Art History II

Instructor Dustin M Price

Quiz 1

Take out a piece of paper and write your name for 1pt and then answer the following question for 1pt: True or False Did Jan van Eyck invent oil painting?

What did we cover last time?

-Intuitive and atmospheric perspective -Oil Paint vs. Tempera -Jan van Eyck - Double Portrait of A Giovanni Arnolfini and

his Wife

-Iconography/Symbolism -Diptych/Triptych -Rogeir van der Weyden -Europe Beyond Flanders (France) -French artist Jean Fouquet

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg I want to quickly backtrack to one of the most important moments in humanity, the invention of the printing press.

- Somewhere around 1440 Johannes Gutenberg changed the world by inventing the Printing Press.

-Previously, bookmaking entailed copying all the words and illustrations by hand. A tedious process, mostly reserved for clergy. -This lengthy process also made books very expensive.

- Gutenberg's press could produce books quickly and with relatively little effort, bookmaking became much less expensive, allowing more people to buy reading material.

-This lead to the spread of philosophy, education, and literacy throughout Europe. There was an incredible explosion of intellectual pursuits.

A 15th century printing press similar to the one Gutenberg invented.

Martin Schongauer Demons Tormenting St. Anthony 1480-1490 Engraving

Page from a Gutenberg Bible printed around 1445 (about 40 still exist today) This spreading of intellectual ideals aided the Humanists of the time not only educate themselves but further their own philosophy.

Lets us define Humanism one more time: Humanism is a philosophy that believes in the power and potential of human beings Humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders beginning in the 14 th century.

(by the mid-fifteenth century, many of the upper classes had received humanist educations.)

Medici Chapel

The Medici Family

The Medici family rose in power during the 15 th century in Florence. They were among the new “Upper Middle Class” of merchants and bankers in Italy during the Renaissance. They were brilliant bankers and utterly ruthless. People who went against them often were humiliated, or found dead. Although Florence was a republic at the time The Medici’s were certainly the de facto rulers.

Corruption ran rampant in the Medici household but they were famous for their patronage of the arts, philosophy, and architecture.

Interior of Medici Chapel (Princes Chapel)

The cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore The Florence Cathedral (The Duomo) -A distinctive feature of Florence's skyline is the dome of the cathedral (Duomo), Santa Maria del Fiore.

-Construction began in the late 13 th century and continued off and on throughout the 14 th century -As early as 1367 builders envisioned a great dome but did not have the skill to complete it.

- Around 1407 interest in finally completing the cathedral prompted Filippo Brunelleschi (a sculptor turned architect) to propose a technical solution for completing the dome. -Brunelleschi was the son of a man originally involved in the plans for the dome.

-Brunelleschi was originally trained as a goldsmith.

The Florence Baptistery or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John)

The Florence Baptistery or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John) south door by Andrea Pisano

The Florence Baptistery or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John) north door by Lorenzo Ghiberti

The Florence Baptistery or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John) east door by Lorenzo Ghiberti

Interior of the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore

Interior of the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore looking up towards the dome (notice the oculus)

The dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore The Florence Cathedral (The Duomo) -To further his education Brunelleschi traveled to Rome to study sculpture and architecture. -Upon his return to Florence he began work on the dome, beginning with the octagonal drum or base which was completed in 1412.

-The dome itself was designed in 1417, and was built between 1420 and 1436.

-It was completely revolutionary. -After the dome project solidified Brunelleschi’s expertise commissions came rolling in. -From around 1418 until his death in 1446, Brunelleschi was involved in many famous projects.

Interior of the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore looking down the oculus

Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi) (1386-1466)

- Florentine Sculptor -Is thought to learn stone carving from one of the stone carvers working on the Florence Cathedral in about 1400 - Some time between 1404 and 1407 he became a member of the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti, a sculptor in bronze who in 1402 had won the competition for the doors of the Florentine baptistery.

- Donatello's earliest work of which there is certain knowledge, a marble statue of David, (next slide) shows an artistic debt to Ghiberti, who was then the leading Florentine exponent of International Gothic, a style of graceful, softly curved lines strongly influenced by northern European art.

Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi) (1386-1466)

-The David, originally intended for the cathedral, was moved in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio, the city hall, where it long stood as a civic-patriotic symbol, although from the 16th century on it was eclipsed by the gigantic David of Michelangelo, which served the same purpose. - The last years of Donatello's life were spent designing twin bronze pulpits for San Lorenzo, and, thus, again in the service of his old patrons the Medici, he died. Covered with reliefs showing the passion of Christ, the pulpits are works of tremendous spiritual depth and complexity, even though some parts were left unfinished and had to be completed by lesser artists.

Donatello’s David (1446-1460?)

- Unlike any other interpretation of the story of David killing Goliath, a rather popular theme in Renaissance Italy - cast in bronze, height around 5’ - considered one of Donatello’s finest works - David, was at the time in Florence a potent political symbol of the citizens’ resolve to oppose tyrants regardless of their superior power.

- An inscription of the base where the sculpture once stood suggests it may have also celebrated the Florentine triumph over Milanese in 1425.

-What makes this interpretation so intriguing? Lets take a closer look at the statue and then compare it to other David statues from the same time and area.

Bartolomeo Bellano, David, c. 1470-80.

Master of the David and Saint John Statuettes, David, c. 1490.

Andrea del Verrocchio, David, c. 1465 .

Vocab: Things to Remember for Exam 1:

Oculus Humanism Contrapposto The Gutenberg Printing Press

Artwork/Architecture

The cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore 19-2 Martin Schongauer Demons Tormenting St. Anthony 1480-1490 Engraving18-26 the bronze David by Donatello 19-10