The Changing Role of Viewer

Reading:“The Profession of the Artist,” 1-20

Terms/Concepts:patron, critic, court patronage, church patronage, public/civic patronage,

Monument List: Michelangelo, Sistine

Chapel, Fresco, Vatican, 1508.

Diego Velasquez, Las Meninas, 1656.

Michelangelo, David, Florence, Marble, 1503.

Robert Campin, Merode Altarpiece, Flanders, Oil on Panel, 1425-1428.

Artist

Art Viewer

Context

Cont

ext Context

Who is the viewer? People who encounter

art. …intentionally or

unintentionally. …aware or unaware of

their role as viewer. …with or without an

opinion about what they see.

Viewers at the Museum.

Who is the patron? People who pay for art. …who buy art for

private or public viewing.

…who support artists and their works financially.

…who commission specific works.

Isabella Stewart Gardner

Who is the critic? People who write about art. …who make value

judgments about individual works and artists.

…who comment about the role of art in society.

…who actively contribute to the way others view art.

…who supports artists with their writing.

Norman Rockwell, The Art Critic, 1955.

Interrelated Roles

People who encounter art.

Viewer

People who pay for art.

Patron

People who write about art.Critic

Patronage

Why become a patron? Preserve the artistic

process. Exerting control over the

artistic process. Using art to promote an

agenda. Display cultural acumen.

“The deliberate sponsorship of the creation, production, preservation, and dissemination of the so-called ‘fine arts.’” --Judith Huggins Balfe

The Patron and the Artist

Artist

Art Patron

Context

Cont

ext Context

Patron funds the artistAr

tist p

rodu

ces w

ork

Patron appreciates the work

The Patron and the Artist

Artist

Art Patron

Context

Cont

ext Context

Patron makes “suggestions”

Artis

t mod

ifies

wor

k

Patron hates the workPatron appreciates work

The Renaissance: Artist as Divine Genius

“Why has God given me such magnificent talent? It is a curse as well as a great blessing.”--Albrecht Dürer

“Nature holds the beautiful, for the artist who has the insight to extract it.”― Albrecht Dürer

“I, Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg painted myself thus, with undying colors, at the age of twenty-eight years.”--Inscription on Painting

Albrecht Durer, Self-Portrait, 1500.

The Patron and the Artist

Artist

Art Patron

Context

Cont

ext Context

Patron makes “suggestions”

Artis

t mod

ifies

wor

k

Patron hates the workPatron appreciates work

Tension

Church Patronage

Christ Enthroned with St. Vitalis and Ecclesiasticus, San Vitale, Ravenna, 6th century CE.

The Bishop of Ravenna, EcclesiasticusModel of

the Church

Church Patronage

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Fresco, Vatican, 1508.

Pope Julius II as the Prophet Zacharias Raphael, Pope Julius II, 1511-1512

Court Patronage

Peter Paul Rubens, The Exchange of the Princesses,

Court Patronage

Terracotta Warriors, Tomb of Shihuangdi, Shaanxi Province, China, c. 210 BCE

Court Patronage

Francisco de Goya, Family of King Charles IV, Madrid, 1803.

Court Patronage

Francisco de Goya, Saturn Devouring his Children, 1819-1823.

Court Patronage

Diego Velasquez, Las Meninas, 1656.

VelasquezLa Infanta Margarita

King and Queen of Spain

Public or Civic Patronage

Michangelo, David, Florence, Marble, 1503

Public or Civic Patronage

Richard Serra, Tilted Arc, 1981-1989.

Private Patronage

Robert Campin, Merode Altarpiece, Flanders, Oil on Panel, 1425-1428.

Mary is in the costume and demeanor of a middle class Flemish woman

The interior represents a typical middle class home in Flanders.

The window in Joseph’s workshop overlooks early modern Flanders

The patrons are shown looking in on the annunciation.

Private Patronage

Private Patronage

Theo van Gogh Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of Theo van Gogh, 1887

Contemporary Concerns in Patronage

To whom should patrons appeal? Wide audience? Elite audience?

How does one balance financial investment with protecting the arts?

How much control should a patron exert over the artist?

How much should their support be determined by critics?

Art Criticism

Why become a critic? Explore the meaning of art. Participate in the artistic

process. Influence artists and other

viewers. Encourage artists in their

work. Impact the art market.

“The process of looking at, thinking about, and judging an artwork.”

The Critic and the Artist

Artist

Art Critic

Context

Cont

ext Context

Critic gives praise or criticismArtis

t pro

duce

s wor

k

Critic assesses work

Interrelated Roles

People who encounter art.

Viewer

People who pay for art.

Patron

People who write about art.Critic

John Ruskin Was a minor artist in his

own right. Earliest works focused on

architecture. Encouraged a return to

purer values in the pursuit of art.

Was a large supporter of a group of artists called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

John Ruskin "Go to Nature in all

singleness of heart, and walk with her laboriously and trustingly, having no other thought but how best to penetrate her meaning, rejecting nothing, selecting nothing, and scorning nothing.”

John Ruskin

Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851-1852.

The Power of the Critic:Ruskin vs. Whistler

James McNeill Abbot Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1875.

Ruskin: “For Mr. Whistler’s own sake, no less than for the protection of the purchaser, Sir Coutts Lindsay ought not to have admitted works into the gallery in which the ill-educated conceit of the artist so nearly approached the aspect of wilful imposture. I have seen, and heard, much of Cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.”

The Power of the Critic:Ruskin vs. Whistler

James McNeill Abbot Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1875.

An Appeal to the Law, Punch Magazine, 1878.

Clement Greenberg Explained Modern Art

to a buying public. Made artists like Pollock

marketable. Encouraged the use of

complete abstraction/non-representational forms.

Critic as Tastemaker:Greenbergian Formalism

Jackson Pollock, Number 1 (Lavender Mist), 1950.

Concerns in Art Criticism

Can a critic have undue influence over a particular artist or the viewer?

Can a single critic define the entirety of art and what it should be?

What is the responsibility of the critic?How do critics avoid conflicts of interest

between ideals and finances?

Major Goals

• Be able to describe the distinct but overlapping roles of the viewer, patron and critic and understand how these roles interact.

• Understand the control and influence different types of patrons exert over the artistic process.

• Know the circumstances that surround the rise of the art critic in the 19th century.

• Be able to discuss the contemporary concerns and problems associated with art patronage and criticism.