Download Lecture 1 – Middle Ages to Rococo

©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread Lecture 1 – Middle Ages to Rococo The term Middle Ages or The medieval era is, as so many others a bit tricky and un-­‐
precise. Generally it is regarded to be the time between the fall of the last Roman Empire in the fifth century and The Italian renaissance in the fifteenth. In art history it this span can be divided in three periods: Early Middle Ages (5th to 11th century), Romanesque period (11th-­‐12th century) and Gothic (mid 12th – 15th century). Most art and architecture in Europe during this time was highly focused on religious subjects, Christian to be precise. During the early middle ages the arts were highly influenced by the Roman Empire. It capsuled large parts of the European region within its borders, but as an effect major parts of the world were shut out. This, however, should not be interpreted in such a way that the Roman Empire was the only practitioners of art. Art outside these borders evolved in its own right and according to its own standards. And like as in what later becomes Europe, both abstract and figurative art was represented. Already in the early Middle Ages the Western Roman Empire begun to loose its hold over the region, and there was a major shift in power. The Christian church had gained power over vast regions. In this period of transition between two major powers you would have had imagery that in many ways was a fusion between influences from the faltering Roman Empire and the ever-­‐growing Christian church. Once Emperor Constantine had established the Christian Church as a power in state in 311 A.D, it was immediately faced with various problems. Previous to this the Christian faith had been banned, and the places for worship had been practically non-­‐existent. But once established the need for a place for worshipers to meet grew quickly. Even if inspiration from the “pagan” faith seeped into Christian imagery it was not possible to transform the old places of worship into churches. The temples usually held a shrine with a statue of the god, while processions and ceremonies took place outside. The idea with the Christian room of worship was, however, for the congregation to assemble and listen to the priest delivering the sermon from the high altar. Thusly the worshippers needed a different kind of room than those of the traditional roman temples. What then became the model for the church were the so-­‐called basilicas, buildings used as covered market-­‐halls and public courts. These looked roughly similar to what later became the basilica church – where the plan consists from a large oblong hall, with narrow halls on each side ending in a semi-­‐
circular niche or napse. The main hall and the narrower ones flanking it became known as “ships”, while the area holding the high altar became the choir. Concerning art from the Middle Ages, it makes the most sense to focus of traditional media like painting and sculpture. Materials and approaches in artistic work do, however, change greatly over time. 1 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread Medieval painting was, as said before, typically concerned with religious imagery. Artists who were, more than anything, craftsmen, made it. They were organized in guilds, as were for example black smiths and carpenters. Paintings were made to order mostly by the Christian church, and rarely by private buyers. Paintings, or images at all for that matter, were in no way as common as they are today. In modern society we encounter images constantly, but during the middle ages this is not the case. Most people only came across a large quantity of imagery in church, since this was the only publically accessible space wealthy enough to order pieces of art. Images in medieval churches could be found in variations, from the flat surfaces of the painted icon, the frescos on the walls and the stained glass windows to the three dimensional sculptures. In the very earliest of Christians churches, however, many of the leaders were opposed to using three dimensional imagery, since it would have reminded the worshipers too much of the pagan gods that they had abandoned. Earlier sculptures in religious context were viewed as objects really representing the deity in question. For example a statue of Zeus would have been an actual representation of the god, while a statue in a Christian church was not in the same way the saint itself. Painting, however, was looked on more kindly. Some, mostly those in the (Latin) western part of the empire, thought them useful because they helped to remind the congregation of the teachings. Pope Gregory the great (end of 6th century A.D) believed that “painting can do for the illiterate what writing does for those who can read”. The question of whether images did or did not belong in church proved to be a highly contentious issue for the ever-­‐growing Christian faith. While the western part of the roman empire, led by the Latin pope believed that pictures were holy, the eastern Greek-­‐ speaking church (with its seat in Byzantium/Constantinople) were against all forms of images of any religious images. They were called iconoclasts (image-­‐ smashers). They were opposed to the seemingly pagan worship of holy images. Their opponents, however, argued that they were not worshipping the images as such, but rather the saints that were manifested through the images. In the end, those who were pro-­‐imagery came out victorious. Inside the churches a reoccurring motif was the Majestas Domini or Christ in Majesty. Over time, as you will see, Christ has been depicted in many different ways, reflecting the view on his role in Christianity. The Majestas Domini depicts a frontal image of an enthroned Christ. He is here at the centre of composition, surrounded by biblical figures, seated on a throne. His position, seated in the centre, atop a sort of domelike structure and surrounded by a divine light in the shape of a circle (a mandorla), suggests that he is viewed as ruler of the world. You can later put this in contrast with the suffering Christ on the crucifix, and consider what that might say about the belief system. The surrounding figures vary from context and point in time, and can for example be the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). 