In the early Renaissance era Florence and Siena were rivals in many aspects. The Battle of Montaperti was fought between the two in September of 1260. After their triumph over Florence, Siena used the monetary winnings for the building of the Palazzo Pubblico to serve the city in governmental, spiritual and social needs; it was comparable to the basilicas in ancient Rome in this aspect. The Palazzo Pubblico (fig. 1) was also made to compete with Florence’s already constructed Palazzo della Signoria1 (fig. 2). The city also focused the new funds on the elaboration of the cathedral interior (fig. 3). In 1308, Duccio di Buoninsegna was hired for this reason. Duccio completed the requested polyptych, or multipaneled, altarpiece three years later before the townspeople paraded the Maestà from the artist’s workshop through the town and to the cathedral, its resting point for many years.
Siena, a town located in the heart of the “boot” of Italy is stationed just over forty miles south of Florence. This city claimed the Virgin Mary as their patron saint praying to her for protection and the keeping of peace. Siena’s nickname was “Vetusta Civitas Virgins” which means “The Ancient City of the Virgin.” Therefore creating Mary as the main focus of the Maestà was not even questionable in Duccio’s large-scale masterpiece. Even today, many pray to the iconography of Mary as seen in the portable Catholic rosaries of the majestic virgin. Majesty translates to Maestà in Italian. It was named this because it beheld the Virgin in majesty reflecting the high regards of Mary during that time.
Art was viewed in a different sense in the fourteenth century. It had a more active role and was not just decoration, but a vital component of worship and pr...
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...oked to the icon of the Mother of God for peace and prosperity. With the function of Byzantine manuscripts and the signature style of Duccio, the Maestà claimed its spot in Italian history.
Works Cited
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By most accounts, the year 1500 was in the midst of the height of the Italian Renaissance. In that year, Flemmish artist Jean Hey, known as the “Master of Moulins,” painted “The Annunciation” to adorn a section of an alter piece for his royal French patrons. The painting tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary to deliver the news that she will give birth to the son of God. As the story goes, Mary, an unwed woman, was initially terrified about the prospects of pregnancy, but eventually accepts her fate as God’s servant. “The Annunciation” is an oil painting on a modest canvas, three feet tall and half as wide. The setting of the painting is a study, Mary sitting at a desk in the bottom right hand corner reading, and the angel Gabriel behind her holding a golden scepter, perhaps floating and slightly off the canvas’s center to the left. Both figures are making distinct hand gestures, and a single white dove, in a glowing sphere of gold, floats directly above Mary’s head. The rest of the study is artistic but uncluttered: a tiled floor, a bed with red sheets, and Italian-style architecture. “The Annunciation” was painted at a momentous time, at what is now considered the end of the Early Renaissance (the majority of the 15th Century) and the beginning of the High Renaissance (roughly, 1495 – 1520). Because of its appropriate placement in the Renaissance’s timeline and its distinctly High Renaissance characteristics, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” represents the culmination of the transition from the trial-and-error process of the Early Renaissance, to the technical perfection that embodied the High Renaissance. Specifically, “Annunciation” demonstrates technical advancements in the portrayal of the huma...
As discussed by Kloss (2005), the subject matter of Giotto’s Arena Chapel (1303-05) and Duccio’s Maestà (1308–11) are similarly both narrative cycles of Christian biblical scenes depicting the lives of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. Giotto’s cycle of paintings were done in frescoes which adorn the walls of the Arena Chapel in Padua Italy. Duccio’s Maestà was a double sided altarpiece for the Cathedral of Siena, Siena, Italy with tempera and gold on wood. The main frontal image is the Madonna and Child Enthroned and the reverse side consists of forty smaller images of biblical accounts from the life of Mary and Jesus.
The depiction of Madonna and Christ is among the most ancient and common in Christian iconography and has an extensive number of variations because apart from its symbolic religious functions, it allows one to interpret the link between mother and child in many aspects. (8)
Von Rohr Scaff, S. 2002. The Virgin Annunciate in Italian Art of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance. College Literature. 29(3):109-123.
Crivellari, Domenico, and Maria Da Villa Urbani, eds. Basilica di San Marco. Procuratoria di San Marco Venezia. 2003.
Even thought during 15th century, Northern Europe experienced numerous alterations in representation of pictorial space, this paper will only address two of the major changes. They include “MAN IN A RED TURBAN” which was developed by Jan van Eyck in 1433 and “DIPTYCH OF MAARTEN CAN NIEUWENHOVE” developed by Hans Memling in 1487. In these two arts, the sculptors used colored pigments, drying oils such as walnut, linseed, and poopy-seed oil. The tools included wood panel, canvas, wall, brushes, and spatulas (Pearson, 2005; Fuga, 2006).
