uccello - botticelli

8/6/2019 Uccello - Botticelli

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/uccello-botticelli 1/62

As Brunelleschi made no writtenrecord of his perspective findings, itremained for Alberti to be the first toput the theory into writing, in histreatise on painting, Della pittura

(1435)



Donatello1386 – 1466 He was born in Florence. He was the son of Nicolo diBetto Bardi.The earliest surviving use of linear perspective in art is attributed to Donato diNiccolò di Betto Bardi (1386-1466), called Donatello, who is considered by many to

be the greatest sculptor of the early Renaissance in Italy, and perhaps one of thegreatest sculptors of all time.

DONATELLO: Relief: St. George and the Dragon



1411 – He worked at a statue of St.Mark for the church of Orsanmicheleuntil 1413



1417 - He completed a St. Georgefor the confraternity of the Cuirass-makers

1. Like the other sculpture in the nichesat Orsanmichele, St. George was

commissioned by a guild (theCorazzai--the Armorer's guild) anddepicts its patron saint.

2. The relief at the base of thetabernacle depicts St. Georgeslaying the dragon.

3. It is noteworthy because of its newrelief style, the so-called relievoschiacciato, misleadingly translatedas "flattened relief.“

4. Instead of a flat relief backgroundout of which figures and detailsemerge, here deep space is depictedthrough optical qualities in thecarving which emphasize light andshadow.

5. This kind of pictorial relief gives asense of atmospheric perspectiveand the illusion of depth



Feast of Herod. This panel, made for the font of the Siena cathedral,

The orthogonals are not very long or prominent, but what there is of them can be seen tointersect at a vanishing point near the elbow of the musician in the central window. Thevanishing point would be at eye level for the figures seated behind the table, if they were

sitting up straight.



The meaning of the wordThe word 'perspective' derives fromthe Latin (ars) perspectiva ,The meaning of the word

1. The word 'perspective' derivesfrom the Latin (ars)perspectiva, a term adopted bythe Roman philosopherBoethius (d. AD 524) whentranslating Aristotle to renderthe Greek optiki (optics).

2. In the 15th century 'perspective'came to mean seeing througha transparent plane on whichthe scene is traced from asingle fixed eye-point. It thenbecame in Latin perspectiva

artificialis or perspectivapingendi to distinguish it fromthe older science perspectivanaturalis or communis.



The Velo1. Alberti described how an artist could

get a correct view of a scene byobserving it through a thin veil, orvelo.

2. The idea is that we can get a correct

image of some object seen throughsuch a veil or a window by tracing theoutline of the object on the windowglass.

3. Albrech Durer designed several suchmachines.



Paolo Uccello

Wireframe of a chaliceUccello created this “wireframe”

perspective drawing of a Chalicearound 1450



a. In „the hunt‟ everything is organised on a distant and almost unseen stag, placed

on the vanishing point.

b. The hunters on horseback, the hounds and beaters run from all sides among theslim bare trunks of a darkly wooded landscape each of them placed on a specific

orthogonal (the trees form the function of a tiled floor by „fixing‟ specific perspectivepoints as we see in a tiled floor)

c. Uccello was one of the first Florentine to use perspective in painting. Brunelleschiwas the first to demonstrate it Architectural design in 1413.

d. Alberti was the first to pioneer its application to painting.

e. Uccello means „bird‟ because he loved birds.



In 1450 he painted three enormous panels depicting the battle at San Romano inwhich the Florentine army defeated Siena some twenty years earlier



1. Three panelled painting that occupied the end wall of theMedici bed chamber in the Palace that was later occupied byLorenzo the Magnificent. The one above is in London.

2. The event being illustrated occurred in 1432 and thesubsequent painting probably around 1450.

3. The rearing horses seem to have been transplanted from a

carousel the impression is one of a tournament not a militaryengagement.

4. This is partly due to Uccello‟s stylisation of contour and

modelling in the houses and the armour, consistently reducedto brilliant ornament rather than grim reality.

5. The toy people do not really wound each other or bleed andfurthermore the unreality of the scene derives from the rigidityof the perspective construction.

6. The broken lances fall in conformity with the orthogonals ashave the pieces of armour ( In the Uffizi panel there is a shieldin the corner with a scroll wrapped around it with the signatureof the artist, all the letters receding in perspective.)

