ap art history - romanesque, gothic, renaissance

1050-1150; means “roman-like”; christianity dominant at this time; artists in the middle class of the feudal system; architecture has a more negative connotation (bad actions/ thoughts → bad people → hell)

1050-1130; stone architecture, stone and paint tympanum, reliquary made from gold, silver, gemstones, enamel over wood; vaulted ceilings; register carving above door depicts jesus saving people; reliquary depicts child saint; built to hold many pilgrims

became necessary during romanesque period because of the weight of concrete roofs

reinforce barrel vaults; spans an interior space, connecting by crossing from side to side

1066-1080; embroidery on linen; chronicles history → tells the story of William’s conquest of England at the Battle of Hastings; example of continuous narrative; designed by a man, but created by a woman → very progressive to give women the duty to create something so important

1150s-1500s; influenced by islamic and romanesque art → advancements on the romanesque era; paris regarded as the birthplace of gothic; art became an industry → apprenticeships, etc.; thriving economy → lots of art being commissioned, especially the construction of churches

became more prevalent on church facades → portals and columns; tympanum → carved in relief, messages here emphasized the possibility of salvation; jamb figures → 3d, defined their own space, figures interacted with each other

stained glass → popular but did not originate in this period; became an industry, built up the economy

1145, 1194-1220; limestone and stained glass; dedicated to the virgin mary; right side was built earlier in the romanesque period, while the left is gothic and less heavy, more uplifting; gothic message → “you can be saved”; ribbed vault; stained glass with narrative images; pinnacles → wind resistance

1300-1325; painted wood; humanizing religious themes by showing emotional expression; mary looks more angry than at peace; create more emotional response in the viewer → viewer feels closer to god

1225-1245; illuminated manuscript (ink, tempera, gold leaf); moralized bibles; commentary interpreted biblical text; commissioned by someone wealthy

spain, 1320; illuminated manuscript (pigment and gold leaf on vellum); haggadah → narrative; jewish exodus from egypt under moses

padva, italy, 1303; brick; commissioned by scrovegni; built over ancient roman arena; christ coming as judge at the end of the world

giotto di bondone, 1305; fresco; jesus’s followers mourning his death; light source from above; giotto’s artwork/style is the precursor to renaissance style

not a “rebirth” like the italian renaissance; artists aren’t surrounded by classical influence → turn away from gothic style and toward naturalism; begin to use oil and glaze instead of tempera → intense tonality, illusion of glowing light

people and animals represented how they appear in the natural world

multi-paneled paintings

robert campin, 1427-1432; oil on wood; triptych piece; meant to be in a private home for personal devotion; left panel → donors, middle-class people kneeling before holy scene; center panel → annunciation taking place in an everyday flemish interior; right panel → joseph working in his carpentry workshop, mousetraps symbolize the capturing of the devil

van eyck, 1434; oil on wood; filled with symbolism; van eyck paints himself into the mirror’s reflection → artists wanted to establish a legacy; window letting in natural light → artist’s understanding of light, reflection, shadow; woman holding up her skirt → promise of fidelity; candle → all-seeing eye of god; dog → fidelity

albrecht durer, 1504; engraving; influenced by classical sculpture; ideal image of humans before the fall of man; contrapposto; 4 humors represented by animals; adam tries to dissuade eve

lucas cranach the elder, 1530; woodcut and letterpress; woodcut technique makes it more accessible to the public; benefits of protestantism vs disadvantages of catholicism; lutheran ideas about salvation; last judgement on the left, figure bathed in christ’s blood on the right

matthias grunewald, 1512-1516; oil on wood; placed in a monastery hospital; theme of healing through salvation and faith → shown to people in the hospital; dark background, decomposing flesh → agony of body represents agony of ergotism

pieter bruegel the elder, 1565; oil on wood; strong diagonals lead the viewer’s eye; one of six in a series depicting labors of the months; patrons were wealthy and high status → bruegel’s paintings offer a positive view of peasant life

early 1400s-1490s; focus on translating and studying classic works from latin and greek

filippo brunelleschi, 1429-1461; masonry; inspired by roman triumphal arches; two barrel vaults on interior, pendentives support dome, oculus in center; meeting place for franciscan monks; rectangular chapel with apse and altar attached to the church of santa crece; patrons were the wealthy pazzi family → rivals of the medici; family coat of arms placed at the base of each pendentive

leon battista alberti, 1450; stone, masonry; three horizontal floors; emphasized cornice caps; rejects rustication of earlier renaissance palaces; classical humanist ideals for a residence; columns reflect columns at the colosseum; rucellai coat of arms placed over second floor windows

fra filippo lippi, 1465; tempera on wood; symbolic landscape → rock formations symbolize christian church, city near madonna’s head is jerusalem; pearl motif → symbols in scenes of the incarnation of christ; landscape inspired by flemish painting; humanization of a sacred time → domestic intimacy

sandro botticelli, 1484-1486; tempera on canvas; flat and unrealistic landscape; figures floating, not anchored to ground; roses symbolize the pain of love; medici commission; revival of interest in greek and roman themes; emerging neoplatonic thought

donatello, 1440-1460; bronze; first large bronze nude since antiquity; exaggerated contrapposto; sleekness of black bronze adds to femininity; androgynous figure; life-size work → meant to be house in medici palace courtyard, not publicly viewed; david symbolizes florence taking on larger forces with ease

da vinci, 1494-1498; tempera and oil on wood;

micehlangelo, 1508-1512; fresco;