artist: Nicola Pisano

title: Pulpit for the Pisa Baptistry

date: 1260

location of origin: Pisa Cathedral Baptistry

significance: made with architecture very much in mind. meant to relate to the baptistry it is housed in. uncommonly ambitious and sophisticated (royal lions, corinthian columns, gothic-style lobed arches, five virtues and john the baptist). demonstrates new gothic naturalism and classical influences.

artist: various

title: Sancta Sanctorum

date: 1278

location: Lateran Palace, Rome

patron: pope nicholas III

significance: housed the holiest relics of the papacy, renovated after earthquake by pope nicholas III, expensive porhery columns, paintings of saints connected to relics housed in the chapel

artist: Nicola Pisano

title: Nativity panel, Pisa Baptistry Pulpit

date: 1260

location: Pisa Baptistry Pulpit

significance: packs a lot in with remarkable clarity, recalls ancient sarcophagi, represents volume and depth in relief (uses deep carving, shifting scales, textural details), shows an intrest in naturalism, first bath recalls baptisms, demonstrates new gothic naturalism with classical influences

artist: Nicola Pisano

title: Fortitude

date: 1260

location: Pisa Baptistry Pulpit

significance: example of rebirth of classical style, much less schematic than typical gothic figures, reminiscent of hercules (not accidental—shows pisa's desire to see itself as the new rome)

artist: unknown

title: Nicholas III presenting the Sancta Sanctorum

date: 1278

location: Sancta Sanctorum Chapel, Lateran Palace, Rome

patron: Nicholas III

significance: shows Nicholas III, accompanied by st. peter and st. paul, presenting the chapel. attempt to buttress papal authority by highlighting connections to the early church

artist: Bonaventura Berlinghieri

title: Altarpiece of St. Francis

date: 1235

location: S. Francesco, Pescia

significance: flat, schematic, linear (not volumetric or naturalistic), deeply informed by byzantine painting and mosaics, dominant central image of saint surrounded by narrative pictures

artist: Bonaventura Berlinghieri

title: Sermon to the Birds

date: 1235

location: Altarpiece of St. Francis, S. Francesco, Prescia

significance: flat, schematic, linear (not volumetric or naturalistic), deeply informed by byzantine painting and mosaics

artist: Bonaventura Berlinghieri

title: Stigmatization of St. Francis

date: 1235

location: Altarpiece of St. Francis, S. Francesco, Pescia

significance: identification of s. francis as alter christus, symbolic juxtaposition of prayerful nature and bustling urban centers, flat, schematic, linear (not volumetric or naturalistic), deeply informed by byzantine painting and mosaics

artist: unknown

title: San Damiano Crucifix

date: c. 1200

location: Church of San Damiano, Assissi

significance: christus triumphans (triumphant christ) model (no appearance of death or suffering), said to be the crucifix that spoke to s. francis, linear, byzantine vocabulary

artist: Cimabue

title: Crucifix for Santa Croce

date: c. 1280

location: Church of Santa Croce, Florence

significance: christus patiens (suffering christ), body and blood yield more to gravity, auxiliary scenes reduced to just mary and john the evangelist, reflects ideology of s. francis's in the emphasis on the mortality of christ asa human being

artist: Arnolfo di Cambio (and others)

title: Santa Croce

date: 1294

location: Florence

patron: Government of Florence and private citizens for Francescan order

significance: emblematic of the rise and power of the francescan movement. large central nave to accomodate big crowds, ritual focus on altar.

artist: unknown

title: Santa Maria Novella

date: 1279

location: Florence

patron: Government of Florence and private citizens for Dominican order

artist: Cimabue

title: Santa Trinita Madonna

date: c. 1285

location: Church of the Santa Trinita, Florence

significance: more in Byzantine style, little concern about depth, naturalism and perspective

artist: Giotto

title: Ognissanti Madonna

date: c. 1305

location: Church of All Saints, Florence

significance: More naturalistic, attention to depth, perspective

artist: Giotto

title: Crucifix

date: 1295

location: Santa Maria Novella, Florence

significance: Christus patiens, more realistic depiction of weight

artist: Giotto

title: Scrovegni Chapel (Arena Chapel)

date: 1305

location: Padua

patron: Enrico Scrovegni.  From a banking family, wanted to atone for his father's–Reginaldo—sin of usury (as highlighted by Dante)

significance: very impressive visual coherence (done all at once, meant to articulate the means for human redemption)

artist: Giotto

title: Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

significance: shows complex architectural elements, much less schematic than contemporary work, greater attention to emotion and human psychology (shown in posture, expressions, staging)

artist: Giotto

title: Joachim Among the Shepherds

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chpel, Padua

significance: much less schematic than contemporary work, greater attention to emotion and human psychology (shown in posture, expressions, staging)

artist: Giotto

title: Meeting at the Golden Gate

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

significance: much less schematic than contemporary work, greater attention to emotion and human psychology (shown in posture, expressions, staging), architecture and surrounding space coreographed, very emotional kiss

artist: Giotto

title: Miracle of the Rods

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

significance: builds drama and suspense by using two panels, uses composition to highlight plot and emotion

artist: Giotto

title: Lamentation

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

significance: psychology gives way to raw emotion, dramatic staging (hill rolls down to face of christ, dead tree punctuates death and rebirth, anonymous figures with backs to viewers allow audience to be incoroporated in to the scene), illustrates how grief is part of the theology of salvation

artist: Giotto

title: Injustice and Justice

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

significance: shows Giotto's power to create the illusion of sculpture from painting, viewer positioned in between virtues and vices

artist: Giotto

title: Envy / Charity

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

significance: shows Giotto's power to create the illusion of sculpture from painting, viewer positioned in between virtues and vices, figure of charity recieving gifts from hevean recalls point of the chapel as apology for reginaldo's greed

artist: Giotto

title: Last Judgment

date: 1305

location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

significance: enrico scrovegni shown offering chapel to two aspects of the virgin mary (charity and annunciate) and gabriel; on the feats of the annunciation (day the chapel was dedicated) a beam of sunlight comes through the chapel and lands on portrait of scrovegni

artist: Giotto

title: Apparition at Arles

date: c. 1320

location: Bardi Chapel, Church of Santa Croce, Florence

patron: Bardi family (banking family)

significance: very thoughtful composing of a long wall in narrow chapel (takes audience POV very seriously), architecture used as framing device, figures with backs to audience absorb viewers in the scene

artist: Giotto

title: Stigmatization of St. Francis

date: 1320

location: Bardi Chapel, Church of Santa Croce, Florence

significance: difficult scene to depict compositionally since s. francis and angel facing each other; relates to rest of setting (francis shown turning which assumes he had been looking towards altar)

artist: unknown

title: Madonna of the Large Eyes

date: c. 1200

location: Siena (Cathedral)

significance: had been central to devotion in the city, had been invoked during battle of montaperti against florence in 1260, was used to officially dedicate the city of siena to madonna, very byzantine style

artist: Duccio

title: Maestà

date:  1308

location: high altar, Duomo, Siena

patron: Opera del Duomo

significance: Shows Madonna, the patron of of Siena, as well as St.s Ansanus, Savinus, Crescentius, and Victor (city's patrons). Replaced Madonna of the Large Eyes as the central devotional image. Elegant, lyrical surfaces. Use of gold leaf shows how byzantine legacy is being woven into new naturalistic style. Sinuous countours of figures are less volumetric, more graceful designs. Intense blue of robe really stands out.

inscription: "Holy Mother of God, be the cause of peace to Siena, and of life to Duccio because he painted thee thus."

artist: Duccio

title: Maestà (back)

date: 1308

location: high altar, Duomo, Siena

significance: Shows scenes from the Passion (and preceding). Would have rarely been seen by the public (more for the clergy). Density of narrative incident and sophistication are remarkable. Shows Christ's interaction with the people in what look like civic spaces (emphasis on urban character makes sense for Siena).

artist: Duccio

title: Entry into Jerusalem (Maestà, Back)

date: 1308

location: high altar, Duomo, Siena

significance: very tied to the urban character of the piece. boys in trees suggest that duccio had seen giotto's scrovegni chapel (or that there was another common source)

artist: Duccio

title: Nativity (Maestà, Predella)

date: 1308

location: High Altar, Duomo, Siena

significance: traditional, even conservative depiction. lounging mary recalls pisano's baptistry pulpit. tenor of anecdotal, humanizing spirit associated with mendicant movements

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artist: Duccio

title: Temptation of Christ (Maestà, predella)

date: 1308

location: High Altar, Duomo, Siena

significance: depicts the moment of rebuke. clusterings of architecture very interesting and very popular within the work of duccio.

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artist: Simone Martini

title: Maestà

date: 1315

location: Sala del Consiglio, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

patron: Council of Siena (the nine)

significance: Painted a few years after Duccio's Maestà (which Martini had worked on). Basic iconography (Madonna, sienese patron saints). Mary wearing crown (idea of her being the queen of heaven creates parallel with earthly government). Solidified Siena's identification with Mary. Much stronger spacial perception thanks to baldacchino (which creates depth in lieu of architecture, acts as framing device, and grounds the scene in civic setting, create sense of community). Inherited taste for intricate splendor from Duccio.

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artist: Simone Martini

title: Annunciation

date: 1330

location: Altar of St. Ansanus, Duomo, Siena

patron: Opera del Duomo

significance: common subject but not for altarpieces, which were usually non-narrative images. the dazzle meant to converse with Maestà. exploration of spacial elements seems to be actively repressed. gold used for impact (tooled for effect)

artist: Ambrogio Lorenzetti

title: Allegory of Good Government

date: 1340

location: Sala della Pace, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

patron: Council of Nine

significance: essentially secular. figure of good government shown wearing black and white (Siena's colors). The Nine would be framed by the picture, enter under the figure of justice.

artist: Ambrogio Lorenzetti

title: Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country

date: 1340

location: Sala della Pace, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

patron: Council of Nine

significance: unprecedented kind of picture. no religious figures, virtually no allegorical figures, no scenes from history or legend. supposed to depict the world as it looks when working properly. tempting to see it as a document of life in a medieval city but it's actually an idealized vision. sometimes referred to as the earliest landscape painting since antiquity. jumbled, unrealistic perspective reinforces allegorical meaning by showing more than viewer would be able to see in reality. figure of justice and her inscription ("every man can travel freely withotu fear, and each can till and sow, so long as the commune keeps this lady as sovereign, for she has stripped the wicked of all power") reinforces importance of government. not just decorating but structuring messages.

artist: simone martini

title: altarpiece of st. louis of toulouse

date: 1319

location: naples

patron: king robert of anjou (younger brother of st. louis, kind of naples, shown being corronated)

significance: first major image of the new saint. simple chair recalls poverty of francescans. dual roles as bishop and francescan signified by plain habit under episcopal robe. predella (earliest surviving one still attached to altarpiece) shows martini's early style as an inventive painter of narrative. frame decoration (symbol of royal family) connects the religious work with its political context. use of gold underscores naples' affluence. another example of martini's preference use of liquid contours and relative lack of concern for volumetric presence. act of crowning his brother (the patron), conveys strong dynastic message.

