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...

 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

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...

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon . Pablo Picasso. 1907 C.E. Oil on canvas. A street associated with prostitution; a brothel Cubism is a radical break from the traditions of the Renaissance; chiaroscuro, linear perspective, manipulation of light are irrelevant Picasso was in love with illusionism, here he destroys it Ideas about sexuality, confrontational painting Women look at us directly, engage the viewer No stylistic coherence; many styles Figures are really close to us; no space behind or between some shadow, some highlighting; deconstruction of three dimensional form.  Can art be raw, ugly?  African masks represent danger France’s colonialism; France had large possessions from Africa; a rtists knew very little of the cultures these works came from Expresses flatness; visual language to represent modern culture.  First cubist work; no alluring poses; dichotomy in painting; others lightly painted, others roughly; multiple views expressed at the same time;...

Yo no hai remedio (And There’s Nothing to Be Done) , from Los Desastres de la Guerra. Francisco de Goya. 1810-1823 C.E. Etching. A man, blind-folded, head downcast, stands bound to a wooden pole. Although the man’s off-kilter posture signifies defeat, he is yet heroic, an Alter Christus —another Christ. On the ground in front of him is a corpse, contorted, the spine twisted, arms and legs sprawled in opposite directions. His grotesque face looks out at us through obscured eyes as blood and brain matter ooze out of his skull and pool around his head. Other men, doubled-over and on their knees, are similarly secured to wooden stakes. To his right we see the cause of the carnage: a neat line of soldiers aim rifles at the men. The barrel of three rifles appear from the right edge of the picture, aimed at our messianic hero. Not only is he about to die, but his executioners are everywhere. There is nothing to be done.  Francisco Goya created the aquatint series The Disasters ...

PORTRAIT OF SOR JUANA INES DE LA CRUZ ; MIGUEL CABRERA, C.1750 C.E. OIL ON CANVAS, LOCATED IN MEXICO Famous depiction of the esteemed Mexican nun and writer.  Considered the first feminist of the Americas.  Rather than marry, she chose to become a nun so she could pursue her intellectual interests.  She corresponded with scientists, theologians, and other literary intellectuals in Mexico and abroad.  She wrote poetry and plays that became internationally famous, and even engaged in theological debates. knowledge of physics, philosophy, theology, and mathematics. Miguel Cabrera has never actually met sor Juana; Cabrera likely modeled this painting on images of male scholars seated at their desks. He possibly found inspiration in depictions of St. Jerome, the patron saint of sor Juana’s religious order.  Images often portray St. Jerome seated at a desk within a study, surrounded by books and instruments of learning.  Cabrera’s portrai...