Painting #114 - Italian Mannerism

Italian Renaissance :

Mannerism - Part 2/2

Parmigianino  (1503–1540, Italian)

Madonna with the Long Neck
- Parmigianino
- oil on wood  (216 × 132 cm)  1535-40
- Uffizi  (Florence) 

A garzone grinding pigments
- Parmigianino
- red chalk on paper  (20 x 16 cm)  1530s
- Victoria and Albert Museum  (London)   

The drawing shows a painter’s assistant (garzone) grinding, on the lid of a chest, mineral pigments which will be mixed with oil to make paint: it was the first stage of the artistic training within the workshop practice.

In the 16th century, Venice was an independent city state, with a huge 10,000-man fleet. It was a key Italian trading port for silk, pigments and fragrant. It was a renowned trading center for pigments.

* 16th-Century Renaissance Pigments and Painting Techniques

* Renaissance Colour Palette  

Dosso Dossi (c.1489–1542, Italian) Ferrara school

Circe and her Lovers in a Landscape
- Dosso Dossi
- oil on canvas  (100 x 136 cm)  c.1514-1516
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington) 

Circe is a goddess of magic in Greek mythology. She is a daughter of the god Helios. Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of potions and herbs.

Lorenzo Lotto (c.1480–1556/57, Italian) Venetian school

Saint Catherine 
- Lorenzo Lotto
- oil on panel  (57 x 50 cm)  c.1522
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington)  

Domenico Beccafumi (1486–1551, Italian) Sienese school 

The Fall of the Rebel Angels
- Domenico di Pace Beccafumi
- oil on panel  (347 x 227 cm)  1528
- Pinacoteca Nazionale  (Siena)  

El Greco (1541–1614, Greek-Spanish) Spanish Renaissance 

Doménikos Theotokópoulos, most widely known by his nickname El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek  painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance.

Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes
- El Greco
- oil on canvas  (194 x 103 cm)  1597-99
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington) 

Laokoon
- El Greco
- oil on canvas  (142 x 193 cm)  1610
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington) 

Cf.

Laocoön and His Sons
- Hagesandros, Athenedoros & Polydoros
- marble  (208 × 163 × 112 cm) early first century BCE
- Vatican Museums  (Vatican City) 

Aka the Laocoön Group. 

Copy after an Hellenistic original from ca. 200 BC. 

Found in the Baths of Trajan, 1506.



Renaissance humanism

Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, typically non-religious. Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th to 16th centuries.

Humanists sought to create a citizenry able to speak and write with eloquence and clarity. This was to be accomplished through “studia humanitatis”, which denotes secular literary and scholarly activities (in grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, moral philosophy, and ancient Greek and Latin studies) that the humanists thought to be essentially humane and Classical studies rather than divine…

Humanism was a pervasive cultural mode and not the program of a small elite, a program to revive the cultural legacy, literary legacy, and moral philosophy of classical antiquity. There were important centres of humanism in Florence, Naples, Rome,  Venice, Genoa, Mantua, Ferrara, and Urbino.

* Theorist: Erasmus (1466–1536), a Dutch philosopher and Christian scholar who is widely considered to have been one of the greatest scholars of the northern Renaissance.

Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam
- Hans Holbein  (1497/1498–1543, German)
- oil on panel  (74 x 51 cm)  1523
- National Gallery  (London)  

* Introducing humanism to diplomacy: Niccolò Machiavelli  (1469-1527, Florentine statesman), most known for his book《The Prince》(1532)

Polychrome bust of Niccolò Machiavelli
(perhaps modelled on his death mask)
- Palazzo Vecchio  (Florence) 

Statue of Niccolò Machiavelli
- Lorenzo Bartolini  (1777–1850, Italian sculptor)
- Uffizi courtyard (Florence) 

* Introducing humanism to construction: Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472, Italian)

The polychrome facade of
Santa Maria Novella (Florence) 1470 

* Promoting humanism: Baldassare Castiglione

Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione
- Raphael (1483–1520, Italian)
- oil on canvas (82 x 67 cm) 1514-1515
- Louvre (Paris) 

The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529, Italian), is a lengthy philosophical dialogue on the topic of what constitutes an ideal courtier or (in the third chapter) court lady, worthy to befriend and advise a Prince or political leader.

Source: Wikipedia

Painting #113 - Italian Mannerism

Italian Renaissance :

Mannerism - Part 1/2

Mannerism

“Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, and lasting ..... until about 1580 in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it.

