I.

The beginning of the end of the Medieval Style

A. Nicola Pisano created a Pulpit for the Baptistery of Pisa (a major rival of Florence), 1259-60, that incorporates not only the standard Gothic elements of pointed arches and tracery, but also included Roman spolia in the columns and capitals as well as relief sculptures modeled on Late Roman figure types. The classical references were to increase the historical prestige of Pisa, placing it on par with other ancient Roman cities like Florence. The opulence of the pulpit speaks to the importance baptisteries played in civic as well as religious life

B. Bonaventura Berlighieri executed his panel from the St. Francis Altarpiece, 1235, only a few years after St. Francis death. The organization, and style remain Byzantine in the use of registers and the gold background, however the images reveal an interest in the very human life of Saint Francis and his encounters with the divine. St. Francis creates Franciscan order, who along with the Dominicans, are important mendicants who preach for charity and humanity.

C. Cimabues Maest (Madonna and child enthroned) challenges the Byzantine norms by modeling his figures with value changes, implying 3-dimensionality. Space remains ambiguous as befitting for a scene set in another world. The figures of Old Testament saints form a conceptual foundation for the Incarnation.

II. Giottos revolution of naturalism

A. Giotto di Bondone, a student of Cimabue, continues his Masters push toward naturalism, aided by a cultural shift toward Humanism, that is, the belief that the experiences of the human condition, from joy to agony, are valuable and worthy of

1. The Ognisanti Maest, 1310, works within the Madonna Enthroned tradition, but presents the virgin as warm, matronly and fertile. The heavenly court seems to be occupying a more definite space as figures are not simply spaced up as in medieval compositions but instead overlapping.

2. The Arena chapel, 1305-06, was constructed by Enrico Scrovegni as a votive dedicated to the Virgin of Charity that he hoped would atone for the money lending business through which he and his father had grown rich. The chapel is decorated from floor to vault with frescos depicting Scenes from the Life of the Virgin as well as Scenes from the Life of Christ. The images are organized in registers divided into cells. The figures are modeled with a consistent light source, and several scenes feature figures with there back turned. The figuresin the scenes display human emotions, rather than idyllic stares.

a. The Last Judgment fills the West wall, a typical design choice, as the west represents the setting sun and thus the end of time. At the center of the composition sits Christ, enthroned in a mandorla, the universal judge, or pantokrator. Below him stands the cross and below the cross the dead are resurrected. The elect rise to join the orderly ranks of heaven while the damned are graphically tortured in a beastly and chaotic parody of the celestial court. Giotto uses his ability to model figures to convincingly render the eschatological in human terms.

B. As Giotto drives Florentine painting, Duccio, Simone Martini, and the Lorenzetti Brothers are important style-makers in Siena. Duccio creates a massive Maest, 1308-1311, for the citys cathedral, that is, the Bishops church. The Altarpiece features the life of Christ set against the traditional gold ground but also includes lavish costumes and fully-modeled figures set in landscapes. The Maest is a symbol of civic pride. Simone Martini continues the Gothic tradition of balletic figures with his Annunciation, 1333. Pietro Lorenzetti sets his Birth of the Virgin, 1342, in a Sienese bedroom, bringing the sacred event into familiar environs. His brother Ambrogio Lorenzetti decorates Sienas Palazzo Pubblico, with monumental murals known as the Allegories of Good and Bad Government, and the Effects of Good and Bad Government on the City and Country, 1338-39. Allegorical visualization of government parallels the heavenly court, and provides for prosperity and freedom in the cityscape and safety and abundance

A. Arnolfio di Cambio is chiefly responsible for the nave, transept and apse of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Florence Cathedral (later referred to as the Duomo though there is no dome yet), begun 1296. The building is massive, with marble encrustation featuring the same green serpentine geometric shapes, which, as they do on the nearby Baptistery of San Giovanni, articulate the rational construction of the building. The patterns as well as the occuli refer to the classical past. Inside, the nave and bays are deliberately wide; the resulting horizontality looks backward to Roman basilicas, as opposed to the soaring verticality of Gothic cathedrals across the Alps. Giotto designs the campanile, or bell tower, close by but not attached to the church itself, as is the Italian tradition. The tower is constructed of modular units. B. In Northern Italian cities like Venice and Milan, the Gothic style prevails, though mediated by roman elements like horizontality and classical elements like pediments.

