Part II

1. Part II You must answer two questions. Each question is 100 points. I expect you to be able to identify the work and the artist. If it matters, you should be able to discuss the medium used and the period the work was made. It is absolutely essential that you refer to specific visual evidence from the pieces you discuss.

2. in situ Please discuss these three works. Discuss how their context affects these three pieces. If appropriate, please consider how the context affects the actual object that was made, the argument that the work makes because of its context, and the problem that the context created as well as the solution that the artist created to this contextual challenge.

4. The Doors of Bishop Bernward • Made for the Abbey Church of Saint Michael • Hidesheim, Germany Early Medieval • these massive doors are over sixteen feet high; all the lay people who entered the church would pass through these doors on the west end of the church • when the church was shut, the images on these doors would still be available to the community • these images are meant to instruct the largely illiterate community in not only the stories in The Bible, but also in the doctrines of the church • each door has been divided into eight panels which are each approximately two feet high; these panels constitute the frame of a scene or event from The Bible • all the panels on the left, depict scenes or events from the Old Testament, while on the right, the panels represent the New Testament; the sequencing of the panels follows the narrative represented in The Bible (from the top left, down to the bottom, across to the right-side door and up to the top right; the images depict the creation of man and continue the narrative to the final scene, the ascension, in the upper right) • moreover the events depicted in the panels on the left (the Old Testament) are used to prefigure or predict the events depicted in the panels on the right (the New Testament); for example, in the bottom two panels, the murder of Abel by Cain “necessitates” the annunciation, the coming of Christ into the world to atone for mankind’s sins (as represented by the very first murder) • through the use of images on an always accessible, durable structure, the illiterate community is regularly instructed in both the narrative of The Bible and its typological interrelationships; above all events are logically and coherently presented as part of a larger schema or plan, suggesting that God’s plan can be partially revealed to man through careful study.

6. The Saint Ursula Reliquary • Han Memling 1489 • Early Renaissance • Made for the Hospital of St. John in Bruges • the reliquary has been constructed in the style of a flamboyant Gothic Cathedral • the wood structure of the cathedral is gilded with gold leaf and intricately carved to indicate the preciousness of the relic which it contains; using the conceit of small archways and arcades, the craftsman has fitted small wooden panels in the four sides of the reliquary on which Memling has depicted scenes from St. Ursula’s life • Memling’s composition has been limited to a certain extent by both the size and shape of the panels; he has used the arches as a frame through which the viewer peers; the six panels on the “north” and “south” sides of the reliquary are used to construct the narrative of St. Ursula’s life while the larger two panels on the “west” and “east” sides of the reliquary are used to depict St. Ursula and some of her 11,000 virgin martyrs as well as the Virgin and Child with the two patrons who commissioned the reliquary • Memling has done a masterful job of shaking off the strictures imposed by the literal physical shape of the reliquary and created images that has tremendous depth and a compelling sense of space—just as virginity is a means through which a lay woman can reach God’s grace, the arched panels of the reliquary are a vehicle through which the viewer can glimpse and “participate” in the holy life of the saint whose body is contained within; St. Ursula is thus doubly present.

8. The Trinity Masaccio Early Renaissance c. 1425-27 • Fresco in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence • painted on the north wall of the nave in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, Masaccio’s fresco defies the limitations imposed by the flat wall; using the newly discovered theory of mathematical perspective, Masaccio has literally opened up the wall of the church and created a convincing space in which the Trinity exists in real space, and thus perhaps, the immediate moment • at the viewer's level the skeleton reminds the viewer of his own mortality while simultaneously arguing for the necessity of the eternal life which Christ’s sacrifice promises • above the viewer, yet outside the “holy” space which the Trinity occupies, the patrons model for the viewer the appropriate prayerful demeanor of a supplicant to God’s grace • immediately within the frame created by an Ionic column, the Virgin and John represent a second layer through which viewer can understand the mystery of the Trinity; Christ was born from a woman and walked beside John as a man • at the center of the composition is the Trinity, floating in an immense coffered space; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are represented as distinct yet are all connected as one • by creating the illusion of real space, Masaccio makes this mystery—this religious doctrine—immediate and real; the viewer is able to stand in the presence of the Trinity

9. perspective Please discuss how the perspective is represented in these three works. If appropriate, please discuss the development of perspective as evidenced by these three different representations of space; consider not only how perspective is rendered but also what the artist seemed to be privileging or using perspective to argue.