“Stylistically, Mannerism encompasses a variety of approaches influenced by ..... artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and early Michelangelo.

“Where High Renaissance art emphasizes proportion, balance, and ideal beauty, Mannerism exaggerates such qualities, often resulting in compositions that are asymmetrical or unnaturally elegant.....

“Mannerism in literature and music is notable for its highly florid style and intellectual sophistication.”  (Source: Wiki)

Rosso Fiorentino  (1495－1540)

- French-Italian Mannerist, Florentine school

Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro
- Rosso Fiorentino
- oil on canvas  (160 x 117 cm)  c.1523
- Galleria degli Uffizi  (Florence)  

Andrea del Sarto  (1486–1530, Italian) 

Portrait of a Young Man
- Andrea del Sarto
- oil on canvas  (72 x 57 cm)  c.1517-18
- National Gallery  (London) 

The so-called Portrait of a Sculptor, long believed to have been Del Sarto's self-portrait.

Laurentian Library  

Laurentian Library
- Piazza di San Lorenzo 9  (Florence)
The Laurentian Library can be identified in the long row of windows above the cloister extending to the left of the picture. The taller structure with two rows of windows immediately to its right is the vestibule.

“The Laurentian Library in Florence is renowned for its architecture, designed by Michelangelo, and is an example of Mannerism. This historic library contains more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books...belonging to the private library of the Medici family... under the patronage of the Medici pope Clement VII to emphasize that the Medici were no longer merchants but members of intelligent and ecclesiastical society.”

Pontormo  (1494-1557, Italian) 

Deposition from the Cross 
- Pontormo
- tempera on wood  (313 × 192 cm)  c.1525–1528
- Church of Santa Felicita  (Florence)  

Monsignor della Casa
- Pontormo
- oil on panel  (102 x 79 cm)  c.1541-44
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington)  

Bronzino 

(1503-1572, Florentine Mannerist)

Eleonora di Toledo
- Bronzino
- oil on panel  (86 × 65 cm)  c.1560
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington) 

Allegory with Venus and Cupid
- Bronzino (1503-1572, Florentine Mannerist)
- oil on canvas (146 x 116 cm) c.1545
- National Gallery (London)

Cupid is son of Venus.

An allegory (寓意) is a made-up puzzle; 

never mind if it does not make sense to you. 

Correggio  (1489–1534, Italian) 

The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine
- Correggio
- oil on panel  (29 x 22 cm)  1510/1515
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington) 

Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine
[of Alexandria with Saint Sebastian]
- Correggio
- oil on wood (105 x 102 cm) c.1527
- Louvre (Paris) 

#A18)  The Child is going to put a ring on the right index finger of Catherine, as witnessed by Madonna and the Baptist, and as wished by Catherine (c.287-c.305) living in a different space and time.

Venus and Cupid with a Satyr
- Correggio
- oil on canvas (189× 126 cm)  c.1528
- Louvre (Paris)  

#A18)  A satyr is cautiously lifting a cover sheet to discover the body of goddess Venus,  who is taking a nap next to her son Cupid/Eros.

Jupiter and Io
- Correggio in 1520-40
 - oil on canvas (162 x 73.5 cm) 
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna)

Io is seduced by Jupiter (Zeus in Greek), who hides behind the dunes to avoid hurting the jealous wife Juno (Hera in Greek).

Isabella d'Este  (1474–1539, Italian)

One of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion.

Portrait of Isabella d'Este
- Titian  (1490–1576, Italian)
- oil on canvas  (102 × 64 cm) c 1534–36
- Kunsthistorisches Museum  (Vienna)  

Portrait of Isabella d'Este
- Leonardo da Vinci  (1452–1519, Italian)
- chalk on paper  (61 x 47 cm)  1499-1500
- Louvre  (Paris)

Source: Wikipedia

Painting #112 - High Renaissance

Italian Renaissance :

The High Renaissance - Part 3/3

Titian  

(1490–1576, Italian)

Self-Portrait
- Titian
- oil on canvas  (86 x 65 cm)  c.1562
- Museo del Prado  (Madrid) 

Christ and Mary Magdalene
aka Noli me tangere / Touch Me Not
- Titian
- oil on canvas  (109 x 91 cm)  c.1512
- National Gallery  (London) 

“According to Maurice Zundel (1897–1975), in asking Mary Magdalene not to touch him, Jesus indicates that once the resurrection is accomplished, the link between human beings and his person must no longer be physical, but must be a bond of heart to heart. ”

Portrait of Ranuccio Farnese
- Titian
- oil on canvas (90 x 74 cm) 1542
- National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) 

Ranuccio Farnese (1530-1545-1565, Italian prelate), the grandson of Pope Paul III, was 12 years old when Titian painted his portrait.

