Northern Italian Renaissance Painting, Architecture and...
Transcript of Northern Italian Renaissance Painting, Architecture and...
Northern Italian Renaissance Painting,
Architecture and Mannerism
•Correggio
•Giorgione
•Titian
•Pontormo
•Parmigianino
•Bronzino
•Tintoretto
•Veronese
•Palladio
• While Rome ranked as
Italy’s preeminent arts center
at the beginning of the 16th
century, wealthy and
powerful families in
Northern Italy also
patronized the arts.
• Northern cities such as
Mantua, Parma and Venice
were home to talented
painters, sculptors and
architects and experienced a
Renaissance as well.
Correggio
• In his brief but prolific career, Correggio produced most of
his work for patrons in Parma and Mantua.
• His greatest work, the Assumption of the Virgin, a fresco
painted between 1526-30 in the dome of the Parma
cathedral, distantly recalls the illusionism of Mantegna’s
ceiling in the Gonzaga palace.
• However scholars believe that it was Leonardo who
inspired Correggio’s use of softly modeled forms, spot
lighting effects of illumination, and slightly hazy overall
appearance.
• Raphael’s influence is also apparent in the the idealized
figures.
• Some scholars refer to his style as PROTO BAROQUE
• The architecture of the dome
seems to dissolve and the forms
seem to explode through the
building drawing the viewer up
in to a swirling vortex of saints
and angels.
• Correggio’s dramatic effects
with contrasting colors and
warm sensuous figures was very
often imitated in ceiling
decoration in Europe
throughout the 17th century.
Venetian artists and oil paint
• The idealized style and oil painting techniques initiated by theBellini family in the late 15th century were developed further by16th century painters in Venice.
• Venetians were the first Italians to use oil paint on both canvas andwood panel.
• Oil paint on canvas was preferred in Venice rather than frescopainting due to the city’s dampness.
• Painting on canvas rather than fresco, also allowed the artist tocomplete the work more conveniently in the studio.
• In addition, oil paint was especially well suited to the rich colors andlighting effects employed great Venetian painters such as:Giorgione, Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto.
Giorgione
• The career of Giorgione was brief; he died from the plaguewhen he was about 32 years old.
• Nevertheless his importance to Venetian painting iscritical.
• He introduced enigmatic or puzzling pastoral themes,sensuous nude figures, and above all an appreciation ofnature in a landscape setting.
• His early years are undocumented, but his work suggestshe studied with Giovanni Bellini.
• There also seems to be an influence from Leonardo in hisintensely observed landscapes.
Bellini
St Francis in Ecstasy
1480-85
Oil on panel
Giorgione
Adoration of the Shepard
1505-10
Oil on panel
Can you see Bellini’s influence on Giorgione?
The TempestGiorgione c. 1510
• The Tempest, Giorgione’s most
famous painting, was completed
shortly before his death.
• The subject of this painting is
immediately intriguing to the
viewer
• What is going on? Why is she
nursing the baby in the nude?
• The male figure on the left is
wearing the uniform of a German
mercenary soldier.
• According to x-rays of the
painting the woman on the right
was at one time balanced by a
second woman on the left.
• The landscape with its impending
storm seem to be of greater
importance than the figures.
• The painting ofthe nude as aninexplicablesubject and thedominance ofthe landscapeare typical ofGiorgione
• Tempest
• c. 1505
• Oil on canvas
• Galleriedell'Accaemia,Venice
Giorgione and Titian
• Some scholars believe that Giorgione approached his work
as many modern day artists do, expressing private thoughts
and feelings in his paintings.
• Although he also painted traditional subjects produced on
commission for clients: portraits, altarpieces and paintings
on exteriors of Venetian buildings.
• In 1507, he was commissioned to paint the exterior of the
warehouse and offices of German merchants.
• He hired another young artist, Titian, as an assistant.
• The two artists worked together for the next three years,
until Giorgione’s early death.
• The two artists careers were tightly bound together.
• Like poetry, the painting evokes a mood, a golden age of love and innocence
recalled in ancient Roman pastoral poetry.
