1. Art and Culture

2. Feudalism declines Renaissance begins Crusades Italian City-States
Shift in thinking
Hundred Years War
Plague
Crusades
Growth of towns
Decline in Education
Growth of towns
Decentralized Government
Plague
Hundred Years War
Barbarian
Invasions
Shift in thinking
Italian City-States
Feudalism declines

3. Shift in Thinking Up with education! Support the arts!
Science: Good thinking!
Shift in Thinking
Up with education!
Reason & faith – perfect together.
Support the arts!

4. Umanista Studia humanitatis
Grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, philosophy
Begins with Boccaccio in 1350’s
Blossoms in Florence 1420’s-1520’s
God created universe, but humans developed world
Beauty, human capabilities valued
Humanists mostly believed that, although God created the universe, it was humans that had developed and industrialized it. Beauty, a popular topic, was held to represent a deep inner virtue and value, and an essential element in the path towards God.
The humanists were often opposed to philosophers of the preceding movement of Scholasticism, the "schoolmen" of the universities of Italy, Paris, Oxford and elsewhere. The scholastics' methodology was also derived from the classics, especially Thomas Aquinas' synthesis of the thought of Aristotle, and a classical debate which referred back to Plato and the Platonic dialogues was revived.

5. Discobolus 450 BCE
A classical sculpture (Discobolus) by Myron, 450 BCE.
This statue, shows a man throwing a discus It was probably created to celebrate the achievement of a famous athlete, perhaps an Olympic victory. Athletic skill was important to the Greeks, who placed a high value on developing both the mind and the body.
The figure is presented at a point of perfect balance in the middle of a powerful action. His balanced pose and calm face make the difficult physical action look easy. His strong, defined body is carefully arranged into simple and harmonious shapes. He is neither an ordinary man nor a god, but he represents an ideal for the man in Greek society. This particular statue is a copy made in marble by the Romans, who greatly admired Greek culture. The original statue, created in about 450 B.C.E., would have been cast in bronze.

6. Illuminated manuscript

7. Plague In London, 1625

8. The School of Athens Raphael 1510 CE
The School of Athens : Renaissance painting by Raphael, 1510 CE. Made to decorate an entire wall of a room in the Pope’s palace.
It shows an imaginary gathering of the great thinkers of ancient Greece. The figures are shown gesturing and moving, talking and interacting as if they are discussing their ideas. Their gestures and expressions show us how important their ideas are to them. The men meet in a large, open building decorated with sculptures and covered with huge arches to frame the two most important philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, who stand in the center. The building recalls the architecture of classical antiquity and uses perspective to create a deep sense of space.

9. Madonna and Child with Two Angels 1406: Filippo Lippi
Madonna and Child with Two Angels, Filippo Lippi,Tempera on Panel, 1406 C.E. Renaissance. Mary is seated in an elegant, almost throne-like chair. Two angels are holding Mary’s baby, Jesus, up to her. The angels are expressive, showing the importance of their task. One of the angels, proud to be doing something so important, turns his head and looks out at the viewer with a smile. Mary holds her hands in a gesture of prayer before this special child and looks down with a solemn, almost worried expression, as though she knows what will eventually happen to him. The baby is fat and round and looks like a real baby. He reaches toward his mother with a gesture that is babyish but also seems mature, as if he wants to reassure her.
Lippi enjoyed creating complicated, beautiful patterns in his paintings that look convincingly real. Notice that your attention is drawn to Mary’s face by the line of hands and feet, beginning with the baby’s left foot and moving up to his right hand. This complexity is contained within a simple, smooth triangle that the whole group of figures creates. The figures are presented as if before a window that opens on a broad landscape extending far into the distance.

10. The Death of Thomas Beckett
1170 CE
The Death of Thomas Beckett

11. Bathing Venus Unknown Artist Roman: 3rd Century BCE
Bathing Venus, Unknown Roman Artist, Marble Sculpture, Original c. Third Century B.C.E. Classical.
This marble sculpture was made by a Roman artist as a copy of a third century B.C.E. Greek bronze statue. It represents a woman crouching as she bathes. She is probably Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, because no other woman, even another goddess, would have been shown in the nude by the Greeks. She is young and beautiful with a soft and shapely body. She holds her arms over her body, gracefully and modestly covering herself.
This sculpture expresses a serenity and balance that the ancient Greeks thought was ideal. Notice that the lines made by the parts of the woman’s body all move inward and toward her. The shapes of the sculpture are soft and rounded, with a long, smooth line on one side and more complicated shapes on the other side. The outline of her whole body makes a simple shape.

12. Dance of Death (Imago Mortis)
 This Dance of Death, or Imago Mortis, is considered one of the most powerful expressions of late-medieval German art.

13. Venus and Adonis Titian: 1550 CE
Renaissance. Titian’s Venus and Adonis, 1550 CE. Made for the King of Spain. It interprets a classical story in which Venus tries to keep her beloved Adonis, a young hunter, from leaving for the hunt that will cause his death. Adonis, however, cannot be restrained. Cupid is asleep on a hill above the couple. The figures all move convincingly – even the dogs. The bodies and the faces show us both what is happening and how the characters feel.

14. Madonna and Child in Majesty
Cimbaue:
1280 CE
Madonna and Child in Majesty, Cimabue,Tempera Paint on Wood Panel, c C.E. Medieval.
This very large painting—over 12 feet in height—of Mary and Jesus was made by the Italian artist Cimabue to be placed on the altar of a church in Florence. The mother and child are sitting on a cushion on a large and elegant throne. Mary looks out at the viewer—who in the 13th century would have come to worship at the altar—and points to her son, who looks out with a gesture of blessing. She holds him tenderly, as you would a baby, though he looks older than a baby.
The delicate folds of clothing make an elegant pattern. They are edged with gold paint, which would gleam in the dim candlelight of the church and make the bodies look heavenly and not too rounded or real. The surrounding angels, and the shining background covered with gold leaf, tell us that this throne is not on Earth but in heaven. Four prophets look out from below the throne. They are smaller than the Madonna (Mary) and help make her look powerful.

