chapter 19 italian renaissance

8/13/2019 Chapter 19 Italian Renaissance

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19

FROM GOTHIC TO RENAISSANCEFOURTEENTH CENTURY ITALIAN ART

TEXT PAGES 520-542

THE CITY STATES/ POLITICS AND ECONOMICSName four Italian city states that were very successful commercially during the late Gothicperiod:a. Venice b. Florencec. Lucca d. Siena

DISTRUPTION AND CHANGE/ LETTERS AND LEARNING1. What was the Black Death and what effect did it have on art?Bubonic plague, which killed between 25 and 50 percent of Europes population in about five

years. It stimulated religious bequests and encouraged the commissioning of devotional images.

The focus on sickness and death also led to a burgeoning in hospital construction.

2. What was Humanism and how did it affect art?A mode of civil conduct, a theory of education and a scholarly discipline, mainly concerned with

human values and interests as distinct from (but not opposed to) religions otherworldly values.Humanists were particularly interested in classical cultures, the artifacts of which abounded inItaly, and thus helped lead to the rise of the renewal of interest in classical art in the Renaissance.


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THE MOVEMENT AWAY FROM MEDIEVALISM IN ART1. Which style dominated Medieval Italian painting? Byzantine.

List three of its stylistic characteristics.a. Frontal poses.b. Lack of modeling.c. Spatial and linear flatness.

2. Who was St. Francis?Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order of monks. He believed he could get closer to

God by rejecting worldly goods and he committed himself to a strict life of fasting, prayer, and

meditation. The Franciscan worked to demonstrate the example of St. Francis and the orders

commitment to teaching and alleviating suffering.List three episodes of his life that are illustrated in Berlingieris altarpiece (FIG. 19-1).a. St. Francis preaching to the birds.b. St. Francis performing miracles.c. St. Francis receiving the stigmata from a seraph.

3. Identify two trends shown in the works of Nicola and Giovanni Pisano that later becomesignificant in the development of Renaissance art.

a. A new interest in classical antiquity. The densely packed large-scale figures of therelief panels of Nicolas Pisa Cathedral pulpit (19-3) are probably inspired by Romansarcophagi in pose, bulk, and facial type.b. Giovannis figures in the SantAndrea pulpit are loosely and dynamically arrangedwith animation, swiftly turning and rife with emotionalism and naturalism.


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4. Although Cimabue was deeply influenced by the Italo-Byzantine style, he moved beyond it inthe following ways:

a. The deeper space the Madonna and other figures reside in.b. The gold embellishments taken from Byzantine art are used to add three-dimensionality to the drapery.

5. What seems to have been the artistic traditions that influenced Giotto and contributed to theshaping of his style?The Roman school of painting as represented by Cavallini, the work of Cimabue (presumed to behis teacher), French Gothic sculpture, and developments in contemporary Byzantine art.

6. List two characteristics of Giotto's style as seen by comparing hisMadonna Enthroned (FIG.19-7) with Cimabue's version of the same subject (FIG. 19-6).

a. Sculptural solidity and weight.b. Figures that project into the light and give the illusion that they could throw shadows.

7. Giotto created a great fresco cycle in the Arena chapel inPadua, Italy. It was consecrated in the year1305. The subjects of the framed scenes dealwith:

The most poignant incidents from the lives of Mary and her parents (top level), the life andmission of Christ (middle level), and his Passion, Crucifixion, and Resurrection (bottom level).

8. List four characteristics of Giottos style as seen in the Lamentation scene (FIG. 19-9).


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a. The framed scenes are connected with formal elements such as the rocky ledge.

b. The figures are sculpturesque (aided by the use of light and shade), simple, andweighty, but without precluding motion and emotion.c. Figures are in defined groups each of which contribute to the rhythmic order of the

composition that concentrates the viewers attention on the most importantpart of the

picture.d. Figures are seen from the back, emphasizing the foreground.

9. What is the difference between true fresco and fresco secco?In true fresco (buon fresco), the paint in the form of permanent limeproof pigments is diluted inwater and applied to freshly laid lime plaster. In fresco secco, the paint is applied to an alreadydry lime plaster wall.

10. The subject of DucciosMaesta Altarpiece (FIGS. 19-10 and 19-11) was :The Virgin, as Queen of Heaven, and Child.

List three stylistic elements he derived from the Byzantine tradition:a. The compositions formality and symmetry.b. The figures and facial types of the principal angels and saints.c. The scene does not represent a narrative or present illusionistic space by the use ofmodeled forms.

List three ways in which he modified it:


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a. He relaxed the strict formality of the figures by turning them to each other.b. He individualized the faces of the four saints kneeling in the foreground.c. He softened the drapery patterning of Byzantine art, depicting them as shimmering

and glistening textiles.

11. How did Simone Martini help to form the so called International style?He adapted the insubstantial but luxuriant patterns of the French Gothic manner to Sienese art,

and in turn acquainted northern painters with the Sienese style.

List four characteristics of that style.a. Brilliant colors.b. Lavish costumes.c. Intricate ornamentation.d. Themes involving splendid processions.

12. Panoramic views of the city of Siena and its surrounding countrysidewere painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena aspart of a fresco known asEffects of Good Government in the City and in the Country.

What revolutionary aspects are found in this fresco (FIGS. 19 15 and 19-16)?Peaceful Cityshows the growing knowledge of perspective in the architectural forms.Peaceful

Country is a specific place and environment, rather than the generic earlier ancient depictions of

landscape.


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13. How were artists trained in Italy during the 14th

and 15th

centuries?They were trained as in any other profession, in the apprentice system. They started from age 7

to 15, living with a master painter. Guilds supervised training, wanting to ensure professional

reputations as well as to control the number of artists to limit competition. After leaving their

apprenticeships, artists entered related guilds and affiliated themselves with workshops asassistants to master artists. Figure painting was reserved for the master artists.16. What historical event seems to be the subject of The Triumph of Death (FIG. 19 21)?

The Black Death.

chapter 19 italian renaissance

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