Donatello's David

For choosing my artist for this blog I was fascinated about Donatello. Not only because he was so talented, but because of the way Vasari praised him so much. It was very obvious from the start that Vasari truly admired Donatello. As quoted by Vasari, “devoting himself to the art of design, he became not only an unusually fine sculptor and a marvelous statue- maker, but also grew experienced in stucco, quite skilled in perspective, and highly esteemed in architecture. His works possessed so much grace and excellence and such a fine sense of design hat they were considered to be more like the distinguished works of the ancient Greeks and Romans han those of any other artist who has ever existed, and he is therefore quite rightly recognized as the first artisan who properly used the device of scenes in bas- relief. He worked out these scenes with such careful thought, true facility, and expert skill that it was obvious he possessed a true understanding of them and executed them with extraordinary beauty. Thus, no other artisan surpassed him in this field, and even in our own times, there is no one who is his equal.” Donatello is known for his impeccable statues. Donatello carved a statue of David in 1408. This statue was Donatello’s first noticed work, and it proved that he would be very successful in the near future. When looking at the statue and David’s stance I thought it showed a little cockiness and as if David new he was important. While observing his blank facial expression I saw some sort curiosity. Considering, those emotions are complete opposite it makes the sculpture even more interesting.

Donatello's David sculpture

The Pulpit

While visiting Sienna this past Friday I got to enjoy the Santa Maria Cathedral. In the cathedral I was mind blown by the sculpture built by Nicola Pisano Pulpit. This sculpture was carved between 1265- 1268 and it represents the Christian doctrine of Salvation and the final destiny of humanity. It consists of nine beautifully sculpted columns with a staircase, which was built later in 1543 by Bartolomeo Neroni. The Pulpit has three levels and each with different symbolic meaning. At the bottom of each column are lions, and looks as if they are trying to protect what is in the middle, which has the Seven Liberal Arts and Philosphy. On the top of the Pulpit are small statues of Christian Virtue and Evangelists and Prophets. This statue also has carvings of the Last Judgement and Madonna with Child. The first panel is about Magi and their journey, the second panel is the candor of presentation removing the sadness from the flight of Egypt, third panel shows the conflict between the desperate mothers and soliders in Slaughter of the Innocents, the fourth panel shows the love of Christ and how he was thought of by the people, and the fifth panel shows the life of Christ and his crucifixion surrounded by mourning individuals and the hateful people who killed him. My favorite panel is the third panel Slaughter of the Innocents because of the reality in the scene. It shows the heartache and it makes you see how truly hard life was during that time. 

 "Pulpit" by Niccola Pisano, Santa Maria Cathedreal in Siena

 

The third panel on he "Pulpit" which represents the Slaughter of Innocents.

The Heavenly Stars Now Belong To Cimabue

According to Vasari, Cimabue inspired the art of painting. While growing up he was judged by his strict father and was sent to Santa Maria Novella for school. Consequently, Cimabue never paid any attention to grammar school he became inspired by nature and spent days drawing men, animals and architecture. Fortunetly, Cimabue came from a rich family so he wasn’t summoned as a Greek artist in Florence. He took over many projects in Firenze. He also started to work on his masterpiece on The Gondi Chapel, which you can find in the Santa Maria Novella.

Cimabue’s work imitated many Greek styles of painting. Nevertheless, he had very much improved their style of painting and took away a lot of their awkwardness. Cimabue did honor his native city with his name. He created the Altar Dossal at Santa Cecilia and then a panel of our lady in Santa Croce.

After, undertaking a large panel for the monks of Vallombrosa in the Abbey of Santa Trinita in Florence. He worked hard and laborious to perfect the frame including a beautiful pose of the Madonna whom He depicted holding Her son in His arms, while angels surrounded Her in adoration. When his work was completed it the monks placed it on a high altar of their church.

Although Cimabue had much success he always stuck to his roots through greek manner. He was much softer when it came to his lines and style of modern times. Vasari was very compassionate about Cimabue and quoted in his book, “ Cimabue believed he held the field in painting, and while alive he did; but now the heavenly stars are his.”( Pg 12 Vasari).

Cimabue: Maesta

Cimabue aka Bencivieni di Pepo was a famous artist in Florence. He was born in Firenze, Italy and died in Pisa, Italy. Cimabue is one of the first well- known Italian painters to escape from the Byzantine style. Consequently, this led to Vasari assumption of Cimabue teaching another painter known as Giotto. 

Cimabue first famous painting was the Crucifixion in San Domenico Church, in Arezzo. Once he gained more knowledge of works such as the Christus patiens by Giunta Pisano he left behind the Byzantine style.

Around year 1272 he made another Crucifixion for the Santa Croce church in Firenze, Italy. This time it was much bigger and couldn’t compare to his previous work in Arezzo. In addition, that year he painted the Maesta with Saints Francis and Dominic now at the Uffizi.

