Late Medival or Proto

8/12/2019 Late Medival or Proto

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Late Medival or Proto-Renaissance

The Renaissance does not have a start date. Its origins are often located around 1400 but as early as the

late 1200s we see changes in painting and sculpture that lay the foundation for what we will come to

recognize as the Renaissance. Some scholars call this early period the "Late Gothic"a term which refers

to the late Middle Ages, while other people call it the "Proto-Renaissance"the beginnings of the

Renaissance. In any case, a revolution is beginning to take place in the early 1300s in the way people think

about the world, the way they think about the past, and the way they think about themselves and their

relationship with God.

Giottothe father of Western painting

The artist who takes the biggest step away from the Medieval style of spiritual representation is Giotto.

You could say, in fact, that Giotto changed the direction of art history. Giotto is perhaps best known for

the frescos he painted in the Arena Chapel. They were commissioned by a wealthy man named Enrico

Scrovegni, the son of a well-known banker (and banker himself). According to the

Church, usury(charging interest for a loan) was a sin, and so one of Enrico's motivations for building the

chapel and having it decorated by Giotto may have been to atone for the sin of usury.

Commissioning works of art for churches was a very

common way of doing "good works" which could help earn one's way into Heaven. We can see Enrico

himself in a fresco of theLast Judgmenton the west wall of the chapel, on the side of the blessed (or the

elect)those whom Christ has chosen to go to Heaven. He is shown kneeling, giving a symbolic model of

the Arena chapel itself to the Virgin Mary and the Virgin of Charity and the Virgin Annunciate (to whom

the chapel was dedicated). In fact, on March 25the Feast of the Annunciate Virginsunlight enters one

of the side windows and falls directly on the figure of Enrico Scrovegni.


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Donatello,David, bronze, late 1420s to the 1460s, Likey the 1440s (Museo Nazionale del Bargello,Florence)

Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

The following is a text-based conversation about Donatello's David between Dr. Beth Harris and Dr.Steven Zucker:

SZ: Seeing Donatello's David in the Bargello in Florence makes me realize just how different it is from the

later, more famous version of David by Michelangelo. It feels so much more intimate and so much less

public.

BH: Well, it is MUCH smaller! After all, this one is only about five feet tallthat's a few inches shorter than me.

And Michelangelo's David is more than three times this size!

SZ: Because of the small size, and perhaps also because of the warm tones of the bronze, this sculpture

seems so immediate and beautiful and vulnerable.

BH: Yes, and of course, Michelangelo's marble sculpture WAS a public sculptureit was meant to go in a

niche high up in one of the buttresses of the Cathedral of Florence, commissioned by the Office of Works

for the Cathedral. We don't know who commissioned Donatello's David, but we do know that it was seen

in the courtyard of the Medici Palace in Florence, a much more private and intimate setting.

SZ: This intimacy is not simply a result of the nudity, but also of the emotional experience Donatello renders

through the face and even the stance of the bodyand it's so unexpected in the telling of the story of David and

Goliath! I would expect rather a triumphal victorious figure, maybe holding the sword and the enemy's severed head

aloft... Instead, here is a thoughtful, quiet, contemplative face.

BH: I don't know, he doesn't look so contemplative to meinstead he seems proud of his victory over the giant

Goliathwhich is strange since the story is very much about how David defeats Goliath because he has God's

helphe doesn't do it on his own!

SZ: Really? Look at his calm, downcast eyes... the lids are half closed. That is not the usual expression of victory.

Note that the facial muscles are totally relaxed, the mouth is lightly closed though there is the slightest hint of a

smileand yes, that is subtle pride, but to me this is the face of interior thought not exterior boasting. It's as if he is

coming to terms with the events that have taken place, including God's intervention, here Donatello foreshadows the

wisdom that will define his later reign as king.

BH: Fair enough, perhaps it's primarily his pose that speaks of pride to me. The relaxed contrapposto and the

placement of his left hand nonchalantly on his hip feels to me like confidence and pride. His right hand holds the

sword that he used to cut off Goliath's head, which we see below, resting on a victory wreath. The gruesome head

seems to conflict with the sensuality and beauty of the young David.


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SZ: Agreed. There is a certain swagger in that stance and the horrific contrast to the head of Goliath is

wild and unnerving. But the contrapposto is also Donatello's swagger, the sculptor's rendering of David

offers the most complete expression of this natural stance since antiquity. We know he was studying

ancient Roman art with his friends, Masaccio and Brunelleschi and it's worth noting that he reclaims

more than just the classical knowledge of contrapposto, he has also reclaimed the large-scale bronze

casting of the ancient world. It must have been such an extraordinary revelavation for a culture that until

this moment, had not seen human-scaled bronze figures.

