Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135 / EUST 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
1. TRADITION, COMPETITION AND INNOVATION
Early Renaissance in Florence
North doors of Baptistery, Florence – originally an Old Testament series
*cf. Andrea Pisano, south doors (scenes from life of John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence),
1336
Competition, 1401 (sponsored by patrons of Baptistery, the Calimala [vendors of wool] Guild)
LORENZO GHIBERTI (1381?-1455)
Sacrifice of Isaac, 1402-3
FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI (1377-1446)
Sacrifice of Isaac, 1402-3
BRUNELLESCHI as architect (1377-1446)
San Lorenzo, Florence, 1421 ff. (finished 1470's)
Medici family church
cf. Dome, Cathedral, Florence, 1416 competition, execution 1420 ff.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Terms to know
Quatrefoil
Architecture
Ground plan, Latin cross plan
arcade
arch
pilaster
coffers
barrel vault, groin vault
different orders: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian
column: shaft and capital
entablature: architrave, frieze, cornice
pediment
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Note: You do not have to know the comparative works (marked “cf.”) for the exams.
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
2. SACRED NARRATIVE AND THE ILLUSION OF PRESENCE
Early Renaissance in Florence and Mantua
MASACCIO (1401-c. 1428)
Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425 (Pietro Brancacci, patron)
Tribute Money
Trinity, Santa Maria Novella, Florence, c. 1427 (Lenzi family patrons)
cf. Rogier van der Weyden, Crucifixion (Vienna), 1445
to see it in its location: http://library.artstor.org/library/qtvrViewer.html?parent=true
GHIBERTI (1381?-1455)
Isaac and his Sons, Gates of Paradise, doors, Baptistery, Florence, 1425-37, gilding by 1452
(Calimala [vendors of wool] guild)
LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI (c. 1404-72), humanist writer and artist
Wrote treatises On Painting (1435), On Architecture (1440s-1452), On Sculpture (1440s)
Rucellai Palace, Florence, beg. 1446 (Rucellai family, patron)
cf. Colosseum, Rome, 1st c. AD
S. Andrea, Mantua, 1470 ff. (for Lodovico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Terms and concepts to know:
ICONOGRAPHY
STYLE
plus, in paintings
fresco
horizon-line isocephaly
RENAISSANCE (RINASCITÀ)
vanishing point
orthogonal lines
QUESTIONS TO FOCUS ON IN THE READING [on e-reserve]
BAXANDALL
CONTENT
How exactly did social or cultural experiences of the Italian 15th century affect the viewer's perception of
visual images?
What would a 15th-century merchant or patron look for when he was confronted with a picture?
What aspects of the culture affected the way people viewed religious pictures?
What factors other than the artist's imagination affected the way artists represented human figures?
What did colors mean to the Renaissance viewer? the representation of volume?
How would the spiritual requirements of a painting transform a viewer's apprehension of volume,
perspective, etc.?
ABSTRACT
Answer the following questions in 1-2 sentences each. Write each question preceding each answer:
1)
2)
3)
4)
What was the author trying to demonstrate/prove/argue?
What kind of evidence did s/he use to make his/her point?
Why does it matter?
What do you see as the importance of the piece, or how did it change your understanding of the
subject?
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
3. CELESTIAL GIFTS, GRACE, AND THE MODERN MANNER
High Renaissance in Florence and Milan
prologue
DONATELLO (1386-1466)
David, c. 1440 (Medici patrons)
----------------------------------------------------LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519)
Virgin of the Rocks, 1482-3 (Louvre) (for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception’s
chapel in S. Francesco Grande, Milan)
cf. Piero della Francesca (c. 1420-92), Madonna and Child with Saints (Brera
Altarpiece), 1472-4
Last Supper, 1495-8, for refectory, S. Maria delle Grazie, Milan (Duke Ludovico Sforza, patron,
for the cloister of the Dominican order)
cf. Andrea dal Castagno (1417/19-57) Last Supper, Cenacolo, Sant'Apollonia, Florence,
1447
Mona Lisa, 1503-6 (probably Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo)
cf. Piero della Francesca (c. 1420-92), Portrait of Battista Sforza, Duchess of Urbino,
1465
cf. Rogier van der Weyden, Portrait of a Lady, c. 1460
Madonna and Child with St. Anne (painting--altarpiece), 1508-12
Useful people, historical events, and dates
Florence
Cosimo de Medici, back in Florence 1434-64
Lorenzo de Medici (his grandson), d. 1492
Republic of Florence 1494-1512
Milan
READING: *Vasari, Preface to Part Three, Lives of the Artists
Duke Ludovico Sforza 1452-1508
wife Beatrice d’Este
QUESTIONS TO FOCUS ON IN THE READING (Vasari, Preface to Part III of Lives)
CONTENT
-- Does Vasari use the same ways of looking at art as Baxandall does? what are differences?
--What are the ways Vasari measures progress in art?
--What were the factors that helped to bring about this "progress"?