Maestà is the Italian word for "majesty". Cimabue’s painting representing the Madonna and her child baby Jesus uniting with angels and saints.  The Maesta came widespread in Rome during the late 12^th and early 13^th centuries. Which created a massive amount of attention on the veneration of Mary. The Maesta was inspired through frescos and put directly on plastered walls, as for paintings often they could be found on wooden altar panels. 

Rebirth and Giorgio Vasari

Giorgio Vasari first started to study with the Medici brothers, Ippolito and Alessandro. Whom was assassinated later in 1537, which led Vasari to becoming good friends with Rosso Fiorentino and  Francesco Salviati. Eventually, Vasari finished his first edition of Lives in 1550.  Vasari’s major architectural projects included the construction of the Arno River linking the government offices of the Uffizi and Grand Dukes residence in the Palazzo Pitti. The few books he began to write didn’t have real referneces. Nonetheless, Giorgio Vasari practically invented the structure of art history. Vasari’s followed three stages, the first marking “rebirth” to the art of classical civilization and innovatived stylistic discoveries of Cimabue and Giotto. The second stage had a much more sophisticated design and perspective. This stage increased artistic skill and involved rules to paintings, sculpture, and architecture. This intermediate step was used by artists, such as: of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Masaccio The final stage was used by artists Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Vasari’s documented and argued so persuasively that it’s remained a dominant view in Italian renaissance art ever since.

Giorgio Vasari

Who is Sandro Botticelli?

Although our course has just started I can tell that I will gain much more knowledge about Italy from this course more than the others. When it comes to reading our textbook Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: Renaissance and Baroque I like that it goes over every detail of art history and explains the little details on art, sculpture and architecture. The artist I was really drawn to while visiting the Uffizi Museum was Sandro Botticelli.

Botticelli was known for his paintings and how he treated them as a series of legendary topics including The Birth of Venus and Mars & Venus. These painting represented the Roman gods and the Renaissance classical roots. While walking through the Uffizi museum I noticed his beautiful painting for Santa Maria Novella, Adoration of the Magi. Botticelli is also known for the portraits of Cosimo de Medici, involving his sons Piero and Giovanni, in addition his grandsons Lorenzo and Giuliano.

Sandro’s masterpieces Primavera and The Birth of Venus were both seen by Vasari at the villa of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici at Castello. Vasari addressed Botticelli’s artwork with great praise. It’s said that the Primavera and The Birth of Venus were painted for Lorenzo's townhouse in Florence. 

Primavera by: Sandro Botticelli

 The Birth of Venus by: Sandro Botticelli

Experiencing The Life Of Italy

This abroad program is has the first art history course I've ever done. I’m interested in learning about this subject that is so foreign to me. I hope this trip teaches me the history of architecture and certain European sculpture. I am most interested in learning different stories of the Italian gods. So far, I’ve learned a little about the Duomo and Santa Croce. While reading Gardener’s Art through the Ages I read that most viewers try to relate to the different sculptures, artwork, and architecture. Then judge the different arts by its success or failure. I hope to be able to look at all different works and find how I may relate to the certain objects. It also states that most artists were inspired to create sculptures, paintings, and other objects by other patrons. Nevertheless, many objects were made to be presents. Consequently, many artists today have been influenced and let out their emotions through other art, such as, dance and fashion. In conclusion I hope to make this experience unforgettable and meet people that I’ll always remember.

 

PCC Study Abroad students suffering for 6 hours because of Lufthansa strike.

 

The Duomo in Firenze, Italy

Giorgio Vasari: The Mastermind

Vasari was born in Arezzo on July 30, 1511 and moved to Florence, Italy in 1524 to study under Michael Angelo. When Michael Angelo left Florence he started the workshops of Andrea del Sarto and Baccio Bandinelli, and then eventually studied with Ippolito. While growing up his father Antonio Vasari persuaded him to draw. Sadly, in 1527 his father died from the plague in Arezzo. On February 24, 1530 Vasari witnessed the coronation of Emporer Charles V by Pope Clement VII in Bologna. Vasari and the Pope became good friends after this.

Vasari moved around Italy many times due to his work. For instance, around January of 1537 Vasari moved back to Arezzo and just a year later Vasari returned to Rome. This led to him receiving his Golden Spur after working on the Vatican. Consequently, in 1541 Vasari traveled back to Venice, Italy by invitation of Pietro Aretino. He was then introduced to the work of Giulio Romano.

Soon enough, Vasari begins his masterpiece on the Cupola of Florence’s Duomo in 1572 and unveils the large frescos walls of the Palazzo Vecchio. Nonetheless, two years later in 1574 Vasari died while still working on the Duomo. 

FLORENCE, ITALY