art history

  Great Serpent Mound . Adams County, southern Ohio. Mississippian (Eastern Woodlands). c. 1070 C.E. Earthwork/effigy mound. The Great Serpent Mound in rural, southwestern Ohio is the largest serpent effigy in the world. Numerous mounds were made by the ancient Native American cultures that flourished along the fertile valleys of the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers a thousand years ago, though many were destroyed as farms spread across this region during the modern era. The Great Serpent Mound measures approximately 1,300 feet in length and ranges from one to three feet in height. Was erected by settled peoples who cultivated maize, beans and squash and who maintained a stratified society with an organized labor force, but left no written records.  Many native cultures in both North and Central America attributed supernatural powers to snakes or reptiles and included them in their spiritual practices. The head of the serpent aligns with the summ...

Yaxchilán. Chiapas, Mexico. Maya. 725 C.E. Limestone (architectural complex). Yaxchilán is located on the south bank of the Usumacinta River, in Chiapas, Mexico. It was a significant Maya center during the Classic period (250-900 C.E.) Many of the exteriors had elaborate decorations, but it is the carved stone lintels above their doorways which are the focus.  Many of the exteriors had elaborate decorations, but it is the carved stone lintels above their doorways.  Bloodletting was a common practice in Maya life from the Late Preclassic period (400 B.C.E.- 250 C.E.) onwards, and an essential part of rulership and of all public rituals.

Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. Montezuma County, Colorado. Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi). 450–1300 C.E. Sandstone Beginning after 1000-1100 CE, they built more than 600 structures into the cliff faces of the Four Corners region of the United States: the southwestern corner of Colorado, northwestern corner of New Mexico, northeastern corner of Arizona, and southeastern corner of Utah. These structures were mostly residential but some were used for storage and ritual. The most famous residential sites date to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; the Ancestral Puebloans accessed these dwellings with retractable ladders.  We often see traces of the people who constructed these buildings, such as handprints or fingerprints in many of the mortar and plaster walls.  The cliff dwellings are certainly among the best preserved buildings from this time. To build these structures, people used stone and mud mortar, along with wooden beams adapted to the natural clefts in the ...

Chavín de Huántar. Northern highlands, Peru. Chavín. 900–200 B.C.E. Stone (architectural complex); granite (Lanzón and sculpture); hammered gold alloy (jewellery). Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological and cultural site in the Andean highlands of Peru. with motifs and stylistic elements traveling to the southern highlands and to the coast. The location of Chavín played a role; the temple built there became an important pilgrimage site that drew people and their offerings from far and wide.  It is also located near the confluence of the Huachesca and Mosna Rivers, a natural phenomenon of two joining into one that may have been seen as a spiritually powerful phenomenon. Over the course of 700 years, the site drew  many worshipers to its temple who helped in spreading the artistic style of Chavín throughout highland and coastal Peru by transporting ceramics, textiles, and other portable objects back to their homes. The interior of the temple was riddl...

TIME PERIOD: 1500-1820 MIXING OF INDIGENOUS ART FORMS WITH EUROPEAN; REJECTED BAROQUE INFLUENCE FROM ASIA/AFRICA  PROTRAITS, HISTORY PAINTINGS, GENRE SCENES  SPANISH CREATED WORLD WIDE TRADING EMPIRE; CONNECTED MEXICO TO ASIA; BROUGHT ASIAN SPICES, CERAMICS, SILKS, IVORY; ARTISTIC LIFE BECAME ENRICHED BY THESE CONTACTS  COLONIAL RULE WAS OVER BY 1822; LATIN AMERICA FILLED W/ INDEPENDENT STATES  WORKS FROM NEW SPAIN COMBINE ROMAN CATHOLICISM WITH NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITION USING MATERIALS FROM ASIA  MANY MEXICAN PORTRAITS SHOW MEN IN THE LATEST MADRID STYLES TO PROVE THEIR ARISTOCRACY  HISTORICAL BATTLE SCENES; ARCADIAN LANDSCAPES  OIL TECHNIQUE; NO INTEREST IN PERSPECTIVE; FAVORED FLATTENED SURACE, EARTHEN TONES WORKS CREATED ANONYMOUSLY; IN SERVICE OF RELIGION RATHER THAN FAME; STYLE OF ART SCHOOLS CLOSELY UNITED VOCABULARY:  BIOMBOS: FOLDING FREE-STANDING SCREENS  CASTA PAINTINGS: SHOWED MIXED RACE PEOPLE  ENCHONCHAD...