--Which artist began the third period of art, and why he?
--What are some qualities that mark the third period? what it the relationship of the art to antiquity?
to nature?
ARGUMENT
ABSTRACT
Answer the following questions in 1-2 sentences each. Write each question preceding each answer:
1)
2)
3)
4)
What was the author trying to demonstrate/prove/argue?
What kind of evidence did s/he use to make his/her point?
Why does it matter?
What do you see as the importance of the piece, or how did it change your understanding of the
subject?
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
4. HUMBLE AND SACRED EXPERIENCES DEPICTED
Early Netherlandish Painting and
The Beginnings of Northern Renaissance
ROBERT CAMPIN (1375-1444)
Mérode Altarpiece, c. 1425 (Cloisters, NY)
JAN VAN EYCK (c. 1395-1441)
Ghent Altarpiece (Adoration of the Lamb), S. Bavo, Ghent, c. 1430-32 (patron Jodocus Vijdt,
Isabel Borluut)
cf. Fra Angelico, Annunciation (Prado), c. 1430
ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528)
Self-Portrait, 1500 (Munich)
Four Riders of the Apocalypse, woodcut, c. 1496
Adam and Eve, engraving, 1504
cf. Pollaiuolo, Battle of 10 Nudes (engraving), 1465
St. Jerome, engraving, 1514
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Terms to know
ICONOGRAPHY
STYLE
triptych
Annunciation
woodcut
engraving
READING: *A. Nagel and C. Wood, ch. 1: “Plural Temporality of the Work of Art,” and ch. 9: “Fashion in Painting,” in
Anachronic Renaissance (NY: Zone Books, 2010) 7-19, 85-95, 369-72, 388-90
Nicola Courtright
ARHA 135
Amherst College
Art and Architecture of Europe 14001800
Spring 2012
5. ART AND ARCHITECTURE FOR THE IMPERIAL PAPACY, 1
High Renaissance in Rome
MICHELANGELO BUONAROTTI (1475-1564)
David, 1501-4, for Piazza della Signoria, Florence
DONATO DA BRAMANTE (c. 1444-1514)
Tempietto, S. Pietro in Montorio, Rome, 1502 (for courtyard of Spanish church,
patrons Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain)
Terms to know: triglyphs, metopes on frieze (part of entablature)
drum of dome; balustrade
decoration includes dentils
St. Peter's, Vatican (Rome), 1506 ff. (patron Pope Julius II)
MICHELANGELO
Sistine Chapel ceiling, Vatican Palace, Rome, 1508-12 (for Pope Julius II)
Cf. Tomb for Julius II, St. Peter's, Rome, first project, 1505-08
-Creation of Adam
-Separation of Light and Dark
-Libyan Sibyl
-Nudes (ignudi)
RESPONSE due Monday, Feb. 13 at 6:00 in Dropbox
* Analyze the composition of one of the works of art below. Think of motion and stasis, balance,
light, shade, mass, volume. See what Vasari says. Also see any glossary in art survey texts, or
guides on writing about art, e.g. by Anne d’Alleva or by Sylvan Barnet.
--Choose one of the following works: Donatello’s Feast of Herod relief or Raphael’s Madonna of the
Meadow. You can find images on the database ARTStor accessible through AC
(http://www.artstor.org/info/) .
2 paragraphs, typed, double-spaced.
Here’s one definition: “composition” The way in which an artist organizes forms in an art work,
either by placing shapes on a flat surface or arranging forms in space.
[from Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 11th ed. (New York et al.: Harcourt College Publishers,
2001), p. 1151]
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
6. ART FOR THE IMPERIAL PAPACY, 2
High Renaissance in Rome
MICHELANGELO
Tomb for Julius II, St. Peter's, Rome, first project, 1505-08
Second project, 1513 ff.
Moses
“Rebellious” Captive
“Dying” Captive
Final project, S. Pietro in Vincoli, Rome, finished 1545
RAPHAEL SANZIO (1483-1520)
Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace (for Julius II)
School of Athens, c. 1510-12
cf. Parnassus
Villa Farnesina (for Agostino Chigi, papal banker)
Galatea, c. 1512
Cf. Botticelli, Birth of Venus, c. 1484-86 (probably for Medici family member)
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
7. CLASSICISM TRANSFORMED BY COLOR AND LIGHT
Renaissance Trends in Northern Italy
Background
Cf. Jacopo Bellini (1400-1470), Flagellation (drawing), c. 1450
Cf. Gentile Bellini (c. 1427-1507), Turkish Man, Turkish Woman (drawings), c. 1480
Cf. Gentile Bellini, Procession of the Relic of the True Cross in Piazza San Marco 1496
Cf. Giovanni Bellini (c. 1431/6-1516), Enthroned Madonna with Saints (St. Job Altarpiece), late 1480s
TITIAN (c. 1490-1576)
Pesaro Madonna, 1519-26, S. Maria dei Frari, Venice
cf. Giovanni Bellini, Enthoned Madonna with Saints (St. Job altarpiece), late 1480's
Bacchanal of the Andrians, c. 1520-21
Venus of Urbino, finished 1538
cf. Giorgione (c. 1477-1510), Sleeping Venus, c. 1508
PALLADIO (1508-80)
Villa Rotonda, Vicenza, beg. 1550
S. Giorgio Maggiore, beg. 1566 [discussion after Michelangelo architecture ]
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
8. ARTISTIC INNOVATION AND RELIGIOUS REFORM
Mannerism and the Counter Reformation in Rome
MICHELANGELO
Medici Chapel, New Sacristy, S. Lorenzo, 1519-33
Tomb of Giuliano de'Medici
Night
Day
Sack of Rome, 1527
PONTORMO (1494-1557), Deposition, Capponi Chapel, Florence, 1525-8
PARMIGIANINO (1503-1540), Madonna of the Long Neck, c. 1533
MICHELANGELO, cont’d.
