Bernini

Born in 1589, Bernini was a sculptor and architect in Rome.  He was a sculptor around the same level of talent that of Michelangelo Buonarroti.  Bernini sculpted many things throughout his life, and many of these sculptures were fountains.  One fountain in particular that he did is one that we saw on our Rome excursion.  This fountain is his Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, or the Fountain of the Four Rivers.  This fountain is located in Piazza Navona, in the center of the Piazza.  This fountain is that of a travertine grotto that needs to support an Egyptian obelisk.  The water flows from the grotto to the pool where there are four statues that symbolize four rivers from different continents.  These rivers include the Nile, Ganges, Plata, and the Danube River.  These statues are Baroque, in a reclined position, and their bodies twist in the typical style that baroque statues do.  I read in Gardner’s Art through the Ages that the Nile covers his face, to symbolize that they did not know the source of the river at the time, and the river Plata has coins signifying the fortune of the New World.  The statue symbolizing the Ganges is holding an ore, and the Danube is reaching up to the coat of arms of the Pope.  This fountain represents many things, of the continents of the world, and what comes of them.  It is beautiful, and very recognizably Baroque.  

Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers

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Tintoretto

                Tintoretto, born Jacopo Comin, was born in Venice in 1518.  He was the oldest or twenty one children, and Tintoretto’s father who was a dyer, or tintore, which gave reasoning for the nickname of Tintoretto, or little dyer.  Tintoretto ended up going to the Venetian School, where he learned his skill of painting.  After researching some of his works, I realized that I saw one of his paintings at the Louvre in Paris.  This painting is The Coronation of the Virgin.  I found it to be very pleasing to the eye in many ways.   This painting’s main subject is obvious to be the Virgin Mary, and it is the time in Christianity, where Mary is being accepted into the kingdom of heaven.  This painting has many subjects including bishops, saints, martyrs, and popes.  It is a beautiful painting in the way that it shows movement, and the audiences’ eye is able to skate across the canvas seeing everyone in heaven, with Mary at the highest point alongside Christ.  The scene involves her coronation, which is a beautiful moment in the stories of Mary’s life, and death.  This painting says a lot for how important Mary was in the story of Christianity.  This Baroque painting is very beautiful, with a lot of movement and color.

Coronation of the Virgin

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Giulio Romano

                                     Wiki commons: Self portrait Giuliano Romano

Romano was started out as one of Raphael’s students.  He was one that was very good at what he was learning from his teacher.  As Vasari states “there was no one who imitated Raphael more closely.”  This is a very important compliment from Vasari, because Raphael was one of the most impressive painters.  Giuliano was born in the end of the quattrocento, and died when he was middle aged.  Vasari tells us that Romano was so well liked by Raphael not only by his talent, but but his personality, confidence, and boldness.  He states that “one could not have loved him more had he been his son.”  His genius as a student was learning from his teacher some of the more difficult things in painting, like drawing in perspective, and to measure buildings, and work up plans.  Being such a good painter, once Raphael died, Romano was in charge of finishing paintings that were left unfinished.  This man was a great painter who was recognized by many for being able to paint so closely to what his teacher was able to accomplish in his own lifetime of painting.             

Michelangelo’s Pieta

            While in Rome, we had the opportunity to witness Michelangelo’s Pieta first hand.  Which is really the only way to see such a work of art.  This sculpture was finished in 1499, and is located in the massive St. Peter’s Basilica.  The scene of a Pieta is the Mary cradling Christ’s body after the crucifixion.  In this particular Pieta, sculpted out of marble by Michelangelo, it is easy to see that Mary is still young and youthful looking.  There are many points to this sculpture that show why Michelangelo was probably the most talented sculptors; like the way Mary’s clothes are draped. The drapery of Mary’s clothing, falls in such a natural way, it looks as though it could really be cloth.  What I find to be most interesting though, is Mary depicted as very beautiful and youthful, which seems to represent the significance she holds in Christianity, as the mother of the Messiah.  The detail that is entailed into this work of art is incredible; including the way that Christ’s lifeless body is sculpted.  Michelangelo captures the natural way that one could imagine Christ looked after he was crucified.  He looks as though he was starved, and his limbs are very limp.  Although no longer alive, the way that Jesus’ head is turned towards his mother’s body, it is easy to feel the love, and sadness that was felt.  In my opinion, this sculpture is an incredible feat, including so much detail, and capturing so much emotion.