TIME PERIOD: 1690-1700 DEPARTED FROM THE RENAISSANCE ITALY USED TO BE THE ARTISTIC CENTER OF EUROPE: NOW IT WAS FRANCE; MODERN ART AND INNOVATION, POSITION KEPT UNCHALLENGED THIRTY YEAR WAR (CAUSED BY PROTESTANT REFORMATION, DEVASTATED CENTRAL EUROPE)  ECONOMIC AND ARTISTIC PRODUCTION FOUND AT A HALT; ICONOCLASTS  CATHOLIC CHURCH REMAINED THE GREATEST SOURCE OF ARTISTIC COMMISSIONS IN THE 17TH CENTURY, FOLLOWED BY ROYALTY  HUGE CHURCHES, MASSIVE PALACES; ARTISTS WERE INTENSELY RELIGIOUS  POPES SPONSORED WORKS  ARCHITECTURE GARDENS ENHANCED LANDSCAPE BUILDINGS; SUGGEST MAN'S CONTROL OVER HIS ENVIRONMENT; PURPOSE TO IMPRESS VIEWER WITH A SENSE OF LIMITLESSNESS BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE RELIES ON MOVEMENT; UNDULATING FACADES; WAVELIKE FORMS; INTERIORS RICHLY DESIGNED TO COMBINE THE ARTS; PAINTING AND SCULPTURE INSIDE; DRAMATICALLY UNIFIED EFFECT  SEEKS TO IMPRESS W/ SIZE AND ORNAMENTATION; PROCLAIM POWER AND WEALTH PAINTING/SCULPTURE STILL ...

TIME PERIOD: HIGH RENAISSANCE: 1495-1520 (ROME, FLORENCE, VENICE)  MANNERISM: 1520-1600 SPAIN AND FRANCE INVADED ITALIAN PENINSULA  ROME SUFFERED, CREATIVITY DESTROYED, MANNERISM EMERGED PROTESTANT REFORMATION HAD A DRAMATIC IMPACT ON ITALIAN ART  MANNERISM CONCERNS THE TENSION BETWEEN THE IDEAL, THE NATURAL, AND THE SYMMETRICAL AGAINST THE REAL, THE ARTIFICIAL, AND THE UNBALANCED  REFORMATION MET BY CATHOLIC RESPONSE; JESUITS SAW POWER OF ART AS A TEACHING TOOL; BECAME PATRONS  TRADE GUILD; ARTISTS COULD ACHIEVE FAME; MONARCHS COMPETED FOR THEM; POPE JULIUS II TRANSFORMED ROME INTO AN ARTISTIC CENTER AND CAPITAL OF THE RENAISSANCE  COSIMO I OF FLORENCE CREATED A PAINTING ACADEMY; PORTABLE CANVASES  SFUMATO: MISTY EFFECT; HAZY; CHIAROSCURO: SOFT TRANSITIONS BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARK; GLAZES GAVE ART A POLISHED LOOK THREE QUARTER VIEWS; ARTISTS EXPECTED TO EXPRESS THE CHARACTER OF THE SITTER VENETIAN HIGH RENAISSANCE PAINTING: Floren...

Time Period: 1400-1500 emphasis on non-religious subjects; portraits, genre paintings, still life commercial/mercantilism prospered; trading towns; simulated interest in the arts cities competed for best cathedrals, altars, etc.  political/religious turmoil during the reformation; martin luther caused one of the greatest upheavals in european history netherlands and germany protestant; spain, italy, catholic anti catholic; iconoclastic movement capitalist market system, flourished due to grade; printmaking made artists more popular Johann Gutenberg; prints mass produced and inexpensive; oil paint; rich colors; natural hues and tones; dried slower; medium of choice thin, graceful figures; latest fashions; gold in abundance; elaborate frames symbolism plays large role; meanings of simple objects studied/debated by scholars  assimilation of Italian Renaissance ideas into a Northern European context Northern Europeans had a fondness for nature, either in the study of...

