EARLY EUROPE &
COLONIAL
AMERICAS
ST
1 HALF
200 – 1750 CE
Quick timeline reference from where we left off:
Byzantine Style (330-1453):
o Constantine recognized Christianity as the official religion
o At the Fall of Rome – arrangements were made to divide the
Western half (ruled from Rome) and the Eastern half (ruled from
Byzantium – later named Constantinople after Constantine)
o Western half fell to barbarian Dark Ages
o Eastern art flourished with Christian art – creating a new set of
Christian images and icons (derived though from Greek and
Egyptian Art techniques)
o Orthodox Christianity flourished during this time
o Byzantine Style PANEL PAINTINGS:
• Panel painting originally began as a small-scale devotional
icon carried and owned by the many.
• Progressed to multi-paneled, hung above an altar called an
ALTARPIECE.
ACTIVITY – SILENT POLL
• TAKE A FEW STICKY NOTES AND A MARKER OR PEN
• JOT DOWN A FEW ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS (PUT YOUR ANSWERS ON DIFFERENT
STICKYS)
• PLACE YOUR ANSWER ON THE QUESTION SHEET.
• THIS IS A SILENT POLL – NO DISCUSSION YET.
QUESTIONS:
• WRITE DOWN ALL YOU KNOW ABOUT THE RENAISSANCE.
(EACH FACT ON A DIFFERENT STICKY)
• WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE ITALIAN
RENAISSANCE (WRITE SOMETHING OTHER THAN “I DON’T
CARE” OR “I DON’T KNOW”)
PAINTING MEDIUMS
o Encaustic Style – using hot beeswax combined with
pigments to apply to surface.
o Tempera – another form of painting using egg yolk
blended with water, pigments, & occasionally other
materials such as glue.
• 14th century material of choice, velvety sheen – but results in
premature cracking & flaking
o Fresco –pigments mixed with water then applied
directly onto freshly laid lime-plaster surface.
o Oil –mixing natural oils such as linseed, walnut, or
poppy to bind the pigment. Slow dry time allows
artists to blend on the surface.
Lamentation, by Giotto di Bondone, 1303
CE, located in the Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel, Padua, Italy, Fresco
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
*Take notes on the video
•
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/global-site-searchpage.html?searchterm=masters%20of%20illusion&sea
rchpath=%2Fcontent%2Fngaweb%2Fglobal-sitesearchpage&category=Audio%2FVideo&pageNumber=1&last
Facet=category
•
• Triptych (3 panels) with window vantage point.
Exploits middleclass objects with religious undertones.
ACTIVITY: INDIVIDUAL OBSERVATION (3
min.), SHARE WITHIN SMALL GROUPS (3 min.),
RESEARCH TO CONFIRM (10 min.), DISCUSS
WITH CLASS (5 min. each Panel)
•
•
•
•
# Off 1’s, 2’s, & 3’s
1’s: Observe the Image on the Left Panel
2’s: Observe the Image on the Middle Panel
3’s: Observe the Image on the Right Panel
ACTIVITY: INDIVIDUAL OBSERVATION (3 min.), SHARE
WITHIN SMALL GROUPS (3 min.), RESEARCH TO CONFIRM
(10 min.), DISCUSS WITH CLASS (3 min. each Panel)
Left Panel Group
Results:
Middle Panel Group
Results:
Right Panel Group
Results:
• Abundance of Talented Artists
• Princely Courts
o All had a “Court artist”
• Art Functioned as:
o Evidence of princely culture & sophistication
o Demonstration of wealth
o Form of commemoration
o Propaganda & public education
o visual pleasure
• Spread of Humanism
o Encouraged individual improvement (unlike
medieval times)
o Rewarded with fame and honor
o Development of Printing press = Books
The Arnolfini Portrait, by
Jan van Eyck
Look up the areas of
Symbolism listed below for
the purpose within this
painting. Include other
areas of symbolism you find
through your research.
The Color Red:
Statue of St. Margaret on
bedpost:
Single burning candle:
Fruit on table & windowsill:
Shoes removed:
Dog:
CONVEX MIRROR:
Others?
David, by Donatello,
(dated around) 1435-1440 CE,
bronze
• 1st recorded being in
Medici palace in courtyard.
• Draws on classical
tradition of heroic nudity
(1st since ancient times).
• Adolescent David stands
jauntily upon Goliath’s
head
• Symbol for the
Independent Florentine
Republic
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=PlTpu5yHXz8
Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli, 1483-1485 CE, tempera on
panel,
approx. 5' 8" x 9' 1". Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
**PAINTING KNOWN FOR IT’S GRACEFUL LINEARITY! **COMMISSIONED BY
THE MEDICI FAMILY
Using your Google Chrome
Books, look up and read the
Poem by Angelo Poliziano, that
inspired Sandro Botticelli
to create the Birth of Venus
painting for the Medici Family.
*Discussion to Follow
ACTIVITY – SILENT POLL
FOLLOW UP
• TAKE A FEW STICKY NOTES AND A MARKER OR PEN
• JOT DOWN A FEW ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS (PUT YOUR ANSWERS ON DIFFERENT
STICKYS)
• PLACE YOUR ANSWER ON THE QUESTION SHEET.
• THIS IS A SILENT POLL – NO DISCUSSION YET.
QUESTIONS:
• AFTER TODAY’S LESSON - WRITE DOWN ALL YOU KNOW
SO FAR ABOUT THE RENAISSANCE. (EACH FACT ON A
DIFFERENT STICKY)