III. Architecture

 Chapter 14: Northern Renaissance 14001500

Background: Art in Northern Europe thrived under royal, ducal, church and private patronage. Flanders, free from the perennial conflict of England and France, but with close ties to both the French Royal family as well as the Holy Roman Empire, becomes an important artistic center. Northern Europeans develop the use of oil paint. This new medium dries very slowly and can be applied in multiple translucent layers, allowing artists to create meticulous recreations of the effects of light. The result is a regional predilection toward the superficial textures and luminosity take precedence over form or space.

I. Phillip the Bold and the Chartreuse de Champmol

A. Phillip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, enlists Claus Sluter to design a series of sculpture to adorn his Carthusian chartreuse or charterhouse, which he endows to pray for his soul as he gains political strength.

The Well of Moses

1. The Well of Moses, 1395-1406, is the traditional name given to the remains of a massive fountain complex that featured the Crucifixion, held aloft by a base of six life-sized Old Testament prophets, prominent among them, Moses. Each figure is draped in opulent costume, and bears an identifying attribute. The figures from the Old and New Testaments are mediated by angels wearing liturgical robes, signaling the continuity of the traditions through the church.

B. Melchior Broederlam uses oil to decorate the Retable de Champmol, 1399. The retable, or altarpiece, depicts the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation and the Flight into Egypt. The scenes are embellished with architecture that, like much of the Italian painting of the day, demonstrates only a loose understanding of linear perspective, as well as embedded symbols of the old and new dispensation

II. Flemish Painting

A. Robert Campin (Master of Flemalle) executes the Merode Altarpiece, ca. 1425-28. The triptych consists of the donors in an enclosed garden (hortus conclusus) in the left wing, the Annunciation in the center, and Saint Joseph in his workshop in the right wing. Campin depicts the virgin as a domestic, humble, pious, girl. The room in which the angel visits her is furnished as typical for Flanders. The perspective problems persist, but the allow for a panoramic look at the contents of the room which allude to Old testament prophesies and the Virgins own Immaculate Conception. Saint Joseph is equally symbolic as he demonstrates the appropriate behavior for the male head of the household. Colors and textures are more vibrant and lifelike than ever, however modeling and space continue the gothic tradition.

B. Jan Van Eyck is the foremost painter of the early fifteenth century and is apocryphally credited as the inventor of oil painting. 1.The Ghent Altarpiece, 1432, like the Siena Altarpiece is a source of incredible civic pride. Both artistic and religious pilgrims from all over Europe flock to Ghent to see the work. The altarpiece remains closed for most of the week and is opened on Sundays and feast days. a. The exterior features the Annunciation, Cathedrals patron saints John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, Old Testament prophets, Pagan sibyls, and the donors. Jans use of oil allows him to replicate materials of all kinds including stone, fabric, hair and skin, as well as the insubstantial, such as light, and even the air itself through the windows creating distinct atmospheric perspective. b. The interior is a complex palimpsest of highly detailed images. b. 1. The top register is dominated by God the Father, who bears the countenance of Christ, and the three-tier tiara of the Popes. He is flanked on his right by the Virgin, who wears the elaborate jeweled crown and intricately brocaded mantle of a queen. On Gods left is the Baptist, wearing his characteristic hair shirt. The configuration of the three figures makes this a Deesis, or a scene of judgment and intercession. The surrounding wings depict angelic musicians, while the further most wings contain nude depictions of Adam of and Eve and above them grisaille images of Cain and Abel, collectively representing the humanitys sin and the need for salvation. c. 2. Below, in the lower register hundreds of figures collect to pay homage to the Agnus Dei, positioned directly below the dove of the Holy Spirit and the figure of God the Father in the upper register. The crowds that are assembled are the blessed mentioned in Christs Sermon on the Mount. In the distance a consistent and panoramic view of a Flemish countryside ties all five lower panels together.

The Ghent Alterpiece

2. The Arnolfini Portrait (also called the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait), 1434 demands careful attention to the attributes of the wealthy subjects. Painted for a Medici banker in Flanders, the picture portrays the subjects as highly stylish, with lavish costumes and furnishings. Jan scatters the room with symbolic images that point to gender roles and the social contract of Marriage. It would be a good idea to know these symbols.

The Arnolfini Portrait (also called the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait),

Man in a Red Turban, 1433

Man in a Red Turban, 1433, is traditionally thought to be a selfportrait, based on the inscription. Jan has defied tradition by painting the subject in a non-classical threequarter view. The effect is an intimate and enlivened image.

C. Roger van der Weyden was an important follower of The Master of Flemalle, and a contemporary of Jan.

1. Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child, 1435-40 contains what is usually identified as a selfportrait, adding a special notoriety to the composition, which was copied many times. According to tradition, St. Luke was afforded a miraculous vision of the Virgin in order that he might make her picture. For this reason, Artists Guilds made St. Luke their patron saint.

