Survey of Art I Dr. Hunnewell


Study Guide IV: Early, High, and Late Gothic; 1300’s in Italy; Ancient African Art; Medieval (Samurai Japan); Northern Renaissance in
Flanders (1400’s)

I. Early Gothic (c. 1140-1190)

Terms:
Feudalism, Crusades: military ventures. The brought Western Europeans into contact with the Byzantine and Islamic worlds where literary works of classical antiquity had been preserved.
Universities: Padua, Paris, and Oxford: they supplanted rural monastic schools as centers of learning. Teachers like Peter Abelard drew students. Thomas Aquinas made Paris the intellectual center of Europe.

France:
Terms:
Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis: directed construction of a new abbey church.
Gothic choir: resembled a pilgrimage church. It had a semicircular sanctuary surrounded by an ambulatory and seven radiating chapels. It had large stained glass windows. It had ribbed groin vaults springing from round piers, pointed arches, wall buttresses and adequate window openings.
pointed arch:
rib vault:a form of groin vaults, where ridges formed by intersecting vaults may rest on and be covered by curved moldings called ribs
stained glass: permitted colored light to permeate the interior
symbolism of light and space: illuminates the soul and unites it with God
Notre Dame = Our Lady, Life of Christ and the Virgin Mary: started by Pope Alexander II. It includes a nave, massive walls, buttresses, and six part vaults adopted from Norman Romanesque. The nave had four stories
Liberal Arts
trivium: speak, write, and think critically
quadrivium: arithmetic, astronomy, music, geometry
The Gothic Church p. 522
rose window: stained glass, the center symbolizes either Christ or the Virgin Mary. The next row represents the 12 apostles, and the next ones represent saints.
lancets: tall narrow window crowned by a sharply pointed arch.
flying buttress: a gracefully arched, skeletal exterior support, counters the outward thrust of the nave vault by carrying the weight over the side aisles to the ground.
choir: where the high altar was situated behind a choir screen
Master Builders, p. 525: master masons. They coordinated the work of 400 people scattered at many locations from the distant stone quarries to high scaffolding

Objects/Monuments:
Abbey Church of Saint-Denis: western façade and choir (16-1, 2, 3):
made by Suger
sculptured portals
ribbed vault
choir
Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris (16-4):
nave had 4 stories: an arcade surmounted by a gallery and 2 levels of small windows including lancets and round “bull’s eye” windows.
flying buttresses
Cathedral of Notre Dame, Chartres: western façade, Royal Portal (16-5, 6, 7, 8):
dedicated to the Virgin Mary
Tunic of the Virgin
on the West the sculpture is dedicated to Christ
on the north transept portal depicts the world before Christ and St Anne and the Virgin Mary
on the south it shows later events like the Last Judgement




II. High Gothic, (c. 1190-1300)

Terms:
Virgin’s tunic: a piece of linen believed to have been worn by the Virgin Mary when she gave birth to Jesus. It was gift from the Byzantine Empress Irene to Charlemagne. It was kept below the high altar in a huge basement crypt. It supposedly had healing powers.
High Gothic wall division:
nave arcade: the elevation of the nave is balanced and compact. Uniform and evenly spaced compound piers with engaged half columns topped by foliage capitals, support the arcades
triforium: a passage way
clerestory: windows where the glazers used simple figures that could be seen at a distance because of their size, simple drawing, and strong colors
Tree of Jesse: on the west side of Chartres. Jesse, the father of King David and ancestor of Mary lies at the base of the tree who’s trunk grows out of his body. The tree connects Jesus with the house of David. In the branches above him appear four kings of Judea, the the Virgin Mary, and finally Christ himself. Seven doves symbolize seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, 14 prophets
Chartres Blue: the stained glass window has a blue color that no one is able to figure out how it was made.
Cult of the Virgin:
Coronation
Annunciation: at Reims on the west facades. Mary is pregnant with Jesus, and she is visiting her cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. She is a quiet, graceful figure with a slender body and restrained gestures
Visitation: the work of the Classical Shop, the right pair with Annunciation
Smiling Angel Master: created tall, gracefully swaying figures that in body type, features, pose, and gestures suggest the fashionable refinement.
Gothic encyclopedias:
Louis IX or St. Louis: collects relics of Christ’s Passion.
relics of Christ’s Passion: crown of thorns, a bit of the metal lance tip that pierced Christ’s side, the vinegar soaked sponge offered to wet Christ’s lips, a nail used in the Crucifixion, and a fragment of the True Cross

