ITALY, 1400-1500
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Transcript of ITALY, 1400-1500
ITALY,1400-1500GARDNER CHAPTER 21-5PP. 573-576
SANT’ANDREA LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI, west façade of
Sant’Andrea, Mantua, 1470
Another great Renaissance prince and art patron was Ludovico Gonzaga, the ruler of Mantua
Alberti is commissioned to redesign the church of Sant’Andrea -> reflects his study of ancient Roman architecture -> combines a Roman triumphal arch and an ancient temple façade
Giant pilasters flank arch and support pediment
Size of the façade dictated by the small scale of the piazza in front -> height and width are identical
Interior of Sant’Andrea
Great coffered barrel vault -> reminiscent of the Pantheon and Constantine’s Basilica Nova
Alberti abandoned the medieval columnar arcade for the nave -> instead it is a single huge hall w/independent chapels branching off at right angles
Large barrel vault canopy hangs above the west façade and shields the west window of the nave from sunlight
ANDRE MANTEGNA – ROOM OF THE NEWLYWEDS
ANDREA MANTEGNA, Room of the Newlyweds, 1465-1474, Ducal Palace, Mantua
Painted in a room that was used as the Duke’s bedroom and reception room
Room is a cube in shape, “domed” with an illusionistically painted ceiling
Calls to mind the Second Style of Roman painting
MANTEGNA – CEILING OF THE CAMERA PICTA
Inside the Camera Picta/Room of the Newlyweds, the viewer becomes the viewed -> figures look down into the room from a painted oculus opening onto a blue sky
This is the first perspectival view of a ceiling from below = DI SOTTO IN SU = “from below upward”
Dramatic used of TROMPE L’OEIL = “deceives the eye”
Two groups of spectators, several putti, bird, flower pot
FORESHORTENED CHRIST ANDREA MANTEGNA, Dead Christ,
ca. 1500, tempera on canvas
Another example of the artist’s mastery of perspective
Seems to be a strikingly realistic study of foreshortening -> but the size of the feet are reduced to avoid blocking the body
A work of overwhelming emotional power and intensely poignant depiction of biblical tragedy