Les 1: Introduction
Cabinet of Curiosities Curiosity and science
(Cabinet of Curiosities – Kunstkamer –
Rariteitenkabinet)
➢ Art and curious objects from past and present
➢ Recognition and appreciation of Old Masters as
a basis of contemporary art production
➢ Collecting as breeding ground for art history
Disegno Disegno (it. drawing, design) as
foundational concept
▪ Disegno refers not only the physical act of
drawing but also to the intellectual capacity
to invent a creative design.
▪ Careful study of human anatomy and
physiognomy
▪ Use of drawing media to evoke light and
shadow and model a three-dimensional
figure
Mimesis imitation of nature; imitative representation of the real
world.
▪ The ultimate aim of an artist is to imitate
nature.
▪ However, Alberti did not mean that artists
should imitate nature objectively, as it is, but
the artist should be especially attentive to
beauty, "for in painting beauty is as pleasing
as it is necessary“.
▪ To successfully imitate nature, the artist
makes use of scientific study of physical
phenomena, such as perspective.
Avant-garde a group that develops new or experimental concepts,
ideas and/or methods in art
Suprematism = a form of abstract, geometric art based on ‘the
supremacy of pure artistic feeling’ rather
than on the figurative depiction of real-life subjects.
Suprematism raised important questions:
▪ Is art possible without technical skill? Without
creating (a form of) illusion?
Without figurative representation? Without subject
matter?
▪ Suprematism emphasizes the intellectual component
of art, inherent since the Italian Renaissance concept of
disegno
Canon The conventional timeline of artists who are sometimes
considered as foundational ‘Old Masters’ or ‘Great
Artists’.
, traditional focus on Western, white, and male artists!
Giorgio Vasari, Le vite ▪ For a long time, art history has focused on
de' più eccellenti the latter (cf. Gombrich)
pittori, scultori e ▪ Giorgio Vasari’s Le vite de' più eccellenti
architettori (‘The pittori, scultori e architettori (‘The Lives of
Lives of the Most the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and
Excellent Painters, Architects’) as birth of art historiography
Sculptors, and
Architects’), 1550-
1568
Karel Van Mander, Het Northern European couterpart: Karel Van
Schilder-boeck ('The Mander’s Het Schilder-boeck ('The Book
Book of Painters’), of Painters’)
1604 ▪ 1604
▪ Inspired by Vasari
▪ Starts with a list of ancient Greek painters,
followed by a description of the lives of
Italian, Netherlandish and German painters
Les 2: Italian Renaissance
Renaissance ▪ Social, political and economic transformations:
Urbanisation, rise of new merchant patrons
▪ Artistic innovations: oil paint, realism, etc. (vs.
continuation of gothic style and religious symbolism)
▪ Mobility of people and artistic exchange
▪ Dissemination of ideas and images via print culture
▪ Idealisation
▪ Beauty
▪ Real, worldly space
▪ Frontality of figures
▪ Balanced naturalism: Realist perspective, light
and color effects, shading
▪ Balanced compositions (triangular)
Fresco ▪ Wall painting technique
▪ “Al fresco” = “fresh”
▪ so-called because they must be painted when the
plaster
is still fresh, i.e. wet.
▪ (<> “Al secco” = “dry”)
Humanism ▪ Emphasizes reason, observation, and individual
improvement
▪ Human values > religious dogmas
▪ Fame and legacy as new goals (vs. medieval
humility)
▪ E.g. Leonardo da Vinci taking inspiration from ancient
Roman architect Vitruvius, who described the
correlations of ideal human body proportions with
geometry
, Bas-relief = a sculptural technique that involves lightly carving a
design into a surface
Leon Battista Alberti, ▪ The first post-classical work of art theory
De Pictura (On ▪ The treatise contains the first scientific study of
Painting), 1435 linear
perspective, codifying Brunelleschi’s discoveries
▪ The skill to represent perspective will determine the
further course of art history
Leon Battista Alberti, ▪ The first theoretical book on architecture
De re aedificatore (On ▪ Developing architecture as an intellectual discipline,
the Art of Building), thanks to knowledge based on drawing and painting
1450 (perspective and
science)
Linear perspective ▪ Scientific representation of space
▪ Space becomes “knowable”: can be visualized,
represented, measured
▪ Order and harmony
Aerial perspective or atmospheric perspective =
▪ the technique of creating an illusion of depth by
depicting distant objects as paler, less detailed, and
usually bluer than near objects.
▪ This technique was introduced in painting to
portray what was observed in nature and
evident in his interest in optics.
▪ Aim: depict how we perceive the world.
Medici patronage Patronage
Middle Ages:
▪ Church
▪ Nobility
Starting in 14th century:
▪ Emergence of new art patrons: Wealthy burghers
▪ Art leaves the church → enters private homes
▪ Art reflects social status, education, and taste
▪ Also for commissions in religious buildings:
increasing interest to depict private interiors and
material culture
Les 3: Early Netherlandish Art and Northern Renaissance
Illuminated Miniature painting
manuscripts International Gothic Style:
▪ Popular throughout Europe in 14th and early 15th
century
▪ Gracious and pretty figures
▪ Attention to detail (f.i. drapery, animals, plants, ... )
▪ Local use of gold (vs. large-scale gold ground)
▪ Indication of realistic space (vs. central perspective)
Cabinet of Curiosities Curiosity and science
(Cabinet of Curiosities – Kunstkamer –
Rariteitenkabinet)
➢ Art and curious objects from past and present
➢ Recognition and appreciation of Old Masters as
a basis of contemporary art production
➢ Collecting as breeding ground for art history
Disegno Disegno (it. drawing, design) as
foundational concept
▪ Disegno refers not only the physical act of
drawing but also to the intellectual capacity
to invent a creative design.