One can learn a great deal about fourteenth century art by observing and analyzing the subjects ,the central and main focus of the art works at this period.The main subject religion ,in particular Christianity was flourishing in Europe at this time . Christianity was the central and dominate power politically and religiously.Political leaders ruled under a theocratic government.Every aspect of life revolved around religion;Education domestic,and social.Any work of art paintings or architectural,communicates these historical significance in fourteenth century Europe.Before man learned to write they learned how To draw and make art so it's only natural they recorded their history through means of art.The altarpiece triptych series by one of Giotto's pupil .which illustrates significant stages in the life of Christ,shows how centered Christianity was in fourteenth century Europe.
Murphy and her book Murder of a Medici Princess. This historical non-fiction novel follows Isabella de Medici as she lives through all the drama of the Medici family and eventually meets her death in the end. The main section of this book that pertains to this essay is how the Medici family was depicted as saints, and Isabella’s description of her family in the painting provides for excellent insight into how a member of the family saw this manipulation of art. The author of this novel is a cultural historian who studies women in early modern Italy and its art. Her first book, Lavinia Fontana: A Painter and Her Patrons in Sixteenth-century Bologna, was published by Yale University Press and she has gone on to write many more books in this area (Vezzaro). The purpose of Murder of a Medici Princess was not to discuss the Medici’s family patronage to art, but rather to document Isabella de Medici’s life and her struggles with the power that her family had. Although this book is a secondary source, its content is based on historical documents, letters, and Isabella’s behavior, making it an accurate source of information. This first hand view on the manipulation of the Medici’s power offers a look into how they saw their patronage of the arts as a benefit to Italy’s society and can give a perspective different than the modern one. As mentioned before, the value of this book is very high since it has the views of a member of the family; however, it is also biased because of Isabella’s position. She does not have an outsider’s perspective of the the art and therefore will show favor toward her family’s patronage. Through both of the paintings, though, it is clear that the Medici family’s power over paintings was prominent in Italy and changed how the society viewed them for the better. With all three paintings, the Medici family depicted themselves in a holy manner, hoping to associate themselves with the church in
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. N.p., 2014. Print.
The Italian Architects of the seventeenth century faced a huge volume of orders to carry out. The most required orders were churches. (Bazin 15) When Urban VIII became pope he asked Bernini to design a baldachino, also known as a canopy, to define the altar area. Bernini built something that was half sculpture and half architecture that had four columns that were very detailed. The columns were designed with spiraling grooves and vines made of bronze. The spiraling and decorative effects were made to symbolize the union of the new and Old Testaments, the vine of the Eucharist climbing the columns of the temple of Solomon. The Eucharist was the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper. The elements of the Ionic and Corinthian orders are at the top of the columns. Angels are along the entablatu...
Dee, J. (2013). Eclipsed: an overshadowed goddess and the discarded image of Botticelli’s Primavera. Renaissance Studies, 27(1),4-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1477-4658.2011.00769.x
On its walls hang portraits of several Grand Masters of the Order. Lunettes depicting Maltese landscapes adorn the walls along their length. These works are by Nicolau Nasoni from Siena; also by Nasoni are the decorative paintings on the ce...
In the Florence Cathedral, Florence, Italy, there is a cathedral church whose octagonal dome, built without the aid of scaffolding, was considered the greatest engineering feat of the early Renaissance. Dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, Our Lady of the Flower, it is also known as the Duomo, after the Italian word for cathedral. Created by many great Early Modern artists, this piece of architecture is a perfect example the Renaissance style. We can come to a better understanding of why this is so by exploring what the characteristics of the Renaissance “style”. To understand the properties of the Florence Cathedral that fit the Early Modern style, I will begin with a description and its history. The cathedral's architectural style, although greatly influenced by French Gothic elements remained distinctively Florentine, especially the geometric patterns of red, green, and white marble on the building's exterior. Construction of the cathedral began in 1294 on the site of a Christian church founded in the 6th or 7th century and continued until 1436. Several celebrated Italian architects were involved in the project, including Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Orcagna, and, most notably, Filippo Brunelleschi, who was responsible for designing and building the dome. The cathedral's exterior is ornamented with sculpture and mosaics by Italian artists Donatello, Nanni di Banco, and Domenico Ghirlandaio, among others. The building's stained-glass windows are the work of the Italian architect and artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, and the interior is decorated with sculpture and fresco paintings by several Renaissance masters. Construction of the campanile (bell tower), situated to the right of the entrance to the Duomo, was begun by Giotto and completed according to his plans in 1359, after his death. Nearly 278 ft high, the campanile is embellished with red, green, and white marble panels of relief sculpture by Italian artists Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia, and niches with sculpted figures by Donatello and other masters. Facing the cathedral and campanile is a smaller, octagonal structure, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, noted for its gilt-bronze doors, elaborately worked in high relief by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. With that background information about the cathedral, one question comes to mind: what is it that makes the Renaissance style distinct? Renaissa...
...les E. "Builders, Patrons, and Identity: The Domed Basilicas of Sicily and Calabria." Gesta 43, no. 2 (2004): 99-114.