AKA Italo-Byantine/14th Century Italian Renaissance. Time Period: 1250-1400 Italy was not unified; city-states; citizens identified themselves as Sienese or Florentines, not Italians; differences in dialects Military interventions from outside forces; instability; pieces come in fragmentary conditions Guild system; Italians had a strong devotional attachment to their local church, buried inside; families commissioned artists to decorate private chapels  Artist's signatures indicated their rising status; contrasts anonymity of previous period  Large scale panels; frescos and tempera; emphasise flatness; frontal and linear compositions Artists referenced Byzantine styles; maniera greca Expressive faces, meaningful gestures; experimented with composition, moved focus away from centre of painting Bridge between Middle Ages and Renaissance; broke away from Byzantine traditions; Giotto focused on mass and solidity, using shading to suggest three dimensionality ...

Spaniard and Indian Produce a Mestizo . Attributed to Juan Rodríguez Juárez. c. 1715 C.E. Oil on canvas. PART OF PINTURAS DE CASTAS, OR CASTE PAINTINGS; DISPLAY FATHER/MOTHER; COSTUME, ACTIVITIES, SETTING ALL AID IN RACIALLY LABELLING THE INDIVIDUALS OF THESE WORKS INTERRACIAL COUPLES, COMMON SUBJECT

Fruit and Insects . Rachel Ruysch. 1711 C.E. Oil on wood. UFFIZI; DUTCH ARTIST; RACHEL RUYSCH; SUCCESSFUL; PAINTED IN HER EIGHTIES; DOUBLE THAN REMBRANDT; MERCHANT CLASS GREW; STILL LIFE; SPECIALIZED IN FLOWERS; AUTUMN, HARVEST, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES; CORN, SQUASH, CHESTNUTS, GRAPES; CHRISTIAN REFERENCES IN OBJECTS, SYMBOLIC VALUE; COLOR HARMONY, RED AND GREEN; BASED ON OBSERVATION GRAPES = WINE = BLOOD OF CHRIST, WHEAT = BREAD = BODY OF CHRIST SCIENTIFIC WORK OF ART; ENLIGHTENMENT + NEOCLASSICISM

The Virgin of Guadalupe   (Virgen de Guadalupe) . Miguel González. c. 1698 C.E. Based on original Virgin of Guadalupe. Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City. 16th century C.E. Oil on canvas on wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. MEXICO CITY; REPLICA; MOTHER OF PEARL INLAID INTO WOOD; IRIDESCENT SURFACE; SUGGESTS HEAVENLY AND DIVINE; EMPHASIZE SACREDNESS; SPANIARDS INTENSELY CONVERTING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE; ASHEN SKIN; MEANT TO RELATE TO NATIVES; SYMBOL OF MEXICAN IDENTITY; DECADE AFTER DOWNFALL OF TENOCHTITLAN; TILMA (THREE QUARTER VIEW); HANDS CLASPED; EYES CAST DOWNWARD; ANGELS FRAME PIECE; SYMBOLS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (LADDER, PALM TREE, SHIP, LILY, FOUNTAIN) ENCONCHADO POPULAR IN 17TH CENTURY MEXICO TINY FRAGMENT OF MOTHER OF PEARL ON A WOODEN CANVAS; THIN GLAZES OF PAINT; MOSAIC

Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and hunting scene . Circle of the González Family. c. 1697–1701 C.E. Tempera and resin on wood, shell inlay. SCREEN WITH A SIEGE OF BELGRADE AND HUNTING SCENE (BROOKLYN BIOMBO) FOLDING SCREEN FROM MEXICO; 1700; COMPLICATED; INSPIRED BY JAPANESE BIOMBOS; MEXICO PART OF VICEROYALTY OF NEW SPAIN; SPAIN CONTROLLED PHILIPPINES, BROUGHT JAPANESE INFLUENCE FROM TRADE; LACQUERWARE BOXES, IVORY GOODS DECORATIVE FLORAL ELEMENTS FRAME PIECE; OWNED BY VICEROY JOSE SARMIENTO DE VALLADARES; HUGE SILVER MINING INDUSTRY, TOBACCO; BATTLE SCENE; HALF OF IT IN MEXICO CITY; CHAOTIC SCENE BETWEEN TURKS, SPANIARDS, OTHER EMPIRES. CONTEMPORARY; BATTLE OF BELGRADE; DELICATE, THIN PAINTING; SHELL INLAY/ENCRUSTED; OIL AND PEARL; MAKES THINGS SHINE (METAL HELMETS); FLORAL MOTIFS; POLITICAL USE TO REPRESENT HIS POWER TO GUESTS; PLACED IN HIS WAITING ROOM OTHER SIDE MORE RELAXED, DECORATIVE; HUNTING/LANDSCAPE SCENE; BOTANICAL MOTIF, BLOSSOMS EUROPEAN/RENAISSANCE/CLAS...