7. In the lower left, the soldier has conveniently died in

perspective.8. The background cut off from the foreground stage by a dark

frieze of fruit trees, is an accurate rendition of the rolling hillsof divided into narrow field strips that are still visible near SanRomano in the Arno valley near Pisa. There in the backgroundwe see vestiges of combat in progress,

9. A dog chasing a rabbit as well as peasant workers

unconcernedly carrying on with their activities.



San Marco

• The Dominicanorder of which FraAngelico was amember move tothe convent of SanMarco in Florence

in 1436.

•Funded by Cosimode Medici who alsodonated 400

classical texts. • It was here that Fra

Angelico worked onthe Annunciationand other famous

works



Fra Angelico - The Annunciation



• Instead of being separated into individual hierarchical panels along acommon frontal plane depicted in individual niches.

• The saints are now moving together in real space.• They now form a group and „converse‟ around the virgin.

• Popular versions were the marriage of St Catherine to Christ and wereoften depicted as thanksgivings for victory.



The Virgin andChild Enthronedwith Angels andSaints c. 1438 - 40



a. The „Virgin and Child . . .‟ looks at first glance, like any other Gothic painting

with its graceful sinewy lines and its decorative- background filled with patterns.b. A closer look reveals the awareness of perspective and especially of the play oflight and the sculptural influence on his representation of physical space.c. There is a special arrange of figures standing in relation to each other in realspace.d. The design in the carpet is deliberately played off against the standingrepresentation of the crucifixion in the foreground.e. Past the extraordinarily abstract design behind the throne to the landscape inwhich we see a convincing play of light upon the trees.



H h t i d t li k th f d ith th b k d b i d



a. He has tried to link the foreground with the background by using a roadthat moves into the distance and is then hidden behind a hill.b. He has tried to paint the full horror of martyrdom and the heads of thefallen saints lie in a pool of their own blood.c. The problem for Fra Angelico is to render the realism of the scene and

still persist in the pictorial convention of the halo still attached to the decapitatedheads.



a. Fra Angelico was the model of agood monk Lippi was not.

b. Angelico‟s contemporariescalled him the „Reverend Angel‟

in the 19th C he was thought tobe a saint.

c. Lippi was left as and orphan andbrought up by the Carminemonks in Florence.

c. He was not able to live a life offrugal chastity. He eventuallymet a nun who, like him wasliving a life totally unsuited to

her temperament.

d. Both were dispensed from theirvows and by all accounts had ahappy marriage.



Fra Filippo Lippi. Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels with St. Frediano and St.Augustine (The Barbadori Altarpiece). 1437.



Virgin and Child Filippo Lippi1. Lippi‟s version was influenced by Masaccio's Brancacci chapel.

2. But the monumentality of Masaccio was tempered by a sweetness and delicacyfound in Fra Angelico‟s paintings, the mystical quality of later works show

Netherlandish influence growing at the time in Italy.3. Lippi‟s Virgin has a rounded physical presence the picture is not suited to his

character and tends to weigh heavily on the eye the gravity of the scene tendstowards a claustrophobic effect.



Annunciation and seven saints

Here the true personality of Lippi is seen in a composition that sits comfortably inthe new conventions of space yet still uses the Gothic design and patterning in asatisfying way.



The Annunciation and Seven Saints about 1450-3 LIPPI, Fra Filippo about 1406 -1469



• Giovani di Bicci, increased the

wealth of the family through hiscreation of the Medici Bank, andbecame one of the richest men in the

city.• Although never held any political

office, he gained a strong popularsupport to the family when hesupported the introduction of aproportional taxing system.

• His grandson was Lorenzo „the

Magnificent‟ who took the helm of the

Medici family in 1469 and is famousfor being the patron of Leonardo aswell as Michelangelo.



Cosimo di Giovanni de'Medici (September 27, 1389 – August 1, 1464),

was the first of the Medicipolitical dynasty, rulers ofFlorence during most of theItalian Renaissance;

also known as "Cosimo 'the

Elder'"

Medici family members placed allegorically in the entourage of a king from the Three



Medici family members placed allegorically in the entourage of a king from the ThreeWise Men in the Tuscan countryside in a Benozzo Gozzoli fresco, c. 1459.