2 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread This way of depicting a major religious figure owes a lot to the imagery surrounding the ancient deities and roman emperors. Always note the dimensions in pre-­‐renaissance painting. The physical size of the person depicted often says something about his/her importance in relation to the other figures. Outside the European borders, in the Byzantine Empire, a similar image developed – The Christ Pantokrator (ruler of All). Here Christ is often standing, holding a book representing the Gospel while raising the other hand. The imagery leaked from one region to the other though, and variations on the subject are found all over the Christian world. It was painted both inside the church (often as a fresco in the semi-­‐dome of the apse) and in hand written religious scripture. The gesture made with the hand on your left is a traditional gesture of an orator, claiming his right to speak. (Note: Orators were public speakers in ancient Rome). Why then bother about ways of depicting Christ hundreds of years ago? Because it says a lot about the way people viewed the Christian belief system; a major part of what made Europe into what it is today. Later medieval imagery shows a similar subject, namely Christ in Judgement. The figure is similar, but from the 13th century the robes are drawn back, showing the wounds of the passion. The surrounding figures are at this point divided between those ascending to heaven on the right side of Christ, and those dragged down to hell on his left. Of course artist worked in different media than painting. For example we have the Bayeux-­‐tapestry, an embroidered work from the time between 1066 and 1082, which shows the battle of Hastings. Also common during medieval times was the sculpture of Mary, mother of Christ. The Virgin and child was also a rather common motif in for example 14th century Italian painting. An image of Mary seated holding the Christ Child in her lap is known as The Throne of wisdom. One old and well-­‐preserved example is The Virgin and Child from Auvergne region, France – an oak sculpture from the 12th century. This image is a rigid depiction of mother and child, whilst later imagery is much more emotional. During the 14th century Europe suffered famines, wars and plagues, which affected the religious imagery were the artists were interested in depicting intense emotion – either ecstatic joy or extreme suffering. One type of imagery that shows this clearly is the depiction of the Virgin mourning her lost son. One example is this 88 cm tall wooden sculpture from the middle Rhine region in Germany. It’s dated to about 1330, and if you look closely you can see that neither the face of Christ or the Virgin is serene or contemplative, but rather shows suffering, anguish and grief. There are also imagery that depicts the love between mother and son. Medieval architectural history mostly concerns churches. The finances to actually build large, artistic structures were only found within the Christian church. The church building was of course an important part of the belief-­‐system. Building 3 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread impressive and imposing structures has always been a manifestation of power, regardless if the building is secular or not. These buildings were often the only stone buildings in the smaller villages, and the only considerable structures for miles around. Many of the community’s activities were also cantered around the church. Roughly you can divide the Middle Ages in two architectural periods – the Romanesque and the Gothic period. The architecture of the Romanesque, or Norman, period is signified by solidity and stability. The general shapes of earliest roman basilicas were largely kept in the Romanesque church, however sometimes a transept was added – to make the layout look more like a cross. The classical elements in the basilicas, such as the columns1, disappeared gradually and were replaced by round arches on massive piers. The decorations were few, as were the windows. The walls were massive and unbroken, with towers and structures reminiscent of a fortress. One practical reason for the massive structure was the problem of building durable roofs of stone. The older churches were usually built with wooden roofs, but this did not suite the otherwise grand style of the Romanesque churches. To hold the weight and barrel vaults one therefor used massive pillars. Architects continuously worked on bettering the technical aspects, and soon came up with a way to make the architecture lighter. Small arches, or ribs, running across the vaults soon became common practice and lead the way towards the gothic style. As said before decorations in Romanesque churches were few. The decors present had specific functions and expressed a definite idea connected to the church. Places often decorated were the spaces around the main doors, leading into the church. Signs of a new style started to appear in the 12th century, when the Gothic style began to emerge in Europe. This brought on a lighter sort of architecture, the parts of the building became over all less massive, and a whole new architectural expression made itself known. The gothic style came from northern France, and was in many ways a huge leap forward concerning