Art History 4

Key themes-portraiture and self-fashioning, idealism and classicism, devotional experience,

vision and space
Pisano-trying to conjure up emotions about empirical powers, 1453-byzantine to ottoman,
byzantine emperor trying to go back to roman roots with the coin, for pisano it is novelty/ for
fun, allegory-symbolic representation, background-hunting, military power, with bow and arrow,
uses the opposing horse to foreshorten(representation of something is compresses, the image is
perpendicular in order to create naturalistic space) the image and create a sense of space in the
relief, they are visiting a road side cross, the family claimed to own a relic of the cross of jesus,
relics are hugely popular, people go on voyages for relics, it also symbolizes his piety,
portraitures allow the artist to self-fashion(how people what to represent themselves to others), in
the round- you can walk around it. Relief-not 3d, 2d scul, can have low or high relief
Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1486 Tempera
She was born from the testicles of ___ when thrown into the ocean, zephur and the wind gods are
on the left blowing he, niph is on the right clothing her, humanism-representation of a mythical
figure, nudity-novel thing, interest in the classics and roman mythology, tempura-pigment in egg
whites, very thin, fast drying paint, gives hard linear, pencil like quality, flat image, not one point
perspective, not a lot of space, pattern-like, ocean and lots of figures, flat, 2d, he is a pattern
painter, not naturalistic, venus is very long, elongated, she is idealized, distorted, hairless, pure
white, venus pudica pose, Neoplatonism-plato greek philosopher, had an idea that there is an
ideal divine love that we have to strive to obtain, platonic-intellectual love, reach it by mediating
on beauty, the pose creates false modesty and draws eyes towards nudity, venus isnt real, she is
a representation, unearthly beauty, trying to conjure up images of beauty in viewers, for the
medicis-most likely, thought to have connotations of marriage and love, venus-god of fertility,
she is given in weddings, they are all floating, a lot of drapery, weight, supernatural idealism
with Botticelli
Botticelli, Primavera, 1478
He had a lot of mythological painting and he follows the crazy preacher in the bonfire of the
vanities and burns all the classical/non-Christian art including his own paintings. Owned by
medici, venus in the middle, cupid is above her, her child. He is aiming arrow at the three graces
who accompany venus and encompasses love. Mercury on the left, poking at the clouds, prevents
excess rain, weather. Zepher( god of west wind) in blue, abducting and raping nymph, and flora
is post rape, casting flowers out of dress. Orange tree are a symbol of the medici family.
Continuous narrative. Primavera-means spring. Themes on spring, flowers blooming, venus is
love/fertility. There is no clear narrative. Puzzle piece-something people puzzle over trying to
understand it. Jumbles all the mythological figures and puts them together for fun, he creates his
own visual text. Suggestion of movement, not 3d naturalism, no space, see-thro garments to

compete with sculptures and one up them because they cant accomplish translucency like he
can. He wants to show the body in different ways-classical idealism, patternlike, decorations,
rich surface detail, flat. Symmetrical, arch above venus which emphasizes venus and focus on
her. Function- for fun, to talk about it, no real function.
Mantegna, the dead Christ, 1480
Devotion, foreshortening, in Mantinaa court, a series of palaces full of nobles and aristocrats
ruling over everyone else. Religious narrative, Christ is dead on the tomb, we have john the edge,
and the virgin mary crying, waling mouth- mary magadeline behind virgin mary, ointment jarattribute of mary maga, rubs it on his feet, foreshortening-things are compressed, shorten,
perpendicular to picture plane, more naturalistic, distorted, Christ is very short, draws attention
to the wounds of Christ, meant to meditate on the suffering, having a religious experience,
john/mary model what they want the viewer to experience, devotion-viewer would feel/meditate
on the subject, privately/personally, devotional experience on Christ suffering, feet and genitals
are emphasized-debate on whether Christ was fully human or divine or both. They show his
humanity thro the feet/genitals, he walked on the ground- he is normal/human, angels dont walk.
If he is human, he suffered, meditate on human suffering, personal implications.
Mantegna, Camera degli Sposi Ceiling Frescoes, Ducal Palace in Mantua, fresco on wall, all
paint 1471-74. All paintings of court life, room for pleasure and fun, ceiling is slightly curved, 8
roman emperors, mixed of contemporary life and roman history, focus on oculus, wants you to
think there is a hole in the ceiling. Looking up at people looking down. Peacock, African slave,
foreshortened angels, people sticking heads thro bucket, not meant to be a serious image, meant
to be a funny, amusing image for the drunk friends, he uses a lot of new perspective styles
illusionism-type of this image, creates an illusion, meant to trick you, create an different reality,
less intellectual, party room, not one point perspective-construction with line and orthogonals
Ghirlandaio, Portrait of Giovanna Tuornabuoni, 1488, big important rival family of medici, noble
woman, traditional picture, profile, congressional, follows tradition of marriage document,
women decked out in finest robe, documents dowry, shes dead at the time, commissioned by
family, she died in childbirth/labor