St. Peter's, Rome, 1546 ff., for Paul III (Farnese)
Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel, 1536-41, for Paul III (Farnese)
Rondanini Pietà, 1555-64
cf. Pietà,1497-99, for French cardinal's tomb chapel, St. Peter's
PALLADIO (1508-80)
S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, beg. 1566
No class Wed. or Thursday.
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
9. TRANSMISSION, RESISTANCE, AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL
CANON
Renaissance in the Netherlands
PIETER BRUEGEL (c. 1525-1569)
Wedding Dance, c. 1566
Cf. Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), Haywain Triptych, c. 1510
Peasant Wedding, c. 1568
Hunters in the Snow, 1565
Formal analysis due Friday, March 2, 11:59 p.m. in online GRADEBOOK. Doublespaced, include illustration of work in your document if not on website.
Title the document Essay_1_yourlastname. (Don’t forget to “save as” including your last
name!)
Look at the prompt.
Read the documents on the course site under “Assignments” including the guidelines and
rubric I’ve posted.
Write a first draft all the way through,
then a second draft honing your idea, which you are supporting with the visual evidence.
Some tips:
 Look at the original, look again.
 Use visual evidence to make a point.
 Stay away from spurious symbolism and anything touchy-feely—this is an analysis.
 Come see me and we can talk about your image.
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
10. ART OF REFORM: MERGING HIGH AND LOW
Early Baroque in Rome
MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO (1571-1610)
Bacchus, c. 1597
cf. Bronzino, Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time/Allegory of Time/Allegory of Lust, c. 1546
cf. Raphael, La Fornarina, c. 1515
cf. Parmigianino, Madonna of the Long Neck, c. 1533
Calling of St. Matthew, Contarelli Chapel, S. Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, 1599-1600
cf. Jan van Hemessen, Calling of St. Matthew, 1548-9
Conversion of St. Paul, Cerasi Chapel, S. Maria del Popolo, Rome, 1600-1
cf. Parmigianino, Conversion of St. Paul, c. 1530
David and Goliath, c. 1605
ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI (1592-1652/3)
Self-Portrait, c. 1630
cf. Parmigianino, Self-Portrait, c. 1523-4
cf. Sophonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait, 1554
Judith Slaying Holofernes (Uffizi), c. 1620
cf. Caravaggio, Judith Slaying Holofernes, c. 1598
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Terms to know
Counter-Reformation
genre painting
------------------New abstracts for next week
Abstract 4
*S. Alpers, “Bruegel’s Festive Peasants,” Simiolus, 6, No. 3/4 (1972 - 1973):163-176
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3780341 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3780341
Abstract 5:
*Ignatius Loyola, “Spiritual Exercises,” in Wren, ed., Perspectives on Western Art, v. 2, 76-78
*Panofsky, “What is Baroque?” in Panofsky, Three Essays on Style, ed. I. Lavin (1995), 17-88
Nicola Courtright
Amherst College
1800
Spring 2012
ARHA 135
Art and Architecture of Europe 1400-
11. REFORM AND THE CLASSICAL TRADITION
Baroque in Rome
VIGNOLA AND DELLA PORTA
Il Gesù, 1568-73, for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese on behalf of the Jesuit order, founded by
St. Ignatius Loyola
plan by Giacomo da Vignola (1507-73), 1568
facade by Giacomo della Porta (1532-1602), beg. 1571
ANNIBALE CARRACCI (1560-1609)
Polyphemus and Galatea, Farnese Gallery, 1600, for Farnese family
GIANLORENZO BERNINI (1598-1680)
Apollo and Daphne, 1622-25
David, 1623-24
PIETRO DA CORTONA (1596-1669)
Glorification of Urban VIII's Reign, Barberini Palace, Rome, 1633-9, for Barberini family
Cf. Bernini, Tomb Urban VIII (St. Peter’s), 1627-1647
----------------------------QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT IN THE READING
Do the descriptions of the Baroque style or era in Panofsky’s essay apply to all Baroque artists?
Think about what he writes when we move on to other countries and artists.