December Test Study Slides

Masaccio, 1426-27

Cimabue (c. 1280) and Giotto (c. 1308) with Madonna’s Enthroned

Italian Quattrocento Painting

Mantegna, Dead Christ• Uncharacteristic use of almost

grisaille in contrast to his usual bold coloring

• Emotionally charged• Bold foreshortening• Feet placed over the edge into

our own space• Head enlarged to see it better;

feet reduced to see body better• Wounds and dislocated shoulders

of Christ prominently displayed

Italian Quattrocento PaintingMantegna, Room of the Newlyweds• Oculus: eight winged putti and a

peacock• Women lean over balcony• Foreshortening and perspective• Walls: heavy curtain pulled back• Antique decorative elements around

main scenes• Patrons are the Gonzagas, their colors

red and white on their hosiery• Realism of Gonzaga bodies: hump

back, double chins, protruding foreheads and jaws, limp and spindly arms and legs

• Charming legend about the possible use by newlyweds on their first night: Cupids abound, with a peacock as a symbol of marital harmony

Sienese School of Painting

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good Government, 1338 -40

• Painting done in the chief council chamber of Siena, the Hall of Peace

• Panoramic view of the city of Siena with walls and countryside

• Security in center has a banner that proclaims everyone can walk freely because justice reigns

• Singing and dancing in the streets of the ideal republic (actually against Sienese law)

• Crafts, professions, trades are highlighted as thriving

• Bountiful harvests: a good city feeds its people

• Aspects of leisure: hunters and falconers leave the city unafraid of their safety

• Dark blue sky in contrast with well lit scenery

• Aristocratic elegance of figures

Northern Renaissance 15th Century

Limbourg Brothers, October• From a Book of Hours• Top: paired signs of the zodiac:

Libra & Scorpio• Divide between peasant class in

foreground and ruling nobility in castle in background

• Peasants work at farm routines• Very detailed observation of

nature: from birds eating the seed to the shadows cast by the horse

• Sumptuous colors

1411-16

Northern Renaissance 15th Century

Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece• Outside wings: theme of salvation• Figures sit in small niches,

claustrophobic• Saint John the Evangelist and Saint

John the Baptist done in grisaille; both patron saints of Ghent

• Extreme realism of figures, cf. donors

• Many detailed surfaces from stubble on beard to leaves on trees

• Inscriptions denote Christ’s coming• Donors kneel in Gothic frames• Flemish landscape is revealed in

background

Competition Panelsof the Florence Baptistery

Brunelleschi, Sacrifice of Isaac• Commission given to Ghiberti after the success of the

second set of doors• Doors use a more neutral and modern rectangular shape

instead of more Gothic quatrefoil• Expansive and harmonious use of space• Elegant bodies• Creation of a precise spatial depth• One dense group of forms• Composition divided into two main tiers: upper and lower• Weighty figures• Great variety of poses• More dramatic, tense, sense of urgency• Youthful Isaac• Figures overlap boundaries of quatrefoil pattern• Figures inspired by Roman models• Made in eight pieces, much heavier than Ghiberti’s

Italian Quattrocento Sculpture

Ghiberti, Gates of Paradise• Commission given to Ghiberti

after the success of the second set of doors

• Doors use a more neutral and modern rectangular shape instead of more Gothic quatrefoil

• Expansive and harmonious use of space

• Elegant bodies• Creation of a precise spatial

depth

Italian Quattrocento Art

Verrocchio, David• Slenderness and angularity of

the adolescent body• Jutting left elbow, slightly cocky

aspect• Precise ornament• Leather jerkin and skirt classical

inspired, reveals rather than conceals the young hero’s wiry anatomy

• Pensive and gentle in victory• Lacks anatomical exaggeration

Nicola Pisano

Pisa Baptistry

The Cathedral Pulpit is Giovanni Pisano's masterpiece, and was built between 1302 and 1311. The beautifully sculpted panels represent scenes from the life of Jesus.The Baptistery Pulpit was built in 1260 by Nicola Pisano. It is hexagonal in shape and the six sculpted panels depict the life and death of Christ.

Note the trefoil Gothic Arches, Corinthian capitalscrouching lions and eagle book rest

Italian Quattrocento ArchitectureAlberti, Sant’Andrea, Mantua• Combination of Roman triumphal

arch with antique temple front• Pairs of giant pilasters, topped by

Corinthian capitals, support pediment• Large barrel vault that rises above the

façade• Size of façade dictated by the small

plaza in front of church: Alberti could not change width—bell tower on one side, the plaza on the other

• Alberti sought to create identical proportions of width and height

• “Ombrellone” seems awkward, but it creates a powerful barrel vault inside building, largest since antiquity

Saint-Maclou, Rouen1432 - 1521

1443-51