• This kind of poetic painting is new in the history of art, and this painting had a
profound influence on later generations of painters who saw it and
reinterpreted it.
• The Sleeping Venus, is an extremely influential painting.
• The painting, one of the last works by Giorgione, portrays a nude woman whoseprofile seems to follow that of the hills in the background.
• The choice of a naked woman marked a revolution in art, and is considered bysome authorities one of the starting points of modern art.
• The landscape mimics the curves of the woman's body and this, in turn,relates the human body back to being a natural, organic object.
• The contemplative attitude toward nature and beauty of the figure is typicalof Giorgione.
• The composition of this painting influenced later painters such as, Ingres andRubens. A direct link connects the Venus of Giorgione to that of Titian, andhis Venus led directly to the Olympia of Manet.
What do we know about Giorgione’s assistant Titian
• Titian’s life as an artist is obscure.
• He worked with Giorgione for three years before Giorgionedied, finishing his paintings.
• By that time he had completely absorbed Giorgione’s style.
• When Giovanni Bellini died in 1516, Titian became theofficial painter of Venice.
• In 1519, Titian received a commission from Jacopo Pesaro,commander of the Vatican fleet, to commemorate his victoryover the Turks in 1502.
• Pesaro wanted a votive altarpiece for a Franciscan Church inVenice.
• Titian worked on the painting for seven years and changedthe concept three times before he came up with arevolutionary composition.
• Titian was principally a painter, buta painter whose handling of paintequaled Michelangelo's mastery ofdraftsmanship.
• This supreme skill enabled him todisregard all the time-honored rulesof composition, and to rely on colorto restore the unity, which heintentionally broke up.
• His painting, Madonna with saintsand members of the Pesaro family,was begun only fifteen years afterBellini's Madonna with saints torealize the effect that his art musthave had on his contemporaries.
• It was almost unheard of to movethe Virgin out of the center of thepicture, and to place the two saints -St Francis and St Peter, notsymmetrically on each side, asGiovanni Bellini had done, but asactive participants of a scene.
• Titian's contemporaries may have
been amazed at the audacity with
which he had dared to upset the
old-established rules of
composition.
• They must have, at first, found such
a picture lopsided and unbalanced.
• Actually it is the opposite.
• The unexpected composition only
serves to bring the scene to life,
without upsetting the harmony.
• Titian allowed light, air and colors
to unify the scene.
• The idea of making a mere flag
counterbalance the figure of the
Holy Virgin would probably have
shocked an earlier generation, but
this flag, in its rich, warm color, is
such a stupendous piece of painting
that it works in this composition.
Isabella d’Este
• 1534-36
• Oil on canvas
• She was 60 when Titianpainted this portrait.
• She wanted to look 20
• She was the Marchesa ofMantua and one of theleading women of theItalian Renaissance anda major cultural andpolitical figure.
The Rape of Europa (1562) is a bold diagonal composition which was admired and
copied by Rubens. In contrast to the clarity of Titian's early works, it is almost baroque
in its blurred lines, swirling colors, and vibrant brushstrokes.
• Titian was the greatestpainter of the VenetianSchool.
• Over the course of his longlife he, like Michelangelo,continued to explore hisart’s expressive potential.
• In his late works, Titiansought the essence of formand idea not the surfaceperfection of his earlierworks.
• In 1570, he began apainting for his own tomb.A pieta, that was leftunfinished at his death.
• The Virgin mourns her dead son as figures seem to emerge out of darkness, theirforms defined by sweeping brushstrokes that Titian painted with completefreedom.
• The elderly Titian, like Michelangelo, secure in their abilities after a lifetime ofmasterful work, were able to abandon the knowledge of a lifetime as theyattempted to express ultimate truths through art.
Mannerism• The term Mannerism comes from the Italian, maniera, a
word used in the 16th century suggesting intellectualintricate subjects, highly skilled techniques,and artconcerned with beauty for its own sake.
• It is difficult to neatly define Mannerism, but certaincharacteristics can be noted:
– Extraordinary virtuosity, sophisticated elegantcompositions; and fearless manipulations or distortionof accepted formal conventions.