artist: simone martini

title: frontispiece to petrarch's copy of writings by virgil

date: 1336

location: siena

patron: petrarch

significance: shows new, close relationships between intellectuals and artists. careful evocation of virgil's contributions and demonstration of the role commentators playin his legacy. carries the intellectual weight of showing how petrarch communes with his intellectual hero. displays a keen sense of history.

inscription: "mantua made virgil, who shaped such song; siena, simone, by whose hand it is painted here"

artist: unknown

title: palazzo ducale

date: 1340-1438

location: venice

significance: distinctly venetian take on gothic style. more open and less fortress-like than most. vivid, pink polychrome pattern owes something to islamic architecture. retains some sense of central mass and fortification but has the appearance of floating on water (connects with venice's identity).

artist: unknown

title: pala d'oro

date: 1345 (renovation/elaboration)

location: san marco, venice

patron: doge andrea dandolo

significance: renovation transformed the much older work, appropriated antiquity while making a statement of wealth and power. central image of christ as penocrator (world ruler) showed that the old fasioned-ness of the image was important and to be embraced.

artist: andrea orcagna

title: christ enthroned with saints (strozzi altarpiece)

date: 1355

location: strozzi chapel, santa maria novella, florence

significance: rare to see adult christ holding court on altarpiece. unexpected severity can be understood either as product of orcagna's style or as reflection of dominican values. inclusion of st. aquinas reinforces dominican ties. gothic arches used to contain figures, no attempt at dimensional depth

artist: andrea bonaiuti

title: way to salvation

date: 1365

location: guidalotti chapel, santa maria novella, florence

significance: eccentric, possibly unprecedented subject. displays salvation through a distinctly dominican lense. pope and emperor (chales IV) shown in front of cathedral of florence (which was under construction). black and white throughout recalls dominican order. recalls the spirit of the allegorical frescoes in siena.

artist: andrea pisano

title: south doors of florence baptistry

date: 1336

location: florence

patron: guild of wool merchants

significance: recounts the life of john the baptist in unusual detail. grandeur of doors was meant to reflect well on cloth guild.

artist: brunelleschi

title: sacrifice of isaac

date: 1401

location: florence (baptistry door competition)

significance: did not win the competition. more regularized (altar centered, each lobe filled with something significant). not as a dramatic (angel has already intervened).

artist: ghiberti

title: sacrifice of isaac

date: 1401

location: florence (baptistry doors competition)

significance: won the competition. isaac's body one of the first nudes since antiquity. besides isaac's body, was cast from one piece of bronze (impressive workmanship). increased drama since the story is just on the brink of resolution (angel hasn't intervened yet). servant recalls spinario (boy with thorn in foot), gives it a humanist dimension.

artist: ghiberti

title: annunciation

date: 1403-1424

location: north door of baptistry, florence

significance: shows ghiberti's intutition for lucid storytelling. not afraid to open up spaces. sense of drama and action. liquidity of drapery shows ongoing transformation of gothic tradition.

artist: ghiberti

title: flagellation

date: 1403-1424

location: noth doors, baptistry, florence

artist: Ghiberti

title: St. John the Baptist

date: 1412-16

location: Orsanmichele, Florence

patron: Guild of wool merchants

artist: nanni di banco

title: four crowned saints

date: 1414-16

location: orsanmichele, florence

patron: guild of works in stone and wood

artist: nanni di banco

title: sculptors at work (base of four crowned saints)

date: 1414-16

location: orsanmichele, florence

patron: guild of workers in stone and wood

artist: donatello

title: st. george

date: 1410-15

location: orsanmichele, florence

patron: guild of armorers

artist: donatello

title: st. george and the dragon (base of st. george)

date: 1417

location: orsanmichele, florence

patron: guild of armorers

artist: donatello

title: lo zuccone

date: 1425

location: campanile del duomo, florence

Was in one of seven niches of the duomo's belltower, each of which filled with a statue of an old testament prophet.  We don't know which one Donatello was meant to be, has come to be known as Lo Zuccone ("squash head").  Since it was going to be see from far away, needed to be more direct and less deatiled.  Elongated foreshortening takes into account the viewer's position. Mouth open, possibly in a prophetic utterance. Shows how Donatello is the heir of Giotto in thinking about human psychology.

artist: gentile da fabriano

title: adoration of the magi

date: 1423

location: sacristy, santa trinita, florence

patron: palla strozzi

artist: gentile da fabriano

title: nativity (from adoration of the magi)

date: 1423

location: sacristy, santa trinita, florence

patron: palla strozzi

artists: massaccio and masolino

title: brancacci chapel frescos

date: 1424-27

location: santa maria del carmine, florence

patron: felice brancacci

artist: massaccio

title: expulsion of adam and eve

date: 1424-27

location: brancacci chapel, church of santa maria del carmine, florence

patron: felice brancacci

artist: masolino

title: temptation of adam and eve

date: 1424-27

location: brancacci chapel, santa maria del carmine, florence

patron: felice brancacci

artist: masaccio

title: tribute money

date: 1424-27

location: brancacci chapel, santa maria del carmine, florence

patron: felice brancacci

artist: masaccio

title: peter healing with his shadow

date: 1424-27

location: brancacci chapel, santa maria del carmine, florence

patron: felice brancacci

an Italian term used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This gives the figure a more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed appearance

.

St. Francis of Assissi

(c. 1181-1226)

artist: Masaccio

title: Pisa Madonna

date: 1426

location: Pisa

Familiar subject. Powerful sense of weight. Use of chiaroscuro, almost sculptural use of light. Uses both flat and titled halos (makes the Christ child stand out, insists upon his humanity and presence inthe world).  Throne very architectural, classical vocabulary, projected into space, and crisply illuminated. Angels with instruments in the foreground underscore the specificity of the light source, show Massacio's mastery of foreshortening and volumetric representation (reminiscent of horses in Gentile da Fabriano's Adoration of the Magi).

artist: Masaccio

title: Adoration of the Magi (predella of Pisa Madonna)

date: 1426

location: Pisa

Strikingly stately image with remarkable simplicity of arangement. Hills used to enclose the scene while the path creates depth and telegraphs the narrative.  Bold placement of contemporary florentines (probably patron and son)

artist: Masaccio

title: Holy Trinity

date: 1428

location: Santa Maria Novella, Florence

The trinity didn't have a prescribed image so Masaccio could be creative.  Combines the Trinity with a historical event by including mourners (including donors).  Remarkable how the painting binds together so many different narrative elements.  Invented cutting edge architecture to create cohesiveness. Interior space is projected backwards in an unprecedented way (relied on coffers recessed in linear perspective).  Painted skelton and inscription means it probably had a memorial function.  The use of one point perspective very important, rational consistency about what's above and below eye level. Viewer recognized in vanishing point, Virgin Mary making eye contact. Masaccio's central concern is subject matter but he's thinking about how best to draw the viewer in.

artist: Leon Battista Alberti

title: Self-portrait

date: 1435

location: Florence

Medal designed around the same time he wrote On Painting

artist: Ghiberti

title: East doors of the Baptistry

date: 1425-52

location: Florence Baptistry

So splendid his earlier doors were moved to the less prominent north side. Came to be called the "Gates of Paradise" supposedly because that's what Michelangelo called them (also area between cathedral and baptistry sometimes called paradise).  Chronicles stories from the Old Testament.

artist: Ghiberti

title: Jacob and Esau

date: 1425-1452

location: East Doors, Baptistry, Florence

Another subject that didn't have an established visual culture.  Very complicated scene to depict in relief but Ghiberti was able to weave these elements into a very cohesive-looking panel.  Uses linear perspective to create cohesion.  Space acts as a living character in this relief, dynamically occupied by figures and time. Conflicting conversations allowed to overlap thanks to sophisticated use of depth.  Female figures at front used to recall Rebecca in childbirth farther back, show that Ghiberti is thinking carefully about what the audience can see.  Relies on continuous narrative, rilievo schiacciato.  Shows huge evolution over Sacrifice of Isaac panel which was more gothic, didn't display as much depth.

artist: Ghiberti

title: Self-Portrait

date: 1425-1452

location: East Doors, Baptistry, Florence

Realism and depth very impressive.  Very public proclamation of artistic ownership (literally looking down at the people admiring his work). Shows that the self-image of the artists is becoming more and more prominent.

artist: Brunelleschi (and others)

title: Church of San Lorenzo

date: 1418-1466

location: Florence

patron: Giovanni di Bicci de'Medici (among other citizens)

Shows the vital place of architecture in florentine (political, religious, and cultural) life. Draws consciously upon antiquity (lots of structural and decorative elements are classical, rounded arches reach back to ancient roman work as opposed to more recent Gothic pointed arches).  Shows Brunelleschi's concern for accomplishing resonant clarity of design.

Two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to (=) the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one.

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artist: Brunelleschi

title: Old Sacristy of Church of San Lorenzo

date: 1418-1428

location: Church of San Lorenzo, Florence

Utilized the Golden Section. Interesting reliefs by Donatello supported by the shield of the Medici family giving the space a dynastic aspect. A Renaissance exercise in proportions but also about the Medici.

artist: Fra Angelico

title: Descent from the Cross

date: 1438-1440

location: Sacristy of Santa Trinità, Florence

Setting in Tuscan countryside reflects Angelico's reputation as one of the most sensative painters of landscape in the early Renaissance.  Cross centered within central arch, spandrels drop down into the scene, establishing a sense of tranquility and order within the blooming color. Reflects Alberti's views about historia and limited use of gold. Typical of Angelico's work inthe fresh-eyed observation mixed with something otherworldly, not so concerned with spacial depiction. Very skilled draftsman but less interested in showing the effects of light and perspective.

artist: Fra Angelico

title: San Marco Altarpiece

date: 1440

location: San Marco, Florence

Main patron was Cosimo de Medici. Familiar subject but rendered in interesting fashion. "Sacra conversazione" -- Madonna and child brought together with saints from various periods in a unified setting.  Newly unified perspectile space could assert a fiction of this type of gathering across time, showing that new technologies of space-making are more than just visual tricks. Mary is enthroned rather far back in the picture, framed by classical-looking renaissance arch. Saints to sides, steps and carpet in front create sense of invitation.  Two figures in front are St. Cosmos and St. Damian, the patron saints of the Medici, faces taken to be based on Medici family members.

artist: Fra Angelico

title: Annunciation

date: 1438-45

location: Monastry corridor, San Marco, Florence

Would've been passed by every day, explicitly acknowledges its setting/purpose in its inscription, which acts as a built-in admonition/instruction. Very classical looking porch would've resonated with the new buildings in Florence. Porch rendered with a sort of distilled purity.  Explicitly enclosed garden goes back to long-established metaphor for Mary's virginity. Disparity of capital forms meant to convey sense of older forms leading up to newer forms.