The Palace at Versailles. Versailles, France. Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin- Mansart (architects). Begun 1669 C.E. Masonry, stone, wood, iron, and gold leaf (architecture); marble and bronze (sculpture); gardens. KING OF FRANCE, XIV, 1664-1710; FRENCH NOBILITY THAT LED TO FRENCH REVOLUTION; LOUIS LE VAU (ARCHITECT) AND ANDRE LE NOTRE (LANDSCAPE DESIGNER); COMPLETED IN 21 YRS; 20,000 SERVANTS, SOLDIERS, FAMILY, ETC; 700 ROOMS. MEANT TO EMPHASIZE LOUIS’S IMPORTANCE; FILLED WITH SCULPTURE, PAINTING, FOUNTAINS; FOCUSED ON HIMSELF CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE; SYMMETRICAL, REPETITIVE; BASIC ELEMENTS FROM ANCIENT GREEK TEMPLES; ANCIENT PAST SEEN AS THE ROOT OF INTELLECTUAL AND AESTHETIC SUPERIORITY; BELIEVE THEY HAD DESCENDED TO THE FRENCH NATION; LOUIS LIKED LINKING HIMSELF TO THE SUN GOD APOLLO; PALACE DESIGNED TO GLORIFY THE FRENCH MONARCH BY INCORPORATING BOTH ORNATE BAROQUE DECORATION AND THE STRICTER RULES OF CLASSICISM THAT EXPRESS HIS INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL STATURE

Angel with Arquebus , Asiel Timor Dei . Master of Calamarca (La Paz School). c. 17th century C.E. Oil on canvas. ANDROGYNOUS ANGELS PRODUCED IN PERU; WIDESPREAD THROUGHOUT ANDES; REPRESENTED CELESTIAL, ARISTOCRATIC AND MILITARY FIGURES SIMULTANEOUSLY; RELIGIOUS FIGURE WITH MODERN WEAPON; SPANISH CONQUISTADOR CLOTHING; HIGHLY DETAILED AND ORNAMENTED; WEAPON PRODUCES LEADING LINES TO FOCUS OF THE PAINTING: THE ANGEL'S FACE

Woman Holding a Balance . Johannes Vermeer. c. 1664 C.E. Oil on canvas. SCENE OF EVERYDAY LIFE; CUSTOM OF VERMEER UPPER MERCHANT CLASS; HOLLAND IN 17TH CENTURY TINY BIT OF LIGHT; STATIC, QUIET; BOXES OF JEWELRY, STRING OF PEARLS PAINTING OF CHRIST IN BACKGROUND; HIS JUDGEMENT; GIVES A LOT MORE THAN IT SEEMS NATURAL; CAREFULLY PLANNED; VANISHING POINT; CENTER OF PAINTING IS WHERE BALANCES ARE; COLOR, SHADOW, GOLD OF CURTAIN IN DRESS, JEWELRY; REMINDERS OF CHANGES TAKING PLACE IN 17TH CENTURY; INTIMATE; NEED TO BALANCE WEALTH AND SPIRITUALITY

 Las Meninas . Diego Velázquez. c. 1656 C.E. Oil on canvas. PRINCESS ATTENDED BY MAIDS OF HONOR; REFLECTION OF KING AND HIS WIFE; MEANT FOR HIS GAZE; NATURALISM; INFORMALITY; NOT A PORTRAIT; GIVES YOU A MOMENT

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa . Cornaro Chapel, Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Rome, Italy. Gian Lorenzo Bernini. c. 1647–1652 C.E. Marble (sculpture); stucco and gilt bronze (chapel). TERESA OF AULA WAS A NUN WHO LIVED IN 16TH CENTURY SPAIN; HEIGHT OF REFORMATION CORNARO FAMILY COMMISSIONED THE CHAPEL; SEATED FIGURES IN THEATRE BOXES; PATRONS   TYPICAL FEATURE OF BAROQUE ART; BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIER BETWEEN THE WORK AND THE VIEWER

 San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Rome, Italy. Francesco Borromini (architect). 1638–   1646 C.E. Stone and stucco. FOUR FOUNTAINS; FRANCESCO BORROMINI; WAVE, UNDULATING SURFACE; BALANCE BETWEEN CONVEX AND CONCAVE; NATURE AND GEOMETRY INSEPERABLE; PURE WHITE LIGHT OF SUNLIGHT COMING IN; UNIFIES COMPOSITION CEILING MADE OF INTERCONNECTED SQUARE SHAPES, CROSSES, HEXAGONS AND OCTAGONS ORNATE CHERUBS; WINGS ENCLOSE ARCHITECTURE  

