Introduction to Art History 2 deBeaufort

1. Introduction to Art History

2. Art

3. a “PAINTING ABOVE THE
COUCH”

6. IN THE TIME BEFORE COUCHES…….

7. ART EXISTED ONLY TO
A. GLORIFY ELITE RULERS

8. ART EXISTED ONLY TO
A. GLORIFY ELITE RULERS
B. MAKE VISUAL RELIGIOUS
NARRATIVE

9. Until….The Dutch Golden Age !

10. The Dutch got very Rich
from Trading
A new MIDDLE CLASS
EMERGES
With MONEY to spend
$$$$$$$

11. So…The Average Guy
Finally Gets a Painting
Above the Couch
Mostly the Dutch had a TASTE
For Portraits, Still-Lifes, and
Landscapes

12. Some ordinary non-rich
people happily posing for the
painter

13. If You won the Lottery (like the Dutch Middle Class), is this the house YOU would buy ?

14. When we talk about art on a casual (above the couch) level, mostly we are talking
about TASTE.
Taste as an aesthetic, sociological, economic and
anthropological concept refers to cultural patterns of choice
and preference regarding aesthetic judgments.

23. What determines aesthetic judgments…your taste?

24. Are we born with it?

25. And why should we even care about things we don’t like ?

26. Do you like this painting for
example ???
Who’s couch is it going to go over
exactly ???
Edvard Munch, “The Scream”
1893, National Gallery, Oslo Norway.

30. ART is reflective of the
HUMAN EXPERIENCE…good
and bad…
..not just an interior design
object to put above couches!
Edvard Munch, “The Scream”
1893, National Gallery, Oslo Norway.

31. ART and BEAUTY
It has MANY purposes….
And certainly beauty is one of
them…
Art should comfort the disturbed
and disturb the comfortable!

32. Socialist Realism……pretty as a picture???
What if ART was beautiful
But masking a sinister REALITY !!?

33. NOT SO PRETTY
Soviet Union, Stalin's regime
(1924-53): 20 million DEAD.
“As long as art is the beauty
parlor of civilization, neither art
nor civilization is secure.”
-John Dewey

34. ART HISTORY is NOT
“judgment”
What makes one work of art “better”
than another is highly subjective.
Which of these do you have a “taste”
for ??
Michelangelo, David, 1501-1504

35. Therefore…JUDGING
….is the job of art criticism, and art
connoisseurship.
Image source: http://www.marshall.edu/cofa/art/arthistory/

36. Judgment
In fact, it might be useful to define art
history by contrasting it to 2 related
fields that DO involve JUDGMENT:
•Art Connoisseurship
•Art Criticism
Image source: http://www.marshall.edu/cofa/art/arthistory/

37. Art Connoisseurship
Estimating the market value of a work
of art is the job of the art connoisseur.
“Judging” The Dollar Amount
Sotheby’s auction, May 3, 2006, where Picasso’s Dora Maar with Cat sold for $95.2 million
Art Knowledge News

38. Art Criticism
Professional Art criticism involves
evaluation and judgment…in the
public arena..
….”making and breaking” careers
Mr. Art Critic, written and directed by Richard Brauer, 2008
Image source:
http://www.theinsider.com/news/857730_Simon_Cowell_Ba
ck_In_Touch_With_His_First_Love

39. But Ultimately you have
the right to your own
Judgment
You should be encouraged to form
your own opinion about what you like
and dislike no matter what the Critic or
Connoisseur say.
Image source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/gowhere-hip-hop/2009/12/

40. Art History
Art History then is the study of works
of art in historical context

41. Art History
It is concerned with what
art meant to the people
who made and used it
within a HISTORICAL
CONTEXT.
Francois Joseph Heim, Charles X Distributing Awards to Artists Exhibiting at the Salon of 1824 at the Louvre, 1827
Metapedia

42. Biography
To understand CONTEXT...Art
Historians study the lives of artists?
Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait as an Artist, 1887-88. Oil on canvas, 65 x 50.5 cm. Van Gogh
Museum, Amsterdam
Artchive

43. Biography
The Artist’s biography is only ONE
component of art history, but it is not
always the most important…there are
others..
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait, c. 1659-1660

44. Like…The Role of the
Artist
Prior to the Renaissance, the artist was
was merely thought of as a craftsman
Nanni di Banco, Sculptors at Work, 1416. Orsanmichele, Florence
lib-art.com

45. Role of the Artist
Artists were expected to be skilled,
BUT not creative.
“Do as you are instructed”
Image source: http://www.thekiesels.com/VA_2003vacPg2.html

46. Role of the Artist
Works of art were commissioned by
patrons who gave specific
instructions about what they
wanted. “Creativity” and
“originality” were not valued.

