Content in Painting & Image Making

What is your “thesis” statement? At the start: A blank canvas/surface

Paintings are always about looking. They are about looking out or looking in. The artist is the person looking, and telling you about what they are seeing. They can look out to the world as a place to observe, or in as a place of reflection. René Magritte. La Condition humaine Oil on canvas. 100 x 81 cm. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA.

Rene Magritte, La lunette d'approche (The Telescope) 1963 Oil on canvas 69 5/16 x 45 1/4 in. The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas

Frida Kahlo. The Two Fridas ’8”x5’8”

Unknown icon painter Our Lady of Vladimir First third of the 12th century Wood, tempera 104 x 69

Cimabue Madonna enthroned with Angels and Prophets ’7”x7’4” Tempera on wood Louvre, Paris At first glance Cimabue's Madonna and angels do look rather stylized and abstracted, the faces are all similar and elongated, the angels hover weightlessly stacked on top of one another. However in comparison with Byzantine models his figures are more filled out and have realistic folds in their drapery. Their is an expressive and inquisitive look in each face of Cimabue's work. Byzantine icons are beautiful works of art, but were created for spiritual reasons and were never meant to reflect naturalism Fall of Byzantium: 1453

Giotto, The Ognissanti Madonna, , Uffizi 10.7" x 6.7" (3.25 m x 2.04 m) The pictorial inventions of Giotto can be seen in his altarpiece created for the church of Ognissanti in Florence. Known as The Ognissanti Madonna (shown above), Giotto's figures have a solidity and weight to them. Faces are quite expressive and individualized rather than stylized, the throne is shown as a realistic three dimensional space and the angels are shown convincingly in front of one another rather than stacked on top of each other. Many art historians consider Giotto the father of the Italian Renaissance. His innovations in art are especially evident in his many fresco cycles where he clearly captures the emotions in each individual. After his time stylized iconographic figures and altarpieces start to wane from Italian art.

Master of the Orcagnesque Misericordia (Italian, Florentine, active second half of 14th century) Head of Christ,second half 14th century Tempera on wood, gold ground Overall, with engaged frame: 11 5/8 x 8 1/8 in. (29.5 x 20.6 cm); Painted surface: 9 5/8 x 6 1/8 in. (24.4 x 15.6 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of The Jack and Belle Linsky Foundation, 1981 ( )

Arena Chapel, Exterior, Padua, Italy

Giotto Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy

Giotto Lamentation

Foolishness Hope Justice

Giotto Betrayal of Christ

Giotto Expulsion from the temple of the money changers

Interior view of wall at Arena Chapel

Duccio, Madonna Enthroned with Child 7’x13’ Sienna, Italy

Composite reconstruction of alter piece

Robert Campin. Merode Altarpiece (Triptych of the Annunciation) c The complex treatment of light in the merode altarpiece is an example of the innovation of the flemish painters.

Into this contemporary setting he brought normal household objects that could also be seen a religious symbols. The lilies on the table, symbolizing Mary’s virginity. The hanging water pot and towel, actually a Jewish prayer shawl, in the niche refer to Mary's purity and her sacred role as the vessel for the incarnation of Christ.

The right hand panel, the mousetraps in Joseph's carpentry shop are a reference to a passage written by the theologian saint Augustine, referring to Christ as the bait in a trap set by god to catch Satan.

Jan van Eyck. Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife, Giovanna Cenami Flemish Oil on panel 33x22” Campin’s contemporary Jan van Eyck was a court painter to Philip the good, duke of burgundy, the uncle of the king of france and one of he wealthiest and most sophisticated men in europe.

Jan van Eyck. Man in a Red Turban Flemish self portrait Oil on wood panel. 13x10” Also bears his personal motto> als ich chan. The best that I am capable of doing. This motto, derived from classical sources, is a telling illustration of the humanist spirit of the age and the confident expression of an artist who knows his capabilities and is proud to display them.

Jean Fouquet Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels, Right wing of the diptych Oil on Wood panel 93 x 85 cm 1452

Jean Fouquet Étienne Chevalier and St. Stephen, Left wing of the diptych Oil on Wood panel 93 x 85 cm 1452

Rogier van der Weyden. Deposition. C Flemish Oil on panel The deposition was a popular theme in the 15th c. because of its dramatic, personally engaging characters. Many scholars see the emotionality of rogiers work as a tie with the gothic past, but the intense feelings evoked by his painting can also be interpreted as an example of 15th century humanistic concern for the individual.

Petrus Christus. Saint Eloy (Eligius) in His Shop Dutch Oil on panel 38x33” The work of the flemish painters attracted many followers. A number of this second generation flemish painters received their training in the dutch provinces of the low countries, where local schools of painting had developed strong followings.

SmartHistory Video: Annunciation Fra Angelico, The Annunciation, c , fresco, 230 x 321 cm (Convent of San Marco, Florence)

Fra Angelico, Annunciation, c , tempera on panel, Cortona, Museo Diocesano SmartHistory Video: Annunciation

Fra Angelico, Last Judgement, c. 1431, tempera on panel, 105 x 210 cm, Museo di San Marco, Florence

Trinity done by Masaccio between 1425 and 1427, just before the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Carmine. In a daringly innovative perspective design reproducing a chapel as though it were an extension to the church architecture, Masaccio inserted the imposing figures of Father and Son on the cross. Further forward, to the sides, the Virgin and St John, while in the forefront you see the fresco donor, a member of the Lenzi family, in a Gonfalonier costume (the highest civil position in the Commune of Florence), kneeling with his wife. Just a bit further down there's a skeleton on a tomb with the inscription: 'I am what you were and you will be what I am', alluding to the frailty of life. Masaccio Trinity, Fresco, c Santa Maria Novella, Florence The Trinity

Masaccio. The Tribute Money. SmartHistory Massaccio Video

Rogier van der Weyden. Portrait of a Lady. c. 1460, Flemish Oil and tempera on wood. 14” x 10”

Piero della Francesca. Battista Sforza, Federico da Montefeltro Oil on panel 18x13” Piero, influenced by massacio and flemish painters, emphasized the underlying geometry of the forms, rendering the figures with an absolute stillness. Duke and Duchess: smarthistory

Sandro Botticelli. Birth of Venus. C Panel 5x9’ Florence Birth of Venus: SmartHistory Video

Sandro Botticelli. Primavera. C Panel 5x9’ Florence Primavera: Smarthistory video

Andrea Mantegna. Frescoes in the Camera Picta, Ducal Palace, Mantua