Late Medieval & Gothic Art

Gothic Era 1150/1400 about 250 years

Pope Innocent III, On the Misery of the Human Condition, c. 1200 Man is conceived of blood made rotten by the heat of lust; and in the end worms, like mourners, stand about his corpse. In life he produced lice and tapeworms; in death he will produce worms and flies. In life he produced dung and vomit; in death he produces rottenness and stench. In life he fattened one man; in death he fattens a multitude of worms.

Dematerialization Image floats on gold background (Byzantine influence lingers) Madonna and Child, ca. 1326 Simone Martini (Italian [Siena], ca. 1284–1344) Tempera on panel; Overall: 23 1/8 x 15 1/2 in. (58.8 x 39.6 cm); Painted Surface: 22 1/2 x 15 1/8 in. (57.2 x 38.4 cm) No bones about it

Martini Madonna detail not in text

Notre Dame Cathedral begun in 1163 not in text

Notre Dame Cathedral flying buttresses c. 1175

Chartres Cathedral buttresses

Flying Buttress diagram

Other Gothic innovations pointed arch (instead of round arch) ribbed vault (instead of dome) stained glass windows (see pp. 163-170) WHO CAME UP WITH THESE IDEAS?

THE ARCHITECT(S)? WHO WORKED FOR SAY IT FIRST: SOO-zhay Abbot Suger (c.1085-1151) The dull mind rises to truth through that which is material . . . p. 163 How to justify this expense?

Abbey Church of Saint Denis ribbed vaulting

Chartres Cathedral V E R T I C A L Y

Chartres Cathedral detail Proportion – heads to bodies?

Chartres Cathedral detail Elongated figures

1150 - a Gothic date to remember Gothic style architecture starts and is rapidly disseminated around 1150. A much clearer start & style than Romanesque

A hint of the Renaissance in the air?

Cimabue, Madonna Enthroned, 1280-90 NO PERSPECTIVE flat pictorial space similar to Ancient & Byzantine works Note color oppositions and alternation in Angel wings Similar to TEXTBOOK p. 183

detail

Greek & Italian blend Byzantine Enthroned Madonna and Child, 13th century tempera on panel, 131.1 x 76.8 cm (51 5/8 x 30 1/4 in.) During the thirteenth century, the art of the Catholic West and Orthodox East intermingled, resulting in a Byzantine style in Italy. This icon or "holy image," probably painted by a Greek artist working in Italy, is a perfect example of this fusion. Known also as the "Kahn Madonna" from the name of the previous owner, the large panel represents a full-length figure of Mary enthroned as Queen of Heaven. She holds the infant Christ who, true to medieval convention, is a miniature adult. In the flanking medallions, archangels hold orbs and scepters, emphasizing Mary's imperial role. In this, the "Hodegetria" type of Madonna, she directs the viewer's attention to Christ, thus pointing the way to salvation. There are distinct similarities in style and subject matter between this painting and the Byzantine icons painted in the East for the Greek Orthodox Church. The graceful movement of the figures, the gold striations on the drapery which simulate shimmering light, and the flowing, rhythmic lines identify the artist as a Greek painter. But an Italian influence is notable in the tooled decoration of the halos, the perspective of the wooden throne with its high back, the delicate gradations of light and shade, and the distinctly Tuscan scheme of the rectangular panel with a full-length depiction of the enthroned Virgin. http://www.nga.gov/

GIOTTO Madonna in Glory c. 1311 Tempera on panel 128 x 90 1/2 in. suggestions of PERSPECTIVE in a GOTHIC ERA work; PERSPECTIVE is a major development of the RENAISSANCE (key words in BOLD) SEE TEXT! p. 184

detail Shading gives volume SEE TEXT! p. 184

Giotto, Pieta (Lamentation) fresco BOLD DIAGONAL SEE TEXT! p. 185 Late Gothic/ Early Renaissance from 1305

GIOTTO The Presentation of the Virgin c. 1305 Fresco GIOTTO The Presentation of the Virgin c. 1305 Fresco. Cappella dell'Arena, Padua

