Venetian Artand Mannerism

Venetian Art of the High Renaissance and Mannerism

Gentile Bellini
Doge Loredan c. 1501

Mehmet II, 1480
Doge Loredan c. 1501

High Renaissance in Venice
Bellini, San Zaccaria Altarpiece, 1505
Sacra conversazione
Vaporous sfumato, harmonious unification of modeling and shading (i.e. Saint Jerome’s beard)
Overall tonality
Linear perspective
Serene color, gently glowing forms
Dominating architecture that cradles the figures in a unified scene
Virgin and Child surrounded by a symmetrical grouping of saints
Light enters from the left
Architecture of the church reflected in the painting; painting becomes an extension of the real space of the building it is housed in

Giorgione, Tempest, 1506
Poesia (Italian term that refers to paintings whose subject matter is drawn from a mythological poem )
Dream-like, lyrical state
Deserted town with a soldier and a breast feeding woman
Bushes are shaggy, unkempt; mysterious pastoral setting
Columns–indicating fortitude–are ruined, bridge tottering
Lightning makes the scene menacing
Uncertain meaning

Giorgione, (Titian?), Pastoral Symphony, 1510
Soft forms of figures; no clear cut edges
Mysterious theme, unknown meaning
Shepherds are poets who are inspired by the nymphs who are muses
Shepherds were thought to have beautiful singing voices
Nymph dips pitcher into the well of inspiration
Chiaroscuro and nuanced use of shadowing
Rounded masses and volumes of women

Titian, Assumption, 1516-18
High altar of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Glow of color, Titian one of the great colorists in art history
Daring arrangement of figures in space, very naturally grouped
Solid figures wave their hands passionately
Natural curves and sways in the composition
Youthful Virgin initially thought to be improper because of her sumptuous beauty
Enormous size of figures, towering verticality
Light makes for a complex spatial arrangement

Titian, Madonna of the Pesaro Family , 1519-26

Titian, Madonna of the Pesaro Family , 15119-26
Battle of Santa Maura, 1502, won by Jacopo Pesaro, who kneels at left
Right: five males of patron’s family presented by Saint Francis of Assisi
Diagonals and triangles establish a complex asymmetrical spatial relationship
Virgin at the head of a right triangle
Multiple oil glazes to increase richness
Turk bowing on the extreme left
Saint Peter in the center, although not central to the composition
Very unusual arrangement not to have Madonna and Child in the center, cf. The Last Supper, San Zaccaria Altarpiece
Painterly effect in descriptive passages in the painting (i.e. glistening armor of Saint George)
One figure looks out at us, brings us directly into the composition, as is typical in High Renaissance art
Columns not part of the original composition: added later
Light comes from above left, from “on high”

Titian, Venus of Urbino
Sensuous delight in female form
May not have been a Venus, but a painting of a nude
May have been painted for the Duke of Urbino to celebrate his union with his young wife
Looks at us directly
Dog (fidelity) curled asleep, does not sense that the onlooker is unwelcome
Two servants search for something in cassoni (marriage chests), always made in pairs and intended for the storage of a wife’s trousseau
Rose (in her hands) and myrtle (on the windowsill) are bridal attributes
She welcomes the viewer

1538
1510

Correggio
Dome fresco in Parma Cathedral, 1526-30

Correggio (1494-1534
Begins a school of painting taken up by Parmigiano in Parma
Breaks up the symmetry of High Renaissance using buoyant naturalism rather than deliberate chaos
Specializes in soft voluptuous flesh
Reminiscent of Mantegna with POV
Huge influence on Baroque ceiling painting

Mannerism
Parmigianino, Madonna of the Long Neck
Exaggerated elegance, long delicate hands and neck
Ambiguous columns: one column or many? This part of painting left unfinished, as is the hair of the Christ Child
Self-portrait of artist gazes out at us at left
Mary’s small head: standards of beauty of the time
Christ’s pose inspired by Michelangelo’s Pietà
Vanishing point is low
Oddly proportioned figures, some parts of the painting are crowded others relatively empty

Mannerist Painting
emphasized complexity and virtuosity over naturalistic representation.
While the formal vocabulary of Mannerism takes much from the later works of Michelangelo (1475–1564) and Raphael (1483–1520) , its adherents generally favored compositional tension and instability rather than the balance and clarity of earlier Renaissance painting.
Some characteristics common to many Mannerist works include distortion of the human figure, a flattening of pictorial space, and a cultivated intellectual sophistication

Mannerism
Figures often seek out toward the frame rather than the center of the composition
Heavy Intertwining of Figures
Distortion and elongation of forms
Often a lack of mathematical space
Many religious and mythological subjects, portraits

How can we measure the space!!?
Jacopo Pontormo
Deposition (or Entombment) 1528

Agnolo Bronzino

Allegory
1.(Literary & Literary Critical Terms) (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) a poem, play, picture, etc., in which the apparent meaning of the characters and events is used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/allegory

Oblivion (note no back of head, no brain, o memory)
Time (note wings and hourglass)
Jest or Folly (with roses and bells on his ankle. Has stepped on a thorn – the pleasure and pain of love)
Jealousy
The Golden Apple of Venus given by Paris in the fateful contest with Minerva and Juno (Hera, Athena & Aphrodite). His reward was Helen and the Trojan War.
Fraud (serpent’s tail, honeycomb and string)
Deceit

