Module 9
The Road to Rebirth
The Road to Rebirth
Embedded Files
addendum: Navels/Bellybuttons on Adam and Eve were the controversy, not all humans. This was because of the story of Adam and Eve, that were created by God, not a human mother.
The Romanesque and Gothic Periods 1000-1500 and the early Renaissance 1400
The Romanesque and Gothic Periods 1000-1500 and the early Renaissance 1400
The term Renaissance is French for Rebirth. What is meant by the term 'Classical Era' is mainly the Greeks (and Romans).
I want to point out that in the video above, when I was talking about the 'problem' of what to do with belly buttons in paintings, it was only about Adam and Eve, not other humans.
The "Fall" of Rome
The Roman Empire became less stable over the course of the Third to Fifth centuries CE. Historians point to internal divisions as well as repeated invasions from tribes such as the Huns and the Visigoths (Germanic tribes) as reasons why the Empire fell. The fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred in 476 CE.of Rome
The “Dark Ages,” which lasted for hundreds of years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, was a time of chaos and poverty without strong central government to maintain order. When the stability of the empire disappeared, bandits, barbarians roamed the countryside. Crops went un-planted, schools closed, shops and eateries closed, and Roman roads and water distribution systems decayed. Farming and mining all but ceased entirely. Travel was dangerous and trade routes were unused. Birth rates dropped, and disease and infections decimated undernourished human and animal populations. (Sound familiar? We are living in strange but not unheard of times!)
Read this 'Newspaper' from the Medieval era... ;)
Things were quiet, in Europe, and people were waiting for the end of the world..said to be coming in 1000 CE. But lo and behold it didn't happen, so after c.1000, the pilgrimage "industry " took off, as a new vigor for life and gratitude and thanks. Hence great heaps of money went into building churches and cathedrals.
In the later Middle Ages, pilgrims often traveled in order to win indulgences, that is, the Church’s promise to intercede with God for the remission of the temporal punishment for sins confessed and forgiven, a prayer that will be heard because of the holiness of the Church. (We'll talk about this again when we get to Martin Luther c. 1517)
Western art and culture were virtually non-existent except for what was protected by Christian monks and missionaries. The clergy held fast to the traditions of reading, writing, manuscript illumination, and panel painting in order to maintain the Christian faith. Monasteries were the only remaining centers of cultural, educational, and intellectual activity, and consequently they were targets for looting. In Ireland, successive Viking and Norse invasions forced the removal of treasured books from their original locations so that they could be protected and hidden. A few surviving texts, such as the Book of Durrow, the Lindesfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells are wondrous examples of Christian art and craft.
Book of Kells, a 1200 year old book. Meehan, B
The Lindisfarne Gospels
Romanesque and Gothic Architecture
Romanesque and Gothic Architecture
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery built in the First Romanesque style
Romanesque Architecture:
From approximately 1000 CE to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century
thick walls
lack of sculpture
rhythmic ornamental arches known as Lombard bands
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Rouen 1063
Can you see the difference?
Gothic Architecture:
first developed in France, from approximately 1140–1400
enormous towers and spires
the pointed arch
the ribbed vault ,
the flying buttresses , which enabled the insertion of large clerestory windows.
In 2010, we took our daughter to Europe to see a lot of these churches. You can see below how she felt about it :) She's glad we took her now, but she was 16 then! ;)
Inside of a Romanesque church.
Cathedral of San Rufino, Assisi 1140 Romanesque style.
Why Gothic? After the medieval period, when Romanesque architecture reigned, a long period of prosperity and relative peace allowed for several centuries of cultural development and great building schemes. Features of Gothic architecture include: the pointed arch, the rib vault and the flying buttress. The bigger the better to enable more light, more stained glass and an overwhelming enchantment to everyday citizens in order to continue to grow Christianity...in other words, "If this is what God looks like?!", to the poor, cold (think British weather) peasants, then I want some !
York Minster The largest Gothic Cathedral in Britain is over 800 years old. c 1220!
Who was Abbot Suger?
Who was Abbot Suger?
Abbot Suger (pronounced "sue gay" not sugar) was one of the first proponents of the Gothic style, and is best known for the work he did at the Saint-Denis abbey. Because monks allowed trading in Saint-Denis, travelers from all over Europe came to do business and worship there. This made the location one of the most influential in France at the time. While Suger was at the abbey, he befriended King Louis VII. Suger was in charge of major renovations at the abbey around 1140. Suger's renovations included classic Gothic elements, including pointed arches, flying buttresses, clustered columns, and most importantly, space for stained glass windows.
Abbot Suger c. 1135
A detail from "The Last Judgement," a 13th century Byzantine ceiling mosaic at the Florence Baptistry, Italy.
Saint Denis Basilica
The north transept rose window of St Denis.
Now, back to something we have already touched up earlier.. the striving for better realism and the Beginnings of the Renaisance...rebirth, in Italy.