BH: It IS amazing how Donatello, after a thousand years, reclaims the ancient Greek and Roman interest

in the nude human body. Of course, artists in the middle ages, a period when the focus was on God and

the soul, rarely represented the nude. Donatello does so here with amazing confidence, you're right. In

fact, this is the first free-standing nude figure since classical antiquity, and when you consider that, this

achievement is even more remarkable! But let's face it, there's an undeniable sensuality here that almost

makes us forget that we're looking at an old testament subject.

SZ: Right, Donatello's figure of David is almost too sensuous for the subject being represented. In some

sense this isn't really a Biblical representation at all; Donatello seems to have used the excuse of the boy

who eschews armor in order to represent not the Judaic tradition but instead the ancient Greek and

Roman regard for the beauty of the human body and he uses the classical technique of lost wax to cast the

form. Then, just like the Greeks and Romans, he worked the bronze to smooth the seams and the surface

and to cut in details such as in the hair.

BH: I think it's important to stress that this figure is free-standing. Sculpted figures have finally been

detached from architecture and are once again independent in the way they were in ancient Greece and

Rome. And because he's free-standing, he is more human, more real. He seems able to move in the world,

and of course the contrapposto does that too. It's easy to imagine this figure in the Medici palace garden,

surrounded by the ancient Greek and Roman sculpture that they were also collecting. I wish I could goback in time to Florence in the 1400s, to this remarkable moment, to witness the rebirth of Humanism.

SZ: I'd love to meet the artists and thinkers of the era but am not at all sure that I would find their world hospitable.

Disease, want, cruelty, and a permanent hierarchy among social strata defined the periodnot to mention the

terrible position women found themselves in. You can go, I'll stay here in the 21st century thank you!

BH: Like David, Florence was the underdog that withstood repeated attacks from Milan and yet, like

young David, thanks to God's favor, Florence was victorious (or at least that's how the Florentines

interpreted these events!). And as a result, many Florentine artists will tackle this subject.

SZ: True, and each one will have to grapple with Donatello's great achievement.

On the Story of David and Goliath

The subject of this sculpture is David and Goliath, from the Old Testament. According to the story, Israel

(the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) is threatened by Goliath, a "giant of a man, measuring

over nine feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds." Goliath

threatened the Israelites and demanded that they send someone brave enough to fight him. But the entire

Israelite army is frightened of him. David, a young shepherd boy, asserts that he is going to fight the giant,


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but his father asserts, "There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has

been in the army since he was a boy!" But David insists that he can face Goliath and claims he has killed

many wild animals who have tried to attack his flock, "The LORD who saved me from the claws of the lion

and the bear will save me from this Philistine!" They try to put armor on David for the fight, but he takes it

off. David faces Goliath and says to him,"You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you

in the name of the LORD Almighty

the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." David kills

Goliath with one stone thrown from his sling into Goliath's forehead. Then he beheads Goliath.

The people of Florence identified themselves with Davidlike him they believed, they defeated their

enemy (the Duke of Milan) with the help of God.

Donatello'sDavidis the first free-standing nude sculpture since Classical Antiquity. He stands in perfect

contrapposto, which Donatello certainly learned from looking at ancient Greek and Roman sculpture.

How did buying a work of art work before the modern era?

For artists in the period before the modern era (before about 1800 or so), life was really different for

artists than it is now.

In the Middle Ages andin the Renaissance works of art werecommissioned, that is they were ordered

by a patron(the person paying for the work of art), and then made to order. A patron usually entered into

a contract with an artist that specified how much he would be paid, what kinds of materials would be

used, how long it would take to complete, and what the subject of the work would be.

Not what we would consider artistic freedom, huh? It did have its advantages though. You didn't paintsomething and then just hope it would sell, like artists do now!

Patrons often asked to be included in the painting they had commissioned. When they appear in a

painting we usually call them donors.

In this painting on the right, the donoris shown kneeling on the right before the Virgin Mary and the

Christ Child.

What does this mean about the status of the artist in the pre-modern era? How was he

viewed in the society at large?

One way to understand this is to think about what you "order" to have made for you today.A pizza comes to mind -- ordered from the cook at the local pizza parlor -- "I'll have a large pie withpepperoni," or a birthday cake from a baker "I'd like a Chocolate cake with mocha icing and blue lettersthat say 'Happy Birthday Jerry.'" Or perhaps you ordered a set of bookshelves from a carpenter, or a

wedding dress from a seamstress?


