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Chapter 21
Art History Volume 2
Stokstad & Cothren
Pearson
Italy in the Early Sixteenth Century: The High Renaissance • "High" constitutes an art-historical judgment in
that this period set the standards for future movements.
• This period fused the real and the ideal. • Oil painting became the preferred medium, and
because commissions increased from private sources, artists no longer depended on the patronage of the Church.
• The humanist notion of arts as intellectual influenced and elevated artists.
Three Great Artists of the Early Sixteenth Century
• Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael all worked their early careers in Florence.
• Leonardo da Vinci ! The Virgin of the Rocks shows four
figures with strong chiaroscuro that enhances their modeling. • It is painted in the sfumato technique, creating a smoky effect.
Leonardo da Vinci THE VIRGIN OF THE ROCKS c. 1485. Oil on wood panel (now transferred to canvas), 6'6" × 4' (1.9 × 1.2 m).
Musée du Louvre, Paris. [Fig. 21-02]
Three Great Artists of the Early Sixteenth Century
• Leonardo da Vinci ! The Last Supper, painted in the
refectory of Stanta Maria delle Grazie, was a defining work of Renaissance art. • Leonardo arranged the disciples in four groups of three as they flank the stable, pyramidal form of Jesus in the middle. • The scene is set in stage-like recession, with the orthogonals converging at the head of Jesus.
Leonardo da Vinci THE LAST SUPPER Refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy. 1495-1498.
Tempera and oil on plaster, 15'2" × 28'10" (4.6 × 8.8 m). [Fig. 21-04]
REFECTORY OF THE MONASTERY OF SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE, SHOWING LEONARDO'S LAST SUPPER
Milan, Italy. [Fig. 21-05]
Three Great Artists of the Early Sixteenth Century
• The Mona Lisa is, perhaps, his most famous work, painted about 1503– 1506. ! The distant, hazy mountains give the
subject, Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, a mysterious quality. • Her direct stare and "enigmatic" smile add to the effect.
Leonardo da Vinci MONA LISA c. 1503-1506. Oil on wood panel, 30-1/4" × 21" (77 × 53 cm).
Musée du Louvre, Paris. (INV. 779) [Fig. 21-1]
Three Great Artist of the Early Sixteenth Century
• Raphael ! The Small Cowper Madonna typifies the
artist's popular paintings of the Virgin and Child. • A pyramidal composition and clinging draperies show the influence of da Vinci.
Raphael THE SMALL COWPER MADONNA c. 1505. Oil on wood panel, 23-3/8" × 17-3/8" (59.5 × 44.1 cm).
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Widener Collection (1942.9.57) [Fig. 21-06]
Three Great Artist of the Early Sixteenth Century
• Raphael ! Raphael's most influential work in the
papal rooms was the School of Athens in the Stanza della Segnatura. • Harmoniously arranged forms and rational space complement the room in which it was painted. • Philosophical figures, while idealized, have dynamically foreshortened contrapposto poses.
A CLOSER LOOK: The School of Athens by Raphael, fresco in the Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican, Rome.
c. 1510-1511. 19' × 27' (5.79 × 8.24 m).
Three Great Artist of the Early Sixteenth Century
• Michelangelo's Early Work ! An example is the marble Pietà. • The subject of the Virgin supporting and mourning the dead Jesus was rare in Italian art of the time. • Size disparity between the large Virgin and Jesus is forgotten when viewing the smooth modeling of deftly carved forms.
Michelangelo PIETÀ c. 1500. Marble, height 5'8-1/2" (1.74 m).
St. Peter's, Vatican, Rome. [Fig. 21-14]
Three Great Artists of the Early Sixteenth Century
• The Sistine Chapel ! The Sistine Chapel ceiling was ordered
by Pope Julius II, who wanted the theme to be the Twelve Apostles, which Michelangelo found too limiting. • Shallow bands of painted stone molding divide the vault into nine compartments showing scenes from Genesis.
! The iconic Creation of Adam shows God sparking Adam with life.
INTERIOR, SISTINE CHAPEL Vatican, Rome. Built 1475-1481; ceiling painted 1508-1512; end wall, 1536-1541.
The ceiling measures 45' × 128' (13.75 × 39 m). [Fig. 21-16]
Michelangelo SISTINE CHAPEL CEILING WITH DIAGRAM IDENTIFYING SCENES 1508-1512. Fresco. [Fig. 21-17]
Venice and the Veneto
• Titian ! The Pesaro Madonna, commissioned for
an altar, shows grandeur in its massive columns and marble staircase. • Colors were built up in layers of red, white, black, and yellow. • Intersecting diagonals in the composition reach from Jacopo Pesaro to the off- center Virgin.
Titian PESARO MADONNA 1519-1526. Oil on canvas, 16' × 8'10" (4.9 × 2.7 m).