Rogiers Deposition,1435, is the Northern Renaissance Humanist pice de rsistance. The gold ground pushes the figures to foreground forcing the viewer to contemplate not only the Corpus Christi, but also the anguish of all of Christs attendants, especially as Mary, who swoons to a position paralleling that of Christ.

IV. Beyond Flanders, The Southern Netherlands, France, and Switzerland boasted impressive commissions; like Flanders, even the most sacred works contained potent political messages.

A. Hieronymus Bosch makes his career painting panoramic visions of topsy-turvy landscapes populated by both mundane and fantastic people and creatures. Garden of Earthly Delights, 1505-1510, is such a triptych, beginning with the creation of the world, full of exotic animals and architecture. In the large central panel, an enormous orgy engulfs the landscape, complete with food, drink, sex, animal parades, bathing and dancing. The final panel is the outcome of following the path of indulgencea hellish landscape full of strange animal amalgamations and mutated forms, where sinners atone for their sins accordingly

B. Jean Fouquets Melun Diptych, 1451, features tienne Chevalier and his patron, St. Stephen praying before an ethereal vision of the Virgin and Child. While it is not unusual to see the donor within the picture, the Virgin is conspicuously modeled on Agnes Sorel, the King of Frances late mistress. The picture is thus an attempt to simultaneously curry favor with both a sacred and profane mistress, in the case of Agnes, by way of the surviving King.

C. Konrad Witz Miraculous Draught of Fish, from the Altarpiece of Saint Peter, 1444, on the one hand places the biblical narratives of the miraculous draft of fishes and Christ walking on water at Lake Geneva, once again grounding the sacred events in a familiar setting. On the other hand the image of the imperiled Peter floundering in the water can be seen as a jab at the Church, whose authority is no longer considered infallible in transalpine territories.

Chapter 15: Early Italian Renaissance

Background: As a nexus for humanism, capitalism and nationalism, Florence is the leading center of Renaissance Art in Italy. Florences great prosperity and civic pride make it not only an ideal city for patronage, but it also makes it a political, commercial and ultimately, military target for other kingdoms and city states, such as Milan and Naples. I. The Competition Panels: In an effort to further adorn the Baptistery of San Giovanni, and give thanks for the seeming Divine Intervention against the Milanese Condotieri, in 1401, a competition is held in which sculptors are challenged to present a depiction of the Sacrifice of Isaac in bronze within the same Gothic quatrefoil motif that Pisano used 100 years prior. The two finalists panels survive.

 A. Filippo Brunelleschi produced a dramatic panel in which a cowering Isaac squirms as Abraham violently reaches to cut his throat. The angel of God appears at the last possible moment physically restraining the patriarch with his and on Abrahams wrist. Below the main scene, peasants bend in startling foreshortening, one of them very conspicuously modeled on a famous classical statue the thorn puller. The panel is cast in several pieces of bronze.

 B. Lorenzo Ghiberti fashioned his entry in nearly a single piece. Rather than a callow youth, Ghibertis version of Isaac is noble and muscular, an illusion to the nudes of the classical past. The angel does not lay hands on Abraham, rather he appears to fly in from somewhere in the distant background, implying illusionary space. Ultimately, Ghiberti won the commission. You should be able to postulate why.

II. Sculpture at the Or San Michelle:

This building is part granary, part market, part church, part city hall. The niches that run along the exterior of the once open loggia were sponsored by the citys various guilds that were contractually bound to fill then with statues of their respective patron saints. However it was only after Florence faced another foreign incursion and were again delivered, this time from the king of Naples, that the guilds fulfilled their obligations.

 A. Nanni di Bancos Four Crowned Saints, 1410-16, commissioned by the sculptors guild, represented a truly human depiction of figures directly relating to each other, organized in a semicircle, rather than grouped as individual figures each facing forward in the Gothic style. Below on the predella, the sculptors themselves appear as a kind of signature.

B. Donatello is perhaps the most influential sculptor of the fifteenth century. He completes several figures for the Or San Michelle, including:

1. Saint Mark, 1411-13, stands in the niche of the Linen Makers Guild. Consequently his drapery is extremely orderly, and he stands on a sculpted linen pillow. The folds of his drapery demonstrate the figure beneath, which stands in contraposto, in revival of the classical tradition.

