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Willaert (1516 -at Papal Chapel): *
As a student he travelled to Paris, initially to study Law, however he soon changed to Music. Here he met & studied with Jean Mouton, principal composer of the French royal chapel & stylistic compatriot of Josquin des Prez. His early style is very similar to that of Josquin, with smooth polyphony, balanced voices & frequent use of imitation or strict canon. The young Willaert admired Josquin so much he wrote a mass based upon a movement of a famous Josquin motet (Vultum tuum deprecabuntur). In 1515 he travelled to Rome. He was surprised to hear the Papal Choir singing one of HIS compositions which the choir attributed to Josquin. When he informed them it was his they refused to sing it again! That same year he entered the service of Cardinal Ippolito I d'Este of Ferrara. Willaert travelled with Ippolito to various places, including Hungary, where he likely resided from 1517 to 1519.
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Willaert (1527 Venetian school): *
The dominant musical establishment in Rome was hurt by the loss of their great patron Leo X (died 1521); in 1527 the Sack of Rome further eviscerated this establishment. There was a migration of musicians to alternative cities; Venice offered an environment conducive to creativity. Even more critical was the unique interior of San Marco Basilica. This church held two choir lofts (one to each side of the main altar), both provided with an organ. With these opposing choir lofts & spacious architecture, composers needed to develop a style which utilized the sound delay to advantage. Thus was born the Venetian polychoral style, grand antiphonal music where groups of singers & instruments played in opposition, sometimes together, all united by the organ. The first composer to use this effect was Adrian Willaert, maestro di cappella of St. Mark's 1527 to 1562. Willaert divided the choral body into 2 sections, using them either antiphonally or simultaneously. He composed & performed psalms & other works for these two choirs; his innovation was an instant success. In Venice Willaert’s compositional style (using multiple choirs) became the dominant style. In 1550 he published Salmi spezzati, antiphonal settings of the psalms, the first polychoral work of the Venetian school. His work in the religious genre established Flemish techniques firmly as an important part of the Venetian Style. Zarlino (one of the 16th centuries most influential writers on music) called him "the new Pythagoras,". And as a teacher Willaert's influence was profound since most of the Venetians who followed studied with him.
musical example:
Genre: Secular, Madrigal
Language: Italian
Instruments: A cappella
Published: 1545 in Canzone Villanesche alla Napolitana.
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de Rore of Antwerp (successor to Willaert): *
Born in a small town in Flanders, it is unclear where he received his music training. He possibly had an association with Margaret of Parma (illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V) & may have gone with her to Naples in 1533. In any case during this period it was not uncommon that gifted signers received music tuition in Italy & he did receive some music tuition during this time, possibly in Venice with Willaert. He may have been a singer at San Marco. In any case he was closely connected with Willaert and his associates for much of his career, and visited Venice at least once before 1542. Between 1542-45 he composed a series of madrigals (published 1547). Their technical mastery & stylistic indebtedness to Willaert strongly suggests an early connection.. Rore spent much time in Ferrara, was appointed maestro di cappella (choirmaster) in 1546. He met great success in Italy. Late in his career he worked in Parma (1560) but felt it was a city unworthy of him. In 1563 he left for Venice, briefly taking the prestigious position of maestro di cappella at St. Mark's on the death of Willaert. In the 1560s, the Venetian School split into progressive & conservative factions. The latter tended to follow the style of Franco-Flemish polyphony; de Rore was a member of this faction. He did not keep his post long, returning to Parma in 1564, complaining of the disorder in the chapel & poor pay. He died in Parma in 1565.
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Hugo van der Goes (Portinari altar for Santa Maria Nuova, Florence): *
aka Portinari Triptych, 1475, oil on wood triptych painting representing the Adoration of the Shepherds. Measures 8’x10’, the largest Flemish paining ever seen in Florence; commissioned for the church of the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence by Italian Medici banker Tommaso Portinari (descendent of the hospital's founder), a long time resident in Bruges. When it arrived in Florence in 1483, it was installed in the Portinari family chapel; it was admired by local Italian artists, many sought to emulate it. For example Domenico Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Shepherds, 1485 for the Sassetti Chapel, church of Santa Trinita, Florence. In the left panel foreground we see his 2 sons Antonio & Pigello; in the background Joseph & Mary on the road to Bethlehem. On the right panel foreground his wife Maria & daughter Margarita, in the background the Three Magi on the road to Bethlehem. All accompanied by their patron saints: Saint Thomas (with the spear), Saint Anthony (with the bell), Mary Magdalen (with the pot of ointment) and Saint Margaret (with the book and the dragon). In the central panel, 3 rustic shepherds (painted very realistically) fall to their knees before baby Jesus; kneeling angels surround the Virgin & Child (not in a crib but on the ground surrounded by an aureole of golden rays-this unusual representation of the adoration is based on a vision of Saint Bridget of Sweden). In the background are shepherds visited by the angel. The iconography is complex; it emphasizes the devotion to the Eucharist (the angels wearing liturgical vestments & the visual analogy of the sheaf of wheat with the body of Christ). and the passion of Christ (sombre expressions of the figures, the prominently placed flower still life in the foreground, including flowers such as a scarlet lily, white & purple irises & carnations).
