15th Century Art In Northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula (ch.18)

Student Slides

• 9. 18-2 (A Flemish City) Jason• 10. 18-4 (Champmol Altarpiece) Kavita• 11. 18-6 (February, Life in the Country, Tres Riches Heures)

Mary• 12. 18-9 (Cope of the Order of the Golden Fleece) George• 13. 18-15 (Last Judgment Altarpiece – show open and

closed) Katie Z. • 14. 18-17 (Portrait of a Lady) Mike• 15. 18-18 (A Goldsmith in his Shop) Catie C.• 16. 18-19 (Wrongful Execution of the Count, Justice of Otto

III) Phil• 17. 18-22 (Etienne Chevalier and Saint Stephen / Virgin

and Child –diptych) Guillermo

A Flemish City

● Made by Robert Campin● Created from 1425-1428 C.● Materials used include Oil, and wood panel wing● It can now be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art● The painting itself shows windows looking into a very wealthy city

with well kept houses along side.● A message that Robert was trying to portray was showing open

windows and doors with people gathered around, this showed securitywhich was ideal● Similar piece that portrays ideal message-Champol Altarpeice● Both pieces of work give off a prosperous view, which engage

security● Much of work portrays later Renaissance style● Characteristics include detailed architecture features, and

vibrant colors.● International gothic style can be seen as well- Landscape and

architecture are miniturized

Champmol Altarpiece

• 1393 – 1399• Oil on wood panel• 5’5¼” X 4’1¼” • Altarpiece for the Chartreuse de

Champmol• Located in Dijon, which is now in

France

• Carved by Jacques de Baerze• Duke ordered a magnificent carved

and painted altarpiece • Depicts scenes of the Crucifixion

along with scenes of the Adoration of the Magi and the Entombment

• Protective shutters painted by Melchior Broederlam with scenes from the life of the Virgin and the infancy of Christ

• International Style • Tangible figures in fanciful

miniature architectural and landscape settings

• Both the interior and exterior of the building are shown

• Christian religious symbolism present everywhere

• Archangel Gabriel presents Mary with the news of her motherhood• Door means to lead to the Temple of Jerusalem – symbol of Old Law• Tiny enclosed garden and a pot of lilies = Mary’s virginity• Right shutter shows when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the

temple for the Jewish purification rite • Landscape has been arranged to lead the eye up from the foreground

and into the distance along a rising ground plane • Artist creates a sense of light and air around solid figures • Reflecting a new realism coming into art, a hawk flies through the

golden sky, and Joseph drinks from a flask and carries the family belongings in a satchel over his shoulder

• Statue of a pagan god breaks and tumbles from its pedestal as Christ approaches

February, Life in the Country, Tres Riches Heures

Paul, Herman, and Jean Limbourg. Colors and ink on Parchment. 1411-16 (15th century, of course). Located in Museé Condé, Chantilly,

France• Purpose: a page in a Book of Hours - a book of prayers/religious passages for

daily spiritual use also including a calendar that marked religious holidays. For Duke John of Berry, the Limbourg brothers (Paul, Herman, Jean) illuminated a Book of Hours called Tres Riches Heures, and February was a calendar page in it

• Achieves this purpose by adequately illustrating the February calendar page. Decorative February calendar above scene. Scene depicts typical February day for peasant farmers

• Cold February atmosphere made prominent by bundled and shivering workers, grey sky, barren trees, snowy fields, and chimney smoke highlighting the warmth of indoors

• Gothic style prominent. High horizon line, people larger and more prominent than surroundings, side of house removed to show indoors and outdoors

• Colors mostly dull and grey (like February) with a few bright patches• Backround slowly getting smaller, shows depth• The pages of Tres Riches Heures depicted scenes of the lives of both aristocrats

and peasants. The February page in particular represents the culture of peasant farmers and their tough labors as they work through the winter

• The January page is similar in terms of layout but not much else. Both have calendar and scene depicting a common day of that month, but January depicts a day in the life of aristocrats whereas February depicts peasants. The January page colorfully depicts a feast of luxury and leisure; the February page dully depicts tough labor

Cope of the Golden Fleece

•Flemish mid 15th Century•Cloth with gold and colored silk embroidery•About 5’ 5” X 10’ 9”•Made for Honorary Fraternity The Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Duke Phillip the Good of Burgundy•Show moral character and bravery of members

•Fraternity serve religious purposes•Surface divided into sections filled with standing figures of saints.•Top Center is Jesus Christ enthroned – flanked by scholar saints•Creates illusion of Flemish painting •Shows importance of religion in daily life •Differs from paintings of the time with religious focus rather than individuals

Wrongful Execution of the Count, Justice of Otto III•Dieric Bouts, 15 century, oil

painting, Italy

•Two of four panels( the last two were never completed)

•Hangs in City Hall of the city’s province

•warn city officials not to end up like the empress of Otto III

•In the first panel, Otto III has the count beheaded because empress falsely accused him of sexual impropriety

•In the second panel, countess successfully proves count’s innocence, causing the emperor Otto III to have the empress burned at a stake

•The first artist to produce an illusion of space that recedes slowly from the picture plane to the distant horizon

•Ultimately, work shows elegance in nobility- represents the high rank of the nobility in Italian culture

•To achieve this effect, he used devices such as walkways, walls, and winding roads along which characters in the scene are laced. His use of atmospheric perspective can be seen in the gradual lightening of the sky and the smoky blue hills at the horizon

•Similar to other works from Italy in the 15th century, the International Gothic Style is shown

•Similar to The Last Supper, the Upper Class is being portrayed in elaborate robes-the robes conceal and show their bodies in different ways

•Additionally, both show the first time artists understand how to effectively use perspective

•like many artists will copy Bouts, used a group portrait in which people and religious figures are in narrative (justice angles watching execution)

Phil Hochman

Last Judgment Altarpiece Rogier van der Weyden After 1443 Oil on wood panel; painted panel set on an altar

of a church Musee de I’Hotel-Dieu, Beaune, France For the hospital in Beaune, found by the

chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy, Nicolas Rolin Rogier’s largest and most elaborate work. Could have known iconography from medieval

church tympana, or could have been inspired by paintings and mosaics of the theme in Rome.