• Artists created irrational spatial effects and figures withelongated proportions exaggerated poses and enigmaticgestures and expressions.
• Some artists favored obscure unsettling and often eroticimagery; unusual colors and juxtaposition; andunfathomable secondary scenes.
• Mannerist sculptorsexaggerated body forms andposes and preferred small size,the use of precious metals anddisplays of extraordinarytechnical skills.
• Mannerist architects defied theuse of the Classical orders anduniformity and rationality ofdesigns.
• Mannerist artists admired thework of the great artists of theearlier generation: Leonardoand Michelangelo, whose laterstyle was a direct inspiration, aswas Raphael’s, remember theTransfiguration.
• Mannerism has been seen as anartistic expression of theunsettled political and religiousconditions in Europe.
• View of the Capponi Chapel
• 1528
• Cappella Capponi
• Santa Felicita, Florence
• Open on two sides the chapel
creates the effect of a loggia, in
which frescoes depict the
Annunciation.
• On one wall the Virgin is
portrayed accepting the angel’s
message, but at the same time
she is able to see her son being
lowered off the cross in the
painting on the opposite wall.
Deposition
c. 1528
Oil on wood
Cappella Capponi,
Santa Felicita, Florence
Unrealistic placement of thefigures, some seem to float.
The emotional atmosphere ofthe scene is expressed inthe odd poses, dramaticshift in scale, and unusualcostumes.
Also the use of secondarycolors and contrastingcolors.
The tone of the painting is setby the color treatment ofthe crouching youth,wearing the skin tight pinkshirt.
Very stage like setting andlighting
• Parmigianino
• Self-portrait in a
Convex Mirror
• c. 1524
• Oil on wood
• Dia. c. 10”
Kunsthistorische
Vienna
• Parmigianino
• Madonna dal Collo Lungo
• (Madonna with Long Neck)
• 1534-40
• Oil on panel
• 216 x 132 cm
• Galleria degli Uffizi,
Florence
• Parmigianino combined influencesfrom Correggio, Raphael and popularmannerist painters in Rome to createhis own distinctive style.
• His work is calm but strangleunsettling.
• This unfinished painting depicts aMadonna with massive legs and torsoin contrast to her narrow shoulders andlong neck.
• Note the large vase on the left, itechoes the shape of the Madonna’shead, the column her neck.
• Some scholars speculate that theartists is comparing a woman’s formto the forms of classical antiquity.
• Like Pontormo, Parmigianino presentsa well known image in a manner tounsettle the viewer.
• Who might the small figure on theright be? Perhaps Isaiah.
Bronzino
• Born near Florence in 1503
• In 1522 he became an assistant to Pontormo.
• In 1540 Bronzino became the court painter for the Medici.
• He was a versatile artist who produced altarpieces,frescoes, decorations and tapestry designs over his longcareer.
• He is best known today for his portraits in the courtlyMannerist style.
• Bronzino’s virtuosity in rendering costumes and settings,creates a rather cold and formal effect, but the selfcontained demeanor of his subjects admirably conveyedtheir haughty personalities.
‘
• Remember Pontormo’s
paintings in the Capponi
Chapel ?
• Notice the small tondos
near the ceiling.
• These were painted by
Pontormo’s student,
Bronzino.
• Bronzino
• Venus, Cupid,
Folly, and Time
(The Exposure of
Luxury),
• ca. 1546.
• Oil on wood,
• National Gallery,
London.
The Portraits
“The firm and glacial way that Bronzino draws
outline and detail makes his portraits quite
unmistakable. At the same time they possess an
almost arrogant grandeur. This leads to a sense of
immobile and timeless refinement”.
Web Gallery of Art
• Eleonora of Toledo with her
son Giovanni de' Medici
• 1544-45
• Oil on wood, 115 x 96 cm
• Galleria degli Uffizi,
Florence
• Eleonora married Cosimo I
in 1539 and died in 1562 of
malaria.
• She is pictured here with
Giovanni, one of her eight
sons.
