Читать книгу 1000 Paintings of Genius - Victoria Charles - Страница 4

15. Giotto di Bondone, 1267–1337, Medieval, Florentine School, Italian, Flight into Egypt, 200 × 185 cm, 1303–05, Fresco, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

The fourteenth century is viewed as a transitional period from the Medieval to the Renaissance. The Catholic Church experienced disruptions, contributing to social chaos. In 1305 a French Pope, Clement V, was elected. He settled in Avignon rather than Rome, as did subsequent popes, causing the election of two popes in 1378, one in Avignon and one in Rome. This became known as the Great Schism. Not until forty years later in 1417, was the crisis resolved with the election of a new Roman Pope, Martin V, whose authority was accepted by everyone.

At this time, Italy was a group of independent city-states and republics, ruled mostly by an aristocratic elite. Dominating the international trade that connected the Europe with Russia, Byzantium, as well as the lands of Islam and China, Italy expanded trade and commerce through highly organised economic activity. This prosperity was brutally disrupted by the Black Death, or bubonic plague, in the late 1340s. In just five years at least twenty-five percent of the population of Europe, and upwards of sixty percent in some areas, were killed. Economic turmoil and social disruption ensued in Europe, while the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic states were far too strong to notice the expansion or decline of the European economic initiatives of the fourteenth century.

In the secular sphere, a great shift occurred with the development of vernacular, or everyday, literature in Italy. Latin remained the official language of Church and state documents, but intellectual and philosophical ideas became more accessible in the common language, which was based on Tuscan dialects from the region near Florence. Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–75), and Francesco Petrarch (1304–74) all helped to establish the use of vernacular language. Dante’s Divine Comedy and Inferno, as well as Boccaccio’s Decameron enjoyed a wider audience because they were written in the vernacular.

Petrarch described ideas of individualism and humanism. Rather than a philosophical system, humanism referred to a civil code of conduct and ideas about education. The scholarly discipline humanists hoped to advance was based on human interests and values as separate from religion’s otherworldly values, but not opposed to religion. Humanism enveloped a separate set of concerns than religious scholarly disciplines based not on faith but on reason. Latin classics from Greco-Roman antiquity helped to develop a set of ethics governing civil society including service to the state, participation in government and in the defence of the state, as well as duty to the common good, rather than self interest. The humanists translated Greek and Roman texts that had been neglected in the Middle Ages, but they also composed new texts devoted to the humanist’s cult of fame. Just as sainthood was the reward for religious virtue, fame was the reward for civic virtue. Boccaccio wrote a collection of biographies of famous women and Petrarch wrote one of famous men who embodied humanist ideals.

16. Giotto di Bondone, c. 1267–1337, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Scenes from the Life of Joachim: Meeting at the Golden Gate, 1303–05, Fresco, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

17. Giotto di Bondone, c. 1267–1337, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Scenes from the Life of the Virgin: Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, 1303–05, Fresco, Cappella degli Scrovegni dell’ Arena, Padua

18. Master of St. Cecilia, Early Renaissance, Italian, Saint Cecilia Altarpiece, after 1304. Tempera on panel, 85 × 181 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

19. Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1255–1319, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, Christ Entering Jerusalem, 1308–11. Tempera on panel, 100 × 57 cm, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena

20. Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1255–1319, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, The Maestà, (back panel), Stories of the Passion: Peter’s First Denial of Christ Before the High Priest Annas, 1308–11. Tempera on panel, 99 × 53.5 cm, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena

21. Giotto di Bondone, c. 1267–1337, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Ognissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà), 1305–10. Tempera on panel, 325 × 204 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

22. Simone Martini, 1284–1344, Gothic Art, Sienese School, Italian, Maestà (detail), 1317, Fresco, Palazzo Pubblico, San Gimignano

In this painting, the traces of Byzantine influence remain such as in the style of throne and stacking of figures as if on tiers. But overall the influence of the Gothic painters Duccio and Giotto are in greater evidence. Several of the saints carry symbols of themselves, often the instruments of their martyrdom. Each pole supporting the canopy is held by one of the saints. While the size of each figure is somewhat uniform, the Byzantine tradition of sizing figures in proportion to their importance still remains. This piece is the artist’s earliest known work. The transparency of the angelic gowns is not an accidental effect from top layers fading over the years, but rather the effect is the result of a clever technique. Only seven years after its competition it had to be restored because of water damage. The fresco is surrounded by a frame decorated with twenty medallions depicting the Blessing Christ, the Prophets and the Evangelists and with smaller shields containing the coat-of-arms of Siena.