Medici rule stagnated untilhis grandson Lorenzo tookover. Lorenzo de' Medici “the

Magnificent”



The incompetentPiero II



Cosimo I de' Medici inArmour by AgnoloBronzino.

Cosimo I (1519-1574)became Duke of Florencein 1537. A skilled but whoannexed their rival townSienna to Florence in1555 ruthless soldier.

A patron and collector of thearts.



Leo X



Clement VII. Sebastianodel Piombo. c.1531

Antonio del Pollaiuolo



1. Born in Florence.2. His brother, Piero, was also an artist, and the two frequently worked together.

Their work shows both classical influences and an interest in human anatomy;reportedly, the brothers carried out dissections to improve their knowledge of

the subject.3. They took their nickname from the trade of their father, who in fact sold poultry(pollaio meaning "hen coop" in Italian).

4. Antonio's first studies of gold-smithing and metalworking were under eitherhis father or Andrea del Castagno: the latter probably taught him also inpainting.

5. He only produced one surviving engraving, the Battle of the Nude Men, butboth in its size and sophistication this took the Italian print to new levels, andremains one of the most famous prints of the Renaissance.



1. A monumental work and his mostambitious made for the Pucci family



ambitious made for the Pucci familyfinished in 1475 (the year Michelangelowas born).

2. He was obsessed with the anatomy ofthe figure and how best to display it inthe most challenging positions.

3. The St. being martyred is reallyincidental and not the concern of theartist. He is a painter of action notmerely placing figures in acomposition the vigorous action posesare what he is chiefly known for.

4. The archers are the focus of hisconcerns and their actions display allthat Antonio knew about musculartension.

5. In reality there are only three poses forthe six archers. Antonio has turnedeach figure around for his counterpart

on the other side of the tree as if hehas reversed the clay model instead ofreversing the cartoon (as was commonpractice).

6. This is likely since he was a sculptorand his painting leads towards

Michelangelo who was definitelyinfluenced by this.

The Extent of anatomical



The Extent of anatomicalknowledge in the 15th C• "Disease Man.“ • This drawing serves as a

diagram of the diseases that

affect different parts of the bodyand is a famous example ofRenaissance anatomical realism.

• Four columns on either side ofthe figure list diseasesalphabetically, generally withoutrelation to logic or pathology.

Some diseases, on the otherhand, are recognized as local:these are listed from head to toe,from quinsy of the throat andbad fingernails, to gout in thefeet; in between, we see"running of the chest," arthritisin the arms, "passion" of theheart, cramps in the legs, andmost strikingly, cancer of thetesticles.

Johannes de Ketham. Fasiculo de medicina. (Venice: Gregori, 1493).

"Zodiac Man.“



• Medical astrology was based on thebelief that the body's "microcosm"corresponded to the "macrocosm" ofthe planets and stars and gave order tothe seemingly random course of life and

health.

• Thus, it assisted the physician inprescribing treatment, in predicting thecourse of a disease, and in castinghoroscopes.

• This woodcut shows which

constellation, symbolized by a sign ofthe zodiac, governs each region of thebody.

• Aries governs the head as well as March(which was once the first month of theyear), and so on.

• Consequently, the table advises that aregion of the body should not receivemedication when the correspondingsign is dominant. Thus, it is bad to treatthe head in March, and "anyone whodoes so will cause a concussion or die." Johannes de Ketham.

Fasiculo de medicina . (Venice: Gregori, 1493).



Studies for the Libyan Sibyl - c1508

• The later innovators in the field,Leonardo da Vinci (1452 –1519)

and Michelangelo (1475 –1564),

• who are known to haveundertaken detailed anatomicaldissections at various points intheir long careers,

• set a new standard in theirportrayals of the human figure

(Studies for the Libyan Sibyl, 24.197.2).

The patrons commissioning art in this period also came to expect such



The patrons commissioning art in this period also came to expect suchanatomical mastery. In the words of the Florentine sculptor Baccio Bandinelli (1488 –

1560), who was trying to impress a duke to hire him, and who also appears to have run anacademy for the teaching of young artists, "I will show you that I know how to dissect thebrain, and also living men, as I have dissected dead ones to learn my art" (The Academy of

Baccio Bandinelli, 17.50.16).

