art history

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