Renaissance Art 11/29/2010

Art of the renaissance important in terms of cultural literacy

I. Discuss thrower (http://www.utexas.edu/courses/introtogreece/lect23-

24/lMyronDiscusThrower.jpg) and Laekawon (spelling wrong)

A. defined bodies
B. doing very masculine/strong movements (very action; almost like a
moment frozen in time)
C. time period: first is from Classical Greek (pentacontitea (?); second
is from Hellenistic era (~350-200 BCE; until the Romans come in)
D. Laeokawon—story from the Trojan wars
i. Laeakowon was a priest of Troy and said beware of ___ gifts
ii. Trojans ignored him and brought horse into city
iii. in ___ some chose to support Greeks, some Romans, but
Athena chose to support Greece b/c she was the ___ of
Odysseus
iv. Athena sent two sea serpents to top Laethawon
v. more drama/contorted poses in Hellensistic
 E. Discuss thrower
i. reminds of the Olympics
ii. high degree of technical still
II. The David (
A. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-
content/uploads/2010/11/Michelangelos_David.jpg
B. located in Florence, Italy
C. by Michelangelo in late 1400s/early 1500s
D. muscles look more realistic than Laekawon’s; not as tense
E. male sculpture in Classical times usually nude; females usually
draped (in later periods more gauzy but not in classical times)
F. looks like he’s engaged in thought/fact, which is different than
before w/ action
G. certain parts of his anatomy are not in proportion to his body
i. hands and feet
H. one of the principle characteristics of the Renaissance is the return
of classical forms
i. including actual copying of classical sculpture which had gone
away
ii. can depict human form; humanity as opposed to divinity was
the main subject of this art
I. Renaissance usually called rebirth of classical learning in the West
i. somewhat of an exaggeration b/c didn’t go away the whole
time in the West, but different emphasis
J. high degree of technical skill on display
i. emphasis on technical mastery and artist being able to create
something like The David
ii. Renaissance gives rise to
celebration of the artist again,
which wasn’t characteristic of the
medieval Europe
III. (shown right)
A. later medieval structure
B. Mary and Jesus when Jesus is a baby
C. simple
D. not lots of personality
 E. wood
F. probably ~1200

IV.Dietá
A. ~1500
B. by Michaelangelo
C. Mary and Jesus, but at a different point in the story (here it’s after
Jesus was crucified)
D. commissioned by a pope
E. shiny b/c made of highly
polished marble
F. great amount of detail;
musculature seen in previous
sculptures
G. Mary’s clothing is like it’s
flowing, etc. (in previous slide, not so much)
H. emotional, human connection ***
i. emphasis on the humanity of it
ii. this is when Jesus was human and died, not when he’s
resurrected and in Heaven
iii. Here and now ** is a special component of the Renaissance
iv. religion remains an important part of people’s lives, it’s just
treated in a different way

V. two pictures
A. second considered to be world’s first Renaissance painting
i. Giotto
ii. an attempt for the first time to portray perspective/make it 3-
dimensional, which is what makes the first Renaissance
iii. has lots of people/hard to see what the focus is of the piece
B. first is dark
i. not a lot of differentiation
ii. nota s much gold/silver/light on people
iii. flat; no perspective
iv. Mary and Jesus are the main subjects/only ones in the
painting
C. both portraying the same thing
D. Similar
i. neither one has a defined background
ii. exist out of time/space; not able to tell when it’s supposed
have taken place
a. characteristic of medieval art and Byzantine icons
 b. see Byzantine art b/c of travel, trade, jobs, etc. – things
traveled
when some scholars liked to talk about Renaissance as springing out of
no where almost in Western Europe

VI.two pcitures

A. Leonardo Da Vinci
B. the first is his version of Mary and Jesus
i. it has a background; designed to be situated in a particular
place and the scenery in the background makes it seem like a
particular place in Italy
a. the other image was about the viewer relating to people
in the images; almost like icons/basically icons
ii. Jesus is actually a baby
iii. Lots of blue, which is significant b/c no blue before
(sky/background; shawl)
a. Blue was very expensive
1. Blue pigment made from lapishadjulie, which is a
semi-precious stone
 2. when patrons who commissioned an artist to
make a painting agreed to the amount of
pigments of each color
3. being able to commission/display art w/ blue
made people think/know you had money/power
C. but Renaissance was new kind of secular: portraits
D. Romans had portraits, but were sculptures and weren’t necessarily
flatteringly depicted (Greeks would never do that)
VII. two pictures

A. medieval
B. secular
C. pages from an illuminated manuscript
i. books were very expensive b/c had to be hand written and
not on paper
ii. books would have integrated pictures as well as texts to
illustrate themes discussed in the book
D. these come from the Book of Hours
 i. little devotional book people could take with them for religious
contemplation
ii. carried around by upper-class
a. could afford to read and commission a book
E. lots of blueexpensive
F. second had constellations of stars at top and people in a house w/
sheep, etc.
G. first had party/food
H. there were earlier attempts to bring secular art before Renaissance
VIII. Renaissance began in Italy, which is why art so far (in slide show) as
been from Italy; pretty much over by ____; however, in northern Europe,
the Renaissance begins later and doesn’t start until later 1400s
A. Shakespeare, who writes in 1500s/1600s, is a quintessential
Renaissance writer
B. along with beginning later, more pronounced emphasis on religious
themes
IX.two

A. Flemish
B. not as good with the babies
C. http://media.photobucket.com/image/flemish%20mary%20and
%20jesus/solekat205/art/UNKNOWNMASTERFlemish1550.jpg
D. emphasis on ____
E. 3-dimension
F. the concept of childhood/children being different and distinct from
adults; childhood as a different stage of development to be
celebrated didn’t come about till 18th century
G.
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