ap art history midterm term 2

AP Art History

Midterm

Term 2

The Last Supper• 1495-98, da Vinci, Milan, tempera and oil• Commissioned by Duke Ludovico Sforza’s request• Painted in the refectory, or dining hall of the Monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie• The tapestries and coffered ceiling seem to extend the painting• Jesus and the apostles are seated parallel to the picture plane• The vanishing point lies behind Jesus’ head• Pyramid composition• Disciples grouped in 3’s• The scene captures the moment when Jesus tells them that one will betray him• Symbolically shows Jesus’ coming sacrifice and the institution of the ritual of the Mass• Judas, John, and Peter form a triad• Medieval tradition of numerical symbolism• He eliminated the halo• Careful geometry, perspective lines, stability, timelessness, calm, classical sculpture

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Vitruvian Man• C. 1490, ink, Venice• Da Vinci sought precise details of

anatomy and geometric basis of perfect proportions

• He equated the ideal man with both circle and square

• Diagram for the ideal male figure



Virgin and Saint Anne with the Christ Child and the Young John the Baptist

• C. 1500, da Vinci, charcoal on paper, done in Florence

• Full scale model = cartoon• Mary sits on the knee of Anne and holds

Christ, who strains to reach for his cousin, John

• He created the illusion of high relief by modeling figures with chiaroscuro

• There is a circular movement rather than a central focus

• This retains the individual importance of each figure and makes each o them an integral part of the whole

• Figures have tender expressions



Mona Lisa• C. 1503, da Vinci, oil on wood panel• The subject may have been Lisa

Gherardini del Giocondo, the wife of a prominent merchant in Florence

• Solid pyramidal form• Desolate grandeur of mountains

reinforces the paintings mysterious atmosphere

• Very enigmatic expression• Her gaze looks out at the viewer• There is an implied challenge with her

direct stare and an apparent serenity with inner strength

• Da Vinci covered his works with a thin, lightly tinted varnish which resulted in a smoky overall haze = sfumato



Pieta• C. 1500, Saint Peter’s, Vatican, Rome• Taught by Ghirlandaio by whom he

learned fresco painting and drawings of classical monuments

• Joined the Medici family• Influenced greatly by Savonrola• Commissioned by a French cardinal and

installed as a tomb monument in Old St. Peter’s

• Pieta = Gothic tradition• Shows forever mother and child• Only work he ever signed• He traveled btwn Rome and Florence



David• 1501-04, Galleria dell’ Academia,

Florence• Originally meant to be placed atop a

buttress of the Florence Cathedral• Later it was planned to go next to the

seat of Florence’s government• Embodies athletic ideal of antiquity• Emotional power of its expression and

concentrated = entirely new• The male nude implies heroic or even

divine qualities• Shows power of right over might =

perfect emblem for Florentines who recently fought Milan, Siena, and Pisa

• Similar to Spear Bearer



Sistine Ceiling• 1508-12• Commissioned by Julius II• His initial order was trompe l’oeil coffers • Later he wanted the 12 apostles to be

painted in the spandrels• He was later given free reign do paint

whatever he wanted• Illusionistic marble architecture

establishes a framework• Pilasters display little nude boys = putti• Old Testament prophets and classical

sibyls (female prophets - foretold Jesus’ birth) scenes run down the middle

• God’s earliest acts of creation are told closest to the altar

• Beheading scenes in corners



Moses• 1513-1515, Tomb of Julius II, S. Pietro in

Vincoli, Rome• This was Michelangelo's first papal

sculpture commission• The only sculpture from the original

design to be incorporated in the final monument

• Moses is inspired by Laocoon and His Sons

• Only 2 base figures were carved (?)QuickTime™ and a

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Tomb of Guiliano de’ Medici• 1519-34, Medici Chapel (New Sacristy),

Church of San Lorenzo, Florence• Michelangelo became chief architect for

Medici family projects at the Church of San Lorenzo

• The older men’s tombs were never built• Younger relatives were placed on

opposite side walls of the New Sacristy (the Old Sacristy by Brunelleschi, is at the other end)