Simone Martini

(1284 Siena – 1344 Avignon)

A Sienese painter, he was a student of Duccio. Influenced by his master and by the sculptures of Giovanni Pisano, he was even more influenced by French gothic art. First painting in Sienna, he worked as a court painter for the French Kingdom in Naples where he started to incorporate non-religious characters in his paintings. Then he worked in Assisi and Florence where he painted with his brother-in-law Lippo Memmi.

In 1340–41 Simone Martini went to Avignon in France, where he met Petrarch, illustrating a Virgil codex for him. His last works were created in Avignon where he died. Simone Martini gave a great sweetness to his religious compositions while, at the same time, he was the first who dared to employ his art for purposes not wholly religious.

23. Jean Pucelle, c. 1300–55, Gothic Art, French, The Betrayal of Christ and Annunciation, from the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, 1325–28. Tempera and gold leaf on parchment, 8.9 × 6.2 cm (each page), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

24. Francesco Traini, active 1321–63, Early Renaissance, Italian, The Triumph of Death (detail), c. 1325–50, Fresco, Campo Santo, Pisa

25. Maso di Banco, active 1320–50, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Pope St Sylvester’s Miracle, c. 1340, Fresco, Cappella di Bardi di Vernio, Santa Croce, Florence

Here Maso di Banco represents the scene of the "dragon miracle": on the left the Pope chains the dragon, then he brings the dead Magi back to life. On the right side, Emperor Constantine and his suite look at the scene in astonishment.

Maso di Banco

(active 1320–1350)

Florentine painter, Maso di Banco is undoubtedly the greatest pupil of Giotto but as he was not mentioned by Vasari we don’t know much of his career. His greatest works are the frescoes illustrating the legend of St Sylvester in the Bardi Chapel of Santa Croce in Florence where one can appreciate the clarity of his work and the harmonies of colours. As he was a follower of Ghiberti, his work also shows architectural settings and massive figures that anticipate the monumental style of Piero della Francesca and Masaccio.

26. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1290–1348, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, Scenes of the Life of St Nicholas: St Nicholas Offers Three Girls Their Dowry, 1327–32. Tempera on panel, 96 × 53 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

27. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1290–1348, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, Scenes of the Life of St Nicholas: St Nicholas Is Elected Bishop of Mira, 1327–32. Tempera on panel, 96 × 53 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

28. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1290–1348, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, The Presentation in the Temple, 1327–32. Tempera on panel, 257 × 138 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

29. Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, 1284–1344 and 1317–47, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, Altar of The Annunciation, 1333. Tempera on panel, 184 × 210 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Simone Martini comes from the same school as Duccio. He followed the Pope to Avignon, in 1344, during the Schism. The frame of this painting was added in the nineteenth century. The Virgin is represented without volume; she is more spirit than substance and can be compared on that point to Duccio’s virgins. Looking for beauty and the depiction of details, the painter moves away from the works by Giotto. Simone Martini uses a much nuanced game of colours (gold, browns and pinks). He introduces depth in the foreground, using an edge that gives emphasis to the distance and that obliges the viewer to step back. His study of perspective from nature is made obvious on the depiction of the vase in the centre.

30. Simone Martini, 1284–1344, Gothic Art, Sienese School, Italian, Equestrian Portrait of Guidoricco da Fogliano (detail), 1328–30, Fresco, 340 × 968 cm, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

31. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1290–1348, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, Allegory of the Good Government, 1338–39, Fresco, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

The artist’s view of his entire town and countryside are captured as large frescos in the Sala della Pace, Palazzo, Siena, the town’s city hall. This fresco is a political propaganda, celebrating the virtues of the Administration of the Commune. The Bad Government is illustrated by the devilish figure of Discordia, and the Good Government is personified by the diverse emblems of Virtue and Concordia. The reproductions of the frescos are rarely from the visitor’s floor level point of view. However, from that vantage point the perspectives was more as intended, with the small figures in the foreground and often the larger figures higher on the wall but apparently further in the distance. Ambrogio’s amazing sense of space was mastered later by his brother Pietro in his Birth of the Virgin (1342).