Duccio di Buoninsegna (c. 1255 - c Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255 - c.1319) The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain, 1308-1311 tempera on poplar panel 17 in. x 18 1/8 in. Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255 - c.1319) The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain, 1308-1311 tempera on poplar panel (cradled) 17 in. x 18 1/8 in. (43.18 cm x 46.04 cm) Purchased by The Frick Collection, 1927 The Temptation of Christ is one of a series of panels illustrating the life of Christ painted for the Maestà, a huge double-sided altarpiece commissioned for the high altar of Siena Cathedral. The importance of this monumental work for the history of Sienese painting can scarcely be exaggerated. The front of the complex altarpiece, now in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena, consists of an enthroned Madonna and Child flanked by orderly rows of saints and angels, with half-length figures of Apostles above them and pinnacle scenes depicting the death and glorification of the Virgin; below is a predella narrating events from the birth and infancy of Christ. On the back of the altar were other small panels illustrating the life and Passion of Christ. For two hundred years Duccio’s Maestà remained in its post of honor, influencing generations of artists in Siena, but thereafter it suffered a series of vicissitudes, and eventually partial dismemberment. Although more than fifty panels have survived, most of them in Siena, several of the smaller panels have been dispersed or lost. The original arrangement of the panels on the altarpiece and the question of what part assistants played in executing this radically innovative work are problems that may never be resolved. But Duccio himself must have been the guiding genius who designed the novel range of settings and compositions and who infused the familiar subjects with new drama and emotion. In the Frick panel, a majestically towering Christ is shown rejecting the devil, who offers Him “all the kingdoms of the world” if Christ will worship him (Matthew 4:8–11). Duccio retains medieval conventions in depicting the figures as large and the spurned kingdoms as small, thus suggesting a scale of values rather than naturalistic proportions. Yet the story is presented in terms that are immediately meaningful. Christ expresses a sorrowful solemnity, and the cities in the foreground — packed with turrets, domes, and crenellations — vividly evoke the festive colors and crowded hill-sites of Siena. Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.

The Garden of Eden from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry by the Limbourg Brothers, 1410s

1/3 OF THE POPULATION OF EUROPE DEAD PLAGUE – 1350s 1/3 OF THE POPULATION OF EUROPE DEAD certainly raises the going pay rate for labor! stimulus for coming Renaissance? An urban phenomenon, but also particularly devastating to monks & nuns

The Great Schism(s) East/West churches split 1054 Western church, multiple Popes simultaneously, 1378-1417 General weakening of the authority of the Church in civil affairs

SUMMARY – Late Medieval & Gothic ARCHITECTURE – arches get the point; buttresses fly & glass is stained – emphasis on VERTICAL ART – dematerialized human figures moving towards realistic pictorial space MUSIC – POLYPHONY; rhythmic notation; Ars Nova IDEAS – life is bad, humans worse, God is great EVENTS – plague, weakening of Church authority

1000 1066 1150 Anchor Dates Musical STAFF used for CHANT in the EARLY MEDIEVAL PERIOD in MONASTERIES 1066 BATTLE OF HASTINGS depicted in the BAYEUX TAPESTRY which we associate with FEUDALISM GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE 1150

Up to dates? 480 BC Start of CLASSICAL GREEK PERIOD 547 547 c.1000 c. 1150 Start of CLASSICAL GREEK PERIOD Just after the start of the ROMAN EMPIRE; Caesar Augustus reigns SAN VITALE; sort of end of Early Christian period Guido describes the musical staff Gothic architecture defined & disseminated

Pope Innocent III, On the Misery of the Human Condition, c. 1200 (1) . . . man was formed of dust, slime, and ashes: what is even more vile, of the filthiest seed. He was conceived from the itch of the flesh, in the heat of passion and the stench of lust, and worse yet, with the stain of sin. He was born to toil, dread, and trouble; and more wretched still, was born only to die. He commits depraved acts by which he offends God, his neighbor, and himself; shameful acts by which he defiles his name, his person, and his conscience; and vain acts by which he ignores all things important, useful, and necessary. He will become fuel for those fires which are forever hot and burn forever bright; food for the worm which forever nibbles and digests; a mass of rottenness which will forever stink and reek.

Paolo and Giovanni Veneziano (active c Paolo and Giovanni Veneziano (active c.1333 - before 1362) (Workshop of) The Coronation of the Virgin, 1358 tempera on poplar panel 43 1/4 in. x 27 in. Paolo and Giovanni Veneziano (active c.1333 - before 1362) (Workshop of) The Coronation of the Virgin, 1358 tempera on poplar panel 43 1/4 in. x 27 in. (109.86 cm x 68.58 cm) Purchased by The Frick Collection, 1930 The Coronation of the Virgin is recounted not in the New Testament but in the apocryphal story of the Virgin’s death. In many Coronation scenes painted by Paolo and other Venetian artists a sun and a moon accompany the principal figures, the sun from early times being associated with Christ and the moon with the Virgin. The angels singing and playing musical instruments in the Frick panel symbolize the harmony of the universe; their instruments are the authentic components of a medieval orchestra, accurately depicted and correctly held and played. The inscription along the base of the throne is drawn from the Eastertide antiphon Regina coeli. The decorative sparkle of the surface — with its brilliant, expensive colors, patterned textiles, and lavish gold leaf — reflects the Venetians’ love of luxury, a taste that enriches as well much of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century architecture in Venice. Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996. zoomable

Cimabue The Flagellation of Christ, c Cimabue The Flagellation of Christ, c. 1280 tempera on poplar panel 9 3/4 in. x 7 7/8 in. Cimabue (Cenni di Peppo) (c. 1240 - c. 1302) The Flagellation of Christ, c. 1280 tempera on poplar panel 9 3/4 in. x 7 7/8 in. (24.77 cm x 20 cm) Purchased by The Frick Collection, 1950