see painting
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Memlinc (his Last Judgment):*
The Last Judgment is a triptych by Hans Memling (1467-71) commissioned by Angelo Tani, an agent of the Medici at Bruges; the work was captured at sea by a privateer from Danzig. The central panel shows Jesus sitting in judgment on the world, St Michael the Archangel is weighing souls & driving the damned towards Hell. (The sinner in St. Michael's right-hand scale pan is a donor portrait of Tommaso Portinari.); on the left hand panel, the saved are being guided into heaven by St Peter & angels; on the right-hand panel, the damned are being dragged to Hell.
see painting
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portraits (of the Low Countries): *
Jan van Eyck painted The Lucca Madonna, oil painting; it is one of his latest works (1437); shows Mary seated on a wooden throne, crowned by a canopy, breastfeeding the infant Christ. It was probably the inner panel of a triptych, its small size indicates it was meant for private devotion. It once belonged to the collection of Charles II, Duke of Parma and Lucca (early 19th century). The Virgin has been identified as a portrait of the painters's wife, Margaretha, of whom van Eyck also made a secular portrait.
The Lucca Madonna
Rogier van der Weyden painted Woman with a Winged Bonnet. He worked from life models, his observations were acute, yet he often idealised certain facial features, they are typically statuesque, especially in his triptychs. All of his forms are rendered with rich, warm colourisation & a sympathetic expression; he is known for his expressive pathos and naturalism. His portraits tend to be half length & half profile. He used an unusually broad range of colours and varied tones; in his finest work the same tone is not repeated in any other area of the canvas; even the whites are varied.
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Rogier van der Weyden (in Florence 1450): *
In 1449 Rogier went to Italy & visited Rome during the Jubilee of 1450 where he was warmly received. The humanist Bartolomeo Fazio (Facio) & theologian Nicholas of Cusa had nothing but praise for his work. He came into contact with Italian artists & patrons & received commissions from the powerful Este family of Ferrara and the Medici of Florence. He painted a portrait of Francesco d’Este (originally thought to be Leonello d’Este), and his painting of the Madonna and Child that still remains in Florence (Uffizi) bears the arms and patron saints of the Medici. While in Italy he apparently tutored Italian masters in painting with oils, a technique in which Flemish painters of the time were particularly adept. He learned a great deal from what he viewed as well. Although he was primarily attracted to the conservative painters Gentile da Fabriano & Fra Angelico, whose medieval styles paralleled his own, he also became acquainted with more progressive trends. In his St. John altarpiece & the 7 Sacraments triptych painted soon after his return (1451 -55) his characteristic austerity is tempered by his recollection of the more robust Italian styles. In both paintings the panels are unified from a single point of view. Despite this enrichment, however, his conceptions remained essentially iconic: he pushed the figures into the foreground & isolated them from their surroundings as subjects for devotion.
the Medici Madonna; Virgin & Child)
Above a gold background is a baldachin lined with precious damask cloth, under which are the Virgin with Child, St. Peter, St. John the Baptist (patron saint of Florence), St. Cosmas (a protector of the House of Medici), and St. Damian. Cosmas is portrayed while putting a coin in a handbag hanging from his belt (reference of a legend, in which he had accepted a small sum for a medical performance, causing rage in his brother Damian). In the foreground is a still life with great attention to natural details. In the centre is a gilt metallic amphora, in which are several lilies: the white ones symbolize the Virgin's purity, while the red ones are another reference to Florence.