technical aspects. The new way of vaulting, by means of crosswise arches, made it possible to move away from the thick massive walls and towards a much more open and light church building. A few distinctive characteristics about gothic churches are the pointed arches and the general emphasis on the vertical shape. There was an enhanced focus on windows, often intricate stain glass creations. To sustain the tall structures, buttresses were built on the outside. As is natural the style differed from region to region and from country to country, but specific example might be the French cathedrals in Reims, Chartres and Paris (Notre Dame). The general feeling of the gothic church differed very much from that of the Romanesque. While the Romanesque had given a heavy impression of protection against the evil powers of the outside world, the gothic projected an image of 1 For different styles (orders) of classical columns, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Column#Classical_orders 4 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread something shimmering and otherworldly. The church was a representation of heaven of earth. One will note, when looking at imagery from medieval times, that there is a significant change from classical art. Classical sculpture in particular had been very focused on the resemblance to nature, whilst painted imagery was less so. During the Middle Ages the figures became less and less naturalistic. The figures instead became stiff and motionless. As to why this might be there are several possible explanations. For one the Middle Ages was, in some ways, really a dark age. Disease and poor crops haunted Europe, and it’s possible that this removed focus from advanced artistic practice. But it’s too easy to say that people just forgot how to make art. Another explanation of the change could be that artist made a deliberate choice to make the images less realistic. Not unlike what the abstract modern artists later did. The religious imagery’s primary purpose was not to depict the world, but to tell stories about religious events. And for this one does not really need a realistic depiction. The only demand is that it conveys the symbols in an understandable way. Also, scenes in the bible that were on the more grotesque side could have been more easily depicted in a less realistic fashion. This changed over time though, as we move from early Middle Ages towards the gothic era. If artists first were moving away from the realistic depiction around the time of the early middle ages and Romanesque period, they started to turn back in the gothic era. The sculptures took on more personality and the expressions became more vivid. You can see examples of this in the sculptures at Chartres Cathedral. The faces were no longer the serene, mystical ones of earlier times, but actual human faces showing suffering and lament. The economic and artistic centre of Europe during this time was France. Italy, which later became a major cultural centre, was at this time largely plagued by warring states. Now leaving the architecture we will try to find a link between the middle ages and the next period in art history – namely the renaissance. One way to recognize medieval painting is the overall lack of realistic space. The images are in a sense very flat. Come the renaissance this changes. The realism in painting increases, mainly due to two major changes: Oil paint and Central Perspective. The use of perspective in painting had been seen in roman murals, but disappeared completely for a long time. With Italian painter Giotto in the 14th century it re-­‐
emerged. Florentine painter Paulo Uccello made even further development of perspective in painting in the late 14th century and early 15th century. 5 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread The renaissance is a time when Europe went through major change. It was a step away from the medieval focus on the authority of religion and towards thought that valued common sense. The worldview was one of classical, humanistic but also Christian model. Renaissance artists were interested in the classical, i.e. the ancient Greek world, symmetry, movement, perspective, order and space. Painting became more three-­‐dimensional, which can be seen in one of the earliest painters of the Italian renaissance -­‐ Giotto di Bondone and his frescos in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. The invention of central perspective can for example be seen in Paulo Uccellos Battle of San Romano – triptych. You can see how the motif is built so that it strives to a central point in the back, giving the illusion of spatial depth. This is crucial to the development of all later painting. In Fra Angelicos annunciation motif we see the budding awareness of space and interest in realistic depictions. The figures of Mary and Gabriel inside the chapel are shown as larger that Adam and Eve (being banished from paradise) to the left, indicating that the first pair is closer to the beholder. The figures are still somewhat distorted in their proportions, and the light shining on Mary is no natural light – but an almost solid beam pointing towards her and reminding us that renaissance art was yet to reach its full bloom. The melting pot of the renaissance was Italy and cities like Florence and Venice. One of the first main characters of Italian renaissance was architect Filippo Brunelleschi. He discarded the gothic style completely and instead aimed to create a style that valued classical ideals of proportions and beauty. He brought in the elements like the classical columns, using them in a way that was adapted to demands of the time. His most famous creation is the Florence Cathedral. The renaissance was very much centred on observation of the world. This influenced all forms of artistic practice. We