Masaccio (bodies): * Endnotes<A>

1401-28, early Renaissance painter; produced lifelike figures & movements, employed linear perspective for convincing 3D, used nudes & foreshortening- both new techniques in his day.

see Chapter VII page 237 and above page 279

 

Piero della Francesca (bodies): * see EndNote<B>

1415-92, early Renaissance painter; work characterized by its humanism , use of geometric forms & perspective.  While he used perspective  in his work, he was also interested in the theory of linear perspective.  Trained as a mathematician he wrote several treatises which have survived, one of which was titled: “On Perspective in painting”

see Chapter VII page 237, 240 and above page 279

 

Leonardo:

1452-1519, High renaissance artist; further develops space.  Piero della Francesca’s study of perspective had a profound effect on his generation.  In his Adoration of the Magi (1481) he produced a complex composition with carefully planned linear perspective of background ruined classical architecture.  His interest in linear perspective is also reflected in his Last Supper (1498).  With the Virgin of the Rocks (1483-86) he uses Sfumato.  This softens the transition between colours, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane. He described sfumato as "without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke or beyond the focus plane".  It provides rich atmospheric effects & an elusive and illusionistic rendering of the human face.  He also used this technique with his Mona Lisa (1503-05)

 

Rembrandt: * see EndNote<C>

1606-69, work characterized by broad thick brushstrokes, the use of layers of glazes to give scenes extra depth and gravity & in particular, his masterful treatment of light & shadow (chiaroscuro); strongly influenced by the Caravaggio (1573-1610) & the Caravaggism movement & its theatrical employment of light & shadow.  His dark background pushes the central figures into space.  Stylistically, his paintings begin with his early "smooth" manner, characterized by fine technique in the portrayal of illusionistic form.  Later he develops a "rough" treatment of richly variegated paint surfaces, which allowed for an illusionism of form suggested by the tactile quality of the paint itself.  The end result is a richly varied handling of paint, deeply layered, often apparently haphazard, which suggests form and space in both an illusory and highly individual manner.

 

Rembrandt portrait (second visage): * see EndNote<D>

His portraiture, especially his self-portraits reflect a unique ability to penetrate human character.  He worked to depict his figures' mood & inner mental feelings with the accentuation of physical features and facial expression.  His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist displays himself without vanity & with sincerity.  All together they give a remarkably clear picture of the man, his appearance and psychological make up.

 

Impressionist (second visage of Nature):

By painting in sunlight directly from nature (plein air) & making bold use of the vivid synthetic pigments available since the beginning of the 19th century, the Impressionists developed a lighter, brighter manner of painting that extended the Realism of Courbet & the Barbizon school.  They were also a reaction to the challenge of photography which devalued the artist's skill in reproducing objective reality.  Rather than compete, they looked to subjectivity ; they painted their perceptions of nature, rather than exact representations.  They depicted subjectively what they saw, their mind’s eye, with its implied imperatives of taste & personal conscience.  They exploited aspects like colour, which photography then lacked.

 

Claude Lorrain (Catholic-heroic landscape):

1600-82, French artist, master of the ideal landscape in which nature is presented as more beautiful & harmonious than nature itself.  Enriched by concepts of Classical beauty & ruins, inspired by the countryside around Rome (the Roman Campagna), his landscapes often incorporate small figures (so as to qualify as “history paintings”, considered a higher quality).  He was innovative in including the Sun itself as a source of light in his paintings, as well as the poetic rendering of light; influential in his lifetime & also in England, from mid-18th to mid-19th century.

 

Corot ("paysage intime"): * see EndNote<E>

paysage intime - French for intimate landscape; Corot was a poet painter who succeeded in representing not only the form but the psychology of Nature.  He invested every tree, every flower, every blade of grass with an individual personality and a living soul.