Michelangelo's Pieta

St. Peter's Basillica

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Raphael

            Raphael was a different man in the way of the artists.  Vasari recognized that Raphael was not only a phenomenal painter, but a good natured person as well.  Reading Vasari on Raphael has been interesting because he states that Raphael’s had these attributes; “grace, study, beauty, modesty, and fine manners.”  These things he learned growing up in a loving environment with a loving father.  Raphael was a very studious artist, studying the works of Masaccio, Leonardo, and Michelangelo.  The things he saw in these artists’ works, “made him apply himself with great intensity.”  This quote appreciates the work it takes to become one of the four greatest artists of the Renaissance.  He was born with talent, but he had to study to make himself perfect what he wanted to do in life, which was art in different forms.  This is the interesting part of art, that Vasari really makes known, that people are not just blessed with the ability to create things like the fresco of the School of Athens; but that even the best artists of the Renaissance had to stick to studying as well.  Painting all throughout Italy was great for Raphael, who eventually was commissioned to do some works in the Vatican City, although he was not in the running to paint the Sistine Chapel, his works do not go unrecognized.  My favorite fresco that we saw in Rome is no doubt the School of Athens, which I have always just been attracted to.  It is a beautiful piece of art, and history showing many different scenes and people in one, simply a symbol of the genius of art that Vasari speaks about.

School of  Athens

Raphael

Vatican Museum

Photo: Cesilee Mazza

Michelangelo & Titian

Michelangelo

                 What is there to say about Michelanelo, other than that he was a very talented sculptor, painter, and architect.  He was born in the late quattrocento, so he began his work during the early cinquecento.  Of his many famous works, including his David, the Pieta, and his work on the Sistine chapel, one painting sticks out to me.  Now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Doni Tondo is a very beautiful painting.  It is in the style of Tondo, or circular work of art.  The subjects of this painting include the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and Christ the child.  Although this painting is of the Holy Family, it was most likely commissioned by Agnolo Doni, to honor his wedding or the birth of his first daughter.  Among the family, St. John the Baptist is there in a pool which could have been used to symbolize the baptism of Christ.  The way this painting was done includes the very popular subject of the “male nude” that Michelangelo has done in many of his works.  These nudes bring together the Pagan and Christian worlds together.  This painting a very beautiful painting that we learned about, and as a class were able to see in person at the trip to the Uffizi gallery.  The framework is very beautiful, including five heads that represent Jesus, two prophets, and two sybils.   The frame also depicts the coat of arms of both Agnolo’s family, and the family of his wife; Maddalena Strozzi. 

Michelangelo's Doni Tondo

Uffizi Gallery

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Titian

                Titian had followed, for a long time, the art of Bellini, but after sometime he changed his ideas.  After observing the method and styles of Giorgione, he as Vasari states, “abandoned the style of Giovanni Bellini.”  Giorgione had this ability to make paintings with softness, without first trying them on paper.  Titian was able to follow this and perfect it quickly.  After the death of Bellini, Titian worked to finish an incomplete scene that Bellini had left behind.  The changes he made were noticed, by the Senate who rewarded him with an office in the Fondaco de’ Teceschi.  This paid three hundred “scudi” each year.  Titian’s genius and understanding of art mostly included his understanding and talented use of color in his paintings.  He was recognized by many as a great painter.  One of the people he befriended in life was a poet named Messer Ludovico Ariosto, who once wrote in his Orlando Furioso “and Titian to whose mastery is due such glory that Urbino shares no more, and Venice shines no brighter than Cador.”  This is a compliment considering the way he states that the small town of Cadore is just as bright as Venice, because the wonderful painter Titian was from there.  There is no doubt that Titian was an amazing painter.