Objects/Monuments:
Notre Dame, Chartres: nave, transept, choir (16-8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14):
dedicated to the Virgin Mary
decoration has a lot of symbolism
rose windows
economy was based on trade fairs
famous for the stained glass
Notre Dame, Reims (16-18,19, 23):
coronation church of the kings of France
was a cultural and educational center
fire destroyed it, and the rebuilt it
sculpture and stained glass
Sainte-Chapelle, Paris (Rayonnant style)(16-24):
ordered by Louis IX, also called the Holy Chapel
resembles a giant reliquary made of stone and glass.
two stories
the ground level is accessible from a court yard. It has a nave and narrow side aisles
private upper lever is entered from the royal residence. It is a single room with a western porch and a rounded east wall. The exterior has gables and wall buttresses framing huge windows
Queen Blanche of Castile and Louis IX (fr. Moralized Bible, 16-25):
king Louis IX’s mother and him are in the royal palace, maybe where manuscripts were made. Below, a scholar monk dictates and the scribe works on a page with a column of circles that holds the illustrations.
Abraham, Sarah, and Three Strangers (fr. Psalter of St. Louis, 16-26):
defines the Court style in manuscript illumination.
Jean Pucelle, Betrayal of Christ and Annunciation (fr. Petites Heures of Jeanne d’Evreux, 16-36) :
from the Book of Hours
in Annunciation, Mary is shown receiving Gabriel while rejoicing angels look from a window.
In Betrayal, Judas Iscariot embraces Christ and introduces him to Roman Soldiers


III. International Gothic (1200’s and 1300’s)

Objects/Monuments:
England
Salisbury Cathedral (16-28, 29, 30):
Heavenly Jerusalem on Earth
the west facade had a large width, underscored by tiers of blind tracery and arcaded niches
tall lancet windows above insignificant doors
crossing tower was the focal point
Life of the Virgin, Chasuble (16-43):
embroidered with colored silk, gold threads forming the images subtley



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IV. Art of Ancient Africa

Terms:
Defining Art: The Myth of “Primitive Art” (p. 424):
“early” or “first of its kind” but it meant that these cultures were crude, simple, backward, and stuck in an early stage of development.
Ife, Nigeria:
the sacred city of the Yoruba people.
A tradition of naturalistic sculpture began there.
oni:
the Ife king
scarification:
decorations made by scarring
oba:
the forth king
from Benin, decided to start a tradition of memorial sculpture like Ife, and he sent to Ife for a master metal caster named Iguegha,
Benin, Nigeria:
a city statr
earliest kings belonged to the Ogiso dynasy
established cordial relationship with Portugal
The Object Speaks: A Warrior Chief Pledging Loyalty,p. 428: brass plaques made by the lost- wax casting process. The illustrate a variety of subjects, ceremonial scenes at court, showing the oba, and portuguese soldiers.
iyoba: The Queen Mother, Oba’s mother.

Objects/Monuments:
Saharan Rock Art -- Cattle Being Tended (13-3): Men and women are gathered in front of their round thatched houses, the men tending cattle, the women preparing a meal and caring for children.

Sub-Saharan Civilizations -- Ife, Nigeria, Head of a King, Yoruba People (13-7): A life size head that shows the artistry of ancient life. The face is covered with thin, parallel scarification patterns.

Benin, Nigeria
Memorial Head of an Oba, Benin (13-9): Rolled collar heads, a memorial head for the shrines of royal ancestors endures among the successors of Oranmiyan to this day.

Altar, Edo Culture, Nigeria (13-10): The Benin heads, with other objects we orignally placed on a semicircular platform and surmounted by large elephant tusks, another symbol of power.

V. Medieval (Samurai) Japan (c. 800 -1333 C.E.)

Heian Japan (794-1185):
The Japanese fully absorbed and transformed the influences from China and Korea.
The imperial government severed ties to China and was sustained by support from aristocratic families.
Efficient way of writing was developed
New religions: Esoteric Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism.

Pure Land Buddhism:
the Western Paradise of the Amida Buddha could have been reached through just faith.
chanting of a mantra would lead to rebirth in Amida’s paradise.
monks spread the word, and it is still the most popular branches of Buddhism.