Side-aisle altarpiece, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice. [Fig. 21-28]
Mannerism
• This style developed into an anti- Classical movement in which artificiality, grace, and elegance took priority over lifelike references.
• Patrons favored esoteric subjects. • Painters and sculptors quoted other
works with self-conscious playfulness. • Architects used Classical orders in
unconventional ways.
Painting
• This movement was characterized by artificiality, grace, and elegance over ordered balance. ! Artists distorted conventions and
created contrived, enigmatic forms. • Carucci's Deposition shows an
ambiguous composition with a dreamy atmosphere and odd poses. ! Jarring colors are juxtaposed.
Painting
• Painters created contrived compositions and irrational spatial environments, full of quoted references to predecessors' works.
• Pontormo ! Jacopo Carucci da Pontormo created
frescoes for the Capponi Chapel. ! Deposition's ambiguous composition
gives a visionary feeling to the piece.
Painting
• Pontormo ! Deposition's ambiguous composition
gives a visionary feeling to the piece. • Some figures press into the viewer's space while others stand on tiptoe, creating odd poses. • The most striking oddity of this altarpiece is the choice of colors with bizarre juxtapositions.
Pontormo DEPOSITION Altarpiece in Capponi Chapel, church of Santa Felicità, Florence. 1525-1528.
Oil and tempera on wood panel, 10'3" × 6'4" (3.1 × 1.9 m). [Fig. 21-38]
Painting
• Parmigianino ! Left unfinished at the time of the artist's
early death is the Madonna of the Long Neck.
! Mary's proportions are unnatural ! The well-known scene is presented in a
manner intended to intrigue viewers.
Parmigianino MADONNA OF THE LONG NECK 1534-1540. Oil on wood panel, 7'1" × 4'4" (2.16 × 1.32 m).
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. [Fig. 21-39]
Painting
• Lavinia Fontana ! Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614) found a
successful career in Bologna that would later boast her to position of papal court painter in 1603.
! Noli Me Tangere shows Christ revealing himself to Mary Magdalen following his resurrection. • Its diagonal plunge into depth is characteristic of the Mannerist style.
Lavinia Fontana NOLI ME TANGERE 1581. Oil on canvas, 47-3/8" × 36-5/8" (120.3 × 93 cm).
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. [Fig. 21-43]
Art and Architecture in Rome and the Vatican
• Paul III commissioned Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel on Capitoline Hill.
• Michelangelo's Late Work ! The Last Judgment scene abandoned
medieval conception and showed a swarm of resurrected humans pushing upward.
Michelangelo LAST JUDGMENT, SISTINE CHAPEL 1536-1541.
Fresco, 48' × 44' (14.6 × 13.4 m). [Fig. 21-46]
Art and Architecture in Rome and the Vatican
• Michelangelo's Late Work ! The completion of St. Peter's Basilica
also fell to Michelangelo. • He undid parts of Sangallo's design in order to strengthen Bramante's central plan. • Three surviving hemicycles show his work, and the current dome retains his basic design.
Michelangelo ST. PETER'S BASILICA, VATICAN c. 1546-1564; dome completed 1590 by Giacomo della Porta; lantern 1590-1593.
View from the west. [Fig. 21-47]
Oil Painting
• Tintoretto ! This artist sought to combine Titian's
coloring with the drawing of Michelangelo.
! His The Last Supper differs from da Vinci's. • The scene is viewed from a corner and features two light sources.
! The speed of his work was especially noted.
Tintoretto THE LAST SUPPER Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. 1592-1594.
Oil on canvas, 12' × 18'8" (3.7 × 5.7 m). [Fig. 21-32]
Art and Its Contexts: Veronese Is Called Before the Inquisition
• Veronese shocked patrons with his painting later called Feast in the House of Levi. ! The scene contained pageantry, scruffy
dogs, overall offending viewers and removing it from a typical Last Supper scene.
• The Inquisition ordered an explanation and subsequent renaming.
Veronese FEAST IN THE HOUSE OF LEVI From the refectory of the monastery of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. 1573.
Oil on canvas, 18'3" × 42' (5.56 × 12.8 m). Galleria dell'Accademia, Venice. [Fig. 21-31]
Architecture: Palladio
• Andrea Palladio dominated architecture with characteristics of harmonious symmetry and controlled ornamentation.
• He became involved in publishing books on architecture that would become tenets for future architects. ! Four Books of Architecture was a staple
in the libraries of educated people.
Architecture: Palladio
• San Giorgio Maggiore ! This monastery church featured a
variation on the traditional Renaissance façade for a basilica.
! The interior includes finely balanced geometry, evidenced by engaged columns and short pilasters echoing the two levels of orders on the façade.
Palladio CHURCH OF SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE, VENICE Plan 1565; construction 1565-1580; façade 1597-1610; campanile 1791. Finished by Vincenzo Scamozzi following Palladio's design. [Fig. 21-33]
NAVE, CHURCH OF SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE, VENICE Begun 1566. [Fig. 21-34]