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Antonello da Messina (in Venice): *
Studied under the painter Niccolò Colantonio at Naples (1450), where Netherlandish painting was then fashionable. Here he viewed the Lomellini Tryptych (oil by Jan Van Eyck) from the collection of King Alfonso V of Aragon (Colantonio's patron). The indirect influence of Rogier van der Weyden & Jan van Eyck are reflected in his earliest works (Sibiu Crucifixion, 1455; A Crucifixion 1455). In 1456 Messina was in contact with Van Eyck's most accomplished follower, Petrus Christus, in Milan. This conjunction explains why he was the first Italian to master Eyckian oil painting & conversely why Christus was the first Netherlandish painter to learn Italian linear perspective. After 1456 his paintings show microscopic detail & minute gradations of light on reflecting or light absorbent objects, close to the style of the Netherlandish masters. This reflects personal instruction from Christus. In addition his works show calmer expressions on faces & calmness in overall composition, reflecting Netherlandish influence. In 1460 he painted the Salting Madonna, combining standard iconography & Flemish style with a greater attention in the volumetric proportions of the figures (indicating knowledge of works by Piero della Francesca). In the late 1460s he painted his first portraits, following the Netherlandish model, the subject shown bust-length, against a dark background, full face or in 3/4s view (earlier Italian painters had used the medal-style profile pose). In 1475-76 he worked in Venice. He began to give greater attention to the human figure, regarding both anatomy & expressivity, reflecting the influence of Francesca & Giovanni Bellini. In Venice he passed on both the techniques of using oil paints & the principles of calmness on subjects' faces & in the composition of paintings, to Bellini & other Venetian painters. He was offered but declined the opportunity to be court portrait painter to the Duke of Milan. His most famous pictures from this period include the Condottiero, the San Cassiano Altarpiece and the St. Sebastian. The San Cassiano Altarpiece (see below) was especially influential on Venetian painters, the first of the large compositions in the sacra conversazione format (which was perfected by Bellini).
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Pollaiulo (engravings): *
Some of his painting exhibit strong brutality (portrayal of Saint Sebastian, 1473–75;Pucci Chapel of the SS. Annunziata, Florence). In contrast, his female portraits exhibit a calmness & meticulous attention to detail of fashion (the norm for late 15th century portraiture). His greatest success was in sculptor & metal-worker. The 15th-century addition of the infant twins Romulus & Remus to an antique bronze sculpture of the Roman she-wolf is attributed to him. He produced 1 surviving engraving, the Battle of the Nude Men, but both in its size and sophistication this took the Italian print to new levels & is 1 of the most famous prints of the Renaissance. He worked in Rome on the tomb of Pope Sixtus IV (1484-93), a work in which the anatomical features of the figures are exaggerated. In 1496 he worked to finish the sacristy of Santo Spirito in Florence. He died in Rome as a rich man after finishing the mausoleum of Pope Innocent VIII.
see engraving
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Nicholas of Cusa (and Leibniz): *
Nicholas of Cusa posited that contradictions unite at infinity (“concordance of opposites”). The smallest possible number would unite with the largest possible. Discrete numbers were all contained in the ultimate unity, but they also produced the ultimate unity as well. Likewise God was infinity but also the unity that generated infinity. Cusa likened God to a sphere but who also existed at the centre of the sphere. Such analogies appealed to Leibnitz who also believed God to be a primary unity and who also used a sphere analogy.
According to Nicholas, the Divine Mind is symbolically “reflected” in & through the human mind, all knowledge of the Infinite Being is metaphorical, not analogical. “Infinite goodness is not goodness but is Infinity. Infinite quantity is not quantity but is Infinity.” Yet we speak of God, metaphorically, as good, immense, etc. There is no comparative relation between the finite and the Infinite, so that the medieval view of analogia entis as a route for discerning God’s nature is foreclosed. Human minds are likened unto living mirrors that mirror one another and all of reality. This is a comparison adopted also by Leibniz.
Cusa is said to prefigure Leibniz when he asserts that the universe is as perfect as it can be. Even though God could have created an infinite number of better universes, He created this present universe to be as perfect as was possible. Something similar holds true, for being within the universe. This harmony is so intrinsic to the universe that unless the earth and each heavenly body were as it is, “it could neither exist nor exist in such a place and with such an order—nor could the universe exist.” This doctrine-of-harmony has seems to foretell of Leibnizianism. That is the viewpoint that this is the best of all possible worlds because God has chosen it out of an infinity of possible worlds for that reason and apparent evil is not a positive reality but a mere privation.