Raphael's School of Athens

Raphael's School of Athens is probably one of his most famous frescoes and was made on one of the walls of the Stanza della Segnatura. This painting is a study of philosophy and is depicted in classical times as shown in the architecture and the clothing of the figures. Aristotle and Plato are the two central figures of the painting and it's said that Leonardo da Vinci was most likely the inspiration for the figure of Plato. Not only are there classical philosophers, but there is also contemporary figures such as Bramante, Michelangelo, and even Raphael himself.

Rather than painting these philosophers as posed figures, Raphael decides to paint them in motion. He does a great job of painting them as they move, act, teach, debate and discuss, this makes for a greater understanding of how philosophers actually work. There was also a method to why he painted the philosophers that he did. Each figure represents a subject that must be mastered in order to hold a true philosophical debate.

We know that the figure of Heraclitus was the last figure to be added to the painting. Heraclitus was modeled after Michelangelo and it's said that Raphael decided to add him to the painting after seeing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. The figure is shown leaning on a block of marble and writing.

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. “Web Gallery of Art”. March 30, 2010
www.wga.hu/bio/r/raphael/biograph.html

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art 4. 5 vols.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.

Michelangelo's Pieta

Michelangelo's Pieta was commissioned by a French cardinal and installed as a tomb monument in the Vatican basilica of Saint Peter. At the time, this was an unusual theme in Italian art, but other pieta's had been seen north of the Alps. Michelangelo carved the entire sculpture out of a single block of marble. He wrote in his Sonnet 15: "The greatest artist has no conception which a single block of marble does not potentially contain within its mass, but only a hand obedient to the mind can penetrate to this image."

A pieta scene typically shows the Virgin Mary supporting and mourning the body of Christ after he has been removed from the crucifix. Michelangelo's Pieta portrays a young Mary holding and mourning her dead son. The expressions on the faces of Christ and the Virgin Mary are very humanistic and life like. The detail of the body of Christ shows the perfection of Michelangelo's research while he was working in a hospital cutting cadavers. The detail in Christ's veins and muscles are outstanding and Michelangelo also included the wounds on the body of Christ, which are also great in detail.

The way Michelangelo sculpted this piece of art, he wanted the viewer to see it up close from directly in front of the piece. He wants the viewer to be on the same level of the statue and be able to look directly into Jesus' face. It is said that Michelangelo went into the church at night and signed the sculpture on the sash across Mary's chest. He decided to sign this piece, because at the time of completion many people were questioning who the artist behind the piece was and he wanted no one to question that he was the artist behind this portrayal of beauty.

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. “Web Gallery of Art”. March 30, 2010
www.wga.hu/bio/m/michelan/biograph.html

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art 4. 5 vols.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper

This piece was done in the monk's dining room at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Leonardo decided to experiment with the paints he used and, unfortunately, it caused the painting to crack roughly twenty years after it was completed. This wasn't the only threat to the painting as a bomb was dropped on the monastery in 1943 and it destroyed the roof and the wall to the right of the painting. The painting miraculously survived.

Other paintings of the last supper had been made prior to Leonardo's, but his was vastly different than the others. In others, each of the 12 apostles were painted as individual figures, but Leonardo decided to paint them in compositional groups of three. This allowed the figure of Christ to be framed in the center of the painting as the only single figure. These groups of three also serve another purpose as they represent the Holy Trinity along with the three rectangular windows in the background.

One of the most distinctive differences between Leonardo's Last Supper and other paintings of the last supper is that Judas is sitting on the same side of the table as everyone else. In other pieces Judas is shown sitting on the opposite side of the table. Leonardo does single Judas out as being the only figure that is moving away from Christ, as all other figures are moving in towards him.

The story of this painting is that Christ has just announced that one of the apostles will betray him. The figures of the apostles are all painted with humanistic reactions to Christ's statement. You can see that the apostles are shocked by his statement and all but one are assuring him that they will not be the betrayer. Only Judas is shown to shy away while clutching his bag of blood money.

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. “Web Gallery of Art”. March 30, 2010
www.wga.hu/bio/l/leonardo/biograph.html

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art 4. 5 vols.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.

Jan van Eyck's Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife

Jan van Eyck is a northern artist from Flanders who specialized in using oil paints. The painting I chose to discuss is Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife because of the story and symbolism as well as the incredible detail that van Eyck painted.

The symbolism is so great in this portrait that I am choosing to break it down by sections of the painting, first starting with the left hand side. On this side there is an open window, this is to show that Arnolfini, who is on the left hand side, is expected to go out and work. There are also some orange fruits near the window, this is to show that Arnolfini is expected to bring home the fruits of his labor. These are also said to be exotic fruits, which is one indication that this couple is wealthy.