Venus and Adonis
- Titian
- oil on canvas  (107 x 136 cm)  c.1560
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.) 

Tintoretto 

(1518–1594, Italian, Venetian school) 

Self-Portrait
- Tintoretto
- oil on canvas (62.5 x 52 cm) c.1588
- Louvre Museum (Paris)

Student of Titian. 

The Conversion of Saul
- Tintoretto
- oil on canvas  (152 x 236 cm)  c.1545
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.) 

Christ at the Sea of Galilee
- Tintoretto
- oil on canvas  (117 × 169 cm)  1570s
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington D.C.)

“The painting depicts Jesus Christ raises a hand toward the apostles, who appear in a boat amid hostile waves at sea. It is an example of mannerism, a European art style that exaggerates proportion and favors compositional tension. This can be seen in the expressive postures of the figures and the muted, yet intense color of the sea and sky.”
        “Mannerism, also known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it. ”

Summer
- Tintoretto
- oil on canvas  (106 x 193 cm)  c.1555
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.) 

Susanna and the Elders
- Tintoretto
- oil on canvas (146 × 194 cm) 1555-56
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna)

Il Paradiso / Paradise
- Tintoretto
  - oil on canvas (910 x 2260 cm) after 1588
- Palazzo Ducale (Venice)

Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
and the Campanile of
St. Mark 's Basilica (Venice)

Last Supper 
- Tintoretto 
- oil on canvas (365 × 568 cm) 1592-1594
- Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore  (Venice) 

This painting departs drastically from Leonardo's frontal composition. The table at which the apostles sit recedes into space on a steep diagonal. The centre of the scene is occupied not by the apostles but instead by secondary characters (such as waitress and busboys). 

The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore 
- Andrea Palladio (1508-1580, Italian) 1566-1610
- Venice

San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk
- Claude Monet  (1840–1926, French)
- oil on canvas  (65 x 92 cm)  1908
- National Museum (Wales) 

Paolo Veronese 

(Paolo Caliari, 1528–1588, Italian) 

Saint Lucia and the donator
- Paolo Veronese
- oil on canvas  (181 × 115 cm)  1585
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.)

The Finding of Moses
(Moses saved from the waters)
- Paolo Veronese
- oil on canvas  (57 x 43 cm)  c.1575
- Museo del Prado  (Madrid) 

Moses saved from the waters

The Wedding Feast at Cana
- Paolo Veronese
- oil on canvas  (677 × 994 cm)  1563
- Louvre Museum  (Paris)  

“A representational painting that depicts the biblical story of the Marriage at Cana, at which Jesus converts water to wine (John 2:1–11).”

     Jesus and Madonna sat by the middle of the dining table.

     Painted in as musicians were great Venetian painters of the time, including Veronese himself in white at the middle, Tintoretto in green behind him, and Titian in red. Jesus sits in the back bench, among villagers.

     This is one of the paintings that Napoleon took from Italy to Louvre. After his defeat, this large painting (7m by 10m) was allowed to stay in Louvre, to avoid possible damages from transportation. 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo 

(1527–1593, Italian)

Self-portrait
- Arcimboldo
- blue ink on paper (23 x 15.7 cm) 1570s
- National Gallery (Prague)

 

Winter (Part of The Four Seasons Series)
- Arcimboldo
 - oil on canvas (76 x 63.5 cm) 1573
- Louvre (Paris)

Source: Wikipedia

Painting #111 - High Renaissance

Italian Renaissance : 

The High Renaissance - Part 2/3

Pietro Perugino

(1448–1523, Italian)

The Galitzin Triptych    
- Pietro Perugino
- oil on panel to canvas (95 x 30 cm) 1482/85
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.) 

Aka The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene.

Delivery of the Keys
- Pietro Perugino
- fresco (330 × 550 cm) c.1481
- Sistine Chapel (Vatican)

Jesus gives the keys (the golden key to Heaven and the silver key to Hell) to disciple Saint Peter. The main basilica in Vatican is named after St. Peter, and the delivery of keys represents authorizing Vatican.