• Each of the monuments consists of an idealized portrait of the deceased

• Male and female figures on the sarchophagi show times of day

• San Lorenzo was built by Brunelleschi• Looks classical but feels compressed• Looks like exterior architecture inside• Guiliano represents the active life - his

allegorical figures are day and night• Lorenzo represents Contemplative life -

his figures = dawn and evening





The Small Cowper Madonna• C. 1505, Raphael, oil on wood panel• Native of Urbino• Studied with Perugino• Work named for a modern owner• He must have studied da Vinci’s work to

achieve such simple grandeur• Solid forms• The domed Church of San Bernardino is

in the background - = church in Urbino• Known for his Madonna and Childs• Seen as the culmination of the

Renaissance in Italy• Bathed in great light• Interested in Flemish art



School of Athens• 1510-1511, fresco in the Stanza della

Segnatura, Vatican• Part of 4 branches of knowledge: religion,

philosophy, poetry, law• Summarizes the ideals of the

Renaissance papacy in its harmoniously arranged forms and rational space and calm dignity of its figures

• Plato and Aristotle are silhouetted against the sky

• Plato holds a book and gestures towards the heavens as the ultimate source of philosophy

• Aristotle, emphasizes the importance of gathering empirical knowledge from the material world

• The niches show earthly wisdom + platonic thought



Leo X with Cardinals Guilio de Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi

• C. 1518, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence• Raphael became director of all

archaeological and architectural projects in Rome under Leo X

• This portrait depicts Leo X as a great book collector

• Leo’s driving ambition was the advancement of the Medici family

• Clement VII and a Medici Cardinal also shown

• This painting shows van Eyck’s great influence on Raphael

• Embodies renaissance ideas• Triangular, solid figure



Tempietto• 1502-10, Church of San Pietro in

Montorio, Rome, martryium• Bramante typified the new ideal classical

style• He led the new Renaissance style in

architecture• He was attached to the Sforza court in

Milan, but he eventually went to Rome• Commissioned by Queen Isabella and

King Ferdinand in Spain• Small shrine over spot in Rome where

the apostle Peter was believed to have been crucified

• He created a renaissance interpretation of the principles of Vitruvius

• Recalls early Christian shrines and ancient Roman temples

• Deep wall niches create contrasts of light and shadow



Plan for the New Saint Peter’s• 1506, Bramante• Commissioned by Julius II• Appointed as chief architect• The plan = a Greek cross in a square• Resembles traditional Byzantine domed

churches and the central dome was inspired by the Pantheon

• Raphael replaced Bramante when he died as papal architect



Isenheim Altarpiece• C. 1510-15, Grunewald, chapel of the

hospital of St. Anthony, Isenheim, Germany

• Worked in the cort of archbishop of Mainz

• Illustrates intensity of religious feeling that motivated the religious reform movement that would sweep Germany

• Created to protect the shrine by Niklaus Hagenauer at the Abbey of St. Anthony

• Commemorates the abbey’s patron saint = Anthony of Egypt or Anthony Abbot

• St. Sebastian and St. Anthony are shown in lifesize proportions b/c they’re associated w/ the plague

• He showed the most horrific details of the tortured Christ

• The lamb alludes to the Christian rites of baptism and the Eucharist & to Christ as the lamb of God

• When opened, it shows Christian events of joy -- Annunciation, Nativity, Resurrection



• Unlike Italian Ren., his aim = strike the heart, not the mind & evoke sympathy, not an intellectual idea

• Great religious symbolism• Showed range of ethnic types and differently aged angels• Symbolic and narrative imagery• Grunewald actively supported peasants



Self-Portrait• C. 1500, oil on wood panel, Albrecht

Dürer• Shows himself as an idealized, even

Christ-like figure in a severely frontal pose, meeting the viewer’s eyes like an icon

• His hair and robe creates a triangle, the timeless symbol of unity



The Fall of Man• C. 1504, Albrecht Durer, engraving• He had an interest in Italian art and

theoretical investigation• This is his first documented use of a

canon of ideal human proportions based on Roman copies of Greek sculptures

• The plants have great naturalistic detail• The landscape has symbolic content• The four human temperaments are

symbolized by the animals• The mouse symbolizes Satan



Melencolia I• 1514, Engraving, Durer• Reflects the self-doubt that beset Durer

after he returned from Italy• Created a superhuman figure caught in

mental turmoil• Surrounded by math and drawing

implements• Artist = craftsman and intellect• Symbolic of night with bat• The sad person was thought to live under

the influence of black bile• Durer seems to brood on the futility of art

and the fleeting nature of human life• Foreshadows affects of religious turmoil,

social upheaval, and civil war soon to sweep northern Europe



Four Apostles• C. 1526, oil on panel, Durer• These inscribed panels professed

Durer’s belief in Lutheranism• The paintings show John, Peter, Mark

and Paul in an arrangement that suggests the rise of Protestantism

• Peter is o the left and holds up his key to the Church, but seems to shrink behind John, Luther’s favorite evangelist