Self-Portrait with Saskia . Rembrandt van Rijn. 1636 C.E. Etching SPECIALIZED IN SELF PORTRAITS; VARIETY OF SELF IMAGINED ROLES; ONLY PAINTING OF THEM TOGETHER; ALMOST AS IF WE’RE INTERRUPTING  ETCHING PROCESS: PRINTMAKING PROCESS / COPPER PLATE COATED W/ A WAVY MATERIAL; REMBRANDT CONSIDERED THE MASTER OF THIS; FIRST TO POPULARIZE THIS TECHNIQUE AS A FORM OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION   MASTERED SEVERAL SUBJECTS: HISTORY, LANDSCAPES, STILL LIFE, NUDES, PORTRAITS 

Henri IV Receives the Portrait of Marie de’ Medici , from the Marie de’ Medici Cycle. Peter Paul Rubens. 1621–1625 C.E. Oil on canvas. PETER RUBENS; 24 CANVASES; MAJOR COMMISSION FROM MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN EUROPE; GRANDEUR, EXTRAVAGANT, DEDICATED TO HER EGO; KNOWN FOR SCANDALS; FRANCE PERSONIFIED; VERY BAROQUE; SEA NYMPHS BELOW HER; MOTION AND ENERGY, RAW STROKES OF PAINT; NYMPHS ACT AS OCEAN, EVIDENCED BY THEIR DRAMATIC MOVEMENT

  Calling of Saint Matthew . Caravaggio. c. 1597–1601 C.E. Oil on canvas. CONTARELLI CHAPEL; ONE OF THE THREE APOSTLES OF CHRIST; TAX COLLECTORS, MATTHEW ONE OF THEM; COINS ON TABLE; EARTHBOUND; SET IN TAVERN, BAR; A CAUGHT MOMENT IN TIME; SHARP CONTRAST AGAINST LIGHT/DARK; NATURALISTIC, BODIES HAVE WEIGHT; CHRIST POINTING RESEMBLES CREATION OF ADAM

Mosque of Selim II. Edirne, Turkey. Sinan (architect). 1568–1575 C.E. Brick and stone. ELEGANT STACKED DOMES; TOWERING MINARETS; BUILT BY GREATEST OTTOMAN ARCHITECT: SINAN LOCATION HELD GEOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE; MEANT TO IMPRESS EUROPEAN VISITORS/TRADERS MUQARNAS: PROTRUDE/POINT OF TRANSITION   SQUINCHES: PROVIDE ARCHITECTURAL SUPPORT CREATED AFTER WAR AGAINST CHRISTIANS; GOD IS INDIVISIBLE

Hunters in the Snow . Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1565 C.E. Oil on wood. WORLD LOCKED IN WINTER; HUNTERS AND DOGS, ICE SKATERS; IMAGE OF DAILY LIFE; CONTRAST OF COLORS; MOUNTAINS IN FOREGROUND; NOT REAL; NETHERLANDS IS FLAT; TOOK INSPIRATION FROM SEVERAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES; DOWNTRODDEN HEADS OF HUNTERS AND DOGS SIGNIFY DEFEAT

Il Gesù, including   Triumph of the Name of Jesus   ceiling fresco. Rome, Italy. Giacomo da Vignola, plan (architect); Giacomo della Porta, facade (architect); Giovanni Battista Gaulli, ceiling fresco (artist). Church: 16th century C.E.; facade: 1568–1584 C.E.; fresco and stucco gures: 1676–1679 C.E. Brick, marble, fresco, and stucco. CENTRAL CHURCH; 1500S AFTER DEATH OF FOUNDER; SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA; PATRON IS ALEXANDER FARNESE; RICH POWERFUL NUN HEART OF ROME; BAROQUE; ORNAMENTAL; CORINTHIAN COLUMNS; SICILIAN JASPER, OCHRE MARBLE; HUGE EXPLOSIVE CEILING WITH FRESCOES; STUCCO; HEAVEN, SPIRITUAL GLOW; SHADOWED FIGURE FALLING INTO HELL; DRAMATIC PERIOD IN EUROPEAN HISTORY

Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza . Viceroyalty of New Spain. c. 1541–1542 C.E. Ink   and color on paper. ANTONIO DE MENDOZA; FIRST VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN; COMMISSIONED A CODEX TO RECORD INFORMATION ABOUT THE AZTEC EMPIRE; CONTAINED INFO ABOUT THE LORDS OF TENOCHTITLAN; TRIBUTES OF THE AZTECS, ACCOUNTS OF YEARLY LIFE   ARTISTS WERE INDIGENOUS; ANNOTATED BY A SPANISH PRIEST; MEANT TO BE SENT TO CROWN, STOLEN BY FRENCH PIRATES CONTAINS INFO ABOUT AZTEC RELIGION, HISTORY AND CULTURE ORGANIZATION AND FOUNDATION OF AZTEC EMPIRE CAPITAL DIVISION OF COVER MEANT TO MIRROR ORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSE IN QUADRANTS; HIERATIC SCALE, GEOMETRIC SHAPES

Venus of Urbino . Titian. c. 1538 C.E. Oil on canvas IDENTITY OF WOMAN UNKNOWN; SENSUALITY, BEAUTY; GAZING DIRECTLY AT VIEWER; ALLURING, HAIR FRAMES BREASTS; FLOWERS ACCENTUATE SOFTNESS TITIAN IS A VENETIAN; BORROWED TECHNIQUES FROM FLANDERS; USED OIL PAINT RICHNESS OF COLOR; THIN LAYERS OF OIL PAINT, TRANSLUCENT USE OF CHIAROSCURO; SOFT DIAGONAL CURVE; FIGURES IN BACKGROUND BALANCE THE PAINTING; SUCCESSFUL COMPOSITION TINY FEET, LONG TORSO; FEMALE NUDE EMERGES IN THE RENAISSANCE

Allegory of Law and Grace . Lucas Cranach the Elder. c. 1530 C.E. Woodcut and letterpress. RELIGION CAUSED INTERNATIONAL CONTROVERSY IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY; ICONOCLASTS DESTROYED CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ART; MOST INFLUENTIAL IMAGE OF TTHE LUTHERAN REFORMATION; ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT CATHOLIC CHURCH TURNED INTO VIOLENCE AND REBELLION PEOPLE BECAME DISILLUSIONED ABOUT CATHOLIC TEACHING; DIFFERENT BELIEFS; CATHOLIC CHURCH’S WEALTH AND POWER ANGERED MANY; LUTHER BELIEVED RELIGIOUS ART SHOULD PROVIDE LESSONS LAW AND GOSPEL EXPLAINS LUTHER’S IDEALS IN VISUAL FORM; DESPISED THE IDEA THAT GOOD DEEDS WOULD PLAY A ROLE IN SALVATION; HEAVEN IS REALIZED THROUGH FAITH IN GOD TWO NUDE MALE FIGURES BETWEEN A TREE; RIGHT (GOSPEL) FIGURE SUBMITS TO GOD’S MERCY LEFT (LAW) - SKELETON AND DEMON FORCE A FRIGHTENED NAKED MAN INTO HELL; COMMUNICATED THAT YOU COULDN’T GET TO HEAVEN

Entombment of Christ . Jacopo da Pontormo. 1525–1528 C.E. Oil on wood. PONTORMO’S ENTRANCE; DEPOSITION; EARLY MANNERIST STYLE; CHAPEL IS A SMALL, CUBIC SPACE; EARLY RENAISSANCE STYLE; ENUNCIATION SHOWN SHOWS THE BEGINNING AND END OF CHRIST’S EXISTENCE; ANNOUNCING PREGNANCY TO CHRIST BEING LOWERED FROM CROSS (ANNUNCIATION AND DEPOSITION) CROSS IS GONE; TOMB NOT APPARENT; NOTHING BUT FIGURES; PONTORMO HAS GIVEN US NOTHING TO HELP US UNDERSTAND THE SUBJECT; DRASTIC DIFFERENCE  IN THE STYLE OF THE HIGH RENAISSANCE; REJECTION OF EARTHLINESS OF MOST DEPOSITION SCENES; HIGH STYLIZED FIGURES/ELONGATED BODIES, UNNATURAL POSITIONS; PYRAMID COMPOSITION NO FOCAL POINT; CAN’T TELL WHO THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE IS; UNREALISTIC DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT - HOW CAN THEY LIFT CHRIST? PERIOD OF ADVANCEMENT, REVOLUTION, SPIRITUALITY