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stone).

So you could say it used to be(in the middle ages and for much of the Renaissance) that

thematerialswere what made a work of art valuableand the name of the artist had little or nothing to do

with it! Today it is very different. Picasso could have panted ona napkinand it would have been

incredibly valuable just because it was by Picasso --the materials have nothing at all to do with it!

In the broad sweep of art from past ages, the patron is often as important as the artists who create it,

not only providing funding but determining its content and influencing its style. A few names resonate

as the great patrons of all time; Jean de France, duc de Berry, is one of them.

Jean de Berry is the great exemplar of late medieval patronage, and one of the greatest

patrons of art of all time.

Related

Multimedia

Cited Works of Art or Images (3)

Timelines (2)

Primary Thematic Essays (7)

Other Thematic Essays (26)


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Maps (4)

Index Terms (41)

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Jean de Berry (13401416) was the son, brother, and uncle of threesuccessive kingsof France (Jean

the Good, Charles V, and Charles VI). He lived during a time of almost continual unrest between

England and France, a period known as the Hundred Years' War, and was at one time held hostage in

England in an episode of that war. He acted as regent of France twice, first during the minority of

Charles VI and later at times when Charles VI was incapacitated by mental illness. As befitted a

wealthy and powerful man of his time, the duke's likeness was painted or carved on multiple

occasions, and some of those portraits survive today (54.1.1,folio 223v and 91v,

andJanuaryfrom Trs Riches Heures).

Notwithstanding his responsibilities as a prince, Jean de Berry was always active as a patron of art,

beginning with architecture. He built or renovated seventeen chteaux and other residences, several

of them with appended chapels. His castle at Mehun-sur-Yvres is illustrated in amanuscriptleaf from1465; the favorite castle of the duke is portrayed in the distance, behind the angel Gabriel (58.71a,b).

Architectural sculpture by great artists like Andr Beauneveu (1995.301)andstained glassanimated

the castles and especially the chapels; some survive in museums, although the buildings were

demolished or heavily damaged.

The duke would have traveled between his residences with a retinue. They brought portable

furnishings and adornments for the chteaux, including highly valued tapestries that provided color as

well as warmth. He commissionedtapestrysets on ancient battles, hunts, religious and allegorical

themes. The Cloisters collection includes one of the oldest survivingsets of tapestries,dating from the

time of the duke of Berry and including his coat of arms (47.101.3). It depicts the Nine Worthies or

Heroes: three fromthe classical world,three from theHebrew Scriptures,and three from Christian

history, all garbed in costumes of around 1400. The small subsidiary figures surrounding the heroes

give an even more vivid sense of the dress and habits of the time.

Jean de Berry was especially fond of arts that were small in scale but high in preciousness. He

treasured jewelry and miniature sculptures of gold andgemsand enamel, some of them worked into

functional objects such saltcellars, others withliturgicaluses such as portable altars, others pure

baubles. All of these were calledjoyaux. More than 300 of these items of goldsmiths' work appear in

the 1416 inventory of the duke's possessions. One example of the type (although not specifically

linked to Jean de Berry himself) is the Saint Catherine made of enamel and gold (17.190.905), small

enough to fit in the palm of the hand. The duke had a true connoisseur's taste, and an interest in the

classical past.His awareness ofancient Roman medalsled him to revive that lost art by

commissioning his own. Medals in his collection were available to artists in his employ as inspiration

for their own work. A medal (1988.133)commemorating the emperorConstantinewas the source for a

figure painted in the Trs Riches Heures(The Meeting of the Magifrom Trs Riches Heures).
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whereSaint Louisis shown receiving his breviary from a dove. The legend of the sainted king includes

the story behind the picture: King Louis (r. 122670) was on acrusadeinEgyptwhen he was

captured by the Saracens. Soon after being put in prison, he realized it was time for him to perform

the canonical hour of Vespers, and he called for his prayer book. Although the book had been lost in

battle, it was miraculously returned to him.

The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreuxis a tiny masterpiece created by Jean Pucelle for the queen of France,

Jeanne d'Evreux, between 1324 and 1328. Upon her death, in 1371, she bequeathed it to King

Charles V, brother of Jean de Berry. At Charles' death in 1380, the manuscript may have passed to

his son, Charles VI. Jean de Berry is known from the inventories to have owned this manuscript, but

whether he was given it either by Charles V or Charles VI, or whether he appropriated it from the latter

cannot be determined.