2. Saint George, 1410-15, commissioned by the Armorers Guild, dons a chest plate and metal sleeves, and bears a scudo, or shield. In his original context he would have also worn a real helmet and carried a sword, both fashioned by the armorers themselves. Georges predella features the mounted saint defending a maiden from a dragon. It sure would be good to know the historical/ Humanist parallels. Donatello uses linear perspective and squashed relief to produce an image that implies true depth.

III. Davids, Herculeses and Equestrians: Florence adds the biblical David, and the mythical Hercules to their stable of mascots, which already includes Sta. Maria del Fiore (the Virgin of the flower) and San Giovanni Battista (John the Baptist). Equestrian statues are also en vogue, always looking back to the bronze Marcus Aurelius in Rome (misidentified as Constantine the Great).

A. Donatellos David, 1440-60, is the first documented freestanding nude bronze statue since antiquity. However, the statue is more naked than nude, as the figure wears boots and a large hat. The figure carries a sword and stands triumphantly upon the decollated head of his opponent, Goliath. The statue is decidedly effete. Be sure you know the reasoning behind such bold choices. Hint: the reasons are comparable to those governing the depictions of John the Evangelist. In any case such a bold statue could only be commissioned for private viewing.

B. Andrea del Verocchios David, 1465-70, is an equally youthful figure though this statue dons a jaunty battle skirt. He, too, stands smiling before the giant decollated head, but this commission is far more suited to a public audience. Florentines admired the figure of David in all its incarnations because it represented god given grace and valor in the face of daunting odds. Given the political, economic and military conflicts with the other states, and even Rome, the Old Testament hero was a good match for the Florentine people.

C. Antonio del Pollaiuolos Hercules and Antaeus, ca.147075, depicts the Greek hero in a moment of savage violence that challenged the norms of sculpture with its dynamic composition filled with voids and negative space. Like David, Hercules represented divine power and courage, and like David, wits as well. Know the story of his clash with Antaeus.

D. Donatello and Verocchio produce monumental Bronze Equestrian Statues for Gatamelata (Erasmo da Narni) and Bartolommeo Colleoni respectively. While ostensibly based on the power of nature theme promulgated by the Marcus Aurelius, statue, unlike the ancient prototype, the riders are perfectly suited to their steeds, which they control with alternating pomp and swagger.

IV. Painting in Tuscany:

In Siena, the conservative Gothic style prevails though figures are becoming more and more individualized. In Florence, something far more revolutionary is underway in the Brancacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine. Followers of this new naturalistic style create illusionistic environments. In the Princely courts, painting continues to be a key method of asserting prestige as well as piety.

 A. Gentile da Fabrianos Adoration of the Magi, 1423, is built into the standard Gothic frame, but the figures that populate this massive altar are myriad, each with its own sense of character. The subject, the visit of the three Wiseman, or Kings, comes to represent the obeisance of temporal power to spiritual authority. Below, the predella features one of the first nocturnal scenes of adoration to be illuminated by the infant Christ himself. The picture is painted according to the visions of St. Bridget, which describe the Virgin as being spared the pains of childbirth, and immediately worshiping the newborn Christ.

B. Masaccio is commissioned to decorate the Brancacci chapel of Santa Maria del

B. Masaccio is commissioned to decorate the Brancacci chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine, where he executes a monumental fresco cycle chiefly depicting the life of St. Peter, in honor of the patron. He subsequently perfects his techniques in a fresco in Santa Maria Novella.

 1. The Tribute Money, 1427, depicts the episode from the gospel in which Christ instructs Peter to render to Caesar what is Caesars. The picture evidences the work of Giotto with massive, solid figures including one turned opposite from the viewer, Nanni di Banco, with the apostles grouping in a semicircle around Christ, as well as Donatellos use of linear and atmospheric perspective in the inclusion of architecture. The scene plays out as a monumental panorama with Peter appearing three times in continuous narrative.

2. Even more iconic is the Expulsion, 1424-27, which depicts a fully modeled Adam and Eve, exiting the portal from Paradise in excruciating shame and agony. The figures are rendered with chiarosuro, the Italian technique pioneered by Masaccio using a gradual change in value. Eve seems to be modeled on the Classical statues of the Venus Pudica.

3. The Holy Trinity, 142427, is a tour-de-force of linear perspective, allowing the sacred mystery of a triune God to appear physically present within the logical constructs of a church. As, usual donors are present as well as a memento mori, in the skeleton.

C. Fra Angelico gains fame painting for both monastic and private commissions. He modifies his 1447 composition for the Annunciation to be austere and humble for the monks, and opulent and prestigious for lay patrons. Both compositions feature Mary within the Hortus conclusus.