 

Cuyp (sea and river-banks and villages):

1620-91, leading Dutch Golden Age painters, producing mainly landscapes,known for his large views of Dutch riverside scenes in a bright early morning or late afternoon light.  Sunlight in his paintings rakes across the panel, accentuating small bits of detail in the golden light. In large, atmospheric panoramas of the countryside, the highlights on a blade of meadow grass or mane of a tranquil horse are all caught in a bath of yellow ocher light. The richly varnished medium refracts the rays of light like a jewel as it dissolves into numerous glazed layers. Cuyp's landscapes were based both on reality & on his own invention of what an enchanting landscape should be.  He learned colour tones from the exceptionally prolific Jan van Goyen.

 

Van Goyen (sea and river-banks and villages):

1596-1656, Dutch landscape painter, prolific artist, he employed a highly involved painting technique.  Using an oak panel he would scrub on several layers of thin animal hide glue, over which he scrapped a thin layer of tinted (light brown, reddish or ochre) white lead acting as a ground.  He then sketched a pen & ink scene on the panel.  His palette consisted of neutral grays, umbers, ochre & earthen greens, using varnish as a vehicle to grind the pigments.  He applied thin layers of paint which were easily blended.  Dark areas of the painting were kept thin & transparent with lots of oil medium.  Light striking the painting in these sections was absorbed.  Lighter areas of the picture were treated with a heavy layer of white lead; light falling here was reflected back at the viewer. The effect is a startling realism and 3D quality. The surface of a finished painting resembles a fluid supple mousse, masterfully whipped and modelled with the brush.

 

Lysippus (Pliny):

Pliny, referring to Lysippus:

          "is said to have contributed greatly to the art of bronze statuary by representing the details of the hair and by making his heads smaller than the             old sculptors used to do, and his bodies more slender and firm, to give his statues the appearance of greater height. He scrupulously preserved             the quality of 'symmetry' by the new and hitherto untried method of modifying the squareness of the figure of the old sculptors, and he used                 commonly to say that whereas his predecessors had made men as they really were, he made them as they appeared to be."

extract from Natural History (Book XXXIV)

 

daemonic:

inspired as if by a demon, indwelling spirit, or genius.

 

stone age (cave paintings): * see EndNote<F>

During the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000 BC) Homo sapiens replaced Neanderthal Man; at this time prehistoric art took a massive leap forward as reflected in the cave painting of western Europe & reached its apogee at caves in Lascaux (France) & Altamira (Spain).

 

wall paintings(Pompeii): * see EndNote<G>

In the first century BC, Roman walls were decorated with different paintings ranging from realistic to impressionist styles.  These frescoes have been found in private homes in many different Roman cities & countryside, predominately around the Bay of Naples (where Mount Vesuvius erupted).  They were used to brighten rooms since most of the houses were naturally dark. There were 4 main styles: Incrustation, architectural, ornamental, and intricate, each is unique, although they incorporate earlier styles.  The first 2 (incrustation and architectural) were a part of the Republican period (related to Hellenistic Greek wall painting); the last 2 (ornamental and intricate) were a part of the Imperial period.  Subjects included mythology, landscapes & other interests.  

 

the Odyssey landscapes: * see EndNote<H>

Roman painting developed landscapes, a major innovation compared to Greek painting; few examples survive.  One surviving work is the fresco “Odyssey Landscapes” series which reflects the Roman "Second style" or "Architectural style", where painted architectural elements (here 2 side columns) are added making a "windows" to an imaginary world.  A feeling for depth is achieved with faded colours on elements “farther” from the observer.  This fresco is notable for the precision with which the human figures & animals are painted.  Other frescoes from the series also includes spectacular seascapes ("Laestrygonians hurling rocks at Odysseus' fleet" or "Odysseus escape") where the sense of depth is even greater.  These are a masterpiece of Roman art and rank among the most important landscapes ever painted.

 

superposition:

the act of placing above or upon something else, or one upon another; to place (one figure) in the space occupied by another, so that the two figures coincide throughout their whole extent.

 

illumined:

to illuminate

 

supernal:

belonging to the heaven of divine beings; heavenly, celestial, or divine; lofty, of more than earthly or human excellence, powers, being on high or in the sky or visible heavens.