find a typical early renaissance sculptor in Florentine Donatello. His most famous work is the statue of David, and is the first known free-­‐ standing sculpture since ancient times. During the middle ages the statues were often confined to the walls. They were part of a décor attached to a vault, a wall or a door – but with the beginning of the renaissance they became increasingly freestanding. Also crucial was the use of oil paint as an artistic medium. It had been used before, but with the renaissance artists from the Netherlands it became widespread. Jan van Eyck has been linked to this pioneering use, and the true possibilities of oil paint can be seen in his work Man in red turban and the Arnolfini portrait. The latter is also an instructive example on renaissance painting when it comes to content and motifs. Interest in everyday motifs increased rapidly, and what we see here is not a portrait of biblical figures, but of an upper middle class couple about to be married. 6 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread This sort of motif also suggests the social changes in Europe. After a long era with a dominant church, there were increased secular powers in Europe. The merchants, princes and royal families had high demands on there surroundings, both concerning art and architecture. Books like Machiavelli’s Il Principe explained the appropriate way of life of the prince, including living arrangements, social activities, interests etc. These courts commissioned mainly portraits. Portraits were used for representational purposes. Here we find examples like the Arnolfini engagement portrait, but also less obvious examples like the Ghent Altarpiece. It was to be placed in a chapel, but it was not ordered by the church but by a private patron. These patrons are portrayed on the outside of the triptych, seen when it is closed. They flank Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the evangelist. Above them the Annunciation is taking place, and in the upper part. The inside of the altarpiece depicts, among other things, God, Adam and Eve. Many artists continued to stick to religious imagery. One of the more interesting examples is Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. His imagery mainly focuses on human sin and destruction. His paintings often contain strange, odd and fantastical elements. Best known is the triptych Garden of earthly delights. Generally the interest in humans increased. Main focus was on their mechanics rather than their spiritual life. Leonardo da Vinci is known for his interest in mans anatomy, which can be seen in The Vitruvian man and many of his drawings. He also came up with the Sfumato technique. Despite this growing interest in non-­‐spiritual life, the church was still a very important part of society. Much effort was put into decorating the churches, and this can be exemplified with the Sistine Chapel ceilings decorated by Michelangelo. The last judgement also shows the increased awareness of space and the human body, and it’s an intricate mix of classical mythology and Christian theology. Michelangelo was what one may call a true renaissance man. The ideal for a man during the renaissance to show expertise in a significant number of subject areas, and Michelangelo was both an accomplished painter and sculptor. Renaissance painters such as Rafael often worked with Christian motifs, making them less idealized and more human. Example: La Madonna dei Garofani, where the virgin can be seen playing with her small child, which is miles away from the rather stiff icons of the middle ages. The high renaissance was very much concerned with harmony and balanced composition. This gave way to more exaggerated and drawn out forms during the mannerism. A very clear example of this is the paintings of Parmigianino. The Mannerist style It lasted from about 1520 to 1580. North of Italy, mainly in Holland, the end of the 16th century meant the emerging of the so-­‐called Genre-­‐painting. Genre paintings focused on depicting every day life of the working class. Pieter Breughel the elder belongs to the first generation of Dutch genre painters. 7 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread Overlapping with mannerism was the next big era of art history, namely the Baroque. The baroque is characterized by a great emphasis of light and shadow, swelling forms and rich colours. The balance of the renaissance gave way to a high portion of drama. The word Baroque means ‘absurd’ or ´grotesque´, and like many of the terms we used today it was coined through mockery. The baroque artists and architects chose to break off completely from the renaissance style, which was not looked kindly upon. Typical baroque architecture would have many of the classical elements of the renaissance, but used in a voluptuous and bombastic way with grand, swelling forms. Examples can be found in the church Il Gesú in Rome, where the architects were Vignola and della Porta. And even though Michelangelo supposedly offered to paint the ceiling for free, the job was given to the painter Farnese. In sculpture the baroque style is evident in works of the Italian artist Giovanni Bernini. In Rome we find St Theresa in Ecstasy. Considering this is a saint there might be some surprise in seeing how Bernini has chosen to model her face. Rather than a sort of elevated, religious ecstasy there is something very physical and human about her fulfilment. The religious ecstasy has here taken a very dramatic human form. The painters of the baroque had some general characteristics. The colours used were rich, and the contrast between light and dark were used to create dramatic scenes. Diagonal compositions of figures in the paintings were very common. Two artists who made way for this change in style was Tintoretto and El Greco, with their early