Titian

Self portrait

Wikki Commons

From Botticelli to the great Leonardo

 Blog #1

Sandro Botticelli

                Sandro Botticelli was born in 1445.  As a child, he was admitted to the Medici’s Florentine school, under the Lorenzo di’ Medici.  He became an apprentice at the age of fourteen, and he was taught some most of his talent, by Fra Filippo Lippi.  Botticelli learned to pay attention to detail of the body from Lippi, who was very interested in the works of Masaccio.  Botticelli created many fantastic works including Primavera, the Adoration of the Maggi, and the Birth of Venus.  Because the Birth of Venus is so popular and widely known it is an interesting experience to see it in person, at the Uffizi.  This painting is tempera on panel, with Venus in the middle of the painting, standing on a shell.  It is as if she was born from the sea, out of a shell, created by God.  The background includes an ocean that is very flat and does not look very realistic.  But the eye does not recognize it as bad, because the attention is supposed to be on Venus, who is in a typical baptism scene.  This scene is very beautiful; showing the color of Venus’ blonde hair contrasting against the water, and sky makes her seem so majestic, and separated from the background.  Botticelli, knew how to show the importance of this goddess, who is seen as a comparison to the Virgin Mary.

Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli

Uffizi Gallery

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Vasari on Leonardo Da Vinci

                Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 and died in 1519 during his life; he completely mastered the art of painting, and much more.  Leonardo was very interested in learning as a kid, but Vasari states that he” set himself to learn many things, and then, after having begun them, abandoned them.”  Although he did this, he excelled in arithmetic.  One of his flaws, most likely the only one is that Leonardo had trouble finishing his projects.  We can understand why, because Vasari tells us that he believed “the hand was not able to attain to the perfection of art in carrying out the things which he imagined.”  This is a very interesting belief, because Leonardo’s mind was so complex in what he saw in his mind as things to paint, he himself did not think that it was possible for his hand to create them.  Leonardo was probably one of the best painters of all time, and it is very easy to understand the genius that he held.   

Self Portrait in chalk

Leonardo da Vinci

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Quattrocento Artists of the Renaissance

   Filippo Lippi

                Born in 1406, Fra Filippo Lippi was an Italian painter during the Quattrocento, during the Italian renaissance.  Orphaned as a young child, he was taken care of by his aunt for some years until he joined the Carmelite Friars, in his teenage years.  Lippi did not do much studying, but he liked to draw, so eventually his prior allowed him to study painting.  This was a good choice on his part, because Filippo went on in life to create many beautiful paintings.  Filippo eventually met a woman that he asked to model for his painting of the Madonna, which led to a physical relationship.  This relationship resulted in a child whom he named Filippino.  His son too later on became a famous painter. 

                Lippi had many works that are beautiful, including his Madonna with Child, where it is as though he painted the angel to look like his son. More focus goes to the angel rather than the baby, Jesus.  This is a beautiful tempera on panel, where the Madonna is recognized as Lucrezia Buti, the mother of his own child.  Another Painting of Lippi’s that I found online, and found to be very interesting is his fresco of the Feast of Herod.   This fresco shows the scene of the beheading of Saint John the  Baptist, where Salmone is presenting the head of St John the Baptist to Herod, and on the other side is entertaining her guests with a dance. 

The Feast of Herod: Salmone's Dance

1460-1464

Filippo Lippi

Wikimedia Commons

Sandro Botticelli

    

                Sandro Botticelli was born in 1445, and Vasari says him to have never been “satisfied in school with reading, writing, and arithmetic.”  This boy had a passion for more than the type of thing that teachers taught; he was interested in the arts.  His father placed him to work with a goldsmith and friend.  Sandro “took a fancy to painting” and so his father took him to the Carmelita Fra Filippino Lippi, who became the teacher of the great painter Botticelli.  This talented student was able to imitate his mentor so well that Lippi really took a liking to him and taught him through and through on what he knew.  Sandro had this talent, where he took painting, and instead of a hobby, he definitely made it a career and hard work.  The paths that he chose with his paintings were new, and daring in the eyes of some.  His genius took him to a whole different level, using some of the ideas of the Greeks that the human body was beautiful and should be praised.  With this, he also painted scenes of characters from the pagan religions of more than one god.  Beyond these daring scenes, Botticelli paid close attention to the detail of his characters.  Vasari states that the details “reveal the artist’s mastery of his craft.”  This is a very agreeable statement, because Botticelli was sort of a turning point, and definitely a master when it comes to painting.