47. Role of the Patron
Therefore Art historians must learn
about the patrons who commissioned
works of art..
Pope Julius the ii “The Warrior Pope”
Not a nice dude
Raphael, Pope Julius II, 1511
London National Gallery

48. Role of the Patron
Often, the work is more about the
patron than it is about the artist who
made it
Jacques Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the St. Bernard Pass, 1801
Enrico Scrovegni giving the gift of his chapel to
angels, Last Judgment, Arena Chapel, Padua, c.
1305

49. Methodology
How do art historians study works of
art?

50. Methodology
1. Subject Matter
• Description,
• narration
2. Interpretation/Content
• Iconography
• cultural analysis
3. Style
• formal analysis

51. Subject Matter
What is the subject matter?
Georgia O’Keefe, Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. 4, 1930
Oil on canvas, 3’ 4” X 2’ 6”
National Gallery of Art

52. Subject Matter
Who or what is represented

53. Subject Matter
…
Who was George Washington, and
why is he significant?
This involves:
Description
Narration
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

54. Description
The visual facts:
How does he appear
How is he standing (pose)
What is he wearing?
What else is in the room?
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

55. Narration
What is happening?
What is he doing?
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

56. INTERPETATION/CONTENT
After we describe and narrate the
subject matter we can make an
interpretation….and find the truth
behind the image…it’s “meaning”:
Why is he posed that way?
Why were those particular objects
chosen?
What purpose was this portrait
meant to serve?
What was the message?
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

57. Iconography
A big part of Content/Interpretation is
Iconography: the interpretation of
SIGNS and SYMBOLS
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

58. ICONOGRAPHY
Example…Painted portraits of political
leaders were the “media” of their day
They were supposed to communicate
a message about the person
represented
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

59. The Clothing
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796.
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery
Allan Ramsay, King George III (in coronation robes), 1761-1762
National Portrait Gallery

60. The Clothing
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796.
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

61. The Clothing
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796.
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

62. The Clothing
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796.
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery
“Stuart painted Washington from life, showing
him standing up, dressed in a black velvet suit
with an outstretched hand held up in an
oratorical manner (which could be
characterized as "commanding and stern yet
open and inclusive"). In the background
behind Washington is a row of two Doric
columns, with another row to the left.
Wrapped around and between the columns
are red tasseled drapes.”

63. The Clothing
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796.
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery
“Washington's suit is plain and simple, and the
sword that he holds on his left side is a dress
sword and not a battle sword (symbolizing a
democratic form of government, rather than a
monarchy or military dictatorship). In the sky,
storm clouds appear on the left while a rainbow
appears on the right, signifying the American
Revolutionary War giving way to the peace and
prosperity of the new United States after the 1783
Treaty of Paris.”

64. The Clothing
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796.
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery
“On and under the tablecloth-draped table to the
left are two books: Federalist—probably a
reference to the Federalist Papers—and Journal
of Congress—the Congressional Record). Another
five books are under the table . . . . The pen and
paper on the table signify the rule of law . . . .”

65. To RECAP:
Subject Matter:
The “what” of the work (who, what,
where)
Interpretation/Content:
The “why” of the work (meaning,
purpose, message)
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery

66. Style
What is style?

67. Style
Style refers to the visual characteristics
of a work of art
Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907
Museum of Modern Art

68. Style

69. Period Style
A style that is typical of a particular
time period
Jacopo da Pontormo, Entombment of Christ, 1525-
1528
Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long Neck, 1534-
1540

70. Regional Style
A style that is typical of a particular
region
Jean Hey? or the Master of Moulins, Portrait of Margaret of
Austria, oil on panel, c. 1490
Alesso Baldovinetti, Portrait of a Lady, tempera and oil o
wood, c. 1465 (National Gallery, London)

71. Personal Style
An individual artist’s unique
“personal” style
Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1888

72. Evolution of Style
How style changes over time
Giotto di Bondone, Ognissante Madonna, c. 1310
Unknown Master, Virgin and Child Enthroned with St
Dominic, St Martin and Two Angels, c. 1290 Web
Gallery of Art

73. Evolution of Style
Changing attitudes towards the body
Albrecht Dürer, Fall of Man (Adam and Eve), 1504
Expulsion of Adam and Eve, Hunterian Psalter, c. 1170

74. Evolution of Style
Composition and lighting
Caravaggio, Deposition, c. 1600-1604
Jan Vermeer, Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, c.
1662

75. Evolution of Style
Concepts of “realism”
Gustave Courbet, the Stone Breakers, 1849
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Princesse de Broglie,
1851-1853

76. Evolution of Style
Capturing effects of atmosphere and light
Claude Monet, Boulevard des Capucines, 1873
Jacob Van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem from the Dunes at
Overveen, c. 1670

77. Evolution of Style
Rejection of realism
Paul Gauguin, The Yellow Christ, 1889
Ernst Kirchner, Head of a Woman, 1913

78. Evolution of Style
Evolution towards abstraction
Georges Braque, The Portuguese, 1911
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, 1912

79. Evolution of Style
Elimination of subject matter
Wassily Kandinsky, Improvisation 28, 1912
Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1924