Leonardo Da Vinci - Anatomical



Drawings

Leonardo da Vinci, who is without doubtthe most significant artist-anatomist ofall time, first undertook a series of

detailed studies of the human skull in1489, borrowing from the architect'srigorous technique of representingthree-dimensional forms in plan,section, elevation, and perspectivalview.

He thereby invented a new vocabularyfor the history of scientific illustration.Leonardo produced his most preciselydrawn dissections of the human body in1510 –11, probably working under the

direction of the young professor ofanatomy, Marcantonio della Torre, fromthe University of Pavia.



1. None of Leonardo'sdi i bli h d i



discoveries were published inhis lifetime.

2. However, his methods ofillustrating the dissection ofmuscles in layers, as well as

some of his "plan, section,and elevation" techniques,seem to have become widelydisseminated, and wereincorporated in the firstcomprehensively illustratedRenaissance treatise,

3. Andreas Vesalius' De humanicorporis fabrica, published inBasel in 1543 (53.682).

4. Some of Vesalius' images ofpartially dissected bodies, setdramatically in a landscape,

appear to have been designedby Titian's pupil, Jan Stevenvan Calcar (1499? –1546).

Andreas Vesalius' De humani corporis



Andreas Vesalius De humani corporisfabrica, published in Basel in 1543

Pope Sixtus



Pope Sixtus• At the beginning of his papacy in

1471, Sixtus IV donated severalhistorically important Romansculptures that founded a papal

collection of art that wouldeventually develop into thecollections of the CapitolineMuseums. He also re-founded,enriched and enlarged the VaticanLibrary.

• He had Regiomontanus attemptthe first sanctionedreorganization of the Juliancalendar and increased the sizeand prestige of the papal chapelchoir, bringing singers and someprominent composers (Gasparvan Weerbeke, Marbrianus deOrto, and Bertrandus Vaqueras)to Rome from the North.

His bronze funerary monument,



His bronze funerary monument,now in the basement Treasuryof St. Peter's Basilica, like agiant casket of goldsmith'swork, is by Antonio Pollaiuolo.The top of the casket is alifelike depiction of the popelying in state. Around the sidesare bas relief panels, depictingwith allegorical female figuresthe arts and sciences(Grammar, Rhetoric, Arithmetic,

Geometry, Music, Painting,Astronomy, Philosophy, andTheology). Each figureincorporates the oak tree("rovere" in Italian) symbol ofSixtus IV. The overall programof these panels, their beauty,

complex symbolism, classicalreferences, and arrangementrelative to each other is one ofthe most compelling andcomprehesive illustrations ofthe Renaissance worldview.



Stoa of Attalus, Restored interior portico

a. In Italy there was an interest in Greco Roman culture that was to characterise the renaissance.

b . The Classical Greek systems of Plato and Aristotle and Pythagoras were combined.

c. It was first established in the 3rd century but during the 15th C it was revised and made compatiblewith Christian belief.

d. The view was that ideas were more important than things and the soul is endowed with virtues and iscapable of an inner ascent to God

e. Cosimo de Medici founded the Plato academy of Florence in 1459.

f. He used the foremost theorist and classics translator of the time Marsilio E. Fecino.

Botticelli



The Art of Botticelli is characterised bythe sinewy line and decoration seen inFilippo lippy and Fra Angelico combinedwith the draughtsmanship of Pollaiuolo.The stiff scientific formulas of thePollaiuolo brothers are replaced by anelegant and lyrical approach that isgraceful and refine. But alsodemonstrates an understanding notonly of the new studies in anatomy butalso the concerns of neo Platonism.

The Primavera is an allegory on theharmony of nature and humankind andcontains many mythical figures. Anallegory of life, beauty, and knowledgeunited by love in the freshness of aSpring morning



Sandro Botticelli – Primavera - 1482

Venus, at the centre of the



painting the link between natureand civilisation and anotherform of the Virgin Mary, aboveher is Cupid.

Who is blindfolded and

shoots his arrows at thethree Graces (Thehandmaidens of Venus)who were believed torepresent the three phasesof love beauty, desire and

fulfilment. They areremoved from the others intime. This is shown by thedirection their garmentsmove which is opposite tothe flow of wind cause byZephyr.