Primavera 

Sandro Botticelli 1482

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Two of the Best

Filippo Brunellschi

            Brunelleschi’s training began with apprenticing as a goldsmith and sculptor.  During this time, a major influence in his life was a merchant and medical doctor, Paolo Toscanelli, who was a man of mathematics.  This man taught Brunelleschi a lot about math, including geometry, which he became very interested in. 

            Brunelleschi decided to enter a competition to build the bronze doors of the Florentine baptistery, while teaching.  His competitor was Lorenzo Ghiberti, a very good sculptor.  After losing the competition, Brunelleschi decided to get out of Florence for a while, and went to Rome.  This trip to Rome that he had, really taught him the meaning of Architecture, and seems to have given him a better understanding of his own personal interests.  Returning to Florence, with a new talent in hand, Brunelleschi signed up for a competition to be a consultant on the dome of the cathedral.  This time, his idea and design won, and Brunelleschi was chosen to design the dome. 

            This dome is amazing to the eye, especially with an understanding of how difficult, and how much time went into it. The pointed dome is a double shelled dome, consisting of a rib that is the main bone structure of the dome.  The bricks inside are laid in herring bone style, where they are not all stacked one on top of the other, but in fact they some are vertical, and some are horizontal.  This helps to distribute weight more evenly.  Brunelleschi, since he studied the architecture of the ancient Romans, he understood the way things needed to be constructed to last.  He was a magnificent architect, and was probably the only person at the time that could come up with a way to build such a massive dome that would last as long as it has.

Dome of the Duomo

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Vasari on Masaccio

            From the beginning of his painting career, Masaccio always tried to convey the most lifelike figures in his works.  Vasari mentions that he tried “following as closely as possible” to the way that Donatello and Brunelleschi worked.  Although the job of painting was much different, he tried to make his painting animated and real.  Masaccio’s paintings were now different than anybody had ever seen, more humanistic and natural than even Giotto.  One of the reasons being, is, Masaccio studied, and practiced perspective.  In one of the temperas he created, Masaccio tried something not many had before; he shows a view from below.  Vasari states that because not many had tried this before he received “no little praise.”  These experiments with perspective showed the talent, and the genius behind the art that is done by Masaccio, and many later artists. 

            One of his most amazing works is the scene of St. Peter asking Christ how to pay the taxes, and is told to get them out of the fish’s belly.  The natural and realistic details of this painting include Saint Peter “especially lifelike, for his head is flushed from bending over.”  This detail is very evolutionary in the way of painting, because in paintings, the detail of how the human body reacts to things has been scarce if not absent completely.  This is the concept of art as genius, because it is no longer just paintings with pretty colors and how the way people look in imagination, but how humans look anatomically.  Masaccio definitely understood the way that the human body looks, and Vasari understood the level of talent that Masaccio had.

Tribute Money

Masaccio

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A sculptor's life

Nicola Pisano

Between the years of 1265, and 1268, Nicola Pisano sculpted a pulpit that is located in the Siena Cathedral.  This octagonal pulpit is supported by nine columns that are made from granite, marble, and an igneous rock called phorphyry.  Each of these columns either atop a lion, or a flat panel support this beautiful structure.  Upon the pulpit, there are seven scenes depicting the life of Christ.  

Two important panels upon the pulpit are the Massacre of the Innocents, and the Crucifixion.  The Massacre of the Innocents is significant in depicting the mass killing of young boys in Bethlehem to get around the prophecy that “the King of Jews” would raise against King Herod and receive the throne.  This scene is the only one that does not include Jesus or his family. With a central spot on the pulpit, including twenty-four boys, it shows Pisano’s interest in movement of humans in a scene. 

Massacre of the Innocents

Siena Cathedral

Photo Credit: Cesilee Mazza

      Just next to the scene of the massacre, is the crucifixion of Christ.  In this scene, we see Christ on the cross with a new way of putting his feet crossed and nailed to the cross.  Among Christ are mourners and onlookers including Mary, who is “physically grieving.”   The way Mary looks as though she may faint, it exemplifies the Pisano’s understanding of human emotion, and it clearly shows humanism.  I found it interesting the way that everyone is looking at Jesus on the cross, it is bone chilling the emotion that is shown in one panel of this sculpture.