artist: Fra Angelico

title: Mocking of Christ

date: 1440

location: Monk's cell, San Marco, Florence

Christ becomes ethereal, surrounded by fragments of torments (less pictures of figures than reminders of torments that insist the viewer think about and reconstruct the torments). Monk is invited to pray and reflect by the Dominican saint and mary in the foreground.

artist: Fra Angelico

title: Anunciation

date: 1441

location: Monk's cell, San Marco, Florence

Much more simply done than main corridor version.  Style analogous to monastic meditation, focus exculsively on the holy characters. Not about narrative abundance or variety, more focused on devotional essense of the subjects.  Architecture of the painted space very clearly echos the architecture of the cell in which i appears.  Behind Gabriel there is another Dominican Saint, St. Peter the Martyr (most of the cell frescos include a dominican figure of some kind so that the act of praying and thinking is included within the image itself).

artist: Fra Filippo Lippi

title: Barbadori Altarpiece

date: 1437-1440

location: Church of Santo Spirito, Florence

Could be called a sacra conversazione, but it's unusual to have angels outnumber saints.  Very elaborate setting, lush, expensive-looking details. Shares Fra Angelico's inclination towards classical architecture (as seen in the throne). Saints Fredianus and Augustin were appropriate to the chapel and the patron family.  Same basic structure as San Marco Altarpiece. Creates space behind the figures, includes figure making eye contact with the viewer. Includes self-portrait of artist looking out at the viewer (relatively new idea, his face is framed in the place where the heavenly chamber opens up to the real world in the background).

artist: Fra Filippo Lippi

title: Madonna and Child

date: 1460

location: Florence

Probably made for a private home. She sits in three-quarter view, almost looks like a portrait.  Window frame acts as an illusionistic frame, makes her project strongly forward (reinforced by elaborate arm of chair, angel wing also poking out). Angel turning over his shoulder shows desire to involve the viewer. Robe and elaborate style of Mary's hair reflect contemporary style of Florence (not about simplicity or humility, very upper-class), reflects upper-class ideal of beauty in vogue in other parts of Europe.

artist: Domenico Veneziano

title: St. Lucy Altarpiece

date: 1445-1447

location: Florence

Set in a porch with an open ceiling. John makes eye contact with the audience and points at the virgin and child. Perspective scheme is very unusual (not just architectural elements, but also tile floor). Painted architecture used to frame figures, blend into frame (optical illusion implying that things in from of the arches are in front of the frame, relativizing where the surface of the painting is).  Very different color palatte than most florentine painters.

artist: Domenico Veneziano

title: Annunciation (predella panel of St. Lucy Altarpiece)

date: 1445-1447

location: Florence

Occupies a crystalline perspective staging. Italian artists were often fascinated by the space between Gabriel and Mary (here the sheer distance seems significant). The perspective includes an open door and a closed door (scriptural reference to Mary's virginity, door also serves as vanishing point making virginity itself central to the scene).

artist: Domenico Veneziano

title: John the Baptist in the Wilderness (predella panel, St. Lucy Altarpiece)

date: 1445-47

location: Florence

Looks like a landscape with a figure in it. Nude taps into classicizing trend. Both of the novel aspects were conceived in service to the meaning of the picture (John renouncing his worldly clothes within his retreat in nature).

artist: Paolo Uccello

title: Sir John Hawkwood

date: 1436

location: Florence Cathedral

Early example of large-scale equestrian monument in the Renaissance (familiar form in antiquity). Painted as sculpture. Very conspicuous civic commission. Uccello, who trained in Ghiberti's workshop, would've been very aware of what would've gone into a bronze of this measure.  Inscription specifying that Hawkwood was English important to protect against perception of tyrrany.  Perspective establishes a very specific relationship to the viewer. Viewer not quite centered, embellishes the horse's movement and helps make the pedestal look more sculptural.  Problematic perspective (horse too small, not seeing enough of the underside) suggests that patrons might not have wanted 100% accurate perspective.

artist: Paolo Uccello

title: Battle of San Romano

date: 1430s

location: Medici Palace, Florence

Showed that Uccello could depict a horse's belly.  Showing very recent history (key florentine victory over Siena).  Context (on walls but not frescos, private not religious) makes them unlike anything we've seen previously. Would've been seen as complimentary to the Medici as well as a splendid decoration.  First impression is of a boyant procession. Lances create long lines, horses look almost pnuematic. Even in the midst of battle, perspective rules supreme.

artist: Michelozzo

title: Medici Palace

date: 1445-60

location: Florence

Easily the biggest palace in town.  Heavily rusticated masonry makes the building look fortified, convey unassailable authority and channel antiquity.

artist: Benozzo Gozzoli

title: Journey of the Magi

date: 1459-61

location: Medici Chapel, Medici Palace, Florence

Procession winds towards the altar with each of the walls anchored by one of the three kings. Subject makes sense since Medici were members of the confraternity of the Magi.  Some Medici (Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo) included, as well as Gozzoli (noted by name on hat). Style of frescos was rather old-fashioned, pre-Massacio (surface oriented, international gothic style native to Gozzoli; Medici were probably interested in the rich surface effect; some intentional recollection of Gentile da Fabriano's adoration of the Magi).  Interesting that the procession does not culminate in an adoration of the Magi (creates a sense of trajectory), in a way the praying Medici take the place of the Magi.

artist: Donatello

title: David

date: c. 1460

location: Medici Palace courtyard, Florence

Probably stood on a column in the middle of the courtyard (would have been visible from the street).  Very unexpected conception of an Old Testament hero.  Relaxed contraposto, aristocratic pose.  Nakedness emphasized (swelling of flesh emphasized with novel subtlety), nudity and sensuality meant to have an erotic dimension (as we can see in the wing of Goliath's helmet). Individual freestanding nudes very uncommon since antiquity. Donatello long assumed to be gay, but that doesn't tell us much about the appearance of the work.  Regarded as having a civic character since David had become a symbol of Florentine resolve.  Analogous to the Uccello San Romano paintings in that it binds the Medici to the story of Florence.  Some have said that it is David dressed as Mercury (hat close to traditional Mercury hat), would've veiled their political appropriation of the Florentine hero.

artist: Donatello

title: Judith and Holofernes

date: 1455-60

location: Medici Palace courtyard, Florence

Another Old Testament story, shows the moment between chops. Eccentric composition makes you walk around the sculpture to understand it as a group.  Holofernes totally helpless (limp arms, closed eyes, open mouth), Judith dominant (standing on his wrist, looming over him).  Remarkable form, psychology and intensity, shows Dontello's tendency towards more psychologically and compositionally complex forms in his late period.  Inscription reflects political angle, positions the family with a humility that may not be real (later inscription strips away the Mediciean pretense of republican virtue in a cleansing way).

artist: Antonio del Pollaiuolo

title: Hercules and Hydra

date: c. 1470

location: Florence

Early copy of large canvas for Medici Palace.  Winding up to strike with club, lino skin flapping in the breeze suggest strident emotion.  New to European painting in how they show the drama of heroic conquests.  New vision of the body working extremely hard.  Especially interested in the body in motion.  Intricate landscapes but low horizons (make the strain and stuggle more central).

artist: Antonio del Pollaiuolo

title: Hercules and Antaeus

date: c. 1470

location: Florence

Early copy of large canvas for Medici Palace.  New to European painting in how they show the drama of heroic conquests.  New vision of the body working extremely hard.  Especially interested in the body in motion.  Intricate landscapes but low horizons (make the strain and stuggle more central).

artist: Antonio del Pollaiuolo

title: Hercules and Antaeus (bronze)

date: 1470-75

location: Medici Palace, Florence

For someone's home, a private possession. Shows a burgeoning set of possibilities for the artist.

artist: Andrea del Castagno

title: David Slaying Goliath

date: 1450

location: Florence

Unique that a top artist is commissioned to paint a shield. Reflects the civic message of David.

artist: Antonio del Pollaiuolo

title: Battle of the Nudes

date: 1465-70

location: Florence

Engraving still a pretty new technique, this was one of the largest and most accomplished engravings in the 15th century.  Unclear whether it's meant to depict a historical event or a case study.  Interested in depicting the body more than depicting perspective.  Pollaiuolo contrived situations of maximum exertion, muscles and contours become almost cartoonishly emphatic.  Two central figures mirroring each other, showing how Pollaiuolo mastered three dimensional representation.  Fighters set against a screen of vegetation, adding visual interest and providing a relief-like quality, reminiscent of ancient Roman sarcophagi.  Amazing assuredness of graphic style and control of hatching.  Outlook is grim for all figures except the archer (who's standing next to plaque bearing Pollaiuolo's name, connecting his conquest to Pollauiolo's artistic accomplishment).

artist: Piero della Francesca

title: Batpism of Christ

date: 1450

location: Sansepolcro

Was at the center of a relatively small altar. While it shows an event (historia), it does so within a seemingly perfect compositional harmony.  Thinks in terms of pure, strongly illuminated forms and the relationships between these forms.  Deliberate, graceful choreography of figures in space and in the pciture.  Calm pace of verticles throughout countered by subtler horizontals.  Not just a rigid engineer of forms, more a poetry of depiction.

artist: Piero della Francesca

title: Legend of the True Cross

date: 1452-57

location: Church of San Francesco, Arezzo

Not a biblical story, evolved through the Middle Ages, most influential version came from the Golden Legend.  Account of the history of the wood of the cross before and after Christ's passion.

artist: Piero della Francesca

title: Discovery of the True Cross by Helen / Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon

date: 1452-57

location: San Francesco, Arezzo

Architecturally divided. Almost musical pace to the composition (grouped and marked by trees, horizon of undulating low hills).  Cylandrical forms insist upon a comparison with the columns in the middle of the frame. People look somewhat geometric, there is an insistance of figures in space.

artist: Piero della Francesca

title: Dream of Constantine (from Legend of the True Cross frescos)

date: 1452-57

location: Church of San Francesco, Arezzo

A subject that did not have a lot of pictoral precedence (required nocturnal setting, ability to depict the contents of a dream). Organized by a smooth geometry of the tent, lit apparently by arriving angel. Obliviousness of sentries understandable since we're being made privy to something in Constantine's sleep.  Lance seems to point at angel, whose hand is framed by the tent.  No words shown, wouldn't have made sense within Piero's naturalistic conception.  Cross foreshortened in a way that makes it almost illegible (metaphor for the cross in the world: not totally clear but we can see it).

artist: Piero della Francesca

title: Federigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sfroza

date: 1472

location: Urbino

Portrait of his patrons, conceived of as a diptych. Piero's portraits come out of the tradition of profile portraits but thinking of it in a new way. Husban and wife eternally together, gazing at each other forever but each given its own field.  Had a special poignance since Battista was dead at the time.  Especially important is the way in which the figures are set off against the countryside.  Accurate Urbino landscape, not generic. Very beautiful, sunset light.  Can be seen as towering over these landscapes but also bound into it (consonance between the horizon and their necklines).  Shows a concern for specificity in the likenesses (especially Federigo).

artist: Piero della Francesca

title: Triumphs of Federigo and Battista (back of Federigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza diptych)

date: 1472

location: Urbino

Places the subjects in allegorical scenes. Deeply symbolic statement about these figures but in remakably naturalistic terms. Battista shown with theological virtues, Federigo with cardinal virtues.  Set in a concrete landscape.

artist: Luciano Laurana

title: Palazzo Ducale

date: 1450s-80s

location: Urbino

Dominating scale and location in the city. Fortified character of castle but with an elegant harmony.

artist: Luciano Laurana

title: Palazzo Ducale courtyard

date: mid-1460s

location: Urbino

Has a sense of clarity and measure. Not exactly square but designed in such a way as to look square.  Imminently classizing influences. Recalls the courtyard in the Medici Palace.

artist: Giuliano da Maiano

title: Studiolo

date: 1476

location: Palazzo Ducale, Urbino

Designed as a place of reflection, home for collectibles. Useful but also emblematic of wealth and intelligence. Featured a combination of paintings of famous men above. Intarsica on walls unprecedented in scope and splendor.  Impressive tromp l'oile, use of different color woods.  Prominent image of squirrel reflects projection of wisdom and responsibility.  About the Renaissance Man and learning, but also specific to the patron.  Different stream of naturalism.  Significant "wow" factor.

artist: Andrea Mantegna

title: Camera Picta

date: 1465-74

location: Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

Served real residential functions but also acted as a reception room for visiting dignitaries. Main subject is the Gonzaga family and court.  Marked by sponteneity/casualness.  Landscapes peppered with array of classical/fantastical buildings (shows Mantegna's obsession with antiquity). Humble signature reminiscent of Jan van Eyck.  Room has a sense of game.  All seemingly architectural elements were actually painted.  Mantegna seems to paint away the wall surface. No noble themes of civic or religious virtue, just the elaborate work of an ingeneous painter made for the secular enjoyment of his patrons. Art and enjoyment for their own sake.

artist: Andrea Mantegna

title: Family Meeting Wall (Camera Picta)

date: 1465-1474

location: Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

Shows Ludovico seated as if receiving guests, members of the family shown as the court, petioners talking to him.  Interesting that Mantegna went to such lengths to make it seem casual (something tantalizing about the piece of paper he's holding, we've walked into scene at the moment when he's responding to an attendant). Tender moment between children and mom.

artist: Andrea Mantegna

title: Oculus, Camera Picta

date: 1465-74

location: Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

Most famous aspect of the room.  Ringed by putti who seem to be watching the viewer (making the observer the observed).  Holding apple, pot railing involves threat to viewer. Manipulating the relationship between the viwer and the artwork.

artist: Andrea Mantegna

title: Pallas Expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue

location: Studiolo of Isabella d'Este, Mantua

date: 1499-1502

Very arcane subject, not based on any particular myth or text but an allegory devised by a scholarly advisor of Isabella. There is a lot of text in the picture. Conceived of as a humanistic/intellectual historia.  Figures explicitly labeled. Shows female patron's preference for allegorical/moral work.  Fantastically beautiful painting in terms of finish, differentiation of textures, landscape.

artist: Mantegna

title: Dead Christ

location: Mantua

date: 1490

No known purpose, not devotional, not an altarpiece.  Could be a practice of radical foreshortening (but unlikely that christ would be used as a practice piece).  Imperfect foreshortening, like Uccello in its manipualtion of perspective to show something else. Position emphasizes Christ's mortality, forces viewer to rethink his relationship with Christ.

artist: Bellini

title: Madonna and Child with Angels

location: Venice

date: 1455

Personal devotional image. Bellini approaches this standard representation with a familiar melody that could be improvised on. Has a real sense of tradition (gold, Byzantine style) but updated (particular spacial relationship). Allusions to the East specific to Venice and Bellini. Not an anonymous painter—part of the value is in who made it.

artist: Giovanni Bellini

title: St. Francis in the Wilderness

location: Venice

date: 1470

Shows St. Francis in ecstatic union with nature. Unclear whether or not it's a stigmatization scene (no seraph). Nature is clearly a character (occupies most of the picture plane), shows that nature is a core part of his story, not just decoration. Might have been particularly effective in Venice, which was a bustling, teaming island city (sense of escape)

artist: Sandro Botticelli

title: Adoration of the Magi ("Uffizi Adoration")

date: 1475

location: Santa Maria Novella, Florence

patron: Guasparre del Lama

Seems to have stood on a memorial altar on the front wall of the church. Has a monumental look to it but not actually that large. Includes portrait of the patron, Lorenzo and Cosimo de'Medici and of dead members of the  Medici family in the role of the kings. Vasari was very fond of this picture for its inclusion of the Medici and artistic virtuosity. Shows Botticelli's mastery of depicting all angles of the head, belongs to the still-growing aesthic emphasizing the difficulty of pictoral represntation (the kind of showiness Savonarola objected to). Shows the independent style evident in Botticelli's work.

artist: Botticelli

title: Primavera

date: 1482

location: Florence

possible patron: Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de'Medici

Very large, painted for a cousin of Lorenzo de' Medici. Acquired the name Primavera from Vasari, who said it showed Venus as a symbol of spring. Seems simultaneously to invite and confound interpretation. Jubilation of flowers on the ground—native flowers of Tuscany, would've resonated with Florentines. There does not seem to be a key text that is being illustrated. This kind of ecclectic synthesis was something new. Might showcase neoplatonism, new interpretation of Venus as the embodiment of humanitas. Novel in the way in which it used mythology to mobilize certain ideas and the monumental scale that had previously been reserved for religious/civic works. Sheer beauty of the painting outweighs concerns about textual inspiration. Showcases Botticelli's unique style: deliberately creates otherworldly spacial dimension, implausible poses not purely naturalistic, no perspective imposed, figures seem to be lit from within. Has a vaguely tapistry-like effect.

artist: Botticelli

title: Birth of Venus

date: 1485

location: Florence

Unclear whether it's explicitly neoplatonist. Very large. Early example of work on canvas. Ancient subject that had not been common in Renaissance art. Venus's pose is an ancient type, the Venus Pudica (Modest Venus), a reference that would have been relished by the Medici who owned—idea that one of their ancient treasures animated would have a special power. Element of morally edifying allegory but very much up for discussion. Botticelli's style is intensely linear and graphic—focuses on outline, not perspective or depth. Agitations on water seem to be decoration, little overlapping. Undoes some of the perspective that that had dominated Florentine art. Focus on floating, gliding animation (unlike Pollaiuolo, not muscular).

artist: Botticelli

title: Calumny of Apelles

date: 1497-98

location: Florence

Apelles was the much-revered painter of Alexander the Great. Challenge of his storied Calumny posed by Vasari as an example of istoria. Rare case of a Renaissance painter trying to translate a description of an ancient work of art into a new one. Chance to represent extremes of emotion and action. Very possible that it was meant to have a moral dimension, but also a virtuoso artistic endeavor. Reminiscent of Mantegna in creating naratives of virtue in a humanistic context.

artist: Botticelli

title: Mystical Nativity

date: 1500

location: Florence

Not very large, probably made for private devoation. Very strange nativity. Holy family in a composite cave/shed, reminiscent of Duccio, surrounded by angels and other figures singing and embracing. Apocalyptic sky shown above the family. Little devils scurrying into holes. Unusual to have both the shepherds and the kings without any crowds (could be influence of Savonarola). Meaning clarifies the millenial anticipation of the end of times.

artist: Andrea del Verrocchio

title: Incredulity of St. Thomas

date: 1465-83

location: Orsanmichele, Florence

patron: Mercanzia

Most prominent sculptor after Donatello's death. New owners of the niche were the mercanzia, functioned as a court/arbitration ward for the city's merchants. Subject that hadn't been seen often but had good biblical precedence and was appropriate (Thomas sticks hand in wound analogy for mercanzia, who required proof of transations). Positioning of figures gives Christ the traditional focus, but Thomas gets the sense of movement. Christ's arm invites and frames Thomas, reaches out into the street. Very dark stone hard to work on.

artist: Andrea del Verrocchio (assisted by Leonardo da Vinci)

title: Baptism of Christ

date: 1470

location: Florence

Verrocchio's career as a painter eclipsed by the face of the angel painted by his pupil, Leonardo da Vinci. Angel's hair and features less linear, more softly articulated than other figures.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Fetus in Womb

date: 1512

location: Florence

Evidence that Leonardo definitely did dissections. Seems to have drawn every aspect of the human form, tended to gravitate towards studies of the most ellusive aspects of the body and mind. Wanted to see the boyd not as a classical ideal but rather as a mechanism of incredible complexity.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Study of Flowing Water

date: 1510

location: Florence

Came back again and again to water. Ws an insatiable student of flow—flow of light, shadow, bodies in motion, the larger rhythms of life in nature. Very experimental.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Design for Flying Device

date: 1490

location: Milano

In addition to being an artist he was also an inventor. Not just idle fantasies—he was in high demand as a military engineer.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Adoration of the Magi (unfinished)

date: 1481-82

location: Florence

Although just the beginnings of the painting, the large panel was one of the most important compositions of what feels like a new phase of Renaissance art. Gives us a ringside seat to the thought process. A great deal changed from the perspective study. There is a sense of decay reminiscent of Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi, Leonardo's a lot less princely. Composition very elaborate (whereas Botticelli was dominated by central line, Leonardo has a pyramidal composition). Combination of engineered balance and organic-seeming layout. Careful structuring of the picture has an air of inevitability. Bodies vauge sketches but vivid individuals, shown struggling to comprehend the presence of the messiah. Includes a great deal of sfumato (world of shadows in which light has to work to illuminate things).

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: perspective study for Adoration of the Magi

date: 1481

location: Florence

Concerned with establishing the setting and the background figures. Rigorously realized Albertean perspective projection. Produces the idea of an unoccupied stage. Roman building meant to be in decay, well established tradition about how the old world is falling apart at the begining of the new world order. Leonardo seems to be thinking about the event not as a stately pageant but as something of a cataclysmic resonance. Nature itself feels like what's happening.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Study for Sforza equestrian monument

date: 1488

location: Milan

Meant to be a monumental statue for Ludovico's father. Early idea was rearing stead but that eventually changed to a more traditional striding horse since the former wasn't feasible. Produced a full scale model. The final bronze horse never came to be, except in modern recreations (bronze was needed for cannons). Lots of drawings about the technology of how to make the thing.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Madonna of the Rocks

date: 1483 (finished 1508)

location: Milan

patron: Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception

Made as the center of a large altarpiece for a chapel. Only finished due to legal action. There was another, almost identical version created. Not a very standard scene, might have been thinking of the apocraphal meeting between Christ and John the Baptist (type started in Florence, there John was particularly revered). Shallow pool in foreground foreshadows future baptism. Rocky background very unusual, mysterious. Mary is the ruling part of the composition. Unusual feeling of narative specificity, more so than in a sacra conversazione, something momentary and directed. hands very specific, demonstrative in showing Leonardo's mastery of the human form. Unique attitude towards light and shadow (light coming in from the middle, darkish world into which light is finding its way).