On the right the figure of Zephyr(the west wind of spring) is chasing



(the west wind of spring) is chasingChloris, who is then transformedinto Flora the Goddess of flowers.He initiates breathing love into andwarmth into the winter he is

transforming.Mercury is on the left another malecounterpart to Zephyr he brings thehope of love to mankind andprovides a link to the Gods as isseen by his pointing up through theclouds.

Next to Chloris is Flora or, herdaughter Persephone who was



daughter Persephone who wascaught by Hades she stepsforward clothed in Blossomsholding blossoms in her dressshe is about to throw them out to

start a new spring. Cupid shoots blindlydemonstrating the pain ofunrequited love; the Graces

seem lost in their own world.

There is a nostalgic atmospheresomething seen later in the„embarkation for the Isle of

Cytherea‟ by Watteau pg 424,

perhaps with a Shakespearianatmosphere of „midsummer

nights dream‟.

The Birth of Venus 1485



This sense of longing for andintangible sadness is evenmore clearly seen in the „Birth

of Venus‟. It was painted on Canvas which

was less expensive than thewooden panels reserved forchurch or court pictures.

The wooded shore. The trees form part of aflowering orange grove as per

the sacred garden of theHesperides. Each smallblossom is tipped with gold.Gold is used throughout thepainting as an indicator ofdivine status. Seen is thetrunks and leaves.

The West wind



Zephyr (Greek for west wind) and ChlorisFly with limbs entwined as a twofold entity, blow Venus ashore. Roses fall all around whichaccording to legend came into being at Venus‟ birth.

Venus and the half shell• Venus is portrayed with a pose of



Venus is portrayed with a pose ofcomplex twists and turns thatdefy normal human beingsbodies.

• The birth of Venus according tolegend occurred when the TitanCronus castrated his fatherUranus. The severed genitals fellinto the sea and fertilised it.

• Venus is depicted not at birth butat the moment when she isconveyed by the shell and isabout to land at Pahpos in

Cyprus.• The Nymph• May be one of the three Horae or

„the Hours”, Greek Goddesses of

the seasons who were attendantsto Venus. Her dress and robe sheholds out are embroidered with

red and white daisies, yellowprimroses and blue cornflowersall spring flowers appropriate tothe theme of birth. She wears agarland of myrtle and a sash ofpink roses as worn by Flora in„Primavera.



Sources

The painting was one of a series which Botticelli produced, taking as inspiration written descriptions bythe 2nd century historian Lucian of masterpieces of Ancient Greece which had long since disappeared.The ancient painting by Apelles was called Venus Anadyomene, "Anadyomene" meaning "rising from thesea"; this title was also used for Botticelli's painting, The Birth of Venus only becoming its better knowntitle in the 19th century. 'The Birth of Venus' is very similar to Praxiteles' Aphrodite, a statue.

A mural from Pompeii was never seen by Botticelli, but may have been a Roman copy of the then famouspainting by Apelles which Lucian mentioned.

In classical antiquity, the sea shell was a metaphor for a woman's vulva.



The Aphrodite of Cnidus



was one of the most famous works of the Attic sculptor Praxiteles (4th century BC). Itand its copies are often referred to as the Venus Pudica (modest Venus) type, onaccount of her covering her groin with her right hand. Variants of the Venus Pudica(suggesting an action to cover the breasts) are the Venus de' Medici or the Capitoline

Venus.

The Venus de' Medici or Medici Venus is a lifesize Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite.It is a first century BC marble copy, perhaps made in Athens, of a bronze originalGreek sculpture, following the type of the Aphrodite of Cnidos, which would have been

made by a sculptor in the immediate Praxitelean tradition, perhaps at the end of thecentury



Giuliano de' Medici - 1478

http://www.wga.hu/art/b/botticel/7portrai/07medici.jpg

http://www.wga.hu/art/b/botticel/7portrai/07medici.jpg



Girolamo Savonarola(September 21, 1452 – May 23, 1498),

Italian Dominican priestand leader of Florencefrom 1494 until hisexecution in 1498

Girolamo Savonarola by FraBartolomeo, c. 1498.

uccello - botticelli

Documents