Amida Buddha:
the Buddha of the Western Paradise.
Hail to Amida Buddha

Objects/Monuments:
Phoenix Hall, Byodo-in, Uji (11-11):
Uji Mountains.
used to be a secular palace, created to suggest the palace of Amida in the Western Palace.
Built for a member of the powerful Fujiwara family who served as the leading counselor to the emperor.
After emperor died it was converted into a temple.

Jocho, Amida Buddha (11-12):
In the Phoenix Hall. Carved
exemplifies the serenity and compassion of Buddha, who welcomes the souls of all believes to his paradise.
joined wood method.

Toba Sojo (attr.), Frolicking Animals, Handscroll, ink on paper (11-14):
each line is brisk and lively

Kamakura Japan (1185-1333)
Clan warfare: grew very strong, famous battles for domination.
shogun: general-in-chief
samurai: clans of warriors. Leaders became the real powers in Japan.
warrior arts: showing scenes from the battles, simple and quick lines. Enough to tell a story.
Zen Buddhism:
brought by Monks.
individuals must reach their own enlightenment through meditation, without help from deities or magical chants.
Zen temples were in the mountains.

Arts and Its Context: Arms and Armor, p. 389:
Asymmetrical placed hand grip on the bow. The lower part of the bow is shorter than the upper so it can clear the horse’s neck.
The sumurai wear a long curved sword at the waist.
Steel is hard enough to hold a razor sharp edge and breaks easy., steel resilient enough to withstand rough use.
Armor was made of overlapping iron and lacquered leather scales, punched with holes and laced together with leather thongs, brightly colored silk braids.

The Object Speaks: Monk Sewing (p. 390):
Zen monks grew and cooked their own food and cleaned their temples.
The practiced formal meditation and genjo koan
took an ordinary situation as an object of meditation.
The painting, Monk Sewing shows the Buddha Priest/Painter Kao Ninga.
Bold ink brushwork.

Objects/Monuments:
Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace, Handscroll, ink on paper (11-15):
conveys a sense of eye witness reporting even though its based off of a verbal story.
brisk and lively linework
refined brush work, use of color, and birds eye view.
savage depiction of warfare.

Kao Ninga (attr.), Monk Sewing; Kosho, Kuya Preaching (11-17):
epitomized the faith expressed in Pure Land Buddhism.


IV. Fourteenth Century Art in Europe (1300’s)

Terms: Italian republics: Florence, Siena; trade, craft guilds, banking, middle class; Triumph of Death, p. 556; Art and Context: A New Spirit in Fourteenth Century-Century Literature, p. 561; Technique: Cennino Cennini’s On Painting
(p. 564 -- tempera); Byzantine or Greek manner; Technique: Buon Fresco,
p. 569; linear perspective; International Style (Northern/French influence)


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Fourteenth Century Art in Europe (1300’s), con’d.

Objects/Monuments:
Italy
Florence Cathedral (Duomo, 17-3, 4); Giotto, Virgin and Child Enthroned (17-7);
Giotto, Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel, Padua: Joachim and Anna (n.i.), Raising of Lazarus, Lamentation (17-9, 10); Duccio, Virgin and Child in Majesty from the Maesta Altarpiece (17-11, 12); Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good Government in the City and Country, City Hall, Siena (17-14, 15), civic patronage, secular themes

France
Jean Pucelle, Betrayal and Arrest of Christ from the Book of Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (17-16)

The Holy Roman Empire
Vesperbild (Germany, 17-26)


V. Northern Renaissance in Flanders, 1400’s
(The arts of the Northern Renaissance are not covered in our text. They will be the subject of our research, presentations, and class discussion.)

Terms: Bruges, Dukes of Burgundy, International Style; diptych, triptych, polyptych, predella; portrait, genre, still life, landscape; oil technique with glazes; disguised symbolism; atmospheric perspective

Objects/Monuments
Limbourg Brothers, Tres Riches Heures for the Duke of Berry
Robert Campin, Merode Altarpiece
Jan van Eyck, Man in a Red Turban (Self Portrait?)
Jan and Hubert van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece
Jan van Eyck, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini (?) and Giovanna Cenami (?)
Rogier van der Weyden, St. Luke Painting the