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Last Supper

date: 1495-98

location: Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Standard choice for refectories. Fresco has had a very difficult life, was poorly made to begin with (experimental fresco mixture). Comapred to Ghirlandaio: less standardized, much more thought about the interaction of the figures. Christ's head perfectly framed, coincides with the vanishing point so that the picture is built from Christ and the light of the world becomes a naturalistic halo. Vanishing point 15 feet off the floor, lifts the viewer up—different way of thinking about perspective, not about the truth but the meaning. Complex exploration of betrayal and sacramental dimension. Judas no longer in front of table, as is traditional—ensures pictoral harmony, pose mirrors Christ's. Judas recoiling, more in the darkness. Light as a conveyor of meaning, works with natural lighting.

Medici Venus

(Venus pudica)

The Aphrodite of Cnidus was one of the most famous works of the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles of Athens (4th century BC).

It and its copies are often referred to as the Venus Pudica (modest Venus) type, on account of her covering her groin with her right hand.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Ginevra de' Benci

date: 1474

location: Florence

Daughter of a Florentine banking family, good chance it was commissioned on the occassion of her betrothal. Format would have been unusual–not in profile but three-quarter view. Often compared to Ghirlandaio's Giovanna de' Tornabuoni: not so richly attired, landscape given much more of a sense of context in the world. Juniper bush behind her plays on her name, bridges her into nature. Shows that northern portraits had made their way into Italian courts and were influencing Italian artists (3/4 view, expensive costuming).

artist: Ghirlandaio

title: Giovanna de' Tornabuoni

date: 1488

location: Florence

Often compared to Leonardo's Ginevra. Was recently deceased. Emphasized her great wealth. Painting may have served as a claim on her being made by her husband's family.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Mona Lisa

date: 1503

location: Florence

Vasari first to call her Mona Lisa, wrote glowingly about luster, life-like qualities. Very specific setting, meant to be part of the world shown in the background. The pose has a natural, easy air about it. Exceptionally subtle rendering of tortion. She acknowledges or even confronts the viewer. Landscape shows craggy, dark rocks we've seen elsewhere, looks almost untouched by man. No unity between two sides, harmony achieved behind (within) her. Some have suggested that this is a self-portrait in drag.

artist: Raphael

title: Maddalena Strozzi

date: 1506

location: Florence

Wealthy merchants who were feuling Florentine art. Understood to be commemorative of marriage. Turned towards each other but also towards us, combined yet individual. Relies upon the subtly twisted body that informed so much of Leonardo's art. Reminiscent of Piero's diptych. Clearly resounding Leonardo but not copying. Not about the smoky shadows, more of a ringing clarity, sharp definition of forms. Imperfect hair shows liveliness. More ostentatious than Leonardo, less than Ghirlandaio. Raphael is a consumate composer, but in a different key than Leonardo. Goes out of his way to suggest a continuity using matched landscape, narrative fiction. Interesting way of gracefully integrating the figures into the world.

artist: Raphael

title: Agnolo Doni

date: 1506

location: Florence

Wealthy merchants who were feuling Florentine art. Understood to be commemorative of marriage. Turned towards each other but also towards us, combined yet individual. Relies upon the subtly twisted body that informed so much of Leonardo's art. Reminiscent of Piero's diptych. Clearly resounding Leonardo but not copying. Not about the smoky shadows, more of a ringing clarity, sharp definition of forms. Imperfect hair shows liveliness. More ostentatious than Leonardo, less than Ghirlandaio. Raphael is a consumate composer, but in a different key than Leonardo. Goes out of his way to suggest a continuity using matched landscape, narrative fiction. Interesting way of gracefully integrating the figures into the world.

artist: Raphael

title: Marriage of the Virgin

date: 1504

location: Citta di Castello (near Perugia)

Very large panel, non-scriptural story that had become popular due to the Golden Legend. Not a very popular pictoral subject, chosen because the most prized relic of Perugia was the ring of the Virgin Mary, fortified the painting with an instantly recognizable local dimension. Composition recalls Perugino's Giving of the Keys to St. Peter—both working in a clearly mapped-out piazza (which serves to create perspective) that has a central building in the distance, figures in between background and foreground harmonizing scale. Raphael's much more intimate and spontaneous, contains groups with depth (not just a linear screen of people). The dynamic staging recalls Leonardo's Last Supper innovation. Open door in the background punches out the sense of depth.

artist: Perugino

title: Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter

location: Sistine Chapel, Rome

date: 1482

Part of a cycle created by six of the most distinguished artists of the time for the Sistine Chapel. Often compared to his pupil Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin. Both are working in a clearly mapped-out piazza (which serves to create perspective) that has a central building in the distance, figures in the midground harmonize scale. Much more staged than Raphael's, more of a linear screen than a grouping with depth.

artist: Raphael

title: Madonna of the Meadow

location: Florence

date: 1505

patron: Taddeo Taddei

One of Raphael's most notable activities was painting Madonnas for private citizens. Probably for Raphael's friend Taddeo Taddei, possibly as a thank you for his hospitality. Mary on the ground taps into old type of Madonna of humility, insistence on her groundedness and humanity (as opposed to Maestà). Triangular formation with Christ in the center and John the Baptist and Mary's foot anchoring the sides—shows the High Renaissance tendency to use triangles as tools of composition to animate figures in a harmonious way, similar to the composition of Leonardo's Madonna of the Rocks. Very different idea of chiaroscuro than Leonardo—more focused on chiaro.

artist: Raphael

title: Niccolini-Cowper Madonna

location: Florence

date: 1508

Original patron unknown, possibly made on spec. Demonstrates the graceful harmonies Raphael was known for.

artist: Raphael

title: Sheet Studies for Madonna and Child

location: Florence

date: 1505

Shows that he's not just working on relations of the bodies but also energies. A lot of the ink strokes are quick, as much about motion as they are about volume. Exploring the grace that goes into the image.

artist: Leonardo da Vinci

title: Battle of Anghiari

location: Sala dei Cinquecento, Palazzo della Signoria, Florence

date: 1505

The room was meant to be about the fortification of the city's identity. One of the many projects commissioned for the room, meant to spark the competitive spirit among artistis. Frescoes were never completed, don't survive but were meant to flank the Gonfaliere (man who presided over the council) and had a huge influence. Depicts a battle against the Duke of Milan—fitting if somewhat ironic since Leonardo had been employed by Milan. Theme appropriate since this was the time of the Cesare Borgia campagins. Experimental fresco technique, started falling apart practically as soon as it was finished. All figures revolving around a frenzied core. No real consensus on who's who in the scene. One organizing principle is the big pole extended upon the figures, almost certainly the standard for the Florentine flag. A new way to picture a battle—less tidy than Uccello's Battle of San Romano, more of a distilled ferocity predicated upon pre-existing motion.

artist: Michelangelo

title: Battle of Cascina

location: Sala dei Cinquecento, Palazzo della Signoria, Florence

date: 1505

Shows a Florentine battle against Pisa. Fresco was never finished. Depicted not the battle itslef, but a moment leading up to the battle—not an obvious choice. The Pisan leader saw that his troops weren't ready, sort of an exhortation of readiness that would have resonated in Florence thanks to the recent memory of the expulsion of the Medici. Michaelangelo devised the cartoon in secret in his workshop because he was in competition with Leonardo. As many nudes in as many attitudes of exertion as he could fit—unclear whether it's the intention, poses, or motion that is being celebrated. Shows how the human body is the operative element in Michelangelo's work. Cartoon became a virtual school of study, unfortunately no longer exists.

artist: Michelangelo

title: Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs

location: Florence

date: 1492

Another battle scene meant specifically to imitate ancient sculpture. Michelangelo doesn't seem to be looking for any real perspective or depth. Shows the triump of rational human culture and human intelligence, emblematic of reason conquering barbarians. Some say this is just a battle of nude men (in the tradition of Pollaiuolo's Battle of the Nudes). Shows his great ability to carve the bodies, who was just 17.

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artist: Michelangelo

title: Pietà

location: St. Peters, Rome

date: 1489-99

patron: Cardinal Jean de Villiers de la Groslaye

For the funerary chapel of French Cardinal Jean de Villiers de la Groslaye. Originally would have been closer to the ground, against more of a simple, intimate niche. Not a biblical scene. Challenging subject presents formal problem: how do you successfully compose the awkward situation of a fully grown man reclining in the arms of a woman? Subtly monumental size of Mary; Christ slightly smaller, wrapped around her a bit. Fascination based around their relationship. Mary seems too young to be the mourning mother of a grown man, but plausible supernatural youth since she is a symbol of the Church, mystical bride/daughter/mother of Christ. Body used not just as a statement of physical beauty but also as a metaphor, tapping into suffering. Michelangelo is able to magically transform stone into hair and flesh, looks almost more natural than nature itself. Placement of signature across Mary's chest a bold statement about his status.

artist: Michelangelo

title: David

location: Florence (intended for Cathedral, installed in front of Palazzo della Signoria)

date: 1501-04

patron: Guild of Wool Workers

Was to stand on one of the Cathedral buttresses but was so grand that it was instead positioned in front of the Palazzo della Singoria. Slab of marble had been attempted twice. Such a strong flavor of antiquity that people think it's classical, not biblical (would not have upset Michelangelo). Some say the statue was meant to evoke Hercules (another Florentine connection, thanks to work of Pollaiuolo). In the tradition of eager Renaissance fusions of Christian subjects and classical forms. largest nude sculpture since antiquity. Meticulous observation but never dissipates into a collection of details, remains an evocative whole.  Contrapposto demonstrates a classical balance of tensions. True celebration and elevation of the human body, shows man as the measure of all things. Hands famously large—could be to fit in details or to reflect the epithet for David, "manu fortis." Replaced Donatello's Judith and Holofernes in front of Palazzo della Signoria.

artist: Michelangelo

title: Doni tondo

location: Florence

date: 1504

patron: Agnolo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi

Oil painting, not standard at this time. Recently cleaning shows it to be much brighter than originally thought. Storzzi coat of arms frame important, something heraldic about it. Much more than just another Madonna and Child: Joseph in the background makes it a Holy Family (an established type but not as a common), background nudes and John the Baptist. Madonna seated on the ground reference to Madonna of Humility (established type). Strange that Christ child is on Mary's shoulder, held by mother and Joseph, demands extraordinary tortion of Mary's body. Specificity of composition evokes narrative interrelationships. Michelangelo very interested in each individual body (indicative of his experience as a sculptor). Scene was designed to fit within the tondo (circular form a favorite among neo-Platonists). Intentional ambiguity about who's picking up Christ child, idea of him as mutual gift (approiate since the Doni were newly married and probably wanted children). Joseph much more alert and engaged than usual—could represent both Joseph and the heavenly father. The density of messages in the image makes it feel like "Christianity in a nutshell."

artist: Raphael

title: Pope Julius II

location: Rome

date: 1512

patron: Giuliano della Rovere

Shows the man who had fortified the papal office, acted as a central shaping force in the High Renaissance revival of Rome. Would have been striking for the relatively complex psychology. Shows an old man facing giant theological and political challenges. Doesn't necessarily assert power but there's no mistaking his identity. Acorn family emblem on chair and papal keys woven into background fabric assert an interweaving of his family and the church.