Allegory with Venus and Cupid c. 1455
Agnolo Bronzino
A “puzzle painting” –alludes to different qualities of Love.
Jest – compared to Fraud, Jealousy and Deceit.
Note Time and Oblivion struggling with the blue cloth in an attempt to reveal (or forget) the Truth
Venus disarms her own son (Cupid)

Allegories
An allegory that takes time to unravel and understand
Greater effort = greater reward
Some allegories more univeral – David & Goliath. Some more elite. Requires specific education.
May have been a gift of Cosimo de’Medici to Francis I. ( a gift of flattery – implies that Francis will
1. that Francis will understand all the references
2. that Cosimo is inteeligent as well
3. caters to the taste of Francis: elegant, refined, erotic

Mannerism
Bronzino, Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time
Given to Francis I of France as a gift from the Medici in Florence
Extremely learned allegories that defy easy interpretation
Venus fondled by Cupid, her son, and uncovered by Father Time
Venus holds the apple she won in a beauty contest
Cupid has his eyes on the apple, but does not suspect that Venus has removed an arrow from his quiver
Folly throws roses
Vanity is beautiful girl on the outside, but an animal under her skirt
Vanity’s hands are oddly arranged
Masks symbolize falseness; doves symbolize love
Envy is green
Strong contours
High key color, flesh smooth as porcelain

1499 vs. c. 1550 w/ Mary Magdalene and Nicodemus

Rondanini Pietà
Named for the Roman palace where it long stood, the Rondanini Pietà is the sculpture on which Michelangelo was working only six days prior to his death on February 18, 1564.

Mannerism
Bologna, Rape of the Sabine Women
Uncommissioned, done to silence critics who doubted his ability to carve monumental marble works
To be seen from all sides
Spiraling movement, figura serpentinata
Arms and legs spiral in space
Nude figures
Reference to Laocoön in the crouching old man
Three bodies interlock
Ancient sources said that sculptures were made from a single block. The Renaissance discovered this was untrue. Bologna wanted to surpass the ancients.

Giovanni Bologna
Astronomy, 1573 (cast bronze)
Copernicus:
“On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres”
Published 1543
Galileo
“Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief
World Systems” 1632

Women Artists
Women’s roles in Florence, Sienna and Venice very limited
More relaxed guild system outside of these cities

Prosperzia de’Rossi (1490 – 1530)
First woman sculptor to leave works of such high quality
Knowledge of male anatomy that was unusual for the time in women

1STwoman painter not the daughter of another painter – great humanist education
Specialized in portraits, genre and miniatures
Received high praise from Michelangelo
Enjoyed the Patronage of the Spanish Royal family

Veronese, Christ in the House of Levi, 1573
Hard to notice Christ and Mary, lost in the shuffle
Architecture sets the scene, dominates the action
Rich costumes, tables magnificently set, stage-like quality
After the dinner: no one is eating any more
Chaotic diffuse composition
Christ turns water into wine for the groom of the wedding who has run out
Not many people are interested in the miracle that has taken place
Came into trouble with the Inquisition for the lack of spirituality in the painting: dwarves, jesters and German soldiers abound–daring artistic license

Mannerism in Venice
Tintoretto, Last Supper, 1592-94
Deep perspective leads your eye back into the painting to nothing in particular; dynamic diagonal
Muddy atmosphere with lamps burning fitfully
Lamps reveal angels swooping down from the sky
Only light sources: swinging oil lamps and Christ’s (and apostle’s) incandescent halos
Christ gives the Eucharist to Saint Peter
Judas on opposite side of table, without glow of halo
Long table divides earthly food from spiritual food
Hectic scene in a dining hall
Dogs, cats, servants and miscellaneous figures
Very busy composition

Finding of the body of St Mark in Alexandria , 1548

Andrea Palladio
Builds off of Alberti and Roman architecture
Harmonious symmetry and a rejection of ornamentation

Villa Rotunda, Vicenza

Palladian Architecture
Palladio, Villa Rotonda, Vicenza
Pleasure pavilion set in a pastoral setting
Perfectly symmetrical interior and exterior
Greek pediment, Roman dome, Ionic columns, Roman statues
All Palladian villas are built of brick and faced with stucco
Air of discreet opulence
Four identical colonnaded porches with a wide flight of steps
Villa faces four horizons simultaneously
Villa as temple
Centrally planned buildings considered perfect
Dome originally unglazed as in the Pantheon
No matter how you view the building it seems complete

Palladian Architecture
Palladio, Villa Rotonda, Vicenza (continued)
Pediments over doorways and windows
Building was meant to be lived in “artistically:” central hall functioned to hold learned discussions, hear music, etc.
Villa’s relationship to the setting may suggest a limitless vista; the porches that face the horizon at the same time lead to the depths within; the spatial settings that emphasize one’s view of the world also add dimension to the view of someone from within
The intimacy of the interior culminates in the great central hall

Palladio, San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
Clearly lit High Renaissance interior
Side aisles indicated on the façade
Mannerist: two temple façades intersect, creating an interplay of light and shadow
Columns with arches containing sculpture
Columns set on huge pedestals overwhelming the spectator
Dramatic setting in the Venetian lagoon
Location of intoretto’s “Last Supper”

S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

16th Century Italy
From Realism to Idealism
From surface treatment to an understanding of structure
Exploration of personality
Celebrating the dignity of humans as creatures made by God
Retained a fascination with Classicism and Rome
A Balance of physical and spiritual forces
Mannerism opens the way to Baroque movement and excess

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Venetian Artand Mannerism

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Venetian Artand Mannerism — Presentation Transcript