15. Primavera Boticelli: 1482 CE
Primavera, Sandro Botticelli, Tempera Paint on Wood Panel, c C.E.
This painting depicts a mythological version of the coming of spring. (Primavera means “spring” in Italian.) The setting is a beautiful garden, with orange trees, golden fruit, and nine figures from ancient Greco- Roman mythology. On the far right, Zephyr, the wind god, pursues his nymph-bride, Chloris. As he touches her, she turns into Flora, the goddess of spring, a lovely maiden covered in fresh green and flowers. To the left are the three graces: Castitas (Chastity), Pulchritudo (Beauty), and Voluptus (Pleasure). They dance together, celebrating spring, and form the court of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, who is shown at center. Above Aphrodite is her winged son, Eros, who aims an arrow (to kindle love) at Castitas. On the far left is Hermes, messenger of the gods, who looks upward and points at the clouds.
Botticelli painted this huge (6-by-10-foot) work on a wall in the home of a member of the Medici family. Even though it is painted is on wood, it appears more like a medieval tapestry. Botticelli’s pale, weightless figures, with their long limbs, translucent, flowing gowns, and gentle, graceful movements create a scene with a dreamlike quality.
Primavera Boticelli: 1482 CE

16. Grave Stele of Hegeso Unknown Artist Greek: 400 BCE
Grave Stele of Hegeso, Unknown Greek Artist, Marble Sculpture, c. 400 B.C.E. Classical (Greek).
This Greek marble sculpture decorates a stele, a tall stone that marks a grave. This was made for a woman’s grave and shows an ordinary though wealthy woman in a scene from her daily life. She sits in a chair and examines a piece of jewelry she has chosen from the box her servant has brought her.
There is no suggestion of a background, and the carving is not very deep. Still, the sculptor has managed to make the scene convincing and realistic— so realistic that you do not notice at first how much larger the seated lady is than the standing one. The faces are smooth and calm, and the poses harmonious and balanced, yet the scene has a melancholy look, appropriate for its function.

17. Bayeux Tapestry (Section) 1082 CE
Medieval. Section of the Bayeux Tapestry, 1082 CE. This 70 meter long tapestry depicts the story of the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings in The English King Harold, who has just been crowned, is on the throne holding the symbols of kingship. One one side two knights swear loyalty to him, and on the other side the archbishop show support for the king. The bodies are stiff and flattened, and their faces are embroidered with simple lines that do not permit much facial expression. There is no attempt to show figures in three-dimensional space.

18. Pieta Michelangelo : 1475 CE
Pieta, Michelangelo, Marble Sculpture, c C.E. Renaissance. This masterpiece represents Mary holding Jesus in her lap after he has been crucified (killed). It was made by the Italian artist Michelangelo for the tomb of a cardinal (a high church official) in St. Peter’s Church in Rome. Although Jesus is a grown man, Mary holds him in her lap as she did when he was a child. In real life, this would be difficult to do, but she makes it look effortless, using just one hand.
Mary looks delicate and tender, but she is a huge figure with an extremely wide lap. Both she and Jesus are young and beautiful, more like an ideal man and woman than an older woman and her dead son would really have looked. This helps to emphasize their meaning as eternal religious symbols. Michelangelo has carved great sweeping folds of drapery, making them look very convincing. The entire sculpture fits into a smooth, simple pyramid shape, although within that shape the lines are complicated. Throughout the work, Michelangelo combines opposites in this way, and as a result convinces the viewer that it is both real and ideal.

19. Canterbury Cathedral: Magi and the infant Jesus
he (Matthew) Magi join the (Luke) shepherds in the stable, thus giving the artist the chance to capture two adorations in one scene.  To the left, Solomon receives the Queen of Sheba.  To the right Joseph's 12 brothers pay homage to him without realizing who he is.
Canterbury Cathedral: Magi and the infant Jesus

20. Knight, Death, and the Devil
Albrecht Durer 1513

22. Narthex Tympanum 1120 CE Narthex Tympanum, Sculpture, 1120 C.E.
Medieval sculpture made to fit into an arching space (tympanum) over the entrance doors to a church in France. Jesus = center figure, apostles on either side. Jesus is sending them all over the world to preach. Little figures in scenes around them are the people waiting for the preachers. Medieval art was meant to tell stories, most often religious. Bodies were not important, so artists do not try to make the figures look real.
The most important figure, Jesus, is the largest, and he is positioned at the center. Making the figures’ bodies look realistic was not important to this artist. The artist’s intention was to make a beautiful pattern on the flat stone that would fit the space of the arch and convey religious meaning.
Narthex Tympanum CE

23. Madonna with the Long Neck
Parmigianino
1535 CE
Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long Neck, c oil on panel. Italian.
The painting depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a high pedestal in luxurious robes, holding a rather large baby Jesus on her lap. Six angels crowded together on the Madonna's right, adore the Christ-child.
In the lower right-hand corner of the painting is an enigmatic scene, with a row of marble columns and the emaciated figure of St. Jerome. A depiction of St. Jerome was required by the commissioner because of the saint's connection with the adoration of the Virgin Mary.
The painting is popularly called "Madonna of the Long Neck" because "the painter, in his eagerness to make the Holy Virgin look graceful and elegant, has given her a neck like that of a swan."