18 Apr 2012
School
Department
Course
Professor
Sixteenth-Century art in Northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula
Mysticism, madness and morbidity
2 tangents—
o imaginative
o interest in nature and articulating nature as realisticly as possible
Self-portrait- Albrecht Durer
o 1500 oil on wood panel
o inscription to the right—signature, 28 y.o
o recalls iconic images of Christ
salvator mundi: savior of the world
o adjusted his hair colour to look more like Christ
Salvatore mundi—showing himself as Christ
Hand raised in blessing
1500- oil on wood
interesting person—published on mathematics and
everything had measurement
combination of northern mystic ideas and south classical ideas—educated
in italy
followed prutruvis—roman architect
those types of measurements should be applied to human figures—ancient
ideas—grids of human figures (greeks)
signature trademark on left top
and quote on right
not far removed from God—saw himself as having creative authority
thought he was creative genius
REFORMATION OF THE ARTS
Two most important reformers in early 16th century were Catholic priests
and trained theologians:
o Desiderius Erasmus
o Martin Luther
Increased literacy and widespread use of printing press aided reforms,
religious debates
Germany- wide cirulation of Luther’s writihings
Years of political and religious strife—grave impact on artists and art
o Because of reformist relgious sympathies
Widespread destruction of religious art
o Thought luther himself never directly supported iconoclasm
o Iconoclasm: the smashing of religious images
GERMANY
German speaking regions—arts flourished until religious upheavals and
iconoclastic purges in mid century
Cities had strong business and trade interests—ordered portraits of
themselves and fine furnishings
Albrecht Durer—major commercial success
Sculpture
Worked in stone and bronze (like Italians)—but most original work in
wood
o Finely grain limewood
Tilman Reimenschenider
o Became master is 1485—largest workshop
o In his altarpiece—pain panel moment at last supper when Christ
revealed that one follower would betray him
o Rather than individual portraits of apostles—repeated number of
facial types
o Was also politically active in city’s government
Painting
Matthias Grunewald—currents of medival mysticism and emotional
spirituality to create extraordinarily moving paintings
Albrecht Duerer—intense observation of the world to render lifelike
representations of nature, mathematical perspective to create convincing
illusions of space, proportions to standardize depictions of human figure
Matthias Grunewald-
Best known for painting shutters or wings attached to Nikolaud
Hagenauer’s carved Isenheim Altarpiece
o Weekends altarpiece was closed—viewers saw grisly image of
Crucifixtion in dark landscape
Isenheim Altarpiece (closed)- Matthias Grunewald
o 1510-1515—oil on wood panel
o Lamentation- lifesize figures of SS. Sebastian and Anthony Abbot
(both associated with the plague)
o Standing on trompe l’oeil pedestals on the
wings of altarpiece
o Descriptions of Crucifixtion—described horrific
torture, appears to be decaying
o Two Mary and two John- john the evangelist
holding fallen mary magdalen, john Baptist holding a lamb, virgin
mary at foot of cross
o Predella below—Jesus’ bereaved mother and
friends prepare body for burial
o First opening: The Annunciation, Nativity and Resurrection—for
Sundays and Feast days
Annunciation of left wing- Golden Mass- divine motherhood
of Virgin
o Second opening: Haugenauer’s sculpture—reserved for special
festivals for St. Anthony
St. Anthony is portrait of donor and administrator of hospital—Guido
Guersi—coat of arms painted on rock
About 9 feet tall- life-size figures
Viewers feel like they’re interacting with piece
On weekdays—would see only closed version—dark gloomy landscape,
large black areas
Time of crucifixtion—darkness fell at noon
Lamentation—not on slides but will see in book
Predella: piece at bottom
Profound impact
Theme—death and pain
o St. Anthony abbot and
o Both saints are associated with plague—who you would pray to
o Pain and death- references to plague and physical frailty
Christ occupies own space
o Mary Magdalane and Mary
o The two johns
Hand—gruesome, very dramatic image, fully in human space, horrific
o
Albrecht Durer:
Studious, analytical, observant and meticulous
Apprenticeship in gold working, stained glass design, painting and making
woodcuts (learned from Michael Wolgemut)
First major publication—The Apocalypse
Four Horsemen of the Apocalyspe
1497-1498—woodcut
based on figures described in Revelation
Conquest- crowned rider, with bow on white horse
War-rider with sword on red horse
Plague and Famine- rider with set of scales on black horse
Death- Rider on sickly pale horse
Created compact, overlapping group of wild riders
Probably did not cut his own woodblocks but employed
skilled carver who followed his drawings
Adam and Eve
o 1504- Engraving
o engraving- an intaglio printmaking process of inscribing an image,
design, or letters onto a mental or wood surface from which a print
is made—usually drawn with sharp implement (burin) directl onto
surface of plate
o grisaille: style of monochromatic painting in shades of gray
o documented use of ideal human proportions based on roman
copies of ancient Greek sculpture
o filled landscape with symbolic content reflecting medieval theory
that after Adam and Eve—disobeyed God
o Four human temperments or personalities
Melancholy elk
Choleric cat
Phlegmatic ox
Sanguine (sensual) rabbit
o Mouse is symbol of Satan
o Parrot perches on branch—hanging from it is Durer’s signature
o Engraving
o Ideal human proportions of what he saw in roman art—idealized
human figures from roman statues
o True to nature now--- classicism—and combining with real view of
the would
o Interest in morbid site—but not the most prominent thing in his
work
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Martin Luther’s favorite painter
Nymph of the Spring- Lucas Cranach the Elder ** USE FOR ESSAY***
1537—oil on panel
****compared with Venus of Urbino
o sleeping nymph Renaissance theme, not ancient one