Crucifixion

Photo credit:Cesilee Mazza 

Siena Cathedral

Lorenzo Ghiberti was born to Bartoluccio Ghiberti, who was a goldsmith who taught the craft to his son.  When older, Lorenzo started doing more and more sculpting, and was eventually invited by winning a competition to create doors for the Baptistery of Florence.  These doors depict scenes from the Old Testament.  The first scene is of course a scene involving Adam and Eve, in which Vasari states: “it is clear that Lorenzo tried to render their members as beautifully as he could.”   When Vasari speaks about an artist, he almost translates to the reader what the artist tells them with their art.  Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise doors have depicted the stories the way they were meant to be told.  Although the doors are not located on the baptistery, and are now renovated in a museum, they still hold the original message, and symbol.  Located on the east of the baptistery, facing the cathedral was perfect for the walk between the two structures.  

Ghiberti on the north doors

Photo Credit: Cesilee Mazza

Florence, Italy

Artists of the trecento

             Ambrogio Lorenzetti

           During the later dugento, and in the early trecento, humanism was a concept that artists were starting to experiment with.  Instead of Christ the judge, a lot of artists portrayed the life of Christ through the Virgin Mary.  Mary became a symbol, since she was an intercessor that helped humans feel closer, and more at ease when communicating with God.

                Besides humanism, painters were also beginning to become more naturalistic as well.  Some painters like Giotto, and Martini were in this category of more naturalistic.   These naturalistic painters painted everything in a more natural way, and more realistic portrayals than the Byzantine style of art.  Among these painters, I found that during the trecento there was a painter whose style was said to “anticipate the renaissance”.  Ambrogio Lorenzetti, brother of Pietro Lorenzetti, was influenced by works of Martini, but even more so naturalistic.  While at the Uffizi, an altarpiece caught my eye, and I started to research it.  This altar piece is a triptych style altarpiece by Ambrogio, in 1332.  This altarpiece in three pieces is entitled Madonna and Child with Saints Nicholas, and Proculus which was painted for the Florentine church in San Procolo.  This painting is a tempra on a panel, and is interesting because the baby Christ is holding onto Mary’s finger in a loving way, which is more natural to the relationship between a mother and child.   On the right and left of her, are the two saints, and located above (as to my knowledge) are Christ the redeemer, John the Baptist, and John the Evangelist.  

Madonna and Child with Saints Nicholas and Proculus 1332

Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1290-June 9, 1348)

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Vasari on Giotto

      In the year of 1266, an artist that Vasari, and many others consider to be the father of the renaissance, was born.  This artist, Giotto was born to a humble tiller, and he was blessed with the talent of drawing.  Even so, that Vasari tells us a story of how as a child, Giotto was noticed by the artist Cimabue.  According to this story, Giotto asked his father  

to study under this artist, in which his father "lovingly gave consent" understanding the opportunity his son had just been given.  

    As a better trained artist, what made Giotto so interesting in Vasari's eyes is that he was an "excellent imitator of nature."  Meaning Giotto had a this knack for creating this modern art that was more natural, and different than even his teacher.  This style he had done was greatly recognized by many others including his friend Dante.  

     I was intrigued when I finally witnessed Giotto's altarpiece of Madonna and Child Enthroned Among Angels and Saints.  In my opinion, this tempera painting on a panel finished around 1310, goes far beyond a similar altarpiece done by Cimabue some twenty years before, and I understand Vasari's interest Giotto's life.  Differences I noticed include the more realistic features of the inhabitants of the painting, before people really studied the anatomy of the human body.  I also notice that the saints, and angels are gazing up at the Virgin Mary, in awe.  It gives evidence about the way that the people of this age felt about Mary, they worshiped her life, and prayed to her rather than Christ the Judge.  After studying a few pieces done by Giotto, I agree with Vasari when he explains that Giotto was the father of renaissance (painting).

Statue of Giotto (1845)

Giovanni Dupre

Wiki Commons

                                                

Week 3 Blogs

                                                                             

Blog #1  

     This week in the lecture, speaking about the crucifixes that included icons of the Byzantine style, inspired me to write about Cimabue.  Cenni di Peppi, or Cimabue was a painter in the late era of the dugento.  He wasn’t born until 1240, and therefore was considered late medieval.  According to Lives of the Artists, Cimabue had a lot of support from his father, who “judged him to be so skilled in painting…”.  Some of his earlier work imitated Greek styles painting, but he was able to improve it and make it his own.  An example would be of an altar dossal he created at Santa Cecilia.  Among his other works, there is the more famous Madonna of Santa Trinita, which is hanging in the Uffizi museum in Florence.  This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing this piece of art.  In person, it is incredible to see the detail, and effort put into this painting.  