artist: Raphael

title: Stanza della Segnatura

location: Library of Julius II, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

Was a private papal library at the time. Another painter had begun ornamental work on the ceiling into which Raphael integrated four allegorical figures. Paintings all focus on different sorts of knowledge, shows the harmony of different fields of intellectual pursuit. Raphael probably had an advisor.

artist: Raphael

title: Theology (Stanza della Segnatura)

location: Library of Julius, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

One of the allegorical figures decorating the ceiling, meant to correspond with the painting below, Disputa.

artist: Raphael

title: Philosophy (Stanza della Segnatura)

location: Library of Julius II, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

One of the allegorical figures painted on the ceiling correlating to narrative painting below.

artist: Raphael

title: Poetry (Stanza della Segnatura)

location: Library of Julius II, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

One of the allegorical figures painted on the ceiling correlating to narrative painting below.

artist: Raphael

title: Justice (Stanza della Segnatura)

location: Library of Julius II, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

One of the allegorical figures painted on the ceiling correlating to narrative painting below.

artist: Raphael

title: Disputa (Stanza della Segnatura)
location: Library of Julius II, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

About a discussion over the sacrament of the body of Christ, a new subject invented for this room. Was Raphael's first major fresco production. There seems to be a bleacher of clouds with Christ enthroned in the center under God the father and flanked by Mary, John the Baptist, and an alternation of saints and old testament prophets. Weaving together of old and new testaments. Below Christ are four books representing the four gospels. Would have looke a bit like the Last Judgment but instead of souls we have a congregation of churchmen. Somewhat like a sacra conversazione in that Christian thinkers from all epochs brought together to interact (innovation since usually when thinkers from different periods were painted they were done in a way that made them stand apart). Sacrament on the altar serves as the core of the scene—physical centrality of euchrist reflects doctrinal centrality. Making monstrance coincide with horizon sends a message about the meeting of heaven and earth. Building under construction probably self-reference to Vatican Palace, more completed building probably St. Peter's. Julius's name appears on the altar, laying claim to it. Julius's features also shown on the figure of St. Gregory the Great. Bookish group seems to suggest that the words of these and other Christian writers inform one's approach to the sacrament itself (makes sense in a library context). Structure of picture makes you very conscious of picture plane (ballustrade copes with intruding door, figures leaning on it looking into the scene draw the viewer in). Putting the sacrament in the mid-ground suggests a journey towards the euchrist.

artist: Raphael

title: School of Athens (Stanza della Segnatura)

location: Library of Julius II, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

Allegory above is "philosophy"/"knowledge of cuases." Huge semi-vaulted structure provides much more complicated setting than the Disputa (journey to Christ clear cut, earthly knowledge more complex). Vanishing point between Plato and Aristotle. Scene seems to proceed towards the viewer (whereas the magnatism of the disputa seems to draw the viewer in). Classical world pervades the piece: huge niches with Gods, makes sense since Raphael is the Director of Antiquities. Figures seem to be divided between Aristotelian and Platonic (Raphael on Aristotelian side). Portraits of artists like Bramante and Michelangelo included on the features of some thinkers. There is something rather circular about painting, particularly the arrangement of figures, reflects the High Renaissance idea that certain geometrical forms have meaning/harmony.

artist: Raphael

title: Parnassus (Stanza della Segnatura)

location: Library of Julius II, Vatican Palace, Rome

date: 1509-11

Below the figure of poetry. Has to deal with the huge window (looking out to a courtyard with antique figures), incorporates by building the mountain of Parnassus around it. Figure of Appollo clearly in charge, nine muses and individual writers from different periods present and woven together. Rather than an inviting space (as with Disputa and School of Athens) there is more of an arch which draws our eye around the picture and connects it with the other content of the room.

artist: Raphael

title: Baldassare Castiglione

location: Rome

date: 1514

Portrait of one of Raphael's great freinds and the author of Il Cortessano. Their relationship demonstrates how Raphael moved among secular patrons as well as religious people. Painting seems to crystallize the studied casual air Castiglione advocated. The relaxed internal tortion is reminiscent of Mona Lisa. The subtleties of the greys, blacks and browns in the background are very delicately modulated. Clothing expensive but understated. Painting really articulates Castiglione's values.

artist: Raphael

title: Transfiguration

location: Rome

date: 1518-20

patron: Giulio de'Medici for Narbonne Cathedral

Cardinal was so pleased with the work that he kept it in rome and sent a copy to the intendend cathedral in Narbonne. Recognized as such a major work that it was displayed over his body when he died. Not a subject we've seen but a good scriptural basis. Biblical content in top half, bottom hlaf concentrates on healing of a possessed boy. Shows the moment before healing, apostles gesturing to Christ who will help him. Christ's legs bent in a pose between levitation and stride. There is an ideal dynamic equilibrium between naturalism and idealism within individual components and the piece as a whole. There is a lot happening with each individual figure, huge variety among the apostles. Pointing arms create a degree of chaos that contrasts with the serene rapture of the hilltop.

artist: Michelangelo

title: Sistine Chapel ceiling

location: Vatican, Rome

date: 1508-12

patron: Julius II

Original plan for 12 monumental figures nixed by Pope. Probable involvement of theological advisor. Compelted in just four years. Lunnets occupied by ancestors of Christ. Vaults marked by pictive architectural framework that accords with the structure of the ceiling as it meets the wall. There are nine main narrative scenes taken from the book of genesis and flanked by prophets and sibyls (who seem to know about the coming Christ). Interwoven are paris of ignudi that function as twisting catalysts of attention and help bring the different levels of reality together. Taken as a whole the program emphasizes the elaborate foundation of the world and the anticipation of the life of christ. Can almost be seen as a prehistory of the Christian Church.

title: david slays goliath (pendentive, sistine chapel)

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

An old testament scene of triumph (triumph associated with salvation). Almost fantstically eager to explore the curved surface on which it was painted. Uses the sides, foreshortening, emphasizing curves. Sense of responding to the energy of the architecture remains crucial throughout.

title: temptation and expulsion

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Two narratives within the same frame and unified landscape. Expressive dialogue between the figures on both sides. Figures on left caught by tightly wound tension in the serpent figure which is released on right side. Sense that snake and angel are related, two sides of the same coin. Adam's extended arm on left paralleled by arm of angel on right. Eve's langorous pose turns into clutch of shame. Strong commitment to the idea of the human body as a vehicle of meaning.

title: creation of adam

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Not so much a production of the first man but rather an animation/inspiration. Not an obvious staging (earlier versions sometimes show God standing on earth with Adam). Lots going on besides point of contact. People around God a curiosity. Some have argued that most prominent company figures are Eve and the Christ child—Eve close to being born, presence of Christ suggests the seed of the church from the beginning. God's figure seems to evoke the way priests hold the host during Mass, could be a liturgical reference. Responsive play of energies across the center of the picture a commonality in the Genesis scenes (energy seems to flow from the spandrels pointing in at the pictures).

title: creation of sun, moon, planets

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Energies seem to be revolving around the orb, picture feels like axis of a sphere. God's movement telegraphed by gaze, pose and flow of robes. Shows influence of Da Vinci, Pollaiuolo. Accorns show influence of Pope (even in the first moments of history the emblem of Julius's family is present). Showcasing God's backside demonstrates how Michelangelo is thinking in three dimensions, reaches back to Masaccio, Gentile da Fabriano in terms of insisting on different perspectives.

title: delphic sibyl

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Sibyls/prophets part of the interprative fabric of the work, get larger as they approach the altar. Each of the figures have a text, focus on these figures who wrote about the Messiah. Whole body inclines towards the scroll, but there is a balance in her turned face and gaze—something virtuoso about being able to balance the body with just a gaze. Shows the High Renaissance impulse of situating figures in a way that creates harmony.

title: libyan sibyl

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Very complex pose, Michelangelo pushing the limits of posing bodies with magnificent inventiveness. Uncear what exactly the narrative is, seems that there is a certain degree of ambiguity intended.

title: drawing for libyan sibyl

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Shows he worked from a male model (personal resistance to the female form or common practice?). Big toe illustration shows he's thinking about pivoting. Much more concerned with the physics of poses less about the motion of strokes than Raphael's sketches.

artist: Jonah

artist: Michelangelo

location: Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome

date: 1508-12

Situated over the altar, reflects the idea that Jonah is a prefiguration of Christ in that sacrifice makes victory possible for mankind. Figure overwhelming. Another example of Michelangelo designing a figure to go along with the surface—Jonah leaning way back but on a surface that is projected forwards. Eyes look towards earliest scenes of creation, connecting various parts of the chapel. One apparent source for this body is the Laocoon, a massive Hellenistic sculpture that had been unearthed in Rome a few years earlier and was in the Vatican collection. Another crucial eample of the marriage of pagan antiquity and Christian theology.

title: ignudi

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Ignudi not well understood but carry Michelangelo's interest in the human form to a new level. Almost feel like a survey of different poses, moods and attitudes. Serve as vital transitional elements. Part of their function is to support the storiated medallions. Conceived of in pairs, almost as if they belong on a monument. As with prophets and sibyls they get larger and more dramatic towards the altar. Seem to have been inspired by the Belvedere Torso, which was probably Michelangelo's favorite classical fragment, full of life in a way that implies all sorts of possibilies. Many think the ignudi can be seen as immaginative completions of the Belvedere Torso. Hard to identify what these figures are, some say perfect souls, some say angels.

title: ancestors

artist: michelangelo

location: sistine chapel, vatican, rome

date: 1508-12

Decorating the nets of the windows. Seem to have been painted very quickly. Compared to ignudi/prophets/sibyls: more clothed, less emphasis on bodies, less energetic and animated, more shadows. Possible that these are figures waiting for the Messiah. Familial aspects emphasize the lineage dimension. Very little pictoral tradition for these figures. Very interesting pallette in which multiple colors make up the same fabric, "color cangiante" technique.

title: "dying slave"

artist: michelangelo

location: intended for tomb of julius II, st. peter's, rome

date: 1513-16

Probably meant to stand on ground level of the tomb. Differing interpretations: some say embodiment of territories the pope had captured, some say more transcendental. Interpretations varried even in Michelangelo's time. Possibly about the striving of the pure soul, idea that sin is the bond that holds these bodies reinforced by early forms of apes and monkeys near their feet. Shown fitfully asleep. Vivid glimpse of how Michelangelo viewed the body.

title: "bound slave"

artist: michelangelo

location: intended for tomb of julius II, st. peter's, rome

date: 1513-16

title: "dying slave"

artist: michelangelo

location: intended for tomb of julius II, st. peter's, rome

date: 1513-16

Probably meant to stand on ground level of the tomb. Differing interpretations: some say embodiment of territories the pope had captured, some say more transcendental. Interpretations varried even in Michelangelo's time. Possibly about the striving of the pure soul, idea that sin is the bond that holds these bodies reinforced by early forms of apes and monkeys near their feet. More alert than bound slave, more explicitly bound. Vivid glimpse of how Michelangelo viewed the body.

