Italian Ceramics
Ceramics is both a beautiful art, and a useful tool used to create necessary items for everyday life. Italian potters have always made pottery that is useful, but still appealing to the eye. They are famous for their beautiful Majolica, which is painted in great color and detail, using various different styles and techniques to get different results. Italian ceramics hit its peak between the Middle Ages and throughout the renaissance period, where artists created many intricate designs and scenes in their pottery.
In the thirteenth century, Italians imported lots of ceramic goods from the Isle of Majorca, thus naming the pottery "majolica." It was later discovered that this type of ceramics probably originated in Mesopotamia or Baghdad, but the name was already used for so long that there was no point in changing it. The production of majolica is quite similar to ours at Ethel Walker, with a few differences. First, the clay is thrown on the wheel and dries naturally, then is fired. It comes out of the kiln in a red, terra cotta color, and is then dipped in either "smalto" or "primo blanco" glaze. Smalto glaze is a clear, enamel glaze, and primo blanco is a white glaze, literally meaning "first white" in Italian. These glazes dry quickly and have a powdery finish, so that when they are painted in detail, the colors will not run or combine. After they are dipped in the first glaze, most Italian ceramics will paint free-hand images on the pottery, or use the spolvero technique to stencil small holes into the ceramics, where they will paint repetitive, detailed patterns. To perform this technique, potters will prick holes through a paper stencil and onto the ceramic piece. Then they will dust charcoal through the p...
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...complicated. Usually potters paint transparent colors on majolica for a similar effect.
Many different regions of Italy create pottery with various different styles and techniques. Some cities famous for their ceramics include Gubbio, Montelupo Florentino, Florence, Deruta, and Faenza. Deruta is perhaps the most famous for its Majolica, decorating their work with patterns such as the Deruta Raffaellesco or Orvieto. Raffaellesco, made famous by Raphael Sanzio, is adorned with colorful patterns of dragons and mythical creatures. Orvieto is known for containing an image of a rooster in the pattern. Most ceramic studios in Italy are in small, family owned workshops that are handed down through generations. This gives Italian majolica a certain originality that cannot be replaced. This shows that there is definitely more to Italian ceramics than the pieces themselves.
One of the amazing factors involving Maria Martinez's work has been the incredible length of time that she has spent in producing her pottery. Her life has been spent learning, perfecting, teaching and expanding her art, passion and craft. Maria was born in the 1880?s and had been an active potter for over 70 years. Taking in to consideration the difficulties of the environment where she lived and worked, acquiring the needed materials for her work and the labor and physical energy required along with it, the sheer tenacity with which she has produced her work is inspiring.
The wide rimmed ring of space located at the top of the lekythos was commonly decorated with a pattern called palmette. Discovering a palmette pattern is not unusual to find on a lekythos, and many other types of ancient Greek pottery. The different variations in color, design, pattern, intricacy and brushstroke can help determine the ancient painter. Because the colors were not fired directly on the white-ground, they are not necessarily as permanent as the black gloss; therefore overtime the vivid colors and detailed decoration will
Maria Martinez and her son Popoui Da begin their traditional process by seeking supplies out in New Mexico’s wilderness. They appear to find their customary clay and sand sources near their home in the Pueblo San Idefonso in Black Mesa country, as demonstrated by this particular batch. In the desert, Maria scatters sacred coins along the ground as an offering to the Great Spirit. Clay is gathered, and blue sand is gathered to act as a binder from another location in the desert. Before packing up their desired sand, they sieve the sand to separate the sand from any other material. Then, Maria mixes equal parts blue sand and red clay, and water is slowly added. Water must be expertly controlled, as to avoid crumbling or nonbinding clay. She works the clay until it is pliable, and she kneads, divides, and presses the clay until the air is worked out. The now smooth clay is left for a day, during which it is occasionally kneaded.
As a student of Duccio di Buoninsegna who was an Italian artist and actively worked in the city of Siena, Tuscany, Simone Martini's most famous painting "The Annunciation and the Two Saints" (1333) (Fig. 1) shows influence of the Sienese style of painting at a time when Byzantine art was very popular in the 14th century (Kleiner, 2010:387). This is made evident by the expansive use of gold in the background space behind the figures and flowing throughout the panelled-painting, the attention paid particularly to decorative pattern, as well as the detail and subtle use of sinuous line and rich colours to create pattern, which are all characteristics of Sienese-styled religious iconography. The painting is considered very beautiful, executed with tight, elegant brushstrokes and bears a medieval interest in the representation of the supernatural and spiritual.
...nbsp;As Martin describes, this work is "at once a masterpiece of dramatic narrative and an exercise in archaeological correctness; attitudes, costumes and furnishings...studied from the Antique." Carracci's ability to paint works such as this enabled him to become one of the more popular artists of the time.
larger than life statue of the Arte dei Mercani di Calimala’s(the guild of the merchant
Commonly known as early renaissance art, fifteenth-century Italian Art was known for its artistic unsuitable behavior in the republic of Florence between 1417 and 1494. Majority of the art developed during this period originated from Florence due to several aspects that art from this period grasp...