In a series of artist biographies Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari. Here this story is recounted:
Giotto was a shepherd boy, a merry and intelligent child who was loved by all who knew him. One day while out walking the fields, the great Florentine painter Cimabue discovered Giotto drawing pictures of sheep on a rock. They were so lifelike that Cimabue approached Giotto and asked if he could take him on as an apprentice. What an honor! Cimabue was one of the two most highly renowned painters in Italy. Vasari recounts a number of such stories about Giotto's skill as a young artist. He tells of one occasion when Cimabue was absent from the workshop, and Giotto painted a remarkably lifelike fly on a face in a painting of Cimabue. When Cimabue returned, he tried several times to brush the fly off.
Santa Trinita Maestà Painting by Cimabue
Santa Trinita Maestà Painting by Cimabue
Cimabue, also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter and designer of mosaics from Florence. Although heavily influenced by Byzantine models, Cimabue is generally regarded as one of the first great Italian painters to break from the Italo-Byzantine style.
Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family
about 1470, Swabian
The sitter's family is identified by the inscription
"GEBORNE HOFERIN" (born a Hofer),
although her precise identity is unknown.
She holds a forget-me-not, presumably for remembrance.
On her headdress is a fly,
either a symbol of mortality or a reminder of the artist's skills of illusion. The artist worked in Southern Germany
National Gallery, London
Giotto - Cappella degli Scrovegni - Lamentation (The Mourning of Christ) 1306
Giotto was an artist who was considered 'proto' (or pior) Renaissance.
The word lament, means "a passionate expression of grief or sorrow." I created this piece, and used some of Giotto's angels to express my feelings about the plastic on our beaches, for a photography exhibition last year. Even though the plastic garbage saddens me, I was stopped by the beauty of the colors, so like Giotto's, in the plastic. Here is the result...can you find the 3 angels?
Giotto, Ognissanti Madonna
The Renaissance 1400-1530
The Renaissance 1400-1530
The Renaissance in Europe is one of the key periods in Western History – it was Europe’s transition from the Medieval to the modern. The word “Re-naissance” is derived from the French, meaning Re-birth. In this sense it was a rebirth of many of the ideas and ideals of classical antiquity. What had its roots in ancient Greece, Rome, and the Middle East, became firmly established in the life and culture of Europe and the West ever since. Essentially this was a return to the human perspective. In many ways, the Renaissance was just a continuation of the trends and movements that had been operating in Europe since the Romanesque period. For the thinkers and artists of the Renaissance, however, this period was seen as a decisive break (and improvement) from the past. It was they who coined the phrase “Dark Ages” to describe the period before the Renaissance.
The origins of the Renaissance amount to what can be described as a “perfect storm” of events that included; the black death, the birth of the merchant class, the development of banking, the teachings of St Francis of Assisi, and the rediscovery of ancient classical authors and philosophers, just to name a few. This amounted to a renewed interest in all things of this world and a shift in perspective from the divine to the human. This trend, especially in learning, has been called Humanism.
Humanism embraces the scientific method when it comes to understanding how the universe works. In painting this focuses on anatomy, nature, atmospheric and linear perspective and interest in the natural world.
The rediscovery/remembering of Greek and Roman and Islamic culture brought with it a renewed interest in the rational in the service of the spiritual. This would eventually create a split between science and the Church that would lead to rapid advances in technology.
In the arts, this focus on the worldly led to a greater degree of realism. Greek and Roman ideals and aesthetics were revived and various methods and technologies of realism were developed – most importantly, linear perspective and the creation of a logical ordering of space based on an “optical” basis of artistic representation from a human point of view.
Have a listen to this music, light hearted, happy, new...certainly different to the music of the Medieval Period!
Why did the Renaissance begin in Florence?
Why did the Renaissance begin in Florence?
Italy wasn't one country like it is today. It was made up of city states, each with their own government. The city's economy and its writers, painters, architects, and philosophers all made Florence a model of Renaissance culture.
Fifteenth-century Florence was an exciting place to be. In 1425 the city had a population of 60,000 and was a self-governed, independent city-state. Twelve artist guilds that regulated the trades were the basis of Florence's commercial success. Members of the guilds, who were wealthy and held positions in government, were some of Florence's most influential people in society and politics. Because of its strong economy and a political philosophy that was dedicated to the welfare of the city, Florence thrived.
Much of Florence's wealth was dependent on the manufacture or trade of cloth, primarily wool.
There was extraordinary wealth accumulated during this period among a growing middle and upper class of merchants and bankers. With the accumulation of wealth often comes a desire to use it to enjoy the pleasures of life—and not an exclusive focus on the hereafter.
And one family, known as "The Family That Ruled Florence", The Medici, was the driving force. One of them, Giovanni di Bicci, was the first Medici arts patron. He encouraged Masaccio and commissioned Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica di San Lorenzo in 1419.
Giovanni di Bicci de'Medici
Before now, artists rarely signed their work. With the advent of the Renaissance that was all about to change........the "Genius" is born.
Brunelleschi Architecture and Linear Perspective
Linear perspective is thought to have been devised c 1415 by Italian architect Filippo Brunelleschi
In painting, it is a system of creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface. All parallel lines (orthogonals) in a painting or drawing using this system converge in a single vanishing point on the composition's horizon line.
The Holy Trinity
Created: 1427–1428
Location: Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Donatello's David sculpture who was the first freestanding nude sculpture to be made since antiquity. The subject of this sculpture is David and Goliath, from the Old Testament.
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