▪ Careful study of human anatomy and
physiognomy
▪ Use of drawing media to evoke light and
shadow and model a three-dimensional
figure
Mimesis imitation of nature; imitative representation of the real
world.
▪ The ultimate aim of an artist is to imitate
nature.
▪ However, Alberti did not mean that artists
should imitate nature objectively, as it is, but
the artist should be especially attentive to
beauty, "for in painting beauty is as pleasing
as it is necessary“.
▪ To successfully imitate nature, the artist
makes use of scientific study of physical
phenomena, such as perspective.
Avant-garde a group that develops new or experimental concepts,
ideas and/or methods in art
Suprematism = a form of abstract, geometric art based on ‘the
supremacy of pure artistic feeling’ rather
than on the figurative depiction of real-life subjects.
Suprematism raised important questions:
▪ Is art possible without technical skill? Without
creating (a form of) illusion?
Without figurative representation? Without subject
matter?
▪ Suprematism emphasizes the intellectual component
of art, inherent since the Italian Renaissance concept of
disegno
Canon The conventional timeline of artists who are sometimes
considered as foundational ‘Old Masters’ or ‘Great
Artists’.
, traditional focus on Western, white, and male artists!
Giorgio Vasari, Le vite ▪ For a long time, art history has focused on
de' più eccellenti the latter (cf. Gombrich)
pittori, scultori e ▪ Giorgio Vasari’s Le vite de' più eccellenti
architettori (‘The pittori, scultori e architettori (‘The Lives of
Lives of the Most the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and
Excellent Painters, Architects’) as birth of art historiography
Sculptors, and
Architects’), 1550-
1568
Karel Van Mander, Het Northern European couterpart: Karel Van
Schilder-boeck ('The Mander’s Het Schilder-boeck ('The Book
Book of Painters’), of Painters’)
1604 ▪ 1604
▪ Inspired by Vasari
▪ Starts with a list of ancient Greek painters,
followed by a description of the lives of
Italian, Netherlandish and German painters
Les 2: Italian Renaissance
Renaissance ▪ Social, political and economic transformations:
Urbanisation, rise of new merchant patrons
▪ Artistic innovations: oil paint, realism, etc. (vs.
continuation of gothic style and religious symbolism)
▪ Mobility of people and artistic exchange
▪ Dissemination of ideas and images via print culture
▪ Idealisation
▪ Beauty
▪ Real, worldly space
▪ Frontality of figures
▪ Balanced naturalism: Realist perspective, light
and color effects, shading
▪ Balanced compositions (triangular)
Fresco ▪ Wall painting technique
▪ “Al fresco” = “fresh”
▪ so-called because they must be painted when the
plaster
is still fresh, i.e. wet.
▪ (<> “Al secco” = “dry”)
Humanism ▪ Emphasizes reason, observation, and individual
improvement
▪ Human values > religious dogmas
▪ Fame and legacy as new goals (vs. medieval
humility)
▪ E.g. Leonardo da Vinci taking inspiration from ancient
Roman architect Vitruvius, who described the
correlations of ideal human body proportions with
geometry
, Bas-relief = a sculptural technique that involves lightly carving a
design into a surface
Leon Battista Alberti, ▪ The first post-classical work of art theory
De Pictura (On ▪ The treatise contains the first scientific study of
Painting), 1435 linear
perspective, codifying Brunelleschi’s discoveries
▪ The skill to represent perspective will determine the
further course of art history
Leon Battista Alberti, ▪ The first theoretical book on architecture
De re aedificatore (On ▪ Developing architecture as an intellectual discipline,
the Art of Building), thanks to knowledge based on drawing and painting
1450 (perspective and
science)
Linear perspective ▪ Scientific representation of space
▪ Space becomes “knowable”: can be visualized,
represented, measured
▪ Order and harmony
Aerial perspective or atmospheric perspective =
▪ the technique of creating an illusion of depth by
depicting distant objects as paler, less detailed, and
usually bluer than near objects.
▪ This technique was introduced in painting to
portray what was observed in nature and
evident in his interest in optics.
▪ Aim: depict how we perceive the world.
Medici patronage Patronage
Middle Ages:
▪ Church
▪ Nobility
Starting in 14th century:
▪ Emergence of new art patrons: Wealthy burghers
▪ Art leaves the church → enters private homes
▪ Art reflects social status, education, and taste
▪ Also for commissions in religious buildings:
increasing interest to depict private interiors and
material culture
Les 3: Early Netherlandish Art and Northern Renaissance
Illuminated Miniature painting
manuscripts International Gothic Style:
▪ Popular throughout Europe in 14th and early 15th
century
▪ Gracious and pretty figures
▪ Attention to detail (f.i. drapery, animals, plants, ... )
▪ Local use of gold (vs. large-scale gold ground)
▪ Indication of realistic space (vs. central perspective)
