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Florentine sculpture (end): *
The following generation (the Mannerists), attempted to find a style to top Michelangelo. An explicit attempt to top the master was made by the Florentine Cellini with his masterpiece Perseus with the head of Medusa (1545-1554), situated in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence next to Michelangelo’s David. Using bronze not marble, with 8 angles of view (a Mannerist characteristic) Cellini probably came the closest to matching the master. Cellini also reflects a trend towards miniaturization (as seen in his Cellini Salt Cellar -1543). Small bronze figures for collector's cabinets became popular. Giambologna, based in Florence, excelled in this field & helped develop elegant elongated examples of the ”figura serpentinata”, 2 intertwined figures, interesting from all angles. Renaissance norms weakened, the "Serpentita" style developed, with structures & rules systematised. The sculpture of the Baroque would be led by Rome not Florence and although it is arguable if it equalled Michelangelo, it certainly comes close with 1 sculpture. The Neapolitan Bernini (1598–1680) singlehandedly created the Baroque sculpture style, standing head & shoulders above his 17th century peers. His work reflects the new Serpentita style (see his The Rape of Proserpina 1622-25). He is notable for 2 qualities. First his ability to depict dramatic narratives with characters showing intense psychological states; secondly his facility to synthesize sculpture, painting & architecture into a coherent conceptual & visual unity (see St Theresa in Ecstasy, St Peters, Rome 1647-52). Baroque sculpture was succeeded by Rococo (1730-60), a style better suited to smaller works. It was notable for its intimate scale, its naturalism, and its varied surface effects. Marble was often replaced by stucco. A new form of small-scale sculpture appeared (1710), the porcelain figure, or small group of figures, initially replacing sugar sculptures on grand dining room tables, but soon popular for placing on mantelpieces and furniture. The number of European factories grew steadily through the century, and some made porcelain that the expanding middle classes could afford.
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instrumental music (end): *
Liszt, Wagner & Bruckner were all associated with the New German School of radical progressives in Weimar. They were opposed by the conservatives (Brahms, Clara Schumann, the music critic Hanslick & the Leipzig Conservatoire founded by Mendelssohn). Hanslink is noted as one of the first widely influential music critics; he served as the mouthpiece of the conservatives. A close friend of Brahms from 1862 he condemned both Liszt & Wagner, as guilty of breaking down traditional musical forms as a means of communicating something extra-musical. These opposing parties crystallized during the 1850s. One of their central disagreements was between traditional and new musical forms. This stemmed from debate on the viability of the symphony genre. Beethoven had transformed the symphony from music intended for entertainment to music reflecting social, moral & cultural ideals. Wagner expressed the view that in Beethoven instrumental music had reached its fullest form & could not be developed further, rather music for the future (a phrase he published in 1860) would invoke music drama, the union of all the arts, music fused with poetry & drama. His Ring cycle is the manifestation of this idea. Liszt's leading idea was to develop a new style in writing and with forms that would blend music with narrative & pictorial ideas; the union of poetry & music in instrumental works, Symphonic Poems, works with a "program", subjects of non-musical nature. Against these ideas the conservatives, the Leipzig school championed the forms used by the classic masters, forms codified by musicologists. Both factions looked to Beethoven as their spiritual and artistic hero; the conservatives seeing him as an unsurpassable peak, the progressives as a new beginning in music. Bruckner enters the fray rather unconsciously. He took no part in the above debate but his symphonies were seen as part of the progressive movement owing to their advanced harmony, massive orchestration & extended time-scale. Furthermore he knew & studied the music of Wagner. He was a fan of Wagner & attended performances of his operas (though it was strictly the music he cared about, not the plot!). His adulation for Wagner (he dedicated his Third Symphony & quotes from Wagner's operas were incorporated into that work) helped cement the impression that he was a progressive. In 1875 he accepted a post at the Vienna University. The music scene in Vienna at that time was dominated by the critic Hanslick. By expressing admiration for Wagner Bruckner made an unintentional enemy out of Hanslick. Thus without intention Bruckner is placed in the Progressive camp.
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Walpurgis Night (scenes from Goethe’s Faust):
Faust part I: Mephistopheles& Faust have made a pact; Mephistopheles entertains Faust & eventually grants his wish to seduce Gretchen whom he impregnates. She realizes her guilt & prays in a cathedral. Goethe now shifts the scene from the cathedral to the Harz Mountains, 30 April evening of the feast day of Saint Walpurga. Folk lore holds that during this night witches gather on the Brocken Mountain, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains to hold revels with the Devil. It is a Bacchanalia of evil & demonic powers. Here Mephistopheles draws Faust away from pure love to sexual love, to distract him from Gretchen's fate. He lures Faust into the arms of a naked young witch but he is distracted by the sight of Medusa, who appears to resemble his "sweet Gretchen". The scene then shifts- Faust having learned that Gretchen has killed the child & is facing execution for the crime of infanticide.
Faust part II-Act 2: Mephistopheles transports the unconscious Faust into his old study. Mephistopheles, donning Faust's robe once again, resumes his conversation with the freshman, who is now a cynical baccalaurus. The Homunculus, an artificial human being created by Wagner, Faust's former famulus, by means of an alchemical process, leads Faust and Mephistopheles to the "Classical Walpurgisnacht", where they encounter gods and monsters from Greek antiquity. Faust, still searching for Helen, is led by the Sybil Manto into the Underworld. Mephistopheles, meanwhile, meets the Phorkyads, 3 hideous hags who share one tooth and one eye between them, and he disguises himself as one of them. Guided by the sea-god Proteus, the Homunculus is initiated into the process of becoming fully human.