Isenheim altarpiece . Matthias Grünewald. c. 1512–1516 C.E. Oil on wood. ENORMOUS MOVEABLE ALTARPIECE; MADE FOR A HOSPITAL; ST. ANTHONY HEALED SKIN DISEASES; MONKS CARED FOR SICK AND DYING PEASANTS; SCULPTED AND WOODEN POPULAR IN GERMANY; 3 SAINTS: ANTHONY, JEROME, AND ST. AUGUSTINE SYMMETRICAL AND MATHEMATICAL PAINTED PANELS; HELL ON EARTH; PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TORMENT; PSYCHEDELIC COLORS; EERIE, OTHERWORLDLY LANDSCAPE DISTORTED CHRIST; BODY MARKED WITH POX; EMPATHETIC PHYSICAL SUFFERING WAS INTENDED TO BE THAUMATURGIC (MIRACLE PERFORMING); VIRGIN SWOONS, ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST HOLDS HER THE PUNCTURED, SPRAWLING BODY OF CHRIST IS PRESENTED AS AN INVITATION TO CONTEMPLATE MORTALITY AND RESURRECTION

School of Athens . Raphael. 1509–1511 C.E. Fresco. STANZA DELLA SEGNATURA; FRESCOES, HIGH RENAISSANCE; APARTMENT WHERE POPE LIVED; THEME OF POETRY, JUSTICE, THEOLOGY AND SCIENCE; ROMAN ARCHITECTURE; SHARING/ACCUMULATION OF KNOWLEDGE; ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS DEPICTED INTERACT WITH MICHELANGELO; FIGURES DIVIDED INTO GROUPS; LINEAR PERSPECTIVE; CHRISTIAN FIGURES; CELEBRATION OF ALL ASPECTS OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

Sistine Chapel ceiling and altar wall frescoes. Vatican City, Italy. Michelangelo. Ceiling frescoes: c. 1508–1512 C.E.; altar frescoes: c. 1536–1541 C.E. Fresco. AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT PAINTINGS IN THE WORLD; FRESCOES FOR POPE JULIUS; SCENES OF OLD TESTAMENT; DIVIDED INTO THREE SECTIONS; CREATION OF EARTH AND THE HEAVENS; CREATION OF ADAM AND EVE; EXPULSION OF NOAH FROM EDEN; NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD MOST FAMOUS - CREATION OF ADAM, COMPLEX NARRATIVES; SHIFT IN STYLE AFTER A BREAK; TELLS STORY OF THE GENESIS, COMPLETED IN 1512

Adam and Eve . Albrecht Dürer. 1504 C.E. Engraving. STYLIZATION OF NATURE; CURIOUS AND AWKWARD DEPICTION OF HUMAN BODY; THEIR POSES REFLECTED CRANACH’S BACKGROUND IN PAINTING THE NOBILITY EVE LOOKED SINISTER; ADAM INNOCENT; HAIR CONNECTS HER TO THE FOLIAGE BEHIND; THE TREE

 Last Supper . Leonardo da Vinci. c. 1494–1498 C.E. Oil and tempera. MONKS WOULD DINE; TWELVE APOSTLES SIT AMONG CHRIST; REACTION TO CHRIST ACCUSING ONE OF THEM OF BETRAYAL; SYMBOLISM: CHRIST’S HAND REACHES TOWARD WINE AND BREAD; JUDAS ALSO REACHES, FORESHADOWING; CHRIST IS THE CALM CENTER; LEONARDO IS CLEARLY THINKING ABOUT GEOMETRY, MATH, SYMMETRY; LEONARDO SIMPLIFIES EVERYTHING AND FOCUSES ON THE FIGURES, THEIR GESTURES AND EXPRESSIONS OVERLAPPING DRAMA AND TENSION; OIL PAINT AND TEMPERA; DRY PLASTER; UNIFY THE EARTHLY AND DIVINE

Birth of Venus . Sandro Botticelli. c. 1484–1486 C.E. Tempera on canvas. MOST ICONIC IMAGES OF WESTERN ART; FIRST FEMALE NUDE IN RENAISSANCE BESIDES EVE; NON-CHRISTIAN; COLLECTION OF THE MEDICI; BOTTICELLI DEFIES NATURALISM COMMON IN THE RENAISSANCE STYLE; LINEAR PAINTING, FLOWING HAIR, WAVES, AND DRAPERY

Madonna and Child with Two Angels . Fra Filippo Lippi. c. 1465 C.E. Tempera on wood. DEVELOPED A LINEAR STYLE THAT EMPHASIZE THE CONTOURS OF HIS FIGURES AND ENABLED HIM TO SUGGEST MOVEMENT THROUGH SURVIVING DRAPERY VIRGIN SITS IN PRAYER AT A SLIGHT ANGLE TO THE VIEWER; HER BODY CASTS A SHADOW; LINES UNIFY THE COMPOSITION BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN; HUMANIZATION OF TYPICAL RELIGIOUS THEMES

Palazzo Rucellai. Florence, Italy. Leon Battista Alberti (architect). c. 1450 C.E. Stone, masonry. HUMANIST ARCHITECTURE; BASED ON ITS PHILOSOPHY; DIVORCED FROM MEDIEVAL STYLE; QUINTESSENTIALLY RENAISSANCE; CONSTRUCTED OVER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS; MADE FOR WEALTHY MERCHANT FAMILIES; INFLUENCED DESIGNS OF HOMES OF MANY CLERICS

  David . Donatello. c. 1440–1460 C.E. Bronze. RUGGED TORSO; STURDY LINES; LARGE HANDS/FEET; SWELLING VEINS; GRECO ROMAN STATUES-HEROIC PHYSIQUE; FEATURES OF HELLENISTIC SCULPTURE; PENT UP EMOTION, TRANSFERRED HIS OWN INTO THE FIGURE

The Arnolfini Portrait . Jan van Eyck. c. 1434 C.E. Oil on wood.

 Pazzi Chapel. Basilica di Santa Croce. Florence, Italy. Filippo Brunelleschi (architect). c. 1429–1461 C.E. Masonry. COMPLETED IN 1460 AFTER BRUNELLESCHI’S DEATH; CENTRAL PLAN, INTERIOR RESEMBLES EACH OTHER; BALANCED, PROPORTIONAL SPACE; COLORFUL CLAY RELIEFS ACCENTUATE THE BUILDING

Annunciation Triptych   (Merode Altarpiece). Workshop of Robert Campin. 1427– 1432 C.E. Oil on wood.

Alhambra. Granada, Spain. Nasrid Dynasty. 1354–1391 C.E. Whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gilding. SOPHISTICATED PLANNING, ENCHANTED GARDENS AND FOUNTAINS; COMPLEX DECORATIONS NASRIA DYNASTY; LAST MUSLIMS TO RULE SPAIN (1200-1400)   CITY WITHIN A CITY; ENCLOSING WALLS PATHS GARDENS AND GATES; WATER INFLUENCED ARCHITECTURE; CATHOLICS LEFT IT INTACT GRANADA FELL TO CHRISTIANS MUQARNAS ARE INTRICATELY CARVED SYSTEM OF BRACKETS THAT HOLD UP THE VAULTED CEILING; PAINTINGS REPRESENT COURTLY LIFE CARVED AND PAINTED STUCCOS; STAR MOTIFS

Golden Haggadah   (The Plagues of Egypt, Scenes of Liberation, and Preparation for Passover). Late medieval Spain. c. 1320 C.E. Illuminated manuscript (pigments and gold leaf on vellum). FOUR PLAGUES DOMESTIC KILLED BY PESTS; ANIMALS INVADE THE CITY; FROGS OVERRUN THE LAND CONVINCED EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS TO FREE THE JEWS SURVIVAL FROM THE ANGEL OF DEATH ENSURED; MOST LUXURIOUS BOOKS EVER CREATED; ILLUMINATED MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT   HAGGADAH MEANS NARRATION IN HEBREW; MOST LAVISHLY DECORATED; 56 MINIATURES FOUND WITHIN THE MANUSCRIPT; EACH PAINTED W/ A GOLDEN LEAF BACKGROUND; USED FOR CEREMONIAL PURPOSES; EDUCATIONAL RATHER THAN RELIGIOUS USE SIMILAR TO CHRISTIAN GOTHIC MANUSCRIPT; ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS, PATTERNED BACKGROUNDS STYLISTICALLY AN EXAMPLE OF JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN ARTS; SPAIN COMBINED JEWISH, CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM STYLES  HAGGADAH STANDS AS A TESTAMENT OF THE IMPACT AND SIGNIFICANCE OF JEWISH CULTURE IN SPAIN it is one of the most luxurious...