• Archeological work in the
tomb of Eleonora, the wife
of Cosimo I de' Medici, has
revealed fragments of the
dress worn in this portrait.
• Portrait of a Young Man
• c. 1540
• Oil on wood
• 96 x 75
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• New York
• This portrait demonstrates
Bronzino’s characteristic
portrayal of his subjects as
intelligent, aloof elegant, and
self assured.
• The young man toys with a
book suggesting his scholarly
interests but his cold stare
creates a slightly unsettling
effect and seems to associate
his portrait with the masks
that surround him.
Sofonisba
Anguissola
• Born in Northern Italy around 1532 to a comfortable well educated family
• She had 5 sisters 4 of whom were artists. Traveled to Roma and was tutored by Michelangelo
• Eventually became the court painter to the Spanish king, Philip II
Portrait of Three
Children
1570
• Praised by her contemporaries as theforemost woman painter of her day,Sofonisba Anguissola executed moreself-portraits than any other artist inthe period between Durer andRembrandt.
• This miniature displays the artist'smeticulous technique and aRenaissance taste for puzzles: theinterwoven letters at the center of themedallion form a monogram orphrase that has been satisfactorilyexplained.
• Around the rim, the medallion isinscribed in Latin: "The maidenSofonisba Anguissola, depicted byher own hand, from a mirror, atCremona.”
• Self-Portrait 1556
• (2 1/2 x 3 1/4 in.) Oil on parchment
Mannerist Sculpture
• Benvenuto Celleni
• Giovanni da Bologna
• Characteristics:
– Elongated and or intertwinedfigures
– Use of negative space
– Compositions are oftencrowded with many details
Benvenuto Cellini
• Italian, goldsmith,sculptor and painter
• Saltcellar of King FrancisI, 1540-43
• Gold and enamel
• 10x13
• Roman Sea God Neptunerepresenting the source ofsalt sits next to a boat thatcarries the salt.
• Figure of Earth guards theplant derived pepper,contained in the triumphalarch.
• Reprentations of theseasons and times of dayare on the base
Benvenuto Cellini
• Perseus Holding the
Head of Medusa
• Bronze
• Outside of Florence
City Hall
• Symbolic of
Florence’s victories
in battle.
Giovanni
da Bologna• 1583, Marble
• Abduction of theSabine Women
• Spiral movement
• Precursor of Baroque
• Laocoon
• Unlike ancientsculptures, this piecewas carved from asingle stone.
• Symbolic of Medici(young guy) takingFlorence (woman)from the precedinggovernment (old man)
Venus UraniaGiovanni da Bologna
• 1573
• Bronze, 15 1/4”
• Da Bologna was inspired by
Michelangelo, but was more
concerned with graceful forms
and poses
• Unlike the Classical statues of
Venus, this Venus takes on a
very twisted pose, typical of
Mannerist sculpture
Venice and the Veneto
• Rather than the cool formal, technical perfection sought by
the Mannerists, painters in Venice expanded upon the
techniques begun in Venice by Giorgione and Titian.
• These painters were concerned with color, light and
expressively loose brushwork.
• The Veneto region, the part of northeastern Italy ruled by
Venice, also gave rise to new directions in architecture
under Palladio.
Veronese
• Born Paolo Caliari in 1528.
• From Verona, but worked mainly in Venice.
• His paintings are synonymous with the popular image of
Venice as a spectacular city pf pleasure and pageantry.
• His elaborate architectural settings and other everyday
scenes of Venice were immensely appealing to Venetian
patrons.
• His vision of a glorious Venice reached its peak in the
ceiling of the council chamber in the ducal palace.
• Apotheosis of Venice
• 1585, Oil on canvas
• 904 x 579 cm
• Palazzo Ducale, Venice
• This painting was commissioned
by the Venetian government.
• Rising above a bank of clouds,
the royally garbed personification
of Venice sits enthroned between
the twin towers of the city's
Arsenal, about to be crowned
with laurel by flying victories.
• Arrayed at her feet and offering
her wise counsel are
personifications of peace,
abundance, fame, happiness,
honor, security, and freedom.