title: moses

artist: michelangelo

location: intended for tomb of julius II, st. peter's, rome

date: 1515

Seems to have been meant to sit on a corner of the second story, ended up being the centerpiece. Identifiable through tablets, beard, horns. The fact taht he was meant to be seen from below accounts for the odd attenuation of proportions. Over 7 feet tall seated. Same dialogue of tension of repose present in depictions of prophets and sibyls. Not meant to be Moses at a specific moment in the narrative but rather as an enduring image of the great prophet.

title: "captives"

artist: michelangelo

location: intended for tomb of julius II, st. peter's, rome

date: 1525-28

Made for yet another conception of the structure which is not known. Much less finished than earlier ones. Possible that these were meant to be atlas-like figures supporting great weight. Sense of struggle extreme. Were not meant to be left this way but Michelangelo certainly recognized the powerful sense of emergence, alsmot as if they are stutues willing themselves to life. As his career progressed Michelangelo was increasingly attracted to the idea of non-finito—matters of process rather than polish and perfection, idea that traditional goal of perfection ungraspable and inconsequential, more of an interest in the body. Developing an aesthetic of unfinish.

title: Dead Christ

artist: Rosso Fiorentino

location: Rome

date: 1524-27

Meant to be an altarpiece but never made it to destination due to 1527 sack of Rome. Not meant to be a pieta since there is not Mary, body attended only by angels. Comparison to Mantegna's Dead Christ: isolation of the body creates an accentric devotional intensity, no radical foreshortening. Insistence on devotion to/centrality of Christ: almost theatrical lighting, Christ larger than other figures, body seems weighty but unclear how it's supported, picture just barely contains him in this position, vertical of torso and horizontal of legs recall cross. Some people see it as an idealized figure, naturalism that's been smoothed over. Clear that he was looking at other artists' work: inspiration of Laocoon, colors reminiscent of Michelangelo. Peculiarities: unsupported weight of Christ, red hair (connection with artist). Very intense painting.

title: Deposition (Descent from the Cross)

artist: Rosso Fiorentino

location: Volterra

date: 1521

Standard subject for altarpieces but not a standard representation. Much more mechanical (ladders) and structured, seems more quotidian and less religious. Extremely frenetic, eye not immediately drawn to Christ. Even colors seem chaotic. Emptiness in the center of the painting departure from stable centers and dynamic equilibriums of High Renaissance. Very little in the way of sophisticated foreshortening. Maximum extension of these figures across the picture rather than an integration of space—more surface decoration than spacial representation. Unique metallic feel of colors. Faces almost cartoonishly expressive (some have suggested a willfull perversity on the part of Fiorentino, others say intense devotion.

title: Capponi Chapel

artist: Jacopo Pontormo

location: Chiesa della Santa Felicita, Florence

date: 1525-28

Works meant to exist in a dynamic interaction. Light works in a certain way, comes through stained glass window on to the altar, suggsts that the passion literally colors the altarpiece.

title: Entombment

artist: Jacopo Pontormo

location: Capponi Chapel, Santa Felicita, Florence

date: 1525-28

Natural comparison with Fiorentino—they worked together, dealt with roughly the same subject, had similar attitudes about the centrality of style. Pontormo has a much softer style. Disagreement over exact subject, could be the aftermath of the Pietà (deconstruction of that traditional moment of devotional focus). Dynamic density of moments notable. Everything happens in a lyric of contours and shaddows—groupings of hands, figures present and palpable but ethereal. Light itself important and specific. Pastel palette, not as saturated as primaries. Like Descent from the Cross, center evacuted—music of hand but bodies seem to circle. Portrait of artist squeezed on side, interesting since he had a phobia of death. Beginning of the idea of the artist as a mythic, troubled genius.

title: Annunciation

artist: Jacopo Pontormo

location: Capponi Chapel, Santa Felicita, Florence

date: 1525-28

Has an ethereal quality, present and substantial but weightless. Sense that the entire room belongs together.

title: Joseph in Egypt

artist: Jacopo Pontormo

location: Florence

date: 1518

Made as a part of a series commissioned for a newlywed couple as an elaborate wedding gift. Shows the story of Joseph, multiple episdoes from the story shown together in the work. Unlike anything we've seen. Principles of the High Renaissance almost agressively undone: center unoccupied, group in foreground doesn't really claim focus. Eccentric staircase, towering statues become the most vivid elements. Statues seem to be almost teetering. Some theory that the statue and the abundance of children evoke the couple's desire for a son.

title: Self-portait in a Convex Mirror

artist: Parmigianino

location: Rome

date: 1524

made for: Clement VII

Designed to duplicate the effect of observing yourself in a convex mirror. Vasari was deeply impressed. Most self-portraits to this point within larger compositions. Not first autonomous self-portrait, but unusually dazzling. Subject not just the artist but also his artfulness. Dramatic placement of hand recalls intense foreshortening in Mantegana, insists upon the convexity of the surface, emphasizes the importance of the hand for the artist. Very sensitively and delicately drawn. Visual representation doesn't seem to be the end goal but rather an idea to be probed. Does the Albertean idea of painting as window into nature: weirdly tight connection between us and the painting, confronts the viewer with an evidently direct and seemless reflection almost suggesting that you are the artist or he is you. Interesting taht this was painted for the Pope, almost a calling card of mastery.

title: Madonna of the Long Neck

artist: Parmigianino

location: Parma

date: begun 1534

patron: Elena Baiardi

Left a little unfinished. Expression of interest of the Mannerist painters in the idea of "grazia." Real appearnces/anatomy not really the point, more a point of departure. Grand vision of lines, contours, and shimmer. Madonna would be immense were she to stand. Tight cluster of figures on just one side: very non-High Renaissance, angels who look like fashionable children really jammed in, we only see one leg which gives the group the feeling of a bouquet. Picture really has a hot house feel—bouquet of children, Mary as a tulip. More about beauty than theological truths. Christ child posed interestingly, sleeping (recalls pieta, anticipation of death). Subtle presence of the cross on the vessel in the foreground. Radical change in scale with St. Jerome. Row of columns collapsed in almost complete foreshortening also odd, mannerist play on expectations.

title: Assumption of the Virgin

artist: Correggio

location: Parma Cathedral

date: 1522-30

Completely diferent conception of a ceiling than Sistine Chapel, takes structural fiction to a whole new level. Vast, complex illusion. Correggio went out of his way to erase the division between the structural and the illustrated, suggest interpenetration and overlap. Recalls Mantegna's Camera Picta but brought to bear on theology. Seeing the body of Mary in such radical projection would have been amazing. In addition to optical drama, there is also a sense of reunion between Christ and the Virgin that is about to take place in the center.

title: Jupiter and Io

artist: Correggio

location: Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

date: 1530-34

patron: Duke Federigo Gonzaga

Part of a series of secular canvases painted for a descendent of the Duke of Mantua we met with Mantegna. Well established tradition of mythological paintings. Depicts Jupiter's sexual exploits as documented by Ovid's Metamorphoses (the mytholical equivalent of the Golden Legend). Erotic art had become popular, particularly in courtly contexts. Correggio tends to approach women with a level of warmth not shown by his peers. Compared to Pallas Expelling the Vices: much more sumptuous and devoted to the erotics of the Gods.  Io striking a really extraordinary pose: can't see her right leg but we understand what it would be, curve of invisible leg echoed by curve of arm. You can just make out Jupiter's face in the clouds. Io seems to be in a moment of physical abandon. Devoting the upper third of the picture to the cloud emphasizes the otherworldly nature of the subject.

title: Jupiter and Ganymede

artist: Correggio

location: Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

date: 1530-34

patron: Duke Federigo Gonzaga

Part of a series of secular canvases painted for a descendent of the Duke of Mantua we met with Mantegna. Well established tradition of mythological paintings. Depicts Jupiter's sexual exploits as documented by Ovid's Metamorphoses (the mytholical equivalent of the Golden Legend). Kidnapping rather than encounter. Ganyede being pulled upwards and towards the viewer, dog gazing up at his master. Landscapes suggests a falling away from earth.

title: Jupiter and Danae

artist: Correggio

location: Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

date: 1530-34

patron: Duke Federigo Gonzaga

Part of a series of secular canvases painted for a descendent of the Duke of Mantua we met with Mantegna. Well established tradition of mythological paintings. Depicts Jupiter's sexual exploits as documented by Ovid's Metamorphoses (the mytholical equivalent of the Golden Legend).  Erotic art had become popular, particularly in courtly contexts. Correggio tends to approach women with a level of warmth not shown by his peers. Compared to Pallas Expelling the Vices: much more sumptuous and devoted to the erotics of the Gods.  Shows Jupiter just arriving as the golden shower, putto drawing back the sheet. Danae designed as an unappologetically erotic figure, gripping the sheet.

title: Jupiter and Leda

artist: Correggio

location: Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

date: 1530-34

Part of a series of secular canvases painted for a descendent of the Duke of Mantua we met with Mantegna. Well established tradition of mythological paintings. Depicts Jupiter's sexual exploits as documented by Ovid's Metamorphoses (the mytholical equivalent of the Golden Legend). Erotic art had become popular, particularly in courtly contexts. Correggio tends to approach women with a level of warmth not shown by his peers. Compared to Pallas Expelling the Vices: much more sumptuous and devoted to the erotics of the Gods.  Subject had famously been treated by Leonardo. No doubting that this was meant to be erotic.

title: Cosmio I de' Medici

artist: Agnolo Bronzino

location: Florence

date: c. 1545

Painting of the most important man in town by the most important painter in town. Cosimo was eager to showcase and shape his identity through portraiture. Variants of this were produced so that the image could be place throughout town. Choice of armor conveys message of might and forcefulness.

title: Eleonora of Toledo and Giovanni de'Medici

artist: Angolo Bronzino

location: Florence

date: c. 1545

Portraiture reflects eagerness to project a sense of lineage, inclusion of son sends a dynastic message. Striking smoothness of depiction, cool light emblematic of Bronzino. Very precise (sometimes had an artificial feel), very basic backgrounds. Centrality of dress makes viewer appreciate both the expensiveness and the skill needed to depict it.

title: Allegory with Venus and Cupid (Exposure of the Luxury)

artist: Agnolo Bronzino

location: Florence

date: 1545

patron: Cosimo I as a gift for Francis I of France

Goes by various names, subject unknown (but pretty confident main characters are Venu and Cupid). Reflects ambiguous attitude towards overt eroticism. Meant to be moralizing but the presentation was also erotic. Screaming figure could be envy, pain or Syphilis (interesting since that was known as the French disease). Other allegorical figures: Father Time, Fraud, Deception, and Oblivion. Usually proposed that this is the uncovering of sinful passion by Father Time. Despite scolding stance, picture feels like a come on, making us either accomplices or vicitims of decadence. Odd presentation: sealed off from rest of world by blue cloth, poses uncomfortable if not impossible (about aesthetics, not anatomy). While Michelangelo was making the body metaphorically elegant, Bronzino is stretching it as much as he can.

