AP Art History PowerPoint Project

by Jake Schrass

zzm_mantegna_lamentation_1480_schr

100 WELL KNOWNWORKS OF ART

Interpreted Using

The

Feldman Model of Formal Analysis

#63 Mantega, Lamentation Over the Dead Christ

Feldman’s Model of Art Criticism

From the work of Edmund Burke Feldman,

During the late 1960’s and early 70’s

1. Description-List the visual qualities of the work that are obvious and immediate.

“What do you see in the artwork”?

Include content and subject matter in representational works-

Include abstract elements in nonrepresentational pieces.

2. Analysis-Focus on the formal aspects of elements of art, principles of design.

“How does the artist create a center of interest?

How does the use of color impact the painting?”

3. Interpretation-Propose ideas for possible meaning based on evidence.

“What was the artist trying to communicate”?

4. Judgment-Discuss the overall strengths/success/merit of the work.

How and why has this work achieved cultural value?

Andrea Mantegna Lamentation Over the Dead Christ, c1480-1500, Renaissance Movement, 27” by 32” Tempera on Canvas

1.DESCRIPTIONa. Painting

b. Tempera on canvas

c. 27’ x 32”

d. Line, shape of the body, texture.

e. Vertical, almost symmetrical

f. Planar – only one plane in the picture with shading

g. Lines create the body, and the women mourning.

h. One large shape

i. Black, pale, brown – flat, sad colors

j. Simulated texture in the body, the women and the sheets.

k. Venice, Italy – c1480 to 1500

2.ANALYSISa. Image of the dead Christ, and his motherb. Emphasis on the form of the body, and the flat colorsc. Unified, but unbalanced because of the women on the left. Vertically orientedd. Color and form, along with the shape of the bodye. shadowy, dull colors giving it a flat, depressed moodf. Shallow space, only the body in the foreground, or feet in the foreground and head deeperg. Static composition, no movementh. Painted realisticallyi. Overall, there are sad, depressed emotions, as the death is highlighted by the colors.

3. Interpretationa. The work is about the people who

knew the Christ mourning his death. It

represents the sadness felt after he died.

b. The work is about despondency and depression after the Christ died.

c. The flat colors, the highlights on the holes in his hands and feet, and the depression shown on the faces of the women show this sadness.

4. Judgmenta. What sets this work apart and

makes it worth studying?

Web Gallery of Art

b. How does this work fit into the context of what came before and after it? Khan Academy

c. How have critics, historians, and the public reacted to this work? Independent Article

d. How has this work changed the way art is viewed? Milan Tourism

Free FallingCristo in Scurto

National Gallery of Art

Compare and Contrast

The period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe saw a great revival of interest in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. The style of painting, sculpture and decorative arts identified with the Renaissance emerged in Italy in the late 14th century; it reached its zenith in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, in the work of Italian masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. In addition to its expression of classical Greco-Roman traditions, Renaissance art sought to capture the experience of the individual and the beauty and mystery of the natural world.

Renaissance Summary

1400-1600

Interesting Facts About Artist• Leading artist of the school of Padua• He was and apprentice and adopted son of Francisco

Squarcione.• He later sued Squarcione for 400 ducats because the

money he earned was being given to Squarcione, even though he was no longer his apprentice.

• The court awarded him 200 ducats• Mantegna was a proud and abrasive artist who didn’t

get along well with others

His first masterpiece, the Ovetari Chapel Fresco, was mostly destroyed during World War II

References

1. Mantegna Facts