11. Entry into Jerusalem from the Maesta AltarpieceDuccio Gothic1308-1311 • Possible claim: Duccio is more concerned with illustrating the biblical scene than he is with representing a perfect illusion of deep, coherent space. Duccio has created depth in this panel painting by composing the scene so that the road leading into Jerusalem angles across the foreground plane, curves, and then recedes into the distant background. • Duccio uses the dual medieval scale. The figures and architecture are not in the correct proportion. Christ is also much larger than the other figures. • Space has been effectively suggested but Duccio is not using one-point perspective. • Like Giotto, Duccio uses an architectural structures to create a sense of depth. • The use of gold leaf flattens the space, causing the distant background to press up against the front plane of the image.

13. Battle of San Romano (Bernardino della Ciarda Thrown Off His Horse) Paolo Uccello Early Renaissance 1450s Tempera on wood Possible claim: Uccello demonstrates an over-reliance on the use of one-point perspective. His commitments to the principles of mathematical perspective have rendered this work almost comical. Horses lay dead along strict orthogonal lines; lances are held by soldiers along orthogonals. Even the horses’ foreshortened bodies obey the rigid rules dictated by the vanishing point. In many ways these images seem more like an exercise or a performance of linear perspective than a work of art.

15. The Corn Harvest (August) Pieter Bruegel the Elder Late Renaissance Possible claim: Bruegel has masterfully used a combination of intuitive, atmospheric and linear perspective. The thoughtful combination has allowed the artist to create a coherent world. The single vanishing point seems to hovers at the center of the image where the land meets the distant sea. Yet the viewer is invited to explore the painting because of the elevated viewpoint, as if the viewer is standing on a nearby hill or the top of a wagon. The blocky edge of the cornfield constructs an orthogonal that recedes towards the vanishing point. Objects in the distance, like the group of children (?) playing and the church, grow smaller as well as closer together, demonstrating that Bruegelunderstands the principles of intuitive perspective. Bruegel also uses atmospheric perspective to create a sense of depth: the distant horizon where the land meets the sea is very hazy and indistinct.

16. light Please discuss what light is meant to argue, represent, or accomplish in each of these three works.

18. Possible claim: In this Gothic Cathedral light is being used in two distinct ways: 1. as a manifestation of God’s presence and 2. as a way of creating the New Jerusalem—the experience of being in heaven. • Both white light and the colored puddles of light created by the stained glass windows are essential to creating a celestial experience. • Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis linked light to divinity.

20. Annunciation from theMerode Altarpiece • Robert Campin Early Renaissance • 1425-28 oil on wood panel • Possible claim: Light is used by Campin as visible manifestation of God’s literal presence and will. The light that comes through the round window on the upper left both carries and embodies Christ and represents Mary’s impending impregnation with the son of God. • God’s word will be made flesh, but in this image it in a transitional stage: light. • Also, the angel Gabriel’s words can be read as taking a visible form: the celestial light pouring through the window. • Light is also used to highlight the belly that will soon burgeon and seems to already burgeon with new life; light is also used to highlight Mary’s red robe and create a sense of solidity. • King James Bible • Luke 1:30-31 “The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’” • King James Bible • John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

22. Calling of Saint Matthew • Caravaggio Baroque • 1599-1600 oil on canvas • Possible claim: Light is used by the artist to create a focal point and light is also used to make manifest the presence of God. • tenebrism: using a high light that descends vertically over the principal parts of the bodies while leaving the remainder in shadow in order to give force through the strong contrast of light and dark • light used to dramatize this moment when Levi is called to become one of Christ’s apostles • light used to indicate God’s call; to indicate a moment of spiritual revelation/realization • light used to witness God’s power

23. the human form Please discuss what the human form is meant to argue or represent in each of these three works.