• At the base, Venice's
smiling subjects seem
undisturbed by the
enormous size and
energy of careening
horsemen in their midst
reminder of Venice's
considerable military
might.
• Illusionistic
foreshortenings and
dramatic light effects
serve to give political
allegory a previously
unimagined dynamism
and visual excitement.
• Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi
• 1573 Oil on canvas, 555 x 1280 cm
• Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
• We are not sure which event in the life of Christ Veronese originally meant toportray in this painting, perhaps the Last Supper.
• He gave the painting its present title only after he had been summoned by thereligious tribunal of the Inquisition on the charge of filling his picture with“buffoons, drunkards, Germans, dwarfs and similar vulgarities” unsuited to asacred scene.
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• The Discovery of
St Mark's Body
• 1562-66
• Oil on canvas
• 400 x 400 cm
• Pinacoteca di Brera,
Milan
• The Stealing of the Dead
Body of St Mark
• 1562-66 Oil on canvas,
398 x 315 cm
• Gallerie dell'Accademia,
Venice
• Tintoretto
• Christ before Pilate
• 1566-67
• Oil on canvas
• 515 x 380 cm
• Sala dell'Albergo
Scuola di San Rocco
• Venice
• Tintoretto painted the Last Supper several times in his life.
• This version can be described as the feast with the poor, in which the figure of
Christ mingles with the crowds of followers.
• However, a supernatural scene with winged figures comes into sight by the light
around Christ’s head. This gives the painting a visionary character differentiating
it from paintings of the same subject made by earlier painters like Leonardo.
PalladioJust as Veronese and Tintoretto
expanded upon the rich Venetian
tradition of oil painting
established by Giorgione and
Titian, Andrea Palladio dominated
architecture during the second half
of the 16th century by expanding
on the principles of Alberti and of
ancient Roman Architecture.
His work - whether a villa, palace
or church - was characterized by
harmonious symmetry and
rejection of ornamentation.
• He was born Andrea di Pietro della Gondola in Padua, then part of theRepublic of Venice.
• Apprenticed as a stonecutter in Padua when he was 13, he broke hiscontract after only 18 months and fled to the nearby town of Vicenza.
• Here he became an assistant in the leading workshop of stonecuttersand masons.
• His talents were recognized in his early thirties by Count Gian GiorgioTrissino, who later gave him the name Palladio, an allusion to theGreek goddess of wisdom Pallas Athene.
• In 1541 he moved to Rome to study classic architecture.
• Palladian style is named after him; a style which adhered to classicalRoman principles, similarly to styles of the Early and HighRenaissance, when classical revivalism was at its peak.
• His architectural works have "been valued for centuries as thequintessence of High Renaissance calm and harmony" (Watkin, D. AHistory of Western Architecture).
• Over the years he became involved in several publishing ventures,including a guide to Roman antiquities, an illustrated version ofVitruvius, and books on architecture that for centuries would be avaluable resource for architectural design.
Palladio’s plans
for the Villa Rotonda
c. 1560 Vicenza, Italy
• His books on architecture providedideal plans for country estates usingproportions derived from ancientRoman structures.
• In this plan for a country villa, you cansee his use of balance, proportion andsymmetry.
• It was named the Villa Rotondabecause it was inspired by thePantheon in Rome.
• Villas in Italy had traditonally beenworking farms, but Palladio designedvillas that were retreats for fun andrelaxation.
Andrea Palladio, Villa Rotonda (formerly Villa Capra), near
Vicenza, Italy, ca. 1566-1570.
• By the 18th century , Palladio’s books on architecture had been included inthe library of most educated people. Thomas Jefferson had one of the firstcopies in America.
In 1565, Palladio accepted a major architectural commission to design the monastery
church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.
• His design for the Renaissance façade for the traditional
basilica plan elevation was ingenious.
• Inspired by Alberti’s solution in Mantua Palladio created the
illusion of two temple fronts of different heights and widths
one set inside the other.
Note the similarities between these two church interiors. Can you tell
which is Brunelleschi’s and which is Palladio’s ?