title: Salt Cellar (Saliera)

artist: Benvenuto Cellini

location: France

date: 1540-43

patron: Francis I

Court was a major cultural headquarters, especially for Italian artists (precedent set by leonardo). Very small but very ornate and expensive. Figures of earth and sea signify salt creation process. Lots of symbolic elements, including figure of abundance on temple. Main appeal would have been ingenuity and impressiveness. In line with the Mannerist principle of grazia as something to savor.

title: Rape of the Sabines

artist: Giambologna

location: Florence

date: 1579-83

Displaced Donatello's Judith in the main Piazza. Title actually given after work was finished. Real concern was forms and the way in which they interlocked, not who they were representing. Requires you to look at it from multiple angles to understand it. Idea of classical characters being taken to a virtuoso extreme. Any symbolic dimension an afterthought—primarily a work of art to which meanings may or may not have accrued.

title: View of Venice

artist: Jacopo de' Barbari

location: published in Nuremberg

date: 1500

Really a product of international commerce, something of an advertisment for the republic.

title: Doge Leonardo Loredan

artist: Giovanni Bellini

location: Venice

date: 1501

Natural choice of a painter for the local leader. Fairly familiar form in Venitian tradition to show subject in bust, behind ledge, with blue background (fitting given taste for nature). Striking fusion of naturalism and incredibly meticulous rendering of outfit. Atmospheric balance between observed precision and iconic timelessness.

title: Castelfranco Altarpiece

artist: Giorgione

location: Castelfranco

date: 1504-5

Shows how far the use of oil paint was taken. Doesn't quite conform to sacra conversazione—small conversation, Mary on a different level. Very odd positioning, very clear hierarchical composition. Triangular composition reminiscent of High Renaissance, stable parametal composition but dilated. Some viewer involvement (francis's gesture, perspective tiles) but our access to Mary is more limited. No explanation for how Mary got up there. Negotiating the limit between inside and outside. Great example of atmospheric lighting. Center is unoccupied: space itself gains more authority, different than mannerist centers which were more about insisting on place. Something almost unsettling about the tranquility/sadness of Mary's expression. Palpable sense of preknowledge of son's fate. Venetian painting focuses less on action and more on existence, immersion in the moment rather than in the tale.

title: Allendale Nativity/Adoration of the Shepherds

artist: Giorgione

location: Venice

date: 1505

Really good illustration of atmospherics.

title: "The Tempest"

artist: Giorgione

location: Venice

date: 1505-10

Almost invites you to try to unlock its secret subject. Evocative buildings but not much sense of occupation. Lightening in the sky part of very evocative illumination. Narrative opportunities are limited or supressed, we're hard pressed to identify a main character. Is there really a subject? Some say allegorical or mythological, some say political. Contemporary expert was unaware of a subject. Possible that Giorgione wanted to give the viewer just the ingredients of the story, invite the audience to participate inthe creation of artwork. Specific and momentary yet posed in an enduring way. Nature more urgent than people.

title: Sleeping Venus

artist: Giorgione (completed by Titian)

location: Venice

date: 1507-10

Titian thought to contribute to landscape, cupid (which was later removed). Not the first nude Venus we've seen but very different idea—less of a narrative—than Botticelli's. Association with the landscape not incidental, carefully thought out: rightward slope of body balanced by arragnement of inward sloping hills, verying tones around her makes her body the unifying element, pun between breast and hill. Positioning of left hand hard to interpret: modest or masturbation? Some treatises on marriage recommended masturbation for fertility, could be speaking to wedding/marriage. Interesting choice to have her asleep—an activity but also a state, picture about her stretching out.

title: "Pastoral Concert"

artist: Giorgione? (Titian? Sebastiano del Piombo?)

location: Venice

date: 1509-10

As with Tempest and Sleeping Venus, no single convincing explanation. Subject seems to be a tranquil moment of harmonious being. Captures the mood of a certain variety of Arcadian poetry which evoked idyllic natural life. Something like an allegory of poetry (unlike the conjuring up of specific poets as in Martini's frontispiece and Raphael's Parnassus). Atmospheric light reaches a whole new level: complete dissolution of line in favor of air. Visual harmony feels like companion to musical harmony traspiring in the picture (like Allendale Nativity stream). No definitive painter.

title: Self Portrait

artist: Titian

location: Venice

date: 1560

Lived a long time and produced a stagering volume of paintings. Trained under Bellini and Giorgione. Official painter to the Republic of Venice. Titian's work came to define Venetian art. Very animated portrait, sense of reaction.

title: Assumption of the Virgin

artist: Titian

location: Church of the Frari, Venice

date: 1516-18

First big altarpiece, beginning of Titian's reshaping of the very idea of the Venetian altarpiece. Frame an important element: big architectural element with sculptural figures of Christ.  Subject in some ways obvious since the chuch is dedicated to Mary in Glory. Bright light in center not just flashy staging but creating unique effects. because of wrap-around windows a real challenge, Titian has light flood in from the back of the picture to create a siloutte and in partially partake in natural lighting effects. In lower section there is a similar contrastive illumination of the apostles—cast into pretty, heavy shadow but set against this cool blue sky in a way that instantly conveys an excited crowd. Interesting separation of the two realms: putti physically lifting clouds, separated almost literally by fingertips. There is a sense of the precise moment in which she is rising beyond—new sense of drama, new tneor of outwardly compelling action and dynamic relationships.

title: Pesaro Altarpiece

artist: Titian

location: Pesaro Altar, Church of the Frari, Venice

date: 1519-26

patron: Jacopo Pesaro

On a basic level it's a sacra conversazione but it does not seem that way, looks like a sacra conversazione made narrative, much less formal. Unusual in Venice to have a patron portrait in altarpieces but was actually stipulated in the contract. Turkish man  led by military saint bearing banner with Pesaro coat of arms and Papal coat of arms reinforced cherished connection with papacy, speaking to Jacopo's participation in the victory over the Turks. Makes St. Peter pivot to include Pesaro, another connection to Papcy. Composition based on tilted triangle rather than High Renaissance pyramid, likely to take into account the approach of most viewers and their initially slanted view. Strange to have such large columns doing so little structural work: makes the transition between indoors and outdoors/heaven and earth. Putti carrying cross make Christ's future part of the scene.

title: Feast of the Gods

artist: Giovanni Bellini (revised by Titian)

location: Camerino d'Alabastro (studiolo of Alfonso d'Este), Ferrara

date: 1514

patron: Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara

Part of a suite of mythological paintings. Bellini was the anchor of the team of artists. Refers to a narrative described from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Shows the moment right before the climax of the story, separates the key players in the story—requires an erudite viewer to think abotu the larger tale. Narrative no more than a gentle component, real subject idyllic relaxation. Originally seems to be a moralizing scene—overimbibing and wanton excess contrasted with chastity of the nymphs—but was later sexed up by Titian. Titian made significant edits: huge mountain to break up screen of trees resembles cutting edge landscapes, daring glint of sunlight shows landscape as an artistic endeavor.

title: Bacchanal of the Andrians

artist: Titian

location: Camerino d'Alabastro (studiolo of Alfonso d'Este), Ferrara

date: 1522-23

patron: Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara

Episode in which Bacchus throws her crown into the sky to create a constellation. Very original choice to depict it just as Bacchus is arriving. Raucous animation.

title: "Venus of Urbino"

artist: Titian

location: Urbino

date: 1538

patron: Guidobaldo della Rovere

Direct descendent of the Sleeping Venus (a painting Titian had worked on) but awake and indoors. Very rich surroundings. Maids attending to clothes draw attention to her nudity. Very clearly thinking about the relationship between the figure and the setting: curtain falls halfway down her body, frames her upper body and creates a screen that increases the intimacy with the viewer. Has no specific attributes of Venus, setting has no apparent mythological character. This period saw a rise in paintings of ideal women, often allusions to cortesan.

title: Danae

artist: Titian

location: Venice (for Rome?)

date: 1545

patron: Cardinal Alessandro Farnese

Cupid turning back almost as if his work is done, Danael mostly nude. Showing Jupiter as golden coins rather than fog may have meant to associate her with a cortesean. Contemporary spoke about the erotic power of the painting. She does have the features of a famous courtesan known to be a favorite of Farnese's, implicit parallel between the Cardinal and Jupiter. Probably an inspiration was Michelangelo's lost Leda.

title: Rape of Europa

artist: Titian

location: Venice

date: 1559-62

patron: Philip II

Pinted for the new emperor. Earth seems transcendent but bodies very heavy and solid. Fabulously awkward pose, seems to be intentionally awkward and panicked. Brush strokes very thick and impasto, breaking the conventional limits of paint as a smooth filler and creator of contours. Sense of painting as a performance.

title: Pieta

artist: Titian

location: Titian's tomb, Church of the Frari, Venice

date: 1576

Last painting, made for his own tomb. Unusual Pietà. Pairing of prophet and sibyl recalls sistine ceiling. Old male saint usually identified as Jerome with the features of Titian—gazing into the the eyes of the dead Christ completes his painterly access. Little ex voto paining also shows Titian and son praying to the Virgin for protection from the plague. Both times Titian is shown, he is kneeling in devotion to the virgin.

title: "Feast in the House of Levi" (formerly Last Supper)

artist: Veronese

location: refectory, St.s Giovanni and Paolo, Venice

date: 1571-73

One of the largest painted canvasses ever seen in Venice. Last supper a traditional subject for refectories, somewhere along the line it changed subject. Emergence of flexible subjects wihtin Venetian art (rape of the sabines), brink of modernity where a work is what the artist says it is. Church authorities not happy, summoned Veronese to answer for his artistic choices. Objections not about theology but propriety. Transcript shows Veronese didn't care that much about subject matter—in keeping with his reputation as a talented decorator.

title: Last Judgment

artist: Michelangelo

location: Altar wall of Sistine Chapel, Rome

date: 1536-41

patron: Pope Paul III

Painted over 20 years after ceiling. Originally was resurrection, changed by Paul III, possibly as response to Reformation. Very old canonical subject with a long pictoral tradition (Giotto provided template). Idea that last judgment is the culmination of universal christian history, interest that it's right next the beginning of creation. Michelangelo renders it very fluid and thematic—pulsing swell of humanity and flesh. Christ at the core but not as starkly set-off as earlier. Human body the module, not just a pawn in some pre-established order. Compositional elements corresond with side walls (elect line up with popes). Some nudity later covered by pupil. In resurrection of dead there is palpable tension between gravity and ascent. Increasingly large figures reflect hierarchic scale but also organic inflation. Figures in heaven holding instruments of Christ's passion. Michelangelo's face on skin of St. Bartholomew interesting choice for a painter so interested in physical bodies. Striking body and spacial pose make him seem more human. Focus on the psychological torment of the damned rather than physical torment. Pagan figure of Choran present (from Dante's inferno). Face of Death front and center, over the altar and making eye contact, strong sense that this is a warning.