25. Prophet Jeremiah • Trumeau of the south portal, Priory Church of Saint-Pierre • Possible claim: Jeremiah’s stylized, elongated form is meant to convey his deep sadness. • The sculptor is not concerned with representing a realistic human form; instead he uses the human form to convey emotion. • The sculptor is also influenced by the constraints imposed by the limited space of the trumeau. • The author of The Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah was appointed by God to tell the Hebrews of the impending destruction of their temple.

27. DepositionRogier van der Weyden Early Renaissance 1442 Possible claim: Van der Weyden has depicted Christ’s body as realistically as possible in order to convey to the viewer of this altarpiece that 1. Christ was a man who willingly sacrificed his mortal body for the viewer’s sins and that 2. through the miracle of the mass performed at the altar, the viewer will be able to take this body into his own person in the form of the Eucharist. By making Christ’s body seem weighty and lifeless, the artist conveys both Christ’s humanity and the tragedy of his death.

29. Venus of UrbinioTitian Late Renaissance1538 oil on canvas • Possible claim: Titian is presenting the model’s body as an idealized female form to the viewer for his enjoyment. • ostensibly this image depicts Venus, but this mythological subject is an excuse to display an idealized female body; Venus gazes coyly at the viewer and gently cups her hand around her pubis both suggesting her modesty while drawing the viewer’s attention to the metaphorical center of the image; this image is about pleasure; this image is primarily intended for a male viewer

30. Below is the image to which I referred. Eduard Manet Olympia 1863 From Wikipedia, but don’t worry, it is accurate: “In 1863, his Olympia stirred an even bigger uproar when it was first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon. Conservatives condemned the work as "immoral" and "vulgar." Journalist Antonin Proust later recalled, "If the canvas of the Olympia was not destroyed, it is only because of the precautions that were taken by the administration."What shocked contemporary audiences was not Olympia's nudity, nor even the presence of her fully clothed maid, but her confrontational gaze and a number of details identifying her as a demi-mondaine or courtesan. These include the orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings and the oriental shawl on which she lies, symbols of wealth and sensuality. The black ribbon around her neck, in stark contrast with her pale flesh, and her cast-off slipper underline the voluptuous atmosphere.

31. patronage and politics Please discuss how each of these works of art reflects a political argument and/or is used to exert or retain power.

33. The Bayeux TapestryRomanesque Period 1050-1150 • Possible claim: The Bayeux Tapestry was created to justify Duke William II of Normandy’s conquest of Anglo-Saxon England in 1066 in the Battle of Hastings. • The Bayeux Tapestry (actually an embroidery measuring over 230 feet long and 20 inches wide) describes the Norman invasion of England and the events that led up to it. • It is believed that the Tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo, bishop of Bayeux and the half-brother of William the Conqueror. • The Tapestry would probably have been displayed in a church for public view. The Tapestry contains hundreds of images divided into scenes each describing a particular event. The scenes are joined into a linear sequence allowing the viewer to "read" the entire story starting with the first scene and progressing to the last. History is written by the victors and the Tapestry is above all a Norman document. In a time when the vast majority of the population was illiterate, the Tapestry's images were designed to tell the story of the conquest of England from the Norman perspective.

35. Allegory of the Good GovernmentAmbrogio Lorenzetti Gothic • 1338-40 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena • Possible claim: Lorenzetti's fresco that lines one of the three walls of the room in the Palazzo Pubblico where Siena's chief magistrates, the Nine, held their meetings is meant to instruct and remind the “rulers” of Siena what constitutes good government. • Commune of Siena (with orb and specter) • Faith, Hope and Charity are above his head… • Virtues flank him….Peace is the especially beautiful one • Justice is to the Commune’s left—Wisdom floats above her, on either side Commutative Justice and Distributive Justice • Concordia presides over the 24 members of the great Council of the Siena Republic

37. Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi • Raphael Late Renaissance • Oil on wood panel • Possible claim: Though ostensibly a portrait of the pope and his cardinals, this image is about the immense power of the Medici family. • In this period the papacy was largely a political position that was acquired through the force of great wealth and power and which subsequently generated even more wealth and power. The pope stands by two members of the Medici family whom he has elevated to the position of cardinal. • Notice how all three figures are subtly connected, yet it is clear the internal hierarchy within the image.