• Mark hides behind Paul, whose teachings were admired by Protestants

• Long inscriptions at the base warn the viewer not to be led astray by “false prophets”

• Excerpts from the Letters of Peter, John, and Paul, and the Gospel of Mark are included from Luther’s German translation of the Bible

• This piece was presented to the city of Nuremberg



Henry VIII• By Hans Holbein the Younger, oil on

panel• Holbein was introduced to the Dutch

scholar Erasmus to the humanist circle around the statesman Thomas More

• He was appointed court painter to Henry VIII

• Henry envied Francis I and attempted to outdo him in every way, imitated French fashions

• Shows his likeness and power• Painted for his wedding to Anne of

Cleaves• Shows Northern Renaissance tradition



Francis I• 1525, Jean Clouet, tempera and oil on

panel• Clouet became the principal court painter• He softened Francis’s distinctive features

but didn’t completely idealize them• Great color and sense of elegance• Very flat



Chateau of Chenonceau• 1513-21, Touraine, France• French Renaissance built on Italian taste• Italians hired for French court• Looks like Italian renaissance palazzo

without decoration• Has Gothic detail with simple classical

forms• Italian palazzo = simple, horizontal,

rustication on edges and doors• French is more decorated• Built on Cher river• Medici built gallery on bridge• Retains steep decorative elements



West Wing of the Cour Carre• Palais du Louvre, Paris, begun 1546• Pierre Lescot (architect) and Jean

Goujon (sculptor)• Building incorporated Renaissance ideals

of balance and regularity with classical architecture details and rich sculptural decoration

• Turrets with pointed roofs gave way to rounded arches

• Classical pilasters and entablatures replaced Gothic buttresses

• The rectangular windows + sumptuous decoration = french





Wall Decorations, Palace at Fontainebleau• 1540’s, Primaticcio• This was Francis’s primary residence• This was a redecoration of Anne’s -

Francis’s mistress- room• Combined woodworking, stucco relief,

and fresco painting in a complex, but lighthearted and graceful interior design

• Lithe nymphs are playfully sexual• Many mythological figures and Roman

architectural ornament• Very joyous• This Italian phase of the palace

decoration established a tradition of Mannerism in painting and interior design that spread to other centers





Garden of Earthly Delights• C. 1506-15, Hieronymus Bosch, oil on wood panel• Piece associated with medieval art• Overall subject is sin -- the Christian belief in human beings’ natural state of sinfulness and

their inability to save themselves • Only damned shown on right• Seems to caution that damnation is the natural outcome of a life lived in folly• Adam and Eve on the left- watched over by an owl which symbolizes both wisdom and folly• He was obsessed with unnatural unions in the world• Central panel = parable on human salvation…?



Return of the Hunters• C. 1565, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, oil on

panel• Paints in style of Bosch• Painted every day people• Incredible panoramic• Close to Limbourg Brother’s winter scape• He had a mannerist heritage• The main subject is often deliberately hidden• He was a great landscape painter• This is one of a cycle of 6 panels, each

showing two months of the year• They were frequently commissioned as

decorations for elegant Netherlandish homes• He has captured the damp cold winter

atmosphere• The hunters appear neutral and realistic• The lack of a middle ground is typically

Mannerist• 3 yrs after it was painted the struggle of the

northern provinces for independence from Spain began



Self-Portrait• 1548, Caterina van Hemessen, oil on wood• She learned to paint from her father• Quiet realism and skilled rendering have

roots in the classical Renaissance style• She identified her subject and the subject’s

age in the background and signed and dated the work

• She spent her early career in Antwerp• She was a favored court artist to Mary of

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Princess Elizabeth• C. 1559, Levina Bening Teerlinc, oil on panel• Teerlinc was the highest-paid painter in the

English court• She is assumed to have painted mainly

miniature portraits or scenes on vellum• Idealized features• The book displays Elizabeth’s love of

learning



ap art history midterm term 2

Documents

church of san lorenzo

female figures

classical sculpture

florence michelangelo

allegorical figures

modeling figures

base figures

painting jesus