D. Fra Filippo Lippi is a different kind of Monk altogether. His image of the Virgin and Child with Angels, 1455, incorporates his mistress, the nun, Lucretia Butti as the Virgin. She is given the fashionable plucked high forehead and the jewels and silks of a noble woman. Fashion, artists biography, and Florentine draftsmanship collide in this picture.

E. Andrea del Castagno painted a huge fresco of the Last Supper,1447 for the convent of SantApollonia in Florence. The image depicts the meal to be taking place in what is meant to be both a luxurious marble clad apartment, and an extension of the refectory in which the picture is painted. Andrea does not use consistent perspective but instead attempts to make the image readable to every nun in the room. Judas Iscariot figures prominently in the composition, placed on the opposite side of the table from Christ and the others and bearing the swarthy features of an anti-Semitic caricature.

D. Domenico Ghiralndaios portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni,1488, is painted in profile, after the conservative fashion. The figure is adorned with jewels and sumptuous hair and dress, a reflection of the status of her family. Among the prayer beads and psalm book is a bit of Latin poetry reading Art, if only you could portray the conduct of the soul, there would be no more beautiful picture on earth.

Sandro Botticelli
E. Sandro Botticelli is a favorite of the Medici, the leading family of Florence, who were its de facto rulers. Their wealth allowed them to collect ancient art and literature, and organized informal academies to make work that furthered the Neo-Platonic pursuit of melding pagan philosophy with contemporary Christian theology.

1. Primavera, 1482, is a garden scene, complete with botanically-accurate flowers and a grove of orange trees, referred to Mela Medicina Medici apples the same Medici Balls on their Coat of Arms. The central figure is ostensibly Venus, modestly dressed, holding court beneath a seeming halo, presiding over a group of figures, Mercury, who uses his caduceus to ward away clouds, the three graces in diaphanous drapery, and a continuous narrative of Zephyr, the wind who rapes the nymph Chloris, Through the divine coupling, Chloris is transformed into Flora, the goddess of Spring. The disparate figures coalesce to form an overall theme of love and fertility.

2. Birth of Venus, ca. 1484-1486, is a tempera work on canvas that returns to the theme of Venus, though here she appears nude, after the classical tradition of Venus Pudica. The figure of Venus stands upon a seashell, having just risen from the foaming sea. Propelled by Zephyr and Chloris to the shore where a nymph is ready to clothe her, the character of Venus once again morphs into the Virgin, as the Pagan nude transforms into the chaste Christian icon.

IV. Architecture: Having lost the contest for the Baptistery Doors, Brunelleschi emerges as the leading Florentine Architect of the fifteenth century

A. The Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, 142036, becomes the symbol of Florence. Brunelleschi travels with Donatello to Rome, where he studies ancient ruins and writing about architecture. They visit the Pantheon, the most iconic domed structure in the ancient world, and determine that the crossing of the Florence cathedral is too large to support a comparable dome. Ultimately, Brunelleschi looks to the east and the architecture of Persia. The solution is an elongated, double shell, held aloft by ribs and herringbone masonry, anchored by a massive lantern at the apex. Brunelleschi develops special cranes to erect the dome without centering. Because the dome is based on the pointed arch, it cannot be considered true Renaissance architecture

B. Santa Croce, 1434-36, is Brunelleschis purest expression of Renaissance architecture. Mathematical relationships abound: the nave is twice as wide as it is high; the height of the clerestory equals the height of the arcade. The crossing is a square at the center of an apse, and transept arms of equal length. The length of the nave is twice the length. The system is modular, just as Giottos campanile the previous century. The space remains unadorned to preserve the effect of the math.

C. Palace Architecture: The leading architects of the day take on private commissions that must be cautious in order to avoid charges that the patrons are too aristocratic.

1. Brunelleschi is approached to design the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, begun 1445, but according to tradition, his plans are deemed too opulent, and Michelozzo is enlisted to produce a more austere faade. The exterior is composed of three main courses, the lowest, originally an open loggia, was dressed in rusticated stone, appropriate for foot, horse and carriage traffic. The upper courses were faced with smooth stones. The overall effect is that of strength and solidarity without overwhelming ostentation.

a. The interior is dominated by a central courtyard, in the classical fashion, though the space is ringed by an arcade of arches resting on columns, as Brunelleschi had used in Santa Croce. In fact this is not an ancient tradition, but a medieval one, mistaken for classical practice.

2. Leon Albertis design for the Palazzo Rucellai, 145270 is unencumbered by false modesty and boasts classical orders in the fashion of the Colloseum in Rome. The faade is modular and is enlarged within a few years. The Rucellai intended to continue to expand but were foiled by neighbors who refused to sell.