Tall, straight figure of the archangel Michael, dressed in a white robe and cope, dominate the center of the wide polypstych as he weighs souls under the direct order of God, who sits on the arc of a giant rainbow above him

Virgin Mary and John the Baptist kneel at either end of the rainbow Behind them on each side, six apostles and a host of saints (men at the right side of Christ and

women on the left) witness the scene Cloudy gold background signifies events in the heavenly realm or in a time remote from that of

the viewer Bodily resurrection takes place on a narrow, barren strip of earth that runs across the bottom of

all but the outer panels Men and women climb out of their tombs, turning in different directions as they react to the

call to judgment They scales of justice held by Michael tip in an unexpected direction; instead of Good

outweighing Bad, the saved soul has become pure spirit and rises, while the damned soul sinks, weighed down by unrepented sins

The damned throw themselves into the flaming pit of hell- no demons drag them down; the saved greet the archangel Gabriel at the shining gate of heaven, depicted as a Gothic portal.

Altarpiece shutters are closed, show Rogier’s debt to Jan and the Ghent Altarpiece Donors, Nicolas Rolina dn Guigone de Salins, kneel in prayer before sculptures of the patron

saints of the hospital chapel (Sebastian and Anthony) Upper level: angel Gabriel greets Virgin Mary, in another version of the Annunciation High status of donors is indicated by coats of arms and gold brocade on the walls of their room. In contrast, central images of Mary, Gabriel, and the 2 saints are represented in grisaille

(unpainted stone sculptures set in shallow niches)

Portrait of a lady (c. 1455) Rogier van der Weyden oil and tempera on wood panel 14 1/16”×10 5/8” (~0.25×0.18 sq. Eeman) The actual person isn't known, and Rogier didn't bother

titling his painting himself Idealized features—paints almond eyes, “smooth

translucent” skin, well-proportioned features: narrow shoulders, high forehead, elongated features

Idealization is common to many Rogier women—apparently a lot of them look the same

Contrast light body and veil with dark everything Popularizes “half-length pose”: high waistline, clasped

hands Also found in pictures of Virgin and Child (although

that's probably more because there are lots of Maries and Jesuses)

Shows woman pious, humble, wealthy but proper, modest; fingers: controlled emotion

Shows contradictory balance of patrons' pride, (feigned, let's be honest) modesty

Goldsmith in his Shop (Possibly Saint Eligius) Petrus Christus, 1449, Netherlands, Oil on wood

• Depicts goldsmith displaying his workshop and the pieces of civic and religious significance he has created for the aristocrats behind him

• Customers (patrons) are buying a wedding ring

• Goldsmith may represent Saint Eligius, patron saint of goldsmiths, but also may represent an actual goldsmith of the time, living in the area where Petrus Christus was painting

• Type of advertisement for the goldsmith’s guild of Bruges

• Extension of the painter’s support of his own cause—the painter’s guild.

• Unusual that the piece is signed, not typical of the time

• Reflects growing wealth of Northern Europe in the Early Renaissance as trade with Spain increases

Wrongful Execution of the Count, Justice of Otto III•Dieric Bouts, 15 century, oil

painting, Italy

•Two of four panels( the last two were never completed)

•Hangs in City Hall of the city’s province

•warn city officials not to end up like the empress of Otto III

•In the first panel, Otto III has the count beheaded because empress falsely accused him of sexual impropriety

•In the second panel, countess successfully proves count’s innocence, causing the emperor Otto III to have the empress burned at a stake

•The first artist to produce an illusion of space that recedes slowly from the picture plane to the distant horizon

•Ultimately, work shows elegance in nobility- represents the high rank of the nobility in Italian culture

•To achieve this effect, he used devices such as walkways, walls, and winding roads along which characters in the scene are laced. His use of atmospheric perspective can be seen in the gradual lightening of the sky and the smoky blue hills at the horizon

•Similar to other works from Italy in the 15th century, the International Gothic Style is shown

•Similar to The Last Supper, the Upper Class is being portrayed in elaborate robes-the robes conceal and show their bodies in different ways

•Additionally, both show the first time artists understand how to effectively use perspective

•like many artists will copy Bouts, used a group portrait in which people and religious figures are in narrative (justice angles watching execution)

Phil Hochman

Etienne Chevalier and Saint Stephen& Virgin and Child

Guillermo

Artist: Jean Fouquet

Date: 1452

Medium: Oil Painting

Features:

Significance: Original Location: Collegiate Church of

Notre Dame

-Right panel depicts the patron Etienne Chevalier with St. Stephen -Left panel depicts the Virgin and Christ child surrounded by cherubim-Each wooden panel measures about 93 by 85 centimeters and the two would have been hinged together at the center-Virgin can be seen breastfeeding Christ-Onlookers of right panel pray and hold stone, as they were stoned to death

-The red and blue cherubs block the view on the background-Their presence does give the work something sacred, contrary to Mary's bare chest-The fine details in the throne and in the jewels are noteworthy-Suggest that Fouquet was influenced by Flemish painters, who where well known for their skills in that field