disregard for the symmetry and order of the renaissance. Famous baroque artists are Caracci, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt and Velasquez, who all had the characteristics of diagonal compositions, contrasts between light and shadow and an over all dramatic feeling. Velasquez most famous painting, Las Meninas, might be one of the most thoroughly analysed paintings in western history of art. It is an odd composition to be a portrait, since what we see is really the production of the portrait. The portrait is not here a commissioned work by a royal family in the same manner as before, but something different. Questions that are raised concern that it is that he’s really painting, who is the man in the doorway and so forth. In the back of the room we see what might be a mirror, reflecting a couple. Are they the motif of the large canvas, so that what he really shows us here is a “behind the scenes” image? Caravaggio is mostly known for his treatment of light and dark, creating dramatic effects of space. In The calling of St Matthew we can see how the light falls from a single source – the window, creating a very emotional scene. The effect is called tenebrism. Note that the paintings as wholes often convey a sense of drama, and that emotions seems to run high – but that the face of Christ is almost always completely serene. Many of the baroque artists were very keen on keeping to the classical beauty of the image, even if the moved away from symmetry. Artists like Caracci and Caravaggio 8 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread seldom whished to convey the extreme suffering of being crucified, but rather the peacefulness that came with the ultimate sacrifice. Another important change was the way that saints and other holy figures were portrayed. If you look at Caravaggios painting Doubting Thomas, it is obvious that the apostles are no longer the stiff figures of the middle ages, but rather human beings who could easily be mistaken for a farmer. The earlier mentioned diagonal composition can be seen in Peter Paul Rubens The elevation of the cross, as well as in Caravaggios Entombment, where the whole motif is constructed as a diagonal shape moving from the bottom right corner to the upper left corner. In the works of Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn examples of both these effects can be seen. The effect of light and dark comes to obvious use in one of his more famous works – The night watch, were the light is concentrated to the centre of the painting, thereby putting focus on what is going on there. Rubens was the major artist of the Dutch region, but had talented disciples such as Vandyke. Vandyke was mainly a portraitist, and a very popular one. He painted portraits for the upper class and the upper middle class. One very important thing to notice is that thus far there have been no mentions of female artists. Doubtlessly there have been female painters in history of art, but for a long time they were remarkably few. One of the first well-­‐known female painters appears during the baroque era – Artemisia Genteleschi. A disciple of Caravaggio, her treatment of light and dark, as well as colour, is highly dramatic. Her main subjects were often strong women or women exposed to the male gaze, notable examples being Judith beheading Holofernes and Susanna and the elders. Genteleschi was raped at an early age, and these events can be assumed to have had an effect on her as an artist. The want for beauty that was common among the baroque artist made way for movements in art that tended to beautify nature. Whilst Caravaggio painted the apostles like common peasants, artists like Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorraine were doing something very different. What they did was an alternative to the heavy baroque, and can be explained as a slightly mythical, neo-­‐classical style. Poussin’s work still holds some of the baroque characteristics, but not to the extent of for example Caravaggio. As you might have noted every preference of one era is often contradicted by something different, and thereby gives way to new styles. The baroque was by the 18th century considered overly heavy and bombastic and was therefor forced to step aside in favour of the much lighter and more playful rococo. The rococo artists aimed for a more imagery that was more playful and light, and abandoned many serious motifs in favour of a more decorative and dreamy style. The linear baroque way of constructing the motif gave way to something that was 9 ©Karolina Nilsson 2014 Do not copy or spread more disorganized and joyful. The scales of the décor became smaller and less imposing. Rococo had its largest impact in France, Austria and Germany. A notable rococo architect is Johann Baltahasar Neumann, who built the Kaisersaal in Würtzberg, Germany. He often worked with Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, who painted the frescos in the Kaisersaal. Examples may be found in French painters such as Antoine Watteau, Francoise Boucher and Jean Honoré Fragonard. Watteau painted, among others, Embarkation for Cythera. Cythere is in Greek mythology the birthplace of the goddess of love. The painting shows a group of people in a joyous meeting. In France, where they were most common, these motifs of the higher aristocracy having parties and get-­‐togethers in idealized landscapes were called fêtes galantes. The colours of the rococo were light and powdery, often with blue and pinkish hues. Honoré Fragonard’s The Swing is also a typical rococo painting. The motif is an easygoing, frivolous one and the pleasure of the eye is what is most central. The rococo style was however short lived. It was mainly popular among the upper class, and was soon dismissed for being too far from reality and too garish and frivolous. 10