Ambrogio Lorenzetti

(c. 1290–1348 Sienna)

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, like his brother Pietro, belonged to the Sienese School dominated by the Byzantine tradition. They were the first Sienese to adopt the naturalistic approach of Giotto. There is also evidence that the brothers borrowed tools from each other. They were both major masters of naturalism. With the three-dimensional, Ambrogio foreshadowed the art of the Renaissance. He is well known for the fresco cycle Allegory of the Good and Bad Government, remarkable for their depiction of characters and of Sienese scenes. The frescos on the wall of the Hall of Nine (Sala della Pace) in the Palazzo Pubblico are one of the masterworks of their secular programs. Ghiberti regarded Ambrogio as the greatest of Sienese fourteenth-century painters.

32. Bernardo Daddi (Attributed to), c. 1290–1350, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Crucifixion, c. 1335. Tempera on panel, 36 × 23.5 cm, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.

Daddi is believed to have been Giotto’s student and his work strongly shows his influence. Daddi, on his side, influenced Florentine art until the second half of the century.

33. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1290–1348, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels and Saints, c. 1340. Tempera on panel, 50.5 × 34.5 cm, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

34. Master of Kaufmann, Early Renaissance, Bohemian, The Crucifixion of Christ, c. 1340. Tempera on panel, 76 × 29.5 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Alte Meister, Berlin

35. Hohenfuhrth Master, Early Renaissance, Bohemian, The Agony in the Garden, c. 1350. Tempera on panel, 100 × 92 cm, Narodni Galeri, Prague

36. Master of the Berlin Nativity, Early Renaissance, Bavarian, Nativity, 1330–40. Tempera on panel, 33 × 24 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Alte Meister, Berlin

37. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1290–1348, Early Renaissance, Sienese School, Italian, Birth of the Virgin, 1342. Tempera on panel, 188 × 183 cm, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena

38. Andrea di Cione Orcagna, c. 1320–68, Gothic Art, Florentine School, Italian, The Redeemer with the Madonna and Saints, 1354–57. Tempera on panel, Strozzi Chapel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

It was originally the altarpiece of the Strozzi Chapel of Santa Maria Novella, Florence. In this painting Orcagna reverted from a more naturalistic style to the Byzantine remote and monumental figural type with resplendent colours and lavish use of gold.

39. Bohemian Master, Gothic Art, Bohemian, Death of the Virgin, 1355–60. Tempera on panel, 100 × 71 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

40. Master of the Eichhorn Madonna, Gothic Art, Bohemian, Eichhorn Madonna, c. 1350. Tempera on panel, 79 × 63 cm, Narodni Galeri, Prague

41. Giovanni da Milano, active 1346–69, Gothic Art, Italian, Pietà, 1365. Tempera on panel, 122 × 58 cm. Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence

42. Andrea di Cione Orcagna, c. 1320–68, Gothic Art, Florentine School, Italian, St Matthew and Four Stories from his Life, 1367. Tempera on panel, 291 × 265 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

43. Giottino, c. 1320–69, Gothic Art, Florentine School, Italian, Pietà of San Remigio, c. 1360–65. Tempera on panel, 195 × 134 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

44. Tommasso da Modena, c. 1325–79, Gothic Art, Italian, The Departure of St Ursula, c. 1355–58. Tempera on panel, 233.5 × 220 cm, Museo Civico, Treviso

45. Matteo di Pacino, active 1359–94, Early Renaissance, Italian, St. Bernard’s Vision of the Virgin with Saints. Tempera on panel, 175 × 200 cm. Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence

46. Agnolo Gaddi, c. 1345–96, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Madonna of Humility with Six Angels, c. 1390. Tempera on panel, 118 × 58 cm. Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence

47. Melchior Broederlam, Early Renaissance, Dutch, The Dijon Altarpiece: Annunciation and Visitation; Presentation in the Temple and Flight into Egypt, 1394–99. Tempera on panel, 167 × 125 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon

48. Named after Wilton House, International Gothic, French, The Wilton Diptych, Richard II presented to the Virgin and Child by his Patron Saint John the Baptist and Saints Edward and Edmund, c. 1395–99, Egg tempera on oak panel, 57 × 29.2 cm, National Gallery, London

The anonymous artist of this diptych is a Sienese painter, contemporary of Giotto, renewer of the Sienese School. The Wilton Diptych was painted as a portable altarpiece for the private devotion of King Richard II; the outside bears his arms and his personal emblem of a white hart (a young deer) chained with a crown around its neck.

49. Anonymous, Early Renaissance, French, Book of Hours of the Use of Rome, late 14th c.– early 15th c.. Manuscript illumination, Stolen from the Library

St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg

50. Guyart des Moulins, Early Renaissance, French, La Bible Historiale, Third quarter of the 14th c.. Manuscript illumination, Stolen from the Library St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg