14th and 15th Century Art

Art of the 14th and 15th centuries

Works of Art from 14th -15th Century a brief summary

Works of Art from the 14th-15th centuries
You likely noticed that during the two hundred years covered in this week’s study there were radical changes in how the human figure is depicted in Italy, from something that was highly stylized to an idealized form that looked more real yet was strongly influenced by the Classical Age of ancient Greece and Rome. In the Northern Europe, however, depiction of the human form remained rooted in the Middle Ages and remained somewhat stylized. We will be talking about three pieces of works of art from 14th century Early Renaissance to 15th century Renaissance in Italy.

Stroganoff Madonna & Child
14th century Renaissance
Duccio d. Buoninsegna

A brief summary of the painting: • Date of painting: 1300 • Genre: Religious history painting • Artist: Duccio d. Buoninegna • Location: Siena, Italy
Terms:
• Parapet: Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Architecture) a low wall or railing along the edge of a balcony, roof, etc. • Byzantine: relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire especially in the fifth and sixth centuries featuring the dome carried on pendentives over a square and incrustation with marble veneering and with colored mosaics on grounds of gold. (Merriam-webster, 2013, para. 2)

The Madonna with Child painted by Duccio di. Buoninsegna was considered one of the greatest paintings ever painted, and very rare. The painting depicts the Virgin Mary with the child being the baby Jesus. It is considered a work of art and historical because it was an “important landmark in the transition from Medieval to the Renaissance period due to the changes that were being made in Italy using a more naturalistic style. This painting exemplifies the progressive but traditional style of Siena during the Proto-Renaissance period.”(Visual-arts, 2013, Para. 1) Another factor making this painting so important was it was one of the earliest versions of illusionist device of three-dimensional work. The parapet painted in the background gives it more depth creating that illusion. At first glance at the painting I see that the baby Jesus is depicted with an older face, almost as if this baby was born wiser. The Virgin Mary is more natural than some of the paintings of the weighty more

The Ghent Altarpiece
Van Eyck
Northern 15th century Renaissance

A brief summary of the art: • Date of painting: 1425-1432 • Genre: Religious history piece • Artist: Started by Hurburt Van Eyck, but Jan Van Eyck his older brother finished • Location: Cathedral of St. Bravo, Ghent, Belgium

The Ghent Altarpiece is one of the single most influential painting in history “due to the old idealism of Gothic and Byzantine gave way to a new approach not just too Flemish artists but artists around Europe.” (Visual arts, 2013, Para.9) This new approach was meant a more “realistic rendering of both people and nature based on observation and study.” (Visual arts, 2013, Para.9) This tells me this one piece helped influence changes toward a more modern western way of painting and lifelike people and surroundings. Another fact about this painting that I found interesting and made it the most important works of history as well as the most stolen piece of artwork. It had significant meaning in Christianity and was a tribute to the church and the religious beliefs. Historically this painting has been “Since its completion in 1432, this twelve-panel oil painting has disappeared, been looted in three different wars, burned, dismembered, copied, forged, smuggled, illegally sold, painted over, censored, attacked by iconoclasts, hidden away, hunted by Nazis and Napoleon, prized by The Louvre and a Prussian king, damaged by conservators, returned as war reparations, stored in castle vaults and secret salt mines, used as a diplomatic tool, nearly been blown up, ransomed, rescued by Austrian double-agents, and stolen a total of thirteen times.” (Secret history of art, 2010, Para. 2) This painting is just as famous as the Mona Lisa in the art world. This makes this painting very valuable and was even part of many wars. Looking at all the different panels you see that the human figure is realistic looking and have the same nose downward slope and very pronounced. They display different poses of modesty and tragedy with the expressions in common with how a human would react and look. There is detail and depth given to the figures to make them look more realistic and give them more character.

Birth of Venus
Sandro Botticelli
Italian 15th century Renaissance

Summary of painting: • Date of painting: 1486 • Genre: Renasissance • Artist: Sandro Botticelli • Location: Florence, Italy

The significance of the “Birth of Venus” was that it was the first female painting that was not a biblical figure. It showed that new ideas, and getting away from the traditional religious figures and scenes and being more versatile. As you can see above the influence is different and has no religious content within, but Venus was the “Goddess of Love.” It is also “Botticelli 's Birth of Venus is one of the most treasured artworks of the Renaissance, and the depiction as a nude is significant in itself, given that during this time in Renaissance history almost all artwork was of a Christian theme, and nude women were hardly ever portrayed.” (Artble, 2013, Para.9) In looking at the painting you can see that the woman is more in proportion then in past centuries such as the north when the used for weighty, full figured women for their paintings. There is more detail and she is anatomically correct. Her hair is flowing showing the beautiful long hair of desirable women. The lines and detail in her are very exact on her body, even showing the muscle in the stomach. She is modest by semi-covering up and her “handmaidens” helping with the innocence of birth and the beauty of it. In conclusion in looking at the changes in art over time has changed. We have gone from Early Renaissance and the religious paintings due to the churches commissioning artists with strict criteria for their paintings. The art work was more unrealistic looking flat, no detail, kind of cartoonish in my opinion. The colors were more shadowy and had highlights that made them more “angelic” or “god like, the clothing was more flowing or draped with heavy robes. The human forms were weighty, full figured, abstract and flatter looking, not realistic. Religion would be what formed this type of artistry, modesty and religious. Most of Europe was like this except Italy that was more free and open. It wasn’t until after the Renaissance of the 15th century where art started to take on a more realistic look, with more emotion, depth and the clothes were more common folk rather than god like and radiant. This change could be attributed to the expansion of trading with Europe from Italy and more wealth coming onto the scene opening up a bigger market for art. (McKay, B. &K., 2010, Para. 4). Also, the Greeks had more freedoms and more and more of their paintings went away from the religious topic to a more realistic, and humanism was very popular. As the 15th century emerged so did humanism. Humanism, valued emotion, truth, good and the beautiful realistic human forms from observations and models. The clothes were more every day and not the heavy draped robes, three dimension formed from Giotto di Bondone was the first to use this in his paintings. More and more of the Greek mythological creatures and figures were being used, nudity was part of the scense and less modesty. More emphasis was on the human form being more proportioned as seen in the “Birth of Venus,” and on the human personality. The colors were richer and the scenes were more realistic when it came to locations and nature. These times were freer and people’s attitudes have changed towards culture and life in general due to changes in time periods. The influence of Italy had expanded to the other parts of Europe which would later shape western art.

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References Charney, N. (2008, November 2010) Van eyck the ghent altarpiece. The secret history of art. Retrieved from http://secrethistoryofart.blogspot.kr/2010/11/van-eycks-ghent-altarpiece.html.

Artble. (2013). Birth of Venus. Artble. Retrieved from http://www.artble.com/artists/sandro_botticelli/paintings/birth_of_venus.

Beford, S. (2013). Famous artwork: ghent altarpiece. Masterpiece cards. Retrieved from http://www.themasterpiececards.com/famous-paintings-reviewed/bid/29313/Famous-Artwork-Ghent-Altarpiece.

Marilyn Stokstad, Michael Cothren. Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition., 2010. South University. Web. 08 May 2013 .

McKay, B. & K. (16, July 2010). The basics of art. The renaissance. Art of manliness.com Retrieved from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/07/16/man-knowledge-the-basics-of-art-the-renaissance/.

Visual-arts-cork. (2013). Ghent Altarpiece (1452). Encyclopedia of art education. Retrieved from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/ghent-altarpiece.htm#features.

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Looking at this picture from Early Renaissance we can see the flatness of the picture no depth. The colors are shadowed and have the gold byzantine surrounding the head. The clothing is heavy and draped, very modest. The scene is very religious and normal for the time and region. The human form is more weight and full figured.

“Birth of Venus” has more vibrant, rich colors. There is three dimensional depth and the colors are rich and vibrant. The clothing or lack of are very different from the early renaissance with the draping heavy robes. The scene is non-religious, and has mythological scene and the human form is more realistic.

References: Charney, N. (2008, November 2010) Van eyck the ghent altarpiece. The secret history of art. Retrieved from http://secrethistoryofart.blogspot.kr/2010/11/van-eycks-ghent-altarpiece.html. Artble. (2013). Birth of Venus. Artble. Retrieved from http://www.artble.com/artists/sandro_botticelli/paintings/birth_of_venus. Beford, S. (2013). Famous artwork: ghent altarpiece. Masterpiece cards. Retrieved from http://www.themasterpiececards.com/famous-paintings-reviewed/bid/29313/Famous-Artwork-Ghent-Altarpiece. Marilyn Stokstad, Michael Cothren. Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition., 2010. South University. Web. 08 May 2013 . McKay, B. & K. (16, July 2010). The basics of art. The renaissance. Art of manliness.com Retrieved from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/07/16/man-knowledge-the-basics-of-art-the-renaissance/. Visual-arts-cork. (2013). Ghent Altarpiece (1452). Encyclopedia of art education. Retrieved from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/ghent-altarpiece.htm#features.