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

(1483–1520, Italian)

Saint George and the Dragon
- Raphael
- oil on panel (28.5 x 21.5 cm) c.1506
- National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) 

Saint George and the Dragon symbolizes the proclamation of a pagan domain, represented by a maiden, to Christianity. 

     Saint George has been the patron saint of some cities, including Venice, before becoming one for England in year 1222.

School of Athens
- Raphael
- Fresco  (770 cm width) 1509-10
- Apostolic Palace (Vatican) 

In the Apostolic Palace of Vatican, the public Stanze suite is the 4Raphael Rooms  that are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop.
        In 1508, seeing Raphael's drafts, Pope Julius II ordered the scratching off of all existing frescos, dismissed all other painters, and commissioned to Raphael the decoration of the suite of rooms, now called the Raphael's Rooms.
 

The Raphael Rooms together with Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, are the grand fresco sequences that mark the High Renaissance in Rome.

The Alba Madonna
- Raphael
- oil on wood to canvas (94.5 cm dia.) 1510
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.)   

Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist are staring at a cross in a typical Italian countryside.

Madonna and Child
- aka The Small Cowper Madonna
- oil on panel (60 x 44 cm) c.1505
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.) 

Portrait of Bindo Altoviti
- Raphael
- oil on panel (60 x 44 cm)  c.1515
- National Gallery of Art  (Washington, D.C.) 

He was a young. successful banker.

Portrait of Pope Leo X 
with Cardinals Giulio de' Medici
(later Pope Clement VII)
and Luigi de' Rossi
- Raphael
- oil on panel (156 x 120 cm) c.1518
- Uffizi Gallery  (Florence) 

As the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici (ruler of the Florentine Republic), Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici ascended to the papal throne as Leo X with ease. As an arts protectorate, he sponsored artists like Raphael in creation.

(L) 1517 Pope Leo X embraces the increased sale of Indulgences to help build the costly St. Peter's Basilica.

(R) Woodcut depicting an Indulgence seller, ca. 1510

Indulgences were a way to clear all of your sins, so that you wouldn't go to hell. 

The Sack of Rome in 1527
(Part of the War of the League of Cognac)
- Johannes Lingelbach (1622-1674, Dutch)
- private collection (Rome, Papal States)

The Sack of Rome further exacerbated religious hatred and antagonism between Catholics and Lutherans. Clement VII took refuge in Castel Sant'Angelo

Giorgione

(1478–1510, Italian)

Self-portrait (as David)
- Giorgione
- oil on canvas (52 x 43 cm) c.1508
- Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum (Brunswick)

In western painting, the short-lived and talented Giorgione was the first to paint on canvas; the first to paint laid-down naked female, the first to pay importance to landscape; and the first to paint meaningless/無厘頭.

The Tempest
- Giorgione 
- oil on canvas (83 × 73 cm) c. 1508
- Gallerie dell'Accademia (Venice)   

(X-rays of the painting have revealed that in the place of the man, Giorgione originally painted another female nude.)

The Three Philosophers
- Giorgione
- oil on canvas (123 x 144 cm) c.1505-09
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna) 

The painting was finished by Sebastiano del Piombo. It shows three philosophers – one young, one middle-aged, and one old.

Adoration of the Shepherd
- Giorgione
- oil on panel (91 × 111 cm) c.1505
- National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

The painting was finished by Sebastiano del Piombo (c.1485–1521, Italian).

Judith
- Giorgione
- oil on canvas (transferred from panel)
(144 x 66.5 cm) c.1504
- Hermitage (Saint Petersburg)

It is said that Giorgione painted his own portrait on the head under Judith's foot.

The Sleeping Venus

(aka the Dresden* Venus)

- Giorgione (completed by Titian)

- oil on canvas (108.5 × 175 cm) c.1510
- Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Dresden*)

Young Woman (“Laura")
- Giorgione
- canvas on wood (41 x 34 cm) 1506
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna)

Behind her is a tree called laura in Italian.

Venetian School (Art)

From the later part of the 15th century, Venice had a distinctive, thriving and influential art scene.

Beginning with Giorgione (c. 1477–1510) and Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516), major artists of the Venetian school included Titian (1489–1576), Tintoretto (1518–1594), Veronese (1528–1588) and the Bassano (1510–1592).

Considered to bring a primacy of color over line, this tradition was seen to contrast with the Mannerism then prevalent in the rest of Italy.

The Venetian style is viewed as having had a great influence on the subsequent development of painting.

Reference: Wikipedia