Jean de Berry already owned this and several other books of hours in 1405, when he commissioned

the young Limbourg brothers to create what would become the Belles Heures. The three artist

brothers, Herman, Paul, and Jean de Limbourg, were in their teens when they came into the employ

of the duke of Berry. He gave them the opportunity to create a book of hours, and they started to

make the standard elements of such a book, such as scenes from theinfancy of Christ(54.1.1,folio

30, folio 63), which accompany theOffice of the Virgin.As work progressed, it appears that the young

artists grew increasingly proficient, and their patron, increasingly impressed with their genius, enlarged

the parameters of this particular book of hours. In addition to the standard elements and prayers, this

manuscript includes seven "picture book" sequences, groups of full-page illustrations telling the stories

of key saints (54.1.1,folio 17v, folio 74v). After the Belles Heureswere completed, Jean de Berry

commissioned the brothers to create the Trs Riches Heures, today in the collection of the Muse

Cond in Chantilly, France (February, folio 2v). By the time of his death, he owned fifteen books ofhours.

Even in death, Jean de Berry caused the creation of beautiful works of art. His tomb,modeled after

that of his brother, the duke of Burgundy, included multiple sculptures in an ensemble completed

years after his death. Among the figures were a number ofpleurants, or mourners (17.190.386;

17.190.389).

Jean de Berry is the great exemplar of late medieval patronage, and one of the greatest patrons of art

of all time. His fame is a testament to the power of art to confer a kind of immortality.

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TheMerode Altarpieceis one of the great masterpieces of Northern Renaissance art. The use of objects

from the material world to symbolize spiritual ideas, the effort to make the divine accessible to us and part

of our world, and the attention to clarity and detailat the expense of creating a coherent spaceare all

basic characteristics of the Northern Renaissance style. The first thing you'll notice about theMerodeAltarpiece(located in New York City in the Cloisters, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art) is that it is

not one painting, but three connected paintings, in this case measuring four feet across by two feet high.

This is called a triptych (the prefix "tri" means three, as in tricycle). Artists today still use this popular

format for a painting. The three panels are connected by hinges (like on a door) so that tripychs usually

could open and close. This was important because altarpieces, like this one, were usually closed or covered

until the Mass was performed in front of them.

Donors (left panel)

In the panel on the far left, we see the patrons or donors who commissioned this painting. In Flanders, anew middle class of bankers and merchants were commissioning works of art, and wanted images that

brought the divine into their own world.

Annunciation (center panel)

In the center we see the Annunciation, a common subject in the Middle Ages, in the Renaissance and

after. Here the Angel Gabriel announces (hence the title "Annunciation") to Mary that she is about to

conceive the Christ child. The Holy Spirit, which impregnates Mary, appears coming through one of the

windows on the right in form of a small image of Christ carrying the cross on his back.

St. Joseph (right panel)

The panel on the far right depicts St. Joseph (Mary's husband), who was a carpenter by trade. He is shown

in his carpenter's shop. Here is one of the amazing characteristics of Northern Renaissance art. Nearly

every item that we see in the Merode Altarpieceeven though is looks like an ordinary objectis really a

religious symbol. For example, the tools that Joseph is working with are a symbol of the Passion of Christ,

the lilies symbolize Mary's virginity, and the candle that has just been extinguished tells us that this is the

moment when God takes human form, and his exclusively divine nature is gone. The material world is

imbued with spiritual meaning, with the divine. This is one of the defining characteristics of Northern


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Renaissance art. But it is not only in their paintings that the people of Flanders used everyday objects to

symbolize spiritual ideas; this was a part of their way of thinking.

Let's look carefully at the central panel of the Merode Altarpiece.

First, notice that the figures have no halos! We can definitely see knees pressing though the drapery. But

can we really get a sense of a whole naked body underneath? Do the bodies of Mary and the Angel make

sense? Are they in realistic proportion? Does the drapery flow in a way that makes sense? And what about

the space? We definitely have an illusion of space, but does the space make sense? How about the table?

The shape of the room? There is NO linear perspective here, and NO real study of the human body. The

artists of the Northern Renaissance could make their paintings look very real in terms of detailsbut

overall, the space and the body don't look entirely real. This is a very different kind of realism than we saw

in the Italian Renaissance. In the Italian Renaissance, their realism was based on the use of science

(anatomy) and math (linear perspective and geometry). The realism of the Northern Renaissance was

NOT based on science and math, but it WAS based on a very close observation of the world.

Documents

Late Medival or Proto