D. The Renaissance Faade: in this period the faade of a church was considered its own project, typically financed separately, and often years after the fabric of the sanctuary.

1. Alberti designed the faade of Santa Maria Novella, 1456-70, with typical Florentine encrustation, but a more distinctive temple front, complete with pediment and pilasters. The faade is modular and can be defined by a square. Two stone screens that are defined by scrolls soften the dissonance between the nave and the vault.

1. Alberti designed the faade of Santa Maria Novella, 1456-70, with typical Florentine encrustation, but a more distinctive temple front, complete with pediment and pilasters. The faade is modular and can be defined by a square. Two stone screens that are defined by scrolls soften the dissonance between the nave and the vault.

V. The Princely Courts: Outside of Florence, power in Italy was consolidated by individual rulers with titles ranging from Marquis to Duke. These rulers employed artists to work as propaganda to ensure their right to rule among their constituents as well as to create a sense of prestige for their visitors which often included other rulers.

A. Mantua: Andrea Mantegna is the court artist of Duke Ludovico Sforza. Among his many works, he paints the Camera Picta, whose illusionistic frescos offer a continuous, panoramic view of the Ducal lands and are populated by the Dukes family and retinue. The illusion continues into the ceiling where painted architecture opens an occulus, where figures peer below. This technique called di sotto in su, or the view from below.

B. Giovanni Bellini is the first great painter of sixteenth-century Venice. His Saint Francis in the Dessert is exemplary of the Venetian predilection for color and light over drawing, featuring a landscape bathed in divine illumination. The later San Zaccaria Altarpiece, 1505, balances color and design, as his draftsmanship is good enough to create the illusion of a three dimensional extension of the church architecture. The altarpiece is also an example of a Sacra Conversazione, or a gathering of holy figures from disparate epochs, in a reflection of the communion of saints. The work also refers to Venices Byzantine connections through the golden mosaic adorning the niche apse.

C. Rome: Pope Sixtus assembled a veritable army of the leading painters in Italy to decorate his new chapel in the Vatican palace, later called the Sistine chapel, among them Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Signorelli and Perugino. Peruginos Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter, 1481-83 was part of a series of frescos depicting scenes from the Life of Christ. The event is of particular concern to the papacy, which derives its power from this gospel event. The sense of depth is enhanced by the presence of orthogonals and horizontals, which clearly define the one point perspective.

D. Orvieto: Luca Signorelli frescos the Brindisi Chapel of the Orvieto Cathedral with scenes from the end of the world, among them the Damned Cast into Hell, 1499-04. In the Tradition of Giotto and Masaccio, Signorelli creates massive, physically present images. Their carefully rendered, foreshortened anatomy makes the torture of the damned all the more wrenching.

Chapter 16: The High Renaissance and Beyond Background: Italian Renaissance art reaches a crescendo with a triumvirate of three artists, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Each artist strives to look beyond the simple of mimicry of nature, and instead attempt to create ideal images. In the Venice, figures like Titian develop the use of color to rival the light effects of the northern painting.

I. Leonardo da Vinci begins his career in Florence but hardly completes any pictures. A man of myriad interests, he compiles literally thousands of pages of text and drawings, recording the world around him and exploring physics, hydraulics, engineering, armory, anatomy, horticulture, architecture, city planning, sculpture and painting.

A. In his Portrait of Ginevra de Benci, 1474-78, reveals Leonardos interest in light, texture and space. Leonardo boldly turns his subject toward the viewer, allowing her to emerge from the iconic twodimensionality of the traditional portrait. He also carefully places a fruitless Juniper tree in the background to pun on her name without implying pregnancy, as the subject is childless.

B. The Madonna of the Rocks, begun 1483, was painted for the confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. The enigmatic setting refers to the Virgins status as Theotokos. The figures are organized to create a visual pyramid, with eye continuously moving from figure to figure. Leonardo blends carefully observed and executed botany, drapery and figures with an ephemeral light and fantastic setting.

C. Madonna and Child with Saint Anne and the Infant Saint John, ca. 150507 is a cartoon, and in its unfinished state, allows the viewer to see several stages of Leonardos process, from the loose gesture drawing to the bold chiaroscuro effects achieved through a modeling technique called sfumato, literally smoked. Rather than depending on line, the figures emerge in three dimensions through value changes.