In the center starting from the top of the painting there is a chandelier with seven spots for candles. The seven spots are said to represent the seven sacraments, and the one burning candle is also said to be a symbol of Christ's presence. The convex mirror in the middle of the painting is said to be symbolic of the couples wealth as well as the all-seeing eye of God. Finally, at the feet of the couple there is a dog. This dog also is symbolic of both their wealth as well as the loyalty between the couple to each other.

On the right hand side of the painting there is a feather duster, this is said to represent that the wife's job is to keep the home clean. The bed on this side is representative of their wealth as well as insinuating that the woman is expected to have children. Another symbol that she is to have children is the green color of her dress, which represents fertility, and the fact that she looks to be carrying a child, although it is not believed that she would have been pregnant at the time. The last piece of symbolism is on all sides of the painting. It shows that both husband and wife are barefoot. This is to symbolize that they are standing on Holy ground.

Two amazing details that van Eyck was able to portray deals with the convex mirror and the signature above the mirror. In the mirror, van Eyck was able to show the mirrored image of the scene as well as himself painting the scene. The man in the red turban is van Eyck, and this was part of his signature on the painting. The size of the mirror is so small, yet he was able to portray great detail because of his use of oil paints. The signature above the mirror translates into "Jan van Eyck was present, 1434." This helps to portray that he was also signing this as a witness to the marriage, because normally a work of art would be signed "Jan van Eyck made this."

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. “Web Gallery of Art”. March 2, 2010
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/e/eyck_van/jan/15arnolf/index.html.

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. “Web Gallery of Art”. March 2, 2010
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/e/eyck_van/jan/biography.html.

Long, James. "Art - Renaissance to 1750". March 2, 2010
http://www.jim3dlong.com/1434_Jan_van_Eyck_Giovanni_Arnolfini_and_his_Bride-wl400.jpg.

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art 4. 5 vols.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.

Botticelli's Pallas and the Centaur

Botticelli was and artist from Florence who started out by drawing and painting sculpted figures. The piece I chose to discuss is Pallas and the Centaur. Botticelli did a lot of work for the Medici family in Florence and this painting was commissioned by Lorenzo Medici.

This painting is intriguing to me because it tells quite a story. In Greek mythology centaurs are wild and crazy beasts, but it is being tamed by Pallas who is the goddess Athena. Athena is the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology. The story goes that Pallas represents Lorenzo Medici and the Centaur represents the King of Naples.

The reason behind this painting is quite interesting. The Medici family were bankers and had loaned money to the King of Naples. Being bankers they charged interest on loans that they made, but in this particular case the king did not want to pay interest, so he threatened to attack Florence. Lorenzo Medici in turn went to Naples to change the king's mind, and he was able to avoid the conflict by agreeing not to charge interest in this case. Back in Florence Lorenzo Medici was considered a hero and the painting represents Medici taming the wild king.

In the painting there are a few indicators to show who each figure represents. The centaur is wearing a red ribbon around him and this is meant to represent the King of Naples. As for Pallas, the three circles on the lower part of the garment represent the Medici family crest and in turn identifies the figure as Lorenzo Medici.

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. “Web Gallery of Art” . March 2, 2010
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/botticel/5allegor/20pallas.html.

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. “Web Gallery of Art” . March 2, 2010
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/b/botticel/biography.html.

"Solar Utilities Network". Solar Utilities Network. March 2, 2010 http://www.solarnet.org/Travel/art/F06PallasCentaur.jpg.

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art 4. 5 vols.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.

Donatello's Mary Magdalene

Donatello was an early Renaissance artist and sculptor from Florence. The work I chose to discuss is his wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene. This sculpture was made for the Bapistry In Florence.

When looking at the sculpture you can see that she is portrayed as grotesque looking. She is shown wasting away to portray the ravages of her fastings and abstinence. She is being shown as praying because she has sinned and she wants forgiveness. The strong and beautiful arms of the statue are symbolic of the power of prayer and how it can help redeem people.

It is said that before Donatello created this sculpture he may have been gravely ill and might explain why he hadn't created anything in a few years. It's also said that the withered look of Mary Magdalene's body may be insight into Donatello's own psychological reality at the time. Donatello previously had always shown strong, beautiful bodies in his works.

In 1966 there was a flood in Florence that had ruined the original sculpture. When it was restored the original painted surface was shown and you could see realistic flesh tones and golden highlights in Mary Magdalene's hair.

"Bluffton University". Bluffton University. March 2, 2010 http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/florence/duomomuseo/0005ps.jpg.

Kren, Emil, Marx, Daniel. "Web Gallery of Art". March 2, 2010 http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/d/donatell/biograph.html.

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art 4. 5 vols.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.