raphael. raphael, school of athens, fresco, vatican, rome 1510-1511
TRANSCRIPT
Raphael
Raphael, School of Athens, fresco, Vatican, Rome 1510-1511
• Commissioned by Pope Julius II for library
• Originally called Philosophy
• One painting in set of works illustrating the vastness/variety of the papal library
• Influenced by composition of Leonardo’s The Last Supper
• One uniform light throughout composition
• Two greatest philosophers in ancient Greek thought-Plato & Aristotle
• Discussing the source of their inspiration
• Gathering of ancient philosophers and scientists from different eras talking and sharing ideas
• Plato’s inspiration came from the heavens-points upward– Those concerned with mysteries of the world
on his side
• Aristotle’s inspiration came from the earth-hand out, facing down– Those concerned nature and human affairs on
his side
The Small Cowper Madonna, Raphael, oil on panel, 1505
• Classical style
• His landscapes lack the sfumato that Leonardo used.
• style is calm, harmonious, and restrained.
• His figures are graceful fluid forms.
The Venetian School
• Artists in Venice were fascinated with light, color, texture, and mood.
• They established a school of painting that stressed sensuous forms with sophisticated color harmonies.
The Tempest, Giorgione, oil, 1506-
1508
• Intense debate about meaning
• Soldier staring at breast-feeding woman
• Broken columns, half-done arch
• Emerging landscape tradition
Titian• Used strong color as his main expressive
device. Brought oil painting to Venice
• he covered the surface of the canvas with red for warmth.
• Then he painted both background and figures in vivid hues and toned them down with thirty or forty layers of glazes.
• daring compositional arrangements
Pastoral Symphony, Titian, 1510, oil on canvas
• Pastoral=relating to countryside
• Landscape itself is one of the main subjects
• Two musicians and two nude women– One aristocratic musician, one peasant– One woman pouring water in well, one playing
flute
• Thought to be an allegory on the invention of poetry
Sleeping Venus, oil on canvas, Titian, 1538
• May not have been Venus, may have been a courtesan– Looks at us directly, unashamed, provocative
• Theory of marriage, wedding night– Dog symbolizes faithfulness
• Roses contribute to the floral motif carried throughout the work
• Painting became a standard for future reclining nudes
Women Patrons of the Arts• Wealthy women at this
time started to become avid supporters of the
arts
• Isabella of Spain painted by Titian
• She was a patron of writers, composers,
artists
Mannerism• New style that developed in Florence and Rome
in the 1520s
• Associated with death of Rafael and the sacking
of Rome by Charles V of Spain in 1519
• Reformation-Martin Luther voicing his complaints about the Catholic church.
• Lots of chaos
• HR- beauty, proportion, balance, natural, elegant=return to the classical
• Mannerism was anti-Classical
• Awkward, elongated, emotional, clashing colors, strange perspective
• Defied uniformity and balance
Descent from the Cross, Jacopo
Pontormo, oil on panel, 1528, Mannerism
• Figures crowd the composition around the frame of the picture leaving a void in the center.
• There is no clearly defined focal point
• Christ’s body is elongated and twisting
• Figures have elongated bodies with small heads.
• Shallow space; acidic colors
Madonna with the Long Neck. Parmigianino, oil on wood,
1535, Mannerism
• Elongation
• Crowded on left, but not right, space is irrational
• Asymmetrical
• Columns are similar to Madonna’s long neck
• Small figure at base is strangely out of proportion; role in the painting is uncertain.
• Pose of Mary and Jesus is reminiscent of the Pieta
Agnolo Bronzino,
Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time,
1546
• Commissioned by Cosimo de Medici of Florence to Francis I of France
• Allegory-many meanings
• Cupid kisses mother Venus– Eye on her golden apple– On a pillow reflecting idleness– Venus removes arrow from his quiver
• Folly throws flowers
• Masks are falseness; doves are love
• Vanity (right of Venus) has beautiful face but body is an animal
• Envy (left) is green-interpreted as syphilis
• Truth (top left)
• Time (top right)
• Crowded, complex composition
Portrait of Artist’s Brother and Sisters, Sofonisba Anguissola, 1555
• First well-known influential FEMALE artist
• From a large, wealthy family
• Studied under two master painters
• Impressed Vasari and Michelangelo
• Primarily a portrait artist
• used the strong colors and smooth finish familiar in Mannerist portraits.
• First of the genre painters- painted scenes from everyday life
The Last Supper, Tintoretto, oil on canvas, Venetian Renaissance
• Asymmetrical balance
• Two light sources, one real, one supernatural– Glowing translucent angels– Each of the apostles, minus Judas, has a
halo. Jesus’ halo is most brilliant light source
• Christ is in the center, yet powerful diagonals pull the eye into the distance
• Elongated figures
• Light casts long shadows
• Ghostly drama, deep perspective, gives the idea of limitless depth and motion
• The overall effect is very spiritual, which reflects Tintoretto’s religious nature
• Interesting working method
Abduction of the Sabine Woman,
Giovanni da Bologna, 1583marble
• Rape-abduction not sexual violation
• First men of Rome abducted their wives from neighboring Sabine families
• Carved from one piece of marble
• Spiral movement pre-cursor to Baroque
• Negative space
• Symbolism of the Medici family (young man) taking Florence (the woman) away from the preceding government (old man)