D. The Last Supper, 1495-98, was painted for the monks of Santa Maria Della Grazie, in service to Ludovico Sforza. The monumental image depicts the event taking place in an idealized room, with all 13 figures on one side of the table, allowing Christ to be alone in the center, haloed by one of the three windows and the vanishing point for all orthoganalsonce again creation seems to issue from the mind of god. The remaining figures are grouped in four groups of three. Numbers count. The scene is an amalgamation of the various gospel accounts, simultaneously presenting the institution of the Eucharist, the revelation of the betrayal, as well as the disciples varied responses, each according to his nature. The picture is painted high above the floor in an idealized perspective. Leonardo used experimental pigments and the picture began to disintegrate within his lifetime.

E. The Mona Lisa, 1505, is a portrait of the noblewoman MaddONA Lisa Gherardini del Giocando. The picture is unique, as Leonardo has once again challenged the norms by including almost a half figure, allowing the hands to play a pivotal role in defining her character. As with Ginevra, and unlike typical female portraits, the figure bears no jewelry and no attributes accompany her. She sits in front of a mysterious landscape that is formally connected to figure in several passages.

II. By the end of the fifteenth century, Rome has reasserted itself as a true European capital. Donato Bramante is the citys foremost architect.

A. The classically inspired Tempietto, 1502, for Pope Alexander VI and the Spanish King and Queen at San Pietro in Montorio, a modular building with monumental details proclaiming Christ (and the papacy) as the true heirs to Rome.

B. Bramantes most important commission is of course the new St. Peters. The original Constantinian building was, by the sixteenth century, quite dilapidated, and the papacy is determined to create a new building to outshine all others in Christendom and proclaim the majesty of Catholicisms Mother Church. Bramantes original design (later changed and known through plans and a commemorative medal), called for a monumental dome crowning a barrelvaulted Greek cross, surrounded by four smaller domes.

III. Michelangelo Buonarotti is the second towering figure of the High Renaissance. While he achieves fame as a painter, engineer and architect, his only desire is to sculpt. A student of Ghirlandaio and adopted by the Medici, his career takes him to Rome where he earns the patronage of Julius II alongside Raphael.

A. Michelangelos first major commission in Rome is for a French cardinal who requests a Piet, ca. 1498-1500. The sculpture is highly symbolic with both Virgin and Christ polished to an immaculate sheen. The dead Christs appears to merely sleep, with his wounds diminished. The virgins face appears at it would at the annunciation, youthful and unaffected by sin. Her figure is massive, creating both a suitable throne for Christ as well as a monumental analog for the Church, which cradles the Corpus Christi.

B. The David, 1501-04, is a monumental commission that Michelangelo accepts upon his return to Florence. Carved from a colossal single piece of marble, the statue abandons the metaphor of youth in favor of a fully realized Greek hero, poised with great potential energy, muscles taught, brow furrowed, and ready to strike. Originally intended for the Duomo, when the Medici are expelled the Republic elects to place it instead before the palazzo dei priori (the city hall) as a warning to any who would challenge the autonomy of Florence.

C. Michelangelo is summoned back to Rome to begin a massive tomb project for Julius II, but is subsequently reassigned to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, 1508-1512. Michelangelo designs the work with quadratura, that is, illusionistic painted architecture. Along the center runs the story of Creation and Sin, as told in Genesis. Framing the spine are images of Old Testament prophet and Pagan sibyls, figures that foretold a savior would deliver mankind. Amidst the triangles are the ancestors of Christ, who link the Old Testament with the New Dispensation. Finally, the corner squinches feature scenes of salvation from the Old Testament. Liberally positioned throughout the ceiling are ignudi, or nude male figures, which Michelagelo describes alternately as angels and the manifestations of righteous souls. All told, the ceiling summarizes the origins of sin and the longing for salvation

D. Michelangelo returns to the Tomb of Julius II, 1515, after the Popes death and the subsequent Medici popes severely limit the resources to complete the commission.

II. Raffaello Santi (known in English as Raphael) was a student of Perugino and trained in the court of Urbino. His work became popular in Florence and eventually came to work for the papacy in Rome. He was a staunch admirer of both Leonardo and Michelangelo.

A. Marriage of the Virgin, 1504, makes no secret of its inspiration, Peruginos Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter. As was customary for the Renaissance, the student emulates the master. Here Raphael demonstrates his mastery of color, light, perspective and foreshortening, as well his understanding of Architecture.

B. La Belle Jardinire, 1507, is just one of a dozens of Virgin and Child pictures Raphael painted and sold to a cosmopolitan audience in Florence. The compositions demonstrate his knowledge of Leonardo, with their primary colors, pyramidal composition and even certain passages like the infant John and the Virgins foot. However Raphael does not share in Leonardos love of the obscure. He instead perfects the crystalline composition of the graceful holy family presiding over an idyllic world.

