
Masaccio, Bracacci Chapel, Santa Maria della Carmine, Florence. Fresco. 1420. Portrays the scene where a tax collector asks if Jesus pays tax; Jesus instructs Peter to go cast a hook and take a fish. The fish has a coin in its mouth. Uses both linear and atmospheric perspective. A much more realistic depiction of the figures, who overlap and recede into the distance.
Annunciation
Fra Angelico. Fresco, Convent of San Marco, Florence. 1440. Rendered in a contemporary setting, which was meant to help inspire monks to meditate. On the left, there is a monk watching the scene, again encouraging the monks to meditate.
Dome for Florence Cathedral (Duomo)
Brunelleschi. 1400. (Cathedral, 13th-15th centuries). A revolutionary feat of engineering - has an outer shell and a lower inner shell that are connected to one another through internal ribs. Each portion of the dome supports the next one; as a result, the dome is self-buttressed and needs no external supports.
Primavera
Sandro Botticelli. 1480. Tempera on panel. Commissioned by a member of the Medici family; its exact meaning is mysterious, but it was perhaps legible to members of that family. Shows that the painters of the time felt secure enough to paint scenes with pagan characteristics.
Well of Moses
Claus Sluter. La Chartreuse de Champmol, Dijon, France. 1400. Limestone. Consists of a crucifixion scene with six prophets who foretold of Christ’s death. Of the crucifixion, almost nothing remains; the 6 prophets are still there. Moses is shown with horns because of a mistranslation of radiance. A lot of naturalism, heightened by the fact that Sluter knew that the figures would be viewed from far below and widened the tops of their figures.