Madonna of Santa Trinita (Uffizi museum)

  

Photo Credit allposters.com
Pictures are not allowed in the Uffizi museum

Flicker does not have image

Blog Post #2    

     During my reading of the introduction/preface in Vasari’s book made his appreciation of art a little more clear.  Vasari states that God creating man would be the “first form of sculpture and painting.”  His argument is that God created the world, and “decorated” the heavens, seeming to mean that man is a work of art that God himself first created.  Girogio Vasari was very important in the means of an artist, and as the first person to really recognize the history of art.  Vasari speaks about (what I saw to be) the three phases of art as being close to the phases of the lives of humans.   These phases are that we are born, we grow old, and then we die, and that art once it has reached its “summit,” it will then fall to ruins.  Besides his theories about art, and his concept of art, Vasari has also given a lot of information about artists, including the art that the Pagans did before Christianity ‘destroyed’ their art and purity.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/3972200821/

Blogger will not accept the url of this photo, and will not show the photograph of Giorgio Vasari.  

Blog posts 1 & 2

 This is a picture I took yesterday that just shows that the front is a whole piece of art added to this building.

 This picture does not give justice to the front of the Duomo, but it does show how massive it is.  The entirety of the Duomo, seemed almost impossible to frame well, because of it's enormity. 

 This mural is impossible not to see when facing the Duomo.  It seems to be placed perfectly as to remind it's guests that they are entering the house of God.  

  Although I can admire art from the Renaissance era visually, I could not tell you the difference between a Donatello, and a Da Vinci (excluding the Mona Lisa).  Because the focus of this course is mainly on Renaissance art, I think that by the time we leave Florence, I will have a better understanding of paintings, and the styles in which they were painted.  My understanding of the Renaissance is that God was the main point in the people of the city's eyes, but they were finally living to live and not to die.  People too
    Before coming to Florence, I did not really know much about Florence’s art history, other than the existence of some of the monuments, and buildings.  Santa Croce for example, I had seen it in pictures, and videos, but I never knew the façade was not built until the 19^th century until Christina mentioned it during our tour.    Upon seeing the façade of Santa Croce, I was completely mesmerized.  The height and the detail of every square foot were impeccable. 

Seeing the Duomo yesterday  was even more of an incredible experience.  The detail that covers this mass of a building on every corner and every wall is almost intimidating.  It seems like the effort to build a building so beautiful for religion would never be made today.




Blog Enrty #2 Giorgio Vasari

     Vasari was a man of wisdom when it came to art.  He understood they meaning behind the different artists' styles within their different works of art.  Vasari, a lover of Florentine art, and artists, wrote quite a bit on Donatello.  One caption I noticed was about the Annunciation in which Donatello sculpted in Santa Croce.  Vasari states that this is what earned Donatello a name in Florence, as a sculptor.  Vasari seemed to really appreciate Donatello, as it is stated in Lives of the Artists, that "his works possessed so much grace and excellence...".  While in this city of art, I would like to go into the church of Santa Croce to see this “grotesque” style sculpture by Donatello. 

    Giorgio Vasari’s book has been something that for years, people could study, and learn real facts about artists during the Renaissance.  Lives of the Artists has been a way for art historians to learn about the way the people who created some of the most fascinating paintings, and monuments lived and worked.  Vasari’s movement throughout Italy and his own talent when it comes to art really gave him a sense about the importance of the Renaissance, or rebirth of the Italian people.  His talent, when it comes to art was clearly recognized by Pope Pius V, who invited Giorgio to decorate chapels throughout Rome.  Vasari lived a life full of art, and artists that when he died working on frescos, I believe he died with a satisfaction of the work he did, and the satisfaction that he recorded facts about the other artists he socialized with.     

Thanks to Sandra Haynes of Pasadena, I was able to put a picture with my brief caption about Donatello's famous Annunciation that is home to Santa Croce church, of Florence, Italy.