C. Philosophy (School of Athens), 150911, is one of four frescos Raphael paints for Julius IIs Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican apartments. The image depicts pagan luminaries from different epochs who have come together to share there knowledge of science and the humanitieschief among them Plato and Aristotle. The frescos pendant is Theology, with Poetry and Justice completing the room and providing the ideal academic setting in which the pope signed into law the bulls of his governance, both temporal and spiritual.

D. Galatea, 1513, represents Raphaels contribution to the Agostino Chigis Villa (later known as the Villa Farnesina), a love nest he has decorated with appropriately sophisticated scenes of mythological romance. In his fresco, Raphael presents his vision of the ideal female figure, pieced together from several different models.

IV. Venetian Art and Architecture: In the North, Venice spawns several masters independent but aware of the doings in Florence and Rome. The Venetians jealously guard their land holdings and the celebration of the landscape through poetry and music is evident in much of their art.

A. Giorgiones Pastoral Concert, ca. 15081510, is at once a poetic vision of the bucolic Venetian countryside, as well as a metaphor for the creative process. Rustic figures gather amidst voluptuous nudes to play music and sing, though it is assured that the female figures are not meant to represent living women but instead are the muses who inspire the artists. Giorgiones Tempest, 1510, continues the meditation on landscape but with no discernable narrative, either biblical, mythological, historical or poetic, it is simply painting for paintings sake.

B. Though a student and collaborator with both Bellini and Giorgione, Titian makes his public debut with his masterpiece the Assumption of the Virgin, 1516-18. The monumental altarpiece delineates the cosmos, with the gathered apostles yearning for heaven and the virgin carried aloft to God the Father, who waits in heaven with open arms, thus the path to God is the glorification of the Church.

1. The Bacchanal, 1518, is an unapologetically epicurean image. Working directly from ancient texts, Titian creates an image of revelry, intoxication, and fleshy sexuality for the secular patron, Duke Alfonso dEste.

2. The Madonna of the Pesaro Family, 1526, is painted for the same church as the Assumption and features a sacra conversazione not by means of the static grace of the early renaissance pageant, but instead in approximation of a mundane court where a subject presents his petition (and gift) to an enthroned queen. Further dramatizing the image is the raking diagonal and offset perspective.

3. With the death of Raphael, Titian becomes the most prominent portrait maker of the age. Very much in the Flemish style, Man with a Blue Sleeve, 1520, confidently locks eyes with the viewer, turning in three quarter view, extending an elbow over a stone parapet, seemingly invading the viewers space.

A. Michelangelos final major painting commission will be the Last Judgment, 153641, for the altar wall of the Sistine chapel. The image contains hundreds of strikingly monumental nude figures including a colossal Christ. The image will be much maligned by detractors who insist the nude bodies smack of paganism.

B. Jacopo Pontormos Entombment of Christ, 1525-30, is a nebulous painting, with figures floating ambiguously, perhaps at the foot of the cross, perhaps at the sepulcher. The figures wear skin-tight costumes revealing their mannered anatomy; the doublets, breeches and drapery are all painted in the pastel colors of the Sistine chapel. Like Michelangelos Piet, the Virgin is massive and Christ appears to sleep.

C. Bronzino alternates between portraits like that of Eleanor de Toledo and her Son Giovanni de Medici, that idealize their subjects and more challenging pictures. The obscure and provocative Allegory of Venus, 1546, is an allegorical painting that presents incest, deception and madness in the forms of contorted personifications. Be able to deconstruct this one.

VI. Mannerist Sculpture

A. Michelangelos work in the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence is iconic. The sacristy is in fact a mortuary chapel for the Medici chiefs Lorenzo the Magnificent, his brother Giuliano, and two more family members. Working from 1519 to 1534, Michelangelo completed the facing tomb sculptures of the principle figures, with each Medici representing the active and contemplative life. They sit in heroic proportions, with long necks to make their facial expressions visible from the floor. Clad in the skintight costumes celebrated by Pontormo, they surmount recumbent nude personifications of Day and Night and Dawn and Dusk that will be endlessly copied by Michelangelos students and admirers.

B. Benvenuto Cellini, who fancies himself a rival to Michelangelo, freely borrows from the allegorical figures of the Medici tomb to create his Saltcellar for Francis I, 1540-43. The figures represent Tellus goddess of the earth, who guards the box of pepper, and Neptune who represents the sea, and consequently guards the salt dish. The object conforms to the erudite concepts as well as the ambitious qualities of artists who chose such lofty projects for rulers with the hope of elevating their own status.