...in Renaissance Italy deteriorating during invasions, culture persistently continued to impressively flourish as the Renaissance reached its highest artistic expression through its classical models and invention of new artistic customs, which proves how vital culture remained to this point in history. Humanism remained an impacting dominant cultural force in Renaissance Italy, gaining popularity amongst style and customs amongst Italian Renaissance artists and their modernized style of creating art. Historically, an artist’s individuality and consideration for untraditional customs had never been previously assumed imperative until the impacts of Italian Renaissance culture. Not only was the Italian Renaissance a movement associated with Greek and Latin Works, but more importantly it established a strong, forever impacting sense of culture among European history.
There’s a lot more to being Italian than the typical stereotypes that we have come to know from movies, television and books. From the Catholic mobsters who kill during the week but always make it to mass on Sunday, to the “how you doin” views of Joey from the television show “Friends”, people often forget the more important parts of being Italian. It is a culture like no other, full of history, art, and most importantly, their passion for food. Italian food, in my opinion, is the best in the world. Italians put so much into everything they make that the time and effort is tasted with every single bite. One of my favorite dishes would have to be fettuccini alfredo and it just happens to be a fairly easy, but extremely delicious, dish to make. Trust me, if I can make it, you can make it.
Ward-Perkins raised an issue about pottery made by the Romans after the invasion of barbarians and transformation of the empire, “Three features of Roman pottery are remarkable, and not to be found again for many centuries in the West: its excellent quality and considerable standardization; the massive quantities in which it was produced; and its widespread diffusion [geographically and socially]… after the end of the Roman world, this level of sophistication is not seen again until perhaps the fourteenth century, some 800 years later” (Ward-Perkins, 88). The production of pottery made by Romans was a phenomenon. Ward-Perkins pointed out before the fall of Rome, Roman pottery were made in excellent quality and in massive quantities that it spread out throughout the Mediterranean world ,and regardless of the location it was transported and traded everywhere throughout the empire and people of differing social class were able to afford it because of its production. The decline of pottery being made was only the start of the deteriorating empire. As an item used in the household ,so has the house begin to
The Renaissance period of art was defined by a diversity of technical styles and ever expanding experimentation in terms of technique, color palettes, and the treatment of human interaction. In the rear most gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is exhibited a painting attributed to the artist Parmigianino. It is titled the Annunciation and depicts the angel Gabriel coming to Mary announcing the birth of the Christ child. This striking rendition of the Annunciation uses an un-naturalistic color palette, exaggerated human form, and an intense theatricality based on both the staging of the characters in the exaggerated foreground and background, as well as through the use of a light source depicted on canvas.
During the Italian renaissance there were many inventions, creations, and art, but some of the things still affect our lifestyle today. Some of these things are well known by people, where some are just artwork that has lots of exposure in the modern world. There are people who devote their lives to study these works of art. There must be some information on how this outburst of art and other works began, as before the Renaissance Italy was in a depression. This is a complete turnaround from a depression. In this report I am going to review and go over how the Renaissance started and who kept it alive, by studying the life of rich patrons. There is also going to be sections on specific inventions and artwork that shows renaissance lifestyle, using a book of Art History and information about popular inventions.
The artistic theme in which an artist depicts the Virgin Mary with Jesus Christ as a child is known as the ‘Madonna and Child’. This depiction has its roots in Early Christian art due to the iconic roles that Christ and Mary play in the Christian religion (Dunkerton 37). The ‘Madonna and Child’ has had a place in many of the early periods and traditions of art. Religious themes were able to command such a strong presence in the history of art due to their role as devotional aides in churches and other religious buildings (Dunkerton 27). Religious art was well maintained by religious orders and churches, and many patrons throughout early history were tied to the Catholic Church. In the 1400s, religious artwork continued to play a prominent role, but a revival of the Classical form also started to occur. The period known as the renaissance was marked by a desire to look back on the past and a sense of individualism. The era also brought about the use of new and classical techniques for art such as naturalism, perspective, and proportion. Nonetheless, art during this period remained diverse as several art traditions, influences, and patrons contributed to the outcome of an artist’s work. The National Gallery of Ireland possesses a few of depictions of the Virgin Mary and Child in its collection of Early Italian work. The first work I will discuss is a work by Zanobi di Jacopo Machiavelli known as ‘Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints’, which was complete in 1470. The second work is known as, ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints John the Baptist and Lucy’, and was completed by Marco Palmezzano in 1513 (National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide). While created around the same time period and within close geographical proxim...
It may not be that hard to shape the red-orange Attic clay on the potter’s wheel into a shape, but you had to be patient and have precise timing. One interesting thing about pottery back then is that you would make the piece in sections so the foot, lower and upper body, neck, and handles (if needed) would be made separately then joined together with a ‘slip’ to be put back on the potter’s wheel to make sure that the join parts would look smooth as if it was always in one piece. The pottery would then b...
Knowing a masterpiece is first knowing a little bit about the artist behind the masterpiece. Sandro Botticelli was born in Florence, Italy and lived from 1445-1510. His real name was Alessandro Filipepi but he was brought up by his brother who nick-named him Botticelli meaning “little barrel”. The book Sandro Botticelli Life and Work by Ronald Lightbown talks about how Botticelli spent his entire life in Florence, experiencing some of the most common hardships that were expected during the fifteen century such as plague, flood, hard winters, and famine. Botticelli was a famous early Renaissance painter and is recognized for his well-known painting Primavera, which was known as the largest mythological painting of the Early Renaissance. This work has a humanistic nature and is said to reflect contemporary ...